HONEYMOON SUITE – Alive

RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://honeymoonsuiteband.com/ Alive by the Canadian melodic rockers Honeymoon Suite was an album that I had looked forward to receiving and reviewing, and the cool thing is that it did not disappoint. Featuring some superb guitar work, excellent keyboard atmospherics, a tight and energetic rhythm section, and not least a great vocal…

CRYPTOPSY – As Gomorrah Burns

RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://cryptopsyofficial.bandcamp.com/ While I admit that the Canadian brutal technical death metal purveyors Cryptopsy have one of the best names and (legible!) logos in metal, I don’t quite hold them in such high regard as others. True, Whisper Supremacy¹⁹⁹⁸ was once in heavy rotation in both my CD player and my…

WITHERING SCORN – Prophets Of Demise

RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://m.facebook.com/Witheringscorn There was a sense, after the excellent The System Has Failed²⁰⁰⁴ Dave Mustaine’s intended solo album turned Megadeth’s comeback record (after the supposed 2002 end of the line), that Megadeth was back and stronger than ever. Dave Mustaine did not waste the momentum but, having previously gained former Black…

CHRISTBANE – Christbane

RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://christbane.bandcamp.com/album/christbane This my first encounter with the foul and unholy Australian/Canadian combo known as Christbane, and I must say that their barbaric and filthy brand of straightforward black/death metal is right up my ugly alley. The ten-track (and 20-minute long) effort, which was released on CD by Regimental Records and digitally…

MEDEVIL – Mirror In The Darkness

RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://medevil.bandcamp.com/ The Canadian progressive power thrash metaller’s debut Conductor Of Storms²⁰¹⁶ was already a fiercely original record although the influences were also quite easy to point out. I thought what made Medevil original was their approach to metal: they clearly loved it and were inspired by it but it wasn’t…

DEAD SOUL ALLIANCE – Spiraling To Lunacy

RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://dsadeath.bandcamp.com/ It’s a good feeling to be able to rest from a genre, in this case melodeath, and take in some good old classic death metal in the vein of the first two Paradise Lost albums, early Hypocrisy, Immolation and Death, with a few surprising twists courtesy of the Canadian…

AZOTHYST – Blood of Dead God

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/blood-of-dead-god The Canadian quartet known as Azothyst specializes in relentlessly dark and aggressive black/death metal that is incredibly rich in atmosphere and full of determin­ation. The EP’s claustrophobic vibe is constantly emphasized by the dissonant, grimy riffs that are akin to a jackhammer being driven into one’s skull. The vocals are…

SAGA – Marathon (Remastered 2021)

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://sagagen.com/ “Marathon” by the musically gifted Canadians known as Saga was released nearly twenty years ago and it is therefore quite brilliant that the band have had a large bulk of their old releases remastered and reissued via earMUSIC lately, including this one that originally saw the light of day in…

SAGA – Detours (Remastered 2021)

RELEASE YEAR: 2021  BAND URL: https://sagagen.com/ Here is another reissue by the well-known Saga that deserves mention on our hallowed webpage and this time around it is all about the live album “Detours”, which came out twenty-three years ago, but which was recently remastered and given a visual and sonic facelift. Apart from the setlist being…

SAGA – House of Cards (Remastered 2021)

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://sagagen.com/   This newly remastered version of “House of Cards” by Canadian prog rockers Saga is a real treat in that it sounds more vibrant and warmer than its original counterpart from 2001. While its predecessor, “Full Circle” (1999), was a strong album in many ways, “House of Cards” was a…