ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • VOICE OF REVENGE – Disintegration

    German death metal here that’s fairly straight forward in its execution on the second album "Disintegration". Illegible logo, lyrical outlook based on death, gore, and violence, musically pretty up tempo and acidic gruff roars encapsulate Voice Of Revenge in a similar vein as Unleashed and Hypocrisy, with the occasional atmospheric nods to Edge of Sanity.…

  • GAMMA RAY – Master of Confusion

    På grunn av forsinkelser i den planlagte nye skiva til Gamma Ray har bandet valgt å slippe en EP med to nye låter, to coverlåter og eks livelåter for å holde varmen hos fansen. Deadline for den nye skiva er flyttet fra januar 2013 til mars eller april 2014, så her er det bare å…

  • BURNING RAIN – Epic Obsession

    Formed in 1998 by current Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich, "Epic Obsession" comes out at a perfect time as the stock is rising for good old fashioned hard rock with 1970’s bluesy values. While Whitesnake hunkers down for work on their next studio album and releases a few live documents from their touring escapades over the…

  • ENTARTETE KUNTS – edited by Dennis Dread

    In 1998 Dread launched an art ‘zine called ‘Destroying Angels’- its mission to showcase the best (or worst!) of the art from the punk and metal scene of the day. Eventually this blossomed into an exhibition called ‘Entartete Kunts’, a play on words of nazi Germany’s ‘Entartete Kunst’, an exhibition of ‘degenerate art’. To cut…

  • M-PIRE OF EVIL – Crucified

    The second album from the trio M-Pire of Evil "Crucified" contains 11 tracks, but for an interesting twist of events 9 of these cuts are from Venom’s back catalog- at the time when bassist/vocalist Tony ‘Demolition Man’ Dolan and guitarist Mantas were in the group from 1989-1992. Cuts such as "Carnivorous", "Black Legions", and "Wolverine"…

  • ULTRA-VIOLENCE – Privilege To Overcome

    When your band name comes from Death Angel, it shouldn’t be surprising that the crux of your sound also develops from the Bay Area thrash movement. Such is the case with Torino, Italy’s Ultra-Violence, a quartet who formed in 2009 and unleashes a 13 song debut album with "Privilege to Overcome". Commissioning Ed Repka for…

  • TAAKE – Gravkamre, Kroner & Troner

    "Gravkamre, Kroner & Troner " is a 2CD Set released to commemorate 20 years of Taake. It contains alternate versions or well-known album tracks such as "Hordalands Doedskvad 1" , "Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmerikk 4" and "Nattestid ser Porten Vid 1" along with cover versions such as Von’s "Lamb", Burzum’s "A Lost Forgotten Sad Spirit" and Emperor’s…

  • SODOM – Epitome of Torture

    Thrashen er en metalsjanger som hadde sin første storhetstid på 80-tallet men etter et lite tiår dabbet interessen av og de fleste bandene enten forsvant eller tok mer eller mindre mislykkede musikalske retninger. Noen band valgte riktignok å fortsette som før og holdt liv i sjangeren og nå i de senere årene har sjangeren nådd…

  • BATTLE BEAST – Battle Beast

    You have a lifetime to create your first album and maybe six months for the follow up- if you are lucky and fortunate to be busy touring and promoting on the road to success. The self-titled second album from Finland traditional metal act Battle Beast is a 13 track effort with slightly commercial/ gothic leanings-…

  • DEEP PURPLE – Now What?!

    The old guard keeps pumping out quality material, knowing how to keep the songwriting machine rolling even as they enter their twilight years. Deep Purple release "Now What?!"- their first studio album in 8 years, and it’s like their bluesy based hard rock has not lost any of its musical texture, muscle, or superior catchiness.…

  • BLOOD RED THRONE – Blood Red Throne

    Blood Red Throne are back! The Kristiansand based death metal outfit that started out back in 1998 is ready to reclaim the death metal throne of Norway. With their seventh full-length called simply "Blood Red Throne" we are being force fed ultra heavy down tuned brutal death metal of highest quality. I personally got into…

  • EXELOUME – Return of the Nephilim EP

    Trønderske Exeloume skaffet seg mange fans da de slapp sitt debutalbum for et par år siden og de høstet stort sett gode kritikker for sin death/thrash. Nå er de tilbake med en firespors EP de har kalt «Return of the Nephilim» og jeg må innrømme at spenningen var stor til hvordan de har utviklet seg.…

  • ANVIL – Hope In Hell

    Now that the buzz is subsiding from their award winning documentary "The Story of Anvil", Canada’s Anvil can’t complain about being underrated no longer. The alliteration theme for album titles continues with their new studio album "Hope in Hell"- their 15th in 32 years. Receiving the bonus edition of the album with 13 tracks instead…

  • PHLEBOTOMIZED – Devoted to God / Preach Eternal Gospels

    Phlebotomized are one of those obscure death metal bands from the early 90´s that among many others of the same period now have their back catalog remastered and re-released for your listening pleasure. Vic records have compiled the demo from 92 "Devoted to God" and for some reason their second EP "Preach Eternal Gospels" from…

  • FAIR WARNING – Sundancer

    The German melodic hard rock band Fair Warning has been in existence since 1990, forging ahead in their 23rd year with the same four-piece that began: vocalist Tommy Heart, bassist Ule Ritgen, guitarist Helge Engelke, and drummer CC Behrens. It’s a testament to inner connectivity, personal respect, and obviously affinity for the style at hand,…

  • GAMA BOMB – The Terror Tapes

    Gama Bomb er et band jeg ikke har ofret for mye tid tidligere, men nå hadde jeg bestemt meg for å sjekke ut hva bandet erg ode for. Ny skive kalt «The Terror Tapes» er ute og nå skal den til pers. Det første som slår meg er vokalen til Joe McGuigan. Den er for…

  • ELOA VADAATH – Dead End Proclama

    We currently thrive on internet closeness- where recommendations can come within your fingertips. Checking out the roster on Noisehead Records thanks to one of my editors, I came upon this Italian avant- garde progressive death metal band Eloa Vadaath- and then learned that members of Australia’s Ne Obliviscaris also speak highly of this quintet. This…

  • MORTAL FORM – The Reckoning

    Straddling the lines of thrash and death with a bit of low tuned rhythmic groove, the third album from Dutch quintet Mortal Form "The Reckoning" could appeal to a diverse metal audience who like things raw and fierce with bursts of musical melody enhancement. "At Fever Pitch" contains a thoughtful lead break in more of…

  • HACRIDE – Back To Where You’ve Never Been

    A time of transition for this French progressive extreme metal act, as Hacride on album number four "Back to Where You’ve Never Been" gain new label support and break in two new members with drummer Florent Marcadet and vocalist Luiss Roux. This is my first chance to take in the quartet, and their blend of…

  • RHAPSODY OF FIRE – Live- From Chaos To Eternity

    A double live album from the Fabio Lione fronted version of the band (as the split with guitarist Luca Turilli means we have two Rhapsody bands furthering their market share, his known as Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody), "Live- From Chaos to Eternity" contains 24 tracks and 106 minutes of symphonic power metal entertainment. Recorded on their…

  • CATHEDRAL – The Last Spire

    Lee Dorian and his compatriots in doom metal icons Cathedral feel the time is right to put the band away, after 24 years from their first rehearsal days in 1989, numerous tours and festival dates, plus nine previous full lengths. "The Last Spire" is an 8 track, 56 minute journey into the land of stoner/…

  • HERETIC – Angelcunts and Devilcocks

    Heretic has to be one of the most widely used names for a metal act, so I should start by saying this is the Dutch Heretic and "Angelcunts and Devilcocks" is their fourth full-length. Those with finely honed deductive skills will probably have guessed the lyrical content from the title and cover artwork – Satan,…

  • ARTIZAN – Ancestral Energy

    They say you have a lifetime in a band’s career to refine and retool your debut album- and then half that time span (or shorter) to get a follow up out. Jacksonville, Florida traditional, melodic power metal band Artizan impressed this journalist right out of the gate with their debut album "Curse of the Artizan"-…

  • EVILE – Skull

    Leaders of the new UK thrash breed, Evile return for their fourth full length album "Skull"- not content to streamline their riff assault in the hopes of major commercial breakthroughs. And why should they? Lead guitarist Ol Drake has an open invitation to perform with Germany thrash veterans Destruction on their albums (and live if…

  • THE RESISTANCE – Scars

    The four-piece Swedish death metal act The Resistance consists of some well-known musicians within the metal ranks. Guitarists Jesper Stromblad and Glenn Ljungstrom of course had ties to Hammerfall, Dimension Zero and In Flames, with vocalist Marco Aro formerly involved in The Haunted. Drummer Christofer Barkensjo is the relative unknown, but if you do a…

  • SAFFIRE – From Ashes To Fire

    Swedish melodic hard rock band Saffire has been plugging away at their sound since 2005, recording a couple of demos and dealing with the normal lineup changes that often take place in getting a band off the ground. Their debut album "From Ashes to Fire" is a testament to 70’s and 80’s hard rock- engaging…

  • DESOLATE SHRINE – The Sanctum of Human Darkness

    Dark Descent records is a brilliant label at finding and releasing metal from obscure bands all over the world and even though Desolate Shrine is not exactly an newcommer to the genre, their death metal sophomore album "The Sanctum of Human Darkness" from late 2012 is a perfect example of the quality Dark Descent delivers…

  • DEATH TYRANT – Opus De Tyranis

    Formed out of the ashes of Lord Belial, Sweden has a new black/death metal unit to appreciate with Death Tyrant. Their debut album "Opus De Tyranis" contains 9 songs of aggressive black metal screams, equally extreme riffing and rhythms that recall the best mixture of the two genres from Scandinavian lands. The band intertwine this…

  • ANTHRAX – Anthems

    Frankly, I dont see the point of releasing an EP of covers. Anthrax deliver with the re-release of their last album "Worship Music" an EP consisting of tributes to what I suspect is their own influences. What you get on "Anthems" is six nicely done songs performed the Anthrax way by Rush, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC,…

  • DEATHSTORM – As Death Awakes

    Hvordan gjøre en feiende flott dag enda bedre? Jo, man finner en promo CD med østeriske Deathstorm nederst i promobunken og fyrer opp anlegget slik at naboen skvetter i stolen over hodet på meg og legger meg for hat resten av helga, hehe. Slikt blir det gode toner av. Dvs, ikke når gitaren ble tatt…