Cabaret Metal

Tardigrade Inferno – Hush Review

By Kenstrosity on March 6, 2026 in Reviews, Cabaret Metal, Melodic Metal, 35 comments

“In 2019, I accidentally stumbled upon St. Petersburg’s wacko dark cabaret metal freaks Tardigrade Inferno’s debut Mastermind, depicting an adorable evil water bear as mascot. You can imagine that I was immediately hooked. Their legitimately heavy riffs and whimsical songwriting kept me coming back for more when Burn the Circus dropped four years later. That release doubled down on original material backed by a more focused metallic spirit, and all the better for it. Initially, it sounded like third installment, Hush picked up right where Burn left off. However, gone is my beloved little tardigrade.” Sound of a circus leaving.

Tardigrade Inferno – Burn the Circus Review

By Kenstrosity on October 10, 2023 in Reviews, Cabaret Metal, Melodic Metal, 70 comments

“On the ranking of Things Ken Doesn’t Like™, circus music once lived just beneath the throne. For whatever reason, cabaret in all its forms annoyed me to no end, even in its natural environment. Why, then, do I find myself continually obsessed with Russian/Australian cabaret metal clowns Tardigrade Inferno and their particularly crunchy, creepy, crazed take on the cirque de métal?” Ten clowns, three rings,

Birdeatsbaby – The World Conspires [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

By GardensTale on December 22, 2019 in 2019, British Metal, Cabaret Metal, Dr. Music Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Things You Might Have Missed 2019, Cabaret Metal, Progressive Metal, 21 comments

“One of the best ways to get my attention is to mention a band crossing genre boundaries in unexpected ways. Birdeatsbaby drew my eye, first, with their rather evocative name and, second, with that drop-dead gorgeous album art. But what really caught my interest was their history; the band started off in the punk cabaret scene and developed to include prog metal and symphonic influences.” Protect Baby Yoda!

Tardigrade Inferno – Mastermind [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

By Kenstrosity on December 3, 2019 in 2019, Avante Garde, Cabaret Metal, Reviews, Russian Metal, Self-released, Things You Might Have Missed 2019, Cabaret Metal, 74 comments

“Mastermind is one odd duck. Put one way, this album is literally my personality written into a metal record. Put another way, it’s a circus-tent nightmare from clown hell, and Frontierer happened to play there once and left their chunky guitar tone there by accident.” What the hell did you miss??