Siege Perilous – Creation’s Call (Self-Released)
The intersection of fantasy, role-playing, and heavy metal has been active since the beginning of this genre. A symbiotic relationship that promotes strength, unity, hope through even the testiest of times. Denver-based power metal...
Avernus – Grievances (M-Theory Audio)
1992 marks the starting point of this Chicago act – who released a series of demos plus an album in 1997 with …of the Fallen that established Avernus as a promising band that crossed...
Tomb Mold / Horrendous / Pariah / Chaos Relic – July 20, 2024 – Will’s Pub, Orlando, FL
Photos by: Brittany Barkasi
It indeed has been a bit since this writer has done a live review. Truth be told, a number of enticing tours haven’t been within a manageable distance, and the whole...
Voodoo Kiss – Feel the Curse (Reaper Entertainment)
The resurrection of German heavy / power metal act Voodoo Kiss came because of the Summer Breeze festival. Originally resting in 2000, come 2022 they would hit the stage with a mix of original...
Mamaleek – Vida Blue (The Flenser)
Mamaleek is weird. There's honestly no other word to describe the band. Every time the anonymous brothers from San Francisco and Beirut release music, the listener can never expect what to get. But the...
Thermality – The Final Hours (Sound Pollution/ Black Lodge)
Born in 2020, Swedish act Thermality slowly released a series of singles before independently issuing their debut album Before I Get to Rest in 2023 and follow-up EP Tales From the North in the...
Dark Tranquillity – Discovering Emotions
When it comes to melodic death metal, Dark Tranquillity stand not only as godfathers, but also one of the most consistent acts around. While in more recent years they've had some big line-up changes,...
SkyEye – New Horizons (Reaper Entertainment)
Writers who put decades into their craft when it comes to metal journalism often find fortune in watching the career arc of bands from the independent/ DIY ranks on through to solid label deals....
REZN – Burden (Sargent House)
The post-ISIS world of post-metal still generates a handful of bands worth investigating. Now, that may have as much to do with the appeal of the style as it does with the need to...
Dark Tranquillity – Endtime Signals (Century Media)
Four years removed from Moment, arguably one of Dark Tranquillity's strongest albums in quite some time, they have finally returned to reclaim their position as one of melodic death metal's reigning kings. As with...
Mushroomhead – Still Learning, Still Hungry
A mainstay in the heavy music world for thirty years at this point, Mushroomhead stand at the cusk of releasing their ninth album, Call the Devil (their second for Napalm Records). Given the band's...
Oxygen Destroyer – Guardian of the Universe (Redefining Darkness Records)
A weapon used to kill Godzilla in the original 1954 movie, Northwest-based unit Oxygen Destroyer has one of the coolest names in the metal realm as of late. Makes sense that the band would...
A Night in Texas – Digital Apocalypse (Unique Leader)
Back for their fifth album since forming back in 2009, Australia's (yes, that's right) A Night in Texas return with Digital Apocalypse. The deathcore act has gone through a number of vocalists through the...