RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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DEPARTURE CHANDELIER – Antichrist Rise To Power
Whatever the sentiment this Canadian black metal ensemble has for Napoleon Bonaparte they have the title right: the man was an antichrist just as much as Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini or Joseph Stalin. I will never understand the reverence and awe people adorn that tyrant serial murderer with while giving the cold shoulder to the…
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TORQUE – Torque
The somewhat obscure and overlooked debut offering by Phil Demmel’s blistering 90s thrash metal outfit Torque has finally been unearthed and unleashed again, and it sounds as relentlessly passionate now as it did back in 1996. We are talking pummeling metal with groove to it that is akin to a tsunami of rage. On top…
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BACKSTABBER – Conspiracy Theorist
An album written entirely around conspiracy theories? Why not, bands as divergent as Iced Earth, Fear Factory, All Shall Perish and Hypocrisy have dabbed in it, so these Canadian death/thrash metal freshmen tread a fairly beaten lyrical path courtesy of promoter Jon Asher and Asher Media Relations. As things get scarier and more depressing on…
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WHITESNAKE – Slide It In – 35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Box
This luxurious and lavish-looking box set by the legendary Whitesnake oozes class and quality all the way through (both musically and in terms of content) and is a most fitting tribute to the expertly crafted record that is "Slide It In". 6 CDs, a DVD, a cool-looking poster, a 1984 tour programme replica, and a…
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CARAVELA ESCARLATE – Caravela Escarlate
Caravela Escarlate released this self-titled prog rock opus of theirs back in 2017, but luckily for all you hungering lovers of symphonic and bombastic music out there, Karisma Records have taken it upon themselves to give this 8-track record a wider international release. The promo sheet references such giants as ELP, Yes, and Camel, and…
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YNGWIE MALMSTEEN – Blue Lightning
I will be the first to admit that my relationshop with Yngwie Malmsteen’s discography is a rather troubled one. More often than not, I have found his records to be technically dazzling and utterly amazing with respect to what he is able to pull off on the guitar, but ultimately, the songs were a bore…
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RUPHUS – New Born Day
Now this is something different and interesting! Norwegian prog rockers Ruphus started out back in the early 70s and this debut offering of theirs, which was originally released in 1973, is a delicious musical treat that blew me away. With nods and parallels to Yes, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, and to a lesser extent Uriah…
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THE WANDERING ASCETIC – Crimson
The roots of this Singaporean blackened thrash/death ensemble lay in Rudra, a folkish black/death Vedic metal group some of whose members, Kathir (rhythm guitars, vocals) and Vinod "V. Vinz" Vaskaran (lead guitars) formed The Wandering Ascetic (TWA) in 2011. Jayakumar (bass) and Kannan K. (drums) completed the lineup and TWA debuted with the "Manifest Destiny"…
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WEST BOUND – Volume 1
West Bound is a brand new outfit hailing from sunny LA and features such gifted musicians as Chas West (Resurrection Kings) and Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson, Halford) among others. Album opener “Never Surrender” is a hook-laden track that brings to mind Whitesnake’s glorious “1987” and “Slip of the Tongue” records and its bluesy vibe more…
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MARTIN POPOFF – Born Again! Black Sabbath in the Eighties and Nineties
As with all other books by the talented Martin Popoff that I have had the pleasure of reviewing, “Born Again! Black Sabbath in the Eighties and Nineties” is incredibly well-written and nicely structured, which makes for a great reading experience. As its title suggests, the ever-awesome author presents us with a balanced overview of Black…
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S.R.L. – Hic Sunt Leones
S.R.L. is short for "Società a Responsabilità Limitata" (Limited Liability Company) and the deep meaning of this Italian melodic death/thrash metal group’s name is that society has very little influence on what happens on individual basis. I suspect it is named so in irony because studies show that society actually has great influence on the…
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SEER – Vol. 6
The Canadian doom/sludge metallers started in 2014 and debuted with a "Vol. 1" EP heavy and clear on Corrosion Of Conformity, Black Sabbath and Mastodon but with traces of its own budding sound, only a year later on Art Of Propaganda. The year 2016 brought "Vol. 2" EP on the same label, a more atmospheric…
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Dave Lewis & Mike Tremaglio – Evenings with Led Zeppelin – The Complete Concert Chronicle
There is no other word for this mindblowingly awesome book on the mighty Led Zeppelin’s life as a touring band than ”inspired”. As its title suggests, "Evenings with Led Zeppelin" focuses on the ensemble’s legendary (and in some cases infamous) concerts and gigs from their humble beginnings in London’s Soho district in 1968 to their…
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MAESTUS – Deliquesce
Maestus means ill-omened, mournful and grim and such is the music of this Oregonian blackened doom quintet. Formed in 2013, the group immediately released "Scarlet Lakes" EP on Glossolalia Records, 4 dirges in the vein of fellow Oregonians Agalloch but with more doom, less black and none of the folk. The debut LP "Voir Dire"…
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MEGASCAVENGER – Boneyard Symphonies
If one were to list all of Rogga Johansson’s Swedish old school death metal projects alone it would take the length of this review, to say nothing of all his projects. Only last year I reviewed a solid new release from Dead Amongst The Dead Men, where he is a guitarist, and here we have…
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ELECTROCUTION – Psychonolatry
The Italian technical death metal group were already cultic in their country only 3 years after inception thanks to the quality of their debut LP, "Inside The Unreal" (1993), a fairly original mix of early Death, Obituary and Carcass with strong progressive tendencies. As it is often the case, the valley came in shortly after…
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SUPERLYNX – New Moon
The Norwegian entity Superlynx is an interesting one and this sophomore effort of theirs entitled "New Moon" blew me away and has an awful lot to offer the open-minded listeners out there. Featuring ex-members of Dødheimsgard, Gothminister, and Magenta, it is damn difficult to guess or surmise what kind of music this talented trio conjures…
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LAST IN LINE – II
I have been eagerly awaiting the follow-up to Last in Line’s impressive and energetic debut offering and this sophomore effort of theirs simply entitled “II” rocks like a motherfucker and leaves very little to be desired. As with its predecessor, “II” boasts some truly memorable and thunderous tunes, but this time around there are more…
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RANCORUM – The Vermin Shrine
The Romanian death metal duo has been around for 5 years but this here, the debut album, is their only release. The two men, the sole guitarist Nick Paraschiv and the vocalist Liviu "Ravager" Ustinescu, either play additional instruments (bass, drums) without taking credit for it (bass is a kind of guitar, after all), use…
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QUIET RIOT – One Night in Milan
Renowned US metal heroes Quiet Riot unleashed a very cool-sounding record entitled “Road Rage” back in 2017 and it was loaded with strong riffs and catchy tunes, and I remember thinking to myself that it would be really interesting to experience the new material in a live setting. Luckily, the band and Frontiers came up…
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DEAD HEAD – The Feast Begins At Dawn
One can argue after Encyclopedia Metallum that the Dutch aggressive thrash metal outfit (as they prefer being called), are actually death/thrash with the group’s own bandcamp labeling them "as aggressive as thrash can logically get before having to refer to them as death metal", but that argument could equally apply to Slayer, Death and old…
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FM – The Italian Job
Given that yours truly is a sucker for both live albums and FM’s melodically exquisite 2018 offering entitled “Atomic Generation”, it should come as no surprise that this 17-track live album recorded at the Frontiers Rock Festival in Milan back in April 2018 feels like a most welcome addition to the British rockers’ discography. The…
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RHYS MARSH – October After All
The highly talented multi-instrumentalist Rhys Marsh is about to release this wonderfully atmospheric and cleverly written prog rock album via the ever-reliable Karisma Records, and I might as well start off by telling you that this record has some hauntingly beautiful undertones to it that encompass traits from folk rock, jazz, psychedelic pop, and alternative…
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OF HATRED SPAWN – Of Hatred Spawn
These new Canadian death metallers may be described as melodeathsters on Encyclopedia Metallum but, despite drawing inspiration from some melodeath sounding groups, they are not nearly as melodic as to merit that designation. Formed in 2017 and promoted by Jon Asher from Asher Media Relations the band consists of Matt Collacott (vocals), Remy Tartaglia (guitars),…
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RHAPSODY OF FIRE – The Eight Mountain
Italian power metallers Rhapsody of Fire have returned and this 2019 offering of theirs is loaded with bombastic and symphonic elements that ought to please all lovers of anthemic and epic music. There is a strong focus on melodies here and the ensemble sounds as technically dazzling and impressive as ever. The medieval tones and…
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VEILBURNER – A Sire To The Ghouls Of Lunacy
Veilburner is a fairly new creation, alive since 2014, howbeit a very prolific one, "A Sire To The Ghouls Of Lunacy" their fourth in 4 years. Enlisted in this ghoul lunacy are just two men: backing vocalist and all-instrumentalist Mephisto Deleterio (surely his real name), and main vocalist Chris "Chrisom Infernium" Sheppard. Veilburner. The name…
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BLOOD RED THRONE – Come Death
2007? Really? And not only that but this site already has a review for this particular album. In fact, not only this one but also other Blood Red Throne albums. Regardless, in the coming month or so I will revisit "Soul Of Damnation", "Brutaritarian Regime", "Union Of Flesh And Machine" plus three Zerozonic albums, all…
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BLAZE BAILEY – Live in France
The ever-awesome Blaze Bayley who fronted Iron Maiden between 1994 and 1999 has to be the hardest working dude in metal showbiz. His relentless touring schedule coupled with his ability to churn out amazing records somewhat regularly is both inspiring and admirable. As much as yours truly loves his studio albums, the live recordings by…
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MASS INFECTION – Shadows Became Flesh
The Greek brutal death metal ensemble became flesh in 2003 and released their first album 4 years later. This here, "Shadows Became Flesh" is their fourth album, which was recorded as George Stournaras (vocals, guitars), Nick Lytras (guitars), John Kyriakou (bass) and current Hideous Divinity (phenomenal) drummer Giulio Galati. The 9 track, nearly 37 minute…
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HORIZONS EDGE – Let the Show Go On
The Australian outfit Horizons Edge are about to unleash this sophomore effort of theirs via Fastball Music and as with the debut offering, it draws heavily on some of the greats of power metal (Helloween, Domine, Primal Fear, Kamelot, Firewind, and so on) while simultaneously building a sound and identity of their own due to…