ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • WE SELL THE DEAD – Heaven Doesn’t Want You and Hell is Full

    The relatively new outfit that is We Sell the Dead comprises members from such renowned and cool acts as Spiritual Beggars, Firewind, HIM, and In Flames. Fortunately, We Sell the Dead sounds like none of the ones just mentioned and this 9-track effort entitled "Heaven Doesn’t Want You and Hell is Full" is something else…

  • ANGRA – Ømni

    The Brazilian horde known as Angra have been flying the bombastic metal flag high for three decades now and show absolutely no sign of slowing down or running out of steam. The band’s original and captivating blend of prog metal, thrash metal, and fist-pumping power metal is as potent as ever as evidenced by this…

  • GRIUM – Grium

    Yours truly stumbled on this rather interesting and moody 3-track demo by the Slovakian black metal outfit named Grium the other day and it turned out to be a pretty cool happening. There is next to no info out there on Grium, but so much the better, me thinks.   There is nothing wrong with…

  • UNRULY CHILD – Unhinged – Live From Milan

    The terribly underrated US hard rock act known as Unruly Child released a rather cool collection of songs last year entitled “Can’t Go Home” that brought the band firmly back into the spotlight. A couple of months following that, the impressive line-up consisting of Marcie Free (King Kobra), Bruce Gowdy (World Trade), Guy Allison (Doobie…

  • WETTON/DOWNES – Icon Zero

    The sadly missed John Wetton (King Crimson, ASIA, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash) and legendary keyboardist Geoff Downes (YES, ASIA) wrote and recorded a number of solid and atmospheric tunes together back in the day that were never really meant for ASIA nor any other project of theirs as such. It was just the two of…

  • BLAZE BAYLEY – The Redemption of William Black (Infinite Entanglement Part III)

    This third and final installment in Blaze Bayley’s excellent musical trilogy featuring the character William Black oozes class and simply rules from start to finish. From the moody yet epic album opener "Redeemer" and further on to the heartfelt closing track titled "Eagle Spirit", "The Redemption of William Black (Infinite Entanglement Part III)" never really…

  • IAN GILLAN – The Voice of Deep Purple – The Gillan Years

    The living legend that is Deep Purple’s seasoned veteran Ian Gillan hardly needs any introduction at all. In many ways, he is the voice of rock. It is as pure and simple as that. Having said that, his own solo works are quite often overlooked, which is a damn shame as there is some truly…

  • WHITESNAKE – 1987 – 30th Anniversary Edition

    Whitesnake’s multi-platinum selling "1987" opus (or the self-titled one, if you prefer) not only changed the course of the band’s history forever and cemented their everlasting legacy as one of the greatest rock outfits of all time, but it also marked a change in style and vision without sacrificing an ounce of power or passion…

  • DEEP PURPLE – A Fire in The Sky

    This excellent 3CD set containing some of the best and most memorable tunes ever conceived by the living legends that are Deep Purple is a damn-near flawless compilation in that it covers and chronicles all eras of the band’s rich and intriguing history. While many compilations tend to contain or feature only the most well-known…

  • LOUDNESS – Rise To Glory

    The Japanese metal institution that is Loudness, which has been rocking pretty hard for nearly forty years now, unleashed this raging heavy metal opus of theirs entitled "Rise to Glory" quite recently and if fist-pumping choruses, face-melting riffs, and crashing drums appeal to you, then this cursed 13-track effort might just be right up your…

  • HORIZON ABLAZE – The Weight of a Thousand Suns

    Horizon Ablaze’s new album The Weight of a Thousand Suns is Black Death with progressive influences. This album shows all the highly skilled musicianship of Andre Kvebek (Den Saakaldte, 1349, Pantheon I), Kevin Kvåle (Svartelder, Gaahls Wyrd (live)), Ole Bent Madsen (Blood Red Throne), Shandy MacKay (Absu, Pantheon I, Khonsu), and Stian Ruethemann. It is…

  • TRUST – Live Hellfest 2017

    The well-known French hard rock ensemble known as TRUST released this live offering of theirs late last year via earMUSIC and the result is a satisfying one. With a raw and organic sound to it, the dynamic "Live Hellfest 2017" nicely encapsulates what TRUST are all about and contains a lot of the band’s classic…

  • OPERATION: MINDCRIME – The New Reality

    "The New Reality" is the third and final chapter in Geoff Tate’s (ex-Queensryche) trilogy of albums under the Operation: Mindcrime banner depicting the rather sickening and bleak future that lies ahead of us (some of which has to do with virtual currencies, stock trading, and internet banking) and the result is both uninspired and uninspiring,…

  • STERLING BALL, JOHN FERRARO & JIM COX – The Mutual Admiration Society

    "The Mutual Admiration Society" by the highly talented Sterling Ball, John Ferraro and Jim Cox is an entirely instrumental affair where the three aforementioned gentlemen have been joined by such renowned guitarists as Steve Lukather (TOTO), John Petrucci (Dream Theater) Steve Vai (Whitesnake), Steve Morse (Deep Purple), and Albert Lee (Eric Clapton, The Everly Brothers).…

  • AVENGED SEVENFOLD – The Stage – Deluxe edition

    Som så mange andre før dei, gjer Avenged Sevenfold det dei må for å halde hjula på bandskuta i gang, og gir like godt ut ei utvida utgåve av deira siste plate "The Stage". Den inneheld ein del bonuskutt, i form av coverlåter. Mange her er relativt ukjente, men også gode gamle klassikarar som "As…

  • MY SILENT WAKE – There Was Death

    Whenever I listen to the UK act named My Silent Wake, the words morose and crushing seem to crop up a lot, which is undoubtedly because those two words summarize the band’s dense and dynamic song material perfectly. Comparisons could be made to certain aspects of My Dying Bride, Mourning Beloveth, early Saturnus, and the…

  • AMMUNITION – Ammunition

    The Norwegian hard rockers that are Ammunition unleashed this self-titled torrent of well-written and utterly catchy tunes just a few days ago via Frontiers and if you consider yourself a fan of quality rock, then I suggest you pay attention. Fronted by the hugely talented vocalist Åge Sten Nilsen (Tony Carey’s Rainbow Project, ex-Wig Wam),…

  • THERION – Beloved Antichrist

    There’s been a long musical silence from the Swedish symphonic metal act Therion for quite some years now, as their latest release came out in 2012 and it raised a lot of eyebrows as far as I can recall. Besides that, we had a variety of live shows here and there plus not so good…

  • MIKE LEPOND’S SILENT ASSASSINS – Pawn and Prophecy

    This sophomore album by Mike LePond (Symphony X) and his cohorts is a fine slab of epic and progressive heavy metal. There is a lot of talent involved here, which is to say that everything is nicely executed and that the musicianship is excellent, and the cleverly arranged songs all contain some cool surprises and…

  • LIONE/CONTI – Lione/Conti

    An Italian power metal outfit fronted by the two renowned vocalists Fabio Lione (Rhapsody, Rhapsody of Fire) and Alessandro Conti (Trick or Treat) is just bound to be an epic and thrilling musical ride, right?   This self-titled effort of theirs, which was written and produced by Simone Mularoni (DGM), boasts good melodies, strong vocals,…

  • PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS – Choosing Mental Illness as a Virtue

    I have been dying to hear this brand new album by Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals for a long fucking time now and it is my utmost pleasure to state that the wait has most certainly been worth it. What we are dealing with here is not something that one can just pigeonhole or…

  • DELTA DEEP – Delta Deep

    Delta Deep is a highly interesting constellation of extremely talented musicians (one of which is Phil Collen from Def Leppard fame) whose wonderful and melancholy-tinged blend of blues rock, gospel music, and classic rock with a strong southern edge to it is both highly evocative and moving.   This 11-track debut album of theirs was…

  • LABYRINTH – Return to Live

    The progressive power metal ensemble Labyrinth are at it again following last year’s somewhat uneven "Architecture of a God" studio output, but this time around we are talking about a live offering. The CD/DVD/Blu Ray contains twelve tracks that were recorded at the Frontiers Festival back in 2016, so it does not feature any brand…

  • MARCO MENDOZA – Viva La Rock

    Renowned bassist/vocalist Marco Mendoza has an extremely impressive resume that includes stints with Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Ted Nugent, and currently The Dead Daisies, which is pretty mindblowing in and of itself, but as this brand new solo offering of his proves, the man is more than capable of writing catchy tunes with wicked hooks and…

  • MASS MURDER AGENDA – Vulturis

    The Swedish act named Mass Murder Agenda quite recently spewed forth this 11-track effort entitled "Vulturis" and the result is a satisfying one. Impenetrable walls of hard and violent guitars, thick and pulsating bass lines, punchy drums, and an atmosphere akin to a nasty crime scene are the order of the day here. Mass Murder…

  • WHITESNAKE – The Purple Tour

    There is just no stopping the bluesy hard rock institution that is Whitesnake and thank Heavens for that. As this utterly vibrant, fiery, and powerful live package containing a CD and a DVD documenting the 2015 Purple Tour shows, the band is still firing on all cylinders and their muscular compositions sound better than ever…

  • MONOLITHE – Nebula Septem

    This 7-track slice of darkness and cosmic despair entitled "Nebula Septem" by the French ensemble known as Monolithe is a morose odyssey that you ougth to embark on if you consider yourself a moody sucker. Utterly dark and poisonous (funeral) doom metal with quite a few progressive touches to it is the order of the…

  • AUDREY HORNE – Blackout

    Audrey Horne er eit band eg har fylgt lenge, og hugsar godt frå tida eg studerte i Bergen. Alle i bandet var ofte å sjå i sentrum av byen, og då spesielt i miljøet rundt Garage. Eg oppdaga dei for alvor først på den sjølvtitulerte plata som kom i 2010, som eg omtrent høyrte i…

  • BLACK SABBATH – The End – 4 Febuary 2017 Birmingham

    As the mighty roar of the pioneering Black Sabbath filled the Genting Arena in the band’s hometown of Birmingham on the 4th of February, 2017, for their final gig, who would have known that the resulting concert footage would turn out to be one of the most captivating and compelling live releases of theirs to…

  • MAGICK TOUCH – Blades, Chains, Whips & Fire

    The powerful Norwegian trio named Magick Touch is about to release this fiery and bombastic 10-track effort of theirs entitled "Blades, Chains, Whips & Fire" through the ever-reliable Edged Circle Productions. Musically and stylistically speaking, Magick Touch takes us back to the grand old masters of hard rock and the good old days when hard…