ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • WARDRUNA – Yggdrasil

    Four years of faithful waiting are soon to be over for Wardruna fans and/or enthusiasts. ‘Yggdrasil’, the second part of an announced ‘Runaljod’ trilogy, having each album focusing on eight runes taken from the oldest form of the runic alphabet, Elder Futhark. Following the mysticism and the tradition of intense moods from the first release,…

  • OCTOBER TIDE – Tunnel Of No Light

    The fourth album from Sweden’s October Tide comes with a shifting of the membership guard so to speak. Following a heavy European tour schedule in support of 2010’s comeback effort "A Thin Shell", bassist Pierre Stam and vocalist Tobias Netzell would step down due to musical difference or family issues- so enter newest members Mattias…

  • STRYPER – Second Coming

    Even though "Second Coming" is somewhat of a Best of-album, Stryper has managed to re-record fourteen of their most demanded songs and made them as if they were all fresh out of the notebook. Adding two completely new songs ( Bleeding From Inside Out, and Blackened) makes it even better. Not that those peticular songs…

  • NICUMO – The End Of Silence

    In my warped journalistic mind, I ponder thoughts like this: just as every young Scandinavian musician gains incredible opportunities to government assisted musical education programs, most Finnish lads dream of becoming rock stars. The perks are nice: adulation, access to booze, as well as a certain amount of fame and fortune if you play your…

  • THE LIDOCAINE – On The Road To Miero

    This Finnish quartet The Lidocaine presents an intriguing blend of bluesy, dirt-incrusted hard rock with progressive elements on their second album "On the Road to Miero". The 11 songs on this record fuse the oddball elements of say System of a Down or Faith No More against the straight forward power of acts like King’s…

  • THE OMEGA EXPERIMENT – The Omega Experiment

    These days, home recording affords artists a chance to refine their ideas at their own desired pace- and sometimes deliver stunning results. Michigan duo The Omega Experiment deliver on their first full length album a quirky progressive metal sound, filled with electronic and ambient elements that should appeal to many left of center followers. Dan…

  • DISSECT – Swallow Swouming Mass

    Dave and his brilliant label Xtreem Records is rereleasing the lost gem "Swallow Swouming Mass" by death metal act Dissect from the Netherlands. Original album release was way back in 1993 and its Dissect only release apart from a couple of demos. This dutch fearsome foursome delivers by todays standard a pretty common form of…

  • MORTILLERY – Origin of Extinction

    The sophomore outing from Canada’s Mortillery "Origin of Extinction" offers up ten tracks of thrash that will take listeners back to the birth of the genre. In modern times, we are treated to retro thrash that has big beefy digital production and sneaky blasting creeping in here and there. Not so on this release! This…

  • AXEL RUDI PELL – Live On Fire

    Sometimes the best plans are ones that happen in a spur of the moment. Veteran hard rock guitarist Axel Rudi Pell has been releasing product for over 25 years, but hasn’t released a live album since 2002’s "Knights Live". On the second leg of his "Circle of the Oath" tour in Cologne, Germany, the band…

  • SVARTHAUEG – Ritual

    Nå om dagen virker som om thrashen er tilbake for fullt i Oslo. Ikke at det er noe stort minus og jeg venter ikke akkurat med spenning på et nytt black metal band fra Norge dukker opp. Det har dukket opp mye drittband i siste halvdel av 2000-tallet som spiller norsk, «oldschool», black metal. I…

  • VIOLENTOR – Rot

    Her har vi Violentor, et italiensk thrash metal band med en gitarist som helt klart har hørt mye på punk og punkrock som Discharge, GHB og Ramones i sin ungdom. Jeg kan ikke huske å ha hørt så mye Discharge-riff siden…….. ja, siden sist jeg hørte på «Hear Nothing…» skiva. Riffene er kjappere enn hva…

  • IN VAIN – Ænigma

    Norway’s In Vain return with their third album "Ænigma"- and this sextet perform a diverse form of extreme metal with leanings to doom and progressive tendencies. They appear unafraid to inject free floating saxophone use during the 9:30 "Floating on the Murmuring Tide" and employ dual clean/ gruff death/black metal vocals through these 9 songs.…

  • DUNKELL REITER – Death and Pain

    Brasiliansk thrash metal er som oftest kult. De har en tradisjon for å slippe band utenlands først når de har noe å fare med. Dunkell Reiter har det, selv om det er skranglethrash innimellom. De er tydelig inspirert av tidlig Metallica og Destruction. Åpningslåta er nesten på grensen til rip-off til sistnevnte band mens resten…

  • BLUDVERA – Terrorform EP

    Navnet Bludvera kan thrash metal fans bare bite seg merke i med en gang. Dette Liverpool bandet er ekstremt inspirert av Bay Area thrash metal og det er både heftig, fengende og morderisk vanedannende. Det skjer enormt mye i låtene deres hele tiden, men uten at de beveger seg utenfor den musikalske verdenen til Bay…

  • WARCKON – The Madman’s Lullaby

    Starting their mission of thrash domination in the summer of 2009, Belgian act Warckon grew a steady following in 2010 before recording this self-financed album in 2011- bumping it up from its intended EP release. French label Emanes Metal knows a good thing when they hear it, so this 10 track effort gets a bigger…

  • NIGHTMARE – About To Explode

    Columbian skull crushing old school heavy metal here from the four-piece act Nightmare on this album "About To Explode". Fans should expect high octane vocals, riffing with the spirit of 80’s speed and power at the helm, along with a little bit of NWOBHM ambiance. Primitive, down to earth production values keep the band’s sound…

  • LONG DISTANCE CALLING – The Flood Inside

    Tyske Long Distance Calling ble dannet tilbake i 2006, ga ut debutalbumet i 2007 og er nå klar med sin 4. fullengder.  Foran dette siste albumet, har bandet skilt lag med originalmedlemmet Reimut von Bonn. Noe som igjen har ført til at bandet denne gang har med seg flere gjesteartister. På dette albumet har de…

  • BLOOD TSUNAMI – For Faen

    Blood Tsunami er i disse dager ute med et album det lukter svidd av. Riffene er av den ultrakjappe sorten, skiva er klinisk ren for lange kjedelige introer, alt er rått og skittent og til de grader tøft. Det er fullt trøkk hele veien og etter en hel dag med kun «For Faen» på ørene,…

  • DGM – Momentum

    The eighth studio album "Momentum" from Italian progressive metal band DGM is an accurate assessment of where the band’s ability and creativity stand. Surviving the loss of long-time vocalist Titta Tani, their latest singer Mark Basile has been an impressive replacement, breathing explosive and emotional life in to the quintet. For those who love impressive…

  • VISIONS OF ATLANTIS – Ethera

    The fifth full length from Austrian symphonic metal band Visions Of Atlantis, "Ethera" possesses many of the expected elements from this genre. Male/ female vocals, grandiose keyboard parts against softer piano runs, and melodic hooks galore both in the singing and the music. The record contains 11 songs and 48 minutes of outer world splendor,…

  • IRON KOBRA – Dungeon Masters

    The moniker of this German band leaves little to the imagination regarding what you’ll expect when you press play. If you are expecting anything less than a classic form of traditional heavy metal from Iron Kobra, you need to examine your priorities. The quartet with cool stage names such as Sir Serpent, Ringo Snake, Don…

  • RAVEN LORD – Descent To The Underworld

    Intertwining the best of neo-classical metal and classic heavy metal, Raven Lord burst onto the scene with an addictive 11 song debut album in "Descent to the Underworld". Vocalist Csaba Zvekan assembled a series of European musicians for recording purposes, and now has a touring act in place with guitarists Joe Stump and George Karafotis,…

  • DEFEATED SANITY – Passages into Deformity

    Like any other sane person with an aquired taste for extreme music I need my (almost) daily fix of brutality. Either it is old Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus or some NY breakdowns ala Suffocation, the brutality hunger must be fed once in a while. Of course the old classics never grow old like "Sermon of…

  • MOLLY HATCHET – Paying Tribute

    Southern rock band Molly Hatchet have always had a harder edge than most of the bands in their genre- so it shouldn’t be a shock to the system that on this mostly ‘cover’ album that they include a couple of hard rock classics in the mix. "The Boys Are Back In Town" from Thin Lizzy…

  • BUD TRIBE – Eye of the storm

    Writing "Mötorhead meet Judas Priest amongst others" should be enough to make you interested in Bud Tribe, unless you`re already a fan. Because, you either like it or love it. And now that I have your attention, at least make room between the Mötorhead  and Judas Priest records. These Italian guys deliver Old-school metal with…

  • NEAERA – Ours Is The Storm

    To find a metal band such as Neaera on their sixth full length studio album with "Ours Is the Storm" in their 10 year history without a single lineup change is a rarity indeed. Commitment to the cause should pay dividends, as this German melodic death metal quintet with hardcore inflections set their sights squarely…

  • SEAX – High on Metal

    Seax kategoriseres som amerikansk speed metal. Det er ikke sånn speed metal jeg er vant til å høre. Jeg ville nok heller kalt det tradisjonell heavy metal med noen kjappere partier og låter. Det blir kanskje flisespikkeri, men men. «Hig non Metal» er bandets eneste utgivelse. Den ble utgitt at dem selv i fjor og…

  • W.E.T. – Rise Up

    22nd of February the Swedish band W.E.T released their second album since 2009, titling it "Rise Up".  Their sound and genre is described as modern melodic hard rock, however after listening to the three first tracks on the album and thinking it was all just one never ending song, I beg to differ. Calling it…

  • TORMENT – The Damage Is Done

    The second album from Italian band Torment is fairly predictable in its old thrash execution. Understandable given the quartet’s early development as a thrash cover act tackling Slayer, Destruction, and Possessed material- so should it really be a surprise that the 8 tracks on "The Damage Is Done" resemble those fast and furious influences? With…

  • MACABRE DEMISE – Stench of Death

    Jaggu dukka det ikke opp enda et tysk death metal band. Heldigvis er dette brutal death metal / grindcore. Eller heldigvis og heldigvis, forutsetningene for at det kan bli bra er i alle fall til stede på denne skiva. Grindcore er normalt lettere å få til enn death metal….i teorien. Så var det dette med…