RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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SKELETON – Skeleton
The Austin, Texan black-thrashing quartet’s debut eponymous album "Skeleton" (after "Flexi 1"-2016 and "Pyramid Of Skull"-2018 EPs) is a good example of originality over quality in songwriting. While the sound produced by David "Skeleton" Ziolkowski (guitar), Victor "Skeleton" Ziolkowski (drums, vocals), Alex Guzman (guitar) and Cody Combs (bass) is a powerful blend of old and…
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ENUFF Z’NUFF – Brainwashed Generation
This sparkling new ten-track record by the renowned Enuff Z’Nuff turned out to be a most pleasant surprise and what we have here is a vigorous and fresh-sounding piece of work with the band’s charismatic and characteristic brand of uplifting The Beatles/Cheap Trick-inspired hard rock coming across as more powerful than ever before. Not…
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BLUE ÖYSTER CULT – Cult Classic (2020 re-release)
Earlier on this year the Italian purveyors of classic and melodic/AOR rock that are Frontiers Records re-issued this rather interesting album by the legendary Blue Öyster Cult (which was originally released back in 1994), and “Cult Classic” contains fourteen re-recorded tunes by the great band including some of its most well-known compositions such as “Godzilla”…
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UPRISING – II
While the one-man band’s first full-length assault from 2016 was musically impressive and melodically gorgeous (not to mention soaked in a wonderfully thick, blackened atmosphere and majestic as hell), this sophomore effort is even more accomplished and remarkable than the aforementioned debut album. Why is that? Well, the production is more potent and hard-hitting this…
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ANAXAGOR – Anaxagor
The French death thrashing scumbags collectively known as Anaxagor recently unleashed a self-titled torrent of dark, rumbling metal that is relatively old-school in its approach yet tightly executed and to the point. There is something concise and refreshingly straightforward about this punishing self-titled offering but at the same time it is riddled with clever twists…
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SOMBRE HÉRITAGE – Alpha Ursae Minori
Sometimes black metal can sound heavy and powerful yet highly predictable to the point of giving off a mistaken impression of minimalism. Such is the case with the French debutants Sombre Héritage and their album "Alpha Ursae Minori" which is neither terrible nor particularly engaging with "Lord" Molag-Venn (vocals), Maxime "Exu" Michaud (vocals, guitars, bass)…
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HOUSE OF SHAKIRA – Radiocarbon
Even though this record is hardly brand new anymore (it is from December 2019), it turned up in my mailbox for me to review about a week ago and so I figured that we should give these melodic hard rockers from Sweden a handful of spins and write a short piece on this meticulously crafted…
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BRUNHILDE – Choir Boy
This 4-track EP by the German duo Brunhilde is pretty damn cool and conjures up a fiery blend of heavy metal, crossover, and punk rock, and the result is satisfying one in the sense that all the tunes are dynamic and memorable. The musicianship is great, the sound packs punch and is suitably raw, and…
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ROFFE HUNTER – Roffe Hunter
Roffe Hunter is a Swedish combo and I find it really fucking cool that there is hardly any information out there on the band as such. What we are dealing with here is their demo, which was released this year, so let us see what is in store for us, shall we? The ominous, horror-filled…
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AL-NAMROOD – Wala’at
While generally known for some more or less tensed political contexts, Saudi Arabia is not exactly swarming with black metal bands for reasons revealed further but Al-Namrood is one which has been around for 12 years having released indecipherably Arabic EP (2008) and LP (2009), "Estorat Taghoot" (2010), "Kitab Al Awthan" (2012), another indecipherably Arabic…
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SMACKBOUND – 20/20
Finnish outfit Smackbound recently released this 10-track debut offering of theirs via Frontiers Records, but where I kind of assumed that they would primarily fall into the hard rock category, this particular record shows that they are influenced by a multitude of various genres and incorporate a lot of different ideas into their pounding rock/metal…
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VSPOLOKH – Помре
According to Encyclopedia Metallum, Всполох" (Vspolokh) is an archaic Russian noun for ”flash” or ”glow”. The Tugulym, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian atmospheric black metal outfit featuring Dmitriy "Vel" "Velemudr" Mamontov (guitars, vocals), Alexandr "JC" Zyablitskikh (guitars), Anton "Div" Popelushko (bass) and Andrey "Velezar" Kazakov (drums, vocals) can boast of just two recordings, "Сумерки" demo (2005), and…
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ATAVIST – III Absolution
Just a couple of months ago I reviewed Winterfylleth’s excellent "The Reckoning Dawn" (5/6) and already we have new music from the frontman Christopher John Naughton who’s the sole guitarist for this Mancunian, English sludge/doom metal outfit who also includes Toby Bradshaw (vocals), Shane Ryan (bass) and Callum Cox (drums). From the debut demo "31:38"…
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ILLUM ADORA – Infernum et Necromantium
German black metal combo Illum Adora did not impress me that greatly when I reviewed its previous offering, the traditional-sounding and somewhat mediocre “…Of Serpentine Forces”, but this latest 5-track EP immediately struck me as a much more interesting and dynamic output than past efforts. Musically and stylistically speaking, these ugly fuckers are still firmly…
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SHADOWFLAG – In Asylum Requiem
Black metal is not a genre which boasts of fierce originality but there are notable exceptions such the Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, British quartet Shadowflag who has just recently released their 4th album after the eponymous (2013), "The White Grave" (2015) and "The Delusion Machine" (2017) and who presently consists of Graham Preston (vocals), Jake Doherty (guitars),…
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GRAEME THOMSON – Small Hours: The Long Night of John Martyn
Author Graeme Thomson has written a number of superb works on such renowned artists as Phil Lynott, Elvis Costello, and George Harrison, but “Small Hours: The Long Night of John Martyn” may just be the best and most noteworthy literary piece of his yet. Chronicling the troubled life and times of the unbelievably talented…
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HOUSE OF LORDS – New World – New Eyes
US hard rockers House of Lords have churned out a handful of well-written and interesting records these past many years, but their latest one entitled “New World – New Eyes” may in fact be one of their very best yet. First of all, this 2020 opus comes across as more of a proper band effort…
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THE GHOST INSIDE – The Ghost Inside
Hard-hitting metalcore combo The Ghost Inside is back and this razor-sharp and viciously heavy 11-track offering is brimming with ideas and confidence. These guys waste no time and kick things off with the ferocious “1333” which sets the tone and establishes the atmosphere that permeates the rest of the record by means of its first…
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ASTRAL WINTER – Perdition II
The skilled Tasmanian outfit Astral Winter is back with a brand-new record containing soothing and tranquil acoustic music that is drenched in beautiful melancholy and splendid grandeur. Gentle and finely crafted melodies are woven together quite expertly, the piano and reverb-laden guitars complement each other nicely, and the wintry atmosphere that envelops each and every…
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NEMESIUM – Continua
Extreme metal is always hungry for fresh new sounds even as the original scene purveyors such as Morbid Angel, Nile or Sinister grow too familiar while Behemoths or Monstrosities of the world keep delivering consistent quality provoking younger acts to jealousy. Not far from New Zealand, the home of the fantastic Ulcerate, Geelong, Victoria, Australian…
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VALDRIN – Effigy Of Nightmares
Formerly known as Viravoid (2006) and Dawn Of Wolves (2006-2010), then spawning "Beyond The Forest" (2014), "Two Carrion Talismans" (2018) before this, their 3rd LP, Valdrin are one of the more interesting acts in American (Cincinnati, Ohio) black metal, combining the 90’s classic sound of Emperor or Dimmu Borgir with Opeth-ian structures (most notably on…
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PARALYDIUM – Worlds Beyond
The evocatively titled “Worlds Beyond” by the Swedish act Paralydium turned out to be something quite different to what I usually receive from Frontiers Records in that it leans much more towards progressive metal than the majority of other outfits on the label’s roster. Having said that, the nine well-written and superbly arranged compositions that…
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ARABS IN ASPIC – Madness and Magic
The fabulous Norwegian act that is Arabs in Aspic is undoubtedly one of the country’s most exciting and adventurous musical exponents of prog rock. Steeped in warm, eccentric 70s prog with a subtle dose of 60s psychedelia and touches of early Black Sabbath added, this outfit revels in long, sprawling compositions that are as playful…
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AIRBAG – A Day at the Beach
Norwegian prog rockers Airbag rarely cease to amaze me and this latest effort of theirs sporting the splendid title “A Day at the Beach” is no exception in that its six compositions comprise all the wonderful trademarks and swirling textures that one associates with the band’s previous musical outputs. What totally works for this lousy…
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LAMB OF GOD – Lamb of God
My theory, which I realize is hardly original, is that most bands have only a few great records in them. They usually start out promising if not already great, release 2 or 3 equally engaging records and then they start emulating them as they evolve. This is true of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Testament or Machine…
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COULDRON BLACK RAM – Slaver
No matter how much one knows the heavy metal scene there is always more to explore, there’s always a chance you’re missing out on some excellent exciting band who had been quietly (!) releasing album after album unbeknownst to you until one day you finally catch one of these records and, impressed, you exclaim "cool,…
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ORMSKRIK – Ormskrik
It is difficult enough a feat to straddle comfortably two genres, but this Sandnes, Rogaland, Norwegian quintet featuring Gjøran Bårdsen (vocals), Anders Skjæveland (guitars), Tormod Hansen (guitars), Erik Bakke (bass) and Kristoffer Fikstvedt (drums) rides on a three horse carriage, Horse 1: Bay Area thrash, Horse 2: Norwegian black metal and Horse 3: Swedish death…
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ELECTRIC MOB – Discharge
With a fabulous and Southern-tinged groove coupled with loads of youthful energy and wicked charm, Brazilian rockers Electric Mob deliver a fiery dose of gritty, blues-soaked, and often-times funky hard rock capable of tearing your roof off. In terms of riffs and melodies, this skilled quartet looks to both the stadium-sized rock of the 70s…
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MAGNUS KARLSSON’S FREE FALL – We Are the Night
Skilled Swedish guitarist Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear) is back with another bombastic offering under the Free Fall moniker and this time around he has enlisted the help of such talented singers as Ronnie Romero (Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Vandenberg) and Tony Martin (ex-Black Sabbath) among others. With a powerful albeit slightly stiff-sounding production and ten tracks…
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DAVE BALL – Electronic Boy: My Life in and out of Soft Cell
Soft Cell synthesizer wizard Dave Ball published this inspired and hugely entertaining autobiography just a couple of weeks ago via the ever-reliable Omnibus Press and what we have here is essentially a well-balanced and insightful memoir that is both revealing and revelatory but never dull. Most people probably associate Ball with early Soft Cell hits…