A lot of bands attempting to pull off the same thing simply wind up sounding too eclectic to get anything of substance across. But Dark Ages, varied though it is in influence, is still a focused and precise monster, and it’s likely to be another one of those records that will wind up on many a Best-Of list come year’s end.

Kyle Harcott reviews Snakes For The Divine, the brand new studio album by High On Fire and their first for new label E1 Metal Records.

Four years after their debut effort Black Thunder—though they have a number of EPs and other releases—apocalyptic groove-metal brigade Doomriders unleash what is easily their most accomplished effort in sophomore affair Darkness Come Alive.

With the completion of the second season of Metalocalypse, Dethklok took the road for a full North American tour with co-headliners Mastodon and strong support acts Converge and High on Fire. For a band that seems far from serious, they put together quite the heavyweight lineup, casting some of the top live talents to join them on their conquest for real-life world domination.

Adam Wills reviews the recent Toronto tour stop by Dethklok, Mastodon and friends.

At barely 15 minutes, it’s an all-too brief preview, but that’s all it takes to instantly establish Howl as a band to watch for in late-’09 and 2010.

Recorded as demos this past April with Scott Ecklein, the four new songs and two covers aren’t just rough around the edges; they’re positively filthy, that barely-produced sound hearkening back to the glory days of tape-trading, the bare-bones mix enhancing the fierce performances. Simply put, as solid as they were before, Saviours has never sounded this great.

Adrien Begrand reviews three brand new, limited edition 7″ singles by Bay Area metal quartet Saviours.