ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • SOEN – Tellurian

    Featuring Martin Lopez (ex-Opeth, Amon Amarth) on drums and vocalist Joel Ekelöf (Willowtree), Soen have been hailed as something of a prog rock supergroup, and based on this release I can certainly find no grounds to argue with that. The music is melodic and technical – to my ears it comes across like a mix…

  • CULT OF FIRE – Čtvrtá Symfonie Ohně EP

    Czech band Cult of Fire play a brand of epic, bohemian Black Metal with Indian influences. This EP features 2 tracks based on the rivers Vlatava and Váh. The first track, an instrumental, is fairly up-tempo and highlights the band’s rich, layered sound. The second, although also quick has more of a blackgaze feel about…

  • ADIMIRON – Timelapse

    The fourth studio album from Italian progressive thrash/death act Adimiron "Timelapse" is my first exposure to this five-piece …but certainly will not be my last. The 9 songs on this release fuse together vocally the best elements of Machine Head and Fear Factory, while musically I hear a lot of throwback elements to Anacrusis, occasional…

  • SODOM – Sacred Warpath EP

    Tiding over listeners for their next album release in 2015, German thrashers Sodom put out this 4 song EP – the title track being a new studio song, while we get 3 live songs to flesh out the product. At 5:47, "Sacred Warpath" is another tight mid-tempo track featuring steady double bass, Bernemann’s unique militant…

  • EXODUS – Blood in, Blood out

    Exodus are back with a new assult on your eardrums and this time it´s new/old vocalist Zetro who is responsible for the yelling."Blood in, Blood out" is quite an entertaining album with a lot of cool riffing. The problem after a couple of spins is that I´am not hearing that signature sound that Exodus (and…

  • WORK OF ART – Framework

    Sweden is the birthplace of many iconic musicians and bands in all facets of the music scene. Work Of Art is a melodic rock/ AOR oriented band from that same country, immediately taking the world by storm through their debut self-titled album and their follow up of 2011 "In Progress". Melding the best aspects of…

  • KING DIAMOND – Dreams of Horror

    King Diamond does not need any introduction. The dane with the voice started out in formidable Mercyful Fate back in the 80´s and continued under his own moniker after MF went on hiatus in the 90´s and his back catalogue is propped with genuine marvelous heavy metal."Dreams of Horror" is the first album to be…

  • HEROES OF VALLENTOR – The Warriors Path Part 1

    Certain genres promote stereotypes, clichés, and general elements that can easily be made fun of. Power metal, and epic heavy metal, fall firmly into these generalizations. Songs regarding fighting, warriors, fire, swords, knights, and the love of heavy metal aside lyrically – you often have over dramatized presentations on the musical and vocal front –…

  • KRUGER – Adam and Steve

    Sveitsiske Kruger har vært i studio og spilt inn sin femte fullengdere på 12 år. Det er nok en dose med en knallhard krysning av sludge metal og smådød rock’n’roll. Überenergisk vokal med flust av energiske riff og mer eller mindre slitsomme partier sammensatt til en suppe der du vil slite med å skille ingrediensene…

  • MADROST – Into the Aquatic Sector

    The second full-length album from California death/thrash quartet Madrost, "Into the Aquatic Sector" is a 27 minute effort that cross over Bay Area fury a la Dark Angel and Forbidden with strains of blast beat death and maybe a little technicality of the new breed of metal. Guitarist Tanner Poppitt’s opening screams for "Frozen beneath…

  • DEVILMENT – The Great and Secret Show

    Devilment er den nye lekegrinden til Cradle of Filth bossen Dani Filth. Det er ikke hans bandprosjekt i utgangspunktet. Bandet ble startet opp av hans venn Daniel Finch for rundt tre år siden, men Dani likte musikken såpass godt at han endte opp som bandets vokalist. Musikalsk er det en smule enda mer variert enn…

  • BILLY IDOL – Kings & Queens of the Underground

    From punk pioneer to rock star, veteran Billy Idol is an icon in the music industry. Platinum albums, sold out concert tours, movie appearances – he truly lived the sex, drugs & rock and roll lifestyle of the 1980’s – and is alive to tell those tales today. "Kings & Queens of the Underground" is…

  • WITCHMASTER – Antichristus Ex Utero

    "Antichristus Ex Utero" is the fifth full-length outing for Polish black thrashers Witchmaster. Notably, it sees the return of Behemoth legend Inferno after an absence of 10 years. Overall, this is a decent effort. The production is clean and modern – it allows the listener to hear everything that is going on without too much…

  • CHAINFIST – Scarred

    The second album from Danish heavy metal/ hard rock act Chainfist "Scarred" is another in your face affair that should appeal to fans of early 90’s Metallica, a little Avenged Sevenfold, and possibly current modern rock fans. "Scars of Time" has a lot of that groove/melody combination desirable on North American radio stations in the…

  • STAGE OF REALITY – The Breathing Machines

    Ex-Blaze Bayley guitarist Andrea Neri (for 3 years in a live capacity across Europe) started this new Italian band Stage of Reality as a power hard rock band. The debut album "The Breathing Machines" is a 10 song conceptual record, almost George Orwell-ian "1984" oriented where humans are merely terminals of society, without feelings, opinions,…

  • NEVERWORLD – Visions of Another World

    Classic heavy metal intertwining dark, melodic twists is the modus operandi for UK’s Neverworld on their debut album "Visions of Another World". Guitarist Ben Colton has a glass shattering vocal range, in line with Rob Halford and Midnight from Crimson Glory, while musically the band favors a sonic synthesis of Savatage, King Diamond, and Judas…

  • OVERCHARGE – Accelerate

    Punk-oriented speed metal from the Italian trio Overcharge, "Accelerate" cuts to the chase in 10 songs that rev up the engine and under 30 minutes, get the job done. Between bassist Fabietto’s hoarse, gruff word actions and drummer Panzer’s steady down beats, guitarist Josh has no trouble racing up and down his six string gung…

  • FLASHBACK OF ANGER – T.S.R.

    After a debut album in 2009 "Splinters of Life", Italy’s Flashback of Anger dealt with a series of lineup changes (bassist Andrea Torricini joining in 2013, lead guitarist Andrea Anichini this year) and securing a new record deal. What we have here on "T.S.R." (Terminate and Stay Resident) is a 10 track album in the…

  • AL JOURGENSEN with JON WIEDERHORN – Ministry – The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen

    Ministry – The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen is one hell of an interesting biography that beautifully captures and chronicles the turbulent, chaotic, and downright insane life of Ministry mainman Al Jourgensen. To tell you the truth, I have never been a major of fan of the works of Ministry or of Jourgensen’s side…

  • SIDIOUS – Revealed in profane splendour

    The album reminds somewhat of Behemoth some years ago. The whole blackened death metal sound reeks from the whole album, and that is not a bad thing. The album’s sound is consistent and over all quite enjoyable. It starts off with an amazing drum part in "Sacrilegious Majesty", wich later becomes a very standard blackened…

  • MEGASONIC – Intense

    Belgian melodic metal here from Megasonic – as "Intense" is their debut album, a 13 song effort that consists of 11 originals plus two closing cover tracks for "Down to Mexico" (Paul Gilbert) and "Does Your Mother Know" (ABBA). The band has a dramatic, almost theatrical nature during a ballad like "Love Lost Love" that…

  • OCCULTATION – Silence in the Ancestral House

    Occultation have proved with their debut "Three & Seven" that they master this retro vibe of occult hard rock inspired by 80´s bands like Witchunter General and Coven. Occultation hails from NY and like their peers The Devils Blood and Huntress they are female fronted, plays a sort of doomish rock and keeps their themes…

  • HELLISH OUTCAST – Stay of Execution

    Death/thrash fra Bergen av meget høy kvalitet. Gode låter, god produksjon og lyd, mange flotte musikalske og vokale øyeblikk og tvers igjennom ei herlig skive. Sånn akkurat passe brutal, kjapp og variert. Det er det beste jeg kan si om «Stay of Execution» akkurat nå. «Stay of Execution» er bandets andre fullengder og definitivt deres…

  • EDEN CIRCUS – Marula

    At this point, post-metal oriented alternative music has multi-faceted appeal when musicians take the right tact. Fusing different aspects of varying genres and creating a landscape of material that is moody, atmospheric, endearing, reflective, hypnotic, expansive – truly becomes a life altering experience if you choose to succumb to its swirling, outer world textures. This…

  • ALLEN / LANDE – The Great Divide

    Returning for another album are premiere vocalists for the power/progressive metal genre in Russell Allen (Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob) and Jorn Lande (ex-Masterplan, solo). Handling the bulk of songwriting, guitars/bass, and production duties this time is Timo Tolkki, a change in scenery from Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear). This fourth album "The Great Divide" is a…

  • ALITOR – Eternal Depression

    ‘Eternal Depression’ is the debut full-length from Serbian thrashers Alitor and a mighty first effort it is. In terms of sound it harks heady days of Bay Area thrash but it also has a slightly progressive feel. Sometimes the guitar lines remind me of later output from Death. This is a good thing. The fact…

  • ABYSMAL DAWN – Obsolescence

    Abysmal Dawn er et amerikansk death metal band som ligger litt i samme gate som en del svenske death metal band som Vomitory, Aeon og Tribulation samt sine landsmenn i Suffocation, Morbid Angel og Nile (minus det egyptiske). Rett frem brutal death metal med noen spede forsøk på å kjøre litt roligere, noe bandet absolutt…

  • VANISH – Come to Wither

    This German power metal band has taken their time to release their second album: eight years have passed since their independent debut "Separated from Today" – with a three song EP of the same title as this album coming out in 2010. Those same three songs – "The Grand Design", "Bless the Buried Child", and…

  • VESANIA – Deus ex Machina

    Vesania var et band jeg utelukkende sjekket ut fordi dette var det andre bandet til Behemoth bassist Orion. Jeg husker jeg likte debuten «Firefrost Archanum» ganske godt og at jeg var så heldig at jeg fikk både intervju og en samtale med Orion backstage på John Dee om skiva. Jeg husker også at jeg var…

  • TYRANEX – Unable to Tame

    Active since 2005, the Swedish speed/thrash outfit Tyranex contain a lot of the raw, youthful qualities that attracted me to this genre in my teen years. "Unable to Tame" is their second full-length album, an 8 song affair that whirls by in a tidy 36 minutes. What makes this exciting is the fact that the…