ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • ADHUK – Rituals of Personal Universe

    Adhuk is a Polish black metal trio vomited forth in 2012, and "Rituals of Personel Universe" is the band’s first full-length output so far from what I can gather. The music spawned by these gentlemen is somewhat melodic, cold, and catchy black metal full of tremolo-riffs, melancholic and epic melodies, raspy vocals, and wintry atmospheres.…

  • BLOOD RUNS DEEP – Into the Void

    The music performed by Blood Runs Deep from Switzerland is a strange mixture of doom metal, goth rock, and slight hints of sludge metal. The music is either pretty slow or mid-paced and based around big, open chords and mournful lead-guitar parts coupled with a melancholic piano parts and cleanly-type vocals. The synthesizers underline and…

  • RED DRAGON CARTEL – Red Dragon Cartel

    Red Dragon Cartel is a relatively new band featuring none other than former Ozzy Osbourne and Badlands guitarist Jake E. Lee, and I must say that it is a treat to hear him tearing it up musically again as he has laid low and stayed out of the public eye for way too many years…

  • PANYCHIDA – Grief for an Idol

    Panychida is a very interesting Czech band that performs atmospheric and epic pagan metal. This is my first encounter with it and I must say that I am pleasantly surprised. One way of classifying the band would be to state that it sounds like a mixture of black metal, viking metal, and pure heavy metal,…

  • EVIL – Legenda Neskrotnych Zivlov

    "Legenda Neskrotnych Zivlov" by the Slovakian horde known as Evil (quite the original band name, wouldn’t you say?) is comprised of an intro and five rather long songs clocking in at 40 minutes in total. Following the industrial-tinged introduction the band launches into a cold and depressive mid-paced black metal trance interrupted by somewhat fast-paced…

  • ALGOR – Hierofánia

    Algor hails from Slovakia and performs atmospheric and somewhat melancholic black metal with a few avantgarde undertones to it. The music is neither inhumanly raw nor lo-fi as such, but the guitars are fittingly gritty and I wouldn’t call the album polished. Rather, it has that underground sound and vibe to it that I like…

  • PRIPJAT – Sons of Tschernobyl

    Pripjat, which is a German thrash metal band, has released a pretty decent album in the shape of "Sons of Tschernobyl". The album contains 10 rather intense and violent songs in the traditional 80ies and early 90ies thrash metal vein. Some parts remind me of Destruction, Slayer, Exodus, Sodom and Kreator while some of the…

  • CULTFINDER – Hell’s Teeth

    Britisk black thrash av den kule typen. Kanskje mer black enn thrash egentlig og veldig old school. Fans av tidlig Marduk vil nok kanskje like dette. Dette er en EP bestående av ett par nye låter, noen re-innspillinger og noen eldre låter. Det nye er utvilsomt best, mens de eldre urørte låtene er mest sjarmerende.…

  • DIE CHOKING – Die Choking

    Die Choking er et tre-manns lite band fra Philadelphia som spiller en blanding av grindcore, punk og metal. Deres selvtitulerte EP inneholder fem sinte låter av relativ grei kvalitet. Men, fem låter på til sammen fem minutter blir litt lite grunnlag for å komme med en utdypende anmeldelse. Noe variasjon er det og mye av…

  • LIE IN RUINS – Toward Devine Death

    Death metal act Lie In Ruins (FIN) started out back in 1993 as Dissected but did not release any material before renaming themself in 2002 and releasing their first demo in 2005. Their first proper full-length "Swallowed by the Void" saw the light of day back in 2009 so they for sure not be described…

  • SHADOW HOST – Apocalyptic Symphony

    Russisk power metal må jeg innrømme at jeg har ledd en god del av opp gjennom årene. Det er veldig mye harry i det disse bandene gjør og ikke alt har vært like vellykket. Det kan vel også virke som om en del av disse bandene ligger tidsmessig en smule etter resten av verden. Det…

  • LOST SOCIETY – Terror Hungry

    They say you have a lifetime to record your debut album and about half that time to record the follow up. In the case of Finnish thrash band Lost Society, they waste no time getting their second record "Terror Hungry" out to the public- a mere 13 months after their "Fast Loud Death" debut. Ah,…

  • BEHEMOTH – Live Barbarossa

    Jeg tror ikke det har skjedd før at jeg har glemt å anmelde ei bonusskive, men nå har det altså skjedd. «Live Barbarossa» er med som bonus DVD på den limiterte utgaven av «The Satanist». Jeg har anmeldt «The Satanist» og ferdig med det liksom. Tenkte ikke noe mer over det før «Live Barbarossa» CD…

  • DELAYHEAD – Vol. 80%

    Stripped down heavy metal featuring loads of down-tuned groove- it’s the second release from Finnish four-piece Delayhead. "Vol. 80%" is a 13 song extravaganza, and you can sense a love of Sentenced, self-titled Metallica and possibly a touch of Pantera here. Slam worthy cuts such as "Breathe" and gallop oriented "Wolfram" sit comfortably against the…

  • DYNAZTY – Renatus

    Sweden rides high again in the melodic hard rock/ metal realm, a multitude of bands resurrecting a scene thought long gone. Dynazty is another five-piece who have made a nice impression through their three previous full lengths, and on album four "Renatus" appear to engage a little bit of a heavier stance while not forsaking…

  • MIASMAL – Cursed Redeemer

    Gothenburg death quartet Miasmal is back with their second full-length release aptly named "Cursed Redeemer". The allways hard second album continues in the same vein as their self titled debut from 2011. This is fast, well played death metal with easy to follow arrangements and a vocalist who delivers on all accounts and makes the…

  • H.E.A.T. – Tearing Down The Walls

    As far as the new generation of melodic hard rock/ AOR style, these Swedes are near the top in terms of songwriting ability and popularity. For H.E.A.T. – it’s all about the right combination of guitar/ keyboard hooks, uplifting chords put in all the right places, and the multi-part harmonies and vocal charm from Erik…

  • STATEMENT – Monsters

    Throwback hard rock from a seasoned group of Danish metal musicians who come together as Statement- "Monsters" is a debut album keeping the playing basic, street level and assaulting the blue collar crowd with anthems to tap your feet and pound alcohol in droves. The Cult, The Scorpions, and others in that 70’s / 80’s…

  • SONATA ARCTICA – Pariah’s Child

    It’s well established that once metal fans latch onto a certain band and particular sound/style, they rarely desire anyone straying from the successful formula. Like a favorite brand of dessert, they like what they like and do not hope for a new twist or ingredient variance to make that special concoction. Since these Finnish gentlemen…

  • SAMMATH – Godless Arrogance

    Godless? Plenty. Arrogant? Sure, but of what? Naming an album "Godless Arrogance" hardly denotes greatness. If anything, should the end result fall flat on its face, it could then be credited to the titular godless arrogance. Chuck all the controversy, eeeevil faces and lyrics, "profanity" galore and hectolitres of corpse paint, and many alleged extreme…

  • KILL RITUAL – The Eyes Of Medusa

    California thrash band Kill Ritual return after a solid debut album "The Serpentine Ritual" with the all-important follow up "The Eyes of Medusa". Formed by ex-Imagika guitarist Steven Rice and ex-Dark Angel bassist Danyael Williams, the quartet also has vocalist Josh Gibson and drummer Gee Anzalone in their ranks. Musically the 10 songs feature a…

  • CIRCLE OF CHAOS – Crossing the Line

    Blurring the styles of thrash and melodic death, Sweden’s Circle of Chaos on their second full length album "Crossing the Line" present a quick hitting 10 song, 33 minute record that doesn’t let up for any commercial aspirations. At times coming across like an early Destruction recording for the jackhammer-oriented title cut and then punishing…

  • MONSTERWORKS – Universe

    I’ve never heard of this New Zealand four-piece before, but the ambitious ‘Universe’ is their ninth full-length release. As the cover might suggest, this is progressive metal with a cosmic theme.Monsterworks could broadly be described as progressive thrash, although at times they can be a bit lighter or heavier than that label would suggest. The…

  • PALE DIVINE – Cemetary Earth

    Shadow Kingdom’s reissue of ‘Cemetary Earth’ includes the full track-listing from the original 2007 release and a full second disc of demo and live tracks for a total of approximately two hours music . For those unfamiliar with this Pennsylvanian three-piece, Pale Divine specialise in doom that has shades of epic/classic/stoner metal. The guitars are…

  • POPPY SEED GRINDER – Promo 2014

    Poppy Seed Grinder er et brutalt death metal band fra Praha i den Tsjekkiske Republikken. Bandet ble dannet i 1997, har to fullengdere fra 2004 og 2008 på samvittigheten og holder endelig på med noe nytt materiale igjen. «Promo 2014» er egentlig en demo som inneholder tre nye låter. Samspillet mellom gitar og trommer er…

  • GRAFVOLLUTH / SLAVECRUSHING TYRANT – Grafvolluth / Slavecrushing Tyrant

    I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this brilliant vinyl EP in the mail and I praise myself lucky for that, because this is some of the best pagan metal I have listened to in ages. The EP consists of two songs by Grafvolluth (US) and one by Slavecrushing Tyrant (Poland), and they…

  • ALTERBEAST – Immortal

    Alterbeast er en amerikanske teknisk dømetalmaskin som originalt ble startet opp i 2011 under arbeidstittelen Gary Busey Amber Alert. De byttet heldigvis navn til Alterbeast og nå er de klare med sitt debutalbum kalt «Immortal». For å gjøre en ting klinkende klart, dette er bra saker. Skal gjøre et lite forsøk på å beskrive galskapen…

  • GRAVEHILL – Death Curse

    Gravehill is a California quintet on their third full length album "Death Curse" – pummeling the listener through 37 minutes of relentless death/thrash. Slayer, Venom, and Repulsion are three acts that come to the forefront when taking in their speedy riffing, gruff vocals, and up tempo rhythms. The brief transitions during the lead break of…

  • ARATRON – The Recovery (demo)

    Aratron er et nederlandsk death metal band som foreløpig ligger på demostadiet. De var aktive mellom 2000 og 2002 og gjenoppstod i 2008 og har vært noenlunde oppegående siden da. Kun to demoer er det blitt i form av fysisk format og «The Recovery» er bandets andre. Ganske heftig death metal med klare svenske influenser.…

  • MASSACRE – Back from Beyond

    The mighty Massacre are back and all the childeren are excited. US quartet Massacre released one of my (and I guess every death head around) favorite death metal albums back in 1991 "From Beyond". The now legendary release sat the bar high for groovy Florida death metal back then and the album still holds the…