Devil's Horns Zine

  Wicked Sisters- Wired_ Backwards (and a remix EP also!) and sensational interview.  FFO: Industrial gold-Ministry,Skinny Puppy, NIN etc to harsh noise brilliance and varied heaviness in the flavour of Napalm Death/Godflesh and even some Doom and gothic sprinklings. Every year I come across many bands, but Wicked Sisters is definitely one of my favourites. The key reason is that too many bands mirror musical trends and emulation is so flawed with danger. The danger is in terms of being dull washed-out versions of already generic bland expressionists.  Hate to rant, however, music needs to be an unequivocal spark from a creative place. It should drip in passion and push back against the musical norms. Otherwise, just make general-purpose music, please!.  Wicked Sisters are an intense act from Sydney who has changed from a more gothic and early NIN style to a much more abrasive soundscape. There is hard, noisy electronic sounds, but alluringly combined with frentic in...

 Bump In Sauce Co. review...Sauce from Hell, Hell Yes!!!. FFO: Hot Sauce, Metal and Food brutality.  Brad and Dysie are the rad dudes that run Soundworks Touring and bring out heavy as fuck bands to our shores, year after year. They constantly surprise us with their lineups and the artists always give props to how well these fuckers run such amazing shows and look after them. Both of these metalheads are food lovers, as opposed to foodie wankers, and they combined their two loves to launch Bump In Sauce Co. a few years back. And like killer bands dropping endless solid albums, the boy's range of sauces is pure old school brutality in a bottle. And no, I am not talking Tequilla, I am talking hot sauce and damn good ones. I had ordered their first sauce; the classic 457 Creeper sauce and it delivered like a sea of sick guitar riffs. It has enough punch like a decent Thai chilli based curry and is a beast on any type of food from vegies to burgers. It's a staple for a reason and ...

  Hatebreed-Weight of the False Self album review. FFO: Hardcore, modern metal and motivation. Hatebreed is a classic hardcore/metal force for ages and with reason. They always deliver with the hardarse riffs and breakdowns and damn motivating lyrics. Indeed their initial two albums were certified classics and although they have definitely added more metal to the mix since The Rise of Brutality dropped, the epic heavy tone of each album has been impressive. Personally, I think a few albums in the middle period were way too similar riff and lyric-wise, but that's cool. Think of Motorhead, not exactly a fuckload of variation over their entire recording existence. But no wanky genre change or move to be popular, but truckloads of gnarly music. 2016's Concrete Confessional was an excellent album and my fave since their last great album which for me was Supremacy . Concrete also had some slight musical changes adding to the solid and basic Hatebreed formula and Weight of the False...

  Scour-Black EP review. FFO: Raw, abrasive blackened extreme metal that punches hard. I will confess I am no fan of Pantera. I get their place in metal history, but I never dug them remotely. Phil certainly has made his share of well documented idiotic statements( google youtube, it's all there), but I always thought Down were tons better than Pantera offerings. But his best band is Scour, call it a supergroup, call it a project but the combination of players from well-established kick-arse bands forms a solid unit that delivers incredible music with each EP. But this is my fave. It's just nasty black metal mixed with elements of hardcore/crust/grindcore. And these six tracks are all rippers. You couldn't pick that this is made up of metal superstars. I love how vocally and sonically this is just so hectic. No bullshit raw metal with broad influences that slay. Most tracks are damn fast, but with sensational tempo changes and tangents that keep you thrashing away. There ar...

  My Dying Bride-Macabre Cabaret EP review. FFO: Doomy, gothic infused metal and riffs!!!. My Dying Bride has been around forever and their last album The Ghost Of Orion had some great tunes and although very over the top, this band excels at their genre. Generally, their releases are a bit overlong for my taste and I find this genre a bit too melodramatic. But then again my main love is always extreme metal and hardcore. However, I damn enjoyed this release as it had a more morbid tone and the grimness excelled in its atmospheric darkness. Also, the riffs and rolling rhythms dominated this release. Definitely a great background EP, and it definitely grows on you. The title track is ten minutes of heavy doom ridden adventure that is almost like a mini-movie. Very soundtrack-like and less domination of the vocals. That said the vocals are deep and haunting, yet evil as fuck. This leads into the second track, A Secret Kiss which takes the gloom of the opener and suffocates you in maj...

  Sangre De Otros Mundos by Acid Mess. A review of a trippy, fuzzy glorious album with flavour and depth. FFO: psychedelic, stoner, prog, heavy magic.  We should have a broad selection of music to dip in and out of. Me personally my fave genres are punk/hardcore and metal. But do I listen to these soundscapes strictly, no way!. I often listen to reggae, chillout music as well as indie pop. These differences inform and colour your musical world and the spaces between. I have to declare I adore this album. It is not trendy or one that aims to be cool. It simply is exceptional music that has overtones from mostly old style subgenres. And done extremely well by clever and skilled artists. The whole album is full of guitar wigouts and the nostalagic worship is done by people obviously utterly into the style. It's really fantastic to see bands embrace old genres and make them pop. There are jazzy moments, hard rock crackers and almost reflective free form musical gems all over this ...

  Insidious Disease: After Death album review. FFO: Pacey, clever death metal with buckets of thrash and head nods to every great extreme metal band of quality. Yes, this album dropped the last month, but I need to raise your attention to it. If you are a fan of an Entombed style riffs and skin-peeling, gritty vocals you will enjoy this. It's 43 mins of the shit proper metal heads adore. Definitely not an album of versatile or diverse style, just a knucklehead of a release. Nothing new, but has all the bits you want. I am kinda swept away by the foreplay us metalheads need, a catchy intro, pace with nice technique and epic riffs. The slow, well mid-paced tracks are equally sick as well. By no means a classic release, but it rages and goes hard. Indeed the band has an all-star cast from well known bands, but I don't care about names. I need the tracks that lodge in my head and this album have tons of them. I reckon the band would be amazing live as well. https://www.nuclearblast...

  DÖ– Black Hole Mass EP Review. FFO: Doom metal, with tasty riffs and an accomplished celebration of all that is metal!!!. If you recall in Sept 2019, I said this band's last album was the best doom/stoner metal release of the last ten years and I stand by that statement. So, of course, I wet my pants to hear this Helsinki tour de force was dropping a new EP. The question you may ponder is; is it as good as Astral Death Cult?. Can I get a Hell fucking yes in the house, it takes that winning formula and adds even more colour and depth and at the same time is abrasive as hell. Whilst the band now has a new guitarist, the only thing that has changed is they seem even better at their work and they would slaughter live, without a doubt.  I am not keen to quote artist's press releases, but this snippet illustrates the underpinning for this sensational release.  " the first release with the new guitarist Teröid, has a theme of dark cosmic mass that praises the almighty astral f...

  Haut et Court (album review)- FOREST IN BLOOD (1054 records). FFO: Proper hardcore with power and aggression.  Forest in Blood is a heavy as fuck hardcore band from Paris, France. This solid band has been at it since 1998 and have several respectable, yet not remarkable albums prior to this release. I don't mean this in a disparaging way, just there is certainly a difference between hardcore that is decent and albums that really grab your attention. Haut et Cout is the latter in a major way. This band just has the power, the riffs and dare I say it the passion. Every track has that edge over its competitors, it may be a higher level guitar skill or vocal technique, but this band has mastered their craft perfectly. This album also indicates an act that is comfortable playing live, given the tightness of the album in view of raging tempo and changes in most tracks. This band know their shit and we benefit from it with this incredibly hectic and punchy album. From the instant t...

  Benediction UK Death Metal legends interview with Darren and Scriptures album review. Benediction is a legendary Death Metal band from Birmingham, England that has been kicking arse since 1989. Always unrelenting in their riffs and intent, famous for not only being Barney Greenway's old band but more so for their own merits in classic albums like Subconscious Terror (1990) and The Grand Leveller (1991) to name but two rippers. When I got the chance to chat to the top bloke that is Darren; who has been there since the band's inception, I jumped at the chance. Daz was an utterly down to earth chap who is passionate about this band, he shared his thoughts on the new album, the band as a whole and even had some party tales about Lemmy. Quality chat enjoy!!! Benediction-Scriptures album review. FFO: Nasty and brutal Old School Death Metal, no mess, no fuss. Old School Death Metal just has a massive edge over the modern artists that cannot be explained. There seems to be a raw swag...

  El Lobo En Tu Puerta-Australian premiere of Santana Bendita album. FFO: Epic, fuzzy, riffy quality rock that is heavy as fuck!!!. Today we are lucky to be part of the exclusive premiere of this killer new album from Spain's magnificently heavy El Lobo En Tu Puerta. Turn this album up loud and blast those speakers and headphones!!! Here's the link: https://soundcloud.com/spinda-records/sets/el-lobo-en-tu-puerta-santana-bendita/s-VXQRcMzJnyX 'Santana Bendita' is a place full of lonely hearts. 'Santana Bendita' is the refuge for lost chances, where memories of black smoke and melancholy get trapped. We all live in 'Santana Bendita' - it's everywhere but you still don't know. Three years after El Lobo En Tu Puerta's last full-length 'Bestias del Sur Salvaje' and two years after the EP 'Guantánamo', the Spanish power trio is back with 'Santana Bendita', a new album which is a huge step in the career of the band, leaving a...

  Lái-Pontianak album review. FFO: Raging, raw crushing D-Beat of the highest order. Australia has a fantastic history of anarchist and D-Beat punk/hardcore. Lái represents the new breed that deeply reps the old school, with modern production, but most importantly a firm foundation in addressing and/or confronting relevant sociopolitical issues; be it feminism, religion, questioning the govt, sexual rights and racism. This striking album is refreshing because it harnesses the aggro of classic Swedish style D-Beat and instead of endless cookie-cutter songs that often plagues this genre it's punching above its weight by adding diversity to each track. Some tracks like Telak Tiga recall the punk magic of bands like Tutti Parze, whilst others like Red Umbrella are an utter rollercoaster of crazed greatness reminiscent of Rudimentary Peni. Other killer tunes like The Tower tilt their hat towards my favourite tunes by crust hardcore legends Nausea or Antischism. There is simply n...

  Primeval-Venom Prison album review. FFO: Intense, searing hardcore influenced death metal that crushes in every way. Venom Prison is quite simply one of the best metal bands on the globe at the present moment in time. The evidence of this is very clear; every release has been exceptionally solid and this band lifts every song to hellish proportions live. The assertive tone of their music is sublime and completely based on the basics of a top tier band; amazing song structure, timeless guitar riffs/solos, insightful lyrics and gripping vocal style. And this band always builds on with each subsequent release, both EP's were staggering and far from some of the amateur fodder some bands present as initial tasters to their band.  Then we had the staggering beast that was the first album Animus which was astounding in its brutal intent. Add some wondrous videos to match this release and many people were committed for life to this band. Then Samsara dropped last year and again thi...

  KATAKLYSM-UNCONQUERED album review. FFO: Sick arse, dynamic Death Metal with groove. What a beast of an album, the thing that has always got me in deep with this band and this album big time, is the sensational vocal range and the groove of this album. The weird thing is sometimes the riffs sound like some Nu-Metal like Slipknot or even FFS Korn, but it so works. You got hooked into a mad groove and then get run over by six trucks...case in point the track Defiant. There are multiple musical changes in every track and it is a massive monument to how skilled these fuckers are at their craft. The influences run deep throughout this album, you have some melodic stuff combined with some insane old school death metal and as mentioned even Nu-Metal style riff work. Like I said a real beast of a release. Spin this once and you'll be hooked. Overall the production was glorious and a perfect match for this band. 14 albums in and this band are still gripping and never dull. Watch this: htt...

 HEATHEN-Empire of the blind album review. FFO: Thrashy greatness, Anthrax, Exodus. The vocals are searing, the riffs are like blades and the momentum is thrilling. Plus this album makes me wanna bang my head off straight away. This takes me back to a time when you heard a track on a public radio station and wanted to rewind your shitty tape back again, again and again. Heathen has been kicking since the early '80s but never got the credit they should have. I mean their peak albums and definitely this release is as fierce as the best Exodus, Testament and Anthrax releases. I loved that each track was diverse to the previous, but as a whole, this album is a rager. Classic and epic thrash at it's very best. Vocals are sublime, enough aggro and melody to balance out sick arse riffs and well-written songs. It's out now and it's a beast. Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFgMLSSKmOQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX1TbhGIBdc Grab the record here: https://www.n...

Napalm Death- Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism album review. FFO: Creative, crushing hardcore punk with the brutality of extreme metal. Napalm Death is an extreme music force that has consistently created and influenced so many bands and genres. Always political and with their fingers very clearly on the pulse sonically and topical.  Album number 16 is a cracker and continues the vitriol that Apex Predator-Easy meat dropped from it's every pore. Except again and which is a very ND trait with some new variation and twists. The drums are punishing, the bass lines dominate every track, the riffs peel your fucking skin back and vocally Barney hyperextends himself in new depths. The well-constructed wordplay in both song titles and lyrics are as magnificent as always. Rather than go thru every track and believe me every track fits well into the album as a coherent whole and it flows exceptionally well; this writer will cast my looking glass over the tracks I personally raise the v...

Sanctioned has achieved cult-like status for a band that has only played about ten shows. But their aggressive intent is so damn clear, this is a band who grabs you around the throat and demands your attention with their hectic grind/crust roundhouse kick to the face. The artisan like skillsets of each member is very apparent from being in so many seminal bands and this shows it's brilliance in both solid songwriting ability and being killer live performers. The band has recorded their debut album Annexation which should drop in November. And you know already, it will be a certified classic. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the harsh, erosive and momentous metal force that is Sanctioned. Sanctioned interview with PaulyDog and Jay. Sanctioned comes with some heavyweight Melbourne extreme music legends in its foundations; give us the history of this epic old school grindcore battalion, keen to hear how the band come about and also for those sleeping under a rock, your member...