RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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NERVECHAOS – To The Death
Forming in 1996, the four piece death metal quartet Nervochaos hail from Sao Paulo, Brazil and their fifth full length release "To the Death" shows no signs of slowing down their crusade for fierce riffing, guttural vocals, and punishing tempos. The 13 songs on this record feature a mixture of slightly up tempo arrangements and…
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DECEPTOR – Chains Of Delusion
Three piece thrash with a space vibe- the UK band Deceptor may not fit normal categorical conventions, but isn’t that what makes metal so special to the fans? The 6 track EP "Chains of Delusion" has a fun spirit coursing through the arrangements and performances- although the reference points can be as diverse as Iron…
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GROTESQUE HYSTERECTOMY – Sororicide
Did you say deathgrind from Norway? That’s not the most common genre we are accustomed to up here north, but that doesent mean we cant deliver the goods. Grotesque Hysterectomy hail from Oslo and "Sororicide" is the groups second offering since their debut "Reek" back in 2007. "Reek" was an album I found quite entertaining…
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EYEFEAR – The Inception Of Darkness
The Australian metal scene has received accolades in the past few years for its extreme domestic product infiltrating the international label ranks as well as a potent power/ progressive metal market. Eyefear is one of the veterans in the latter category, recording their debut album "Edge of Existence" in 1995 and now releasing their fifth…
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KOLDBRANN – Vertigo
On ‘Vertigo’, Koldbrann have gone for a frosty but modern production. But while the cymbals crash like ice and the guitars cut like a north wind, the bass comes through bringing a touch of warmth that balances out the sound. So: cold – yes, necro – no. The songs are generally slow to mid-paced, marrying…
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GORTAL – Deamonolith
‘Deamonolith’ is the second full-length release from Polish DM trio Gortal. The sound is heavily US influenced, with lots of heavy riffing, tons of blasting and gravel voiced growls. The production is clean and modern with lots of bottom end and manages to capture all of the considerable power being produced in the studio. The…
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HANGING GARDEN – At Every Door
The opening guitar strumming, eerie background keyboards and thunderous doom drumming had me thinking this Finnish act would be taking us back into the lands of The Gathering circa "Mandylion" – if not for the death growls. Hanging Garden on their third album "At Every Door" unfurls their brand of doom metal with atmospheric, post-rock…
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AVENTYR – Driven
Over the past decade these Norwegian rockers may have started, stopped, and started again due to inconsistent lineups, but the current five-piece incarnation released the "Trouble" EP in 2011, leading to a new label deal and the thrill of a 10 song debut full length hitting the shelves. In 32 minutes you’ll understand that Aventyr…
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PHOENIX RISING – On The Loose
There must be something lately in the water about AOR musicians that willingly craft exquisite material even with the minimalist amount of musicians. The Italian group Phoenix Rising on their debut album "On The Loose" keep the focus on stellar songwriting and the right amount of keyboards to guitar laden musical hooks, while the vocals…
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REPULSIVE AGGRESSION – Conflagration
I couldn’t find much info about Norwegian act Repulsive Aggression, but I believe I’m correct in saying that ‘Conflagration’ is their first full-length release. It contains ten tracks of tightly focussed death metal with thrash influences littered throughout. Some members of the band were involved in black metal acts prior to recording this album last…
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BERKOVITZ – Sent to Dominate
Berkowitz is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Unas and this is his second full-length release in only two years. From the start it is obvious that this is a pretty impressive piece of work. ‘Sent to Dominate’ is modern black metal with a balanced production, so it doesn’t sound too bottom or top heavy. In terms…
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SHYLOCK – Walking Tall
"Walking Tall" is the sixth studio album for German hard rockers Shylock. In the interim since their last release "RockBuster" in 2010, vocalist Matthias Schenk and guitarist Johannes Amrhein started a new band called Cosmic Black with drummer Ramy Ali (Evidence One, Iron Mask, Sommerville/Kiske among others) and had a few lineup shuffles to deal…
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TASTE – Taste
A Swedish duo that lives for the 80’s melodic hard rock and AOR scene, Taste consists of a brother team: Christoffer Borg on vocals, guitars, and keyboards while Felix Borg handles bass, drums, and additional keyboards. Writing material since 2009, they haven’t found suitable band mates when taking this material out on the road live,…
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SHAKRA – Powerplay
A staple in my listening diet is meat and potatoes melodic hard rock and metal. Since my days of youth I’ve become accustomed to the sound of a solid guitar riff wrapped around a crushing drum tempo and powerful singing up to the challenge of bringing the energy level to high. Switzerland’s Shakra has been…
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UNCONSECRATED – Awakening in the Grave
Unconsecrated hail from Spain and "Awakening in the Grave" is a compilation of various demos and EP’s since their inception back in 2006. Personally I had never heard about this band before it dumped down in my inbox some time back but I can see on the world wide web that they have quite an…
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MASTERSTROKE – Broken
Sometimes being brief works wonders when explaining the facts regarding a band. Case in point: Finland’s Masterstroke. The last few years between albums on their official Facebook page get this explanation: 2010- some gigs in Finland, 2011- some gigs in Finland, studio & a little break. 2013- fourth album "Broken". And as such, this 8…
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MAJESTY – Thunder Rider
7 years beyond their last studio album "Hellforces", the German traditional metal act Majesty returns with "Thunder Rider", just in time for a killer European tour with Gun Barrel, Wizard, and Grave Digger. The foundation of the band’s sound contains a lot of Manowar power and sentiment, but I think they also include a fair…
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WITCH CROSS – Fit For Fight
One great thing about a recession is that it seems to send record companies looking back in time for something they can polish off and present to the cash strapped record buying public, rather than spending a wad on a new band who may or may not make it. Ok, this is tough titty for…
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LORD OF THE GRAVE – Green Vapour
The second the music starts the fuzzy vibes of Basel-based three-piece Lord of the Grave hit you in the face like a lead pipe wrapped in velvet. Hurty, but nice. In terms of sound, we are looking at sludgy stoner doom, along the same lines as Finland’s finest, Reverend Bizzarre. The bass rumbles like a…
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DESTRUCTION – Spiritual Genocide
Destruction was one of my favourite bands back in the early days of German thrash. What I liked most about them was their raw, chaotic approach. ‘Sentence of Death’ is the release I go back to most, because it captures Destruction at their most unhinged and chaotic. ‘Infernal Overkill’ was a classic too, featuring the…
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DESTRUCTION – Spiritual Genocide
Destruction should not need any introduction to the seasoned metal head. This German giant have produced (now) classics since their inception back in the early 80’s and even they did not deliver the goods at all when Schmier was out of the cut some years back in the 90’s they have always been a force…
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MORS PRINCIPIUM EST – …And Death Said Live
Transformation can be a scary proposition- especially in the metal world when you lose one of your key members. Such is the case with Finnish melodic death metal band Mors Principium Est. Following the 2007 release of their third album "Liberation= Termination", guitarist Jori Haukio left, followed shortly thereafter by Jarkko Kokko. Spending 4 years…
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OCTOBER RAGE – Outrage
This Aussie quartet came to life in 2008 with brothers Nick and William Roberts- the former handling guitar and vocals with the latter on bass. Rounding out the current lineup with guitarist Josh Gilbert and drummer Alan Toka- "Outrage" is the debut 12 track, 44 minute platter that could teach a lot of upstart American…
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CIVILIZATION ONE – Calling The Gods
The second album from melodic power metal quintet Civilization One finds a few member shifts as well as a label change- so fear sets in when three-fifths of the lineup receives a re-boot. In the case of these musicians, it was necessary due to proximity and related productivity. Enter drummer Michael Stein- who also plays…
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SUICIDAL ANGELS – Eternal Damnation (re-release)
Great times indeed for this Greek thrash band. Numerous plum support slots with some of the biggest acts in their genre: Kreator, Death Angel, Exodus, Cannibal Corpse, and Behemoth to name just a few, along with 4 albums released that continue to fuel the fervor for the quartet. While the bootleggers abound putting out sub-standard…
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MY DYING BRIDE – A Map of all Our Failures
Over 20 years strong and with a dozen full-length albums under their belt, pioneering doomsters My Dying Bride return with the follow up to 2011’s ‘The Barghest o’Whitby’ EP. So will it be a Christmas Cracker or a Crock of Shite? Let’s see! From the start, I have to admit that I’ve always had a…