From their beginnings as Zodiac in Furstenfeld,Austria,the signing to Noisehead Records earlier in 2011 prompted a name change to Blasphemist to fit a new musical direction.The 6 piece band play technical/melodic/death metal and considering this is their debut album,they now have an arsenal of excellent material for future gigs. Considering …

Behemoth fans are in for a treat with this release. Demonica is a 2xcd 23 song compilation box set compiled from demo’s,unreleased and re-recorded songs.Only 10,000 are for sale and include an A5 digipack,slipcase and a 44 page book with rare photos and lyrics. The bulk of Demonica comes from:- …

Well this is a true phoenix rising from the flames story!Dutch metal band Martyr,formed in 1982 in Utrecht,Holland but disbanded in 1987 are now a full time band again.Circle of 8 is released via Metal Blade Records on November 8th.Martyr were also featured on the Metal Massacre VI compilation also …

  Agincourt.Even by the name of the band,one can conjure up what is in store here.Classic hard rock/ metal played by experienced musicians.To my ears it is unashamedly NWOBHM.Big riffs,catchy hooks/choruses,no ott guitar solos,just written to fit the mood of the song and a lung busting vocalist.The vocalist here is …

Supporting Evile at this gig,2nd onstage on a 4 band bill,Apollyon shook the rafters of Central Station with a set of lightspeed technical thrash metal.The 3 piece from Queensferry took no prisoners with frontman/bassist Gareth Owen summoning the ever growing crowd to the front.With only a short set in front …

To put it bluntly,on the 10th date of an 18 date tour,Evile lay waste to the rabid Wrexham crowd on Wednesday night.The Central Station is getting a well deserved reputation for booking some killer bands and Evile are a worthy addition to that ever growing list. I’ve seen the so …

From the riff that heralds the opening of the title track to the breakneck ending of closer The Wolf At Your Door,Lord Volture have created a heavy metal monster of an album.Released on Nov.11th, Never Cry Wolf contains 11 epic tracks. Epic is the only way to describe it as …

If Torture Garden do not take this comment the wrong way then their 2nd release Dead Romantic could be the soundtrack for the armageddon.It is so crushingly overbearing the listener feels like the weight of the world is on their shoulders.It would be unfair to dismiss it as a doom …

Well this is an interesting concept.A metal album created over the internet by 2 musicians who did not meet up until after the album was finished.Vocalist Brandon Hoover from North Michigan USA searched the internet site Compose to assemble a band.He came across a guitarist Carlos Enriquez from Florida who …

As usual,when reviewing an album,i listen to it before i read up on the band so i dont know what to expect.Look And Behold,the debut album from Sydney,Australia based band Lo! begins with the instrumental Hath.It sounds like an intro for a death metal band but surprisingly segues into Deluge(Carrnivorous …

Phew,this is intense stuff to say the least and definitely not for the faint hearted.I can honestly say that when i played this it was like hearing Slayer’s epic Reign In Blood for the 1st time.So basically if you like gutteral vocals,buzzsaw rhythm guitars with searing solos topped off by …

In my rough notes the 1st thing i jotted down after hearing the album was “bonkers but brilliant”!The name of the band suggests they are a thrash metal band but that is not the case.I can hear a lot of nwobhm in here with Deep Purple style keyboards thrown in …

“One Meniketti,theres only one Meniketti”.This chant rang around the room a few times during the show as it did when Y&T played here exactly a year ago.The Academy 3 was full then and also last Sunday.They are still touring on the back of the excellent Facemelter album but surely a …

At the end of Stampede’s set i posted on my facebook wall “Stampede stampeded Manchester” and they certainly did with a fantastic 6 song set opening for Y&T on selected UK dates.Rewind to the beginning of the evening and Stampede opened the show in fine style with Shadows Of The …

When i review an album i play it before i look at any info so i can approach it with an open mind.So as soon as the opening track Timeless Days exploded through my speakers i thought “what a voice,this guy sounds just like Tim Owens”.So i played the album,looked …

  According to Peter Griffin (Family Guy) then the bird is the word. Well, it has now been replaced by React. It is the 2nd track on 3’s new album The Ghost You Gave To Me and it is a bona fide classic. When the radio stations, youtube, etc pick …

Before the review,a quick word about tribute bands.Love em or hate em you have to admire their dedication.Personally i love em as i appreciate that its done for the love of the music.Most tribute bands have full time jobs so only really get to play their gigs at weekends and …

If you need to release some tension by throwing back your head and screaming “woooarghhh” then this forthcoming album by Livarkahil will certainly help you do that.11 tracks of punishing metal starting with the Manowaresque call to battle chant of In Nomine Patris to the military drumming pounding through the …

    My second Metal Blade review of the week and this was the most challenging.The album in question is The Great Southern Darkness by French metallers Glorior Belli.Due for release on Sept 27th it took a few plays to get my head around it.Vocally wise its roots are set …

    [media-credit id=4727 align=”alignnone” width=”300″][/media-credit] Hailing from Cincinnati,Rose Funeral have raised the benchmark in 2011 for their latest release Gates Of Punishment, tho the word bellow is more fitting than hail judging by the ferocity shown over the 11 tracks on display here.To be released on Sept.27th,Gates Of Punishment …