Understanding Volumes requires a working theory of Los Angeles, not the promotional brochure version, but the one locals accidentally describe when they’re stressed. This is the L.A. where rehearsal spaces are wedged between vape shops and dental offices, where the...
Dissident Aggression: The Return of Khold
Black metal has taken a lot of twists and turns over the last twenty years. (Hard to believe that the great second wave of black metal is over twenty years old now.) From avant garde minimalism to crust and punk influences, black metal has fragmented into a veritable...Dissident Aggression: The Endless Nothing of Torch Runner
While previewing this album at my day job, a co-worker asked, “Is that music or static coming out of your speakers?” Short answer: Yes. To say that North Carolina’s grind-infused, crusty three-piece, Torch Runner, are abrasive, especially to the untrained ear, is a...Dissident Aggression – Pallbearer Build Upon Foundations
You can always tell when a sub-genre of metal is growing in popularity. The pretenders and bandwagon riders start to come out in full force. We saw it with thrash, death metal, black metal, etc. You name it there have been instances when a genre’s rise in popularity...Dissident Aggression: A New Wave of Ides Of Gemini
On May 22, 1453 the moon appeared to turn blood red in the night sky. The lunar eclipse above was interpreted below as the fulfilling of a prophecy in Byzantium as the city of Constantinople would fall to the Ottomans a week later. As Los Angeles based three-piece,...Dissident Aggression: Earth Becomes Primitive and Deadly
What happens when a band has had a long, critically fruitful career, and has virtually nothing left to prove? There are two paths to be taken at this juncture. The first path is one of complacency and recycling of old themes and ideas. The second path is one of...Follow Us
Album Review: Volumes – ‘Mirror Touch’
read more
Soen unveil third single from upcoming album ‘Reliance’
Swedish progressive metal outfit Soen have unveiled a video for their new single, “Discordia.” The track is the third single taken from their upcoming album, Reliance, scheduled to arrive on January 16, 2026 via Silver Lining Music. Drummer Martin Lopez comments:...
Enthroned’s Nornagest breaks down new album Ashspawn in a Track-by-Track guide
Belgian black metal veterans Enthroned are back with a brand-new chapter as they unveil their twelfth album, Ashspawn, out now via Season of Mist. The follow-up to 2019's Cold Black Suns captures the group's occult-driven intensity while marking a powerful return...
New & Noteworthy: April’s flood of new music with UNATØNED, Necro, Aspiral (4/25/2025 – 4/11/2025)
April 25, 2025 New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. The final New Music Friday of April will see the return of Billy Idol, new works from Ghost, Machine Head and Wednesday...
New & Noteworthy: The Releases Lens – 4/4/2025
New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. Kicking off April’s release schedule are new albums from the likes of Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Bleed From Within, L.A. Guns,...
New & Noteworthy: Release Dynasty – 3/28/2025
New & Noteworthy is Metal Insider’s weekly column highlighting some of the newest rock and metal releases coming out each week. The final New Music Friday of March sees highly anticipated albums from The Darkness, Arch Enemy, Memphis May Fire, Sick Puppies and...