New Pig Destroyer song released!

Have you ever had one of those days where everything is excrement? Pig Destroyer quite possibly wrote the soundtrack to that day. Their new album, Book Burner, will be available in the US on Oct. 22, but Relapse Records knows you PxDx fans can barely wait to sink you teeth into this meaty grindcore masterpiece.The …

Autopsy comic set to drop in time for Halloween

When you think of the pioneering death metal band Autopsy, what comes to mind? Sheer brutality? Crushing riffs? Chris Reifert's frightening ability to sing AND blast beats so fast that no metronome could keep up? That their mosh pit will dismember you? Their performance at this year's Maryland Deathfest was phenomenal. What else do I …

House of Hellbastards – Part 1

For the last couple of days I have been hosting the UK band, Hellbastard, in my home, prior to their gig at the Maryland Deathfest on Saturday. Read a short band profile here and a short interview with Scruff Lewty the vocalist/fire breather here.Don't let the name mislead you. These fellows have been stellar house …

INTERVIEW: Maryland Deathfest organizer Evan Harting

Think about all the bands you like to listen to. Now imagine bringing a few dozen of those groups together to perform for you and a few (thousand) of your friends. That, in a sense, is exactly what Ryan Taylor and Evan Harting created when they created the Maryland Deathfest in 2003. Over the last …

Countdown to MDF X: (1) Electric Wizard

The last band to play outside on Sunday, May 27 at the 2012 Maryland Deathfest will be UK stoner doom stalwarts Electric Wizard. After four straight days of all manner of death metal, black metal, grind core and noise, the crowd will be ready for something a bit more laid-back and introspective. Well, maybe that's …

Countdown to MDF X: (2) Saint Vitus

The word "legendary" is usually never appropriate when describing even the most well known musical acts. Its overuse can make it meaningless. In the case of doom metal band Saint Vitus,  however, the description of legendary may qualify as officially sanctioned.Hailing from Los Angeles, Saint Vitus quite possibly invented doom metal.  I won't insult you …

Countdown to MDF X: (3) Suffocation

Suffocation is from Long Island, New York. This will be evident the minute vocalist Frank Mullen opens his mouth to speak, which he is want to do between songs. When the band begins to play, however, you will forget all about his New YAWK accent and turn your attention to not being killed in the …

Countdown to MDF X: (4) Morgoth

I am no Tolkien fan, but I do know the name of Germany's death metal band Morgoth comes from book The Silmarillion. Although disbanded for more than a decade, the group has experienced a rebirth since 2010 and is set to release a DVD of live performances in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release …

Countdown to MDF X: (6) Yob

Yob. The name evokes memories of that disturbing Warner Brothers cartoon "Rocket-bye Baby" in which a Martin baby is mistakenly delivered to Earth parents.  Few people under the age of 40 will remember this cartoon.As a band, Eugene, Oregon's Yob can be just as unsettling. Grinding, doom-y guitar riffs, plodding and pulsing rhythms and other-worldly …

Pentagram Chile guitarist talks first US gig, new drummer and first studio album

Pentagram Chile is not the first band in the world to place a country designation after their name to avoid confusion with another well known group. Usually this is required because of copyright, but in this case, the group did it out of respect to the doom metal band Pentagram that started in the late …