ALBUM REVIEWS

RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS

  • MY REGIME – Dogmas

    "This band is my ventilation to get rid of some unhealthy anger. Both in a musically way, but also in a mental way. I feel I need it to keep me sane in a politically correct and insane society. Especially living in a country that is selling out all the progress what past generation has…

  • KING COMPANY – One For the Road

    A new Finnish supergroup of sorts, King Company on their debut album "One for the Road" reach into the melodic hard rock style and make it seem like they’ve been together writing and performing in this manner for a decade. Containing people involved in Children of Bodom, Thunderstone, Kotipelto, and Warmen among others – the…

  • DULVITUND – Huldar Slóðir

    Dulvitund is the solo work of Oskar Bjornsson – gloomy, minimalist electronica with a very dark side. On off here we have three tacks, averaging circa 10 minutes apiece. For a while now, dark synth has been pushing up out of the musical loam of several genres simultaneously, sometimes with more of a classic song…

  • HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE – Dead Revolution

    San Francisco, California sextet Hammers of Misfortune has been a long-running favorite with a lot of journalists (myself included), as they have an organic nature to their proto-progressive metal sound. The type that feeds off of a churning twin rhythm backbone, soothing melodic vocals, and an energy that bursts forward from your speakers. "Dead Revolution"…

  • MICHAEL SWEET – One Sided War

    Stryper’s Michael Sweet has been rather productive over the past decade: five releases collectively from that main band as well as four others between a special Sweet/Lynch project and of course his solo career since 2009. "One Sided War" is his seventh overall solo album, packed with a great lineup of musicians in the form…

  • XAON – Face of Balaam

    Classifying themselves as melodic death metal, Swiss act Xaon seem to embrace a lot of the gothic/doomy-side of things from the 1990’s scene as well on this "Face of Balaam" EP. Darker chord progressions and brooding guitar lines at times set up "When the Everlasting Gardens Die Away" in more of a Sentenced meets old…

  • IN FLAMES – Sounds from the Heart of Gothenburg

    A double live record/ DVD straight from their home stomping grounds, "Sounds from the Heart of Gothenburg" gives the listeners 20 songs and almost 90 minutes of material to channel, in anticipation for the next studio album to hit this fall. Background material alerts journalists that it’s not easy to capture a definitive set list…

  • DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT – Transcendence

    So, where to begin… To be honest, Im not sure if I have anything more interesting or new to say about the wonderful and incredible talented Mr. Townsend that hasnt been said before, by me or others. This guy, who first made a name for himselves singing on Steve Vai´s "Sex & Religion" back in…

  • AZMAROTH – Death Crowned King

    Together for a little over a year, "Death Crowned King" is the debut full-length from Norway’s Azmaroth. Playing a groove-oriented form of heavy metal that has as much in common with 90’s era Metallica as it does Pantera and Lamb of God, the marching meets exotic strains of "Reprieve" help the quintet differentiate themselves from…

  • FAMILY – Future History

    Brooklyn, NY is home to the experimental progressive metal band Family – and their new album "Future History" is a 12 track odyssey into everything from southern and stoner rock to alternative nuances amidst the odd-time signatures, tempo changes, and thunderous mood riff dynamics. One minute a song goes on a Rush juxtaposition, and the…

  • MISS BEHAVIOUR – Ghost Play

    A long-time favorite to these ears, Sweden’s Miss Behaviour have been consistent in producing a type of melodic hard rock with AOR-harmonies that gets the blood pumping, the toes tapping, and you can walk away feeling very good about what you’ve taken in. "Ghost Play" is the group’s fourth studio album, delivering another 12 songs…

  • EVERGREY – The Storm Within

    First of all, welcome back to my world as I have not been active for quite some time due to a lot of issues in my life I won’t get into, some of which carried me all the way back to native Poland and back again. Well, now I’m back and hitting the ground running…

  • ANEWRAGE – ANR (re-issue)

    Alternative metal with a boatload of attitude and groove- welcome to Milan, Italy’s Anewrage. "ANR" is a reissue of their debut album from 2014, originally appearing on Sliptrick Records. Besides the 12 original songs, you get a bonus track "Nina" and an acoustic rendition of "Red Wet Lips". The material fuses together a strong twin…

  • SOILWORK – Death Resonance

    Hot on the tour trail and not wanting to leave fans waiting for more material in the interim, Soilwork felt the time is right to pool together a lot of their bonus material over the past decade only available in certain parts of the globe plus record two new songs for "Death Resonance". As a…

  • MISFITS – Friday the 13th

    The latest EP by the legendary horror punk outfit known as Misfits is the real fucking deal. Entitled Friday the 13th, this awesome musical effort boasts four extremely catchy songs with great hooks that are right up there with the very best of them. That especially goes for the first two songs, the two tributes…

  • REKOMA – Circle of Hate

    Finnish metal quintet Rekoma have a wide swath of classic, modern, and alternative influences on display for this "Circle of Hate" EP. One minute very thrash-oriented for "Trial", the next minute a little more In Flames meets Sentenced on the title track – this diversity could pay dividends in the long run in terms of…

  • CRYSTAL BALL – Déja-Voodoo

    Wasting no time getting back to business after last year’s "LifeRider" record, "Déja-Voodoo" as the ninth Crystal Ball studio album continues to position this Swiss act as one of the steadiest in the melodic metal marketplace. Even as they gain a new guitarist in Tony Castell, the quintet surrounds themselves with the right songwriting ethics…

  • MOS GENERATOR – Abyssinia

    Stoner rock from Washington, the power trio Mos Generator lock and load on addictive hooks, bluesy riffs, and emotionally charged melodies for this full-length "Abyssinia". Hints of Nirvana come up on opener "Strangest Times", while "Red Canyons" pulsates through a Sabbath-esque bass line that reverberates against the cascading drum groove and thick electric riffs. Together…

  • THE KYLE GASS BAND – Thundering Herd

    Electric rock ‘n’ roll with a lot of Southern/ jam-band charm on this album "Thundering Herd" from Los Angeles, California’s The Kyle Gass Band. Right out of the gate you get a lot of Molly Hatchet and Allman Brothers Band feel in terms of the twin guitar antics and boogie rhythms for opener "Cakey", while…

  • CAGE9 – Illuminator

    Modern hard rock with pop sensibilities, there’s a lot of Disturbed meets Shinedown oriented material on this album from California’s Cage9 with "Illuminator". Vocalist/ guitarist Evan Rodaniche has a definitive radio-friendly range, which along with an intuitive rhythmic nature to the material on hand puts "Starry Eyes" and the sultry "Martyr" into aural connectivity from…

  • GLORYFUL – End of the Night

    The third studio album from German power metal band Gloryful keeps the true vision of the band alive. "End of the Night" continues the Legend of Sedna – hundreds of years after the demise of the "Ocean Blade". Fear not brethren, the twin guitar harmonies and thunderous double bass as well as multi-octave melodic vocals…

  • WIRED ANXIETY – The Delirium of Negation

    Indisk death metal eller indisk metal generelt har vokst de siste årene og det har dukket opp flere gode band. Det er i hovedsak thrash og death metal bandene undertegnede har lagt merke til, og denne gangen er det death metal bandet Wired Anxiety som skal en liten tur under lupen. Wired Anxiety ble dannet…

  • SABATON – The Last Stand

    At this point in Sabaton’s career, they’ve established their presence as a melodic power metal band that deliver war-theme topics in a triumphant, heroic manner. Their latest album "The Last Stand" continues that tradition, adding in a few bagpipes/ Hammond Organs here and there on "Blood of Bannockburn" (regarding the Scottish Revolution) while a lot…

  • ADE – Carthago Delenda Est

    Ade er et italiensk death metal band som ble dannet i 2007. Base for bandet er i hovedstaden Roma og «Carthago Delenda Est» er bandets tredje fullengder. Musikken deres forklares som en mix mellom Fleshgod Apocalypse, Hour of Penance, moderne Behemoth og en liten dose Nile og noe annet. Jeg er ikke helt enig i…

  • BLOOD RED THRONE – Union of Flesh and Machine

    The eighth studio album from Norway death metal unit Blood Red Throne, "Union of Flesh and Machine" illustrates the power and brutality related to a straight ahead attack in this genre. The delivery and execution has more in line with American counterparts than Scandinavian ones for sure – especially in terms of a lot of…

  • VARIOUS ARTIST – A Tribute to Possessed: Seven Burning Churches

    Tributealbum pleier sjelden å sette spor etter seg. Interessen for disse er liten og låtene på disse har en tendens til å bli alt for like originalene. Og det er alltid en «Best of» skive. Her derimot har vi en death metal versjon av Possessed «Seven Churches». Dvs hele «Seven Churches, alle 10 låtene kronologisk,…

  • HANGAR – Stronger Than Ever

    This Brazilian power/progressive metal act has been around since 1997- Hangar’s best known member being drummer Aquiles Priester, who has played with Primal Fear and Angra among others. "Stronger Than Ever" is the group’s seventh studio album, and given my first exposure to the group there’s a solid set of mechanics on display through these…

  • NILUUS – Demo 2016

    Niluus is a brand new black metal act hailing from the UK, and I must say that this demo of theirs is quite interesting. It only contains three songs, one of which is an excellent cover of Bathory’s immortal "Satan My Master", but their two "own" tracks reek of potential and interesting ideas. Their take…

  • CREINIUM – Hallucinations

    "Hallucinations" is the debut full-length album from Finnish hybrid metal act Creinium. Together since 2012, they’ve been fairly steady in their output, releasing a demo, EP, and single in succession prior to this 12 track, 65-minute effort. Fusing together a mix of melodic death and progressive, blackened metal with symphonic touches, Amorphis, Mercyful Fate, and…

  • HEAVENWOOD – The Tarot of the Bohemians – Part 1

    Returning to their first label home, Portuguese occult emotive metal act Heavenwood ambitiously delivers part 1 of a conceptual series tackling the French occultist Papus and his studies of the Tarot. Having previously heard their third album "Redemption" from 2008, going in I expect a similar roller coaster adventure in terms of dark riffing, gothic…