Escuela Grind are a grindcore band from the US and this is their second album.
I love me some grindcore, but what Escuela Grind give us is actually more interesting than just that. This is grindcore by way of huge metallic hardcore groove. Memory Theater takes the strengths of both worlds to produce a monstrous collection of tracks that cut a swathe through the opposition. Continue reading “Escuela Grind – Memory Theater (Review)”
This is the third album from Aviana, a metalcore band from Sweden.
I really enjoyed 2019’s Epicenter, so was pleased to see Aviana return with some new material. Well, they’re back with 36 minutes of the stuff, along with a new lineup that sees only the singer returning from Epicenter, (he seems to be the main band member, as far as I can tell, with the other members remaining anonymous). Continue reading “Aviana – Corporation (Review)”
This is the third album from US metal band Orthodox.
Orthodox combine metallic hardcore and nu-metal into a 42-minute slab of angst and heaviness. Continue reading “Orthodox – Learning to Dissolve (Review)”
Putting this list together for July’s metal releases was incredibly frustrating, as there were at least nine albums that I really wanted to highlight. For the sake of brevity I’ve kept this number to just six, but hard choices had to be made! Continue reading “Monthly Overview – the Best of July 2022”
Although I’d ideally love to be able to conduct hard-hitting, in-depth interviews, who has the time these days? In lieu of this, I’ve thrown together the below question template, hopefully to gather some interesting and informative results, without taking up too much of anyone’s time.
I’m Justin and I play guitar for Metallic Hardcore band – Nicolas Cage Fighter. Continue reading “Standard Interrogation Techniques: Five Questions for Nicolas Cage Fighter (Interview)”
This is the second album from UK metallic hardcore band Ithaca.
Following on from 2019’s very enjoyable The Language of Injury, They Fear Us contains 35 minutes of new material from Ithaca.
There’s a greater diversity of material on this album than on Continue reading “Ithaca – They Fear Us (Review)”
This is the debut album from Nicolas Cage Fighter, a metallic hardcore band from Australia.
The promo blurb states that Nicholas Cage Fighter combine “ruthless hardcore, late 90s metal and death metal influences”, which sets the scene nicely for the 37 minutes of material on The Bones That Grew from Pain.
Imagine a mixture of Hatebreed, Pantera, and the groovy aspect of bands like Thy Art Is Murder and Decapitated, and you’ll have a rough idea of where Nicolas Cage Fighter are coming from. They specialise is music that takes the metallic hardcore style from the 2000s and adds in more contemporary influences.
The music is full of energy and muscular heaviness. These songs are designed for the live arena, but are well-written enough to survive outside of their natural environment. Crushing breakdowns, heavy riffs, and roared vocals are the main order of business, and Nicolas Cage Fighter know their trade well. The songs are heavy, angry, are catchier than you might expect, and are just plain fun to listen to.
I like the inclusion of ambient, melodic, and atmospheric elements into the band’s brutal sound. These are only small enhancements to the songs and only appear at select moments, but they add value nonetheless. I also really like the singer’s vocals. They’re well-performed and varied enough to hold interest.
The Bones That Grew from Pain sits nicely next to recent records by Malevolence and Cage Fight. If you are looking for an album to hit the gym to, or just something to go and break stuff to, then this is for you.
A highly recommended slab of crushing heaviness.
This is the second album from metallic hardcore band Outright.
Described in the promo blurb as a mix of Walls of Jericho and Slayer, this is as good an introduction as any to Outright’s sound, (I’d also throw in a bit of Capra too, as a more recent reference point). Continue reading “Outright – Keep You Warm (Review)”
This is the debut album from US hardcore band Tooth and Claw.
A band containing members of Earth Crisis and Sect couldn’t fail to get my attention. Across 22 minutes, Tooth and Claw provide us with a raging version of old-school metallic hardcore that also occasionally flexes some death metal muscles with some of the guitars. Imagine a mix of Earth Crisis, Merauder, and Obituary, and you’ll be on the right lines. Continue reading “Tooth and Claw – Dream of Ascension (Review)”
Xibalba are a death metal/hardcore band from the US and this is their fourth album.
Prepare to be crushed! Both 2015’s Tierra y Libertad and 2017’s Diablo, Con Amor…Adios. did precisely this, and now Años en Infierno has arrived to do the same – crush. CRUSH!!!!! Continue reading “Xibalba – Años en Infierno (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 