Month: December 2023

Happy New Year!

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/LynchMobBand/ Renowned hard rockers Lynch Mob are responsible for some utterly cool and well-written records but their line-up has always appeared somewhat fluid and unstable, which is not necessarily a bad thing per say, but Babylon is the first time in a while that the band has gelled to such an…

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/white-knuckles-the-life-of-gary-moore-published-on-8th-september-2021?_pos=1&_sid=672ce29c4&_ss=r Being the huge fan and admirer of Martin Power’s epic book on Jimmy Page titled No Quarter that I am, I was naturally rather psyched and excited when a copy of White Knuckles landed on my doorstep. The role and significance of the immortal and sadly missed Gary Moore cannot…

VENUE: BLÅDATE: 08-09 Dec 2023ORGANIZER: Aftermath Music NorwayPHOTOGRAPHER: Karina NoctumPhotos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. DARK SPACE TULUS HEVN III THE RUINS OF BEVERAST DOLD VORDE ENS NAVN HEXVESSEL WARLORD MOON

RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/GoAheadAndDieBand It seems ages since the legendary Massimiliano Antonio “Max” Cavalera, the (in)famous ex-Sepultura and current Soulfly frontman, aided by his younger son, Igor Amadeus Cavalera (vocals, guitar, bass) as well as Khemmis’ drummer Zach Coleman, released the explosive bombshell of Go Ahead And Die’s eponymous²⁰²¹ probably because so much…

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://nightranger.com/ I am incredibly fond of Night Ranger and their (mostly) stellar musical outputs, and it is always exciting to receive one of their records for review. This latest one is rather special and a welcome addition to their discography in that it adds an extra dimension to some of their…

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.ericsardinasmusic.com/ American blues rocker EriC Sardinas is known for his wild and electrifying albums and tours, and his new offering titled Midnight Junction, which is out via earMUSIC, perfectly summarizes and encapsulates what he and his bandmates are all about. We are talking unashamedly raw, suitably loud, and delightfully unpolished blues…

RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/angelusapatrida Angelus Apatrida’s eponymous²⁰²¹, which I reviewed here (5.5/6) was a fantastic slab of modern thrash metal with hints of groove and metalcore so, when I saw the Century Media Records alert for the brand new video “Cold” I could hardly wait to sink my ears into it. Indeed, “Cold”…

Oslo rockers MesaVerde returns with a Live EP with tracks taken from upcoming sophomore studio album All is Well – due out 19/01/2024 via Apollon Records MesaVerde is a rather fresh band based in Oslo, Norway, with one foot planted in pop and another in prog. With their debut album “KY” (released in October 2022),…

RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://youtu.be/dRCYtDQB36s?si=qH43DNocKPNUSdsW Now this melodic debut LP by the duo sporting the moniker Vitalines is an interesting one. With Robbie LaBlanc on vocals and Tommy Denander on guitars, bass, and keyboards, it is hardly as if the band lack pedigree, and when things work on the album, which they do most of…

Five years after the release of “Marrow” MADDER MORTEM will be back on the 26th January 2024 with their 8th full-length album “Old Eyes, New Heart”, and, whilst fans wait for its release, Dark Essence Records has today debuted a single taken from the album.  Titled “The Head That Wears The Crown” MADDER MORTEM explained…

RELEASE YEAR: 2024  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/Nitrateofficial/ With their fourth album these cool British rockers have well and firmly established their credentials as one of the more exciting AOR/melodic rock groups out there. Exploding right out of the gate by means of the hook-laden title track, these chaps definitely mean business and sound more confident and focused…

RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.suffocationofficial.com/ While I never considered this fundamental death metal act my favorite (that would be Death and old Obituary) as they are very inconsistent, I do think Suffocation’s first incarnation, featuring Terraine “Terrance” D. Hobbs, Sr. (guitars), Francis “Frank” Eugene Mullen (vocals) and Guy W. Marchais (guitars), was flawless from…

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/edgeofforeverband/ The previous output by this group, namely Seminole from last year, was a fantastic and cohesive slice of epic melodic metal that ticked a lot of the right boxes for me, and this latest LP of theirs is just as vital-sounding and catchy as its predecessor was. These gents have…

INNERSPHERE reflects the decline of society in their new single INNERSPHERE, under the label Music Records, is releasing their first single from the upcoming album “In the Shadow of the Sun,” set to be released in mid-March. The live performance was captured by Marek “Frodys” Pytlík at Brutal Assault festival. The Pilsen-based death metal band…

After the news that they’ll be releasing their next studio album “Mycelium” in January 2024 via Mighty Music, Danish prog/heavy metallers MANTICORA are now back with the second digital single from the record. “Necropolitans” is the opening track of the album; a journey deep into the symphonic aspect of the Manticora musical universe. Indecently catchy and in-your-face.…

Beyond the Gates 2024 announce full line-up Norway’s leading extreme metal festival BEYOND THE GATES is now announcing the full line-up for what will be the metal event of the year. Mayhem will bring their highly anticipated 40 years anniversary show to the opening day of the festival. Grieghallen veteran, Enslaved, will this time celebrate…

Foto: Jørn Veberg In Vain unleashes powerful single “Season of Unrest”: A glimpse into the anticipated new album “Solemn” – Coming in 2024! Pioneers of Norwegian progressive extreme metal, In Vain, are poised to captivate fans once again with the release of their upcoming album, “Solemn”. Offering an exciting preview of the musical odyssey that…

Photo Credit: Jim Louvau SEBASTIAN BACH has released a powerful new single, ‘What Do I Got To Lose?’ Listen HERE and watch the video directed by Jim Louvau and Tony Aguilera HERE. The arena-ready stomp of ‘What Do I Got To Lose?’ was co-written by SEBASTIAN, Myles Kennedy (ALTER BRIDGE, SLASH) and Elvis Baskette (MAMMOTH…

Trondheim rockers Matterhorn returns with new single The Brightest Light.   Matterhorn is the brainchild of songwriter and vocalist Tommy Sebastian Halseth, who in 2013 started to assemble various musical ideas which gradually turned into the project Matterhorn.As time passed, the songs matured both musically and lyrically, as Tommy involved different musicians with broad backgrounds…