Album Reviews

With only really 2 bands out of the so called Big 4 producing consistently good thrash metal, there is always room for the young guns to keep them on their toes! Chaos Theory are not going to trouble the big boys just yet, but their debut album Bio-Death, released via …

Canadian metallers Kobra and the Lotus never seem to stop.  They’ve been appearing at various different festivals, doing major tours not just in their own country but beyond and STILL they’ve had time to pull together that difficult second album simply titled “Kobra and the Lotus”. I’m an old school …

Released on 3 August 2012, ‘Manala’ is the eighth studio album from Finnish pagan folk metallers Korpiklaani.  It also sees a change in line up with Tuonas Rounakari on fiddle replacing Jaakko Lemmetty’s violin.  The artwork for the album works well with the concept which is itself a very interesting …

    To say that the debut album Survival Of  The Richest by UK metal band Karhu  took me more than twice as long to review than most albums i have  previously done  is an understatement. It consists of 13 tracks with a total running time of 52 minutes  and …

Although this heralds the bands fourth full length release, it marks the first in some nine long years. 2003’s epic ‘Traces Of The Past’ looked at one point as if it was to become the bands swansong, an album which I still dig out on a regular basis, and which …

Despite having only one extant founder member – vocalist Leif Jensen – German thrashers Dew-Scented have managed to survive as far as their ninth album and this year celebrate their 20th anniversary. And what better way to do it than with a stunning album that defines both the band and …

Now and again, an album comes along that, immediately, on first listen, jumps out of your stereo (or, in this case, a towering 2,000 watt DJ rig), grabs you by your scrawny, hungover little throat and screams at you “bet you weren’t expecting this, muthafucka?”. This sophomore release from Vancouver …

Taproot are very much the ‘lost children’ of the nu-metal era, the also-rans who never quite emulated the success of contemporaries such as (their former mentors) Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, System Of A Down and Korn. Despite a few moments of glory – such as the poignant ‘Poem’, back in …

The Elijah are a 5 piece Post-rock progressive metal band from Shropshire, who recorded this release in an abandoned country mansion, to get the natural reverb and inherently bleak sound you would associate with such a building . ‘I Loved I Hated I Destroyed I Created’ is their debut album …

Joe Bonamassa is back for his 13th album, ‘Driving Towards The Daylight’. The album was produced by Kevin Shirley and saw the dynamic duo return to Las Vegas for a back-to-basics album, which was recorded at the same studio as their first joint album, You & Me. ‘ Driving Towards …

Recorded in September 2011, A Knight In York is the third live DVD release from Ritchie Blackmore, Candice Night and their wandering band of minstrels who have now been around since 1997 playing their take on renaissance era music. A rustic stage setting decked out with trees and barrels provides …

After playing this album 3 times this evening, i am  at a loss as how to start this review as it is utterly  flawless and i  kept forgetting to make notes . From a personal point of view, being a Rush fan for over 30 years, this is one of …

Four years… has it really been four years since Formation of Damnation?  Testament returned after nearly ten years with that monster and they’ve managed to follow it up with an even better one in Dark Roots of Earth.  These are halcyon days for old school thrash and it’s wonderful for …

Dying Fetus is now a household name in the technical death metal scene and over the past few years their sound has really matured and developed, forming a tight, colossal and powerful sound that is heard throughout each and every song on their 7th studio album, Reign Supreme. Containing some …

Periphery are a band who have helped to revolutionise and evolve the ever growing sound of Djent, adding a fresh and technical lick of paint to a genre that has only come around in the past few years. Presenting Periphery II, Periphery’s 2nd creatively titled full album that packs more …

Toronto Metal band Entropy are somewhat underground legends in the thrash scene, having released two albums on their own independent label in the 90s, Ashen Existence and Transcendence, to much acclaim. Fast forward some twenty years and they have returned with their new album, E3. Now this, this really is …

The Senton Bombs latest album Gambit shows a lot more maturity and contains a wider variety of more interesting and musically technical songs compared to their 2010 album entitled Sweet Chin Music. With ten killer punk rock anthems and only one mediocre song on the album; this has to be …

Originally released in 2010, Spirytus’s self titled debut album has become available again for the public to buy and it’s only in 2012 with the ever growing rise of the Djent and progressive movement that Spirytus are getting the respect and admiration they deserve. Although this is more of a …

Planet Mosh had the pleasure of reviewing Steel Threads EP back in April, and now three months later this Coventry based three piece are back with their astounding full debut album entitled Timing Is Everything.  Branded as “power-folk”, Steel Threads are a band whose line-up is as basic as it …

This thumping album marks the German quartets second full length release for Massacre Records and the follow up to 2010’s debut ‘To The Pit’, and what a powerhouse of a record it is. The opener’s ‘Tough, Cool And Here To Mosh’ title say’s it all really, the music coming straight …