RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
-
JAMES LABRIE – Impermanent Resonance
Never one to let idle time stroll by, Dream Theater vocalist James Labrie decided the time was right to release another solo album mere months before the next DT studio platter hits the marketplace. Ideally individual offerings give high caliber musicians a chance to expand their horizons, work with a different set of players, and…
-
PATRONYMICON – All Daggers Towards the Sky
Patronymicon is a Swedish black metal band that came into existence back in 2008. Initially it was a one-man band of sorts, but gradually it turned into a quartet. Previous releases include the demo "Coldborn" and the full-length album entitled "Prima Omega". "All Daggers Towards the Sky" is a good and decent slab of filthy…
-
MASCHINE – Rubidium
Guitarist /vocalist Luke Machin is no slouch at his instrument. Between the ages of 8-12, he averaged 8 hours of practice a day at his craft- sometimes up to 10 hours in a given day. As a safe estimate, that would eclipse the 10,000 hours of practice author Malcolm Gladwell mentions in his book "Outliers"…
-
OLD FUNERAL – Our Condolences 1988-1992
Old Funeral where a death metal band from Bergen that where active only for short period of time. They may be mostly known for having members like Varg Vikernes, Abbath and Jørn (later in Hades Almighty) in their early ranks before all of them ventured forward into black metal. The only managed to release a…
-
NECROPSY – Tomb of the Forgotten – The complete demo recordings
Necropsy, the forgotten gem from the first wave of death metal originals from Finland finally get their two minutes of deserved fame. Necropys with primarly the Kosonen brothers as the driving force placed Necropsy on the death metal map along peers like Xysma, Demigod, Abhorrence (now Amorphis) and of course everyones favorites Demilich from the…
-
AETERNUS – …And the Seventh His Soul Detesteth
The well-known Norwegian dark metal force known as Aeternus have returned with a follow up to "HeXaeon" (2006) and it`s good to have them back. Their back catalogue is a bit hit-or-miss with me and I don`t like all of their previous offerings, so naturally I was a bit curious as to which category this…
-
KIRKEBRANN – Når Alt Dør
The Norwegian band named Kirkebrann mailed me a copy of their latest and first official full-length album entitled "Når Alt Dør" some days ago. As the band name, cover art, and song titles indicate, Kirkebrann perform old-school black metal that is clearly inspired by some of the first wave Norwegian releases dating from the early…
-
BLACK TUSK – Tend no Wounds EP
Black Tusk er et band som til nå ikke helt har slått helt an her i heimen, men jeg ville likevel gi dem en sjanse da deres nye EP "Tend no Wounds" dukket opp i postkassen. Musikken deres har vært bra, men ikke så bra at de har unngått den store svære sekken som inneholder…
-
ILLUSION SUITE – The Iron Cemetery
The second album for Norway progressive metal band Illusion Suite comes with a series of changes. Relinquishing themselves from Limb Music, the quartet sign with Power Prog Records in Europe and Nightmare Records for North America and gain a new guitarist with Kim Jacobsen taking over for 8 year veteran Oyvind Larsen. "The Iron Cemetery"…
-
IMPLODE – Under A New Sun
A 4 song EP of Swedish death/ thrash here, this is my first exposure to Implode (what a great band name for a metal act). "Under a New Sun" whirs by in a scant 13 minutes, and it combines a lot of modern flavors with occasional nods to the domestic scene of early thrash. The…
-
LEFT FOR DEAD – Devoid of Nothing
Somewhere around the mid 90’s Ontario based hardcore punk act Left for Dead decided to hang up their guitars, leaving a relatively scant record of their existence. Sadly, this meant that they didn’t reach their deserved audience before they exited the stage. 2013 saw the band get back together, playing their first gigs in 17…
-
BEHEXEN – Rituale Satanum
In my opinion Finland has become a bastion of orthodox Black Metal over the last decade. Whilst acts from other countries have done more to stretch the boundaries of the genre, it seems that the taciturn Finns have concentrated on milking as much as they can from the formulas created by the second wave of…
-
WITHERSCAPE – The Inheritance
Dan Swano earns the right to be as prolific (or thoughtful) as he desires. The depth of his collective work as musician, songwriter, and producer in the metal community should put him in a hall of fame if we had one to place him in. Edge of Sanity in the 1990’s put his talent on…
-
THE QUILL – Tiger Blood
Heavy rock, stoner rock, it’s all still rock ‘n roll to me (and Billy Joel who had a number one hit with the song). Sweden’s The Quill plug along with their seventh album "Tiger Blood" – and I’m uncertain whether Charlie Sheen’s drug induced binges on his infamous promo tour following his firing from his…
-
PARASITE INC – Time Tears Down
You always feel a sense of worry creep in when adjectives such as ‘modern’ and ‘melodic’ are thrown into the same category for a metal band. Especially when taking in a band like Parasite Inc. for the first time- a four piece hailing from Aalen, Germany. "Time Tears Down" is their second album, a 13…
-
QUEENSRYCHE – Queensrÿche
Having heard all of the details of Geoff Tate’s split with his bandmates of over 20 years, I was interested to check out this album and see what it all meant in musical terms. Firstly because it has often been said that Geoff was strongly instrumental in the band’s migration to a more Adult-Oriented Metal…
-
ARSTIDIR LIFSINS / HELRUNAR – Fragments. A Mythological Excavation
This split LP/CD by Arstidir Lifsins and Helrunar is a beautiful piece of introspective and philosophical music. Both bands have contributed one long and epic track each to this release, but whereas Arstidir Lifsins taps into old norse mythology Helrunar leans toward some of the ideas and themes set forth in Homer`s "Odyssey". The song…
-
TO THE PAIN – To The Pain
Long Island, New York band that began in early 2012 and release their debut self-titled album. To The Pain is a five-piece outfit with a lot of traditional power riffs and melodic harmonies, more in line with the late 80’s movement when Metallica was slowing down and a lot of ripping guitarists were getting attention…
-
DUSKMACHINE – Duskmachine
My ears and eyes perk up when you have proven players in the metal business forming a new outfit. Joe Comeau is known in certain circles for his guitar skills in Overkill, while others know vocally what he can do with Liege Lord and Annihilator. Drummer Randy Black also played in Annihilator and currently drums…
-
DEBAUCHERY – Kings Of Carnage
The eighth album from German death metal warmachine Debauchery may have better production skills with Dennis Ward handling the boards- but I didn’t find much to really get gung ho delighted about musically, vocally, or songwriting-wise. Three blood titles ("Let There Be Blood", "Man In Blood", and "Blood God Kills") appears to be about two…
-
SANDSTONE – Delta Viridian
The melodic progressive metal band Sandstone returns for their fourth full length "Delta Viridian". This Northern Ireland quintet has been quite impressive with their style, making a major leap in terms of songwriting and uniqueness with their last album in 2011 "Cultural Dissonance". So with great anticipation I press play on their new 12 track…
-
MYTHERY – The Awakening Of The Beast
Names seem to be at a premium in the metal business these days. Should I really be surprised that this Danish sextet who professes a love of symphonic progressive rock and metal would combine the myth and mystery words into their moniker? Not really… and yet their debut album "The Awakening of the Beast" is…
-
LOBOTOMIZED – Norwegian Trash
Debutskiva til det norske grindcorepunksleezyslickbandet Lobotomized har latt vente på seg, men nå er den endelig ute. Bandet ble dannet i 2005, og de fleste er vel enige om at åtte år er lenge nok å vente på et debutalbum. Men så var det dette uttrykket om at den som venter på noe godt da.…
-
MARCUS JIDELL – Pictures From A Time Traveller
Stepping away from his regular gig as one of the axe masters in Sweden’s Evergrey, Marcus Jidell flexes his progressive, instrumental muscles on this 7 song, 33 minute plus effort. He at heart can display the fine arpeggio sweeps and picking skills of virtuoso masters like Malmsteen, Blackmore, and others of the neo-classical penchant- but…
-
NEWMAN – Siren
The tenth studio album from UK melodic rock veterans Newman continues the trend of shimmer vocal harmonies and pirate-sized musical hooks in these 12 tracks. Vocalist/ guitarist Steve Newman crafts songs like "Feel Her Again" and "Had Enough" with this close to arena/ AOR style chord progressions and easy on the ear melodies that can…