INNER AXIS – Midnight Forces

RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/InnerAxis/ The German heavy metal outfit known as Inner Axis recently unleashed this ten-track affair of theirs via Fastball Music, and just like the single releases and full-length LPs that preceded Midnight Forces it very much leans towards the classic variety of the genre, which is to say that your appetite…

COBRAKILL – Serpent’s Kiss

RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/cobrakillrocks/ The German heavy metal/hard rock outfit known as Cobrakill unleashed their sophomore effort a couple of months ago via Frontiers and this 12-track slice of fiery fun is filled with adrenaline-fueled riffs, gang vocals, and a bad-ass attitude. There is no shortage of vigor and quality to this 80s-inspired blast…

DURBIN – Screaming Steel

RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/DurbinRock/ I quite enjoyed the pounding heavy metal exercise by the talented singer James Durbin that was The Beast Awakens, which came out in 2021. Rooted as it was in classic eighties-flavored metal inspired by the likes of Accept, Judas Priest, DIO, Jag Panzer, and NWOBHM in general, it provided lots…

THE GRANDMASTER – Black Sun

RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://orcd.co/thegrandmasterblacksun The debut offering by The Grandmaster titled Skywards (2021) was a very entertaining and solid slab of epic heavy metal, and I recall thinking that this was one of those Frontiers Records projects that I would like to see continue and record a follow-up, which is exactly what has come…

PAUL DI’ANNO – 24.11.2023 – TROON

VENUE: Troon Concert HallDATE: 24.11.2023 ORGANIZER: WinterStorm Festival (Plan B Events)PHOTOGRAPHER: C. NepperPhotos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. It is fair to say that the career of former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno has been a somewhat bumpy and…

SNAKEBITES AND WARRIORS – AN INTERVIEW WITH THUNDERSTICK

The brilliant yet underappreciated purveyors of classic heavy metal known as Thunderstick recently released the hook-laden and muscular-sounding opus titled Lockdown via Roulette Records, and its content is as fiery and memorable as it is diverse and organic. One could easily argue that this is indeed the group’s finest effort to date. We caught up…

RONNIE ROMERO – Too Many Lies, Too Many Masters

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/ronnieromeroofficial/ Ever since becoming acquainted with the insanely talented singer Ronnie Romero thanks to a certain Ritchie Blackmore and his re-forming of the great Rainbow back in 2016, I have done my utmost to follow Romero’s career and work. His discography appears rather vast these days as he’s been working with…

SCREAM MAKER – Land of Fire

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/screammaker Polish heavy metallers Scream Maker re-issued their enjoyable BloodKing album via Frontiers Records not that long ago, which was a solid effort, and I was looking forward to cranking Land of Fire (their fourth and latest LP) up loud and see how they had developed since then. Rooted in classic…

SCREAMACHINE – Church of the Scream

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/screamachineofficial I have a thing for this Italian heavy metal outfit and found their previous self-titled offering pretty darn entertaining and packed to the rafters with big, meaty riffs the size of a skyscraper. These dudes are anything but subtle, and the influence from Judas Priest is to be found in…

ANTIPOPE – Rex Mundi

RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://antipope.bandcamp.com/music Once agan I find myself reviewing a fantastic album from a long standing band I have never heard of before. One of my excuses could be that Antipope started as a black metal band and, to be honest, black metal is a cherry pick genre for me. Another one…

SILENT KNIGHT – Full Force

RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://silentknightband.bandcamp.com/album/full-force-2 The hard-hitting Australian power metallers Silent Knight released this positively bombastic and fiery eight-track offering of theirs last month, and I must say that I find this spirited affair rather charming and entertaining. Galloping riffs, melodic solos, punchy drums, and soaring vocals are the name of the game here, and…