Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

Metal Blade

Album Reviews

Album Review: Vomitory – All Heads Are Gonna Roll

Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby. And when it comes to classic Stockholm death metal, VOMITORY is as real as it gets. Very glad indeed to see these old school OGs wielding their axes again; they live up to the album title and more! The first two tracks hit with all the subtlety of a pit bull on Fentanyl! This is laser focused destruction that reminds me a lot of fellow Swedes DEFLESHED in terms of economy and ferocity. VOMITORY have come up with a kind of paradoxical sound that is raw in true Swe-death fashion, yet it’s also […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Downfall Of Gaia – Silhouettes Of Disgust

Even though Germany’s DOWNFALL OF GAIA have been around for 15 years, this record is my first actual encounter with them. I could have dived into their previous output as research for this here review, but I thought I would go into this from zero. Everything about the band is new to me and I feel my missive should reflect that. This is a hodgepodge of sounds ranging from very fast and aggressive “semi-black” metal to drifting post metal drones to screaming modern hardcore a la CONVERGENCE. It’s all whipped together and sometimes winds up sounding pretty choppy. For example, […]

Music News

Cult of Luna Announces European Co-Headline Tour with Russian Circles for 2023

No rest of the wicked, CULT OF LUNA have just released a 25-minute-video of their 2022 touring adventures. Check it out HERE The band will return to European venues in March, this time around co-headlining with the infamous Russian Circles. “Not knowing what to expect when we got out from our unexpected and involuntary hiatus, we were blown away by the numbers of people that came to see us. The love we received was truly moving and it felt like the tour just started when it was over. But time moves quickly and soon it’s time to get out again. […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Defleshed – Grind Over Matter

This is unbelievable. I’ve been covering metal music for close to a quarter of a century and I have never heard a band that’s been out of commission as long as DEFLESHED pick up right where they left off so seamlessly and completely as this. Their last record was in 2005. Grind Over Matter sounds like it could have come out in 2006. It’s like nothing happened! These guys have always had laser-like focus on the kind of music they want to produce and that has absolutely not changed here. If anything, it’s intensified. DEFLESHED has always put out albums […]

Music News

MERCYFUL FATE Announces First North American Headlining Tour In Over Two Decades; Tickets On Sale Friday, September 9th

Heavy metal icons MERCYFUL FATE today announce their first North American headlining tour in over two decades! The journey will commence on October 25th in Dallas, Texas and weave its way through fourteen cities, closing on November 16th in Atlanta, Georgia. The tour follows the band’s stunning headlining performance at this year’s edition of Psycho Las Vegas. Vocalist King Diamond comments, “These will be the first MERCYFUL FATE concerts in North American theaters in over twenty years. Memories of a lifetime. Your special chance to see MERCYFUL FATE with the full European festival production, but up close and personal. You […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Mantar – Pain Is Forever And This Is The End

Every few years these guys pop up and the more hipster division of the metal press loses their shit over them. Then they soon disappear without a ripple again. Well, it’s time for MANTAR to surface again, this time on Metal Blade with an album title that sets itself up for parody right away. Or maybe it’s getting too close for comfort… Anyhoo, let me dive into it. How to describe MANTAR? Well, they certainly are not what I would call death, black or thrash metal, but they are quite heavy and morose. Their deceptively simple and basic style seems […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Wake – Thought Form Descent

‘Infinite Inward’ slowly rolls into our vision over the horizon, an incoming tide lapping at the shore, and it’s clear WAKE is seeking something grander here. Soon enough, though, the softly swirling waters become waves of destructive proportions. Much like HAUNTER’s past few albums, I’ve become interested in what happens when screamo and/or grind bands veer hard left into metallic lands. For both bands, the move has actually made me take notice, as their approach to and way of looking at metal are wildly different than the norm. Encompassing, this opening benefits greatly from a pristine production, accentuating every nuance, […]

Music News

Metal Blade Records Celebrates 40 Years

“So as we enter our 40th year it is pretty crazy to think about that. The first thing I thought of was reissuing the first Metal Massacre album. I thought it would be difficult to get the rights etc.. it ended up being one of the easiest things as all the bands were super cool and now hopefully you got a copy! We’re still planning some cool shows and parties for this year so stay tuned for those! It’s been pretty overwhelming with all the stuff that’s happened so far and its certainly amazing —just all the things that have […]

Music News

Rivers Of Nihil Debut The Work Documentary

RIVERS OF NIHIL unleashed The Work on the world back in September of 2021. In continued celebration of the album, the band are prepared to finally release a mini-doc that offers a look into the creative process and recording of The Work. The short film was directed by Mike Trueheart, who also helmed the band’s music video for ‘Clean’ and instrumental playthroughs for ‘More?’, and ‘The Void from Which No Sound Escapes’. Follow the band’s creative process around Reading, PA with producers Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland on YouTube HERE RIVERS OF NIHIL are set to return to the road […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Midnight – Let There Be Witchery

There aren’t many good things to come out of the Buckeye State. As a Michigander there are the obvious “sportsball” rivalries, but mainly Ohio’s just something to avoid driving through on your way to get anywhere else. Don’t wanna “get any on ya” or anything. And yet, this is where the nasty blackthrashspeed of founder and sole member Athenar has thriven for nearly two decades now. Thus, I’ve promised myself this review will only take as long to write as a listen through his fifth under the black banner of MIDNIGHT. Thoughts of some piss-poor “intro” get flushed septic-ward once […]

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