Bugs Scary Nov. 15, 2016

Entomophobia
by Boreworm

The Pitch: "Insectile Death Metal" and sci-fi inspired band Boreworm unleash cosmic horror on their sophomore EP, Entomophobia. Out 11/19. What I Like: Another interesting take on fusing the more brutal elements of death metal with the melodic without resorting to the Gothenburg or metalcore aesthe...

Disconnect From The Herd Nov. 14, 2016

The Sum Of Our Parts
by Disconnect

The Pitch: Experimental metal crew from Belfast, UK provides "new age catharsis" via a unique amalgamation of doom, death, post, Viking, and electronic music. Name Your Price release. What I Like: Lots of cool experimentation with post-metal and electronics. Meanwhile, some of these guitar parts ("...

Cover The Daylight With Ashes Nov. 14, 2016

Gaerea
by Gaerea

The Pitch: New kids on the black metal block, Gaerea, release their debut EP with the intent to "cover the daylight with ashes and smash the massive skull thats blocking your brain." What I Like: Great atmosphere, brimming with cathartic feels...in a dark and haunting sort of way. The vocals are al...

Drift Away Nov. 14, 2016

Chrysalis
by Degraey

The Pitch: Barcelona post-metal bandget moody and proggy on this Name Your Price album for fans of Alaskan, Sleeping In Gethsemane, and Russian Circles. What I Like: If you're down to chill, this is the perfect album for that. You can just close your eyes and drift away. The delay effects make for ...

Math Metal Midpoint Nov. 11, 2016

Meta
by Car Bomb

The Pitch: Two New York bands called Neck and Spooge join forces over a decade ago to channel a new take on Faith No More, Frank Zappa, Mr. Bungle, Meshuggah, Ion Dissonance, and other varied influences. What I Like: Good golly, miss Molly. I do declare that Meta is the long division of math metal....

"Rising" Exclusive Premiere Nov. 11, 2016

Sovereign Heresy
by Lucifer's Cold Embrace

The Pitch: Lucifer's Cold Embrace is a melodic black metal project form the mind of Martin van Beek (Non-Divine). Inspired by bands like Naglfar, Dissection, andDimmu Borgir; it is a decidedly aggressive and dramatic affair. Martin has also been gracious enough to give Metal Trenches the exclusive e...

The Album We Need, But Not The One We Deserve Nov. 11, 2016

Where the Merfalo Roam
by Into the Storm

Get ready for this one. Sometimes it's hard to quantify what makes an album really turn heads, but whatever it may be... this one has it. Seattle progressive/sludge band Into the Stormbring us another standoutreleasein 2016 withWhere the Merfalo Roam. Into the Storm have been recommended for fans of...

New York Gothenburg Nov. 10, 2016

Ruiner
by The Hudson Horror

The Pitch: After some lineup changes, one of my surprise breakout hits from 2015, New York's melodeath/blackened death band The Hudson Horror, make a return with their new EP Ruiner. What I Like: THH are still bringing the tasty Gothenburg influences in the guitarwork that drew me in to begin with....

The Sleeping Gods Nov. 10, 2016

The Sleeping Gods - Thorn
by Enslaved

Enslaved is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only did the Norwegians drop one another fantastic album into their ever-evolving discography last year; now in 2016 we get a vinyl reissue of their debut AND a disc of unreleased(ish) material (not to mention the Skuggsja project on the side).The Sleep...

Nightwing Nov. 10, 2016

Eyes On Backwards
by Dead When I Found Her

Oh how I have been waiting for this moment. It has become clear over the years that Skinny Puppy won't be making another Too Dark Park any time soon. And that's fine. They've done it, they've grown, they've moved on. But that's not to say I would not welcome that sound back into my life in a split s...

Falling Faster Nov. 10, 2016

Skaphe 2
by Skaphe

The Pitch: Flight jumps on this trainWAY late to celebrate the acid-soaked black metal of Philly's Skphe. What I Like: On first sample, I thought this was just going to be a super-dense wall of sound made up of blastbeats, post-metal guitars, and howling; but that's only part of the truth. There ar...

Black Thrash Nov. 9, 2016

Force of Profanation
by Ravencult

The Pitch:A genre that is one of my favorites but rarely done great, Ravencult from Athens, Greece deliver torment and depravity with their latest bit of the blackened thrash. What I Like: Vile, grim, and aggressive. This album is full of energy in both the guitar and drums. Certain tracks really g...

Zeitgeist Nov. 9, 2016

Monument
by Zeit

The Pitch: Italian hardcore/mathcore maniacs Zeit return with a new EP to break your brain. This is the follow-up toour positively-recieved look at their 2015 album, The World Is Nothing. What I Like: It's always nice to be reminded that the mathcore scene is still alive and well, perhaps even more...

Turn On, Go Die Nov. 9, 2016

A Light In The Night
by GoDie Project

The Pitch: Man, Italy be knocking down my door right now. This album from the ambient/droneGoDie_Project "aims to explore the territories of experimental music through a language that tries to fuse the various peculiarities of different genres to trace "soundscapes" as "images"." It was recorded ove...

Morbid Metallic Punk Nov. 8, 2016

Demimonde
by Calligram

The Pitch: London quintet Calligram lays waste to the city with blackened, metallicpunk fury. What I Like:Demimonde is not only highly aggressive, but strangely melodic in ableak and morbid kind of way. It is also extremely concise, which allows each track to shine. Calligram understand that the me...

Stripped Down Nov. 8, 2016

The Empire
by Vader

The Pitch: Second perhaps only to Behemoth when it comes to Polish major label acts, Vader returns for more straight-forward, but stampeding, death and thrash metal. What I Like: For a band that has been doing this for some time now, I am impressed with the level of energy Vader still exhibits. The...

GoreHere Nov. 8, 2016

Finis Ixion
by Gohrgone

The Pitch: Paris, France black and death metal band Gohrgone channel more Greco-Roman mythology on sophomore album. What I Like: The distortion is crispy, crunchy. Riffs are on the simpler side, but the way in which they are organized and executed with the vocals and other instruments helps maximiz...

LIVE RECAP: Ulcerate w/ Zhrine, Phobocosm, and Burials Nov. 7, 2016

Vermis
by Ulcerate

THE VENUE The Raven is located on 3100 NE Sandy Blvd. in Portland, OR. It was previously called "The Panic Room." I was very pleased with this location as the dcor and setup were both aesthetically and functionally exceptional when compared to some of the other venues I have attended. The biggest h...

Atmospheric Blackened Folk Split Nov. 7, 2016

Downfall of Nur / Selvans
by Downfall of Nur

The Pitch: Two of my favorite purveyers of highly atmospheric blackened folk metal, Downfall of Nur and Selvans, join forces for an epic split through Avantgarde Music. What I Like: I adore both of these bands, so much so that I couldn't decide which album to include on my top 10 last year. They bo...

Is There Doom on Mars? Nov. 7, 2016

Celestial Mistress
by Cities of Mars

The Pitch:Gothenburg doomersCities of Mars (w/ former member of Monolord) lay downsci fi concept EP about a dissapeared Soviet agent on Mars. What I Like: This stoner-ish style of doom more often than not makes me yawn big time, but Celestial Mistress ends up being highly engaging. The chords and b...
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