Norwegian based The Wretched End, formed in 2008 by ex Emperor/Zyklon member Samoth and ex Mindgrinder member Cosmo along with drummer Nils Fjellstrom have certainly released one of the most claustrophobic albums you may hear this year. It is their 2nd full length release after their 2010 debut Ominous. …

  Def  Con One (Defence Readiness Condition) is a warning that nuclear war is imminent and the debut album Warface by the band Def Con One could be the soundtrack to it! For example the drumming alone by ex-Venom member Antton Lant could be described in one of the album …

  Taking Root, the debut e.p by Bristol based band Black Wolf was recorded in March 2012, released in April and is a very impressive piece of hard rock/metal. 1st track  Stairway Ticket begins with a   ” one, two lets go ” with Scott Sharp sounding like a higher ranged …

The opening track of Apocalyptic Deadline begins with a beating heart which is the slowest beat on the album by Austrian metal band Deathtale. Guitars build up  and as the heartbeat flatlines   all hell literally breaks loose with next track  Suffering Rain. I was expecting  a death metal album to …

  After the 1st play  of this  3 track e.p by Coral Springs, Florida based band Marvlec, the 1st 2 words that sprung to mind were melody and muscle. The songs have the hooks for radio play but they still rock hard enough to keep metal fans happy. Also, considering …

There must be something in the water in Burnaby, Vancouver judging by the creation of this album by  “progressive death metallers”  Tribune. It has more time changes than an Axl Rose tour itinerary! For example, 1st track It Came From The Swamps starts with a croaking frog sample which leads …

  Even though i’m a fan of Dragonforce, their previous  album Ultra Beatdown in 2008  was  patchy to say the least but their latest release The Power Within surpasses it with ease. The departure of long standing  vocalist Z.P.Theart in 2010 may have cast a giant shadow over Dragonforce’s future …

The last few albums i’ve reviewed have been mainly thrash metal so now its time for some crushing doom metal from Rhode Island based 3 piece band Pilgrim. Formed in early 2010 they have released a stunning debut album, following on from their Forsaken Man e.p.  Misery Wizard is on …

Holy Moses may well be an unknown name to many metal fans but they were one of the 1st  German thrash metal bands after forming in Aachen, Germany in 1980. Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy seems to receive all the attention for a female fronting a heavy metal band but …

                                                                                                                                                    Following the re-releases of Strength Of Steel,Pound For Pound and Worth The Weight at the end of 2011, Steamhammer/SPV Records will be re-releasing the  4 Anvil albums that followed them, once …

This is not a new release by Dutch band Legion Of  The Damned but a re-release of their debut album  Malevolent Rapture  ( they had 5 albums released  under their previous name Occult ) as a tribute to their ex- bassist Twan Fleuren who took his own life in May …

I had the pleasure of catching up with Mem Von Stein, vocalist from Exumer via email for this interview.   1. Prior to Exumer reforming, did Ray approach you or did you approach Ray? We were getting so much mail over the years and it really did not stop after …

Formed in 1976 it is  correct to say that Accept are one of Germany’s high profile metal bands. Since their inception they are now on their 5th vocalist. Founding member Udo Dirkschneider left in 1987 ,rejoined in 1992 but after a band split from 2005-2009 he did not want to …

  GERMAN THRASH METAL IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE!! Well it never really went away but over the last few years classic German thrash metal bands have made welcome returns to the UK.  Accept have headlined Hammerfest and done a UK tour. Others like Kreator,Sodom,Destruction and Holy Moses have  all …

          Ronnie James Dio,born as Ronald James Padavona sadly left us almost 2yrs ago on May 16th 2010.  A sad day for many of us but we will always raise the devil horns listening to  the music he left behind!  So on that note, Universal Music …

The word genius surely applies to Marc Bolan ( Mark Feld ),best known as founder/lead singer/lead guitarist for T.Rex but also a successful solo artist. He also had his own television show,a feat that many so called glam rock artists of today cannot aspire to! He had the diversity to …

  On playing this album i recalled a quote from Geoff Barton when he reviewed Hell Awaits by Slayer for Kerrang (when it was worth reading) back in the 80’s. He said, “albums that make you throw back your head and shout woooooargh are few and far between”. Well,the debut …

  After about 12 months, the Nottingham based noisemongers Evil Scarecrow returned to The Sanctuary rock club in Burnley to show that the heavier side of metal has not got to be played with a frown but  to bring a hilarious sense of showmanship to their music but which  does …

  This is the sort of album which affirms my love of rock/metal for over 30yrs! Almost 50 minutes of metal overdose from RAM’s 3rd  full album release. The album starts and finishes with 2 atmospheric instrumentals. The 1st,Death is synth driven,accompanied by a chiming guitar over a monotone drum …

Kent based 5 piece band The Self Titled have certainly had a tumultuous 18 months since their formation. Line up changes and putting their debut album on hold for almost a year to concentrate on their live act have given them an edge judging by the quality of the 3 …