Lord Mantis – Pervertor
What the fuck is going on in the midwest? I guess all those cold winter days spent inside listening to Darkthrone and drinking cough syrup have paid off because between Coffinworm, Wolvhammer and the...
View ArticleLyriel – Leverage
The first impression that Lyriel’s Leverage makes on the listener is a little deceiving. After listening to the title track, which is the first real song on the record, I thought they were a pretty...
View ArticleLunar Aurora – Hoagascht
I distinctly remember getting introduced to Lunar Aurora from a Belgian friend back in 1996 and I have anticipated each and every release since. The number of bands that I have been listening to...
View ArticleLustre – They Awoke the Scent of Spring
I just reviewed The Netherlands’ Laster, and now here’s Sweden’s Lustre. Laster, meet Lustre. Lustre, Laster. Both are atmospheric black metal from the genre equivalent of House Stark, but Lustre is...
View ArticleLaster – Wijsgeer & Narreman EP
Laster, from Utrecht, in the Netherlands, have a classic ’90s atmospheric black metal sound – some might label this as DSBM (depressive/suicidal black metal), a term that gained popularity around the...
View ArticleLight Bearer/Northless – Split 12″
Here’s a vinyl split LP with some amazing potential. Light Bearer‘s first LP, 2011′s Lapsus was one of the very best releases of last year while Wisconsin’s Northless have steadily improved over the...
View ArticleLungs – S/T 10″
Hailing from Minnesota, Lungs are a sludgy, down tempo, post rock/doom band that would fit nicely on Halo of Flies Records, next to a band like Northless , even more so considering their vinyl based...
View ArticleSpectral Lore/ Locust Leaves – Split EP
Greece’s Spectral Lore rightfully (I hope) garnered some attention with Sentinel, their magnificent third release that should put them on the black metal map. But it didn’t take long for Spectral Lore...
View ArticleLadder Devils – Nowhere Plans
I recently had the good fortune to attend a reunion show featuring some nigh forgotten stalwarts of eastern Pennsylvania’s hardcore scene; Inkling, Dysphoria, and Chine. The show was a nostalgic punch...
View ArticleLo-Fi Restistance – Chalk Lines
First off, I have been a hardcore fan of Porcupine Tree for some time, and while it’s always been Mr. Steven Wilson that holds the creative mantle for their music, each of their members are at the top...
View ArticleLifeless – Godconstruct
While the upcoming Entrails and Revel In Flesh albums will undoubtedly be two of the years most hyped retro Swede-death metal releases, a couple of other bands will at least tide you over with their...
View ArticleLithotome – Lithotome
Fans of murky, muddy, atonal death/black metal along the lines of Vasaeleth, Mithochondrion, Paroxsihzem, Ulcerate and Australian nasties like Impetuous Ritual and Portal, take note. Here is a duo from...
View ArticleLogic of Denial – Atonement
Comatose Music, the Willowtip of brutal death metal, has been known to unearth some gems. Underground heavyweights such as Kraanium, Septycal Gorge, Dysentery and Lust of Decay have, or still do, call...
View ArticleLychgate – Lychgate
Organs swell. Drums stomp to life. Soaring single notes harmonize and add atmosphere. This is “The Inception.” This funeral march is leading us somewhere. Probably the graves of its victims, who are...
View ArticleLantern – Below
Dark Descent Records has been on an absolute tear of killer releases in the past few years. Off the top of my head they have put out great records by: Ritual Necromancy, Entrails, Burial Invocation,...
View ArticleLeprous – Coal
It’s not often these days that my mind is completely blown away by a musical album, but the latest output, Coal, from Norwegian progressive metallers Leprous did just that. Not once, not twice, but...
View ArticleLight Bearer – Silver Tongue LP
Featuring members of hardcore act Momentum and of course former Fall of Efrafa frontman Alex Bradshaw, the UK’s Light Bearer have quickly established themselves as one of atmospheric sludge/post rock’s...
View ArticleJames LaBrie – Impermanent Resonance
I’ve been a longtime Dream Theater fan – 21 years, in fact, since the release of one of the finest progressive metal albums ever released, Images and Words. And yet, in all of that time, I’ve never...
View ArticleLesbian – Forestelevision
Lesbian has been on my radar since their 2008 split with the amazing doom band Ocean. From there I snagged 2007’s awesome Power Hor, and anxiously awaited 2010’s killer Stratospheria Cubensis. So when...
View ArticleLorn – Subconscious Metamorphosis
This is my first exposure to Italy’s Lorn. Apparently, they were once a fairly straightforward, traditional black metal act. With no knowledge of their back catalogue, I can’t comment on the band’s...
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