"Hirax - Raging Violence

Retro Recommendation: Hirax - Raging Violence

Every Friday I turn the blog over to Dan Marsicano for his Retro Recommendation, giving you a chance to learn about underrated and overlooked gems from metal's past. This week, Hirax are in the spotlight. They were one of the early crossover thrash bands, and are still around today, with a new album set to be released soon. Their 1985 debut Raging Violence is this week's Retro Recommendation.

"Album Review: GWAR Battle Maximus

Album Review: GWAR Battle Maximus

When they landed on this planet in the 80's, no one knew what history would tell about the interstellar group of misfits know to humans only as Gwar. With the objective to make the human race submit to their mastery, Gwar proceeded to discover crack cocaine and metal music, the combination that fueled their rocket ...

"August 2013 Best Heavy Metal Albums

August 2013 Best Heavy Metal Albums

After the year got off to a strong start, the summer months have seen a weaker crop of metal releases. August only had two new releases that we rated as 4.5 out of 5 stars, considerably fewer than a typical month. But even though the depth wasn't there, there were still several quality releases in August, especially from Norma Jean, who topped our monthly list.