RECENT ALBUM REVIEWS
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LETHAL STEEL – Legion of the Night
Straight ahead heavy metal has not lost any of its appeal in the current scene – as younger musicians willingly brandish their instruments of choices, don their belts, chains, and leather and stride gallantly into the path that started with Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Accept, and Rainbow and morphed into a global phenomenon. Sweden’s Lethal…
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ALBATROSS – Fear from the Skies
Proving metal’s far reaching appeal, we have a traditional heavy metal group with avant-garde tendencies in India’s Albatross for their debut full-length "Fear from the Skies". Marrying a love of literature and metal since 2008, the sextet contains a triple axe attack that allows for a bevy of twin harmonies and solid rhythm riff antics.…
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PRONG – X- No Absolutes
There’s something to be said for consistency in today’s scene. Veteran acts may have established themselves in a period pre-internet – but it doesn’t mean they aren’t working as hard (if not harder) to keep their current records as relevant as their past discography that put them in the spotlight. "X- No Absolutes" is the…
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MEGADETH – Dystopia
Oh man, I have been looking forward to this album for some time now, and finally it has arrived….and managed to blow me away! Following the not-really-that-interesting-and-yet-diverse predecessor entitled «Super Collider» (2013), I am pleased to announce that Megadeth has indeed returned with a hard-hitting vengeance that ought to silence the naysayers and disbelievers once…
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WIGELIUS – Tabula Rasa
Wigelius is a Swedish AOR act that has a lot of great 80’s feelings on their latest album "Tabula Rasa". Addictive, easy on the ear melodies, catchy keyboard/ guitar hooks, and solid bass/drum performances all roll into a smart collection of songs here. "Do It All Again" has that Giant meets Bad English vibe, while…
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EVIL DRIVE – The Land of the Drive
Finnish band Evil Drive possess an interesting visual promo on their bio sheet – singer Viktoria Viren flanked by her four musician compatriots in gas mask/military attire, ready for war. A couple of different descriptions musically come to mind when taking in this full-length album "The Land of the Drive" – the first for the…
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SALIGIA – Fonix
"SALIGIA" is a mnemonic based on the first letters in Latin of the seven deadly sins: superbia, avaritia, luxuria, invidia, gula, ira, acedia. This 2 piece comes from Trondheim and features Dodsengel activist Ahzari on everything except percussion. This is the band’s second full-length release and although I haven’t heard their other material, I believe…
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WEH – Ingenmannsland
Weh is a one man act that describes itself as dark acoustic neofolk from Norway, and that is as good a description as any to start with. The composition is fairly minimal, with layered guitar and vocals that form a rich and engaging blanket of sound. Erik’s singing is top notch as ever, with the…
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HEXVESSEL – When We Are Death
The brilliant ensemble that is Hexvessel, which is led by the charismatic Mat «Kvohst» McNerney (guitar/vocals), has made quite a fuzz in the underground music scene ever since the release of the extremely well-crafted and hauntingly beautiful debut album entitled «Dawnbearer». The follow-up, «No Holier Temple», was amazing as well and a truly captivating piece…
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WAR AGENDA – Night of Disaster
Forming in 2012, German thrash band War Agenda on their full-length debut album "Night of Disaster" appear to possess the perfect blend of Bay Area passion and East Coast crossover elements through these 10 songs. Gang vocals, up tempo rhythms, spitfire, acidic melodies, and the crunch mid-tempo transitions that create cyclones out of small winds…
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SHAKRA – High Noon
Swiss melodic hard rock band Shakra make another vocalist change – but this time it’s a return to Mark Fox who held down that slot for most of the 2000’s. Sure it may have taken some convincing behind the scenes when John Prakesh left in early 2014 to smooth out any bad feelings, but professionals…
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AN OCEAN OF VOID – The Great Escape
Atmospheric and progressive metal offers a multitude of directions for a group of musicians to explore – which is exactly what France’s An Ocean of Void put forth for their debut album "The Great Escape". The quartet look at everything from lush, Pink Floyd-ish space rock instrumentation to these deeper doom/death metal textures, meaning one…
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ABBATH – Abbath
I know that ‘Immortal’ aka Demonaz and Horgh (not to forget Apolloyon) have finally come public with the story of the dissolution of that mighty band, and if you follow what they say it isn’t very complimentary of Olve Eikemo, otherwise known as Abbath the man. Whatever the politics and history, I have always been…
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SILENT LINE – Shattered Shores
Canadian melodic death metal with a lot of folk and symphonic elements to keep Silent Line very interesting as far as the dynamic levels for this third album "Shattered Shores". Thick riffing principles give way to subtle serene segments where the guitar hooks come into focus – almost as if Wintersun and In Flames would…
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GRAND SLAM – A New Dawn
Originally focusing on being more of a studio recording act, Sweden’s Grand Slam has taken their time since beginning in 2007 to hone in on the right musicians and songs. As it’s now 2016 and outside of television show appearances and worldwide songwriting contests, not much has been heard from the quintet until their 2014…
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THE RESISTANCE – Coup De Grâce
The second full-length from Sweden’s The Resistance, "Coup De Grâce" features a lot of known players in the thrash and death field – especially if names like The Haunted and In Flames matter in your world. Too often as musicians mature they lose a lot of that youthful spunk and passion that made them learn…
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DEEP PURPLE – …To the Rising Sun in Tokyo
As with the Deep Purple live package entitled «From the Setting Sun…in Wacken», which was released at the same time as this 2CD/DVD package, «…To the Rising Sun in Tokyo» chronicles the «NOW What?!» tour from a slightly different perspective than its Wacken counterpart in that this was recorded and captured at the legendary Budokan…
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DEEP PURPLE – From the Setting Sun…in Wacken
As much as I love and cherish Deep Purple, I have to admit that a few of their studio albums and live releases are slightly lacklustre and a bit of a mixed bag. Also, I can hardly think of any other hard rock band with as many live albums under their belts as these guys,…
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HAREM SCAREM – Live at the Phoenix
Recorded in front of a hometown Canadian crowd, this is a double CD/DVD (only privy to the audio proceedings for this review) of the classic melodic hard rock meets AOR band Harem Scarem. "Live at the Phoenix" is a 20 track affair encompassing 87 minutes plus of addictive choruses, solid guitar hooks, and natural songwriting…
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JESS AND THE ANCIENT ONES – Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes
Warming up North American audiences for King Diamond certainly gave this Finnish psychedelic rock act an uptick in the profile and promotion department – as their second album "Second Psychedelic Coming: The Aquarius Tapes" hits the streets. Augmenting a sound that screams late 60’s and early 70’s with sound bites and tones that make you…
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WITCHCRAFT – Nucleus
Change appears to be a constant in this Swedish band’s career. Pared down to a trio, only vocalist /guitarist Magnus Pelander remains from the early 2000’s as bassist Tobias Anger and drummer Rage Widerberg make their recording debut for "Nucleus" – the fifth Witchcraft studio full-length. At 9 songs and 69 minutes, the three-piece sway…