Category Archives: Reviews

Nektromantheon – Divinity of Death

Nekromantheon were formed in 2005 in some dismal corner of Norway, so I apologize for jumping on their bandwagon this late in the day, however I saw them play at the Live Evil bash at The Underworld in Camden (organized by Fenriz) and they absolutely blasted, so since then I’ve been meaning to pick up their debut album Divinity of Death, and now I finally have it.

When Slayer changed my musical perceptions all those years ago, showing me that there is indeed beauty in brutality I fell in love with thrash – it just seemed to tickle a part of my brain which is rarely tickled by any other form of music. But that was eons ago and over the years Decent thrash has become harder to find than rocking horse shit. Until now.

Divinity of Death really is rather good, and for a debut album it’s even better – yes I know they’ve had an EP and a couple of splits out, but I never heard them and this is their first full length product. Needless to say if you like thrash, you will like this album.

I don’t want to sound picky, but if Divinity of Death has one teensy weensy fault it’s that the singer has a very… Shall we say unvaried approach to his art. Doesn’t really matter as the album is only like 30 minutes longn and what he does he does really well, but it would be nice if he varied his approach just a tad, if only to prove that he can.

A jolly fine album, which easily warrants:

Blast From The Past: Slipknot – Iowa

Ten years ago, one band decimated the hundreds of Nu Metal bands and Pop artists taking up the chart slots. Armed with nothing but dark boiler suits, silly masks and sheer ferocity, Slipknot single handedly managed to bring Metal, real Metal, to the top of the charts with sophomore album, Iowa. Regardless of what you may think now, or what your opinion’s of the quality of Slipknot‘s output, there’s no denying this band have achieved a hell of a lot in their career.

The 13-year-old in me loved Slipknot. They were heavy, they were dark, and they said “fuck” a lot without jumping around like a clown (apart from Clown, as he obviously, erm, was a clown) while sporting a red cap. I hated people, and Slipknot hated people too (see ‘People = Shit’). Ten years later, I still hate people, but Corey whines like Chad Kroeger in Stone Sour now and I’ve discovered “better” bands. Despite this, of course the band are re-releasing Iowa (Read: $$$), so now seems like the perfect time for a retrospective on the album. So what are you waiting for? Hurry up and make the jump.

Review: Machine Head – Unto The Locust

Four years after the phenomenal success of The Blackening, Machine Head return with Unto The Locust. As one of the most eagerly awaited albums of the year, the ‘Head have everything to prove. Can they follow up with a similar successful album or will they lose steam, just like they did after their second studio album The More Things Change?

The band like to act as if The Burning Red, and especially Supercharger, never happened. I can understand that, because as a huge Machine Head fan, I like to act as if that never happened as well. But these two Nu-Metal albums actually did get released, therefore a lot of people doubt the band is able to keep up their momentum.

As much as I love this band, I’ve got to admit that I expected a lot from this album, but feared for the worst. These guys might be the ones that wrote the amazing ‘Descend The Shades Of Night,’ but they’re also the ones who wrote the abysmal ‘American High’ — with the exception of Phil Demmel.

So after all, Unto The Locust could be absolutely killer or it could make me kill myself. Make the jump to read my review of Machine Head’s seventh studio album, and let’s hope it’s not my suicide note.

Review: Rise to Remain – City of Vultures

Rise to Remain are a Metal band from London, UK, more often known as ‘that band led by Bruce Dickinson’s son’. Despite some critics arguing the band have risen to fame due to vocalist Austin Dickinson’s rich and famous father, Rise to Remain have still received rave reviews for their live performances as well as their first 3 EPs, even winning some awards along the way.

Last week the band released their debut album, City of Vultures, and Dose of Metal has the only verdict you’re ever going to need. Make the mother-fucking jumpalump for my review of one of Britain’s fastest rising Metal bands.

Review: Staind – Staind

Oh noes, Staind have dun got heavy, yo’. And no, I’m not reviewing Staind twice, you’ll be happy to know, but instead their new album (out tomorrow in North America) is very originally self-titled, as the band have run out of album names, as well as musical ideas.

So first, a little history lesson for the 3 people out there that care. Basically, the first couple of (3 at a push – and a hard push at that) Staind albums were pretty heavy. And by “pretty heavy”, I mean not heavy at all. The albums in question, were never quite as shit as the shit that followed that “heavy” shit. If you get what I’m saying? So I guess after going all ‘middle of the road’ on our asses, and sales flopping more than my penis flops after seeing your mother, the band decided they need to go back to their roots for all 10 of their remaining fans. Fun times, right? Another piece of useless trivia, is that the band were discovered by Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit fame, so we have so have something else to blame him for.

So if you’re a Staind fan, make the jump off a high cliff for my exclusive review. Or if you’re just intrigued to find out if the band can pull off a ‘return to roots’ album, or have a morbid sense of humor, you may also want to check it out, as my attempts at writing are both awesome and hilarious at the same time.