RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
-
MARTYRIUM – Lamia Satanica
Martyrium hail from Malta and dabble in symphonic black metal with rather prominent melodic overtones to it, and what we have here is a 36-minute opus that is expertly crafted and superbly executed. Riddled with gothic atmospheres and somewhat akin to immersing oneself in a story that falls within the Dark Romantic literary genre and…
-
HEART HEALER/MAGNUS KARLSSON – Heart Healer – The Metal Opera by Magnus Karlsson
Grand in scope and with a classically inspired and hugely symphonic edge to it, "Heart Healer" is Swedish guitarist Magnus Karlsson’s latest opus and this time around he has allied himself with various well-known female vocalists such as Adrienne Cowan, Anette Olzon, Netta Laurenne, and Noora Louhimo among others. As ambitious and epic-sounding as this…
-
GARY HUGHES – Decades
What we have here is a 2-CD set compiling various solo tracks by TEN vocalist/guitarist Gary Hughes, and as the well-written liner notes state, they are culled from albums and outputs from the past three decades. These 29 tunes cover a lot of musical and lyrical ground and speak of love, hope, dark times, yearning,…
-
DUSK IN SILENCE – Beneath Great Sky Of Solitude
As more and more artists go solo (for more or less obvious reasons) with a band in description only, more such bands crop up, more or less innovative. Flowing Downward offers two such "bands" this year, both Indonesian: Dusk In Silence and Soulless. This review concerns the former and its debut album "Beneath Great Sky…
-
CROWN – The End of All Things
Now this one is quite extraordinary and a very cool addition to the post-metal/alternative rock/industrial music canon and something that possesses both heart and soul. We are of course in the company of the latest (and incredibly moody output) by the intriguing outfit CROWN and these mesmerizing, hugely creative, and utterly brooding soundscapes are simply…
-
ISSA – Queen of Broken Hearts
Given that this one was released a couple of months ago, I shall try to keep this little review of mine as short and concise as possible. The sixth melodic hard rock record by the skilled Norwegian singer Issa is a polished and slick affair boasting a pristine sound and some impressive vocals, but sadly,…
-
SECRET SPHERE – Lifeblood
There is something about these Italians’ knack for crafting quality music that works like a delightful charm for me and their latest output is yet another excellent symphonic power metal album with an abundance of prog traits. "Lifeblood" is simply an epic piece of work that is large in scope and where a flurry of…
-
THE MIGHTY ONE – Torch of Rock and Roll
The Mighty One hail from Canada and churn out an energetic mixture of heavy metal and hard rock with groove and grit to it, and the raw affair is suitably unpolished and also sufficiently vibrant to evoke that wonderfully invigorating spirit of rock ‘n’ roll, which is obviously a good thing. In many ways, this…
-
LIZZARD – Eroded
Released in February this year, Lizzard’s latest record simply did not show up on my radar until now and for some reason I had overlooked it earlier on, but the important thing is that this fiery hard rock opus by the French trio gets a bit of attention within the virtual pages of Eternal Terror…
-
GLÄDJEKÄLLOR – Jesuskomplex
It just occurred to me that this particular CD, which showed up a few weeks ago for me to review, was released late last year, so I will keep it as brief as I can and simply say that the one-man musical entity known as Glädjekällor has crafted a moody and rather depressive black metal…
-
INFINITE AND DIVINE – Silver Lining
The Swedish act Infinite and Divine turned out to be a most pleasant surprise to these ears and a good mixture of melodic heavy metal with symphonic leanings and hard rock, and there is a tinge of melancholy and sadness to the song material in general that I find quite appealing. The outfit is essentially…
-
WOLVES OF PERDITION – Ferocious Blasphemic Warfare
The Finnish black metal horde known as Wolves of Perdition is a quite interesting encounter in many ways and I am rather impressed with how intense yet melodically rich this 13-track torture trap of theirs is. While the sound and overall presentation of "Ferocious Blasphemic Warfare" is relatively old-school and traditional, there is something about…
-
DUSK OF DELUSION – World At War
The French metalcore/melodic metal combo Dusk of Delusion is back with a five-track EP where the hard-hitting music is accompanied by lyrics revolving around World War I, which is an incredibly interesting topic in and of itself. With sharp, aggressive riffs and varied vocals, these guys churn out songs that certainly deliver a solid punch…
-
THE TREATMENT – Waiting for Good Luck
UK hard rockers The Treatment are back with another slab of high-octane rock ‘n’ roll with heaps of energy and plenty of grit to it, and if you want an album that offers excitement and groove, you need not look any further as "Waiting for Good Luck" possesses all of that and more. There is…
-
GARY HUGHES – Waterside
The talented Gary Hughes (TEN) recently released this 10-track solo album of his via Frontiers Records, and if you are familiar with his past work then there is simply no way getting around the fact that you ought to add this to your playlist. From a musical and stylistic standpoint, "Waterside" falls somewhere between the…
-
Eddie Piller and Steve Rowland – Punkzines: British Fanzine Culture from the Punk Scene 1976-1983
What an engaging and delightfully entertaining book this is! As its title so neatly suggests, it focuses on the British underground fanzines that came out in the wake of punk’s explosive entry into the music milieu back in 1976 and highlights the relevance of these cheaply made publications and puts them into a larger perspective.…
-
WRATHRONE – Eve of Infliction
The Finnish underground death metal maniacs collectively known as Wrathrone have unleashed yet another torrent of murky and punishing riffs from the foulest corners of the depths, namely the concise and relatively short album entitled "Eve of Infliction", and this is great news if you dig the straightforward, old-school style of the aforementioned genre. One…
-
CHEZ KANE – Chez Kane
The talented British vocalist Chez Kane teamed up with Danny Rexon (Crazy Lixx) for this slick, memorable, and melodically rich slab of 80s-inspired rock music and the result is a satisfying one. With Rexon producing the record, composing the song material, and arranging everything, this one very much inhabits some of the characteristics and trademarks…
-
VRADEMARGK – Arrelats
The Spanish death metal squadron known as Vrademargk have been lurking around in the underground ever since 2003 and unleashed some cool things in the past, but this brand-new offering of theirs titled "Arrelats" is without doubt their strongest output yet. Dark and punishing music is the order of the day here and I must…
-
WITHERFALL – Curse Of Autumn
As a foreign born U.S citizen yet a U.S. Army veteran I am in a tough position regarding the 3rd Witherfall’s album. Firstly, it was produced by a domestic terrorist who once was only known for fronting the progressive metal band Iced Earth (IE), Jon Ryan Schaffer, secondly, Witherfall guitarist, Jacob Dreyer, was in IE…
-
VILEMASS – Gore Weed Distortion
I have picked up "Gore Weed Distortion", the debut album from the Italian deathsters Vilemass, on the strength of the title track expecting even better things revealed throughout the record. The last of the three of Cult Of Parthenope records presented by me (at least for now), is definitely the heaviest and the most brutal.…
-
SCREAMACHINE – ScreaMachine
Do you guys enjoy listening to Judas Priest and hard-hitting power metal with balls the size of Texas in general? If so, this ten-track effort by ScreaMachine ought to be right up your alley as it contains bucketloads of thick and wildly memorable riffs, proper heavy metal vocals that harken back to the 80s, and…
-
SOLITARY – The Truth Behind The Lies
The Great Britain is known to me mainly for its state-of-the-art doom/death metal but not so much for thrash. Having had, however, enjoyed "The Diseased Heart Of Society" I was ready for another LP, especially, since Paul from Imperative PR had personally called it amazing. While I wouldn’t go that far, I find "The Truth…
-
FM – Tough It Out Live
The fabulous FM is undoubtedly one of Britain’s most underrated rock bands, and these gentlemen are so consistent and dependable in terms of delivering quality albums that it is borderline ridiculous. In case you were wondering, that also pertains to the group’s live records with this latest opus of theirs entitled "Tough It Out Live"…
-
JOHAN G. WINTHER – The Rupturing Sowle
The talented Johan G. Winther (Scraps of Tape, Blessings, Barrens) recently unearthed this highly emotive and introspective solo offering of his, and this is one of those mellow and hauntingly beautiful outputs where sparse instrumentation and incredibly evocative melodies flow together seamlessly and manage to transport the listener elsewhere in a brilliant manner. "The Rupturing…
-
GOJIRA – Fortitude
One of the most original bands in progressive metal next to Mastodon, Gojira had started as a death metal band with an industrial twist and had been made famous with their 3rd opus, the fantastic "From Mars To Sirius" and the excellent follow-up "The Way Of All Flesh" which eventually landed them on Roadrunner Records.…
-
RONNIE ATKINS – One Shot
What a remarkably awesome record this one is! Unarguably best known for fronting Danish hard rockers/metallers Pretty Maids for what seems like a lifetime, Ronnie Atkins is firing on all cylinders here and chimes in with one of the best album performances of his entire career, which is saying something. So where exactly are we…
-
THE END MACHINE – Phase 2
The End Machine, which is comprised of past and present members from Foreigner and Dokken among others, offers riff-based hard rock that harkens back to the 70s and 80s but without sounding even remotely dated or like a relic from the past. In fact, the sound, production, and overall presentation of "Phase 2" are relatively…
-
SUNSTORM – Afterlife
What a pleasant surprise this one is. While its two predecessors were above average records and contained some good material, the latest Sunstorm output featuring Rainbow vocalist Ronnie Romero on vocals is a thoroughly enjoyable and solid mixture of hard rock and melodic heavy metal, and I was immediately struck by just how huge and…
-
LETARGO – The Power Of Genetic Manipulators
How long has it been since a band tapped the early melodeath vein where IN FLAMES’ "The Jester Race", DARK TRANQUILLITY’s "The Gallery" and AT THE GATES’ "Slaughter Of The Soul" bled to become a floodgate for that new genre in death metal? If you miss those days, that sound, those stylings, the Chilean quartet…