Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

2026

Album Reviews

Album Review: Ligation – After Gods

LIGATION, formed by DARK BUDDHA RISING alumnus MN and MS of enthralling funeral doom entity PROFETUS, and now joined by TI of brutal death crew PUS, arrives with its full-length debut, After Gods. A shagged-out doom groove strides in in the form of the title track, ghosts of DESULTORY (when they mattered) and GOREFEST’s Mindloss flitting around the corners. There’s already something unhinged at work here, be forewarned, slobbering death metal and chaos-reigning noise elements making an appearance, and we’re less than three minutes in. ‘Turmoil In Everest’ TI’s bass is robust in the same way as the slathering creature […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Defaced – Icon

It seems crazy that anything that seems as angry as Icon is could be so dull, but here we are. This Swiss band…hailing from a country with a proud tradition of forward-thinking acts…winds up being a very boilerplate example of modern death metal. The cover art for Icon is absolutely spectacular. And that’s the best thing about it. If DEFACED reminds me of anyone, it’s the current version of KATAKLYSM. That’s not a great endorsement these days. The production is so shiny you can see your reflection in it. Death metal needs grit and filth. Only the best bands can […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Profane Elegy – Herezjarcha

When All Is Nothing blended the treble-heavy rush of black metal’s second wave with understandable yet snarling exhortations, a flirtation with the unpredictable, and a sense of economy that suited the duo that made up PROFANE ELEGY well. Now, 2 ½ years later, Mikael L. [vocals] and instrumentalist J. Gulick have taken a bassist and drummer into the fold and delivered unto us Herezjarcha. A word first, then on to the music. Yes, you honkbrayers, I’m fully aware that it’s 2026, and that bands are oft’ inclined to release singles from upcoming projects via streaming platforms. I question, though, the […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Hyperion – Cybergenesis

Sometimes you run into a band so pure that METAL must be written in all caps to describe them. Say hello to Italy’s HYPERION! These cats came out of nowhere to hit me upside the head with one of the year’s best METAL albums! This is 100% pure steel, forged in the fires of PRIEST, MAIDEN and ‘RYCHE but with a bracing jolt of speed and a kick of modern power metal. There are eight compact songs on Cybergenesis and I can’t find much of a flaw in any of them. There’s no pointless intro or corny narration, this thing […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Architectural Genocide – Malignant Cognition

When you’ve got a sophomore album nearly six years in the making, and it’s shorter than Reign In Blood, one of two things has happened; either you’ve decided to shit something out super-quick just to keep the band name out there, or you’ve (hopefully) spent that time honing these songs to the point that they’re less “songs” than blades and boulders, both concertina wire-sharp and heavy as granite. Creepy-crawly “intro-not intro” ‘Precursor To Bloodshed’ sets the mood for Malignant Cognition, ARCHITECTURAL GENOCIDE ready to rumble like a bulldozer in the graveyard that is ‘Coercion Into Carnality’. Immensely guttural vocal spews […]