ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • DATADYR – Keymaster

    RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://datadyr.bandcamp.com/album/keymaster A sparkling and brand-new digital EP by the immensely talented Datadyr is a most welcome thing to these ears, and those of you who enjoy the jazzier aspects of prog rock, blues, and Americana will undoubtedly find something worth celebrating and cherishing here. Bursting with energy and filled to the…

  • BLAK29 – The Waiting

    RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://cleopatrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-waiting Blak29 sees the awesome Steve Zing (Danzig, Samhain) return with some new material, and him teaming up with Dan Tracey was obviously a great move as the two of them have a lot of musical chemistry together as evidenced by the quality of this 11-track offering. Another cool aspect of…

  • AKSEL RØED’S OTHER ASPECTS – Do You Dream in Colours?

    RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://isitjazzrecords.no/ With Do You Dream in Colours? we are quite far removed, musically and stylistically speaking, from what you are probably accustomed to reading on the Eternal Terror Live website, but I would feel like a complete tit if I did not write a few short lines about this stellar offering…

  • SCREAM MAKER – BloodKing (Re-issue)

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/screammaker With its old-school heavy metal album cover and artwork, it should come as no surprise that this Polish act named Scream Maker dabbles in blistering metal that owes a lot to Judas Priest, Manowar, Jag Panzer, and the Dio-fronted version of Black Sabbath but without sounding like a cheap clone.…

  • NEVENA – Nevena

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7tibwgLd3lI7eXXPwIJ8sH This debut album by vocalist Nevena came out late last year via Frontiers and is in many ways a mixture of melodic hard rock and AOR. The Serbian singer has teamed up with songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Michael Palace, which is a great move on paper, but while the two of them are…

  • HEXENALTAR – Bestial Damnation

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/bestial-damnation Godz ov War Productions rarely fail to impress or amaze me when it comes to unearthing and releasing some of the most menacing and aggressive gems that the metal underground has to offer, and the Polish outfit named Hexenaltar fits rather neatly into the label’s quality roster. Rooted in 80s…

  • NECROPOLISSEBEHT – TTCCCLXXX

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://necropolissebeht.bandcamp.com/releases This ugly 4-track grenade by the German outfit known as Necropolissebeht was released on CD late last year and somehow found its way to my mailbox, and I really had no idea what to expect when glancing at its artwork, but it turned out to be a raw, crushing concoction…

  • SABU – Banshee

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://paulsabu.com/ Sabu is the brainchild of the wildly talented musician/songwriter/producer Paul Sabu who is known for his work with David Bowie, Alice Cooper, and Madonna among many others, and what a thrill it is to hear him tear it up on this exquisitely crafted solo album of his titled Banshee. While…

  • JOURNEY – Live in Concert at Lollapalooza

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://journeymusic.com/ Journey surely need no introduction as these stalwarts of melodic rock/AOR have been around for ages and are responsible for some of the most well-known and popular anthems known to man, so let us cut to the chase and briefly touch on this latest offering of theirs, which is a…

  • LANDFALL – Elevate

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/landfallofficial/ I was very fond of Landfall’s debut album titled The Turning Point (2020) as it boasted great songs with a sense of immediacy and youthful vigor to them, so naturally, I was curious as to how their latest offering, Elevate, would turn out. Sadly, it fails to capitalize on the…

  • GEIST OF OUACHITA/ETERNAL TOMB – Black Feudal Savagery

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://geistofouachita.bandcamp.com/album/black-feudal-savagery My brother recently made me aware of this killer split EP by the two US black metal hordes known as Geist of Ouachita and Eternal Tomb with each act contributing three tracks to this slice of unholy filth, and I am forever grateful to him for turning me on to…

  • AFTER LAPSE – Face the Storm

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/AfterLapseOfficial/ Highly dynamic prog metal courtesy of the Spanish outfit After Lapse is what we have here, and these guys are a tight and capable unit, perfectly suited to evoking a sense of drama by means of strong choruses and heartfelt melodies. The diversity of the material is appealing, and there…

  • BIS-NTE – Broken

    RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.bisonteofficial.com/ This review is the 4th in the 5 album expose on the work of Palma de Mallorca Spanish vocalist, guitarist and bassist Vicente Javier Payá Galindo, the creator of 5 metal bands: Golgotha, Unbounded Terror, Decrapted, Bis.nte and Sons Of Cult – all currently on David Sánchez “Dave Rotten”…

  • GAROTA – Czarne Wizje

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/czarne-wizje This fierce and vicious assault on the senses by the Polish artillery known as Garota was a nice surprise to these ears in that I have never come across their name earlier on nor did I know what to expect when I pressed play. Highly aggressive to the point of…

  • HARVEST GULGALTHA – Ancient Woods

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/ancient-woods The album artwork and overall presentation of this great looking digipak immediately caught my eye and seemed intriguing. It is therefore with a profound sense of satisfaction that I can tell you, my freaky underground friends, that this American outfit delivers a potent and effective slab of crushing death metal…

  • TRUP – Nie

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/nie A deeply unsettling and inhumanly raw slab of noise-infused black metal is what this sinister Polish horde offers. Hypnotic and trance-inducing are certainly words that come to mind when immersing oneself in these hellish and oppressive soundscapes, and everything about this musical endeavor reeks of misanthropy and contempt. Dark vocals…

  • TOMMY DECARLO – Dancing in the Moonlight

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: http://www.frontiers.it/album/5838 Tommy DeCarlo (Boston) possesses an impressive set of pipes and is undoubtedly a great singer and front man, but this album entitled Dancing in the Moonlight, which is primarily written by Frontiers Records’ in-house composer and musician Alessandro Del Vecchio, is a huge letdown and utterly forgettable. AOR and soft…

  • ROB MORATTI – Epical

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://robmoratti.net/ The talented Rob Moratti (ex-Saga) has a new record out that showcases both his excellent singing and great compositional skills, and although it is a slick and polished offering that falls somewhere between melodic rock and AOR, it also possesses some nice (albeit subtle) prog rock flavors and heaps of…

  • TARMAT – Out of the Blue

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0dVETbP5NLiYQFPtVIA3Na The Brazilian melodic rock/AOR outfit known as Tarmat is a real pleasant surprise to these ears as this quartet delivers some incredibly well-written, pristine-sounding tunes that lean toward the magical vibes of Toto, Journey, Boston, and to a lesser extent Europe. Did you say earworms and irresistible hooks? Fear not…

  • ENUFF Z’NUFF – Finer Than Sin

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.enuffznuff.com/ Their 17th studio album sees Chip Z’Nuff and his skilled bandmates in fine form as they deliver a well-crafted slab of power pop, which essentially means that all the group’s trademarks with respect to melody lines and atmospheres and so on are firmly in place throughout and that the mixture…

  • AUTOGRAPH – Beyond

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/autographband/ The latest release by Autograph is a bittersweet affair in that it is both musically solid and a hugely enjoyable listen but sadly, it also marks the last recorded output by founding member and bass player extraordinaire Randy Rand as he passed away before this well-written album saw the light…

  • STATUS QUO – Quo’ing In – The Best of the Noughties

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.statusquo.co.uk/ The legendary Status Quo have made some excellent and noteworthy recordings in the noughties as evidenced by this 3-disc set containing a nice mixture of classics, rarities, overlooked gems, and even a previously unreleased live show from 2008. This is quite the interesting release in that it displays just how…

  • TUSMØRKE – Intetnett

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://tusm-rke.bandcamp.com/album/intetnett We would be remiss if we did not mention this charming and quirky children’s album by the Norwegian purveyors of psychedelic prog rock known as Tusmørke. Entitled Intetnett and consisting of 21 tunes and a rather brilliant concept and storyline, this is a hugely entertaining and inventive opus that is…

  • ENEMY EYES – History’s Hand

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ECxgPVegGSXTfZyVzJ786 Featuring the inimitable Johnny Gioeli (Hardline) on vocals, Enemy Eyes is truly a delight to these ears in that this skilled new outfit combines classic heavy metal with hard rock, and the result is deeply satisfying to immerse oneself in. First of all, it genuinely sounds like a true and…

  • ARC OF LIFE – Don’t Look Down

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/ArcOfLifeRockBand/ I was quite enamored with the self-titled debut album from last year by these gentlemen and thought that it contained some superbly written and exciting prog rock tunes with heaps of atmosphere and cracking good ideas to them. In many respects, Don’t Look Down offers more of the same, and…

  • KING KRAKEN – MCLXXX

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.kingkraken.co.uk/ What a lovely and most welcome surprise this infinitely heavy and thunderous metal opus by the brilliant UK outfit King Kraken is. If Black Sabbath, Clutch, Corrosion of Conformity, and early Soundgarden all had a jam together, it would sound somewhere along the lines of MLCXXX, which is obviously a seriously…

  • MANTRIC MOMENTUM – Trial by Fire

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/mantricmomentum/ An epic and melodic heavy metal opus by an act featuring the talented Christer Harøy (Divided Multitude, Crossnail) and Terje Harøy (Pyramaze) sounds like just the thing to keep me entertained today, so let us spin this visually appealing release a handful of times and see what happens, shall we?…

  • ABOUT US – About Us

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/AboutUsNagaland/ It is not often that something as exotic as kick-ass and dynamic hard rock from India finds its way to my mailbox, but I am really grateful that this vigorous and passionate opus by About Us did as this is a fantastic debut album. Energetic and chock-full of good ideas, the talented ensemble merge the old with…

  • CHEZ KANE – Powerzone

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.chezkane.com/ I really liked the previous album by Chez Kane (i.e. the self-titled one from 2021) and find her a terrific singer with a lot of charisma, but this latest LP of hers, which was written and produced by Danny Rexon from Crazy Lixx, lacks those truly hook-laden and memorable delights…

  • HOLYCIDE – Fist To Face

    RELEASE YEAR: 2020 BAND URL: https://holycide.bandcamp.com/ One of the most underrated countries when it comes to metal proliferation is Spain. Home of the fantastic thrash act Angelus Apatrida whose last year’s excellent eponymous album I reviewed here (5.5/6) it has one of the most vibrant all genre metal producing mines in Europe, if not the…