Devil's Horns Zine

Black Trillium-The Fatal Shore album review. If you thought 2019 was a decent year for music, you can forget that; as 2020 is shaping up as a deeply sensational year in terms of phenomenal musical releases. Black Trillium is one of the artists shaping our year with the flawless and bloodthirsty opus that is The Fatal Shore. Background: Black Trillium is a dark & deeply creative death/doom metal act from Sydney that have been brewing up raw, emotive, and incredibly dynamic sonic offerings since 2010. While it’s been a while since we’ve heard from the duo, with 2020 marking 10 years for the band. This voluminous force is a death/doom metal collaboration between Simon Skipper (guitar, vocals) and Zachary Carlsson (vocals, bass), formed from their mutual interest in the brooding aesthetics and darkest aspects of the metal genre. It is predominantly a studio-based project, but critics and fans alike will beg this to be a live band once hearing this masterpiece. What is go...

Interview with Vader's James Stewart. Brutal, pulverizing, and annihilating is how many describe the wrath of Poland's Death Metal kings, Vader . Since 1983, this is a band that take absolutely no prisoners and each release has strongly reinforced that fact. Very soon they drop their sensational new album Solitude in Madness and it is one of their finest. We chatted with James, their drummer about the new album, the new production adventures, how the band has evolved, passion for music, and the changes in the music industry. He had plenty to say and it's well worth your time(and let's be honest most people have excess time at the moment due to COVID-19), so throw on your headphones to get the back story before the new album drops later this week. James is one wise and switched on musician and this album is one that will definitely surprise you with its complexity and brutality. Enjoy!!. Album pre-order here: New Vader album

Endless Bore-Treatment Resistant album review. The wait is over and Endless Bore has delivered an outstandingly chunky and corrosive sophomore release. Treatment Resistant (killer album name and art yet again) takes the original hostile formula and amps everything up in an exhilarating fashion. But the thrilling clincher is they add some remarkable elements that really define the EB sound. Opener Hostile Architecture is a case study to illustrate this, a sneaky almost bluesy portion of the track sounds like the band has necked some serious downers, and then it throws acid in your face with searing riffs and acidic raw vocals. What the band has gained is a sweetly dark sludge/doom element that works utterly in sync with the unhinged aggression of the band's core-fast, frantic hardcore with absolutely no bullshit, no bells and whistles-just truckloads of audio violence. And personally, I was absolutely smitten with their first album, so this is a treat to hear the progression i...

Rosy Finch-Scarlet album review. You look at this album art and ponder if this is a modern soundtrack to a remake of Stephen King's splendid 1976 horror classic. The intrigue will reveal itself when album opener Oxblood opens its jaws around your ears. Rosy Finch is a heavyweight sludge/grunge/doom influenced metal trio from Spain. And they are exceptional at what they deliver on this pulverizing album. Why you may ask is this so sensational; it blends together a few genres into a refreshingly original style that makes you feel like you need a bath. The tracks are so gritty, dirty and contaminated, it was utterly glorious to be punished by such a vitriolic album. Scarlet really fucks with your senses, the vocals are soaring but still captivating; then a pickaxe of riffs and pitiless screams assault you as you begin to feel comfortable. FFO: Melvins, L7, Lunachicks, Bikini Kill, Hole, and 90's alternative metal; but with biting and oppressive riffs. Prepared to be staggere...

Testament interview with Chuck. Gods of metal, this is such an easily thrown about phrase, but it's very accurate here. Why, because Slayer is dead, Anthrax is inactive and Metallica post-1988 are, well let's be honest total shit. And more seriously, Testament has never sold-out or rested on their laurels for a second. Always producing stunning albums and killing it on the stage, year after fucking year. A few weeks they dropped an album that slots perfectly in with all their classic albums, the magnificent Titans of Creation which we reviewed and praised highly. Great band, amazing albums and we had the chance to talk to their passionate and worldly and damn cool singer, Mr.Chuck Billy. We had a quality chat and he dropped knowledge on the new album, the challenges the band has had over their career, the music industry, and how he got into music and Testament's plans moving ahead of COVID-19. Well worth your time and he confirmed the band is extremely keen to play...

The Clinch-Basecamp album review. Ask yourself what is punk about? is it the comradery, the community, the shared ideals or the perfect landscape to be an individual. Only you can answer that, but here is the soundtrack to that ethos. What hooked me into this lifestyle was music that was energetic, honest, and hard-edged. The Clinch is one of those rare bands that absolutely kill it on stage and on the recorded format. This is perfect street-punk/Oi! with passion and skill. Like the cover art, it's ready to tip you on your arse. FFO: Blitz, Angelic Upstarts, The Business, and Cockney Rejects. This is incredible music that sounds like it was released when Garry Bushell was writing about the start of this genre, but with proper production (Jason Fuller of Goatsound). Basecamp is a right in your face classic album with amazingly well-written songs, ballzy lead vocals, and supreme gang-style backing vocals with all the gripping riffs you could ever need.  Every song of this ...

Frayle-1692 review. I will state this straight up this is a guaranteed album to be in the best of 2020's album list. It is a release that will stand the test of time and the depth and class of this release are unparalleled. So many great elements make up this band which is illustrated as Heavy Witch Doom; so basically a doomy band with sublime vocals with almost atmospheric gloom counteracted by brilliant indy undertones. And that's not capturing the whole picture by even 10%, you can only get a glimmer by playing this really loud and on repeat. You get lovely constructed epic songs that demand your attention, with sensational riffs and haunting melodies, all this and more for a debut album. The sludgy tone is as ear-shattering as Conan, but at the same time, you have shoegazy tones and influence that balances the whole album out perfectly. I adored everything about this album and would love to see this whole release live. It can be a party album, a solitude album, or a re...

Armoured Earth Interview. Last week we reviewed this killer band's sick EP Empire which is absolutely essential and heavy as hell. When we had the chance to interview this band, we jumped at it. Because post-COVID-19 this band is going to stomp your face on the live front. We chatted with Chaise, their guitarist, and really appreciated the detailed and well thought out answers. Sadly this is lacking in so many bands, Chaise was a real open book and that really fits in with the genuine spirit of this band. This band deserves the credit they are getting because they are clearly masters of their genre. Great band and passionate as hell. Armoured Earth interview with Chaise: 1-Give us the history of this hell heavy band and also how you come up with the name? Dave (drummer), Brendan (other guitarist) and I are good mates from high school growing up together in Mildura (North West Victoria).  We started the band a little while after moving down to Melbourne – somet...

Hornography metal compilation cd review. Hornography is a sick monthly metal night in Perth, Australia that gets amazing reviews and apparently it's an essential night if you are a heavy music fan with sick bands playing, drink specials and all the mayhem you could ever want. Once this pandemic chaos is over, I am definitely making the pilgrimage over to this night. On to the cd, well it's all fucking killer, it's like an epic two-day metal festival on one compilation. And with many subgenres of metal on one damn cd, it's an audio orgasm of a release. Over the fantastic 19 tracks, you get death metal, power metal, grindcore, industrial metal, thrash and everything in-between. I literally struggle to pick my faves off this cracker. But I will give props to some of my faves. Vanadium B.C. sounds straight up like one of my fave Aussie metal bands, Mortal Sin. Fuck yes!!!. One of the best grind bands around, Population Control, death metal legends Crypt Crawler and she...

Armoured Earth-Empire EP review. Damn, what an accomplished and super heavy release from a Melbourne band I had never heard previously. Those kinds of shocks are amazing, this is a band that sounds like they have toured worldwide in massive festivals and playing at stadiums to tens of thousands of fans. The music is confident and well written melodic metal of the highest order, it definitely has strong echoes of Lamb of God, System of a Down and Pantera. But with an original twist and all the killer guitar work and vocal gymnastics, you could want. Now, as readers know I am not a huge fan of any clean vocals, but it works so well for this band. Because of the fact it balances out stellar guitar work, heavy abrasive vocals, and sharp songwriting. I found myself playing all five tracks without skipping a track and then hitting repeat again. You will be really pleasantly surprised how skilled this band is and how fucking heavy the songs are. Excellent release. grab a copy here:...

Revulsion-Enough to Bleed album review. BDHW records release some rad band and some other bands I deem generic and dull. Solid dudes run the label, but for this reviewer, it's hit and miss for my ears. So I was fucking pleased as punch this month to hear a stellar release from NZ gods, Xile and these Scottish heavy masters, Revulsion. This is a high-grade hardcore band playing with shit loads of metal influences, yes there is sweet arse breakdowns, crushing vocal expertise that will raise your heartbeat to cardiac arrest mode and gritty guitar tones that shatter windows. Oh yes, my type of shit. Finally, there are bands that aren't trying to be edgy or on-trend that's right Code Orange or Knocked Loose wannabees-go and fucking die you boring, uninspiring cunts. We want heavy bands that crush and just do their jobs. Revulsion is masters at delivering brilliant, heavy hardcore with huge amounts of metal influence. Enough to bleed is an absolute beast, no weak tracks, and...

Puncture Wound-Complete Carnage of Coagulating Cacophonous Corpses album review. Sick arse, brutal Old School Death Metal. How long have we waited for such a complete and brutal as fuck death metal band like this. Well quite a few damn years to be honest, in fact not since Blood Duster. And does the absolute, but striking gory glorious beauty of the album cover reflect the extent of heavy shit that will blow your eardrums out....hell yes. This is ten tracks of peak-era death metal in the style of Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Deicide, and Massacre, etc. If you want limb ripping riffs, guttural vocal brilliance and the heaviest of the heaviest rhythm section, Queensland's Puncture Wound have it all here and more. Make no fucking mistake, this is one of Australia's best ever Death Metal albums released. Pick a number between 1 and 10, and any of these numbers will be a sick track from this release. No weak shit here, but well crafted, crushing death metal.  Out now on ...

Xile-I Am Your God album review. Beatdown and hardstyle hardcore generally annoys me; because IMHO it is generic, dull and reminds me nothing of what actual hardcore is. Bands like Xile and Honest Crooks luckily change this for me. This album may have been released a few weeks back, but it should be getting exceptional press as it is amazingly heavy and metallic. Everything is well written and forceful. When I read FFO.: NASTY, KNOCKED LOOSE, MALEVOLENCE, I was deeply concerned as Malevolence is the only band out of those three I can stand(in fact I think they are incredible) but there is none of that here. It's originally aggressive and immensely very metallic modern hardcore in the style of Fallbrawl and Desolated, but so much more gritty than both of these. Every track demands your attention and for a debut this is incredible. It's an album you will rotate heavily. New Zealand killing it as always, once this COVID-19 crap is over catch these boys live...they crush every...

Testament-Titans of Creation album review. Just get ready to bang your head until it falls off-this is epic thrash of the highest order. Reminds me of peak-era thrash like: OLD(fuck anything post-1988) Metallica, Exodus, Slayer, and Anthrax. Oh yes, cascading riffs, mental drums, and searing vox. So grab your mates, your fave beer or substance of choice and have big backyard mosh. This 13th album is a ripper, nothing staggeringly new here but straight-up thrash greatness; just frankly earsplitting loud production that really grabbed me. Every player does their job exceptionally well and all tracks are killer. But there are some awesome musical and vocal twists that will surprise you. Grab a copy asap. Out now on Nuclear Blast. https://www.nuclearblast.de/en/label/music/band/discography/details/6439244.71065.titans-of-creation.html

Get BEATEN, BENT, BROKEN AND BRUISED with Southpaw!!!- Driven Contempt EP review. First up, how sick is the cover art? Damn incredible and Aussie as fuck. But the music contained in this EP will blow you away. By far Southpaw's finest release, Driven Contempt showcases their musical progression in every possible way. The riffs are harder, the song structure is much more complex and Brent's vocals are absolutely skin-peeling. Not sure what has occurred in those four years since their last release, but these guys have been constructing some serious anger management tunes here.  Self-reflection and enduring the struggles of day to day life ring true across these furious five tracks. This EP reflects what true hardcore should be; excellent lyrics and hard-hitting tunes that grab your attention from the get-go. Production was fierce and as accurate as a throat punch. Every single tune is an utter gem here, but Bound to Break  is 100% the best Aussie hardcore track I have he...

Irist-Interview with Pablo (Guitar). Just last week dropped their amazingly heavy and crushing album Order of the Mind. It is phenomenal because it merges multiple genres into a sound that is unique to this band. There is melody, grim tone and just tons of heavy post-hardcore and straight-up brutal metal. To me, it's a band that sounds like a peak Sepultura and Dillinger Escape Plan in a fistfight with Fear Factory. If that doesn't sell this band, you must have rocks in your head. I had the chance to chat with Pablo, who was a great guy, knowledgeable as hell and very passionate about this amazing release. He chatted about the birth of the band, the album and how they are already writing tunes for the new album. Cannot wait to wish this band live one day!!!. Enjoy this chat: iTunes Link: https://music.apple.com/au/album/order-of-the-mind/1493434813 YouTube clips for online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYk7vOpLVgg https://www.youtube.com/wat...