RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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FIREFORCE – March On
Quite a surprise here bursting forth from Belgium. Fireforce are a quintet that live for old school power metal with a potent traditional flair – emphasizing riffs, solos and melodies that induce windmill hair, head banging and devil horn salutes. Forming out of the Double Diamond remnants, guitarists Erwin Suetens and Steve Deleu along with…
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CROSSWRECKER – Black Flame Divination
"From the ashes of Sacrificial Dagger spawns a new black manifestation Crosswrecker. A thrashing hell metal act that is ready to crush your pitiful minds". Now that the guys have introduced themselves, lets move on to "Black Flame Divination", which is this English/Finish band’s first EP, containing 6 tracks in the vein of bands like…
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SACRILEGIOUS IMPALEMENT – Cultus Nex
By this stage you’ve seen the name of the band and read the score, so you have probably already guessed that this is yet another mediocre BM release. Sorry to confirm your fears so early in the review, but you are correct. Although Sacrilegious Impalement hail from the Finnish underground, the production of this release…
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EDEN’S CURSE – Trinity
Third time could be the charm for Eden’s Curse. This melodic metal outfit feature hard charging guitar hooks and equally captivating melodies – along with superstar guest work from Dream Theater’s James LaBrie and Helloween’s Andi Deris. "Trinity" is their third album and this international group continue to produce some of the more memorable and…
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THE PROJECT HATE MCMXCIX – Bleeding The New Apocalypse (Cum Victriciis In Manibus Armis)
There are few bands I can think of with a higher consistency of strong releases then TPHMCMXCIX. They entered the scene in 2000 with a bang. Their debut “Cyber Sonic Super Christ” still is frequented on my stereo to this day. Still, with a kick ass back catalogue TPHMCMXCIX has had some ups and downs.…
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BEARDFISH – Mammoth
Productive would be an accurate adjective to describe this Swedish progressive rock group. Their sixth album "Mammoth" appears a year and a half following their last studio offering, the very expansive "Destined Solitaire" – and Beardfish rarely make their audience wait this long to hear some fresh songwriting. They didn’t let disappointment derail their momentum…
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PUTERAEON – The Esoteric Order
The new breed in the death genre appear to be progressing into speed and technical flash, inspired of course to combine brutality with energy. What attracted me to the genre though in the first place beyond the heaviness, the down tuning, the blast beasts, the growls, and just the raw underground appeal was the knowledge…
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DARKEST ERA – The Last Caress Of Light
Forming in 2005 under the name Nemesis, Darkest Era have slowly crawled up the ranks of festival appearances and a couple of demo/ EP releases in the ensuing 5 plus years. The style of choice is Epic Celtic metal from this Irish quintet on their debut album "The Last Caress Of Light". Teaming with cultural…
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BURZUM – Fallen
It would appear that not much changed in Varg Vikernes’ perception of Black Metal as an aesthetic force or as an art form during the interim years. It is certain that he does not have much to reference in Norway’s current climate, the likes of Dark Throne having parodied themselves to the point where the…
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BLOODBOUND – Unholy Cross
You might feel like you need a play by play scorecard with the vocal changes for Sweden’s Bloodbound over the past 5 years. Urban Breed’s in – Urban’s out. Michael Bormann takes over for album two "Book of The Dead". He can’t fulfil touring obligations – Urban’s back in for another go around on 2009’s…
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PORTAL – Swarth
If an album is clinically produced and the sound is sterile, can we then speak of death metal? I mean, no matter how cool Hate Eternal, Origin and Cannibal Corpse is, we cannot speak of music with the stench of putrefaction, now can we? Personally I do listen to the aforementioned bands on regular basis…
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22 – Flux
Two bio pages that appear to be thorough on the history and concept behind this Norwegian quartet. Only problem is: my understanding of the Norwegian language appears to be quite lax. No matter – if you want honest opinions, sometimes it’s best to let the music do the talking (as the old Joe Perry tune…
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WINO – Adrift
An alternative to the alternative here – Wino spins the solo album concept on its ears and records an exclusively acoustic singer/songwriter effort. To those new to his legacy, he’s well known in the doom/ stoner rock scene between bands such as Saint Vitus, The Obsessed and Spirit Caravan. On "Adrift", Wino reaches for inspiration…
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EWIG FROST – Rust (EP)
"Rust" is dirty, grim black metal straight from the old school. Flat out, it is harsh and hate-filled. The slower parts rock with punked-up, fist-in-the-face fury. Then we have the more progressive side shown in track five “Sunken in the Sun”, complete with wandering break and now fashionable sax solo. For those who don’t know…
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PRESTO BALLET – Invisible Places
When one door closes, another merely opens. Such is the case with guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. Most knowledgeable metal heads remember his impact on the power/thrash scene with Metal Church – as their debut album and "Blessing In Disguise" received copious amounts of attention through my listening years. Presto Ballet has two progressive rock releases that…
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…AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD – Tao Of The Dead
If you are looking for the most delicately orchestrated alternative rock you could ever imagine then look no further. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead do not simply make music, they create it as the guitars mixes casually with the drums while at the same time the voice of lead singer…