The Swedish black metal band Bathory was formed in 1983 and is considered a pioneer of black metal and Viking metal. Because Bathory is such an influential and intriguing band (they never even did a proper tour, as they stopped performing live early on in their career!), Spanish metal journalist José Luis Cano Barron decided to release an unofficial but definitive biography of Bathory. The book From Hades to Valhalla... BATHORY—The Epic Story by José Luis Cano Barron was originally written in Spanish, but fortunately, thanks to Pagan Records and Monomaniax, the book has now been translated into English for the first time, so it can reach a wider audience! The book dives into the history and career of the revered band Bathory's journey from their early black metal roots to their Viking metal mastery and makes for an interesting read across its 156 pages and also features rare photographs of the creative leader of the band, Thomas Börje Forsberg who was known as Quorthon, he was th
Rising brutal death metal and goregrind festival Offal Fest is returning for its third year for three days of all things brutal, death, gore and slam metal. Taking place at Rebellion in Manchester, UK on 25-27 July 2025, the event will see the addition of Sunday, making it a three day festival with a pre-show held at the same venue on the Friday. Headlining the Saturday will be New York brutal death metal legends Skinless, who will exclusively perform their 1998 debut “Progression Towards Evil” in its entirety. Also hailing from New York, slam and brutal death metal pioneers Internal Bleeding will headline the Sunday. The band is often cited as one of the first bands to play slam death metal; an offshoot of death metal known for its focus on slow, chromatic breakdown riffs, known as slams. The rest of the line-up announced so far includes: 55Gore with an international debut, Cerebral Effusion, Imperious Mortality, Basement Torture Killings, Thy Flesh Consumed, Expectorating Sputum, V