Death-metal mavericks Autopsy have returned, clawing their way back from the grave after lying dormant for well over a decade. Sicko drummer/vocalist and all-around brain trust Chris Reiffert has reanimated his fellow psychopaths Danny Corrales (guitar) and Eric Cutler (guitar/vocals), adding new member John Trevisano (bass) to bring the shambling and putrid terror that is Autopsy back to turgid life for the new album MACABRE ETERNAL.

Massachusetts crushers Unearth have unveiled their new album, DARKNESS IN THE LIGHT, the fifth in their discography and a return to the more pummeling style of their seminal release thus far, 2004’s THE ONCOMING STORM. Shedding some of the metalcore trappings that characterized the band in the past, they have stripped things down, and with the help of Killswitch Engage’s Adam Dutkiewicz producing, as well as Killswitch’s skins pounder Justin Foley filling in on drums, Unearth have delivered what may be their strongest release to date.

Rock ’n’ roll is a religion, and monster of rock Lemmy screams as much on his band Motörhead’s last disc, THE WÖRLD IS YOURS. The CD was released in February and it took us a while to catch up to it, but it was certainly worth the wait: WORLD is a high-octane blast of evil hard, hard rock, stained with punk and blues, from a group that has made living just as hard as their music a virtual manifesto.

For all the indie and major label CDs I have reviewed over the years, I have to admit to being a rather harsh critic. Way too many times in the past, great CD cover art has lured me into my favorite pair of headphones in hopes that the music might live up to its awesome product packaging. And too many times I have ended the experience thinking that a ”five-minute freeform jazz exploration” (quoted from the cult film SPINAL TAP) would have been better instead.

The last thing you’d link a rather elegant, softcore Hammer horror film with is bone-crunching heavy metal, but with their latest album FOR MIRCALLA that’s exactly what doom metal band Briton Rites have done. Guitarist and lyricist Howie Bentley (pictured) doesn’t mince words when it comes to his love for Hammer, nor the classic 1970 Ingrid Pitt/Peter Cushing lesbian bloodsucker film that the studio used to usher in its more erotic output of the 1970s. Mircalla/Carmilla Karnstein was of course Pitt’s character in the film and of course, the immortal Sheridan LeFanu story “Carmilla” on which it was based and it’s the character that serves as muse for the crunchy concept platter.

After it was announced late last year that the mighty CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS had easily matched AVATAR’s astronomical billion-dollar gross in a matter of weeks, blockbuster video games now seem poised to overtake movies in terms of pop culture prominence. Furthering the Silicon Valley versus Hollywood comparison, the resilient RESIDENT EVIL series has acted as the gaming world’s very own endless horror-franchise since 1996. And like their big screen competitors, the RESIDENT EVIL games have long relied on moody musical cues to intensify atmospherics and add jolt to jump scares.

With horror films, there is almost always something that redeems even the worst of them. Pearry Reginald Teo’s recent direct-to-video potboiler NECROMENTIA is far from the worst, but it’s deeply flawed, cribbing wholesale from both SAW and the HELLRAISER films to mediocre returns. And yet even at its lowest, if you keep your ears open and your senses keen, you’ll notice that the defining element of the picture is the way it sounds. As the camera prowls down low-budget corridors and mazeways, a suffocating blanket of drones, melancholy washes and chattering noises threaten to turn NECROMENTIA into something it wouldn’t otherwise be…scary.