RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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DECRAPTED – Bloody Rivers Of Death
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/Decrapted/ This review is the 3rd in the 5 album expose on the work of Palma de Mallorca Spanish vocalist, guitarist and bassist Vicente Javier Payá Galindo, the creator the creator of 5 metal bands: Golgotha, Unbounded Terror, Decrapted, Bis.nte and Sons Of Cult – all currently on David Sánchez…
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UNBOUNDED TERROR – Echoes Of Despair
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: http://www.unboundedterror.com/ This review is the 2nd 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”…
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GOLGOTHA – Mors Diligentis
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: http://www.golgothaofficial.com/ This review opens 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” González’s Xtreem Records…
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ALLEN/OLZON – Army of Dreamers
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMifUtcBLBs The two skilled vocalists that are Anette Olzon (ex-Nightwish) and Russell Allen (Symphony X) have teamed up with multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Magnus Karlsson for another epic slab of melodic metal full of grandeur and lofty ideas. Army of Dreamers is essentially huge-sounding symphonic metal swathed in sweeping keyboards, soaring…
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TABOO – Taboo
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://taboo.band/ Taboo is a sparkling new hard rock/melodic heavy metal outfit from Denmark that includes one legendary guitarist named Ken Hammer (Pretty Maids) in its ranks, and this is a crunchy, modern-sounding opus that packs a serious punch and contains some stellar compositions. Sharp as a razor and as heavy as…
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RING OF FIRE – Gravity
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/RingOfFireMetal Mark Boals (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, Shining Black) possesses one of the greatest voices in rock, and it is pretty much always a treat to listen to something that features his unique voice, which leads me to this brand-new album by neo-classical power/progressive metallers Ring of Fire. It has been eight years…
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RISING STEEL – Beyond the Gates of Hell
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.rising-steel.fr/ The previous offering by these French metal freaks, more specifically the loud and crushing Fight Them All (2020), was an entertaining albeit slightly uneven ride through power metal, NWOBHM, and thrash metal. I am pleased to announce that nothing has changed in the outfit’s camp as the latest effort titled…
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GINEVRA – We Belong to the Stars
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/GinevraRock/ What a wicked surprise this potent slab of melodic heavy metal/hard rock is. Featuring the talented singer Kristian Fyhr (Seventh Crystal), renowned guitar-slinger Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, The Ferrymen), kick-ass bassist Jimmy Jay (H.E.A.T.), and drummer Magnus Ulfstedt (Nordic Union), it is safe to say that these dudes know exactly…
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THE ERINYES – The Erinyes
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/erinyesmetal/ The Erinyes is a rather interesting new project by Frontiers Records in that its three female vocalists deliver some divine melodies and harmonies on top of a thick blanket of epic-sounding power metal, or symphonic metal, if you will. Musically, everything holds up well without the songs necessarily being outright…
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KILLER KINGS – Burn for Love
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/KillerKingsRock/ Killer Kings is a new project by Frontiers Records in which vocalist Gregory Lynn Hall (ex-101 South) and the kick-ass guitarist Tristan Avakian have joined forces and are backed by Nicholas Papapicco on drums and the ever-present Alessandro Del Vecchio on bass and keyboards. Not exactly a bad line-up, right?…
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BRAN – Odcházení
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://bran-bohemia.bandcamp.com/ When is the last time you heard something as good as Emperor’s 2nd album “Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk”? True, Dimmu Borgir tried to get there on “Enthrone Darkness Triumphant” and Cradle Of Filth on “Cruelty And The Beast”, and those are just the ones I can think…
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FALL OF SERAPHS – From Dust To Creation
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/fallofseraphsofficial/ While there’s no shortage of death metal bands these days, few can match the power, the technicality and the seemingly effortless catchy brutality of the genre purveyors such as Death, Monstrosity, Morbid Angel (especially the first three albums), Immolation or Suffocation, without exaggerating either the brutal or the catchy…
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GRAND – Grand
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/grandthebandsweden/ The Swedish outfit named Grand recently released this self-titled offering of theirs via Frontiers Records, and I must say that this is a highly promising debut album that shows potential and hints at even greater things to come. With their roots being firmly planted in melodic rock and AOR, these…
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DE PROFUNDIS – The Corruption Of Virtue
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.deprofundistheband.com/ De Profundis’ 5th installment, “The Blinding Light Of Faith”, had been a fantastic release, one of 2018 highlights for me, so I awaited the British blackened death metal quintet’s next album with baited breath at the edge of my reviewer’s seat. “The Corruption Of Virtue” released in October is…
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ORIANTHI – Rock Candy
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.instagram.com/iamorianthi/ The hugely talented Orianthi is keeping busy and staying creative these days, which is great to see, and her latest LP entitled Rock Candy is a fine entry in the awesome lady’s discography. That hard and sharp sound of the record suits the material quite nicely, and I love the…
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HELLFUCK – Diabolic Slaughter
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/diabolic-slaughter These Polish scumbags deal in face-melting thrash metal with blistering riffs, deadly solos that fly like bullets, and a pounding rhythm section capable of bashing your skull in. What immediately becomes apparent here is that these dudes are clearly quite capable of coming up with storming, aggressive metal with a…
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WILDNESS – Resurrection
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/wildnessofficial/ An excellent slab of melodic rock courtesy of the Swedish outfit Wildness is what you and I are going to discuss ever so briefly here, and you know what? I will kick things off by stating that Resurrection is a hugely enjoyable listen and a well-composed collection of tunes that…
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CULTO NEGRO – La Noche Oscura del Alma
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/la-noche-oscura-del-alma The Costa Rican horde known as Culto Negro, which translates to Black Cult, unleashed this torrent of unfiltered and utterly chaotic black/speed/thrash metal via the awesome Godz ov War a few weeks ago, and this filthy shit is right up my alley. Bursting with energy and aggressive as fuck, these…
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STRATOVARIUS – Survive
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: http://stratovarius.com/ Renowned power metal stalwarts Stratovarius are back with their first new album in seven years, and if you are a sucker for technically dazzling yet catchy music then you might fancy giving this majestic opus of theirs a whirl. All the band’s trademarks are firmly in place here, and there…
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ALICE COOPER – Live from the Astroturf
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.ear-music.net/alice-cooper-live-from-the-astroturf/ What a lovely little package this CD/Blu Ray release is! Back in 2015, the remaining original members of the Alice Cooper band reunited on a small stage in the Good Records store in Texas and played a short and concise set of songs in front of a rapturous audience. The…
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ULTIMA GRACE – Ultima Grace
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.instagram.com/ultimagrace/ Originally released in Japan back in March this year, the good people at Frontiers Records have now made sure that it is available globally, which is something that a lot of power metal fans and devotees in Europe and US will be most pleased with, I suspect. Featuring the talented…
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ANNIKEN – Climb Out Of Hell
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/profile.phpid=100063610741197 I wish there was a God, I’d pray for salvation…If somehow, I could believe, that there was a saviour then maybe this life I lead would be less filled with sin. If there’s no god, no light at the end…then tell me what’s the meaning of it all (Save…
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HOUSE OF LORDS – Saints and Sinners
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/HouseOfLordsB/ A new LP by US hard rockers House of Lords is usually welcome news, and this inspired offering is big, loud, and colorful. Embracing their 70s influences fully and channeling everything through their own unique filter has resulted in a varied and engaging work charged with passion and spirit. Actually,…
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LUNARIAN – Burn the Beauty
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3YyILgRcUSxqmjStt8DZPg Symphonic goth-inspired metal from Italy courtesy of the quintet named LunariaN is what we have here, and this is a rather competent and solid piece of work where the vocals of Aylin (Trail of Tears, ex-Sirenia) serve as the highlight throughout. While all the usual ingredients such as symphonic keyboards,…
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MORGUE – Lowest Depths of Misery
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/lowest-depths-of-misery These twisted French purveyors of relentlessly aggressive and hyper intense death metal turned out to be a real fucking delight and a very cool surprise to yours truly. With an immensely powerful sound and a pitch-black aura reminiscent of one’s worst possible nightmare, the talented duo tear through their pummeling…
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TOUGHNESS – The Prophetic Dawn
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/the-prophetic-dawn The Polish horde known as Toughness offers a quite different take on death metal that is both intriguing and highly addictive. This raging, riff-laden beast is a pummeling assault on the senses where its hellish aura is constantly underlined by the buzzsaw sound of the guitars and the deep, growling…
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PERFECT PLAN – Brace for Impact
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/perfectplansweden/ The Swedish purveyors of melodic hard rock and ridiculously catchy AOR are back with an inspired new offering that is pure ear-candy and overflowing with hooks. You know what? This might well be their most well-written and exciting release to date, which is saying something as their past efforts are…
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ERADICATE – Demise Towards the Dasein
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/demise-towards-the-dasein 13 minutes of ominous and deeply unsettling death metal from the wrong side of the tracks is what this loathsome underground act from Istanbul offers, and let me tell you right here and now that this is some efficient shit that will smash your face in. Rooted in the old…
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FANS OF THE DARK – Suburbia
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.instagram.com/fansofthedarkband/ Yes, this is just what the good melodic hard rock doctor ordered – a brand-new and crunchy-sounding opus by the lovable Swedish outfit known as Fans of the Dark. While their first offering, i.e. the self-titled opus from 2021, was quite entertaining albeit slightly uneven and lacking in truly amazing…
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SPLIT IMAGE – Torrent Of Illusion
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://splitimage.bandcamp.com/ Metal albums about mental illness are hardly unique but each album is unique in the way each artist conveys the message, that is, sounds the alarm that mentally ill people feel increasingly estranged from society which ironically is not that normal to boast superiority over them. As one of…