The fifth studio album from Sweden’s Ereb Altor, "Nattramn" straddles the epic Viking meets doom metal sound that made their last album "Fire Meets Ice" very noteworthy. Expanding to a four-piece last year as bassist Mikael enters the fold, Bathory is a prominent influence, but a lot of their previous Forlorn doom roots do creep…
While New England may be well known on the universe for its metalcore development, there is just as potent a technical death metal scene lurking for those who wish to seek it out. Drummer Darren Cesca has the most notable experience under his belt – working with acts like Arsis, Vile, and Incinerate among others.…
PARTY SAN OPEN AIR er en extreme metal festival som blir arrangert for 21. gang i år. Blir arrangert på en nedlagt flyplass som ligger ganske nøyaktig midt imellom Berlin og Frankfurt. Dette er en av de rimeligere metalfestivalene i Tyskland og for ca 630 norske kroner får du i år tre dager der du blant annet kan oppleve band som SAMAEL, CANNIBAL CORPSE, BEHEMOTH, MY DYING BRIDE, PRIMORDIAL, ASPHYX, ENSIFERUM, KATAKLYSM, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, BLOODBATH, KRISIUN, MELECHESH, TOXIC HOLOCAUST, ROTTING CHRIST, SECRETS OF THE MOON, MORBUS CHRON og CLITEATER.
Thrashmetal-kongene Slayer kommer til Sentrum Scene 4. desember og med seg har de selveste Anthrax som special guest! CVLT åpner showet. Billettsalget starter førstkommende onsdag klokken 09:00.
I år er det 25 år siden Mikael Åkerfeldt og Peter Lindgren startet det som skulle bli et av de mest suksessfulle bandene i svensk metal-historie. Jubileet skal markeres med en turné som dundrer innom Bergen 9. oktober. Opeth har siden starten finslipt og videreforedlet det som har blitt deres varemerke, den umiskjennelig sammenblandingen av prog og ekstrem-metal. Bandet har gjennom årenes løp byttet ut største delen av besetningen, men Åkerfeldt har hele veien hatt stålkontroll på den kunstneriske integriteten. Musikalsk har han tatt Opeth lenger og lenger i retning den progressive rocken som hadde sin gullalder med band som Genesis, Rush og King Crimson på 70-tallet. Billettsalget starter førstkommende onsdag klokken 09:00.
Torsdag 8. oktober kommer OPETH til Oslo og Sentrum Scene. Svenskene feirer i år sitt 25 år og på denne jubileumsturnéen vil de by sine fans på noe helt spesielt. Konserten vil bestå av to deler på 80 minutter, med en pause på 30 minutter i mellom. Under den første delen vil hele det kritikerroste mesterverket "Ghost Reveries" (2005) bli fremført live. I del to vil de spille låter fra hele bandets 25-årige karriere. Billettsalget starter førstkommende onsdag klokken 09:00.
Southern metal appears to be a fusion of doom metal and stoner rock with a strong semblance of groove and soul at the heart of it all – that would be the style on display with Virginia’s King Giant on their third studio album "Black Ocean Waves". Down-tuned guitars, ominous Glenn Danzig-oriented melodies, and a…
«Nocel» by Furia has to be one of the best Polish black metal releases to see the light of day in 2014-2015. We are dealing with a somewhat original and certainly a varied and captivating piece of work here that all you black metal-loving scum-fucks out there ought to check out immediately. «Nocel» contains 8…
Ørkenboogierockerne Jesse Hughes og Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) slipper straks sitt første album på syv år – 26. november ser du bandet live på Rockefeller i Oslo! Billettsalget er i gang.
Russian Viking metal from Nomans Land on their fifth full-length "Last Crusade" and first for Massacre Records. Strengths on songs like the marching "Sons of the Nord" and spider-web oriented "Warrior’s Path" reside in the cat and mouse chase the guitarists employ against the drumming – sometimes working in tandem, at other times emphasizing the…
Korpiklaani is one of those bands you always need around on a three-day festival, preferably playing early day three. If you still struggle drinking beer & Jägermeister after a full on Finish folk-metal attack, you might as well crawl back under the stone you woke up from. "Noita" are these finish forest men´s ninth excuse…
Eternal Terrors Andrew Robertsen har som vanlig vært over grensen og gløttet på bandene som spilte under Sweden Rock. Han tok en god del bilder og her kommer godbitene fra den fjerde og siste dagen.
Having lived through the melodic hard rock heydays in the 1980’s and its subsequent freefall during the 1990’s while alternative, grunge, and nu-metal took over the mainstream, many bands had to find greener pastures or wait until the scene morphed again. Thanks to the internet connectivity leveling the playing field and putting music choices back…
Dienamic is a Norwegian quintet that straddle the lines of thrash and metalcore on their second full-length "Afterlife". I’d say the musical foundation leans more towards the former, while vocally and transitionally at times the latter aspect comes into play. The band hones in on strong hooks right out of the gate, keeping a lot…
Eternal Terrors Andrew Robertsen har som vanlig vært over grensen og gløttet på bandene som spilte under Sweden Rock. Han tok en god del bilder og her kommer godbitene fra den tredje dagen.
A duo from Venezuela transplant themselves in Miami, Florida and develop an interesting progressive hard rock meets doom metal cocktail – that’s a brief synopsis of what to expect when taking in Cave of Swimmers on their second album "Reflection". G.E. Perez handles vocals, guitars, 6 and 4 string bass, plus synth while Toro is…
When Sweden’s Vomitory retired in 2013, people wondered if any of the musicians would move forward in other bands. Cut Up is your answer, at least in terms of the ex-rhythm section bassist Erik Rundqvist and drummer Tobias Gustafsson – recruiting Fetus Stench guitarist/ vocalist Andreas Björnson and ex-Coldworker guitarist Anders Bertilsson to fill out…
Finnish technical/ symphonic death metal here as Whorion assault your aural sensibilities with their debut album "The Reign of the 7th Sector". Fleshgod Apocalypse and Dimmu Borgir are two bands that come to mind when taking in the keyboard layers, frantic riffing, intense tempo changes, and extreme growls/screams. "When the Moon Bled" and the maniacal…
Sometimes hanging one’s hat on former band activities doesn’t tell the whole story. Ex-Iced Earth drummer Raphael Saini for instance was only in the band for one year- appearing on their last studio album Plagues of Babylon – while ex-Visions of Atlantis vocalist Maxi Nil spent 2009-2013 in that Austrian symphonic/melodic power metal act. Rounding…
Eternal Terrors Andrew Robertsen har som vanlig vært over grensen og gløttet på bandene som spilte under Sweden Rock. Han tok en god del bilder og her kommer godbitene fra den andre dagen.
Helfir is the debut solo project of Luca Mazzotta, the guitarist in an Italian progressive death metal band called Silvered. "Still Bleeding" is truly a one-man affair – all vocals and instrumentation – yet sounds so full of depth and understanding. The description of decadent noir metal can be translated into post, alternative meets ambient…
Evil is a black metal outfit hailing from Slovakia that has released so many demos and split EPs and the likes over the past 14-15 years that I am simply too lazy to list them all here, but the album entitled «Studňa» is only the second full-length assault so far. Not that it matters though,…
Eternal Terrors Andrew Robertsen har som vanlig vært over grensen og gløttet på bandene som spilte under Sweden Rock. Han tok en god del bilder og her kommer godbitene fra den første dagen.
‘Who Cares What Music Is Playing In My Headphones?’ is the debut full-length from this strangely named Ukranian/Russian duo. Their published ethos is: 1 Be unexpected, 2 Be expressive, 3 Do not limit yourself to the arrangements, 4 Do not repeat yourself, 5 Experiment constantly. The sound is progressive, slightly industrial and melodic, with a…
Sad to see, first off that Tribulation have finished their relationship with Irish label Invictus. A step forwards for the band perhaps, as no doubt the marketing machine of Century Media can offer more than one small independent label. Still… It seems like every step taken by Tribulation in the last few years has seen…
Sweden’s progressive death/black metal Tribulation are carving out an impressive army of followers in all parts of the globe- and with good reason. Their songwriting diversity and occult-oriented themes bring to mind all of the chills and fear that captivate heavy metal audiences in the first place. "The Children of the Night" as their third…
Djevel leker ikke black metal, Djevel er black metal. I en verden med stadig nye sjangere, baby metal og satan vet hva, er Djevel tro mot en oppskrift som har fungert, som fortsatt fungerer, og som vil fungere i evig tid. Hvorfor? Fordi det er ekte, det er innlevelse, det er gjennomført og det er ikke…
Fra Buffalo, New York kommer crossover bandet mellom hardcore, metal og sørstatsrock Every Time I Die. I 2014 kom bandet ut med skiva From Parts Unknown med enormt bra tilbakemelding. Vi gleder oss til å se dem på Pokalen 30. juni!
Eternal Terror Kenneth Larsen har tatt seg en prat med vokalist Arde Teronen i det relativt unge finske bandet TEMPLE BALLS. Finnene er for tiden aktuelle med sin nye single og video "Six Ways to Sunday".
13/8 Bit is the debut from progressive metallers Third Ion. As you can guess from the cover the lyrical drive is Sci-fi and computer games. The sound is reminiscent of Devin Townsend, which is hardly surprising considering the involvement of DT bassist Mike Young. In terms of ability, this is a very accomplished group of…
Geography lesson first: Vorum hail from the Åland Islands – an autonomous but Swedish speaking part of Finland. They play a corrosive and aggressive form of death metal. This EP is extremely forceful and to the point, merging the early days of grinding death metal with the primitivism of South America. It is a fairly…
Diogo Bastos fra Luxembourg har vært fast livegitarist i Satyricon siden 2013. Han er i tillegg med i Scarred fra hjemlandet, et band som har holdt det gående siden 2003. Diogo ble utfordret av en av jentene i Dictated (Sonja Schuringa) og svarte fyldig på alle våre spørsmål. Her er Diogo Bastos fra Sayricon og hans bidrag til The G-String Series.
Doom metal is back my friends- the classic, down-tuned riffs, shuffle step swing grooves, and hypnotic/ melodic vocals keep people coming back for more. Slovianian five-piece Mist issue their debut EP "Inan’", a 4 song effort with no traces of stoner parts in sight. Black Sabbath, Candlemass, and Pentagram would be the three clearest influences…
Given intriguing stage names as Anxietous Hero, Anhedonius Wrath, Vespasian, and Orge Thumos, Minnesota four-piece House of Atreus on their debut album "The Spear and the Ichor That Follows" perform an interesting epic/power brand of death metal. A lot of 90’s influences come through in terms of their mid-tempo riff preferences, sense of thick, European…
The third studio album from Sweden’s Oblivious is another barnburner for those who love throwback, bluesy oriented hard rock. "Out of Wilderness" swings for the fences, none of that extraneous feedback or extended instrumental jamming taking place- you get 8 songs in 28 minutes featuring a mixture of soulful vocals and catchy hooks – equally…
What happens when you lose Fabio Lione to his more pressing activities for Rhapsody (Of Fire) and Angra? Well, if you are Italian progressive metal act Hollow Haze and you are on your sixth album "Memories of an Ancient Time", you pick yourself up and dial in another professional singer in the form of Mats…
Former Angel frontman Frank Dimino returns to the scene with his first solo album "Old Habits Die Hard" – and it’s packed to the hilt with 11 catchy melodic hard rock numbers. Supplementary support comes in the form of organist Justin Avery, drummer John Miceli, bassists Paul Crook and Danny Miranda, plus a host of…
Abusiveness is a Polish black metal band with pagan undertones to it that performs aggressive, violent, and at times chaotic music somewhat akin to bands such as Marduk, Enthroned, and Blaze of Perdition just to name a few. The band has actually existed since 1991 and released a whole slew of demos, singles, splits, and…
BLASTFEST 2016 blir som kjent en ren norsk festival kun med norske band og i kveld kunne de slippe nok en haug med godbiter fra det norske kjøkken. ARCTURUS, DØDHEIMSGARD, KVLT, NEKROMANTHEON, ONE TAIL ONE HEAD, EXECRATION, NOCTURNAL BREED, DJEVEL og SVARTTJERN er blant godbitene.
Eternal Terror kan i dag by på en helt ny låt fra den kommende debutskiva til det amerikanske black metal bandet I AM THE TRIREME. Låta heter "Grey Fields of Ash" og debutskiva bærer tittelen "Gnosis: Never Follow the Light". Skiva slippes av Horror Pain Gore Death Productions 30. juni.
Nothing wrong with a little more old school thrash metal if done correctly – Switzerland’s Bloodlost waste no time getting down to business for album three "Evil Origins". After a brief "Azazel" intro, "Hammer On Your Face" stacks the riffs, gang vocals, and speed to half-time tempos in such a whirlwind that Slayer maniacs or…
12 bands on the Massacre Records roster pay tribute to the mighty singer Ronnie James Dio, who five years ago tragically passed away due to stomach cancer. This is a double album of 20 songs spanning his time in Rainbow, Black Sabbath, as well as his solo career – and a mixture of bands from…
«Great Lefty: Live Forever!» is a 2-disc tribute to the legendary riffmeister and the father of all that is good and brilliant, namely Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. If it was not for Iommi I would not be writing these words now, and I dare say that you would not be reading about this album…
Pagan metal, melodic Viking metal – label it however you might, leaders like Amon Amarth and Ensiferum have taken the genre to bigger heights through their consistent discography and live performances. Austria’s Heathen Foray play a similar brand of battle metal on their fourth album – appropriately titled "Into Battle". A mixture of English and…
Årets Slottsfjell Festival blir arrangert mellom 17. og 19. juli. FLOGGING MOLLY, MOTORPSYCHO, REFUSED, 1349, OSLO, IEATHEARTATTACKS og THE DOGS er de største og viktigste navnene for de som liker sin musikk av det hardere slaget. De er utsolgt for festivalpass forlengst, men det er fortsatt mulig å oppdrive dagsbilletter til denne perlen av en festival, men prognosene tyder på at det blir nært utsolgt også i år.
One of my favorite authors, namely Martin Popoff, has written yet another fascinating heavy metal-related book that I simply had to get my filthy paws on. While most other books by Popoff focus on specific bands, «Who Invented Heavy Metal?» is more of an academic exercise in that it traces and chronicles not only the…
Vulcano from Brazil was together with Sarcofago and Chakal among the first black/thrash acts from that region of the world. Their debut from 1986 "Bloody Vengance" deliverd on all accounts and it still does to day, almost 30 years later. It´s now being reissued for the nth time and yes, if you still dont have…
Stonerrockerne Red Fang fra Portland, Oregon kommer tilbake til John DEE! De er aktuelle med det kritikerroste tredjealbumet “Whales and Leeches”. Plata har bl.a. fått 4/5 av AllMusic.
Saint Vitus kommer på et etterlengtet norgesbesøk igjen, denne gang med et spesiallaget liveset sammen med vokalisten Scott Reagers!
Celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band, Dutch death metal veterans Sinister decided to look back into their record collections and dust off their interpretations of some classic songs that they played in their early days. As a bonus, they re-recorded two demo songs "Spiritual Immolation" and "Compulsory Resignation" off their 1990 "Perpetual Damnation" demo…
