Album Reviews

Richard Thompson returns with a brand new, guitar driven record titled ELECTRIC for Proper Records. Recorded by famed producer Buddy Miller at his home studio in Nashville Texas with Michael Jerome and Taras Prodaniuk completing the core elements of the trio on drums and bass respectfully. Buddy Miller also supplies …

One of the true legends of the prog rock movement – he produced no less than 16 albums collectively with Spock’s Beard and Transatlantic before the (perceived) conflict between his own spiritual beliefs and the demands of performing with secular musicians sent him down his own individual path… Over recent …

I’ve often accused black metal of being staid and derivative, content to rest on its laurels:  but, part of the excitement which initially drew me to what I regard as real darkened extremism was the way in which BM artists were prepared to experiment and push their boundaries to their …

The third album from Swedish doom crew Kongh is not one which is for the faint-hearted.  For a start, its four tracks clock in at around three-quarters of an hour (give or take a few seconds here or there) long. This is loud, dirty, brutal, bruising doom metal of the …

  This album is the first Sarced Steel Album for 4 years. The songs in the album has 2 styles. Some songs like Storm Of Fire 1916′ remind me on Kreator in the 80s . All in all the album is harder than the previous albums  ‘Carnage Victory’ and ‘Hammer …

Death By Fire has its roots set so deep in the 80’s it should come with a free pair of white open topped trainers and drainpipe jeans! The 3rd full length studio release by Stockholm based metallers Enforcer is a short,sharp shock  of over the top metal mayhem. It reminds …

Steve Souza is back and  with a vengeance to show the young thrash metal upstarts how thrash metal should be done! At the ripe old age of 48 he has lost none of his venom and to use a song title from one of his previous bands,he still truly sounds …

Dante produce one of the finest Prog Metal albums you will ever hear.   Formed in 2006, Dante have previously released two albums to notable acclaim in their native Germany and beyond. ’November Red’ marks the bands debut release for new label, Massacre Records and a thoroughly accomplished and moving …

Airless are a four-piece hard rock band hailing from Spain, who formed in January 2002 and had their self-titled debut album out a mere six months later. They signed to Lion Music in 2005 and released second album 2nd Round that year and third effort Fight in 2008, even finding time to …

” A masterful fusion of old school Power and Thrash Metal, delivered with a bang up to date, cutting edge sound” Bursting forth from the cold Northern lands that are otherwise known as Alberta, Canada are Edge Of Attack, a five piece band that are about to shake things up …

Huldre produce an excellent Folk Metal record that is really hard to fault.     Folk Metal, Pagan Metal, call it what you will, the genre has continued to grow and develop over recent years, bands like Korpiklaani and Adorned Brood for example have all made their mark on the …

It’s been quite a ride for Welsh quartet Bullet for My Valentine. They gatecrashed the metal world almost a decade ago with debut album The Poison (time flies, doesn’t it?) and since then have toured with both Iron Maiden and Metallica, headlined arenas across the UK and even had prime time …

Music aside, the industrial “scene” so to speak is at once compelling and completely perplexing, for while there exists a healthy number of acts who have attained considerable success despite the often violent, machine-like and vastly uncommercial tendencies it possesses (Combichrist themselves are often described as “aggrotech”), it’s never had …

Serpent are a young – make that ridiculously so – thrash band from the historic market town of Cookstown (best known for its amazing sausages and having the widest high street in the British Isles!), in that part of Norn Iron known as being “west of the Bann”, and therefore …

Last year, Finland’s Jess and the Ancient Ones delivered their eponymous full length debut. A superb release, with an eloquent combination of 60’s prog rock and occult lyricism.  Having previously released standalone track “13th Breath of the Zodiac” on 7” single in 2011, it is no surprise that they have …

This Spanish band formed 2010 and this is their first official release. This manky low-fi black/death/doom on first listen is fuzzy and unintelligible. After a few listens the riffs start to appear from the sonic mist and the low growls. This band is coming from the old school and have …

Formed 2007 and hailing from Italy they have been a busy band with 10+ releases behind them. Here on offer is 80’s thrash with punk influences along the lines of Trench Hell and to a lesser extent the likes of Destroyer666. The production is excellent and the two 3 minute …

It’s hard to take Lordi seriously – but, by equal measure, it is hard not to take them seriously. Over the past 21 years – or 11 years in recording terms – Mr Lordi and the various vagabonds with whom he has teamed up on his quest to world domination …

It seems that world-domination wasn’t quite enough for Biffy Clyro. Following the mainstream success of Only Revolutions a few years ago, plus their already-popular Puzzle album, the band has recently seen their success go from strength to strength in a very short space of time, and before they knew it, Biffy Clyro …

On first listen, you could be forgiven for thinking that Helker are German: in fact, they hail from that renowned hotbed of heavy metal Argentina, with ‘Somewhere In The Circle’ being their fourth album but the first to be both recorded in English and gain an international release, thanks to …