Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

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Album Reviews

Album Review: THE FRĒQS – No God On The Gold Coast

There’s been quite the resurgence of noise and noise-adjacent rawk in the past few years, with longtime bands like THE ANTIKAROSHI releasing the finest work of its career [2024’s L’inertie Polaire], the recent MELVINS / NAPALM DEATH’s Savage Imperial Death March collaboration, not to mention relative newcomers EYES and BRIGHT SUNSHINE adding their own angular, jagged shards to the scene with Spinner and Executive Power Supreme respectively. ‘John Travolta’ pops his collar to the sound of that prehistoric dial-up internet connection we love so well, and THE FRĒQS follow shortly. Messrs. Crowell, Mandly and Fierman have come darker this time, […]

Short Sharp Shocks

Relic – Crown Of Flies [EP]

Comprising a few of Milwaukee’s best and darkest, RELIC’s Crown Of Flies debut explodes with ‘The Void Between The Gods’, a cavernous maw in which the entrails of HERESIARCH and ORDER FROM CHAOS writhe in unbridled ferocity. War metal missiles streak across the skies of ‘Filth Of Rebirth’, yet pummeled broadside with mid ‘00s death ordnance and, though ‘Scavenger’s Daughter’ may slow the pace overall somewhat, it lends the punishment extra heft. A surprisingly melodic solo near the end leads us into ‘Iron Sacrament’, which imagines a more scattershot MEMORIAM in league with recent BELPHEGOR to disastrous effect. While Crown […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Who On Earth – It Takes The Village

New Jersey’s WHO ON EARTH returns with its sophomore shot, It Takes The Village. So strap in, babies, let’s see if the chicken’s finger-lickin’. Opener ‘Vigilance’ is a slab of fellow Garden Staters BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, complete with pinch harmonics, a biker bar anthem at birth, and I’m starting to see the Neil Fallon comparisons in the delivery of vocalist Coosh, but thus far not blatantly enough to be called a rip-off. ‘Any Other Way’ follows, gang background vocals adding a bit of ‘80s hard rock seasoning to the sauce, tasty dual leads garnishing the main dish, and leading us […]

Short Sharp Shocks

Mauled – When Your Eyes Are Shut [EP]

Indiana’s MAULED returns with When Your Eyes Are Shut. In its fourth year, we find the quintet still proudly ploughing the field of ‘00s deathcore, because (who fuckin’ knew?) there’s still an audience for it. A throwaway intro segues into ‘Mouthful Of Glass’, which is a flip-through of the book already scribbled to fuck and back by CHELSEA GRIN, ALL SHALL PERISH and JOB FOR A COWBOY. ‘TheLastThingYouSee’ brings a kneecap-shattering riff and an insanely robust sound, while the breakdown-breakdown-breakdown of ‘Unidentifiable Autopsy’ borders on tiresome. ‘For Me…It’s Always Like This’ is jarring in that best of ways; subtle, completely […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Phendrana – Cathexis

If you need a break from relentless aggression and the angst of the disintegrating world we live in, I highly recommend listening to Cathexis. This is really beautiful music that doesn’t totally eschew heaviness. Most of this type of material usually only interests me briefly, but PHENDRANA have found the secret of truly thoughtful and haunting songcraft. It’s the work of one Anuar Salum, a resident of Mexico City who is well versed in classical composition as well as jazz and rock techniques. With the help of some friends, he’s created Cathexis, a four song journey into melancholy that will […]

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 […]

Music News

PROFANE ELEGY Announces New Single, ‘And Then We Are Gone’, From Forthcoming Album Herezjarcha

Independent black metal band PROFANE ELEGY has released their newest single, ‘And Then We Are Gone’, a haunting and doom-oriented meditation on the fleeting nature of human existence. The track represents a notable shift for the band, featuring predominantly clean singing and a somber, crushing atmosphere. “This song was a fun switch up for us in that it is mostly clean singing and very doom oriented,” the band explains. “It’s essentially a comment on how we’re here one minute and gone the next and the world keeps turning. All we do and build in life snuffed out in a second […]

Music News

DISSENTIENCE Unleashes ‘Chaos Absolute’, A Frantic Descent into Power and Destruction

Progressive death-thrash band DISSENTIENCE has announced the release of ‘Chaos Absolute’, the second single from their forthcoming concept EP, Kaiju, due out February 20, 2026. Fall into ‘Chaos Absolute’ Kicking off with a high-tension, syncopated intro, ‘Chaos Absolute’ roars into life with a massive groove that is both ferocious and unexpectedly infectious. True to DISSENTIENCE’s trademark blend of precision and chaos, the track fuses dissonant harmonies, razor-sharp riffs, and relentlessly driving drums into a controlled sonic detonation. Exploring the human element behind cataclysmic destruction, ‘Chaos Absolute’ shifts focus from the towering monsters of Kaiju to the turmoil unfolding in the […]

Music News

PILE OF KNIVES: No Clean Singing Premieres Pummeling ‘Laceration’ Video From Eastern Pennsylvania Death Metal/Slam Outfit; Second EP, Driven By The Blade, Nears October 31st Release

“The slamming grooves are primitive but also the stuff of modern mechanized weaponry.” – No Clean Singing No Clean Singing is hosting the exclusive video premiere for ‘Laceration’, from Eastern Pennsylvania-based brutal death metal faction PILE OF KNIVES, preceding the Halloween release of the band’s second EP, Driven By The Blade. PILE OF KNIVES’ Driven By The Blade takes the band’s calculated viciousness to further levels of intensity, delivering four new tracks of simply merciless, slamming death. Recorded, mixed, mastered, and produced by Shaun Werle – with the drums recorded at Soundmine Recording Studio – Driven By The Blade was […]

Music News

Actor/Horror Icon COURTNEY GAINS Announces New Single – ‘Fear The Boogie’

Musician, actor, and celebrated horror icon COURTNEY GAINS, most known for his role as Malachai in the 1984 horror classic Children Of The Corn, will release a brand new song this Halloween. A hook-laden heavy rock horror anthem, ‘Fear The Boogie’ is a collaboration between Gains and Peruvian guitarist/producer Wal. The song was written for the soundtrack to Barn III, an upcoming horror film starring Gains and Kelly Maroney (Fast Times Tt Ridgemont High). Drums on the track were recorded by Toni Mateos (www.tonimateos.com), an accomplished session drummer with credits spanning rock, pop, and film music. Gains and Wal previously […]

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