At the dawn of 2010, black metal has lost its collective mind in a big way. From the Norwegian 'blackjazz' of Shining and the brass-laden mentalism of Japanese legends Sigh, all the way to the cinematic excess of the mighty Rotting Christ and the carnival of madness that is our cover stars Finntroll – a band more interested in charting their own course through the annals of Finnish black metal than hooking their longship to trend or hype – b lack metal now is less about frost-covered forests and more about fireworks to the face.
We examine the roots of metalcore, trudging into the dark and oft-forgotten world of misanthropic genre pioneers Integrity, the accidental crossover brilliance of the Cro-Mags and the genre's assault on the metal mainstream, earning it the ire of metalheads and hardcore kids alike.
Shedding blood, patience and tears in pursuit of metal's most talked about topics, we hit the road with reactivated sludge gods EyeHateGod, get the skinny on the unlikely collaboration between King Ov Hell (ex of Gorgoroth) and Shagrath (Dimmu Borgir), uncover the eagerly awaited new album from British doom institution Cathedral and more besides.
As if that wasn't enough, we proudly lauch Sick Sounds, the world's first magazine for extreme metal musicians with a sixteen page teaser free inside this issue. Shred like Testament, record like Russ Russell and uncover the secrets of Sleep.
PLEASE NOTE THE COVERMOUNT CD IS NOT INCLUDED.
At the dawn of 2010, black metal has lost its collective mind in a big way. From the Norwegian 'blackjazz' of Shining and the brass-laden mentalism of Japanese legends Sigh, all the way to the cinematic excess of the mighty Rotting Christ and the carnival of madness that is our cover stars Finntroll – a band more interested in charting their own course through the annals of Finnish black metal than hooking their longship to trend or hype – b lack metal now is less about frost-covered forests and more about fireworks to the face.
We examine the roots of metalcore, trudging into the dark and oft-forgotten world of misanthropic genre pioneers Integrity, the accidental crossover brilliance of the Cro-Mags and the genre's assault on the metal mainstream, earning it the ire of metalheads and hardcore kids alike.
Shedding blood, patience and tears in pursuit of metal's most talked about topics, we hit the road with reactivated sludge gods EyeHateGod, get the skinny on the unlikely collaboration between King Ov Hell (ex of Gorgoroth) and Shagrath (Dimmu Borgir), uncover the eagerly awaited new album from British doom institution Cathedral and more besides.
As if that wasn't enough, we proudly lauch Sick Sounds, the world's first magazine for extreme metal musicians with a sixteen page teaser free inside this issue. Shred like Testament, record like Russ Russell and uncover the secrets of Sleep.
PLEASE NOTE THE COVERMOUNT CD IS NOT INCLUDED.