Metalcore has had its share of fads over the years. From the emo singing choruses of the 2000s to the synth-infused electronicore of the 2010s, bands seem to be constantly searching for something new to fuse with the over-saturated genre. Los Angeles natives Phinehas have a different calling card: nonstop ferocious musicianship. While it's not the most unique approach to metalcore, this tactic has given the band a very consistent discography with plenty of variation kept between albums. The Fire Itself, while lacking the cohesion enjoyed by 2017's Dark Flag, leverages its sheer brutality to become one of the band's best albums to date…

The Baltimore band’s spectacular fourth record is all groove, riffs, and passion. It is not a crossover hardcore album that looks to transcend the genre, but one that tries to elevate it to its highest visibility…

Here’s a question: Is it possible for death-doom to be fun? One word describes dying and demise, while the other suggests condemnation through acts of destruction, rack and ruin. While it’s not exactly an upbeat descriptor, it does appear to track for an extreme metal subgenre that takes pride in a morose funeral aesthetic and riffage that feels glacial and lugubrious…