The scum that crawls upon the earth, masquerading in their robes and parading their crosses and stars behind facetious smiles, look upon everyone else as but passages of meat. We may expand the mind to rebuke their narrow way of thinking and ascend beyond their doctrines. But then there are others, artists in their own right, whose philosophy is naught of the mind but of the body. For them, salvation lies within the hands that clutch oil and fire, with which their synagogues

Nobody asked for this. No really, I'm pretty sure that nobody was clamoring for Salò of all films to get released in such a grandiose, limited, box with more extras than you could ever hope for in the highest possible picture quality that modern technology allows. Yet here we are. And no, I'm not going to even remotely touch of on the film itself and all of its derangend infamy nor that of its troubled soul of a director, for there are more essays and theses written on this m

DRUDKH - ВІдлига (THAW) Is it not fascinating how one whose tongue may be as heavy as lead can express that which dwells within through parchment, paper, and pen? We often take for granted the ability of words to carry our own thoughts within them and, whatever it is that originates in the abode of the mind, render it into physical form. Our tongues may become mute, but the art of communicating in an honest manner, be it through a few words or an epic tale, can reach our emo

CHANTS - ECHOES I often believe that through the labyrinth that is life, a soul may wish to be free from this endless maze, to find solitude not within these ever-changing walls, the very same walls erected within the core of oneself. For when one peers within, we realize it is not a linear path we walk, but rather, we become the ouroboros, a fate destined to keep repeating itself in a cyclic manner. Yet through resistance, the tail never breaks. Languor grips and tears at th

NAZGHOR - A WORLD ABLAZE Therein lies the desire of a soul,to take the hands and press them close to the breast, where nails sink deep, opening the chest to let that which plagues the spirit detonate. For within the core of man, a myriad of sermons, hissing into the ear with tongues adorned in the vitriol of hate, can engulf the soul in its own lake of fire, where the only reprieve of salvation comes from self-immolation. But if one were to harness the incendiary essence that

RAPID - ENTER THE REALM OF FIRE Spanning a decade already in the metal hotbed that is Finland, Rapid take that filthy 80s sound of both NWOBHM and favelas and uniquely spin in their own punkish distored way without sounding at all like another throwaway Venōmhead clone. The cesspool sure is deep so Rapid makes damn sure to avoid it lest being called ordinary and just plain redundant. We get a fairly standard horror-filmesque introduction with a segue right into the raw, ripp

NARGAROTH - APOCALYPTIC STEEL Well he's back, and after an almost decade-long silence (and long after sunsetting his "Kanwulf" moniker) Ash's brand over misanthropic, furious black metal roars with a vengeance once again. If one were to have any sort of reservations after a long hiatus it would indeed be understandable... No shills or stumbling detected whatsoever as "Apocalyptic Steel" plunges itself deep within the hear of the listener and never lets up. After an intro of a

CHAMBER OF UNLIGHT - AVERNUS Emering a decade ago from Finland with an ensemble of the nation's finest black metallers coming together, the symphonic, grandiose style of Chamber of Unlight gives plenty of nods to ethereal black metal from over a generation ago that once made the world tremble. Truly the meeting of these mad minds has created something exquisite and deadly, taking black metal right back to its rightful throne of the deadliest form of sheer audial terror. Nothi