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 […]
Swedish band Saffire are a melodic metal outfit with classic hard rock leanings – active since 2005 and one of those acts that released their first demo during the Myspace era. They’ve been on four Read more […]
Suldusk brought a certain melancholy and stirring of emotions with their 2019 debut, Lunar Falls. Then the brainchild of solely Emily Highfield, it was a poignant and occasionally explosive release that Read more […]
You can feel the rubber meets the road with all speakers cranked full volume to take in the sound of Toxikull. Hailing from Portugal, they have two previous full-lengths under their belt – making Under Read more […]
Previously coming onto this scribe’s listening radar through a late 2020 album release Where the Stories Began, Theragon have only released a single “Blessed By the Storm” in 2022 while laying low Read more […]
No better time than a prolonged, enforced break to reassess where you want to go as a band. Take the case on display here for German thrash quartet Dust Bolt. Their last release Trapped in Chaos came out Read more […]
An active part of the US death metal scene on the recording front for the 1990’s (beyond a staple act on Milwaukee Metalfest), Morta Skuld probably to most readers would be one of those second-tier bands Read more […]
It’s rare, and I do mean rare, that symphonic metal of any kind moves my needle…until now. LEAH has a new album in The Glory and the Fallen, her sixth of her fruitful career and I dunno. Something about Read more […]
Change can be constant in the realm of underground metal. New York City-based death metal act Hypoxia formed in 2008, currently featuring a mix of members old and new for this third record Defiance with Read more […]
A country rich in power metal pedigree, Italy has established itself as a premiere territory for long-running quality between the work of acts like Labyrinth and Rhapsody Of Fire alone. The next generation Read more […]
Within the world of melodic death metal, there are many differing approaches. One who has paved a distinctive path is Spain’s Eternal Storm, melding the progressive, melodious, mournful, and straight Read more […]
Considering the usual output of Amaranthe, it’s a bit surprising to look back and see that The Catalyst is the first full-length from the band since jumping to Nuclear Blast Records for 2020’s Manifest. Read more […]
Containing a mix of seasoned players, some of whom are fairly well known in the hard rock / metal circles (guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal from Guns N’ Roses / Sons of Apollo, vocalist Jeff Scott Read more […]
Always on the lookout for new talent, Nulled is a contemporary quintet from Spain that since 2018 has been building their modern sound steadily. Releasing their previous opus Strokes of Reason in 2022, Read more […]
Arguably one of the first metalcore acts to really dive all in on more of a European (read: Gothenburg) sound with their material, Darkest Hour have been at it for decades now. Perpetual | Terminal is Read more […]
James Durbin may have hit the radar for most thirteen years back through his American Idol season in 2011 where he would finish in fourth place – but to readers of this site, they know the man has a Read more […]
Illumishade’s debut, 2020’s Eclyptic: Wake of Shadows, was an impressive first offering that brought listeners into a sweeping, musical world that felt magical and whimsical without losing that all important Read more […]
Of all the genres within metal, the best use of conceptual or specialized theme storylines probably occurs for the power metal movement. Finnish band Metal De Facto for example developed 2019’s debut Read more […]
Originally going by Alcotopia for almost a decade, Lithuania’s Night Slasher brandish a blackened speed metal mix through this self-titled debut record. Adorning leather, chains, corpse paint while holding Read more […]
I’ve been a Revolution Saints fan since their self-titled first album in 2015. Deen Castronovo on drums AND lead vocals?? Oh, where do I sign up? Hell, I’ve reviewed every album with no intention of stopping Read more […]
Wisconsin band Morbid Saint gained notoriety over the years through the underground for their 1990 album Spectrum of Death – taking elements of thrash into a deadlier direction a la other bands of that Read more […]
Re-energizing that early 90s sound of the infamous Norwegian black metal scene, Hulder took the landscape by storm via a duo of heralded demos in 2018, quickly followed by an EP Embraced by Darkness Mysts… Read more […]
Ah, Spectral Voice – Blood Incantation’s slightly less talked about cousin, but my oh my is that about to change. The trio of Paul Riedl, Morris Kolontyrsky, and Jeff Barrett have received gobs of fanfare Read more […]
Certain spots in the world can be emblematic of the style that spews forth from its musicians. Many may not expect Portland, Oregon to possess an old school death metal style act with influences across Read more […]
Berlin, Germany represents home turf for EXA, one of many new generation acts putting their own stamp on thrash metal. Issuing their debut EP Ignite in 2018 and debut album Cut the Past in early 2020, Read more […]
