RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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METAL INQUISITOR – Ultima Ratio Regis
Old school metal is near and dear to my heart. Back in my youth, NWOBHM acts such as Saxon, Raven, Def Leppard and especially Iron Maiden took me on an odyssey that still continues 30+ years later. Germany’s Metal Inquisitor are another band who keep the traditional movement alive and kicking, signing a new record…
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LEVIATHAN – Beholden to Nothing, Braver Since Then
The fifth studio album from Colorado progressive metal band Leviathan is a rather lengthy affair at 15 tracks and over 75 minutes in music. Know going in ahead of time that you’ll need patience to devour everything you hear, but I think those who have followed the quintet for years will know that their brand…
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DISHARMONY – Shades Of Insanity
Gaining a bigger international release, the Greek metal band Disharmony with their debut album "Shades of Insanity" straddle the lines of modern metal and power/progressive nuances on this 8 song release. Chris Kounelis upper echelon voice resides in the early Tate/ Khan skill set on "This Possible Lie", while at other times he can also…
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HOKEDUN – Vanished Away in Tranquility
Hokedun is an old-school black metal hand hailing from Warwick in the UK. The band consists of Eren and Ed, and this demo release of theirs entitled "Vanished Away in Tranquility" contains 5 songs rooted in rather raw and melodic black metal. The emphasis is definitely on evoking an atmosphere akin to certain other old-school…
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SLOUGH FEG – Digital Resistance
Left field heavy metal act Slough Feg roll to their own beat, consistently pumping out proto-metal with Celtic/cultural influence and the one-of-a-kind Ian Anderson meets Mark Shelton-like vocal delivery from guitarist Mike Scalzi. The quartet are truly one of the most harmonic, melody mind acts around the US scene- even when they tame things down…
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TOXIC WALTZ – Decades of Pain
Five years after their formation, German quintet Toxic Waltz finally release a self-financed, self-released debut album with "Decades of Pain". The band live for the glory years of Bay Area thrash, more with a clean power spirit a la mid-tempo Exodus or the chunkier riffs Heathen employ on these 8 songs. Sometimes the guitar work…
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BEHEMOTH – The Satanist
The mighty Behemoth (formed back in 91) is back with one of the most hyped releases in a long time. The high hopes where all over the place in the media and with all the teaser videos released "The Satanist" really had to deliver on all accounts. Frontman Nergal & Co has been a lot…
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HATRIOT – Dawn of a New Centurion
If you wish to build a platform in metal today, you can’t rest on yesteryear’s laurels. Vocalist Steve Souza understands this- his best work appearing during his Exodus years as many hold "Fabulous Disaster" and "Tempo of the Damned" with acclaim in the thrash world. The fire still burns for the movement though with his…
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INCURSUS – Adaestuo
Incursus is a rather interesting American black metal band whose latest release, "Adaestuo", captured my interest a few days ago upon receiving the promo and spinning it a few times. This vinyl EP contains 4 songs simply entitled "Adaestuo I-IV" and a total running time of approximately 21 minutes. The music vomited forth by VJS…
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SILENT OPERA – Reflections
When looking up information on this French sextet, I find three different musical descriptions based on their label biography (melodic metal), their Facebook page (melodic death metal), and Metal-Archives.com (symphonic gothic metal). Thus, I set about listening to this second album "Reflections" with as open a mind as possible, and believe that Silent Opera at…
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WINTERSTORM – Cathyron
Multi-layered metal approaches appear to be the norm in 2014. No longer is it a guarantee for success/ acclaim to be a mere power metal or death/black outfit- a lot of newcomers infuse 2-3 different nuances or outside elements to separate themselves from the hordes. Take German band Winterstorm- active since 2008 and on album…
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RING OF FIRE – Battle of Leningrad
Ring of Fire play progressive power metal with neo-classical flourishes and feature a number of veterans vital to the history of the scene. Vocalist Mark Boals is best known for his time with Yngwie Malmsteen- guitarist Tony MacAlpine gained acclaim for his Shrapnel instrumental records of the late 80’s, and keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij is well…
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ASS TO MOUTH – Degenerate
‘Degenerate’ is the second full-length from Polish Death Grinders Ass to Mouth, offering up 20 tracks of extremely well-executed aural terror. I always feel cheated when a grind album starts out blasting and then settles into a kind of hardcore mess, but I’m happy to report that apart from the odd breakdown and intro, Ass…
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EZ LIVIN’ – Firestorm
Returning to the scene after a two decade plus layoff, Bonfire guitarist Hans Ziller resurrects the hard rock band EZ Livin’ with a second studio album "Firestorm". American vocalist David Reece joins the fold, along with Bonfire drummer Harry Reischmann, Seven Witches bassist Ronnie Parkes, keyboardist Paul Morris, and ex-Soul Doctor guitarist Chris Lyne as…
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YAUTJA – Songs of Descent
Midt i country musikk beltet i Nashville i USA finnes det et band som skiller seg totalt ut fra resten av mengden. Bandet består av tre herrer med erfaring fra band som Coliseum, Gnarwhal og Nameless Cults. De kaller seg for Yautja og spiller en mix av metalcore, rock, punk, noisecore, grindcore og industriell death…
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CRIPPLE BASTARDS – Nero in Metastasi
Italiensk grindcores store grunnpilar. Cripple Bastards ble dannet tilbake i 1988 og har i løpet av sine første 25 år sluppet ca 50 utgivelser. De fleste av disse er splitter, men bevitner et aktivt band med stor produktivitet. Bandet slipper i disse dager sin åttende fullengder og nå har gutta endelig fått litt tyngde bak…
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ONE MACHINE – The Distortion of Lies and the Overdriven Truth
International metal band with players from Denmark, England, Italy, and the United States, One Machine is the brainchild of guitarist Steve Smyth (who had played in Nevermore, Forbidden, and Testament through the years). Vocalist Mikkel Sandager (formerly of Mercenary) sings in a high pitch aggressive manner through many of these power/thrash tracks, channeling Rob Halford…
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HAMMERCULT – Steelcrusher
Israel’s Hammercult explode with unbridled thrash meets death metal ferocity on their second album "Steelcrusher". Imagine razor sharp dual rhythms careening against wild vocal speed scream patterns and gang background vocals as the tempos go from mid-tempo to hyper warp speed and you’ll understand why "Metal Rules Tonight", "Unholy Art", and the gallop blast madness…
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NEFAS TERRA – Life in Darkness
Nefas Terra is a Russian black metal entity consisting of two members, Chad and Klem. "Life in Darkness" contains 6 intense and merciless songs filled with icy riffs and grim vocals as well as a cover of Satyricon’s well-known "Mother North". The title track is a furious affair with a lot of catchy melodies and…
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BEHEMOTH – The Satanist
Mye har skjedd med og i Behemoth siden deres forrige album "Evangelion" kom ut for snart fem år siden. Det meste har handlet om Nergal. Blant annet har han vært alvorlig kreftsyk og blitt frisk igjen. Han har vært i et forhold med Polens mest kjente popstjerne, han har klippet håret og trent seg mer…
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FLOTSAM AND JETSAM – No Place for Disgrace 2014
Another re-release of a classic thrash anthem. After their crushing debut "Doomsday For The Deceiver"(1986), Flotsam & Jetsam went back to the lab to figure out how to top the seminal debut and the result became what the thrash hungry world knows as "No Place for Disgrace", released in 1988. Jason Newsted (who wrote most…
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HOODED MENACE – Labyrinth of Carrion Breeze
Finnish death/doom outfit Hooded Menace with Lasse Pykko are a personal favorite of mine in a genre where stagnation seems to be a problem with older bands new releases. Hooded Menace on the other hand manage to keep their dark, dragging and pure evil formula alive on new EP aptly named "Labyrinth of Carrion Breeze".…
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TRENCHROT – Necronomic Warfare
Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Trenchrot is a relatively new entry into the death metal field. Starting in 2012 with one demo "Dragged Down to Hell" to their credit one year later, we now get to hear their debut album "Necronomic Warfare"- and this should be very entertaining for those who love the mid 1980’s to…
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STORMWARRIOR – Thunder & Steele
German power metal is an institution. What began with Helloween in the mid 1980’s still exists today- especially in the minds and hearts of not just the fans, but acts like Stormwarrior. "Thunder & Steele" is the fifth studio album for the quartet- and first for latest drummer Jörg Uken who came into the band…
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DAYS OF LOSS – Our Frail Existence
At certain times in one’s life, the unexpected elements hit you and align to create something outstanding and exemplary. In 2014, it’s very difficult to rise above the noise in the metal world, given the fact that all over the globe hundreds of bands are releasing new product weekly in the form of demos, singles,…
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KILLFACE – Feeding the Dead
Killface er et fem-mann sterkt oldschool death/thrash band fra Irland. «Feeding the Dead» er bandets andre fullengder og her promoteres det for fan av band som Obituary, Sepultura, Destruction, Cannibal Corpse, Testament, Grave og Kreator. Dette er alle band jeg personlig har satt og setter stor pris på, så jeg må si jeg hadde store…