JOSEPH THOLL – Devil’s Drum

An intriguing mixture of hard rock, post-punk, and 70s classic rock-inspired stuff with hooks aplenty to it, “Devil’s Drum” by the skilled Swedish multi-instrumentalist Joseph Tholl (ex-Enforcer, VOJD, Robert Pehrsson’s Humbucker) sounds and feels utterly warm and familiar and yet there is something quite fresh and delightfully invigorating about this 9-song output of his. Traces and…

NEW MODEL ARMY – From Here

The fact that British rockers New Model Army are still out there and sound as potent and vital as ever (as evidenced by the quality of this passionate 2019 offering of theirs) is great, but what truly blows my mind here is how bleak and heartfelt their latest creation comes across. Perhaps the fact that…

DEADSPAWN – Pestilence Reborn

Just when you thought the 2020 will start without any significant head turners in our metal realm, in comes Deadspawn tearing through your pitiful life with boundless brutality, power and near-perfect blackened death/deathened black, and creativity not heard since Revocation’s "The Outer Ones", with bleak lyricism, perfect sound, yet strangely leaving you filled with hope…

RAGE – Wings of Rage

Having released a whopping 22 full lengths, and having gone through multiple lineup changes the Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia-based German ensemble were more than ready for a summary album and that’s what the apptly named "Wings Of Rage" is all about, succeeding both as a career summary (the stylistic variety informs of the past better than…

T.O.M.B. – Thin the Veil

As raw as a bleeding wound and just as punishing as a glorious wrestling match, the nasty underground phenomenon that is T.O.M.B. has awakened from its slumber and spat forth an unholy musical brew consisting of dissonant black metal, claustrophobic dark ambient, vile noise, and depressing doom metal. This is as pitch black and oppressive…

REVOLUTION SAINTS – Rise

The debut offering by Revolution Saints was a tad mediocre whereas its successor was better and most certainly a step in the right direction. Now, the trio seems to have well and truly unlocked its potential and conceived a batch of infectiously catchy tunes that draw heavily on 80s-inspired hard (melodic) rock. The opening salvo…

RAISED FIST – Anthems

Raised Fist conjure up a potent brew of metalcore and punk-ish hardcore with a solid dose of groove and grit to it. I will be the first to admit that this particular genre (or mixture of genres, if you will) is not really my cup of tear as such, but you can easily tell that…

ODIOUS MORTEM – Synesthesia

Ah, brutal tech death metal. I’m a big fan of a lot of bands that fall under this banner, but as the years progress, the level of quality and originality keeps rising with some acts evolving and others sadly regressing and growing stale. The template is straightforward: intense weight and speed; intricate leads and solos;…

IRON MAIDEN – Remasters 2019 (The Last Batch)

The pioneers and legends that are Iron Maiden released the last batch of their 2019 re-masters not that long ago and this time around we are dealing with the following discs: “Dance of Death” (2003), “A Matter of Life and Death” (2006), “The Final Frontier” (2010), and “The Book of Souls” (2015). The remastered audio…

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