People struggle to position bands in specific categories. Record labels often find it’s easier to promote the latest and greatest thrash, death, doom, power, progressive, black, or folk metal act outside Read more […]
Straight ahead hard rock and heavy metal never loses its charm when done as well as you’ll hear with this Swedish band Battering Ram. Driving power chords, bluesy and gritty vocals, plus a swinging rhythm Read more […]
The thick of the summer (and its never-ending heat) has brought another round of Rapid Fires, our short review column. There’s plenty to chew on this month, including: Blitzkrieg, Chaos Magic, Ironhawk, Read more […]
Anthems of dwarven power/ folk metal might that transport the listener into fantasy realms with Tolkien and Warhammer themes – that’s the platform that Italian quintet Wind Rose travel down since their Read more […]
Focusing on an album of dream stories that are literal as well as allegorical and symbolic in sensibility, Swiss act Deep Sun embrace a love of symphonic metal/rock for this third album Dreamland – Behind Read more […]
Probably one of the quirkiest monikers in the music field, Elephants in Paradise are an Austrian act who develop a mix of alternative and progressive hard rock/metal, with pop, melodic, and modern sensibilities. Read more […]
Returning after a seven-year break from the recording studio with their third album Ashes & Bones, Devil’s Train showcases metal musicians developing material in more of a classic hard rock, bluesy/southern Read more […]
US power metal bands struggle often to attain the respect and popularity of their European counterparts. One act consistently making inroads to change that perception from Florida has been Seven Kingdoms. Read more […]
Austrian act Visions of Atlantis have come out of the pandemic resilient considering the tragic derailing of their 2020 North American tour opening for Dragonforce less than a week into March of that year. Read more […]
These days musicians can develop a melting pot of influences past and present, old school to modern, and shape things into a mold or niche that has a wide array of appeal. Swedish act Sole Syndicate are Read more […]
Ardent metalheads love getting into a band early in the game, watching the growth as musicians gain seasoning, experience, and confidence in their craft. With Michigan’s Temple of Void, the group releases Read more […]
It’s always exciting to hear premiere musicians’ express affinity for a specific style of music, get together, and end up releasing a new band and album that revives a movement that was delivering Read more […]
Now four albums into their career, Civil War have been able to establish their own credibility beyond the ex-Sabaton membership. This is high quality power metal in the European mold – stirring melodies, Read more […]
Always a staple of this scribe’s listening palate since the inception of the movement in the 1980’s, thrash metal has gone through its ups, downs, twists, turns, and transformations. Some musicians Read more […]
Veterans of the progressive metal scene, Seventh Wonder continue to enrich the lives of their faithful followers through a discography that resonates for those who love the genre. Releasing their most Read more […]
Continually challenging themselves and their listeners in a cinematic approach to symphonic death metal, Septicflesh aligns with Nuclear Blast in a new record deal for their eleventh studio album Modern Read more […]
Bringing thrash metal into a primal juggernaut of sound, featuring influences all across the board while adding some extreme and psychedelic elements into the experience, Sadistic Ritual hail from Atlanta, Read more […]
The May 2022 edition of Rapid Fires, our short review column, features the usual array of up-and-comers and scene veterans from all walks of metal life. If anything, the column shows the unabated versatility Read more […]
Originators of a movement during the 1990’s in fusing gothic music with heavy metal, German act Crematory have been together now for over thirty years. Keeping three-fifths of the group together since Read more […]
Rare is the day that a five-piece progressive metal lineup start together in 2007 and maintain that same membership fifteen years later – but that’s the case for Michigan progressive metal act Imminent Read more […]
Hailing from France, Spheric Universe Experience are a progressive metal act that have been together since 2002 releasing material that fits a lot of what may be traditional relating to the expectations Read more […]
When it comes to old school pure heavy metal and rock and roll, there’s no one quite like Anvil. Already infamous for spearheading a lot of the early thrash/speed metal movement for their first three Read more […]
One of the most distinctive voices in heavy rock and metal, Graham Bonnet continues to amaze and astound fans through his powerful range that is as soulful as it is majestic. You only need to look through Read more […]
Ardent heavy music followers are very familiar with the players involved in this act Motor Sister. Rhythm guitarist Scott Ian, bassist Joey Vera, and drummer John Tempesta carved out their niche in acts Read more […]
Continuing to develop a brutal form of thrash that contains a veritable influence pool that draws from doom, hardcore, death, and non-metal aspects, New Jersey’s Morbid Cross prove that there’s plenty Read more […]
Continually churning out high quality albums, Evergrey set the bar high when it comes to their songwriting, vision, and execution of ideas. A power/progressive metal style that has dynamic elements, lighter Read more […]
Brazil has always been a hotbed for classic traditional heavy metal – especially given Iron Maiden’s prowess headlining the massive Rock in Rio festival decades ago. Inspiration often breathes vitality Read more […]
Intertwining progressive metal with alternative, grunge, and groove elements, Iris Divine returns after five years with their latest record Mercurial. Featuring a new drummer in Scott Manley, the performances Read more […]
It’s another round of our Rapid Fire column, this time looking at a few releases from the month of March. Here are our quick hitting takes on a few releases from the diverse international metal scene, Read more […]
There aren’t many iconic metal singers still releasing albums at age 70. Remaining vital in a scene that has gone through numerous shifts, Udo Dirkschneider continues to deliver classic traditional metal Read more […]
