The Dutch black-death horde around band leader Henri Sattler prepares to unleash its twelfth album four and a half years after the excellent Illuminati. The band lineup is once again revamped, with guitarist Dave Meester and bassist Jeroen Pomper remaining from the previous album and Frank Schilperoort joining on drums. Since their inception in 1991 ..read more

With The Far Star, Apotheus have created a fascinating and original concept album that cuts across the progressive, progressive  metal and melodic death genres. Put your hand up please if your favourite band is from Portugal. No takers there, I suspect, unless you happen to be a big fan of the Fado. OK, put your hand up then if you can at least even name one famous Portuguese rock band. Maybe one or two hands, perhaps, but I suspect most of us would be scratching our heads at that question. This reflects the sad fact that Portugal has barely been a blip on the rock radar so it’s great t ..read more

Necrophobic are currently riding on the waves of deserved recognition. Finally. These Swedish black/death worshippers have always put out quality albums, but through the years, something was always missing – was it the production, the distribution, or something else. With 2018’s masterpiece Mark Of The Necrogram, the band released a career highlight and now, two years later, Dawn Of The Damned not only steps up to its predecessor’s quality, but arguably even surpasses it. Drummer Joakim Sterner, who is also the only original band member left in the present line-up, is ready to answer our quest ..read more

Thron have been around for less than eight years, but we are already awaiting the release of their fourth full-length album, entitled Dust, and coming out on March 31st through Listenable Records. The style on display is heavily influenced by the Swedish melodic black-death scene and bands like Dissection and Sacramentum, but there is also more than just a touch of the God Dethroned brutality and angst to be found in the 11 new songs. Proceedings are opened with the ferociousness of a berserker and a death metal influence in Dying In The Mud, while the following track Return is heavier on the ..read more

Now, on a blind listen, I would swear these guys are Swedish. The band name sounds Swedish, right? And the music is total Gothenburg melodic death metal worship, so the fact Ontborg are in fact from Italy is all the more amusing. Formed in 2017, they released the excellent Within The Depths Of Oblivion in 2019, before the pandemic hit. Now, almost four years later, the second full-length Following The Steps Of Damnation will be out on February 24th through Black Lion Records, which, actually is a Swedish label. Ontborg are exploring the golden middle-ground between melodic death and black met ..read more

Canadian melodic death metal heavyweights KATAKLYSM will unleash their 14th full-length studio album, Unconquered, on September 25th via Nuclear Blast Records. This past Friday, the band releases the music video for their second single entitled, Underneath The Scars. Maurizio Iacono comments, “Underneath The Scars is a bulldozer of a track that will surely ignite the world’s metalheads into straight headbanging madness. We look forward to bringing this beast live when the time comes. Since all the KATAKLYSM members live in different states and cou ..read more