Articles by Chris Ayers

Snakeblade Goes Beyond Black Metal Trappings on 'The Kingdom'

PUBLISHED Aug 5, 2020

While the world was put on pause by the coronavirus lockdown, East Vancouver native Mike Redston used his time to record the debut album fo...

-(16)- Reinvent Their Sludge Metal Sound Once Again on 'Dream Squasher'

PUBLISHED Jun 8, 2020

Following another one of their typical three- to four-year lapses between records, SoCal sludge metal pioneers -(16)- return like clockwork...

Shiner's 'Schadenfreude' Is a Triumphant Return After Almost 20 Years

PUBLISHED May 8, 2020

It seems like a generation ago that Kansas City's Shiner last graced our unworthy ears with what would be their final album, 2001's The Egg...

Live Burial

Unending Futility

PUBLISHED Apr 2, 2020

Without a doubt, UK death dealers Live Burial play the death metal style that spawned millions of metalheads in the early '90s. Drawing on...

Itus

Primordial

PUBLISHED Mar 11, 2020

Blending their love of doom, stoner rock and its attendant psychedelia, Ontario trio Itus have created a colossal debut in Primordial. Inte...

Innards

Back From the Grave, Straight in Your Face

PUBLISHED Feb 19, 2020

There is old-school death metal, then there is ancient-school death metal. Portugal's Innards inhabit the latter: late '80s death with the...

Krvsade

Judgement Day

PUBLISHED Jan 30, 2020

From the outside, North Carolina's Krvsade looks like a Christian-themed metal band: superior, misspelled-on-purpose band moniker; excellen...

Night Goat

Milk

PUBLISHED Dec 11, 2019

Any band that name themselves after a Melvins song immediately deserve extra credit, but that it's after one of the Melvins' greatest songs...