Given the vast display of colorful band descriptions, BRAT’s ‘barbiegrind’ and ‘bimboviolence’ still managed to stand out and provide some quick context of what the band is going for. Combine it with a Read more […]
Noteworthy as a South American band who literally push the pedal to the metal when it comes to thrash, Critical Defiance waste no time capitalizing on 2022’s No Life Forms album through this third studio Read more […]
Hailing from Kiel, Germany, Inner Axis represents the marriage of classic heavy metal influences channeled through some modern touches. Since their start in 2008, they’ve released two albums Into the Read more […]
It’s still pretty early in 2024, but the death metal has been flowing like a fine wine. I for one am not complaining, far from it. As long as I have a steady feeding of this and black metal, all is right Read more […]
Slow, gradual movement in the underground can often pay huge dividends when opportunity strikes to make a major move from DIY, self-released offerings to a burgeoning label deal with well-respected people Read more […]
Thrash metal continues to survive due to the influx of veteran bands continually recording/touring as well as a series of newer artists willing to put their own stake in the game. Finnish act Miehala began Read more […]
A newer band consisting of seasoned musicians across Germany and the United States, Cave combines elements of melodic hard rock and dramatic heavy metal influences for this debut album Out of the Cave. Read more […]
Always with an ear to the ground for the unusual, my musical explorations over the years have led down all kinds of wacky rabbit holes. Within those many discoveries, we’ve become more drawn to music Read more […]
Hard to believe it’s been five years since we’ve gotten new material from Dragonforce, the band that was unfortunately saddled with ‘that band from Guitar Hero’ tag that seemed to follow them everywhere Read more […]
During the first wave of thrash in the 1980s to early 90s, acts from all over the globe clamored for a piece of the burgeoning appeal that had a fervent fanbase captivated by the speedy tempos, machine Read more […]
Plain to see, a lot of the bands that this scribe is drawn to are on the heavier end of the spectrum, leaning towards death, black, and doom especially. Don’t let that fool you, as my sometimes twisted Read more […]
Long-time death metal and gore champions, Aborted don’t need much of an introduction anymore. Vault of Horrors is their 12th offering in almost 30 years of existence – the band has certainly paid their Read more […]
When Italian power metal band Kalidia called it quits in 2022, it was quite a bummer for anyone who had been following them. Their potent mix of classic and more modern influences, along with Nicoletta Read more […]
Doom metal has blossomed into this outward, expansive genre – incorporating all sorts of influences that can be dark, bluesy, gritty, and dismal all in the same outfit. Swedish band Saturnalia Temple Read more […]
Eager to enjoy artists from every part of the globe, Turbulence is a progressive metal/ rock outfit hailing from Lebanon – not exactly a country known for artists in this style. Since their inception Read more […]
After a decade-plus long absence from the scene, Before the Dawn came back with a vengeance through last year’s Stormbringers album. Latest vocalist Paavo Laapotti fits like a glove into this Finnish Read more […]
Hot on the heels of 2022’s Porpora, Vlad in Tears strikes while creatively on fire through this latest studio record Relapse. A year in the making, the trio would spend ten days together recording at Read more […]
Fresh off a two-part series where they reinterpreted electric versions of their songs into stripped-down renditions for the Acoustic Adventures Volume 1 and 2 releases in 2022, Sonata Arctica appears ready Read more […]
The one-man army known as Athenar returns for the sixth Midnight full-length platter, the appropriately titled Hellish Expectations. Ubiquitous in output (scroll Metal Archives for his lengthy discography Read more […]
Previously forming in 1984, Swiss act Messiah released five albums from 1986-1994, also being a part of the infamous Noise Records roster during the early 90s. They reformed in 2018, releasing their next Read more […]
Fifty years beyond Rocka Rolla the debut album for UK veterans Judas Priest, we now have before us the latest studio record Invincible Shield. Debate abounds as to the purity of the current lineup – Read more […]
When Profane Prayer the new album from thrash metal marauders Suicidal Angels hit my mailbox, to say I was excited is putting it mildly. The day had not been a very good one but that all changed with its Read more […]
Sadly, an icon in the metal realm passed away in Mark Shelton, leader of Manilla Road, back in the summer of 2018 after their gig at German festival Headbangers Open Air. The remaining members took a few Read more […]
A group that was easily to check off all of the ‘supergroup’ status boxes on, Kill the Lights contains ex/members of Bullet for my Valentine, Still Remains, Threat Signal, and Throw the Fight, and as such, Read more […]
As an ardent follower of traditional metal plus its offshoots, this scribe remembers during the 1990’s to early 2000’s that power metal didn’t exactly win over many US residents – the majority Read more […]
Located in the East Midlands of the UK, Devastator hails from Derbyshire County, a four-piece that displays a vicious form of blackened thrash metal through this second studio record Conjurers of Cruelty. Read more […]
Well-established as a potent voice across multiple acts in the melodic hard rock/ heavy metal spectrum, David Reece also has a healthy solo career that he’s been cranking up as of late. Baptized By Fire Read more […]
Although the releases have been spread out a bit compared to the early / mid 2000’s, one can always rest assured that there is a supreme benchmark aspect to the melodic heavy / power metal present from Read more […]
There are albums being released, and then there are events. In the case of Job For a Cowboy and their new album Moon Healer, one could argue that this is both. It’s been 10 years since Sun Eater, a record Read more […]
As these now aching bones have aged through the years (early 40s are a bitch), melancholic music has become more and more comforting. Though having been a major fan of acts like Katatonia and Anathema Read more […]