Album Reviews

Re-issues are an unusual beast – usually there is an overt reason for a band ploughing their back catalogue, such as an anniversary or whatever: occasionally, they come out of the blue (or the black, in this case), without seeming to have any particular explanation for their presence… as appears …

At last the long wait for fans of Hanging Doll is almost over – the new album, “The Sacred & Profane” is due to be released on 30th April.  It’s been a long wait for fans of the band – their previous album, “Reason and madness” was released in 2008.  …

There are many bands on the scene at the moment who sound very similar to North Wales’s Impaled Existence, but the fact is, Impaled Existence have the songs to back up the extreme brutality present in their musical assault on the ear. Similar to the likes of Whitechapel, Veil of …

Running Wild is a band that brought the metal world classic metal anthems such as ‘Bad to Bone’, ‘Port Royal’ and ‘Pirate Song’, and it is such a shame to say that their latest effort entitled Shadowmaker is a huge disappointment compared to the rest of their rather epic back …

Wykked Wytch is a female fronted, gothic tinged death metal band from Miami, Florida. A band who have been on the scene for a fair few years now, Wykked Wytch have got better and better with each of their albums, progressing their talent as both musicians and song writers. The …

How can you have symphonic doom metal? Surely both these sub genres of metal cancel each other out; one being slow and heavy and one being fast and more melodic. This is 1614, the new album by Gothenburg based metal super group Opera Diabolicus. Made up of members of Therion, …

Ive been looking forward to reviewing this, but Christmas got in the way, and then a few rush jobs turned up, and this got knocked back down the list, however as time moved on, I knew I had to pull my finger out and write this up, so here goes. …

  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 Veil of Maya’s crushingly brilliant 2010 release entitled, [ID], the world though it was impossible for the band to better this astounding piece of musical aggression. Now in 2012, Veil of Maya is back with their 4th full length album, Eclipse – and yes; you guessed it, they have …

Similar to the likes of Turisas and Finntroll who have slightly gone down the path of Alestorm in terms of lyrical topics, Nordheim are your typical alcoholic folk metal band from Québec, Canada; playing fast paced, giddy, party like metal anthems that will get you moving the moment the first …

If you want a Viking metal band that are heavier than the hammer of Thor, more powerful than the mind blowing powers of Loki and who guzzle more ale than Alestorm having a drinking competition with Korpiklaani, then Ohio based folk metal band, Hammer Horde, have a brilliant new album …

Japanese doomsters Church of Misery – who made a huge impact on UK audiences when they toured with Cathedral in 2010 – were all set to release their debut album, the aptly titled ‘Volume 1’, back in 1997 when they developed what many might see as a decidedly unhealthy interest …

Oh I’ve been waiting on the release of this collaboration for what seems like an eternity. I didn’t know much about Mikee Goodman and Sikth but Adrian Smith and I go way back to Seventh Son and the album that first got me into metal back in the late 80s …

Dorota Malek is a Polish-born singer who has lived in Austria since her early childhood. She took her first steps in show business in 1999 at the age of 14.  Dorota started her solo career in 2007 and her first release was the single “All Against Me”, which led to …

I’m a simple man truth be told. I’m not complicated, I’m not fussy (regardless of what my wife says) and Chainfist’s debut album, Black Out Sunday is a lot like me in that way. They claim that they play “metal that makes the world go round, your neck break and …

  Shattered Skies are a self confessed “groove metal” band from Wicklow, Dublin, Ireland. Drawing influences from bands as diverse as Meshuggah, Pantera, Nightwish and Nine Inch Nails they have successfully created a unique sound good enough to propel them to first place in the Got-Djent New Band competition which …

Leeds based Chasing Dragons are a fresh faced, hard rock band; who are pushing the boundaries with their debut EP entitled Take Flight For a Firefight. Their mind-blowing mix of Paramore esque vocal lines and fat ass, punchy metal riffs is really something to behold – not only serving the …

In a world where hardcore and deathcore seem to be taking over as the new sound of heavy metal, it is a relief that bands such as Iron Mask are still making metal that is pure and true. A band that blend elements of 80’s Dio, Maiden era metal and …

Finland based folk tinged, melodic death metal band Enthring are back with their new album The Grim Tales of the Elder. Taking a more symphonic, power metal orientated approach to their 2010 debut Maelstrom, Enthring are a band who try to make their music sound as large and epic as …

  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 …