Album Reviews

“Where stories unfold” is the third album from Austrian band Illuminata.  They released their debut EP, “Lachrymal” in 2007 and in 2008 followed it with their debut album, “From the Chalice of Dreams”.  In late 2011 they released their second album “A World So Cold”.  Now at the start of …

Internationally acclaimed music legends Black Star Riders‘s ten track “second album, The Killer Instinct, is released via Nuclear Blast. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Mastodon, Rush), The Killer Instinct is hard rock in the classic tradition.” In 2012, the band was formed, and contains three former members of Thin Lizzy: …

When Damon Johnson and Ricky Warwick were writing their previous album, All Hell Breaks Loose, they were unsure whether it was going to be a Thin Lizzy album or something else, something that rose from the ashes of Lizzy.  This time around, and with a couple of years of playing as Black Star …

It’s been a long time since Thunder last released an album – in fact it was a year before their farewell show.  Which one I hear you ask?  I’m referring to the 2009 “20 years and out” farewell shows as opposed to their previous attempt to retire.  Happily retirement didn’t …

British Singer-songwriter Ian Siegal has won seven British Blues Awards and has been nominated twice for the U.S Blues awards.  He released his first album in 2002, but it wasn’t till last year that he released his first live album.  Now he’s following it up with another live album.  Two …

British melodic metal band Control The Storm come from the South West of England.  It’s been 4 years since their demo disc was released, but now with a new singer they’ve finally got their debut album ready to release.  The album was produced by the band’s keyboard player Raedon Mac …

Hailing from São Paulo, Jupiterian play the sort of funereal doom-laden sludge metal that is darker and denser than the rainforests which surround their home city. This EP was originally released in Brazil last July (and subsequently has been succeeded by a second EP, ‘Proclamation’, in the latter part of …

Quasi-witty or ‘cheesy’ title aside, Terror Empire‘s second full-length release, The Empire Strikes Black, is one pummeling slab of old-school cool death metal. A young Portugese band, founded in 2009, Terror Empire sound a bit like they’re part of the “revivalist” faction discussed previously on PlanetMosh. The concept is simple: …

When you are an artist of any medium you expose yourself. Particularly when you release any product of your creative endeavour.  Even as a reviewer you are liable to a difference of opinions from those that read your musings. The home studio has become so affordable in recent years that …

Just before Christmas, former Judas Priest guitarist K K Downing revealed that, despite a prolonged period of silence, he had not totally left the metal scene behind, by revealing that he was releasing not a new album but a range of fragrances named after the genre in which he in turn …

Italy’s Game Over, founded in 2008, has presented fans with a crisp, 13-track re-release of their 2012 debut disc, For Humanity. A word being thrown around these days in some metal circles is “revival”, with practitioners labeled “revivalists”. Thrash and speed metal arguably had their heyday around the same time …

Hailing from Denmark, Forever Still is a 4 piece band fronted by the super talented Maja Schønning. To date they have released two EP’s, the second of which, ‘Scars’ was unleashed towards the end of 2014. The EP’s are set to combine with two further releases and be released as …

This is the first of a set of special 20th Anniversary live releases. It is a recording taken from what has become amongst their fans in particular, a legendary performance by Gov’t Mule on 31st October 2008 at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. The special edition CD box set …

Finnish melodic folk-death metal band Ensiferum has released their sixth studio album through Metal Blade Records, titled One Man Army. The band, which takes it’s name from a Latin word translating to “Sword bearing,” has included 15 aggressive tracks, counting the four bonus tracks, for eager fan consumption. Overall, One Man …

When the NWOBHM came to be in the late 1970’s it brought forth bands of various rock/metal styles, some of which made the big league and some of which did not and split but reformed to give it another try. Birmingham based Quartz are a prime example of one of …

Spinefarm records are reissuing four albums by The Almighty under the ‘RE-F**KIN’-ISSUES banner.  Two albums are to be reissued on 9th February with the other two following later in the year.  As part of the Universal group, Spinefarm are re-issuing them as Deluxe editions and as with other Universal deluxe …

Spinefarm records are reissuing four albums by The Almighty under the ‘RE-F**KIN’-ISSUES banner.  Two albums are to be reissued on 9th February with the other two following later in the year.  As part of the Universal group, Spinefarm are re-issuing them as Deluxe editions and as with other Universal deluxe …

“T-byrds are go” is the debut EP from Australian band Tequila Mockingbyrd.  The name is a nice play on the famous novel by Harper Lee (To Kill a mockingbird).  Tequila Mockingbird are a three-piece all-female band from Melbourne, and play some great rock and roll.  While bands like Airbourne or …

This is the second album from up and coming UK based progressive metal band HeKz. ‘Caerus’ follows on from the self-released debut album ‘Tabula Rasa’ which was warmly received. HeKz consists of Matt Young on bass guitar and vocals, Alastair Beveridge on electric and acoustic guitars, Tom Smith on electric …

Bast are a 3 piece from London who deals in Doom and suffocating atmospheres. They have been on the circuit now for 6 years and in that time have perfected their sound whilst supporting the likes of Ufomammut, Bong and more recently with Conan. “In the Beginning” plunges headfirst into …