RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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MAJESTY – Rebels
Often tagged as Germany’s answer to Manowar, Majesty return to issue their eighth studio album in "Rebels". Heavy metal never has to worry when acts like this exist – championing power riffs and lyrics savoring battles and the glory of the genre. Expect choruses that shout in short, stunted formats ("Die Like Kings", "Fireheart"), double…
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RAZZMATTAZZ – Diggin’ for Gold
Razzmattazz is a pretty wicked hard rock ensemble from Germany who specializes in dishing out kick-ass rock ‘n’ roll loaded with great hooks, memorable riffs, and anthemic choruses. There is plenty of groove to be found on "Diggin’ for Gold", that is for damn sure. Musically and stylistically, you can tell that these fuckers are…
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BLACK ARMY JACKET – Closed Casket + 222
New York’s Black Army Jacket were active in the 90’s, contributing heavily to the powerviolence movement. Their music was a schizophrenic, grinding maelstrom of violence that showcased influences from the hardcore scene, punk, crust, grindcore and even black and death metal. They were one of the earliest bands that Municipal Waste drummer Dave Witte…
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COBOLT 60 – The Grim Defiance
As Daniel "Død" Olaisen revealed in a private conversation, the cryptically monickered Cobolt 60 is a purposely underground project which releases an album every 10 years and this here "The Grim Defiance" is a second in their discography. The band started as a side project of Død, Blood Red Throne and Zerozonic gutarist, and with…
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VICINITY – Recurrence
Progressive metal has gained major momentum in Norway – probably due in part to the impact of Pagan’s Mind, Leprous, and Circus Maximus to name a few. Vicinity aims to add themselves to that list of must hear bands, as "Recurrence" is their second full-length and follow up to 2013’s "Awakening". At six songs and…
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ALFAHANNE – Det Nya Svarta
Alfapocalyptic rock…. Svenske Alfahanne svikter ingen når de nå slipper album nummer 3, det er nemlig fortsatt herlig mørk og dyster dommedagsrock som gjelder. Bandet, som etter en EP sammen med Shining smalt til med en smått legendarisk debut i 2014, fortsetter sin misjon om å gjøre rocken farlig igjen, noe de i stor grad…
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ULVER – The Assassination of Julius Caesar
The collective of musical geniuses and tricksters commonly referred to as Ulver have returned with a brand new opus consisting of eight hauntingly beautiful and dynamic tunes. Unlike last year’s brilliantly executed and rather dense but stunning affair entitled "ATGCLVLSSCAP ", this 2017 record of theirs leans more toward electro pop and experimental rock, which…
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DEEP PURPLE – Infinite
I must admit that I was extremely excited about this brand new full-length assault by the seemingly indestructible Deep Purple. As much as I like the two preceding albums, "Rapture of the Deep" and "Now What?!", they lacked that sense of danger and excitement that the Deep Purple of old were notorious and loved for.…
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BARATHRUM – Fanatiko
Well here we are with album number 9 from Finnish Black Doom outfit Barathrum. If you haven’t heard these guys before the crushing twin bass wall of sound will come as something of a revelation. It does exactly what you want metal of this sort to do – it kneels on your back and smashes…
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INFERNÄL MÄJESTY – No God
Infernäl Mäjesty (reference to Satan perhaps?) is a concoction of thrash and death metal with a little doom thrown in for good measure. Take "South of Heaven" Slayer, "The Power of Inner Strength" Grip Inc. (In God You Trust) and "Coma of Souls" Kreator and mix it with "Rust in Peace" Megadeth (House of War)…
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AXEL RUDI PELL – The Ballads V
Rare is the day that an artist like Axel Rudi Pell can release his fifth ballad-oriented album to go down so well with his long-term fan base. More well-known for crafting melodic hard rock with a Blackmore flavor, these niche records usually combine previously issued cuts from his studio albums along with a few covers,…
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ASH AND COAL – Legacy
The Swedish outfit named Ash and Coal has returned with a follow-up to the 2013 EP entitled "Agnostica" and I must say that this 2017 opus that is "Legacy" is quite interesting and well worth investigating. Musically, we are dealing with a strange and somewhat eclectic sort of dark rock music, or heavy dark rock,…
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C.B.MURDOC – Here Be Dragons
Last year’s "Here Be Dragons" album by the Swedish horde C.B. Murdoc had escaped my attention until now, but suddenly it appeared in my pile of stuff to review and so I figured we might as well examine it in closer detail. Frankly speaking, "Here Be Dragons" is a rather peculiar album in some ways.…
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TITANIUM – Atomic Number 22
Recently hitting my radar screen, there’s nothing like Euro-power metal to set the sky on fire and give off this burst of energy for followers of the genre. Especially if names like Stratovarius, early Edguy, and Sonata Arctica meet the mark in your collections – Polish quintet Titanium will be another band to cherish. Together…
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BERNIE MARSDEN – Where’s My Guitar? On the Tour Bus With the Snakeman
The extremely talented and legendary guitarist Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake, M3, UFO, Paice Ashton Lord, Alaska, etc.) recently published his memoirs in the shape of this rather excellent book entitled "Where’s My Guitar? On the Tour Bus with the Snakeman", which chronicles his long and fascinating career. Needless to say, this book is a must-have if…
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DEEP PURPLE – Limitless
This rather exclusive and awesome 42-minute compilation release consisting of eight wicked tunes by the legendary Deep Purple is a real gem. Containing eight tracks including two from the upcoming "Infinite" album, more specifically the atmospheric "Time for Bedlam" and the strangely melancholic "All I Got Is You", as well as four live cuts and…
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AZARATH – In Extremis
Polish blackened death metal band Azarath blew me away with their last album, "Blasphemers’ Maledictions". Next to Behemoth with whom it shares the drummer extraordinaire Zbigniew Robert "Inferno" Promiński, Azarath is one of the greatest death metal bands ever to come from my old country. Their technical and songwriting skills are actually superior to even…
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NIGHT RANGER – Don’t Let Up
Long-time Night Ranger fan here – grew up in the 80’s when "Sister Christian" blared from radio stations coast to coast, and "Don’t Tell Me You Love Me" would be an early MTV staple. Even after the ballads won them a platinum plus sales base, songs like "A Touch of Madness" and "Color of Your…
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BERNIE TORME – Dublin Cowboy
"Dublin Cowboy" by the ever-awesome and legendary Irish guitarist Bernie Torme (Gillan, GMT, Desperado) is no ordinary album. I am not just referring to the quality of this release when I say that, because while "Dublin Cowboy" is extraordinarily well-written and memorable, what is quite mind-blowing is that we are dealing with a triple album…
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ECLIPSE – Monumentum
A premiere act in the melodic hard rock/AOR genre, Eclipse have been successful due to the right combination of stellar musicianship and keen songwriting, knowing how to keep the focus on proper hooks, melodies, and memorable choruses. "Monumentum" continues the benchmark output, as album number four contains another eleven tracks that would have easily given…
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BODY COUNT – Bloodlust
In the words of one of Body Count’s founders, singer and actor Tracy Lauren Marrow known to us all as rapper Ice-T, Body Count combines "impending doom of Black Sabbath, the punk sensibility of Suicidal Tendencies and the speed and the precision of Slayer" and I would also add Biohazard to the fold of influences.…
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BATTLE BEAST – Bringer of Pain
Losing primary songwriter guitarist Anton Kabanen in 2015 could be a death knell for many bands – but not in the case of Finnish heavy metal act Battle Beast. Winning the Wacken Open Air Metal Battle in 2010 which gained them a contract with heavyweight Nuclear Blast, they’ve released three previous albums while ascending to…
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LETHE – The First Corpse On The Moon
God musikk er god musikk, uavhengig sjanger, og for meg er avantgarde metal ofte et kvalitetsstempel, noe som også er tilfelle med Lethe og deres "First Corpse On The Moon". Dessverre kan denne merkelappen også være et hinder, det er nemlig svært mange som nok garantert ville likt musikken, men som automatisk blar videre når…
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STORMAGE – Dead of Night
"Dead of Night" is the third studio album from German metal four-piece Stormage, who have been together in one form or another since 1996 under a different moniker as Anthem. Changing names in 2003, they deliver a powerful style of heavy metal that straddles classic principles while maintaining some modern production bite and attack. Taking…
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REBEL SOULS – The Forces of Darkness
The essence of death metal has always been about brutality – inhuman growls, sick riffing, and this relentless appeal that cuts to the heart of the underground. German duo Rebel Souls live for the cause on "The Forces of Darkness", an eight-track assault that comes out swinging and rarely slows down before the next blasting…
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EARTH ROT – Renascentia
Earth Rot er noen ferskinger fra down under. Bandet holder til i Perth i Australia og de ble startet opp i 2013. «Renascentia» er deres andre fullengder og stilarten er ifølge presseskriv og diverse nettsider death/black metal. Dette med stilarten vet jeg ikke helt om jeg er helt enig i…..hele tiden. For her hoppes det…