RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://www.witherfall.com/ The following expose is not a mere review – it is a personal reflection by a listener reborn.There are moments in a music fan’s life when an album doesn’t just impress—it devastates, heals, confronts, and ultimately resurrects you. Sounds Of The Forgotten²⁰²⁴, the fourth full-length offering from Los Angeles…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://helheim.bandcamp.com/album/hrabnar-ad-vesa It is a thrillingly peculiar thing when one receives a promotional disc for a new album by Viking metal legends Helheim in the sense that you never quite know to expect from them except for all-out quality, which is a great thing, because these veterans never fail to amaze this scribe…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/bowie-odyssey-75 The sixth entry in Simon Goddard’s magnificent and irresistible series of books on the life and times of the inimitable David Bowie in the seventies is yet another exquisitely written and perfectly compiled piece of work that leaves nothing to be desired. While Bowie Odyssey 70 was an enjoyable read, it…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://www.woundcollector.com/ For my second perfect score review this year (yet concerning last year) I’ve chosen the Belgian progressive death metal quintet uniquely named Wound Collector and their 1st EP after 2 full lengths, Begging For Chicxulub²⁰²⁴ independently released last June 15th. What makes this outfit compelling is how they seamlessly…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://nightrage.com/ Although one of the Gothenburg melodic death metal three, In Flames, had stopped making music with the “wow” effect (to borrow from a commercial) after the fantastic Clayman²⁰⁰⁰, arguably they haven’t stopped making melodeath until after Reroute To Remain²⁰⁰², Soundtrack To Your Escape²⁰⁰⁴ where they started Kornizing their sound. It…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://www.ulcerate-officia.com/ Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? – Epicurus As soon…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024 BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/BloodRedThroneOfficial https://bloodredthrone.bandcamp.com/music I’m going to go on the record and say something this review will prove beyond reasonable doubt: if you don’t like Blood Red Throne you don’t like death metal. Blood Red Throne (BRT) is a band whose music I know intimately thanks to their main founder and one…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://gjenferdbergen.bandcamp.com/album/gjenferd This stunning and ridiculously well-written not to mention infectiously catchy debut effort by the Norwegian outfit named Gjenferd is one of the best things that has happened to me this year. By Odin, this is so fucking awesome and inspired that I lack words, and that rarely happens, mind you.…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://vestindien.bandcamp.com/album/verdande In all honesty, I did not think it possible for the uniquely gifted masterminds behind Vestindien to top or better their flawless debut offering entitled NULL, but by some perverted and wonderful miracle these six twisted souls have conjured up a new work of radiant brilliance that transcends barriers and…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/frontpage/products/heady-daze-the-mission-years-1985-1990-published-on-25th-august-2022 This scribe was madly in love with the inimitable Wayne Hussey’s previous autobiography (or rather the first part of what is presumably a trilogy), namely the brilliant and ridiculously entertaining Salad Daze from 2019. His latest literary output, Heady Daze, picks up where its predecessor ended, and as its title…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://facebook.com/omniumgatherumband While most bands either break or make it by their third album, few drop a debut near masterpiece (Spirits And August Light²⁰⁰³), remain puzzingly average and underdeveloped for the next three albums (Years In Waste²⁰⁰⁴, Stuck Here On Snakes Way²⁰⁰⁷, The Red Shift²⁰⁰⁸)and just when you’re about to give…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://www.tribulation.se/ I remember once listening to The Formulas Of Death²⁰¹³ and later The Children Of The Night²⁰¹⁵ (which came out after The Horror²⁰⁰⁹, the debut after 5 years from Tribulation’s conception) and praising the melodic death metal the founders Johannes Andersson (bass, vocals) and Paul Adam “Zaars” Zars (guitars) then…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/vast-reaches-unclaimed Finally, an album I can honestly give a top score in a good while, “Vast Reaches Unclaimed” from the Minnesotan melodic death metal trio Majesties is very aptly named and a debut at that. In fact, I should call this old school melodic death metal as, if In Flames’…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022 BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/ Following the publication of last year’s “Bowie Odyssey 71”, yours truly had been eagerly awaiting its follow-up, and what a treat it now is to be able to tell you that we are dealing with a sparkling new literary gem here. Simon Goddard’s story is an engrossing account of Bowie’s…
RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/infanteriasa Volcanic and propulsive, Infanteria lay siege to all and sundry with their latest album, the explosive ‘Patriarch’. The title alone speaks of an aversion to the current social climate, a climate steeped in a belligerent form of liberal fascism that stifles self-expression and freedom of speech beneath the guise of…
It was a bit of a surprise to head that Live Nation is organizing a concert with Alice Cooper at Spektrum, which is a venue with very high capacity and not that the might Aice Cooper doesn’t deserve a sold out stadium, but it feels like there’s not enough people willing to attend the nightmareish…
VENUE: Sentrum Scene DATE: 05.06.2022 ORGANIZER: Rockefeller PHOTOGRAPHER: C. Nepper Photos copyrights belong to the photographer. No unauthorized usage allowed. Please contact photographer if you wish to reuse images in any context. The legendary thrash metal pioneers that are Megadeth paid Norway’s capital city a visit on a warm and sunny Sunday night in…
The Australian progressive neofolk black/death metal one man act Aquilus (meaning something male dark-colored and swarthy) has just (December 3rd) released its second full-length, "Bellum I", which comes ten years after the also fantastic if slightly inferior debut, "Griseus"²⁰¹¹. The level of musical genius which had gone into the making of this new masterpiece is…
Renowned artist Barry Adamson’s recently published autography is nothing short of a literary revelation. Many fine and hugely memorable memoirs and music-related books have seen the light of day this year, but the evocatively titled "Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars" undoubtedly sits at the very top of that list and is simply…
How do you define a perfect thrash metal album in the XXI-st century? Firstly, it helps a lot if your roots go all the way back to the roots of the genre (1985) even if you disappear for 5 and then for 14 years and your first life didn’t result so much as in a…
