RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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EAMONN FORDE – Leaving the Building: The Lucrative Afterlife of Music Estates
Having thoroughly enjoyed reading "The Final Days of EMI: Selling the Pig" (2019) by author Eamonn Forde, I was very much looking forward to immersing myself in his latest opus bearing the Elvis Presley-inspired title "Leaving the Building", which shines a spotlight on every conceivable aspect of what it means to run a music estate…
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OLE TEIGEN – Aske og Jord
A few months ago, the incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist Ole Teigen released this deeply introspective and morose opus where utterly somber pianos and haunting strings weave together a tapestry of sound that oozes sorrow and longing. With the song titles and the stories behind them being extremely personal and close to his heart, Teigen’s beautifully crafted…
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WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM – Primordial Arcana
When you reach 46 you tend to confuse a lot of things. In my case, it was confusing Liturgy with Wolves In The Throne Room (WITTR) just because both are black metal. Specifically, "Celestial Lineage" (2011) merged in my mind with "Aesthetica" (2011), both of which I had listened to before, which influenced me to…
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IRON MAIDEN – Senjutsu
It is safe to say that whenever the legendary heavy metal trailblazers Iron Maiden release a new record, it turns into an event and one that is obviously of great significance and value to those of us who love and cherish the group and consider them one of the most important bands of all time…
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INNER STREAM – Stain The Sea
Inner Stream, which is fronted by vocalist/songwriter Inés Vera-Ortiz, is one of the more musically adventurous endeavors that I have come across from the Frontiers Records roster recently, which is pretty cool in and of itself, and it is nice to see that the label has broadened their horizon these past few years and signed…
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LAURENNE/LOUHIMO – The Reckoning
Frontiers Records’ endless supply of collaborations and projects put together by the label have resulted in a long line of records that range from excellent to mediocre and further on to downright awful. I was therefore rather curious as to where "The Reckoning" would find itself in and how the combo of the talented singers…
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HEAVEN & EARTH – V
Heaven & Earth was not a musical entity that I had encountered previous to receiving a promo copy of their latest record "V" in the mail, but I must say that I find their take on good old fashioned hard rock with prominent blues vibes to it quite charming. What immediately caught my eye when…
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DREAMSHADE – A Pale Blue Dot
"A pale blue dot" is a synonym for the planet Earth, just a shiny blue dot at the edge of the Universe. It is also a fitting description for Dreamshade, a Swiss melodic death metal band on "What Silence Hides" (2011) and "The Gift Of Life" (2013) turned metalcore on "Vibrant" (2016), an interesting if…
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BIG CITY – Testify
The latest album by the Norwegian outfit known as Big City marks a change in that new vocalist Jørgen Bergersen has entered the fold while the style and sound of the group has also turned slightly more aggressive compared to earlier on. What we have here is an energetic mixture of hard rock and heavy…
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SIMON WELLS – She’s a Rainbow – The Extraordinary Life of Anita Pallenberg
The paperback edition of "She’s a Rainbow" was recently published by Omnibus Press and so I figured that this would be the ideal opportunity to write a few words about this illuminating piece of work and its subject matter, the incredibly colorful character that was actor, model, fashion designer, and Swinging Sixties icon Anita Pallenberg.…
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SUBURBAN SAVAGES – Demagogue Days
Although this eight-track offering titled "Demagogue Days" by the Norwegian outfit Suburban Savages is not sparkling new as such (it was released in March this year), it recently popped up on my radar and I was immediately drawn to it and felt that a short review of the thing was in order. What we have…
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RIAN – Twenty-Three
Melodic hard rock from Sweden is what we have here and this album boasts a powerful production and a solid number of effective hooks. These guys can certainly play and they have a really cool and impressive ability to weave different melodies together to create layers and textures within the compositions, but the record lacks…
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GALVANIZER – Prying Sight Of Imperception
I like my death metal furious and at least hook-laden if not melodic. The Finnish death/grind collective has plenty of the former but not too much of the latter, preferring to just overwhelm the listener with their technical prowess and speed rather than offering nuance, ebbs and flows and the likes even though this is…
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TOBY HITCHCOCK – Changes
Toby Hitchcock (Pride of Lions) recently released this third solo record of his and as with its predecessor, "Reckoning" (2019), we are treated to melodic rock/AOR and the man is in possession of a stunning voice and delivers immense vocal power throughout, which is great. You will also receive a solid dose of infectious melodies…
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L.A. GUNS – Cocked and Loaded Live
"Cocked and Loaded Live" by renowned glam metal act L.A. Guns is one of those releases that I was truly looking forward to immersing myself in and reviewing because the fact is that these guys have made some great albums over the years and written countless tunes that work perfectly in a live setting and…
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RESURRECTION KINGS – Skygazer
"Skygazer" by the awesome collective of musicians that is Resurrection Kings is an exciting and appealing mixture of melodic hard rock and epic-sounding heavy metal where Craig Goldy’s superb riff-wizardry, Vinny Appice’s rock-solid drumming, and Chas West’s charismatic vocals complement each other beautifully. There is an emphasis on those huge, glorious tunes that recall legends…
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HARDLINE – Heart, Mind and Soul
Receiving a new album by renowned US/Italian hard rockers Hardline is usually always a great experience and the brand-new 11-song collection entitled "Heart, Mind and Soul" is no exception to that rule. The explosive opening track "Fuel to the Fire" sets the tone and immediately conjures up an organic, vibrant atmosphere. Throughout we are treated…
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CLOUDS – Destin
The final entry in our 4 re-releases series of the reviews for the British-Romanian atmospheric/funeral doomsters courtesy of Personal Records, among "Dor" (2018) "Doliu" (2014) and "Departe" (2016) is "Destin" (2017), but not the immediate EP containing the elaborate dirge "Errata" plus the debut album’s opener and closer, but the 7 track re-release by Vinyl…
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MYTHOPOEIC MIND – Hatchling
Norwegian prog rockers Mythopoeic Mind, which includes Panzerpappa’s Steinar Børve in its ranks, are about to release this charming and beautifully crafted opus of theirs, and it is as musically playful as it is elegantly arranged. While lead singer Veronika Hørven Jensen’s emotive vocals are one of the strengths of this 5-song record, the melodies…
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CLOUDS – Departe
We continue our series of the reviews for the British-Romanian atmospheric/funeral doomsters courtesy of recent Personal Records re-releases of "Dor" (2018) "Doliu" (2014), "Destin" (2017) and, this here, "Departe" (2016). I have already reviewed the debut "Doliu" (4/6) and the 3rd album "Dor" (4.5/6) and now it’s time for the 2nd album "Departe" followed by…
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CALIBAN – Zeitgeister
Caliban, named after a character in William Shakespeare’s "The Tempest", is, next to Heaven Shall Burn, with whom they shared a split program in 2000, one of the pillars of German metalcore, but I’ve just recently found out they, like Kreator, come from North-Rhine Westphalian city of Essen where my father and grandmother used to…
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EYE OF PURGATORY – The Lighthouse
Roger "Rogga" Johansson is one of the most prolific artists in metal with the Encyclopedia Metallum reporting his credits for 9 lines. Some of his bands, which are overwhelmingly death metal, include Rogga Johansson, Megascavenger, Paganizer and Down Among The Dead Men, Ribspreader, Revolting and Stass (the last two to be reviewed here soon) as…
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ONE DESIRE – One Night Only – Live in Helsinki
I was mighty impressed by the Finnish hard rocker’s latest studio offering entitled "Midnight Empire" (2020) and so I was curious as to how this live album (it is a package containing a CD and a DVD containing the album release performance) would turn out. While listening to more raw and loose versions of their…
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THE HARVEST MOON – Decline to Disorder
This one-man musical entity from Australia specializes in heartfelt and utterly passionate-sounding black metal with a prominent aura of longing, loss, and despair to it. In many ways, the term black metal should only be applied loosely to The Harvest Moon’s interesting take on the genre as mastermind Jamie Freeman is clearly influenced by different…
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DISPERSER – Demo 2021
This 3-track demo release by the US black metal horde Disperser turned out to be a most pleasant surprise and so I figured that we should discuss this melancholy little gem in more detail below. So, let us get down to business, shall we? Adopting the rhythms and rawness of early black metal but injecting…
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OSLO TAPES – ØR
The enigmatic Oslo Tapes released this eight-track effort of theirs via Pelagic Records in early June and what we have here is eclectic avantgarde rock from Italy where noisy soundscapes, bouncy melodies, pulsating basslines, and strange voices all come together. The compositions are meant to evoke the feeling of traveling through imaginary Norwegian highlands where…
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DENNIS DEYOUNG – 26 East, Vol. 2
The renowned Dennis DeYoung (ex-Styx) recently released what is to be his last and final album, and judging by the quality of "26 East, Vol. 2", he is ending his musical career on a high note. This twelve-track offering is a beautiful closing chapter in so many ways; it is crackling with energy and charm…
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HAVAMAL – The Shadow Chapter
What the Swedish quintet Havamal offers is essentially melodic death metal with plenty of bombast and lofty ideas to it. With its pagan/Viking metal overtones and lyrics inspired by Norse mythology, the nine compositions that constitute "The Shadow Chapter" are brimming with galloping riffs, epic atmospheres, growls and chants, choirs and keyboards, and an overall…
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OBSEQUIAL JOY – Show My Mercy
The obscure entity known as Obsequial Joy, which hails from Taiwan, is an interesting mixture of funeral doom metal, lo-fi dark ambient, and black metal. I have seen the term "post-black metal" being thrown around out there on the web whenever the discussion revolves around this five-track opus, and despite it being a rather vague…
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JUSTIN SULLIVAN – Surrounded
New Model Army vocalist and songwriter Justin Sullivan recently released his second solo album titled "Surrounded", which consist of sixteen tracks that were conceived and written in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, and I think we should take a closer look at what it has to offer. "Surrounded" is a warm, soothing,…