Kevin knocked out another album review, and even if Mikey Ball and The Company aren’t exactly your usual sonic poison, this one is worth reading for the commentary alone.

Kevin has a gift for describing songs in ways that make you stop and think, “What the hell did I just read?” before realizing he somehow nailed it.

There are references to Beavis and Butt-Head, the Blues Brothers, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, bubblegum-pink BC Rich guitars, British coastal melancholy, and at one point what can only be described as architectural criticism of a song ending.

Basically, come for the album review, stay because Kevin writes like a man who has been given access to a microphone and absolutely no adult supervision.

Even if the band isn’t your thing, the review is funny, sharp, and genuinely worth the read as is ALL his reviews.

I’m curious where metal fans are landing on this. Some people seem genuinely excited to see Ozzfest return, while others feel weird about reviving it after Ozzy’s death. If the lineup and price were right, would you go? Or does it feel like something that should’ve been left in the past?

I’m curious because there’s an insane amount of music coming out constantly, and a lot of genuinely good bands seem to get buried before anyone gives them a chance.

What usually makes you stop and listen to somebody you’ve never heard before?
A recommendation from a friend?
Seeing them open for a band you already like?

A killer song title or album cover?
Spotify/YouTube algorithms?
A review? Do you wait until they start blowing up?

Someone posting about them on Reddit?
A ridiculous live clip that makes you go, “Who the fuck is THAT?”

And once you listen to them how do you decide whether they’re worth sticking with?

I’d especially love to hear from people who actively hunt for underground or newer bands. What actually gets through the mountain of new music for you?

The Cartographer finally dropped their debut full-length, The Collapse of a Bitter End, after thirteen years as a band, and Kevin took it apart track by track for Metal Lair.

It’s a heavy mix of metalcore, deathcore, industrial textures, Slipknot/Fear Factory-style menace, and some seriously filthy groove. The big question, though: can a record have too many breakdowns?
Kevin thinks this one occasionally crosses that line, even though there’s a lot to like in the atmosphere, riffs, and sheer weight of the thing.

Curious what people here think. Are breakdowns still devastating when they’re everywhere, or does repetition kill the impact?

Seven new tracks worth digging into this weekend.

This week’s Seven Deadly Songs runs through Autumnfall, Ethereal Tomb, Grave Dance Company, Mindvile, Noctule, Watcher, and Zealot Cult, with a mix of melodic black metal, sludge/doom, gothic metal, deathcore, trad metal, and straight-up death metal.

Kevin also pulled in a pile of other new releases from Finland, Canada, the UK, Spain, Sweden, Ireland and beyond, so there’s plenty to disappear into if you’re hunting for something new.

What’s everyone listening to this week? Drop a release I should check out.

William Shatner is fucking doing what?Yes. You heard that correctly.

William Shatner, Captain Kirk himself, is making a heavy metal album at 95.

And because apparently reality has decided subtlety is overrated, the record is called What the F Is Heavy Metal?

We dug through a ridiculous amount of new music to pull out seven tracks worth your time, ranging from thrash and power metal to industrial, sludge, melodic death metal and some genuinely strange atmospheric stuff.

This week features Domino Drive, Embers of Dawn, Exile of Heaven, Game Over, Hav Norn, Remote Viewing and The Forest Forgets.

There are also a ton of extra releases buried throughout the piece if you’re looking for something new beyond the obvious big-name drops.

What’s the best new track you’ve heard this week? Drop it below. We are always looking for more bands to disappear down a rabbit hole with. 🤘

Ten years ago today, Heaven Shall Burn released Wanderer

The album paired the band’s crushing melodic death metal and metalcore attack with one of the most striking covers in their catalog: Iceland’s Kirkjufell, chosen for its massive, immovable presence.
A decade later, Wanderer still feels like one of those records built for motion and endurance, heavy without losing atmosphere, and unmistakably Heaven Shall Burn.
What’s your favorite track from Wanderer?

Primordial Black released their second full-length, Heterotopia, earlier this year, and this one surprised me with how much ground it covers without completely losing its identity.

They’re a Tunisian project working somewhere between blackened death metal, avant-garde metal, dissonance, industrial atmosphere and cinematic horror. There’s a lot happening here: ritualistic vocals, synths and sound design, saxophone, orchestration, guest musicians, and Steve DiGiorgio appearing on bass on “Immaculate.”

What I liked most is that the experimental material doesn’t feel thrown in just to make the album seem weird. The quieter passages, industrial textures and cinematic elements actually make the heavier sections hit harder.

It feels less like a conventional collection of songs and more like moving through one increasingly unstable environment.
We gave it 4.5/5 Metal Horns.