Black Sabbath created the template for heavy metal and thrash. But it's instructive to acknowledge just how unique Black Sabbath were when they first emerged. Those first eight albums are essential.
Grindcore institution Napalm Death finally reconcile their experimental side with their ultra-harsh roots on Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism.
In a packed month with 20 great new heavy metal records, Faceless Burial and Necrot stun with their death metal prowess, Jaye Jayle and Steve Von Till break ranks, and Primitive Man gaze further into the abyss.
Speaking on a range of topics, including filmmaking, the future of live music, and his appreciation for artists such as UFO and Thin Lizzy, Twisted Sister's Dee Snider proves game for all topics.
King Buzzo's collaboration with Mr. Bungle/Fantômas bassist Trevor Dunn expands the sound of Buzz Osborne's solo oeuvre on Gift of Sacrifice.
The Silent Circus shows Between the Buried and Me developing towards the progressive metal titans they would eventually become.
Featuring current members of Imperial Triumphant, Titan to Tachyons break incredible new ground in the realm of heavy music.
A heavy feeling of loss pervades Old Man Gloom's new albums as these songs are a way of coping and documenting grief, as well as commemorating how much Caleb Scofield meant to the band.
In a busy and exciting month for metal, Boris arrive in rejuvenated fashion, Imperial Triumphant continue to impress with their forward-thinking black metal, and death metal masters Defeated Sanity and Lantern return with a vengeance.
On Friday, avant-garde metal band Imperial Triumphant release Alphaville, their best album yet. It may just be the soundtrack to a pandemic, and it's a redefining moment in metal.
Visit the cold, desolate worlds of Paysage d'Hiver. Experience the boundless experimentation of Neptunian Maximalism. Watch in awe the death metal refactoring of Pyrrhon and so much more.
GOD's God IV - Revelation is beautiful and brutal in equal measure. It's a masterful series of compositions. Hear it in full today before tomorrow's release.
Amnesia Scanner's Tearless aesthetically maps the failing Anthropocene through its globally connected features and experimental mesh of deconstructed club, reggaeton, and metalcore.
The masterful progressive work of Caligula's Horse, the reinvigorated spirit of Winter through Goden and Old Man Gloom's return alongside a healthy dose of black metal, hardcore-infused outbreaks, and noise rock highlight the month of May in heavy metal.
In the curious case of Nightwish's Human. :||: Nature., the whole is ultimately less compelling than the individual parts it comprises.
In times of quarantine we listen and we write, so here are 20 extreme (and some experimental) records to spin during these times.
In 2010, the metal world honored the memory of Ronnie James Dio in the coolest possible way: by making it the best year for new music the genre saw in a very long time.
The first ever hip-hop/metal crossover from Translation Loss is an exciting joint venture that seamlessly melds two seemingly disparate genres.
March's MetalMatters features extreme tunes to get you through difficult times. Hopefully, they will momentarily allow you to escape from this harsh reality.
February in heavy music features long-awaited returns from Psychotic Waltz, Envy, and Today Is the Day, along with a healthy dose of black metal and experimental music.
Hunter Hunt-Hendrix and his comrades in Liturgy combine ambitiousness, risk-taking and sheer skill into a fresh triumph on H.A.Q.Q.
The new year, and the new decade, kick things off in the most promising way possible as a combination of newcomers and established acts produce amazing works across death, black, metalcore, power and thrash metal.
Liturgy founder Hunter Hunt-Hendrix discusses religion, philosophy, history, and music from Johannes Brahms to Waka Flocka Flame.
The last month of the 2010s was defined by an explosion of black metal grimness, modern and retro sprinkled with death metal brutality, caustic hardcore and some historic re-releases.
Filled with everything from extreme doom/death and progressive death to experimental avant-garde jazz induced visions and screamo dreams, November does not disappoint.
For yet another year, metal shows its endless well of creativity through fierce musicianship and ambitious outlook, highlighted through these 20 exquisite records.
Opium Lord's Vore is a soul-blackened missive tailor-made to spark crowds as well as to reward contemplative listening.
Everything that fans could want—and everything that makes blackgaze stand out—is contained within Alcest's Spiritual Instinct.
October is dominated by heavyweight returns from noise rock pioneers Swans and Lightning Bolt, while also filled with the black metal bleakness of Blut Aus Nord and the Great Old Ones, while Vastum continue 20 Buck Spin's death metal master class streak.
September is filled with exciting heavy releases, most notably the return of post-metal icons Cult of Luna, the sophomore record of post-black metal mavericks White Ward, and the resurrection of experimental proto-black metallers Mortem.
TOPY and Genesis P-Orridge's knowing adoption of cult iconography and organizing principles quickly slid from satiric emulation to full embrace -- and we all went along with it.
Colorado trio Ghosts of Glaciers combine the primitive pounding of thrash metal with the intellectual nuances of progressive rock on a new track, culled from the upcoming album, The Greatest Burden.
Unconventional rock albums, from poppy sludge outfit Torche, noise rock masters Uzeda and post-hardcore outcasts Cherubs, along with the black metal fury of Falls of Rauros, False, Arkhaik, Celestial Grave and Sanguine Eagle and uncategorized extremists Immortal Bird are among this month's extreme output.
Admission isn't an enormous change in the sound of Torche, but rather an affirmation that this band insists on forging new paths and confounding expectations.
Slough Feg carry on their heavy metal journey while Darkthrone keep digging towards their proto-punk/heavy metal core. Baroness return with their most ambitious work to date, while Pinkish Black continue to explore the endless possibilities of synth driven extreme music.
Can slime mold be a muse? Can you cross more streams than this collective? All those answers and more are shrouded in mystery on new track from Those Darn Gnomes. Maximum weirdness.
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