The included list of bands are an alphabetical order by band name rather than order of appearance, either on the live show or on my list posted here on MindOverMetal.org… guess you’ll need to listen and/or read up to find out!

I thought continuing the top 13 was a good way to go, but for every album I thought of, a parallel arose. So the list turned out as it did (with top slots held by bands found on few metallic year-end lists). Plus more stuff came to mind in the process—perhaps categories will be in order next year.

Unholy freakin’ awesome tour! Trap Them with Every Time I Die and HowL. Seriously. I wish they were coming closer than five hours away from BTV! Besides that, get details on their new creation, We Craft In Darkness (best blog name I’ve heard this year).

Another raw phone interview until I can get transcribers! This was supposed to be with Vince, but he couldn’t make it, so I got to speak with Timmy from HowL. They are one of the best damned bands coming out of Providence, RI these days and their new album, “Full of Hell” has answered in fine form to their eponymous debut EP. I was glad to speak with another member of the band, as Vince called in live to ‘Mind Over Metal’ when their last album dropped. This time, Timmy and I delve more into lyrical content, religious (un)beliefs, ethos, and movies with “labyrinth” in the title.

Rating: 4.5/5

The last thing this Rhode Island foursome leaves you with on their debut full-length is the charge “may everything dirty win”. HowL’s followup to their eponymous 2009 EP does just that. ‘Full of Hell’ is a gloriously ugly massacre, clouded with rage, clogged with resin, clawing through bodies of the fallen.

New Orleans, Louisiana sludge metal icons EYEHATEGOD are proud to announce their long-anticipated US tour beginning in June following an appearances at this year’s edition of the Maryland Deathfest

JAVELINA have left their Philly battlegrounds and are currently plowing southward.

Blackened thrash titans, SKELETONWITCH, swing back into action as they kick off a run of headline shows, in Boston MA. HOWL and IRON AGE support on all the dates, with DOOMRIDERS and BLACK TUSK appearing on select dates. In April, the band will head out on a North American tour supporting the legendary CANNIBAL CORPSE, alongside new label mates in 1349 and South Carolina’s Lecherous Nocturne, including a stop at New England Metal and Hardcore Fest on April 24th.

Howl – Howl released July 21, 2009 on Relapse This is the music you would create if you got High On Fire ripping bingers from a Bongzilla and satiated the munchies with Soilent Green. Dredging dirge after dirge from a swampy black mire somewhere in the nether regions of Rhode Island(?!), they scrape off the crusty decomposition from their found artifacts and forge something fine enough for a Baroness, yet filthy enough for a Goatwhore. With a full length on the horizon and so much promise already, the ravenous masses will undoubtably be baying until the release. Until then, [...read more]

Solid live interview with Vincent of HowL, an amazing new Rhode Island band, who just signed with Relapse Records and have released a killer eponymous EP. Hear about the band’s origins, the process of pinning down their brand of heavy, Vincent’s music background, a taste of their debut, and news of what’s to come.