Primal Fear – Code Red (Atomic Fire Records)
Back in the late 90’s, classic/traditional metal received a bit of a shot in the arm thanks to the success of Hammerfall and Primal Fear – proving that there could be some newcomers to...
Vision Master – Sceptre (Gates of Hell Records)
A duo from Washington who have experience in numerous death, crossover, and heavy metal acts (namely Christian Mistress and Funerot), Vision Master draw from a mixture of old school, punk, and black metal influences...
Crucible of Hate – The Unknown Path (Self-Released)
It’s hopeful that seasoned musicians in a specific scene when connecting in a newer act will already have a lot of the chemistry/style issues worked out to just set forth on establishing themselves in...
Terminalist – Beware of Crisis
Photo: Theis Wilmer Poulsen
Dubbing themselves ‘hyperthrash’, Danish band Terminalist injects a progressive mindset in their style – incorporating elements across the heavy/extreme genres from black to melodic influences. Their second album The Crisis as...
Heads For the Dead – In the Absence of Faith (Pulverised Records)
An international act with ties across Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States – Heads for the Dead fuses a love for horror/thriller films with an engaging melodic death metal style. Already...
After Earth – The Rarity of Reason (Independent)
Melodic death metal is what paved the path to underground metal for this scribe. It goes without saying that this particular sub genre is one of deep personal importance. There have been ups and...
The Unity – The Hellish Joyride (Steamhammer/SPV)
Like many musicians during COVID-19 times, The Unity decided to wait on issuing their next studio album until the smoke proverbially cleared, live venues opening up to regular capacities again so that records could...
Art of Shock – Making Darkness Light Again
Another band that took the darkness of the pandemic into a positive as far as creativity, Los Angeles, California’s Art of Shock may have seemed bitter about the world shutting down after releasing their...
Orphalis – As the Ashes Settle (Transcending Obscurity)
The segmented subgenres of brutal and technical death metal, for this scribe anyway, tend to lean far too heavily into tired tropes. Many tech death bands forget about the death metal part of the...
Breforth – Metal in My Heart (Metalapolis Records)
Most metal historians probably are aware of the German heavy metal/hard rock unit Mad Max from the 1980’s – who still exist over forty years later cranking out albums. Main member Jürgen Breforth has...
Conquer Divide – Slow Burn (Mascot Recordings)
Stumbling across Conquer Divide's self-titled debut in 2015, it didn't quite click in all the right places though it had a few killer tracks (see "What's Left Inside" or "Nightmares"). It combined some aggressive...
Stitched Up Heart – Hungry like Wolves
Last time we chatted with Stitched Up Heart, it was before their sophomore effort Darkness in early 2020, just before COVID swept the world and shut everything down. The band persevered by seeking out...
Porta Nigra – Weltende (Soulseller Records)
Historically existing firmly within the peculiar, Porta Nigra are one of the unsung heroes of avant-garde black metal. This subgenre usually personifies the phrase of ‘expect the unexpected,’ and these Germans aren’t keen on...
Grand Cadaver – Deities of Deathlike Sleep (Majestic Mountain Records)
Amidst the renewed appeal of old school death metal, there are musicians who were a part of the original movement willing to rekindle that youthful passion for the cause again. That’s what we have...
U.D.O. – Touchdown (Atomic Fire Records)
Omnipresent as a force of metal, Udo Dirkschneider is a legend as a vocalist through his decades of work in Accept as well as U.D.O. There seems to be no desire to retire even...