RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://toyweather.bandcamp.com/album/feathers-in-a-strange-wind What a treat it is to see this musically adventurous and superbly arranged piece of work being released on CD and vinyl; it deserved a proper physical release as opposed to merely existing in the digital sphere. Main man Svein Hovland’s knack for crafting uniquely atmospheric compositions that seamlessly move back…
RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: https://www.megadeth.com/ How to sum up the vital importance and pioneering spirit of thrash metal titans Megadeth? To many of us, Dave Mustaine and his supremely talented cohorts delivered a string of flawless soundtracks to our youths that still resonate with us to this day, and which will undoubtedly continue to inspire and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://lnk.to/vampyricwarinblood The Flemish entity known as Bloedmaan impressed this scribe greatly two years ago when mastermind Ronarg (Antzaat, Ars Veneficium) unleashed the epic-sounding and surprisingly catchy Castle Inside the Eclipse via the rock-solid Immortal Frost Productions, which has proven to be one of those uniquely crafted black metal releases that I find myself…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://www.electrichighband.com/ The debut album by these hard rocking Norwegians impressed this writer greatly and was a vigorous, vibrant, and riveting tour de force of groove, hooks, crunchy riffs, and 70s vibes. All of that is very much present throughout this sophomore effort of theirs too, but what sets the latter slightly apart…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://www.gymnocal.com/products/ljungblut-the-other-side-of-all-things-ltd-lp-blue This musically eclectic and experimental gem by the talented Kim Ljung (Zeromancer, Seigmen) from 2005 is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, and what better way to mark that than by having the brilliant people over at Gymnocal Industries release a gorgeous-looking blue vinyl edition of it. If you missed out…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/ozzy-osbourne/last-rites/9781408724057/ Last Rites by the sadly missed and inimitable Ozzy Osbourne is nothing short of a triumph in every sense of the word. Published just a few months after his unforgettable performance at the historic Back to the Beginning event in Birmingham – the place where he and his mates in Black…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://lnk.to/kletva The Serbian purveyors of brooding black metal collectively known as The Stone quite literally blew this scribe away back in 2021 when they unearthed the near-flawless and deeply atmospheric gem titled Kosturnice, and so naturally, this latest opus of theirs released in late November this year was a most welcome addition…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://gerseydeoful.bandcamp.com/album/november-ending-fire Immensely raw and unfiltered yet soaked in an autumnal atmosphere and possessing a strangely appealing sense of twisted grandeur, this wicked little 5-track EP by the US black metal force known as Gersey Deoful, which contains a handful of covers of Glenn Danzig-penned songs from the Samhain days, sees the band…
The now-defunct dungeon synth/lo-fi dark ambient project known as Vornoff recently went through the old archives and discovered a bunch of god-awful demo versions, rehearsal tracks, and sketches that had not been released previously, and due to a complete lack of self-respect, it was decided that they should be released digitally via Bandcamp and YouTube.…
US black metal heavyweights, Gersey Deoful, recently released their new EP, November Ending Fire. The title is a deliberate nod to Samhain’s seminal album, November Coming Fire, reflecting the EP’s core content: a powerful set of five classic Samhain covers. November Ending Fire sees Gersey Deoful bringing their unique intensity to some of Samhain’s most…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://orcd.co/enthronedashspawn The Belgian black metal trailblazers known as Enthroned have been rather prolific since the band’s inception back in 1993, and the remarkable thing about this most unholy and impenetrably dark outfit is that they are getting better and better with time. With that in mind, let us take a closer look…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://zebulondoom.bandcamp.com/album/come-day-of-reckoning-2 The splendid Norwegian doom metal outfit known as Zebulon unleashed this musically dynamic force of nature just a couple of weeks ago, and there is an exciting and emotive edge as well as heaps of gloom to the 6-track effort, which sports the evocative title Come Day of Reckoning, reflecting its…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://www.stevemorseofficial.com/ The supremely skilled Steve Morse, who has delighted us for decades with his vibrant and vigorous work with Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs, Flying Colors, Kansas, and not least his solo offerings, is back with a new album that sees him team up with such renowned musicians as bass player Dave LaRue…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://apollonrecords.bandcamp.com/music Originally released twenty-five years ago, what better way to mark the occasion and celebrate its anniversary than having Jacob Holm-Lupo remaster the material and release it on vinyl and digitally via Apollon Records Prog for the first time ever?! Inspired by the likes of Camel and Uriah Heep, this self-titled offering…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://1349som.bandcamp.com/album/winter-mass Captured for posterity four years ago at the Parkteatret in Oslo, this ungodly conjuring of Norwegian black metal by long-running ensemble 1349 is an exciting live document that shows how well their compositions translate to the stage, and the fact that they performed on home turf in front of an appreciative…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://doublemute.bandcamp.com/album/corporate-culture-final-v2 One of the most unique entities out there today is undoubtedly the deeply intriguing Double Mute and their highly eclectic and delightfully twisted on all things progressive. Also, for the sake of clarity, let there be no doubt that main man Jake Rosenberg is a musical genius whose ideas and visions…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://antinoe.bandcamp.com/ Far removed from the world of metal music yet infinitely darker, more haunting, and relentlessly bleaker is this mesmerizing output titled The Fold by the Spanish artist known as Antinoë, which is the solo vehicle of the immensely talented neo-classical pianist and vocalist Teresa Marraco. Although she does have black metal…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://patriarchy.bandcamp.com/album/manual-for-dying-2 Hot on the heels of their wicked live album (namely Suffer with Me) released earlier this year comes this riveting new studio offering, which sports the brilliant title Manual for Dying, and the disc is nothing if not consistent, cohesive, and mesmeric. Its ten sharp and memorable tracks represent the very…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/ This is my first encounter with the Polish black metal entity known as Königreichssaal, and I must say that I am impressed with (and rather intrigued by) this splendid little 4-track EP of theirs, which is frontloaded with stellar ideas and thick, impenetrable atmospheres of the moody and contemplative variety. …
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://aflyingfish.bandcamp.com/album/el-pez-que-vol-act-ii The previous full-length extravaganza by A Flying Fish appropriately titled El Pez Que Voló – ACT I was one of the prog rock highlights of 2023, so naturally, this recently released successor sporting a most fabulous artwork was highly welcome, and given the content and lyrical narrative of the album, I…
