Disfear is a Swedish heavy metal/crust punk supergroup. The band, which has been active off and on since the early ’90s, includes members of At The Gates and Entombed. Their most recent release was the 2008 masterpiece Live the Storm, which was produced and engineered by Converge mastermind Kurt Ballou.

Akani is an international supergroup of sorts. The band’s lineup has, at various times, included members of legendary New York hardcore band Merauder, as well as a plethora of Swedish death metal institutions such as At The Gates, Entombed, and Soilwork.

Their debut full-length album, Through My Darkest Infernal, was released this past Friday, July 15, 2016 and is a blistering slice of metallic hardcore. I strongly recommend checking it out. Here’s a sample to get you started. This is the official video for the track “I Won’t Run.” Enjoy and be sure to pick up a copy of the record if you like what you’re hearing.

On October 24th and 25, 2015, my 12-year-old son Jesse and I made our second annual pilgrimage to Slipknot’s giant, weekend-long heavy metal festival Knotfest. The event once again took place at San Manuel Amphitheater at Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino, California. This is a recap of our experiences on Saturday, October 24.

The event actually kicks off on Friday night with a show just for those who are fortunate enough to be holding camping or VIP passes. We were not among those folks, so we missed out on Sepultura, The Faceless, and several others. A bit of a bummer, but nothing compared to the gut-wrenching decisions that we would have to make later in the weekend with so many quality bands performing opposite each other on the side stages (more on that in a few…).

At the conclusion of last year’s edition of Knotfest, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor promised the crowd that the weekend-long metal festival would be returning to San Bernadino, CA again this year. Well, it seems Taylor is a man of his word because it has been announced that the massive and eclectic production will, in fact, once again invade the grounds of the San Manuel Amphitheater and Glen Helen Regional Park October 23rd-25th.

Friday, October 23rd will once again have a small show exclusively for those purchasing 3-day camping passes. The lineup for this night has yet to be announced. However, the Saturday and Sunday lineups have been mostly announced and they do not disappoint! Details here below.

When we left off with the first part of my review of this show day, my 12-year-old son Jesse and I had just finished meeting At The Gates at their in-store appearance at Vacation Vinyl on Sunset Boulevard before their headlining gig at The Wiltern Theater with Converge, Pallbearer, and Vallenfyre.

It was nearly 5:30PM when we left Vacation and Vallenfyre was to go on first at 7:00PM sharp, so we figured we’d grab some grub at the Denny’s next door before heading on in to the venue. After acquiring said sustenance, we walked next door under the marquee of the gorgeous landmark Wiltern Theater, cleared security, and headed inside with 10 minutes to spare before the show began. Just enough time for a stop by the merch booth to check out the wares. I have to say that I was heavily impressed that every t-shirt from all 4 bands was priced at $20, no more, no less. Converge had so many amazing-looking designs that it was hard to pick one! There were of course pricier items like a really cool At The Gates hoodie featuring the artwork from their new album At War With Reality for $40 as well as some cheaper items such as hats and posters.

The Haunted is a long-running Swedish heavy metal supergroup. The band has had a revolving lineup throughout its career with the only consistent member being rhythm guitarist Patrik Jensen. Several members of The Haunted throughout the years have also been members of Swedish melodic death metal pioneers At The Gates. Currently the rhythm section of drummer Adrian Erlandsson and bassist Jonas Björler split their time between both bands.

Today’s Massive Metal Monday track is titled “Eye of The Storm” and comes from The Haunted’s eighth studio album, 2014’s Exit Wounds. Check out the official video for the song here below.

When At The Gates announced that they were working on their first album in nearly two decades, hardcore fans such as myself were both excited and a bit apprehensive. They had, after all, gone out on a high note with their 1995 masterpiece Slaughter of the Soul. So imagine our collective sigh of relief when At War With Reality was released in late October of last year and picked up right where its predecessor had left off. The album was so amazing, in fact, that it ended up tied for the number one spot on my Best Metal Albums of 2014 list. Adding to that rush of excitement, it was announced not long after the album’s release that the band would be touring North America in the Spring of 2015 headlining the Decibel Magazine Tour and they would be bringing along three of the most kick-ass bands on the planet to boot. At The Gates, Converge, Pallbearer and Vallenfyre all on the same bill? The wait until March would surely kill me!

Well metalheads, that time of the year has come around again. And whether you’re rockin’ under the mistletoe while headbanging to Twisted Sister’s Heavy Metal Christmas, or whether you’re holed up in a basement listening to Venom’s Black X-Mas, there’s probably a metalhead on your Christmas list who is expecting something other than coal in their stocking.

Well, never fear oh ye holiday headbangers. Geeks of Doom is kind of enough to supply you with the quintessential list of seasonal must-haves for the metal mavens.

Swedish melodic death metal pioneers At The Gates are riding high on the critical and commercial success of their astoundingly great comeback record At War With Reality. The record is the first offing from the band in 19 years and is an instant classic that fits seamlessly with the band’s already legendary back catalog. At War With Reality is among the very finest records, in any genre, released in 2014.

Now, the band have released an animated video for the second single from album “Heroes & Tombs.” Watch it here below.

At The Gates
At War With Reality
CD | MP3 | Vinyl
Century Media Records
Release date: October 27, 2014

At The Gates‘ 1995 album Slaughter of the Soul is considered by many experts to be one of the most pivotal moments in death metal history. Decibel Magazine went so far as to label it “the most influential death metal album of the next decade.” That recording, despite being the band’s fourth release, is among the very first to feature the sound that would come to be known as melodic death metal or “the Gothenburg sound,” a reference to the city in Sweden that spawned At The Gates and their equally influential contemporaries, In Flames.

It is also a record that most thought would serve as At The Gates’ epitaph. In 1996, only a year after its release, the band split acrimoniously when brothers Anders (guitar) and Jonas Bjorler (bass) decided to leave and form The Haunted. The rest of the band resented them for leaving at the height of their success, but decided that At The Gates could not continue without them.