RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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MALEFISTUM – Enemy
The entity named MalefistuM, which is the brainchild of Dawn of Destiny guitarist Jens Faber, dabbles in symphonic power metal that leans toward Swedish melodic (death) metal and Finnish goth metal to some extent. The promotional material that accompanied the promo lists acts ala Dark Tranquility, Ensiferum, and Nightwish as reference points and musical parallels…
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NECROTTED – Die For Something Worthwhile
Blistering and aggressive death metal with a mad touch of grind and deathcore to it is what the German sickos known as Necrotted offer and this 4-track EP of theirs is a lethal slab of brutality that is as concise as it is in your face. Starting off with the gut-punching title track, the four…
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SYMBOLIK – Emergence
The Artisan Era have been the source of progressive technical metal for my reviewing purposes for a couple of years now, and while I do appreciate Inanimate Existence, Singularity, Immanifest, Equipoise and Flub, I’m beginning to notice a growing trend: bands with either no identity, sounding almost exactly like their labelmates, often having a hard…
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CURSE UPON A PRAYER – Infidel
If you’re going to make an anti-Islamic black metal album worth the vinyl or plastic it is pressed on you had better ensure of two things: you have the knowledge, skills and abilities to pull it off and that the identities of all of your 4 members stay completely hidden behind the corpse paint and…
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DYNAZTY – The Dark Delight
Not a huge fan of power metal genre, I do make some exceptions for the likes of Evergrey or Helloween, so if a power metal album download catches my attention it’s a holiday. More often than not, the few sample songs turn out to be the highlights of an otherwise good but not great album.…
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JOAKEM – Mind Matter
No, this is not a typo, "Mind Matter" really was released nearly 2 years ago and I am just now getting to it. Every once in a while we get albums from artists who had released them long time ago and ask us to review them and this is one of those albums, Joakem’s only…
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YOUR LAST WISH – Eradicate
Alas, as promised, another Jon Asher/Asher Media Relations release review is upon you. Although this Canadian ensemble can rightly be called progressive melodeath drawing comparisons to Arch Enemy, Scar Symmetry, Soilwork and, but of course, latter Death, they are one of the most unique bands in the genre for their unpredictible and plain weird song…
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SCORN – A Comedic Tragedy
There is something about the 3rd and 4th Sepultura albums, "Beneath The Remains" and "Arise" which brings a longing for the death/thrash of old where the two genres were so inextricably linked the hyphen was pointless. The Canadian one-man band, Scorn, brings back some of that feeling while reaching into ancient Deicide, where it seems…
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AARA – En Ergô Einai
Ara is a kind of large parrot. To name this parrot a double "a" implies unique quality and so it is with this Swiss black metal ensemble on their 2nd album, where the traditional black alternates for truly progressive and gorgeous richly multimelodic tapestry, bringing such names as early Alcest and latter Dark Tranquillity to…
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LOVIATAR – Lightless
Most doom bands tend to adhere more or less to Peaceville tradition, with some variations. Today’s genre suffers from lack of innovation and original thought but every once in a while there comes an act that eschews convention. Such is the Canadian quartet, Loviatar, on their 2nd album, who takes doom base and builds on…
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EXESS – Deus Ex Machina
Swiss outfit Exess is pretty damn difficult to label or place in any specific musical category. This 9-track effort of theirs entitled “Deus Ex Machina” falls somewhere between rock and metal but with quite a few progressive touches to it. Hard and pounding riffs, soothing and melancholic melodies, and cleverly arranged songs with plenty of…
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SKEPTICISM – Alloy
I have just recently reviewed Solothus’ new album, in the review revealing my prejudice against lengthy and minimalistic funeral doom while laying down characteristics of the genre which I find appealing. The Finish funeral doom masters Skepticism play to both sides of the spectrum, sadly, more to the former, on their 4th album. Riihimäki, Kanta-Häme,…
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WALK THROUGH FIRE – Vär Avgrund
Walk Through Fire? And where might that fire be? All I hear is the least interesting parts of Ulcerate-ian doom severely minimalized to the point of sounding like a guitar novice rehersal. This could all be done between lunch and dinner on any given day by beginners. Why even bother with vocals? The only good…
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IGORRR – Spirituality And Distortion
I have to agree with our chief editor, Andrea Chirulescu, that IGORRR makes some of the most bizarre music in recent memory. Various non-metal elements work together to carry on genuinely metal fabric to non-metal ends, which some may find amusing but I would not call these 14 tracks songs by any stretch of imagination,…
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SOLOTHUS – Realm Of Ash And Blood
Funeral doom is admittedly an aquired taste. Much of the genre is so slow and uneventful (as funerals tend to be), seldom justifying huge track lengths considering the shockingly small riff count, and yes, I get that the goal is to put me in a trance, but they only succeed in putting me to sleep.…
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ORANSSI PAZUZU – Mestarin Kynsi
Oranssi Pazuzu is the perfect embodiment of the sub-sub-genre known as ‘psychedelic black metal’. Over the past 13 years and numerous releases, the Finnish legends have taken a cosmic journey that started with a fresh and hugely enjoyable venture into the darker realms and pushed it to extreme lengths. The music is always rooted heavily…
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TORCHIA – The Coven
Lately, the renowned Canadian promoter, Jon Asher and his Asher Media Relations seem to have many melodic death metal bands on offer. There is an upcoming review of Chronicles Of Hate’s "Birth Of Hate" and Your Last Wish’s "Eradicate", both released a couple months ago, but one came out last month in the form of…
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MARILLION – Script for a Jester’s Tear (Deluxe Edition – Remixed and Remastered)
Reviewing a release by prog gods Marillion is always a treat regardless of whether we are talking about a new studio album, a live record, or a remastered deluxe edition of a glorious past opus such as the one in question here, namely the hugely influential debut offering titled “Script for a Jester’s Tear”. While…
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NYRST – Orsök
Some fine and most noteworthy black metal outfits have emerged from the cold and windswept shores of Iceland and this one, Nyrst, is right up there with the very best of them and have an awful lot to offer if you are on the lookout for a harsh soundtrack with a bleak atmosphere to it.…
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TESTAMENT – Titans of Creation
Testament is a prophetically fitting name for a Californian thrash metal band which had started around the same time as the so called Big Four (Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer) but failed to get the same recognition as their peers back in the day of thrash boom, yet in the latter account proved to be thrashier,…
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HELLRIDE – Goodbyes to Forever
The German trio named Hellride have made a bit of a name for themselves over the years thanks to their original and at times quirky brand of acoustic metal. Consisting of two guitars and a vocal style that bears a strong similarity to what we often come across in a variety metal-related genres, these guys…
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DEVILSBRIDGE – Endless Restless
Swiss melodic metallers DevilsBridge and this solid 6-track EP of theirs is an enjoyable foray into the world of instantly catchy (modern) metal with a few alternative rock influences to it. Some parts are reminiscent of In Flames and Arch Enemy while others veer into the musical territories occupied by Evanescence and Children of Bodom.…
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DESCENT INTO MAELSTROM – Iconoclasm
What would a progressive melodic death metal of Opeth combined with power of old Death, ancient melodeath and Peaceville doom sound like? The Italian ensemble Descent Into Maelstrom provides the answer on their 2nd full length "Iconoclasm", with excellent musicianship, songwriting and powerful ancient production, to boot. Formed in 2016 as a solo project of…
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ORIGIN OF INFINITY – The Last Day On Earth
In the pursuit of originality a band may establish a unique sound at the cost of songwriting quality. This is exactly the case with Czech progressive metalcore/djent trio Origins Of Infinity on their debut album. Origins Of Infinity was formed in 2017 by a guitarist Vladimir “Vladin” Novák, drummer Miroslav “Levi” Kočegura and Jan Venzhöfer,…
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BISMARCK – Oneiromancer
The ever-awesome Apollon Records have an uncanny talent for spotting musical gems in the Norwegian underground and exposing the wider public to the amazing sounds that emanate from said place. The crushing entity named Bismarck (now there is a great band name) is as heavy and pulverizing as they come and specialize in sludgy doom…
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HEAVEN SHALL BURN – Of Truth And Sacrifice
The German metalcore/melodeath hybrid Heaven Shall Burn is one of those bands which both frustrate me and delight me with their music. On one hand, they are some of the most brilliant songwriters in the business with fantastic ear for melody and balance (Iconoclast). On the other hand, they can produce some of the most…
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SNATCH-BACK – Ride Hard Run Free
I will be the first to admit that the NWOBHM outfit named Snatch-Back is an entirely new phenomenon to me, but these skilled gentlemen originally formed the group all the way back in 1974 and may rightfully be called veterans of the wonderful genre that is proper, bone-snapping heavy metal. Firmly rooted in old-school hard…
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VOODOO SIX – Simulation Game
My very first true heavy album was Guns ‘N’ Roses’ double LP "Use Your Illusion". Back in 1991, when it came out, I had never heard anything quite like it. Regadless of what you might think of its creators, you have to agree that theirs was the work of musical genius which rightfully sold multiplatinum…
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DEIFIED – Anthrobscene
Hard-hitting British metallers Deified are undoubtedly an interesting musical encounter and it is certainly no wonder that these talented dudes have made quite a name for themselves in the metal underground at home and abroad these past few years. With a firm knack for churning out aggressive and groovy tunes that contain plenty of dynamics…
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RAIDER – Guardian Of The Fire
Sometimes, a cool, tall glass of sweet Kadarka wine and some very good E standard death/thrash metal is all one needs to survive another viral pandemic, while stuck in a flat, in the so called "risk group" at 45, with 7 other people, half of whom are children. For this purpose, the Canadian debut, "Guardian…