ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • THE COMMITTEE – Utopian Deception

    I was rather fond of the previous effort ("Memorandum Occultus" from 2017) by this most mysterious of black metal ensembles, and this poisonous new output of theirs is even better and more focused than its predecessor. A thick, swirling mass of vile and twisted riffs, vicious vocals about to explode with venom, and a truly…

  • I AM PARIAH – Charm Before the Storm

    There was something evocative and cool about the name of the band, the title of this short 3-track EP, and the cover artwork itself that instantly appealed to me when I spotted this release in my mailbox, and so obviously, I simply had to check it out. While the accompanying promotion text suggests that this…

  • NECROPHOBIC – Dawn Of The Damned

    Very few bands in the extreme metal world have careers that last 30 years, but Sweden’s Necrophobic have proved that quality music, hard work, and determination pay off. Their 1993 opus, "The Nocturnal Silence", is still hailed as one of the classic pillars of the blackened death metal fraternity, and they have managed to keep…

  • FIXATION – Global Suicide

    Although many had dubbed Linkin’ Park a nu-metal act on their brilliant debut "Hybrid Theory" album (2000) they later proved on subsequent releases they had more to do with alternative metal, especially on "Minutes To Midnight" (2007). But in truth they could not really be defined, a phenomenon on the market at the time, one…

  • SANCTUARY – Into The Mirror Black (30th Anniversary Edition)

    We tend to give credit to Exhorder or Pantera for turning trashcore into groove but, in my view, given the comparable times of release, the Seattle, Washington -ian progenitors of the mighty and much missed Nevermore, Sanctuary, are responsible for it. There is, in my view, one album (however influenced by traditional metal and early…

  • HELL IN THE CLUB – Hell of Fame

    The Italian hard rockers/heavy metallers known as Hell in the Club have been rather prolific over the years and this brand new 2020 offering of theirs entitled “Hell of Fame” is the fifth full-length assault in merely nine years. Not bad, eh? Apart from being a productive bunch these skilled musicians quite clearly know how…

  • IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT – Alphaville

    Are you absolutely certain that you’ve heard all that can be created in extreme metal? Are you positive you’re able to identify, classify, pigeonhole and label every form of electric madness?! Then you’ve probably never heard of these New Yorkers and their 4th opus, by many regarded as their finest hour. While one can clearly…

  • RISING STEEL – Fight Them All

    The hard-hitting French combo named Rising Steel dabble in 80s-inspired power metal, thrash metal, and old-school heavy metal and it should come as no surprise that several parts of this eleven-track offering sound fucking massive. Whereas some passages recall Judas Priest at their most aggressive, others are more akin to the more melodic aspects of…

  • MR. KILL – Day of Reckoning

    Where do these fresh, innovative bands come from, especially in such an abused and overplayed genre such as melodic death metal? I suppose they come from the same place as At The Gates, Dark Tranquillity or In Flames – the great creative beyond. When I downloaded this debut album (released a mere year after the…

  • THUNDERMOTHER – Heatwave

    As I don’t usually care for anything sounding like AC/DC since their excellent seminal "Razor’s Edge" album, I initially ignored this Swedish quartet’s 4th album, but, after giving it a "first track, middle track and the last track" brief listening session I changed my mind. Having now heard this album in entirety I conclude that…

  • HEATHEN – Empire Of The Blind

    The San Francisco Bay Area thrash scene is the most recognizable and renowned thrash metal cradle in the history of heavy metal. Its influence on latter metal bands of practically any genre is immesurable for how many were not influenced by Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth or Anthrax? Along the Big Four, though, there were bands who…

  • KATAKLYSM – Unconquered

    If there is one band I call "AC/DC of death metal" it is the Montréal, Quebec, French-Canadian quartet Kataklysm, in the sense that we know what to expect and that they always deliver what can be expected without much surprise or innovation to the core sound. However, on their 14th album the self-proclaimed "northern hyperblast"…

  • PERFECT PLAN – Time for a Miracle

    One of the first things that struck me when listening to Perfect Plan’s latest effort is that it sounds as if these skilled Swedes with a keen ear for strong melodies had a blast recording “Time for a Miracle”. It is not that outfit that brings anything new to the table as such, but there…

  • LANDFALL – The Turning Point

    Brazilian hard rockers Landfall turned out to be a very cool and uplifting surprise to yours truly. With a strong emphasis on great melodies and even greater vocal hooks, there is just something delightfully wicked about this eleven-track effort of theirs. It could be the upbeat and instantly catchy tunes or perhaps those moments when…

  • SEPULCHRAL CURSE – Only Ashes Remain

    I’ve just recently reviewed the excellent Church Of The Dead eponymous debut and in that review I claimed that Scandinavian old school death metal was eating its own tail. Well, it seems not only Church Of The Dead set out to prove me wrong but now fellow countrymen, Turku, Varsinais-Suomi, Finnish death/doom/black metal quintet Sepulchral…

  • DKHARMAKHAOZ – Proclamation Of The Black Suns

    A brand new entity, Dkharmakhaoz, the Belarusian duo of He (all instruments) and She (vocals) combine the 90’s black metal with synthwave (or Sith-wave) and industrial, a fusion with works as much as it doesn’t resulting in a very experimental but uneven affair on their debut album. Where "Proclamation Of The Black Suns" works is…

  • COLTRE – Under The Influence

    My favorite among my 3 cousins, Chris, a great lover of Iron Maiden’s first 7 albums, upon hearing (in my view still excellent) "A Matter Of Life And Death" once said that it was great…for putting my then soon to be first born son to sleep when he’d arrive onto the world. I remembered his…

  • CHURCH OF THE DEAD – Church of the Dead

    Has everything been sung and played in old school Scandinavian death metal? Must we hear nothing but countless Dismember, Entombed, Grave or Unleashed hybrids with various degrees of melodiscism (on a scale of 0-6)? Is it okay to expect innovation from a subgenre of death metal which is devouring it’s own tail? This Helsinki, Uusimaa,…

  • ÆPOCH – The Scryer

    To sound classic, heavy, original and catchy (as in, say, classic Slayer) is a tough task for many. Most bands either go out of their way to sound heavy and extreme seemingly without regard for memorability, or are very catchy and melodic but at the cost of heaviness. Not so with Æpoch, the Cambridge, Ohio…

  • WINTER NIGHTS – Winter Nights

    In the constant flow of seemingly new but definitely fresh melodeath which proceedeth from the mouth of Asher Media Relations and the relentless promoter Jon Asher, I happened upon the New York City-based progressive death metallers Winter Nights who have been around for 13 years, with one eponymous (2008) and "An Endless Apocalypse" (2014) on…

  • SNAKEBLADE – The Kingdom

    Here’s another one of those one-man bands, a brand new construct from a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canadian multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Michael Redston. The first full-length and the first ever recording brings a fairly original black/death concoction with substantial thrash and hardcore influences. Despite flawless execution and good production the songriting is patchy, showcasing more of…

  • NAPALM DEATH – Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism

    If there’s one band in the world of extreme metal that needs absolutely no introduction, it is Napalm Death. A band that has, in their 39 years of existence (a phenomenal feat in itself for a band of this level of extremity), both started and stretched the limits of sonic excess, they have found success…

  • MARK SPIRO – 2 +2 = 5 – Best Of + Rarities

    Not that long ago, Frontiers Records released this 3CD set by renowned songwriter Mark Spiro who has worked and collaborated with countless notable artists and musicians over the years (including Giant and Bad English), and what we are getting here are two discs containing his greatest hits and then a third one consisting of rare…

  • CROWN OF GLORY – Ad Infinitum

    Switzerland has produced some great metal bands over the years and the one named Crown of Glory is another cool one from the Swiss canon of memorable, heavy music. These guys are not exactly newbies as they have been at it ever since 1998 and are veterans, which probably accounts for why “Ad Infinitum” comes…

  • DECARLO – Lightning Strikes Twice

    This twelve-track effort by melodic rockers Decarlo, which is spearheaded by Tommy DeCarlo (Boston), came out all the way back in early 2020 and is therefore not as newsworthy as it could have been, so I will keep this review of mine ridiculously short. These guys essentially offer uplifting, good-time classic rock with instantly memorable…

  • ENDAST – Standby To Get Some

    Although I personally credit it with bringing heavy metal back into the spotlight after it had been severely wounded by first the invasion of grunge/alternative and then the so called nu metal, metal/hardcore, shortened to metalcore, came and had its best time between 2000 and 2006 (2005/2006 being the best 2 years of my life…

  • VALGRIND – Condemnation

    It’s always exciting to hear a new band which turns out to have been as old as Morbid Angel’s seminal "Covenant" album (1993). The association, too, is not a coincidence as the San Lazzaro di Savena (Bologna), Emilia-Romagna death metallers are heavily steeped in the "Altars Of Madness" through "Domination" stylings, if "Condemnation" is any…

  • JUDICATOR – Let There Be Nothing

    As you look at the score, consider that I am not a big fan of power metal. Sure, Helloween and Blind Guardian are fine but mostly I find this genre severely lacking in, to use a colloquial term, balls. Stories of dragons, wizzards and, admittedly sexually attractive, witches do not move me more than the…

  • SKELETAL REMAINS – The Entombment Of Chaos

    California’s Skeletal Remains are purveyors of classic old-school death metal in the vein of Pestilence, Death, and Morbid Angel, with a streak of their own personality shining through. Their previous three albums have been incredibly solid and entertaining, putting them in the same hallowed category as Gatecreeper, Blood Incantation, and Gruesome, all of whom are…

  • BURIED REALM – Embodiment Of The Divine

    One-man bands can be hit or miss, usually on the polar extremes: either excellent or atrocious. As I’ve had experienced a little of both, I did not have high expectations for Colorado Springs, Colorado-based Josh Dummer’s melodic death metal on the debut "The Ichor Carcinoma" (2017) but I was still mildly surprised how good (but…