ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • ANCESTRAL LORE – Behind the Night Horizon

    About a month ago, the French one-man band named Ancestral Lore released this 7-track offering both digitally and physically with the latter being a CD limited to 50 copies. The music that mastermind Christoph Florian has conjured up here is deeply rooted in pagan metal, folk metal, and black metal, which is to say that…

  • INANIMATE EXISTENCE – Clockwork

    It took this San Francisco Bay Area progressive/technical death metal ensemble 8 years and 5 albums to finally create something fans of Morbid Angel and Death could equally enjoy in "Clockwork". The two aspects of the band’s sound: the brutal technical death and the progressive melodicism have been there from the start but they were…

  • ASSATUR – Where Chaos Reigned

    Finnish death dealers Assatur have compiled a rather foul and grimy slab of ugly metal and unleashed it via Great Dane Records, and if you consider yourself a fan of old-school death metal ala Autopsy, Grotesque, and Morbid Angel (the first couple of records), this one might just do the trick for you. With an…

  • HANDS OF GOD – Blueprint For Self Destruction

    Stop looking at the world through rose-colored glasses! See the propaganda and the misery your government, your church, your schools are bringing on the planet and its inhabitants every day! Life is hard and merciless! Only the strong survive! I don’t really have to read the lyrics (not that they’re available) to this Californian hard…

  • ONDFØDT – Dödsrikets Kallelse

    The sinister Finnish horde labeled Ondfødt turned out to be a rather (un)pleasant surprise for yours truly in the sense that they were an unknown entity to me and that I had not come across any of their music by chance beforehand. Then again, it is pretty fucking magnificent when one receives a quality release…

  • DREADNOUGHT – Emergence

    The fourth full length from Coloradoan progressive doom metal ensemble, despite sounding very little like it, reminds me a lot of Panegyrist "Hierurgy" album: lengthy, convoluted compositions with hooks you have to look for with a fine tooth comb and a magnifying glass. Specifically to "Emergence", you appreciate the vocal and instrumental Tool meets The…

  • SLUDGEHAMMER – Antechamber

    Another one of Asher Media Relations/Jon Asher-backed outfits, the Canadian death/thrash/groove metal ensemble could not be more aptly named. SLUDGEy riffs delivered with mechanical precision and weight HAMMERed down your ears, surprising outbursts of understated melody and growling vocals supported by backing clean power metal-like croons guarantee great fun for the listener. But the follow…

  • ÆVINTYR – Gjest Baardsen

    Opening with a chilling beautiful intro ("Gud Trøste Meg") consisting of strings and a rather morose sample, it immediately becomes clear upon listening to this 9-track opus by the Norwegian ensemble known as Ævintyr that we are dealing with something heartfelt, passionate, and altogether different here. While the words and lyrics are by Gjest Baardsen…

  • FINAL COIL – The World We Left Behind For Others

    Back in the early 90s when heavy metal was challenged and briefly defeated by one of the biggest trends in music, alternative rock/grunge, two bands immediately stood out from the trend, perhaps, arguably, because neither belonged there in the first place: Alice In Chains and Tool. Both bands didn’t even start as alt rock/grunge but…

  • SOULIMAGE – Human Kind – Animal Mind

    This sophomore offering by the man known as Rob E. Soul falls somewhere between synth-driven electro-rock and the self-titled record by Paradise Lost from 2005, which is to say that there are plenty of guitar-driven and heavy metal-esque elements to this 12-track album by Soulimage, but at the same time it all comes across as…

  • ATLASES – Penumbra

    We know that bands release carefully crafted demos to attract labels, but how many release extended play records (EPs) which perfectly show their versatility and fullness of their potential AFTER securing a label? Such is the case with the Finnish post-metal group, Atlases, formed in 2017. The almost immediately released 5 song EP "Penumbra", their…

  • TANKOGRAD – Totalitarian

    “Totalitarian” by the Polish doom metal horde Tankograd is a truly oppressive affair that is as emotionally charged as it is intense. Imagine a cross between Centurions Ghost, Jex Thoth, Sabbath Assembly, and Eyehategod – that particular intersection is where you will stumble on the ugly fuckers that constitute Tankograd. Also, if you are on…

  • PARALLEL MINDS – Every Hour Wounds…The Last One Kills

    Rarely is progressive metal truly original. Most of the time, bands emulate Dream Theater’s first three albums or Queensryche’s first five with classic Iron Maiden thrown in while abusing the technical fretboard beyond rhyme or reason. It is the exceptions to this pattern, such as the French ensemble, Parallel Minds, which truly show progressive metal’s…

  • WHITESNAKE – Flesh and Blood

    The renowned Whitesnake fronted by the legendary David Coverdale (ex-Deep Purple) hardly need any introduction at all as they have more or less shaped the bluesy hard rock landscape ever since the band’s inception back in 1978. It has been quite a while since this amazing cast of musicians released a proper studio album containing…

  • NACHTFALTER – Was Bleibt

    This 10-track debut offering by the skilled German duo that is Nachtfalter is an interesting one. Rooted in gothic metal and featuring some rather prominent guitars that provide bombast and punch to the compositions, this record shows both talent and a huge dose of potential. In short, these morose dudes have a pretty firm grasp…

  • DOOMCULT / TALSUR – Nameless

    I usually don’t care for splits. In fact, I am pretty sure this is the first split I ever reviewed. Splits seem to be cries for love from potential labels with the songs so great so as to encourage seeking the bands’ regular material only to be dissapointed because they saved the best for splits.…

  • WARFIST – Grünberger

    This foul Polish duo specializes in raging black/thrash metal that kind of sounds like an unholy mixture of Exodus and Aura Noir. Bestial Mockery, Old, Witchmaster, early Sodom, and the Norwegian outfit Tyrann also come to mind here and there. What really works in favor of this 10-track onslaught are its sharp and precise riffs…

  • LIGHTFOLD – Deathwalkers

    Progressive heavy metal albums can be either some of the most inventive and engrossing experiences or some of the most lifeless, uninspired and boring ones. This Greek ensemble, here on their 2nd full length, puts on a great instrumental show around an insightful lyrical concept, with a particularly fantastic lead guitarwork, oscilating stylistically somewhere between…

  • PIG’S BLOOD – A Flock Slaughtered

    The bestial black/death metal squadron that is Pig’s Blood did not exactly blow my tits and dick off when I reviewed their previous self-titled full-length assault, but this time around these ugly fuckers have really upped their warped game, which is to say that this new 32-minute long detonation of theirs is quite something. We…

  • LASTER – Het Wassen Oog

    Sometimes adding a qualifier to a single word genre implies dilution of said genre. Such is the case with atmospheric black where predominantly one hardly expects brutal ancient black metal to reign through the compositions but rather gentle eclectic, almost and often shoegazing music with occassional bursts of raw black, for good measure. The Dutch…

  • CROWN OF AUTUMN – Byzantine Horizons

    It’s raining metal in Italy! This is apparently true of more than one genre (power metal) although the gothic melodeathsters, Crown Of Autumn (COA), stylistically and vocally recall Frozen Crown despite having nothing to do with power metal. Similarities notwithstanding, COA, which formed in 1996, folder a year later and reactivated in 2010, is powered…

  • TELEPORT – The Expansion

    Dissonant metal is an aquired taste. It could be dreadfully brutally boring (Pyrrhon) or it could breathe fresh air into stagnant melodicism without sacrificing brutality (Ulcerate). The Slovenian blackened death metal ensemble consisting of Jan Medved (guitars & vocals), Matija Dolinar (guitars), Lovro Babič (bass), and Darian Kocmur (drums), are actually straddling both tendencies on…

  • BLOOD RED THRONE – Brutalitarian Regime

    "Souls Of Damnation" was an incredible piece of work, recognized by many as their best album. As is often the case, however, it precipitated significant changes. Before the next album, the band parted ways with Earache Records and one of its two founders. Although Daniel "Død" Olaisen (guitars), Osvald "Vald" Egeland (vocals) and Erlend Caspersen…

  • SPY # ROW – Blood Brothers

    The German trio named SPY # ROW has been together for ages despite the fact that these guys are quite young. Apparently, they started jamming together when they were only kids, which explains why the promo sheet states that they are experienced musicians who have been at it for years. To be a bit more…

  • BJØRN RIIS – A Storm is Coming

    The ridiculously skilled guitarist and songwriter Bjørn Riis (Airbag) is something akin to a prog rock genius as evidenced by this sprawling 51-minute gem of an album of his, which revolves around themes such as loss, emptiness, and human relations(hips). In many ways, “A Storm is Coming” is a superb follow-up to “Coming Home” (2018)…

  • EVULSE – Call of the Void

    This neat little 10-minute EP by the Oakland-based Evulse is comprised of four foul and hard-hitting death metal tunes that will pummel you to…well, death. Concise, to the point, and sharp as a fucking razor, these guys are not about to waste your time as evidenced by the explosive and highly charged album opener Hypochondria,…

  • IRON MAIDEN – 2019 Remasters

    The larger-than-life entity that is Iron Maiden released some of the most breathtaking and downright awe-inspiring records back in the 80s that still stand tall and proud as milestones within the heavy metal genre today. These guys are so much more than a simple heavy metal ensemble and their compositions encompass so many remarkable things…

  • HELHEIM – Rignir

    The past eight years or so have seen Norway’s renowned Viking metallers Helheim release some of their finest and most absorbing records ever, and yours truly is very happy to report that this brand-new offering of theirs is way up there with the very best of them. What sets "Rignir" slightly apart from its predecessors…

  • LUCY IN BLUE – In Flight

    Although the Icelandic Lucy in Blue are labeled a prog band, one could argue that some of their compositions are almost akin to melancholy pop music with elements and touches of 60s psychedelia (think very early Pink Floyd) and 70s progressive rock ala Camel’s "Mirage" masterpiece to it. In other words, this marvelous 8-track opus…

  • HARMDAUD – Skärvor

    Swedish outfit Harmdaud, which is essentially a one-man band spearheaded by skilled mastermind Andreas Stenlund (ex-Vintersorg), dabbles in atmospheric black metal that is as epic and aggressive as it is melodic and varied. The songs are all layered affairs and at times rather dense, but they never veer off track and the focus is always…