I may be a little late to the burgeoning party, but sweet merciful fuck, am I glad to see the rally of support behind Bill Ward.

Prior to the release of their debut ‘The Rot of the World’, the live ‘Mind Over Metal’ broadcast is invaded by Kevin Savage, TJ Maynard, and Matt St. Gelais of Alive & Well. Not only do we have in-depth interview action, but also special tracks chosen from At the Gates, Carcass, Amon Amarth, Hope Conspiracy, Crowbar, Living Sacrifice, Alice in Chains, Meshuggah, Danzig, Pantera, and Shai Hulud.

Neige is the mind behind Alcest—a French band birthed in black metal, but whose wings have broadened beyond its fledgeling origins. Read about the personal vessel that is Alcest, how significant is nostalgia through his creation, and the development of ‘Les Voyages de l’Âme’.

As Metal Director/DJ at WRUV, plus owner of this website, I get sent a metric shit ton of new music every year. I was once able to house my entire MP3 collection on a 160 GB iPod Classic, but as the inevitable digital shift progressed, my virtual library grew exponentially.

Yeah, that’s a bald-faced lie… but everything else in this interview is wicked sincere. Through harrowing tribulation and self-discovery, Selim feels his work now serves a higher purpose. Read about this evolution, the doctrines of Satanism that interest him, what it means to express himself through music, and true feelings about egocentrism and occult rock poseurs.

So Cole and Brad got my gears turning, but then I remembered—as annoying as the mushrooming chthonic categories and subterranean subgenres can be, they’re often necessary.

Cole not only hits us with his Top 10, but also includes reviews of All Pigs Must Die ‘God is War’ and Textures ‘Dualism’.

Willie’s rundown actually has a few great titles we never fully reviewed, plus a little PS with honorable mentions and non-Metal favorites.

The Breath of Mozym utters his infernal list for the tenebrous masses.

There are 53 bands represented, with 39 receiving short recaps of 21 words or less, in 12 different groupings.