RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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INFANTERIA – Patriarch
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/infanteriasa Volcanic and propulsive, Infanteria lay siege to all and sundry with their latest album, the explosive ‘Patriarch’. The title alone speaks of an aversion to the current social climate, a climate steeped in a belligerent form of liberal fascism that stifles self-expression and freedom of speech beneath the guise of…
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DVL – Hush
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.dvlband.com/ Now this was a nice surprise. With the overall theme of this spirited record by the Scottish outfit DVL revolving around mental health and highlighting various issues relating to said issue, this is some explosive, high-octane stuff where classic heavy metal meets 80s-inspired US hard rock and then throws in…
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BLACK SWAN – Generation Mind
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/BlackSwanRockNRoll The kick-ass hard rock outfit that is Black Swan is undoubtedly one of the best and most musically rewarding projects/bands on the Frontier Records roster. While the group’s debut offering, “Shake the World” (2020), was an impressive piece of work, their sophomore effort is even better and shows depth, character,…
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DESERTED FEAR – Doomsday
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.desertedfear.de/ Please don’t let the generic and confusing Bolt Throwerian album cover fool you: the new album by the German trio Deserted Fear (the name suggestive of a positive and uplifting lyrical message) is one of the best melodic death metal albums this year so far. The music had been…
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INGLORIOUS – Live at the Phoenix MMXXI
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: http://inglorious.com/ British hard rockers Inglorious delivered one of 2021’s best and most memorable outputs in the shape of “We Will Ride” not to mention that their covers album “Heroine” (also from 2021) was a fabulous addition to their discography too. Their joyous new offering is a live album consisting of a…
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KNEKKLECTRIC – Alt Blir Verre
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/knekklectric/ This quirky and musically adventurous prog rock gem by the wonderfully cool Norwegian outfit sporting the creative moniker Knekklectric is a most inspired and fascinating listening experience. Why is that? Well, for one thing they are singing in their native language using an Aalesund dialect, which is charming as hell,…
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FORTUNE – Level Ground
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: Fortune – Startside | Facebook The US melodic rockers Fortune disbanded back in the mid-80s after a couple of successful records but regrouped and returned to the scene in 2006. However, it took quite a few years for the gentlemen to craft a new studio album but in 2019 we finally…
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SEMBLANT – Vermillion Eclipse
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/semblantband The Brazilian outfit known as Semblant, which was conceived back in 2006, have returned with their fourth full-length assault and what we are served here is a basically a mixture of modern melodic metal, power metal, gothic metal, and arguably also subtle hint of prog metal. That the six members…
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FIRST SIGNAL – Closer to the Edge
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: First Signal – Startside (facebook.com) Melodic rock with a slick and sophisticated vibe to it is the order of the day here, and as with the outfit’s previous outputs, things are once again spearheaded by The Murder of My Sweet’s Daniel Flores on drums and keyboards and Harem Scarem vocalist Harry…
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CRO-MAGS – 2020
RELEASE YEAR: 2021 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/realcromags/ Whatever you think of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Harley Flanagan, the only member present on the New York City’s hardcore punk outfit, Cro-Mags, one who had battled and won the sole rights to the band’s name, whether it is his skin-head image, his unambiguous views and controversial incidents of…
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SILVER DUST – Lullabies
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/SilverDustOnline The latest opus by Swiss act Silver Dust, namely the goth-tinged “Lullabies”, was a rather pleasant surprise to these ears in that it incorporates traits and elements from theatrical rock and dark electro rock to good effect. This is the outfit’s fourth full-length album and undoubtedly the most accomplished one…
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POISON ROSE – Little Bang Theory
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/PoisonRoseMusic/ Poison Rose is a brand-new project conceived by the Frontiers management team where vocalist and songwriter Marco Sivo (Time Machine) truly gets to shine, and there can be no doubt that the man is a hugely skilled singer with a knack for coming up with appealing melody lines and strong…
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ADVENTURE – Tales of Belle Part 1: Across the Ocean
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/Adventureprog/ Symphonic prog rockers Adventure recently released this ambitious concept record revolving around the infamous Norwegian serial killer dubbed Belle Gunness (born Brynhild Paulsdatter Størset back in 1859) who emigrated to the US in the 1880s only to disappear from view in the beginning of the 1900s. In short, the woman…
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TREAT – The Endgame
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/treatofficial With their spirited take on all things melodic hard rock, the Swedish act known as Treat is undoubtedly one of the better and most entertaining musical encounters from those shores when it comes to the aforementioned genre. On their latest LP, the infectious vocal melodies and strong hooks are still…
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DATADYR – Woolgathering
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: Datadyr – Startside | Facebook The Norwegian trio known as Datadyr is a musically enticing one, and this dynamic group shows impeccable skill here with respect to delivering powerful tunes that are rooted in jazz but where prog, blues, and traces of Americana are expertly woven into the mix. What amazes…
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OMINATION – NGR
RELEASE YEAR: 2021 BAND URL: https://omination.bandcamp.com/ There are records which seem like towers of musings seemingly too complex to absorb whereby the reviewer is tempted to give up and move on to something else, but most of them simply prove that 1-2 applications are not enough to appreciate the more ambitious heavy metal records. Such…
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RONNIE ROMERO – Raised on Radio
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: Ronnie Romero Official Site – Startside | Facebook The inhumanly skilled vocalist Ronnie Romero possesses a pair of lungs that are not of this world, which explains why legendary guitar-slingers such as Ritchie Blackmore, Michael Schenker, and Adrian Vandenberg have all employed the gifted singer from time to time. “Raised on…
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PYMLICO – Supermassive
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: http://www.pymlico.no/ Norwegian prog(-ish) rockers Pymlico have returned with an elegantly structured album that brilliantly showcases that the 7-piece band are on peak form and know exactly how to craft admirably sparkling songs that crackle with energy. “Supermassive” is close in spirit to the group’s previous outputs, which is to say that…
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JOE SATRIANI – The Elephants of Mars
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: Joe Satriani – home Legendary guitar-wizard Joe Satriani hardly needs any introduction as such, so let us instead cut right to the chase and discuss the maestro’s latest effort, i.e. the LP entitled “The Elephants of Mars”, which was actually something of a surprise to these ears in that it differs…
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SLEEPYARD – Head Values
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/SleepyardOfficial/ The musically intriguing ensemble known as Sleepyard is something out of the ordinary as evidenced by this mesmerizing new output of theirs named “Head Values”. Solemn piano notes, ambient textures, field recordings, vintage-sounding synthesizers, ethereal vocals, flutes, pedal steel guitars, and percussion are some of the key ingredients here, and…
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HOUSE OF SHAKIRA – Lint XXV (Remastered Anniversary Edition)
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/HouseofShakira/ Swedish melodic rockers House of Shakira recently released this nicely packaged double disc edition of their debut offering “Lint”, which is turning 25 this year. The booklet contains some interesting liner notes, but more importantly, you get a remastered version of the album as well as an entire disc containing…
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CORPUS CHRISTII – The Bitter End of Old
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://lnk.to/thebitterendofold The long-running Portugese purveyors of deep-seated melancholy is undoubtedly one of the most noteworthy bands in the black metal underground today, and their upcoming LP titled “The Bitter End of Old” marks yet another step forward in the determined duo’s ongoing journey. The 9-track record is a bone-chilling affair and…
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SOFT FFOG – Soft Ffog
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/Softffog/ The recently launched Norwegian label named Is It Jazz? Records is off to a flying start with this deftly executed 4-track LP by prog rockers Soft Ffog who also hail from Norway. Well, jazz prog rockers, I suppose. For those of you out there who crave thunderous riffs, fret not…
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SONISK BLODBAD – The Shores of Oblivion
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: Sonisk Blodbad – Startside | Facebook The Norwegian ensemble known as Sonisk Blodbad is an intriguing one and the richly textured new opus of theirs entitled “The Shores of Oblivion” is as dark, haunting, and delightfully experimental as one could have hoped for. Layers and waves of electronic sounds wash over…
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NEW HORIZON – Gate of the Gods
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: New Horizon – Startside | Facebook What a kick-ass love letter to classic heavy metal this wildly catchy debut offering by the Swedish outfit New Horizon is. Spearheaded by the inimitable Erik Grönwall (Skid Row, ex-H.E.A.T.) on vocals and multi-instrumentalist Jona Tee (H.E.A.T.), this gifted act delivers epic riffs, muscular songs,…
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RADIOACTIVE – XXX
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: Tommy Denander The supremely talented Tommy Denander recently put this impressive and superbly written album of his out via Frontiers Records, and this is simply a fabulous mixture of hard rock, classic rock, and AOR/melodic rock. Deftly executed, versatile, and full of excitement, the record is packed with everything from high-octane…
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OMNUS – Stepping Stones
RELEASE YEAR: 2021 BAND URL: https://omnus.bandcamp.com/releases In a line of original albums released recently (up to 1 year) I have presented Never End’s “The Cold And The Craving”, Addiktio’s “Anthem For The Year 2020” and Deathglow’s “Machine Skin”. “Stepping Stones” is another original release, a debut by a Norwegian trio Omnus consisting of Geir Wetterhus…
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THE TRONOSONIC EXPERIENCE – The Shadow Vol. II
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: The Tronosonic Experience Oh man, this 6-track sequel to “The Shadow Vol. I” is just as playful, unpredictable, and immersive as its predecessor was, and this Norwegian jazz prog/avantgarde rock outfit simply rules beyond belief. Their spirited take on all things forward-thinking is inspired, and these gentlemen sure know how to…
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DEADGLOW – Machine Skin
RELEASE YEAR: 2021 BAND URL: https://deadglow.bandcamp.com/ One of the greatest joys of being a reviewer is when one finds a fresh new eclectic band which defies easy categorization. Last year it was Never End’s “The Cold And The Craving” along with, this here, Deadglow’s “Machine Skin”, which came out independently courtesy of Devographic Music Agency.…
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CROWBAR – Zero And Below
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: http://www.crowbarnola.com/ The New Orleans, Louisiana based sludge stoner doom and equal parts hardcorers Crowbar are among the most beloved bands in metal due to the consistent quality and longevity while staying true to their core sound or, as Metal Hammer once observed “exist in a genre of one”.They are one…