RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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ONE DESIRE – Live with the Shadow Orchestra
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/OneDesireBand The Finnish melodic hard rock outfit known as One Desire is bloody marvelous, and its five members sure know to craft a big and juicy tune filled to the brim with soaring vocals, stadium-sized riffs, and more hooks that one can possibly digest. Having said that, their previous live effort…
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MECCA – Everlasting
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/album/6JLKckkEpI8YDQtzCkXGdd?si=_TVE0GwPQpC6lRiUhWrq4Q The enormously talented Joe Vana and his inspired project named Mecca are back with their fifth album, and this is a gorgeously melodic offering that displays class, sophistication, and depth. The vocals and harmonies are pure ear candy and there is an understated sense of beauty to these superbly arranged…
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GREEN LABYRINTH – Sequences
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://greenlabyrinth.net/ The Swiss outfit known as Green Labyrinth was a completely new discovery but a welcome one for me as their eclectic take on highly dramatic and epic prog metal suits my mood these days. As I stated before, this primarily falls within the progressive metal sphere, but one could make…
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REVOLUTION SAINTS – Eagle Flight
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/RevolutionSaints/ The third album by the star-studded project named Revolution Saints sees a significant change in personnel in that the supremely talented Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake) and bad-ass bassist Jeff Pilson (ex-DIO, Foreigner) have replaced Doug Aldrich and Jack Blades respectively. Deen Castronovo is still manning the drum stool and handling the…
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L.A. GUNS – Black Diamonds
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/L.A.GunsOfficial/ Renowned glam metal rockers L.A. Guns have enjoyed some rather productive years and a bit of a renaissance lately, and this gritty 2023 effort of theirs shows that there is still a lot of mileage left in the tank. Although not as hard-hitting and thrilling as its predecessor titled Checkered…
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SMACKBOUND – Hostage
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/smackbound/ This Finnish act’s previous album from three years ago was a bit of a mixed bag to these ears, but I was looking forward to this new one of theirs titled Hostage as I was curious as to how they had developed their brand of modern-sounding hard rock/melodic metal. The…
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GERSEY DEOFUL – Gersey Deoful
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://gerseydeoful.bandcamp.com/album/gersey-deoful Here is a grim and ugly treat for all you lovers of raw, unfiltered black metal from the American underground, namely the self-titled offering by the skilled horde from New Jersey known as Gersey Deoful. This short and concise 6-track EP is only seventeen minutes long but do not…
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WEBB – Deadly Sins and Virtues
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.webbofficial.com/ Melodic metal with progressive overtones and a huge amount of groove that works like a charm – how could I not love this well-written and inspired output by the British act named Webb?! The riffs are meaty and pack a lot of punch, there is finesse and sophistication to the…
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THE DAMNED – Darkadelic
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.officialdamned.com/ Legendary British punk rockers The Damned are still firing on all cylinders regardless of whether they are on stage or in the studio. Should you need an example of the latter, Darkadelic, which is their brand-new slab of energizing and superbly crafted rock, finds the band in rude form and…
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DEADLINE – Vitriol INC.
Review by Asher Locketz South African Heavy Metal Titans DEADLINE Release New Album VITRIOL INC Don your steel plated armour, unbridle your most battle-ready steed, and gather your broad sword and shield for folks we are about to wage war in the name of Heavy Metal! Courtesy of South African Heavy Metal Battalion Deadline, in…
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ARCHON ANGEL – II
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/ArchonAngelBand/ This International constellation of musicians was completely new to me and I had never come across their name prevoiusly, but they play and sound like veterans, which makes me curious as to what their previous album named Fallen from 2020 is like. Anyway, we shall focus on the latest effort…
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MAGNUS KARLSSON’S FREE FALL – Hunt the Flame
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/MAGNUSKARLSSONOFFICIAL/ Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear) is undoubtedly a gifted musician and an experienced songwriter with a knack for crafting huge-sounding, epic, and positively bombastic tunes with a symphonic edge to them. This pretty much applies to every band and project of his, not least the interesting Free Fall endeavor whose previous…
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SOLSTEIN – Solstein
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://solstein.bandcamp.com/album/solstein Boasting a stellar lineup consisting of Jacob Holm-Lupo (Donner, White Willow, The Opium Cartel), Keith Carlock (Toto, Steely Dan, Sting), Stian Larsen, Brynjar Dambo (White Willow), and Bill Bressler, it would be fair to say that this exciting new endeavor from the US and Norway does not exactly lack musical…
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OCEAN OF GRIEF – Pale Existence
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://oceanofgrief.bandcamp.com/ The progressive doom/death metal sextet Ocean Of Grief consisting of Charalabos Oikonomopoulos (2014-vocals), Filippos Koliopanos (2014-guitars), Aris Nikoleris (2014-keyboards), Giannis Koskinas (2014-bass), Thomas Motsios (2014-drums) and Dimitra Zarkadoula (2015-guitars) provide a slight departure from my recent melodic death metal binge with their second (after “Nightfall’s Lament”²⁰¹⁸ on Rain Without…
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NOCTURNAL BREED – Carry the Beast
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://nocturnalbreedofficial.bandcamp.com/album/carry-the-beast I have had a soft spot for these ugly and noisy thrash metal bastards from Norway ever since I saw them lay waste to the John Dee venue in Oslo in March 2005, and Nocturnal Breed rarely disappoint when it comes to unleashing malevolent and sinister tunes that deliver a…
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GOROD – The Orb
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://gorodmetal.bandcamp.com/ Did I not just review a French technical death metal album? I sure did (Catalyst’s “A Different Painting For The New World”, 5.5) and here we go with another one, this time from a long running act Gorod whose roots (previously as Gorgasm) go all the way back to…
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CATALYST – A Different Painting For A New World
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://catalystfr.bandcamp.com/ The wide spread rumours of heavy metal supposedly dying vehemently militate against reality and vice versa, especially when it comes to extreme yet melodic metal. Case in point, the French progressive technical death metal quartet Catalyst which consists of Jules Kicka (guitars, vocals), Florian Iochem (guitars), Jefferson Brand (bass)…
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LUMSK – Fremmede Toner
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://lumsk.bandcamp.com/ I will be the first to admit that I have never been a huge fan or admirer of Norwegian folk metal outfit Lumsk. Full disclosure here, people. Then something strange and magical happened the other day when I received the promo copy of their upcoming full-length entitled Fremmede Toner, which…
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NETHERMOST CAVERNS – Shadows of Seclusion
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://nethermostcaverns.bandcamp.com/album/shadows-of-seclusion-demo This fierce two-track demo by the brand-new US black metal outfit named Nethermost Caverns is one that contains heaps of promise and potential, and I was immediately attracted to its melancholy aura and melodic qualities the very first time I immersed myself in it. While ‘Shrouded in Funereal Grey’ is…
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FORETOKEN – Triumphs
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://foretoken.bandcamp.com/ I seem to be reviewing a lot of melodic death metal recently and that not on purpose but, here we go again, this time a Virginian symphonic melodeath duo on the occasion of their sophomore album “Triumphs” released earlier last month. What we have here is a somewhat traditional…
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SEVEN IMPALE – Summit
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://sevenimpale.bandcamp.com/album/summit Yes, it has finally arrived! Seven years was a long time to wait for a new musical treat by inventive Norwegian rockers Seven Impale, but how exhilarating it is when it turns out that it was all worth it and that Summit stands tall and proud as a well-written and…
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LJUNGBLUT – Sauda
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://ljungblut.bandcamp.com/album/sauda An intimate and introspective little treat by the talented Kim Ljung featuring only acoustic guitar and emotive vocals is what we have here, and this is quite the moving listening experience. Released digitally and on a great-looking tape via Karisma Records, there is a lot to savor about Sauda and…
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VECTOR SEVEN – Modified (re-issue w/bonus tracks)
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.darkhanbit.com/product/vector-seven-modified-lp-pre-order/ The synthwave/retrowave entity named Vector Seven impressed me greatly with the Electric Blood and Dark Metropolis albums, and so naturally, I was looking forward to immersing myself in this gorgeous-looking vinyl version of Modified, which originally came out in 2019 as a digital release. Dark, pulsating, and trance-inducing waves of…
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MAJESTIES – Vast Reaches Unclaimed
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/vast-reaches-unclaimed Finally, an album I can honestly give a top score in a good while, “Vast Reaches Unclaimed” from the Minnesotan melodic death metal trio Majesties is very aptly named and a debut at that. In fact, I should call this old school melodic death metal as, if In Flames’…
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VULTURE INDUSTRIES – Ghosts from the Past
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://vultureindustries.bandcamp.com/album/ghosts-from-the-past The delightfully unpredictable purveyors of dramatic avantgarde metal/rock never cease to amaze me, and their upcoming fifth LP, which is entitled Ghosts from the Past, is the stuff that strangely unsettling and highly dystopian dreams are made of. Yes, this is exactly the kind of record that we all need…
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THE GROUND SHAKER – Rogue Asylum
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://thegroundshaker.com/ Swiss rockers The Ground Shaker are about to unleash this explosive and energetic offering of theirs in May via Fastball Music, and if alternative rock with punchy choruses and crunchy riffs is your cup of tea then you need to check this uplifting opus out. I have yet to listen…
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HEX A.D. – Delightful Sharp Edges
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://hexad.bandcamp.com/ What a marvelous treat this epic new offering by Norwegian hard rock/doom metal masters Hex A.D. is! Huge chords, thunderous drums, earth-shattering riffs, heartfelt vocals, heaps of melancholy atmospheres, and that warm, analogue sound that is simply irresistible – this charismatic and brilliantly conceived opus simply ticks all the boxes…
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ISOLE – Anesidora
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: http://forevermore.se/ Alas, it’s time for the Forlorn to strike again! I am, of course, referring to the original name of the Swedish epic doom metal quartet Isole whose 8th full length was just recently released. Its predecessor, “Dystopia” was better than extra large pepperoni pizza on a Saturday night two…
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DIRTY VELVET – Far Beyond the Moon
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/people/Dirty-Velvet-Rock/100076167258796/ The Swiss alternative rock act Dirty Velvet was formed roughly four years ago and have been gigging quite a bit on their home turf since then, but their debut offering will soon see the light of day via Fastball Music, so let us take a closer look at that output,…
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SARCOPTES – Prayers To Oblivion
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://sarcoptes.bandcamp.com/ The “Plague Hyms”²⁰²⁰ EP, released after “Thanatos”²⁰¹³ EP and “Songs And Dances Of Death”²⁰¹⁶ full length, was a fantastic 2 track release I gave an enthusiastic review (5.5/6) even as Garrett Garvey (drums, vocals) and Sean Zimmerman (bass, guitars, keyboards) the duo comprising the Californian progressive blackthrashing death metal…