Musically, while True Traitor, True Whore is rooted in black metal -as dragged through a mire of nightmarish black psychedelia- it’s too experimental to be labeled as anything so straight-ahead. The record runs the gamut as it incorporates avant-psychedelic passages, as well as experimental progression within its bleak and damnable structure.

If you’ve not dabbled in the world of New Zealand metal before, Beastwars could be the perfect gateway band for you, especially if you like things grubby. The debut isn’t as technical as Ulcerate, as malevolent as Witchrist or as claustrophobic as Diocletian (bands that you should definitely listen to) but Beastwars hums with enough psychedelic escapism and irreverence to make it a good place to begin

Even if you already own one or two of the DVD’s in the set, this is a worthwhile trade up. If you’ve fallen behind this year and haven’t picked up any of the DVD’s then get out and grab this set! (And, of course, ‘tis the season so it makes a swell gift idea too!)

“I’ve been looking forward to enjoying another love set by UnexpecT since I saw them play at Sneaky Dee’s last year, and they delivered on all of my very high expectations. The experimental French Canadian band are the very embodiment of an avant-garde aesthetic combined with a dauntless independent spirit.”

Live review by Natalie Zed.

Crushingly heavy, riotously unconventional and passionately demoniacal, Through the Cervix of Hawwah is the sound of devolution.

After so many years of the same old angry show, it can only be said that Conditions of My Parole is a fantastic breath of fresh air for those fans of Maynard James Keenan’s myriad musical projects who had (rightly) begun to think he had no other side to him.

This album is clearly all about re-establishing the Misfits as a creative entity and that focus is plainly apparent from the moment the album’s title track crashes to life and opens the proceedings.

Jay H. Gorania reviews the 2011 edition of Fun Fun Fun Fest, which happened in Austin, TX in early November.