RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/ArchonAngelBand/ This International constellation of musicians was completely new to me and I had never come across their name prevoiusly, but they play and sound like veterans, which makes me curious as to what their previous album named Fallen from 2020 is like. Anyway, we shall focus on the latest effort…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/MAGNUSKARLSSONOFFICIAL/ Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear) is undoubtedly a gifted musician and an experienced songwriter with a knack for crafting huge-sounding, epic, and positively bombastic tunes with a symphonic edge to them. This pretty much applies to every band and project of his, not least the interesting Free Fall endeavor whose previous…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://foretoken.bandcamp.com/ I seem to be reviewing a lot of melodic death metal recently and that not on purpose but, here we go again, this time a Virginian symphonic melodeath duo on the occasion of their sophomore album “Triumphs” released earlier last month. What we have here is a somewhat traditional…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://www.black-hawk-music.de/2014/index.php Black Hawk hail from the northern part of Germany and deliver classic old-school heavy metal that recalls Saxon and Accept, and after having listened to it a number of times I must say that I find this output of theirs rather charming, catchy, and entertaining. The production is loud and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/screammaker With its old-school heavy metal album cover and artwork, it should come as no surprise that this Polish act named Scream Maker dabbles in blistering metal that owes a lot to Judas Priest, Manowar, Jag Panzer, and the Dio-fronted version of Black Sabbath but without sounding like a cheap clone.…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/RingOfFireMetal Mark Boals (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen, Shining Black) possesses one of the greatest voices in rock, and it is pretty much always a treat to listen to something that features his unique voice, which leads me to this brand-new album by neo-classical power/progressive metallers Ring of Fire. It has been eight years…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.rising-steel.fr/ The previous offering by these French metal freaks, more specifically the loud and crushing Fight Them All (2020), was an entertaining albeit slightly uneven ride through power metal, NWOBHM, and thrash metal. I am pleased to announce that nothing has changed in the outfit’s camp as the latest effort titled…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/erinyesmetal/ The Erinyes is a rather interesting new project by Frontiers Records in that its three female vocalists deliver some divine melodies and harmonies on top of a thick blanket of epic-sounding power metal, or symphonic metal, if you will. Musically, everything holds up well without the songs necessarily being outright…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: http://stratovarius.com/ Renowned power metal stalwarts Stratovarius are back with their first new album in seven years, and if you are a sucker for technically dazzling yet catchy music then you might fancy giving this majestic opus of theirs a whirl. All the band’s trademarks are firmly in place here, and there…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.instagram.com/ultimagrace/ Originally released in Japan back in March this year, the good people at Frontiers Records have now made sure that it is available globally, which is something that a lot of power metal fans and devotees in Europe and US will be most pleased with, I suspect. Featuring the talented…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/profile.phpid=100063610741197 I wish there was a God, I’d pray for salvation…If somehow, I could believe, that there was a saviour then maybe this life I lead would be less filled with sin. If there’s no god, no light at the end…then tell me what’s the meaning of it all (Save…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/keopsband Somewhere between classic heavy metal, power metal, and 90s-inspired groove metal you will find Road to Perdition by the Croatian outfit named Keops. Given that it came out all the way back in March, we shall keep things short and concise here. The eleven compositions that constitute the LP are…
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…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/CleanbreakMetal/ Cleanbreak is yet another Frontiers Records project where highly skilled musicians have joined forces and the results usually vary when it comes to these kinds of outfits and bands, but Cleanbreak are pretty darn cool and deliver a loud and crunchy album inspired by classic heavy metal and power metal.…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/janiliimatainenofficial/ Guitarist Jani Liimatainen (Insomnium, The Dark Element) recently released this melancholy offering of his via Frontiers Records and it is essentially a melodic heavy metal record with depth, substance, and emotional weight to it. Liimatainen is supported by a stellar cast of vocalists including Renan Zonta, Timo Kotipelto, and Anette…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/BlackEyeReadman/ Featuring the great David Readman from Pink Cream 69 on vocals, Black Eye is a brand-new heavy metal outfit that not only shows talent and promise but also an impressive knack for crafting energetic, hook-laden tunes that will kick your ass six ways to Sunday. I used the term heavy…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/Starchaserband/ Following a nicely atmospheric introduction, Starchaser’s brand of polished and epic heavy metal explodes right out of the gate, and this melodically strong opus sounds absolutely massive and overflowing with drive and determination. Conceived by guitarist Kenneth Jonsson (ex-Tad Morose) and with a musically gifted line-up in tow, this ensemble…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/edgeofforeverband/ This neat triple-CD set containing remastered versions of the first three records by Edge of Forever is an enjoyable listen and a pretty cool collection of well-written heavy metal/hard rock tunes with plenty of good vocal melodies, epic-sounding keyboards, and tasty riffs scattered across it. While some of their musical…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/semblantband The Brazilian outfit known as Semblant, which was conceived back in 2006, have returned with their fourth full-length assault and what we are served here is a basically a mixture of modern melodic metal, power metal, gothic metal, and arguably also subtle hint of prog metal. That the six members…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/SpiritsOfFireBand/ The project named Spirits of Fire is a rather overlooked one from my perspective but hopefully this superbly crafted heavy metal juggernaut of theirs titled “Embrace the Unknown” will reach a wider audience and receive more praise than their otherwise solid debut offering from 2019 did. While Tim “Ripper” Owens…
