ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • PROJECT ASSEGAI – Project Assegai

    The British hard rock/heavy metal trio Project Assegai was formed in 2014 after Vendetta broke up, guitarist/vocalist Edward Box and bassist Gary Foalle recruiting former Reign drummer Ronnie Mclean to complete the lineup. After four years they finally released the debut album, very well produced by the band itself, Dave Hills, Phil Davies and Neil…

  • WHITEMOUR – The Devil Inherits The World

    The Finnish blackened death metal outfit consisting of Juha Kormano (bass, guitars), Kristian Nyman (bass, backing vocals), Juho Lepistö (drums) and Petri Haarala (vocals) was formed in 2006 as a black metal band, released a demo "Journal Of Flesh And Blood", two eps: "Chaos Anthem" (2010) and "Astarte" (2012) and subsequently broke up. Reunited in…

  • NEED2DESTROY – Show

    The German force named Need2Destroy is a competent and utterly aggressive crossover metal outfit that has traces and elements of acts such as Pantera, Pissing Razors, Devildriver, Suicidal Tendencies, Machine Head, and Lamb of God (and even Meshuggah and Static X in a handful of places if you would believe that) coursing through it. Truth…

  • INSIGHT AFTER DOOMSDAY – Events Of Misery

    The roots of this Spanish progressive metal/metalcoremetalcore band lay in the formation of Arcabuz in 1999. After one year, the band changed the name to Insight and consisted of Eric Garcia (bass, vocals), Ricardo Estrada Sánchez (guitars, vocals), Jordi Pascual Guasch (synthesiser, samples) and Jose Fernández Molero (vocals, guitars), persisting for ten years as a…

  • MAGIC DANCE – New Eyes

    Magic Dance was spawned on Long Island, New York, back in 2012 and has released a string of well-crafted EPs and an album since then, but 2018 saw the release of the outfit’s sophomore effort entitled "New Eyes" and the result is both satisfying and enjoyable. Spearheaded by singer/songwriter Jon Siejka, Magic Dance are all…

  • OBLITERATION – Cenotaph Obscure

    In 2001, UFF was formed as either a non-metal entity or a metal band so obscure that it was not worthy to have a profile on Encyclopedia Metallum. In any case, they broke up in 2003, only to reform a year later under the name Obliteration which today is vocalist Sindre Solem, (one!) guitarist Arild…

  • TEN – Illuminati

    The melodic hard rock ensemble that are Ten have been around for quite a few years now and this 10-track album of theirs is the band’s 14th full-length opus, which is indicative of just how creative and productive these British gentlemen are. “Illuminati” is an astounding and fully-formed piece of work in the sense that…

  • METAL CHURCH – Damned If You Do

    The San Francisco Bay Area heavy/power/thrash metal outfit was formed in 1980 (that’s before Metallica!) but changed their name to Shrapnel just a year after, only to become Metal Church again in 1983, release five albums and disband two years after "Hanging In The Balance" (1993). Reunited in 1998, they released four albums and called…

  • DEVIL’S HAND (featuring Slamer & Freeman) – Devil’s Hand

    Melodic hard rock with great guitar hooks and even greater vocal hooks to it is the name of the game here and with such hugely talented and renowned artists as Andrew Freeman (Last in Line, Lynch Mob) and Mike Slamer (Warrant, Seventh Key, Steelhouse Lane ) involved, you simply cannot go wrong with this self-titled…

  • SPIDERGAWD – V

    The talented Norwegian villains collectively known as Spidergawd are back and this fifth hard-hitting musical assault of theirs will undoubtedly thrill you to bits if you dig gut-punching hard rock with bluesy undertones and wickedly cool saxophones to it. The ensemble’s energetic tunes are as instantly catchy as they are dynamic and "V" contains plenty…

  • EVEN FLOW – Life Has Just Begun

    Even Flow is a progressive metal band founded in the late nineties by brothers Pietro Paolo (guitar) and Giorgio Lunesu (drums), says the band’s fb page. The band’s name comes from "the will of its members to express their real ideas and emotions", and NOT from Pearl Jam’s second track on their debut "Ten" album,…

  • MOURNFUL CONGREGATION – The Incubus Of Karma

    My first encounter with this Australian funeral doom metal outfit was "The Book Of Kings" (2011), although they have actually been around since 1993, having recorded just four albums in 18 years, howbeit while maitaining a fairly steady lineup which today consists of Damon Good (vocals, Bass, Rhythm & Lead Guitars, Keyboards), Justin Hartwig (Lead…

  • KILL EVERYTHING – Scorched Earth

    Not much is known of this Texan brutal death metal outfit formed in 2016, besides that "Scorched Earth" is their first and only release, if you don’t count the single "Carnivorous Lunar Activities" (2016) that is, and that the band is comprised of Shane Newbrough (drums), guitarist Brian Wynn (also of Devourment), Jeff Huffman (bass)…

  • ALL THAT REMAINS – Victim Of The New Disease

    The Massachussets-based metalcorers All That Remains formed when Philip LaBonte left Shadows Fall after "Somber Eyes To The Sky" (1997) which ATR’s debut, "Behind The Silence And The Solitude" (2000) stylistically echoed but it was the universally acclaimed fantastic "This Darkened Heart" (2004) which really showcased their abilities, with the fabulous melodeath/metalcore musicianship no small…

  • LORDS OF THE CEMETERY – Path of Damara

    The French combo known as Lords of the Cemetery offer furious and violent black/death metal with intricate song structures and somewhat dissonant melodies to it. In fact, these guys bring to mind such legendary and pioneering acts as Nocturnus, Morbid Angel, Dissection, and Sacramentum, which is pretty damn cool. The arrangements are both clever and…

  • PAIN CITY – Keep It Real

    The Norwegian hard rockers known as Pain City have returned and this sophomore effort of theirs entitled "Keep It Real" is a raw and gritty affair. The cool thing about this talented trio is that they incorporate adrenaline-fueled riffs that sound as if they were spawned back in the glorious 80s and highly metal-influenced parts…

  • ALCATRAZZ – Parole Denied – Tokyo 2017

    This live album by the renowned Alcatrazz containing their 2017 gig in Tokyo came out not that long ago and the result is a satsfying one. The band consists of members of both Alcatrazz (Graham Bonnet, Gary Shea, and Jimmy Waldo) and the Graham Bonnet Band (Conrado Pesinato and Mark Benquechea), but it totally works…

  • DOOMSDAY OUTLAW – Suffer More

    The musically punishing horde named Doomsday Outlaw, which hails from the UK, blew yours truly the fuck away by means of this 15-track effort appropriately entitled "Suffer More". These talented dudes offer raw and pounding hard rock with a thick Southern vibe to it, and it sounds absolutely massive. There are parts and aspects of…

  • IAN HUNTER – Diary of a Rock ‘N’ Roll Star (2018 Edition)

    The living legend that is Mott the Hoople’s Ian Hunter chronicled and documented their tour of the US back in 1972 and as it turned out, his diary notes eventually turned into a literary classic that remains unsurpassed to this very day. I cannot thank the ever-awesome Omnibus Press in the UK enough for reissuing…

  • COME TASTE THE BAND – REIGNITION

    The hugely talented Norwegian outfit that is Come Taste the Band are perhaps primarily known as a Deep Purple tribute act (and a VERY good one at that!), but this marvelous collection of songs entitled "REIGNITION" consists of original material. As if that is not exciting in and of itself, seven of the compositions feature…

  • ALCATRAZZ – Live in Japan 1984 (Complete Edition)

    The legendary Alcatrazz featuring the marvelous Graham Bonnet (vocals) performed in Japan back in 1984 and luckily for all of us, one of their most tremendous and powerful gigs was captured on tape at the Nakano Sunplaza in Tokyo. We are of course talking about the renowned late-January 1984 shows at the aforementioned venue and…

  • NORDIC UNION – Second Coming

    The Danish/Swedish combo that is Nordic Union recently released this expertly crafted opus of theirs entitled "Second Coming" and this is unarguably one of the year’s coolest and most memorable records regardless of style. It even surpasses the duo’s debut offering. Melodic hard rock with plenty of power and finesse to it is essentially what…

  • HOLTER – Vlad the Impaler

    Following the rather succesful and critically praised debut album entitled "Dracula: Swing of Death" (2015), the skilled guitarist that is Trond Holter (ex-Jorn) decided to write and record a follow-up and so here we are in 2018 and the brand new offering is called "Vlad the Impaler". As with the former album, we are talking…

  • GHOSTBOUND – All is Phantom

    According to their bandcamp page, the progressive avantgarde/art rock project Ghostbound was formed by musician/actor Alec A. Head, the guitarist of blackened doom metal outfit Kosmodemonic, while he was still a teenager, but Ghostbound begun to function as a band, also comprised of Noah Shaul (bass), Talha Alvie (guitars, keyboards) and David E. Richman (drums)…

  • VENOM – Storm the Gates

    Legendary black metal pioneers Venom, which is spearheaded by the inimitable Cronos (bass/vocals), have returned with a yet another pummeling assault on the senses following the near-flawless “From the Very Depths” (2015). I will be the first to admit that I had very high hopes for this one as I am extremely fond of its…

  • HAISSEM – Panacea For A Cursed Race<

    I just recently reviewed multi-instrumentalist’s extraordinaire’s Andrey Tollock’s doom/death metal project Sunset Forsaken’s debut album "Chameleon Waters" (5/6) and indicated his main project, melodic black metal outfit’s Haissen’s second album review was in the works. As with Sunset Forsaken, all instruments and vocals are still done by one man, in "real" life a miner (!)…

  • STEPHEN PEARCY – View to a Thrill

    The über-cool Ratt vocalist Stephen Pearcy is a productive dude brimming with ideas as evidenced by this entertaining 2018 solo offering of his. While there are many parallels to the aforementioned Ratt on this album, it is a rather modern affair and it certainly comes across as current. Perhaps it is the heavy and bombastic…

  • ATRA VETOSUS – Voices From the Eternal Night (2018 Remaster)

    This remastered version of Atra Vetosus’ 2013 effort entitled “Voices From the Eternal Night” is a solid slab of melodic and melancholy black metal. Even though this record is not entirely up there with the band’s most recent album (“Apricity”) in terms of bone-chilling effect and quality, it is still a most decent display of…

  • CITY OF THIEVES – Beast Reality

    Insanely groovy and muscular hard rock with balls the size of Texas is what City of Thieves are all about and this debut offering of theirs is a blast from start to finish. There are more wicked hooks and juicy riffs on this record than I can possibly count and the entire thing is riddled…

  • MASTER – Vindictive Miscreant

    I have but a passing familiarity with this veteran death/thrash outfit, formed as long ago as 1983 (that’s as old as Megadeth!) out of the ashes of War Cry which played a mix of Motorhead, Venom and Slayer. Out of the total 14 albums in their discography I have only heard this one and "Faith…