Album Reviews

One thing keeps me interested in UFO, and that is Phil Mogg, the singer of UFO (and joint founding member along with Pete Way) since the band formed in 1969, I was 4 then. Phil’s vocals are still solid; if slightly lacking in power since the hay day of UFO …

Swedish black metal icons Marduk jump back to the front with their new concept album, ‘Frontschwein’ – and it is something else!  ‘Frontschwein’ is a German colloquial term among soldiers since World War I that sarcastically described the soldiers on the front as mere cannon fodder.  It means “Front Pig” …

This album plays out like the soundtrack of a movie. Sadly the movie was never made… However, luckily for us, the music was… Perfectly structured, each track flows effortlessly into the next… Taking the listener on a sonic voyage… The listener in this case is me and it is with …

Blind Guardian is a special band; a band that has laughed in the face of convention since day one and have created some of the seminal classics of the power metal genre. With a legacy as powerful how will new release Beyond The Red Mirror fare in the land of …

@planetmosh reviews As The Crow Flies by .@LaceWeeper on .@momusicfr As The Crow Flies is the debut album from Irish four piece Lace Weeper, due to be released on March 2nd.   The band was formed in 2011 by guitarist Matt Hayward and vocalist Sebastian Florek. Os Andres (bass) and Kevin Liffey …

Sometimes an album, or even a band, is of its time.  This re-issued debut from New Jersey (at the time) upstarts Exxplorer definitely falls into that categorization – but, in a good way. Quite rightly, when first released three decades ago, ‘Symphonies Of Steel’ was regarded as a groundbreaking album, …

With a cast of infamous characters that reads like a short who’s who of the California desert rock scene, Mojave Lords are a lake of fire indeed. Featuring core members David Catching, Kevin Richey, Brian O’Connor, and Joey Castillo, the band has released an aggressive ten song debut, neologically dubbed …

Chris Appleton is perhaps best known to PM readers as the lead vocalist with his band Absolva, as well as the lead guitarist with former Wolfsbane/Iron Maiden frontman Blaze Bayley’s touring band.  To others, he might just be familiar as the brother of Iced Earth’s Luke Appleton.  He’s also part …

The latest cd I received via the postman was from a Glaswegian three piece rock band who I had never heard of before, however a quick look on their Facebook page gives me enough clues that this should be good, 4000 plus likes must mean they are doing something right. …

Satan’s Host are one of those rare bands that the much over-used musical terminologies “cult” and “underground” most definitely can be applied – and liberally! After forming around the nucleus of guitarist Patrick Evil and vocalist Leviathan Thisiren (otherwise known by his real name of Harry Conklin, frontman of Jag …

For extreme metal, anno 2015 is off to a good start, with Johansson & Speckmann‘s second studio effort, Mask of the Treacherous, being released through Vic Records. This nine-song album features Ribspreader‘s Rogga Johansson, teamed up with Master‘s Paul Speckmann. The studio-only collaboration showcases the musical and songwriting acumen of …

The scene is set by the rumble of bass, before the super smooth crunch of guitar enters the fray. With more bite than the lion enclosure at Chester Zoo, this is the sound of rock. What we have here is Nyemba, the new album from Botswanan metal outfit Skinflint. Calling …

Visigoth from Salt Lake City, Utah released an impressive mini lp in 2013 which was picked up by Sarlacc and the much respected Cruz De La Sur. This mini LP was filled with a traditional heavy metal attack that landed them a deal with Metal Blade who has released this …

    This debut full length album has been on my radar for some time, ever since I stumbled across the ‘Prophecy Of Doom’ 7” that surfaced a while back, I had been chomping at the bit to see whether this project could continue to evolve. A full blown band, …

We’re only just into the first few weeks of 2015, but already I think I’ve just found the first of my top ten albums of the year!! Whiskey Myers is one of those groups you hope and wait will come along one day and then when they do, they proceed …

@planetmosh reviews Pornograffitti by .@ExtremeBand on .@UMC and .@Polydor Lots of things happened in 1990.  I started secondary school, Italy hosted the World Cup, which was won by West Germany, the last time a divided Germany would ever compete, and Extreme released Pornograffitti.  On February 9th they’ll re-release it to celebrate …

There is one thing for sure – if one would have to pick the Spanish thrash metal band in a blink of the eye, it would be Angelus Apatrida. Rolling in the thrash metal scene since 2000, this band already has proved themselves and are definitely one of most known …

Hyena, the fourth studio album by Cripper is so overwhelming I gave up taking notes about halfway through listening to it as it is almost impossible to describe these eleven tracks of an almost perfect mix of thrash and death metal. The focal point of the band for me is …

Suited and booted quirky Belgian rockers Triggerfinger return with their newest offering ‘By Absence of the Sun‘ their follow up to 2010’s ‘All This Dancing Around’ recorded in LA by Greg Gordon (Slipknot, Slayer, White Zombie & System of a Down) ‘By Absence of the Sun’ opens with the ‘Game‘ …

Unhold split up in 2012 after being together for 20 years. They released 3 full-length albums but it has been 7 years since the last release, so here they are back in 2015 with a new lineup and a most challenging affair of a new album. Most of the influences …