“Dark Descent has a characteristic signature that lends confidence to, and underscores, the veracity of its releases. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily imply that you’re going to enjoy every album with Dark Descent’s sigil attached, but all its releases are imprinted with a strong sense of integrity bound to the label’s trustworthy aesthetic.”

Craig Haze reviews two new Dark Descent releases by Finland’s Vorum and Canada’s Paroxsihzem for your reading pleasure.

Catching up on some of the late 2011 releases that nearly went under the radar, Craig Haze reviews a triptych of death metal albums, including the latest from Horrendous, Ominous Crucifix and Vore.

Paul Speckmann has been playing death metal longer than many fans of the genre have been walking the planet. The Chicago native started his long-running project Master in 1983. He’s also played with other bands including War Cry, Abominator and the Czech death metal band Krabathor. Dark Descent Records recently reissued his early band Death Strike’s demo Fuckin’ Death. Speckmann recently talked to Hellbound’s Justin M. Norton about the early days of Chicago death metal and his new life in Eastern Europe from his home in the Czech Republic.