EDGE OF PARADISE – Halo

RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: http://www.edgeofparadiseband.co/ Also American and not that far removed in vein from A Dark Halo (whose 2nd full length I’ve just reviewed giving it a 5/6) the Californian alternative rock and metal quintet Edge Of Paradise released their 5th album Halo²⁰²³ on Frontiers Records on July 14th to follow Immortal Waltz²⁰¹⁵,…

A DARK HALO – Omnibus One

RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://adarkhalo.bandcamp.com/ As Fear Factory gets its second breath after losing the original extraordinary vocalist Burton C. Bell, numerous bands crop up inspired by Fear Factory’s phenomenal combination of metal, industrial and electronics they dubbed cybermetal. Then, of course, some additional genre melding is expected, nü metal riff here, progressive passage…

SOLSTEIN – Solstein

RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://solstein.bandcamp.com/album/solstein Boasting a stellar lineup consisting of Jacob Holm-Lupo (Donner, White Willow, The Opium Cartel), Keith Carlock (Toto, Steely Dan, Sting), Stian Larsen, Brynjar Dambo (White Willow), and Bill Bressler, it would be fair to say that this exciting new endeavor from the US and Norway does not exactly lack musical…

SYN – Wilk

RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://synusbm.bandcamp.com/album/wilk Yes, this is just what the good doctor ordered – a raw, efficient, and utterly memorable new output by the skilled US black metal act known as SYN. These ugly fucks deliver a potent and powerful slab of harsh and grim music that harbors both aggression and finesse not to…

GERSEY DEOFUL – Autumnal Emanation

RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://gerseydeoful.bandcamp.com/album/autumnal-emanation What we have here is well-played and memorable 4-track rehearsal recording by the US black metal outfit named Gersey Deoful. In case you are wondering, the name is a wordplay on “Jersey Devil” as in the creepy and enigmatic creature from New Jersey folklore. How fucking cool is that?! As…

ONCE HUMAN – Scar Weaver

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.ear-music.net/oncehuman/ The third record by Once Human came out a couple of months and recently found its way to my pile of promo CDs, so let us briefly discuss what the US metallers have in store for us this time around. Once Human’s fiery musical cocktail consists of melodic death metal,…

SUNRUNNER – Sacred Arts of Navigation

RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: Sacred Arts Of Navigation | Sunrunner | Fastball-Music (bandcamp.com) I was intrigued by the album artwork and the song titles to “Sacred Arts of Navigation” by the US quartet known as Sunrunner and very much looking forward to immersing myself in the 11-track opus, but sadly, their particular mixture of prog…

PHALANX INFERNO/MELEK-THA – Order of Eternal Indifference

RELEASE YEAR: 2021  BAND URL: https://godzovwarproductions.bandcamp.com/album/order-of-eternal-indifference Although this split album by the US horde Phalanx Inferno and the French entity Melek-Tha is not brand spanking new as such (it was released back in early December), it is such an interesting one that we need to churn out a few sentences about its many merits. I love…

CAP OUTRUN – High on Deception

RELEASE YEAR: 2021BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/capoutrun/ When glancing at the album cover, I had no idea what to expect, but “High on Deception” turned out to be a spirited melodic prog rock offering with quite prominent traces of AOR coursing through it. This Swedish/American gang of hugely skilled musicians sure know how to keep things interesting…