RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://apollonrecords.no/products/lorentzen-leave-nobody-behind-cd Apollon Records were kind enough to hand me a copy of Leave Nobody Behind, which was composed and crafted by the talented Eivind Lorentzen (ex-Gentle Knife, Oldenborre, and Synsbedragerne), and the idea behind the album and lyrics seemed a rather interesting and intriguing one on paper. Floating somewhere between atmospheric prog,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/people/Dirty-Velvet-Rock/100076167258796/ The Swiss alternative rock act Dirty Velvet was formed roughly four years ago and have been gigging quite a bit on their home turf since then, but their debut offering will soon see the light of day via Fastball Music, so let us take a closer look at that output,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: http://www.frontiers.it/album/5838 Tommy DeCarlo (Boston) possesses an impressive set of pipes and is undoubtedly a great singer and front man, but this album entitled Dancing in the Moonlight, which is primarily written by Frontiers Records’ in-house composer and musician Alessandro Del Vecchio, is a huge letdown and utterly forgettable. AOR and soft…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/aprilartband/ The German outfit named April Art recently released this independent offering titled POKERFACE, and the quartet essentially dabbles in something akin to a mixture of alternative rock/metal and nu metal, which means that what we have here sounds rather modern and contemporary in many ways. There is a good flow…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/ardoursband/ Anatomy of a Moment by the Italian outfit Ardours, which includes Mariangela Demurtas (Tristania) on vocals, is a weirdly anticlimactic experience. With its gothic rock overtones and prominent nods to alternative rock and experimental metal, there is a modern flair to this pristine-sounding output, and a number of good ideas…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/KandiaOfficial The Portuguese act named Kandia dabbles in something akin to alternative metal with subtle goth rock undertones to it and even a few metalcore elements. The emphasis is clearly on atmosphere, and they do manage to infuse their compositions with both a somber hue and a good amount of aggression,…
The Spanish hard rock outfit Bodyguerra’s upcoming full-length opus titled "Fire & Soul", which is comprised of thirteen tracks in total – two of which are bonus cuts, is characterized by Ela Sturm’s vocals and the varied guitar work of Guodo Stoecker, but frankly, there is nothing truly interesting going on here as such. Some…
What the Swedish quintet Havamal offers is essentially melodic death metal with plenty of bombast and lofty ideas to it. With its pagan/Viking metal overtones and lyrics inspired by Norse mythology, the nine compositions that constitute "The Shadow Chapter" are brimming with galloping riffs, epic atmospheres, growls and chants, choirs and keyboards, and an overall…
The US outfit known as Almost Dead blends modern thrash metal with groove metal and subtle hints of metalcore, and this twelve-track output is some wildly aggressive and energetic stuff. Whenever I spin this disc, acts ala Machine Head, Pissing Razors, and Devildriver come to mind, so that should tell you a little about where…
I was quite looking forward to checking Sunbomb out as I like and admire Tracii Guns’ (L.A. Guns) style of playing and his way of crafting meaty riffs that go straight for the throat, but "Evil and Divine", which is the group’s debut offering, is sadly a bit of a letdown and an underwhelming affair.…
Given that this one was released a couple of months ago, I shall try to keep this little review of mine as short and concise as possible. The sixth melodic hard rock record by the skilled Norwegian singer Issa is a polished and slick affair boasting a pristine sound and some impressive vocals, but sadly,…
Angelica’s new record entitled "All I Am" offers melodic rock/AOR with a modern sheen to it and it comes across as a fresh and current-sounding affair in many ways, but frankly, it is also quite predictable and unexciting. Its main problem is that it is rather generic and somewhat derivative with respect to its melodies…
The rather cool album title “Rats & Ravens” may give you a subtle clue as to what all of this is about, namely a horror-themed (thrash) metal opus with a storyline and concept to it conjured up by the US quartet named FROM HELL. Musically and stylistically speaking, one could argue that there are certain…
There are albums which make one wonder why they were made, why they were released into the wide world instead of spending eternity stashed away on the artist’s hard drive. Such is the case with the Swedish ambient project Lustre and its 7th album, the subject of this review. Born in Östersund, Jämtland and persisting…
Walk Through Fire? And where might that fire be? All I hear is the least interesting parts of Ulcerate-ian doom severely minimalized to the point of sounding like a guitar novice rehersal. This could all be done between lunch and dinner on any given day by beginners. Why even bother with vocals? The only good…
The German trio named Hellride have made a bit of a name for themselves over the years thanks to their original and at times quirky brand of acoustic metal. Consisting of two guitars and a vocal style that bears a strong similarity to what we often come across in a variety metal-related genres, these guys…
This upcoming record by the legendary virtuoso Jan Akkerman is a highly anticipated one in that it has been eight years since he released his previous studio output, but I must admit that I had expected something a little more exciting and musically rewarding than “Close Beauty”. This twelve-track offering falls somewhere between jazz rock,…
The roots of this Spanish progressive metal/metalcoremetalcore band lay in the formation of Arcabuz in 1999. After one year, the band changed the name to Insight and consisted of Eric Garcia (bass, vocals), Ricardo Estrada Sánchez (guitars, vocals), Jordi Pascual Guasch (synthesiser, samples) and Jose Fernández Molero (vocals, guitars), persisting for ten years as a…
I am not quite sure why this 10-track album by This Wild Life ended up in my pile of stuff to review as it is so far removed from what we usually cover here at Eternal Terror Live that I simply feel a little out of my depth here in terms of describing and analyzing…
While it is still too early to identify this year’s best metal album, I am fairly sure I am reviewing the worst, courtesy of Nate Bohnet, his solo debut a way for the man to exorcise some personal demons. He plays all the instruments, vocals and even crafted this abstract cover Pablo Picasso would shoot…
The German power metallers bearing the name Heavatar released their sophomore album about a week ago and rather appropriately named it "Opus II – The Annihilation". The name of the game is a bombastic variant of power metal with quite a few speed/thrash metal influences to it. Such diverse acts as Manowar, Metallica, Judas Priest,…
"The Mutual Admiration Society" by the highly talented Sterling Ball, John Ferraro and Jim Cox is an entirely instrumental affair where the three aforementioned gentlemen have been joined by such renowned guitarists as Steve Lukather (TOTO), John Petrucci (Dream Theater) Steve Vai (Whitesnake), Steve Morse (Deep Purple), and Albert Lee (Eric Clapton, The Everly Brothers).…
"The New Reality" is the third and final chapter in Geoff Tate’s (ex-Queensryche) trilogy of albums under the Operation: Mindcrime banner depicting the rather sickening and bleak future that lies ahead of us (some of which has to do with virtual currencies, stock trading, and internet banking) and the result is both uninspired and uninspiring,…
French progressive death metallers Voice Winter released this 7-track opus of theirs last year via M.U.S.I.C. Records, but for whatever reason it did not find its way to my pile of stuff to review until recently. So, we are not exactly dealing with a brand new album here, but let us discuss it anyway, shall…
The Brazilian power metal outfit TraumeR is about to unleash this 13-track album entitled "The Great Metal Storm" via Fastball Music. Quite the over-the-top title, eh? Actually, "The Great Metal Storm" is an expanded re-issue in that it was originally released back in 2014, but it is now being given wider distribution by Fastball Music…
The German outfit named Pleasure Agony released this self-titled album of theirs sometime last year. Musically, the band is rooted in modern thrash metal with lots of groovy and bouncy parts to it. In terms of riffs and melodies and so on, everything is rather straightforward and easy to digest. There are no convoluted arrangements…
Du verden, dette var merkelige saker… Trondheim baserte Chontaraz kjører på med kraftfull og smått fengende metal, i utgangspunktet noe jeg fort kunne fått sansen for, men en vokalist på konstant fullt turtall, som kjører eget løp uavhengig av hva de andre i bandet holder på med, setter fint stopper for det… Her burde de…
Black Sites from Chicago is the brainchild of former Trials guitarist/vocalist Mark Sugar and I must say that I was initially quite curious as to how this new band of his would sound. Musically, you can tell that the band draws from the well of classic heavy metal, 70s hard rock, progressive metal, and modern…
The German outfit Pikes Edge hovers somewhere between modern melodic metal, groove metal, and metal-core, which is to say that the quintet’s music consists of aggressive riffing, lots of breakdowns, concise guitar leads, and pissed-off-yet-varied vocals. Listening to "All of Our Beauty" brings to mind bands such as Devildriver, Arch Enemy, At the Gates, and…
"A Prelude Into Emptiness" was an incredibly bombastic overblown piece of progressive metal that sounded as uninspired as it was truly uncatchy. Somehow, some way, the band managed to create a longer album, more bombastic and more overblown album but upped the ante in terms of uncatchiness. Read: not a single track retained by my…
The Italian quartet bearing the rather clever (?) name of The Brain Washing Machine released "Connections" just a few weeks ago, and stylistically speaking these guys lean toward a groovy and somewhat varied mix of modern rock and hard rock with a dose of grunge and stoner rock thrown in for good measure. Truth be…
The 12th studio album from death/groove metal band Six Feet Under, "Torment" features a new guitarist in Ray Suhy – as well as twelve new tracks that run the gamut from mid-paced affairs to occasional faster numbers featuring some blast beats. The problem for full enjoyment again resides in the rhythmic barking underworld growls of…
The German (hard) rock quartet known as Piledriver, which is primarily a Status Quo tribute band, released this 13-track album of theirs containing original material back in October 2016 via Rockwall Records, but for some reason the promo did not find its way to my pile of stuff to review until quite recently. Nevertheless, we…
Hamburg, Germany’s Warpath released four albums during the early 1990’s before ending in 1996. 19 years later, they reformed with only vocalist Dirk Weiss remaining from the first incarnation, assembling a brand-new lineup for the fifth studio record "Bullets for a Desert Session". These 12 songs cross the lines of doom, thrash and hardcore –…
The fuck is this, an instrumental djent demo?! The entire duration of this album all I hear is good ideas for actual songs but the prevalent motive seems to be djent. Djent in the morning, djent in the afternoon, djent in the evening. Songs do not much differ from each other and within. Ok, so…
"Obedience" is my first encounter with the French modern sounding thrash metal outfit known as Dead Cowboy’s Sluts. To my rotten ears, these guys incorporate quite a few metalcore influences as well, but mostly they just bring to mind bands such as Machine Head, Pantera, Pissing Razors, and Devildriver. I haven’t listened to the band’s…
Thirteen Bled Promises is an insanely brutal deathcore band hailing from Spain, and this album of theirs entitled "The Black Legend" is a follow-up to their 2012 debut album. The music spawned by these guys is pure fucking lunacy. Elements of death- and grind metal are thrown in for good measure, but that does not…
Are audiences really clamoring for death growls with their traditional metal favorites? If so, this fourth edition of Six Feet Under’s "Graveyard Classics" series will whet your appetite. Metal Blade CEO Brian Slagel handpicked five Judas Priest songs and six Iron Maiden songs for vocalist Chris Barnes and the Florida death metal troop to put…
The second album from Italy’s Housebreaking is a 9 track adventure into groove metal with occasional modern inflections. These songs have a lot of trademarks of old Coal Chamber, Devildriver, and a pinch of Rammstein – simplistic, low-tuned guitar hooks, repetitive and equally minimalized hoarse vocal patterns, plus bass and drums that hone in that…
This is the debut album for Swiss heavy metal quintet Headless Crown – an 11 song record entitled "Time for Revolution". Taking approximately three years to assemble the right musicians, the sound is very street level and focused on easily identifiable hooks from both musical and vocal perspectives. It’s clear to hear that Saxon, Accept,…
Ossicles is a Norwegian duo consisting of two cousins, Bastian Veland and Sondre Veland, who handle all the instruments on this sophomore album of theirs entitled "Music for Wastelands" themselves. Before I start raving about how much this album does not appeal to me, let it be known that I do applaud Karisma Records for…
Normalt er jeg veldig glad i extreme death metal fra Sør-Amerika og da spesielt Brasil. Bandene Rebaelliun, Krisiun, Nephasth og til dels også The Ordher er alle band jeg liker veldig godt. Nå er Nephasth historie og gitaristene bestemte seg for å fortsette sammen og startet et nytt band som de har kalt Burn the…
A six piece metal act who fuse punk, grunge, nu-metal and metalcore together, Greece’s One Year Delay on their debut album "Deep Breath" have a dynamic sound for certain. The monotonous semi-rapping brings Linkin Park to mind, but musically songs like "Headhunters" and "Miss You" have this alluring spectrum of bass and keyboard sounds that…
The 12th studio album from Canada’s Kataklysm, "Of Ghosts of Gods" has an even more commercial melodeath feel than their last album "Waiting for the End to Come". Possibly even modern in spots for the down-tuned opening guitar hook choice within "Thy Serpents Tongue", tracks like "Breaching the Asylum" and "Carrying Crosses" take on a…
‘M’ has been hailed in the press as the future of Black Metal. A pretty annoying and aggrandising statement, I’m sure you will agree. Correct me if I’m wrong but BM has been doing fairly well up to now, and if this is going to be the future I will be getting my kicks elsewhere.…
To/Die/For came back from a self-imposed two year hiatus to impressive results on their sixth studio album "Samsara" in 2012. The same cannot be said for the follow up "Cult". Where do the problems start? Auto-tune elements in "Screaming Birds", the abysmal slower tempo cover for the Paula Abdul pop classic "Straight Up", electro-orientation during…
Fra Montreal, Canada kommer grindcorebandet Nervous Impulse. Bandet ble startet opp i 2009 og "Time to Panic" er deres andre fullengder. De spiller en brutal og litt kaotisk variant av grindcore. Ikke noe jeg personlig er større fan av. Jeg finner litt her og der jeg kan like, men i det store og hele er…
Her er den 38. utgivelsen i «Thrash is Back» serien til EBM Records. Serbiske Deadly Mosh og deres «United in Pain». De spiller etter sigende thrash metal. Jeg mener dette er mer heavy metal enn thrash. Noe thrash finnes det på denne skiva, men hovedmengden musikk burde kommet inn under kategorien heavy metal. Ja da,…
Bavaria, Germany’s Cruizzen live for that older hard rock ideal on this 13 song effort "Free Ride". A lot of the live free, pedal to the metal ethic shines on "Straight down Dirt", while "Soundmaker" and "Sparkplugs Blowing" combine a lot of early Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Rose Tattoo charm. Alexander Mayer could be Brian Johnson’s…
A keyboard heavy power metal sextet, Nexus Opera hail from Italy and although starting their band in 2002, we finally get a debut album in "Tales from WWII" 12 years later. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been worth the wait, as in my opinion the drumming, overall hooks and arrangements never elevate themselves above the pack in…
