ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • PIEL DE SERPIENTE – Inevitable

    Spanish five piece who release their fourth album “Inevitable”. Firmly throwing down traditional hard rock and metal from the 80’s, artists like Dio and Priest come to mind on this mostly Spanish language album. There’s a decent tribute to “Ronnie James” and a closing English song “Sons Of The Night” with prominent, upfront bass work…

  • BLUT AUS NORD – 777 – Sect(s)

    Where Deathspell Omega spent ca. 9 years making their trilogy, Blut Aus Nord spend like 9 months. And if the two following parts to "Sect(s)" are on par with the first part, then I predict that Blut Aus Nord’s trilogy will stand strong as well. On the more technical aspect, the drums are machinemade, the…

  • ZERO ILLUSIONS – Oblivion

    The second album from this Swedish traditional metal band with slight progressive influences, “Oblivion” benefits from a stronger production and mix/mastering job (the latter courtesy of Andy LaRocque). Hard charging riffs and energetic drumming keep tracks like “Alive”, “Son Of The Devil”, and “Enemy Within” at the forefront of the Maiden/Priest meets Dream Theater comparisons.…

  • THE BURNING – Hail the Horde

    “Panterish”, occasionally “metalcorish”, solid metal album from one of the most inanely named band’s (next to The Showdown), The Burning. Despite the clichéd and unoriginal name, the music is actually quite decent if not great. This is the kind of record you want to play in your car real loud when you are really pissed…

  • ASSAULTER – Boundless

    Savage blackened thrash from Australia here on this second album from the Assaulter duo. Former Destroyer 666 member S. Berserker on bass, guitars and vocals plus ex-Razor of Occam drummer Peter Hunt give us 8 songs in the early Kreator/ Razor mold with sandpaper Mille vocals and black/Middle Eastern influences from time to time. Songs…

  • AMON AMARTH – Surtur Rising

    I must admit a distance from this Swedish Viking metal group for a number of years. Hearing about them in their early Pulverised Records days, back when they were a pure death metal band, I lost touch with their records until catching up with 2008’s “Twilight Of The Thunder God”. I appreciate their intensity and…

  • URIAH HEEP – Into The Wild

    41 years in the books, “Into The Wild” is the twenty third studio record from the UK’s Uriah Heep. Mick Box and the boys deserve accolades for longevity and vitality. They still love deep, lush organ sounds, displaying 11 songs of old school hard rock, blues based with loads of hooks and groove. “Money Talk”…

  • STARGAZERY – Eye On The Sky

    Anticipation clearly keeps this Finnish quintet at the forefront of my albums to review. Guitarist Pete Ahonen also plays in Burning Point and Ghost Machinery, so I for one appreciate the creative energy he puts out to the world as well as the distinctive nuances each group has within the melodic / power metal realm.…

  • ARKAN – Salam

    It’s all cool with the Arabian flick flacks and all, but sometimes too much is just that, namely too much. I mean, it’s cool with the variation and the choice of tunes and all, but what is it that Arkan really wants? Sarah Layssac’s Eastern-sounding vocal is great, but at the same time it takes…

  • EXCITER – Death Machine

    "The theme of this record is about sadistic unforgiving torture and the demented individuals who deliver such horrific pain and suffering", Exciter off the band’s website. No fucking shit! And here I was actually hoping that "Death Machine" could refer to altruistic, humanitarian think tank! The band says on their website that they aimed for…

  • POWER QUEST – Blood Alliance

    Five appears to be a relevant number in this UK power metal band’s radar. “Blood Alliance” is their fifth album. Sole original member, keyboardist Steve Williams, finds himself with five new members in the interim between albums. Yet after five plays I couldn’t find much to rave about the latest Power Quest offering. When they…

  • WHILE HEAVEN WEPT – Fear Of Infinity

    It’s been a long, strange road for Virginia’s While Heaven Wept through the years. The seven piece epic doom band started in 1989, slowly developing its unique sound through a series of demo, 7” and EP releases and over 20 lineup shuffles to get to this point with their new album on their newest label.…

  • U.D.O. – Leatherhead EP

    A preview of the upcoming “REV-Raptor” album, the first single “Leatherhead” appears from U.D.O. along with the album track “Rock ‘N’ Roll Soldiers”, two non-album exclusives and 2 video clips for the owners of the physical product. “Run” for instance is a ballad with Udo’s soft approach through the bulk of the verses until he…

  • SOLAR FRAGMENT – In Our Hands

    Threading in the footsteps of Blind Guardian is a gutsy move which rarely is successful. Not only has Blind Guardian themselves exhausted their own formula thoroughly, but their success has also spawned hordes of hobbit and dwarf bands which have left the whole genre in a cesspool of repetitive tediousness. Solar Fragment tries to disguise…

  • KING KOBRA – King Kobra

    On paper, four fifths of King Kobra reuniting with ex-Rough Cutt / Quiet Riot singer Paul Shortino seems like a decent match up. After multiple exposures to this self-titled studio return though, songs like “We Got A Fever”, “Turn Up The Good Times” and “Screamin’ For More” just appear to be too run of the…

  • AVA INFERI – Onyx

    Fourth album in, and the identity is set and written in stone. I mean, don’t expect any blastbeats or progressive tracks going in all directions every thirty seconds. Carmen and Rune and their two depressed ones, Jaime and Joâo, have created another spellbinding effort where the music is cool, but the atmosphere is most important.…

  • FIREBIRD – Double Diamond

    Bill Steer, much like Lee Dorian, has changed course mightily from their grind core/ death roots. Firebird pays homage to the 70’s blues rock movement, with slight get up and go in the tempos from drummer Ludwig Witt. “Double Diamond” is the trio’s fifth full length platter, and a smashing 10 song affair this is.…

  • PRIMORDIAL – Redemption At The Puritan’s Hand

    click to go to each part …part 1 – numbers …part 2 – music                         part 1 – numbers I believe the criteria that defines something great is quite different today than it used be, simply due to music evolving to it’s world. The…

  • PRIDE – Pride (re-issue)

    An excellent look back at the long running history of Swedish AOR/melodic rock with this act Pride. Originally active during 1987-1991, this album sold out quickly and finally gains a 2011 reissue with Yesterrock. If you love 220 Volt in their latter years and any era of Treat, songs like “You’re The Only One”, “Playing…

  • DEMIURG – Signed by Evil

    For the record, there are about a dozen bands out there called Demiurg or Demiurge. These guys are the Czech version, spelt without the ‘e’. They’ve been around for the last 6 years or so and this is their second full-length release. The music on offer is death metal with a strong thrash influence, so you…

  • DRUMS ARE FOR PARADES – Master

    Alternative rock venturing into acid progressive rock landscapes is what DAFP is about. Half the songs are instrumental, it’s lo-fi, it’s gritty, and at times it work. The songs with a definite 70’s feel hit home, while the rest are less convincing. “The Beast” is the album highlight. More tracks like this next time and…

  • IMPERIA – Secret Passion

    People may believe at this point that female gothic metal singers are a dime a dozen – but I still propose you can hear special qualities in the siren quality that stand apart from the pack. One of these voices is Helena Iren Michaelsen, who many may remember from her work in Trail Of Tears.…

  • HAEIRESIS – Transparent Vibrant Shadows

    It’s not enough with distorted guitars and a vocal that is run through the effectbox in order to create a necessary kind of evil. It simply doesn’t sound true, but more like an attempt to make black metal that doesn’t sound too much like something else. Haeiresis actually succeed, which doesn’t mean the album is…

  • DEBAUCHERY – Germany’s Next Death Metal

    On the surface the recording line-up of Germany’s Debauchery appears like a conventional three piece: Thomas Gurrath on vocals and guitars, Dennis “The Bloodpriest” Ward on bass and Oliver “The Bloodhammer” Zellmann on drums. Reading up on the history though, you find out that Thomas runs the show and hires studio and live musicians to…

  • BLOOD MERIDIAN – Elements of Brutality

    With Demon Resurrection’s monster album from 2010 my expectations for the Indian death metal scene skyrocketed. Expectations Blood Meridian does not live up to. When covering Decapitated’s “Spheres of Madness” the band is inevitably compared to their heroes. Technical performance is okay, but "EOB" still has demo quality written all over it. www.myspace.com/bloodmeridianindiawww.demonstealerrecords.com

  • WHITESNAKE – Forevermore

    David Coverdale possesses that charm, charisma, and confidence that makes the female population squeal with appeal – and also captures the male sector because of his powerhouse bluesy hard rock pipes that don’t come down the pike but once out of every 10,000 vocalists. To most of the world, Whitesnake helped put their style on…

  • ASSASSIN – Breaking The Silence

    Another German thrash institution comes back to prove the veterans still have the goods to deliver in current times. Robert’s spitfire vocals recall Nuclear Assault meets Exodus (circa ‘Zetro’ days) while musically songs like “Raise In The Dark” and “Real Friends” are straight ahead , quick hitting explosions with equally molten hot lead work. Gang…

  • ODD DIMENSION – Symmetrical

    Following the dawn of Dream Theater there was an explosion of bands trying to follow in their footsteps. I dare say that more than 90 percent of Dream Theater’s offspring aren’t worth the disc they were recorded on. But as the industry haves it, anything goes when a winner formula has been established. Odd Dimension,…

  • 40 WATT SUN – The Inside Room

    UK doom with a power trio. There’s something magical about long, drawn out chords of gloom, raw feedback and thunderously slow drum parts all wrapped around 5 songs and 47 minutes plus bliss. Vocalist/ guitarist Patrick Walker (also in doom band Warning) offers a plaintive, melodic approach with slightly cultural enhancement on beautiful tracks such…

  • RED FANG – Murder The Mountains

    Portland, Oregon’s Red Fang aim to bludgeon with their doom/ sludge metal sound on "Murder The Mountains". When the opening guitar chords ring out on “Malverde” and the Bryan Giles/ Aaron Beam bellow scream team engage your eardrums, you’ll succumb to heaviness like being trapped in a coal mine. There’s something about the low bass…