"Maze of Madness" by Sinaya

Sinaya

Maze of Madness is one of those albums that doesn't stand on ceremony.

There's far too much of that in the world of metal already if you think about it.

The first track, Life Against Fate, is more than just an opening track. It's a manifesto, a warning, and a signpost.

It's a thick, thunderous, and progressive slab of death metal.

Formed in 2010, the wholly female death metal band is finally releasing their full length debut on August 10, 2018. When a band can come out of the gate this strongly, all we can do as listeners is just try to hold on tight.

It's rare to come across an extreme metal band that rocks this hard. Metallica didn't get this good until Master of Puppets and Slayer is still trying to get this good.

Sinaya's full length debut is one of the best albums of 2018.

Release 8/10/18 Genre Death Metal Label Brutal Records

LP Review: "Far Beyond Existence" by Torture Squad

Far Beyond Existence

What would happen if Sauron and Set (of Conan The Barbarian) somehow procreated?

Sorry, I was just looking at this album cover and got a little bit distracted....

As you should be able to tell from the Conan The Barbarian reference, your friend and humble narrator isn't on the front nine of existence anymore...unless life expectancy heads up to 98 soon.

So, as a Gen X'er, my musical history is in a unique location. I'm too young to remember the heyday of the golden age of rock, but I'm old enough to to have seen a lot of great bands.

I stand between two ages and it's impossible to ignore the old, old farts and Millennials talking about how music sucks now. Well, what if there was a band that started during the beginning of the death metal revolution that's still heavy?

LP Review: "Terraforming" by Jupiterian

Terraforming

One of the greatest songs of great songs....we all know it... We've all been subjected to its whims.

Stairway To Heaven.

Robert Plant once said in an interview that he had no idea why it was so popular. There were no verses, choruses, and such. It's a bit of a formless song.

It's more of a poem accompanied by music.

On the whole rest of the album, and the preceding, Led Zeppelin really expanded what a rock band could be. There were no longer any boundaries left to cross. Well sort of.

In the end, it's easy to come back to the question...what makes something a song? What makes a series of noises music?

Video: "Ritualistic" by NervoChaos

Legendary Brazilian Death Metal group, NervoChaos has released a 360 Degree Video for their new single, Ritualistic.

Check it out below and hit up the Brazilians on Facebook.

Make sure you play with the arrows.

Album Review: "Black Heart" by Doomsday Ceremony

Black Heart

The worst thing about Standard Issue Death Metal is the fact that it's rather monotonous.

This is nothing new. Certainly no one feels right now that I have thrown shade on the genre and Pete "Commando" Sandoval is probably not reading this to know that comment is in direct relation to his drumming on the seminal, Covenant.

Even with the oft used line up of metal, there is a wider range of colors that are not used. This can create some bland sounding music, but that certainly does go for all genres of music.

The field is crowded and being heard is the key. Many an album crosses my desk that's good for a bit but grows weary before the beginning of side two. This goes double for the bands that confuse heavy and brutal for songwriting and melody. Yes, death metal can be melodic, beautiful, and varied.

What about the bass player?