Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

Dr. Abner Mality

Album Reviews

Album Review: Spiritworld – Helldorado

For me, hell is standing eternally in the middle of a plain. On one side, every mumble-rapper with “Lil” in his name is belting out garbage on Autotune. On the other side, we have phony cowboy hat guys calling themselves “Clay” and “Tucker” playing the horror that passes for modern country music on a loop. I cannot imagine a fate worse than this! Which makes it a surprise that I actually like SPIRITWORLD, a band that started out playing “outlaw country” and then switched over to raging SLAYERized thrash metal with a spaghetti Western aura. I suspect that Stu Folsom, […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Chamber Mage – By Light Of Emerald Gods

Ah, the galloping riff! Steve Harris’ pride and joy, it’s become one of the staples of traditional heavy metal, particularly bands dealing with fantasy and medieval themes. That leads us directly to Colorado’s CHAMBER MAGE, who love swords, sorcery and those galloping riffs. This record oozes both classic metal and high fantasy. Not 100% sure, but I think By Light Of Emerald Gods is a concept album telling one mighty tale. If you love OMEN, MANILLA ROAD and the horribly overlooked MEDIEVAL STEEL, you’re going to be over the moon with CHAMBER MAGE. Once ‘In Battle’ locks into its patented […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Gates To Hell – Death Comes To All

Of all the new bands trying to cash in on the brutal death/hardcore mash-up trend, this is the worst I’ve heard so far. I’m appalled a record of this low quality is on Nuclear Blast. I know they sign some bad bands to jump on bandwagons, but this is bad right down to the production quality and playing ability. It makes SANGUISUGABOGG and BONGINATOR look like ATHEIST. I like death metal and hardcore when they are primitive and to the point. This is DUMB, not primitive…an onslaught of uninteresting riffs, lobotomized breakdowns that have been done over and over for […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Caustic Phlegm – Purulent Apocalypse

It’s no secret that I’m a lover of all that is icky, repulsive and sickening when it comes to metal. I regard most instances of “sick” death metal as a challenge. One thing I insist on, though: a song can be grisly but it still has to be a SONG. As long as I can detect an interesting structure, there’s no limit to how heavy I can go. And I know I’m not the only one to feel this way. CAUSTIC PHLEGM is a one-man wrecking crew helmed by a UK guy named Evan Vasilakos and he wants to create […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Karla Kvlt – Thunderhunter

This German power trio keeps it in the family on their debut record. Markus E. Lipka of the cult band EISENVATER is the Dad of group, holding down guitar duties, while his son Johann Wientjes pounds away on the skins and daughter-in-law Teresa Curtens handles bass and lead vocals. That must certainly make for some unique dynamics in the studio. KARLA KVLT’s sound is also unique and takes some time to appreciate. I really know little of EISENVATER so I can’t say how much KK sounds like that band. If I had to describe KARLA KVLT briefly, I’d say it’s […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Hirax – Faster Than Death

Mr. Katon W. De Pena is one of the true warriors of thrash metal. He’s been whipping up circle pits for about 40 years now, so his dedication can’t be questioned. Plus, he’s a hell of a good guy…I can personally attest to this. Despite that, HIRAX albums have been few and far between. Faster Than Death is only the sixth full length in all that time. Well, this one may very well be their rawest and most in your face outing since their classic debut, Raging Violence. They’ve been trying to live up to that brutal dose of mayhem […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Aeon Gods – King Of Gods

Cosplay metal has really gotten out of hand…there’s so many bands that look like they’ve escaped from San Diego Comicon that bands wearing plain street gear now seem to be the outcasts. AEON GODS originate from Germany, but one look at their promo pic shows they would rather be from ancient Babylon. Oy vey! I put my head in my hands after seeing that, but when I got around to putting King Of Gods on the stereo, I must admit…this is not that bad at all. Yes, it is pompous symphonic power metal…what else would you expect from Scarlet Records? […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: ALKYMIST – UnnDerr

I remember hearing the debut from these Danish noise-mongers what seems like a millions years ago. And to be brutally honest, that’s all I remember. I can’t recall a note from the actual record. Lots of things have happened since then, including a pandemic, a war and mass environmental chaos. Would 2024’s version of ALKYMIST be a bit more memorable? I think so. UnnDerr is a dark, heaving mass of foreboding heaviness that comes across as very direct and “simple” but which has some hidden depths to it. It certainly isn’t standard doom or death metal, yet I think it […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Ian Blurton’s Future Now – Crimes Of The City

IAN BLURTON’S FUTURE NOW may have a pretty awkward name but they’ve managed to pull off something many others have tried and failed at; creating a genuine classic hard rock sound in the vein of the ’70s. Crimes Of The City is one of the best attempts at this that I’ve heard in a long time. The songwriting here is just so effortless and natural. All the tracks are in the three to four minute window that much classic rock dwells in. Not a wasted breath or riff is apparent here. Who does FUTURE NOW take inspiration from? Well, I […]

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Album Review: Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja

It doesn’t get much weirder than ORANSSI PAZUZU. The eccentric Finns left their black metal roots in the dust long ago and have boldly steered full speed ahead into the land of “WTF”. Their 2020 album, Mestarin Kynsi, didn’t do a heck of a lot for me, as they seemed to reject any form of memorability in their quest for strangeness. 2024 brings us Muuntautuja…how does this one fare? This record is more batshit than anything they’ve done so far. Sheer noise has never played such an important role as it does here. In the press, the vocalist/guitarist Jun-His describes […]

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