REVIEW: The Almighty Propagator of Doom and Despair, plus philosophizing with Ptahil

I like to imagine that somewhere in northeastern Indiana there lies a portal to the Underworld where the members of the Ptahil have set up camp to receive messages directly from their Dark Lord. I am probably not too far off, based on  the content of their most recent recording.Ptahil, which in gnostic mysticism can …

REVIEW: Embers and Revelations, plus Weapon’s Monarch speaks

Weapon What do you get when you cross the anti-religious themes of true black metal with the death metal aesthetics of Bolt Thrower and tinge it with the cultural undertones of Bangladesh? You get Weapon. (And yes, the name is trademarked; legally there can be only one.)The first time I heard Canada’s blackened death metal …

Video captures YAITW in reflective moment

I was browsing YouTube recently in search of videos by the American blackened crust band Young And In The Way, or YAITW for short, when I stumbled across this mini-pic posted nearly a year ago. I can't believe I have not seen it until now.Young And In The Way. Photo by Mary SpiroThe film is …

Marduk brings black metal juggernaut to Empire

Marduk and friends played Empire in Springfield, Virginia on February 20. Here are my general impressions of this crushing juggernaut of sound that is probably coming to a town near you.First off, it was grim and frostbitten outside and waiting in line for even two minutes was excruciating. I got in line at about 5:45 …