RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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INCANTATION – Mortal Throne of Nazarene re-release
Incantations cult classic «Mortal Throne of Nazarene» is seeing the light again as a re-release. McEntee & Company’s second full-length release originally from 1994 was a superb follow up to their dark and murky debut "Onward to Golgotha" from 1992. Their brand of death metal was menacing at the time and there’s to many clones/impersonators…
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THOUGHT CHAMBER – Psykerion
Six years removed from their debut album "Angular Perceptions", progressive rock/ metal act Thought Chamber return with "Psykerion", an ambitious 63 minute album with 16 tracks of varying lengths. This is not an effort to understand in one sitting- as the intricacy, musical chemistry, and obvious talent from the quintet should not be lost on…
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MONSTER MAGNET – Last Patrol
The 9th album from New Jersey psychedelic, space hard rock band Monster Magnet is "Last Patrol" – a 9 song, 52 minute plus excursion into the time warp ways of vocalist Dave Wyndorf, guitarists Garrett Sweeny and Phil Caivano, bassist Chris Kosnick , and drummer Bob Pantella. Expect a variance in terms of arrangements: the…
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ABIGOR – Supreme and Immortal is the Art of the Devil
This new 7"EP by the great Austrian horde known as Abigor is an interesting piece of work. It contains two songs, those being "Soil of Souls" and "Supreme and Immortal", that were conceived back in 1997 and then eventually reworked while Silenius added new vocals to them. Both "Soil of Souls" and "Supreme and Immortal"…
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EUPHORIC DEFILEMENT – Ascending to the Worms
Euphoric Defilement er et brutalt death metal band fra Los Angeles, USA. Bandet ble dannet i 2009, «Ascending to the Worms» er bandets debutalbum og den er utgitt på Unique Leader. Musikken deres kan egentlig deles opp i to deler. De raskere delene av musikken minner en del om det Decapitated holdt på med på…
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BLACK HAWK – A Mighty Metal Axe
Originally delivering their traditional metal sound to the masses from 1981-1997, they reformed in 2001 and since then are on album number five with "A Mighty Metal Axe". The quintet firmly play from an old school standpoint: heroes from the 70’s and 80’s scene like Judas Priest, Saxon, and Accept factor heavily into songs like…
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SPIRAL ARMS – Freedom
Guitarist Craig Locicero made his mark in the metal community with his work in Bay Area thrash favorite Forbidden. Following their demise, he moved into this hard rock act SpiralArms, a sextet of musicians with a strong affinity for the throwback 70’s and everything stripped down and gritty. "Freedom" is their sophomore release, three years…
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DEATH ANGEL – The Dream Calls for Blood
American thrash giants Death Angel are back with a fresh studio effort in the shape of The Dream Calls for Blood, their follow up to 2010’s Relentless Retribution. The album consists of 10 new tracks, taking the listener on a tour de force through the band’s hard hitting, fast flicking, gut wrenching brand of thrash…
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SEPULTURA – The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart
Post-Max led Sepultura has been a minefield to explore as far as sound changes and fan acceptance. No longer purely a thrash act, the quartet now led by guitarist Andreas Kisser, bassist Paulo Jr., vocalist Derrick Green and latest drummer Eloy Casagrande appears to be hitting a cross section of the metal and hardcore styles…
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DAVID REECE – Compromise
American singer David Reece has an impressive discography through the years. Many will first remember his voice on the 1989 Accept album "Eat the Heat", replacing the one of a kind Udo at a time when the band definitely sought to commercialize their stock traditional metal sound. Since then he’s performed on a few melodic…
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INQUISITION – Obscure Verses for the Multiverse
The well-known black metal duo that is Inquisition has unleashed a brand spanking new album entitled "Obscure Verses for the Multiverse" that will send shivers down your spine, and I think we can agree on that being a positive thing with respect to black metal. Many of you out there are already familiar with the…
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LECHEROUS NOCTURNE – Behold Almighty Doctrine
Brutaly beautifull. Lecherous Nocturne hits home on their third opus "Behold Almighty Doctrine". The US based death metal outfit debuted back in 2006 with "Adoration of the Blade", an album that not was well received so it´s really pleasing to hear how they have improved themself in just a few years. This is brutal, yet…
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REPUKED – Up From The Sewers
After a dull and repetetive intro/first song, Repuked get´s going like we got to know them on their debut "Pervertopia" (2011). Enter Filthdome is a nasty piece of death metal with all the ingredients to make it just (delightfully) disgusting. The tempo got the Autopsy vibe with both melody and intensity varying from listenable to…
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BABY SNAKES – Gunslingers
Baby Snakes er hjertebarnet til Trond Holter (Wig Wam, Jorn & Dream Police). Her har han fått med seg Wig Wam bassist Bernt Jansen, Podium vokalist Christian Klykken og Magnus Gulguften på trommer. «Gunslingers» er debutskiva deres og dette er et band som vil slå an hos mange. Dette er alt du vil ha i…
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ENSNARED – Ensnared EP
Swedish newcommers Ensnared (relatively speaking, they operated under the moniker Gravehammer from 2005-2010) releases their debut EP "Ravenous Damnation´s Dawn" on Nuclear Winter. Four songs put safely in the death metal genre that both impresess and to some account does not. It´s safe to say they know how to handle their instruments and they fill…
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MOTÖRHEAD – Aftershock
Take a licking and keeps on ticking, Lemmy Kilmister and the boys of Motorhead rev forward on their 21st studio album "Aftershock". I’m sure most are aware of Lemmy’s heart issues that cut short their Wacken Open Air performance this past summer- but it didn’t seem to stop the flow of energy and just raw…
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SECTORIAL – Erase and Reborn the Humanity
Her er nok et album fra Ukraina og Metal Scrap Records som jeg liker. Jeg har fått et helt nytt syn på ukrainsk metal etter de siste ukenes anmeldelser og denne gangen er det et band med navn Sectorial og deres debutskive jeg falt for. Sectorial ble startet opp i 2000. De var mer et…
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RED FANG – Whales and Leeches
Sticking with their pattern of releasing a new record once every other year, the American quartet Red Fang is back with Whales and Leeches, pulling the title of the album from a track off of their 2009 debut album Red Fang. For the sake of order, 2011’s Murder the Mountains fill the gap between the…
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GEHENNA – Unravel
Finally! I`ve waited a long time for a new Gehenna album to see the light of day. It`s been 8 years since we were served "WW", which was an excellent album in my opinion. Nearly every Gehenna album has something interesting to it, so naturally I was pretty excited about this new album of theirs.…
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PSYCHEMA – Bygones EP
I must say it’s quite rare to hear an original metal band’s inception as a wedding band, but such is the case with this Finnish five-some back in 2007. The follow up to last year’s "The Entry Point" debut album, "Bygones" consists of 2 original songs, an edited version of one of those original songs,…
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KARMA-RAGE – SoCiym
Metal fra østenfor Polen er sjelden bra, men her kommer et gullkorn fra Ukraina kalt Karma-Rage. Bandet ble dannet i 2010, men gutta har spilt sammen under andre navn siden 2005. Stilarten er teknisk thrash metal av den litt moderne varianten. Normalt snur jeg den skeptiske siden til når ordet moderne dras inn i thrashen,…
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TRANSIENT – Transient
Ok, I am gonna state right from the beginning that I am a fan of grindcore and on paper, this is just the sort of thing that should float my boat. The beats are slamming, the riffs are deathly and the mix of fast to slow is pretty much exactly how I like it. So…
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BLACK SPIDERS – This Savage Land
Ever since 2011’s Sons of the North, UK powerhouse Black Spiders have made people across this weary land yearn for more of their mix of hard hitting stoner metal and classic rock. This Savage Land kicks off with a cannon to the face in the shape of ‘Knock you out’. It’s the perfect opener, injecting…
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MAD MAX – Interceptor
German hard rock with a slight traditional metal slant is in full effect from Mad Max. "Interceptor" is the 11th studio record, another 10 song effort with sights squarely set on bare bones hooks, bluesy vocals, and guitar riffing/ rhythms made to get you out of your seat and move. You’ll get 8 new tracks,…
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77 – Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll
Heard this story before: brother guitar duo fires up their amplifiers in the desire to rock? Living at full volume, vocalist / guitarist Armand Valeta and his guitarist brother LG, along with drummer Dolphin and bassist Raw comprise Spain’s ’77 – already making a splash on the retro hard rock scene with their previous two…