RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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HATESPHERE – Murderlust
The veteran Danish death/thrash with groove act Hatesphere return to assault our eardrums with another studio platter in "Murderlust" – their eighth. The 10 songs that comprise this effort showcase an experienced, seasoned quintet locked into a style that they know works- brutal at times, melodic when called for, but never compromising their integrity and…
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ROOT – Viginti Quinque Annis in Scaena
This is the first time that I have ever heard a live ROOT performance and I must say that I`m pleasantly surprised at how tight the band sounds on this latest audio assault of theirs. Their unique style of dark, occult, and epic black metal sounds quite punchy and atmospheric in this particular live setting…
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CRUSHER – Endless Torment
Thrash metal fra de russiske statene er ikke det jeg har mest tro på. Sett bort fra kultbandet Kruiz, er det lite eller ingenting bra som har kommet derfra. Crusher kommer fra Ukraina har vært aktive siden 2007, men de har ikke klart å produsere noe i fysisk format bortsett fra en EP og en…
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ONSLAUGHT – VI
Back in the mid 80’s thrash metal was my life and Onslaught were one of my favourite bands. However, by the end of that decade, as we all know, thrash was beginning to groan under the weight of oversubscription and major label fiddling and the Bristol five-piece was one of the casualties. London Records had…
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SIREN’S CRY – Scattered Horizons
No longer exclusively a gentlemen’s club, many females are entering the progressive metal fold. Hailing from Austria, Siren’s Cry features female vocalist Katie Joanne and on their debut album "Scattered Horizons" the quintet embody a sound with symphonic tinges to their obvious intricate, sophisticated ways. Originally released in 2012 independently, Nightmare Records felt the time…
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DEVARIEM – Planet Earth Ground Zero
Tyskland hadde store tradisjoner med å produsere gode thrash metal band, men det er lenge siden de kom med noe nytt som er verdt å nevne. Kreator, Destruction, Tankard og Sodom regnes fortsatt om de fire store innen både tysk og teutonisk thrash metal. Devariem er et relativt nytt tysk thrash metal navn som ble…
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ISTÅRN – Skyggeland
Istårn is a relatively new Norwegian black metal band comprised of three guys. I can’t tell if there’s a fourth member involved now, as stated on Metal Archives, but the booklet only shows three guys, so I’m sticking to that. They got together back in 2010 and hail from Bergen. "Skyggeland" is, as far as…
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ARGUS – Beyond The Martyrs
The third album from Pennsylvania’s Argus, "Beyond The Martyrs" contains a lot of epic twin guitar harmonies and traditional metal rhythms and tempos- along with the twists of doom to keep your ears buzzing. Vocalist Butch Balich possesses one of those commanding from the mountain-top ranges- something you would expect from Tony Martin-era Sabbath along…
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AVULSED – Ritual Zombie
Spain´s Avulsed is pushing 20+ and are still as deadly as when they started out with debut "Eminence in Putrescence" back in 96. Their twisted into form of brutal and necrophobic death metal still holds the flag of hate high on their sixth full-length "Ritual Zombie". Dave Rotten keeps his head to the dirty underground…
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NOMAD SON – The Darkening
Active for 7 years and hailing from Malta, Nomad Son unleash their third album "The Darkening" on a market place hungry for some quality doom metal. Given the return of Black Sabbath with Ozzy to prominence through the chart topping "13" record and the retirement of Cathedral and Candlemass (the latter at least in studio…
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END OF GREEN – The Painstream
Southern Germany’s End Of Green performs in a cross-pollenated style of heavy music on this eighth album "The Painstream". Equal parts coming from the alternative, gothic and metal sides, the quintet keeps their sound very hook-oriented and hypnotic all the same. Drumming that is forceful and groovy, a bass that keeps the blood pumping, guitar…
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WINDHAND – Soma
Virginia psychedelic doom metal band Windhand releases their second full length album "Soma". A 6 song, 77 minute record with the final two tracks "Cassrock" and "Boleskine" taking up 45 minutes alone, this is not the type of album you want to engage in if you are in a hurry. Certain songs have a weird…
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BODYFARM – The Coming Scourge
Death metal from the Netherlands, Bodyfarm subscribe to the tried and true principles of the genre on their second studio album "The Coming Scourge". The four-piece perform with the spirit of the early 90’s European scene in terms of their tones, production quality, and riff selection. The eerie horror trilling within "Frontline Massacre" which rolls…
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VULTURE INDUSTRIES – The Tower
If you’re looking for another out of the ordinary musical experience originating from Norway, then the name Vulture Industries should be pretty high on top of that list. The band consists of current and former members of SULPHUR, BLACK HOLE GENERATOR, MALICE IN WONDERLAND and SYRACH and the avant-garde metal from their previous two full…
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STORMLORD – Hesperia
22 years in the industry and this is my first experience with the Italian symphonic black/ power oriented metal act known as Stormlord. Better late than never I always say, and with their fifth full length album "Hesperia" I take in any interesting cocktail of sounds from the sextet. Often setting up tracks with extraneous…
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CORPSET – No Rest
Returning with their second album "No Rest", Finnish death metal quintet Corpset hopefully stretch beyond their obvious old school Swedish influences that made 2011’s "Ruins" very average in songwriting at best. What is interesting about the 9 songs on this record is the inclusion of a 9 minute plus arrangement "Prophet’s Opiate" placed right in…
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WOLVSERPENT – Perigea Antahkarana
I find it somewhat difficult to label and elaborate on the style and content of Wolvserpent’s music, but I guess it would be fair to say that the duo incorporates elements of doom metal, drone, and ambient into their exciting and highly atmospheric blend of music. I can even detect a few black- and death…
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BROKEN HOPE – Omen of Disease
Broken Hope are finally back in business! Being put on hold after 1999´s "Grotsque Blessings" (an album that did not hit home), Jeremy Wagner & Company is back with their sixth full-lentht "Omen of Disease". BH have never quite reached the potential they showcased on debut "Swamped in Gore", an album that is highly underrated…
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NECROPSY – Psychopath Next Door
Necropsy is back on track. The finnish death metalers started out doing just that, playing death metal the way it is supposed to be. They where a part of the first wave of the findeath scene back in the early 90´s but lost it completely on their "comeback" album "Bloodwork" back in 2011. Earlier this…
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SCYTHE – Subterranean Steel
Arising from the demise of Usurper, guitarist/ vocalist Rick Scythe formed this blackened thrash trio, filling out the lineup with bassist Dan Geist and drummer Joey Contreras. On their second full length "Subterranean Steel" one can expect relentless riffs, raw natural drum tones, a thick bass that is 100% metal and Rick’s throat projection that…
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SPARKLANDS – Tomocyclus
A Dutch act with a strong appreciation for the AOR/ melodic rock genre on their debut album "Tomocyclus", Sparklands means the world to the brother team of vocalist Thomas Riekerk and guitarist/ keyboardist Robert Riekerk. The studio musicians they assembled to work on this 14 song effort also show a world class respect and professionalism…