Heavy metal writing
Albums, bands and the nights that made them
Label-style writing on heavy metal: album guides, band histories, record collecting and the live shows where all of it gets loud.
New on the site
Latest from the catalogue
How Scandinavian Metal Became Distinct: A 2026 Guide
Learn how Scandinavian metal became distinct: a guide to the regional scenes, shared musical traits, key bands and the forces behind it.
How the Florida Death Metal Scene Grew in 2026: Roots
How the Florida death metal scene grew: tape trading, Morrisound Recording, Tampa basement shows and the bands that took a garage scene…
What Grindcore Actually Is: Sound and Key Bands (October 2026)
What grindcore actually is: the sound, tempo, song length and key bands, every major subgenre explained, and a listening order for newcomers…
How Metal Spread to South America: Scenes and History 2026
How metal spread to South America through imported records, radio, touring bands, cassettes and festivals, plus the national scenes still shaping it…
How the New Wave of British Heavy Metal Started (2026)
How the New Wave of British Heavy Metal started: Neal Kay's club chart, DIY cassette trading, the 1979 Sounds review, Metal for…
How the Bay Area Thrash Scene Formed: A 2026 History
How the Bay Area thrash scene formed: Exodus's 1982 demo, Metallica's 1983 debut, East Bay all-ages clubs, tape trading and a tight…
How Japanese Metal Bands Built a Following: 8 Strategies (2026)
How Japanese metal bands built a following: eight strategies, from club scenes and label backing to relentless touring and smart overseas timing…
How Glam Metal Dominated the Eighties: MTV, Mayhem (2026)
How glam metal dominated the eighties: nonstop MTV rotation, Sunset Strip club economics, arena-sized hooks and the image that pulled metal into…
How Death Metal Vocals Evolved: From Growls to 2026 Styles
How death metal vocals evolved across four decades, from 1980s low growls to blast-beat grunts, fry screams, clean choruses and layered stacks…
House style
What the writing owes the record
Pressings are not interchangeable
A reissue is not the record its first pressing was, so a guide here says which cut it is talking about.
Subgenres are signposts
Thrash, doom, death and black metal are here to lead you to the next record, never to rank the people listening.
Loud music, legible page
The music can be heavy without the page being a mess: the words carry the noise, nothing on screen shouts over them.
Inside the sleeve
Why Mausoleum Records exists
Mausoleum Records is a writing project about heavy metal records, the bands who made them and the rooms where those songs are played loud. It keeps album guides, band histories, collecting notes and live-music writing in one calm place, laid out like a catalogue rather than a fan page.