Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

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Album Reviews

Album Review: Panzerfaust – The Suns Of Perdition – Chapter III: The Astral Drain

‘Death-Drive Projections’ begins the third installment of the Suns Of Perdition tetralogy, and wastes no time, overpowering before the first syllable is uttered, towering, scaling heights also ascended to by only few, CULTED and IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT coming to mind in the sheer breadth of sonics involved. For those who’ve been following this project since ‘19s TSOP – Chapter I: War, Horrid War, this is a near-seamless transition, almost as if all albums thus far were in succession, 3 weeks instead of three years passing. After the first of 4 interludes, ‘B22: The Hive And The Hole’ rolls in, methodical, purposeful […]

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: Spiritus Mortis – The Great Seal

Calling forth from the reservoir of vast knowledge (the internet in this case), ‘Puputan’ translates from Indonesian into “bellows” or “blowing”, but also relates to the Japanese act of mass ritual suicide. Either way, either meaning, SPIRITUS MORTIS certainly kicks things in the arse from the start here, new vocalist Kimmo Perämäki shredding both eardrums and his throat, a more rough ‘n’ ragged Robert Lowe, his allowance to let things “slip” from perfection from time to time infusing this TROUBLE-influenced circa ’90 jam (think Trouble) with a sense of urgency. Conjuring latter-day NEVERMORE in the riffing of ‘Death’s Charioteer’, Maijala […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Moribund Dawn – Dark Mysteries Of Time & Eternity

From the get go, I nodded my head and I was pleased. From start to finish I was taken back in time to my youth, first discovering black metal and being shown EMPEROR’s In The Nightside Eclipse. Now don’t get me wrong, its nice to hear new BM and to see the twists and turns of the genre, but O what a pleasure it is to be taken back to the good ol’ days. As an album, Dark Mysteries Of Time & Eternity flows really well. The addition of acoustic and organ does wonders, and even the clean vocals are […]

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, […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Pharmacist – Flourishing Extremities On Unspoiled Mental Grounds

Where on Earth do I start with this one? How about this…record of the year? The band CARCASS has inspired a ton of other metal bands over the years. There used to be quite a flourishing scene of bands imitating the gruesome grind of their first two albums. And you can say that arguably the entire melodic death metal scene was kickstarted by Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious and its followup Heartwork. I will be honest. Necroticism is in my opinion the greatest death metal album ever recorded. Now we have PHARMACIST and what this band has done is almost beyond […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Cleanbreak – Coming Home

When you take a former QUIET RIOT vocalist, RIOT V’s lead guitarist for the past 2+ decades, and the rhythm section of STRYPER (who I’ve seen a few months back and can attest that the foursome is sounding more energized and robust than in years), something’s bound to happen. But what, pray tell? Well, let’s just see then, shall we? Leading off with a short yet subtle guitar pattern, it doesn’t take long for CLEANBREAK to get ‘Coming Home’ firing on all cylinders, Durbin’s vocals as reliable as ever, and the staccato riffing of Mike Flyntz riding atop the driving […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Seep – Hymns To The Gore

If Gordon Ramsay saw this offering in a pan he would probably stare in amazement, then proceed to say something like “Fuck me, this is raw! It’s heavy! Is that sludge on it!? How raw is that, you useless fucking chef?” But what went unnoticed by Chef Ramsay was this dish was served this way on purpose. His tongue would have sizzled to blackness had he tried to sample it. Yes, it’s heavy. As fuck. Its also as raw as people be screwing these days. What will eventually come forth is a baby bursting forth from bloody pools with howls, […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Cosmic Putrefaction – Crepuscular Dirge For The Blessed Ones

What do you do when it’s 5am, you’ve been awake around 10 minutes, and you don’t drink coffee? Apparently for me, you slap on some COSMIC PUTREFACTION to see what the day may bring. I’d like to say I’d heard of this Italian death metal outfit prior, but as it’s simply not the case, come along… Three albums in four years is no easy task, even for a full band. Factor in possible droughts in inspiration and quality of work, and it becomes all the more difficult. Lone gunman G.G. chooses to snatch me from Morpheus’ grip with the angular, […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Nebula – Transmission From Mothership Earth

‘Highwired’ has a catchy riff-and-rhythm combination – as catchy as I’ve ever heard from the trio, to be fair. That mix, though. 33 seconds in I cringed at the sheer wrongness of it all. At the 1:12 mark, I was starting to get it, to let a bit of the groove and displacement of vocals, the chitter-chattery guitars into my uncloudy, not-high brain. By 2:30, I was all in, impressed that a band I never really cared for managed to pull something out of its baggie that not only held my attention, but take notice. Bluesy in a slinky sort […]

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