Devil's Horns Zine

A Brummie Legend, The Commonwealth Games & More: Here’s What Tony Iommi’s Been Up To Recently M H Thomson August 23rd 2022 I have been a Black Sabbath and therefore a Tony Iommi fan since I was a child, my father’s two extremely well-worn vinyl copies of Vol. 4 being a fixture on the turntable in my youth. As such I have always had a keen interest in what he and his former bandmates get up to these days. But a performance at the opening ceremony of this year's Commonwealth Games was not something I anticipated. Perhaps it’s due to Heavy Metal’s long-maligned position in popular culture. As much as it seems obvious to a metalhead like me that Iommi should be extended the honour of appearing at such an event, I never expected it. It does make sense after all, as the Games this time around were held in Black Sabbath’s native stomping ground, the Midlands capital of Birmingham.  Entering and remaining stage left, adorned in his trademark leather duster jacket and a g...

  Beyond Belief-S/T EP review By Mark Jenkins. FFO: Brutal Beatdown masterpiece. This was a cool unexpected surprise, but not really given the pedigree of 1054 records.  BIO: BEYOND BELIEF is a 3-piece collaboration band made up of UK & US-based members bringing the sounds of Brutal Slam with a touch of Death Metal, crushing Beatdown breaks & even a hint of Hip Hop !!! This debut self-titled EP is a strictly limited edition of 100 x digipack CD's so get in quick before they disappear !! Vocals - Dave Sativa (US) Vocals, Bass & Drums - Mdvh (UK) Guitar - Matt Samford (UK) This solid EP is excellent from start to end, it just hammers hard with its mad beatdown/slam hardcore intensity. Pig growls, mad samples, machinegun guitar-work and utter warlike drumming from hell all make up this killer project. No second is wasted on this at all. For something so savage it's a well-thought-out release with clever interludes and outro to make it almost storylike; in a macabre ho...

  Dogz of War-Judgment album review  by Mark Jenkins.  FFO: Amazing tough as nails metallic hardcore of the highest order. Fuck yes, not only have these legends released a new album after 20 years plus, but Judgment is an abrasive, clever and exceptional release. And easily their best release. And that's a massive call as I rate their debut Undisputed as a stone-cold hardcore classic. This is an impressive and catchy as hell album. BIO: After nearly 20 long years Detroit-based Hardcore legends DOGZ OF WAR are back with a brand new album. "JUDGMENT" has been in the works for years & brothers Enzo D & Jake Bulldog finally decided it was time to record & release this killer album. They recently signed to hardcore powerhouse 1054 Records and this sits perfectly as part of Detroit Hardcore history. Having originally formed back in 1996 & with all the members have been in & around all the OG Detroit Hardcore heavyweight bands such as COLD AS LIFE...

With the Rats and Snakes and a Touch of Snake Oil: A Primitive EP Review: By M H Thomson August 11th 2022 Groovecore, if it's a genre at all, is a relatively uncommon one, blending the Groove Metal sensibilities of Lamb of God, DevilDriver, and Pantera with the modern Metalcore stylings of Parkway Drive, August Burns Red, and the like. The only time I regularly refer to this moniker is when describing the swing of the Flemish outfit Spoil Engine to people. Primitive’s sound promises and well and truly delivers on living up to this genre’s title. It all certainly sounds the part, however, the results of their most recent endeavor in the recording studio (an EP called “With the Rats and Snakes”) regrettably leave a bit to be desired.  The short intro song “Curse” that opens the release consists of a foreboding acoustic guitar melody that steadily builds to a crescendo of white noise. The eerie, almost medieval tone the band was clearly shooting for was lost somewhat when...

  Brace-The Collapse album review. FFO: all your industrial metal dreams. By Mark Jenkins.  This is a classic and where so many have broadly failed at meeting the goal of grim and crushing Industrial Metal, this succeeds and also adds its own flair to that style. Stuart Callinan is a highly skilled musician who has played in bands like Picture the End, Deez Nuts and Sylvan Awe; so that in itself exhibits a broad palette of experience. But this is very different from those solid bands, this is Brace. And this is dark, grim, cold-hearted Industrial perfection in the vein of Godflesh, Killing Joke, Pitchshifter etc. This is done efficiently, the production is spot on and it walks an intriguing line between heaviness and atmosphere. The tone is tough as nails but drips with emotion. In short,  The Collapse is a mechanical paradise. Straight up, I will confess I am a huge fanboy of this genre; but in the industrial playground, my deep devotion is bands like Godflesh, Pitchshi...

  Soulfly-Totem. FFO: Intelligent and Hectic Death/Thrash Metal. By Mark Jenkins. This album is sensational, we all know the fucking pedigree of this band and their history; blah blah blah. But if you are a fan of Max's various amazing works; you will love this release. It still has the primitive vibes that come with every Soulfly album, but this album rips. And mostly because it finally has the sheer hectic pace of the old Sepultura albums. This is killer!!! This really is solid as it has the old-school death metal vibe mixed with thrash of its peak era. It has killer guests from both Power Trip and Obituary. But the key here is it is an aggressive, raging and extremely pissed-off album. The tribal vibe is definitely not as prominent, but fuck me this will be sensational live as this is classic groove-based thrash with some cool death metal influence. Superstition is one hell of an opener and it grabs your attention so readily. The real ragers are most of the album, but I'll ...

  Psycroptic-Divine Council album review by M.Jenkins. FFO: Nasty and accomplished Tech Death. Psycroptic is definitely Australia's kings of Tech-Death Metal and has dropped some awesome releases, but I always felt the live translation is always much better. That's no slight, it's just they are a major force live and have gripping performances. Divine Council is yet another solid release for their fine catalogue. I feel this album is the band slightly maturing and breathing more with some added flavours that are different and intriguing. The basis of this band and its foundation is aggressive tech-death with complex flow and punishing tone. This album sees them add some additional vocals and orchestral-like samples. Now with some songs, this works well, but not always. But unlike other albums, you need to listen to this album a few times to resonate with it. But rest assured the throat-grabbing songs are there to pacify your love for the main type of audio abuse you'd ...

Dissecting The Great Heathen Army: An Amon Amarth Album Breakdown By M H Thomson August 4th, 2022 Unable to properly tour in support of their previous effort 2019’s Berserker due to the pandemic, Viking metal legends Amon Amarth have recently been busying themselves with creating what is yet another astonishing record The Great Heathen Army . The record is a rich, brutal and melodic mixture of the band’s signature brand of Melodic Death Metal. Jam-packed with all the tricks and tropes we’ve come to love and the band has come to perfect over the years. With perhaps the only notable omission being “Put Your Back Into The Oar” , a monstrous number they released (as what is now evidently a stand-alone single) back in February. The record is a first for the band, as it is the first of their records that the band actually appears on the cover of. This change has not diminished the power of the imagery one iota. Amon Amarth usually opt for a painting visualising the title of the record, and t...