Reviews written by: Dave Ingram Jr.

Reviews

Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction

Despite being the Marmite of music, nobody - be they a fan or otherwise - can deny the insurmountable genius and talent of Devin Townsend. He's had an extensive and consistant career as a solo artist since 1997 as well as fronting the now-legendary sci-fi-esque Strapping Young Lad between 1994 and 2006 - widely regarded as one of the greatest, most...

03/12/2011

Downlord - Random Dictionary Of The Damned

Shortlived and known to very few, Downlord was another one of those bands that could've been utterly fantastic if they were given the opportunity. Featuring ex-members of Sacrificial, Exmortem and Iniquity, and fronted by former Benediction and Bolt Thrower frontman Dave Ingram, it's a recipe for a fantastic death metal album, no? Well, after two d...

28/11/2011

Loudblast - Frozen Moments Between Life And Death

Arguably THE band to pioneer death and thrash metal in France, Loudblast may have made some of the best albums in the genre but they haven't exactly had the easiest of journeys. After releasing some classic albums (1993's "Sublime Dementia" in particular) between 1989 and 1998, a plethora of issues forced the band to split in 1999... only to reform...

22/11/2011

Skeletonwitch - Forever Abomination

Ohio's Skeletonwitch didn't strike me as much at first - upon hearing 2006's "Worship the Witch" EP I found them slightly lacklustre, and 2007's full-length "Beyond the Permafrost" didn't do too much to change my mind either. By the time I'd heard "Breathing the Fire" in 2009, I was pretty certain that the band was pretty much a waste of my time. H...

21/11/2011

Hell - Human Remains

This is an album that should excite many longtime heavy metal fans - Hell's debut is 24 years overdue, originally intended to be recorded and released sometime in 1987 before their label collapsed, which led to the band's split and thusly the sad loss of singer David Halliday. As of 2008, the band reformed with the reknowned Andy Sneap on guitar (i...

12/09/2011

Evile - Five Serpent's Teeth

Losing a band member is the worst thing that could ever happen to a band. Evile bassist Mike Alexander tragically passed away from a pulmonary embolism in Sweden just a week after the release of 2009's "Infected Nations", a heartbreaking loss that cast severe doubt over the band's future. After recruiting Joel Graham to fill the void that was left,...

22/08/2011

Groan/Vinum Sabbatum - Split EP

This release should be every stoner rock fan's dream - two of what I for one consider the best bands the genre has spewn forth in recent years, on one CD. British tokers Groan are the first up, with some excellent grooving jams that sound very much similar to last year's debut album "The Sleeping Wizard"... albeit with a slightly fuzzier, more suff...

16/08/2011

Neuroma - Extremophile

After being given a copy of Neuroma's split with Dawn of Chaos (entitled "Northern Discomfort"), I was immediately hooked - not just on the intensity of the music, but on the batshit insanity of their lyrical themes - and I was absolutely certain that it was a mere sign of things to come. The band's 2010 promo featured rough cuts of three new track...

20/07/2011

Aspid - Extravasation (Reissue)

It's time for a quick history lesson - Russia's Aspid (or if you prefer, Аспид) were a technical thrash metal band from Volgodonsk formed in 1988, and this is their only known release. That's literally all that's known about this band - the album 'Krovoyzliyanie' - the Russian title of the album - was released in extremely limited quantities on cas...

25/06/2011

Cavalera Conspiracy - Blunt Force Trauma

When Cavalera Conspiracy first came around, many people (including myself) had to cross their legs to avoid wetting themselves in excitement - after more than a decade apart, Max and Igor Cavalera were playing music together again. The Cavalera brothers were the foundation for the once-legendary-now-questionable Sepultura, a band who have fallen a...

06/03/2011

Onslaught - Sounds Of Violence #2

I'm going to state before I start the review that I'm a lifelong Onslaught fan - their second album "The Force" was the first thrash metal album I ever heard at the very tender age of eight years old, and has remained my favourite album of all time since then. Saying that, this review may be slightly bias to a degree but do you know what? I wouldn'...

05/01/2011

Anacrusis - Hindsight: Suffering Hour & Reason Revisited

Missouri's Anacrusis are one of those bands that, during their initial stint between 1986 and 1994, were plagued with bad luck. It's the same sad story that has befallen many bands over the years - piss poor label backing, little distribution, a miriad of internal issues and a lot of fans misunderstanding their later, more ambitious works led to th...

07/12/2010