Album Reviews

New Manic Spree formed in Australia in 2009, and quote a wide range of influences – from classical composers such as Debussey to Indie rock bands such as the Klaxons. Their EP “Hollywoods and galaxies” has been receiving plenty of airplay in Australia, but at the moment the band remains …

    Norwich based Fist Full Of Lies, formed in August 2010 by brothers Ben and Sam Taylor are certainly flying the flag high for UK hardcore judging by the quality of the songwriting on their debut ep If It Wasn’t For This I’d Still Have Everything. It’s 4 tracks  …

Dead City Ruins, a five piece band from Australia, are about to unleash their devastatingly effective new album “Midnight Killer” onto an unsuspecting world. Scheduled for release via their self-funded label on 23rd July, the release follows on the heels of their recent 50-plus date tour that saw them pound …

Don’t let for one second the name Lesbian Bed Death put you off this band – making you think they are some brutal death metal/grindcore band who sings about ripping out a woman’s vagina and eating it, as you wouldn’t be more wrong. Hailing from Stoke, this gothic punk rock …

With a band name like Dr. Freak & Mr. 4, its quite easy to take a well educated guess that this band are going to be a gothic/horror metal band in the same vein of bands like: Murderdolls, Wednesday 13 and The 69 Eyes, just by reading the name on …

Punk rockers Splatter are back with their new studio album Fear of the Park, and although the sound quality of it may be as poor as a crippled hobo living in North London – Fear of the Park has some rather interesting and enjoyable moments that are great to sing …

It’s been a busy 24 months for Whitechapel. Third album A New Era of Corruption blazed its way into the top Billboard 200, they supported metal giants Job for a Cowboy across Europe and North America, they released the Recorrupted EP in 2011 and are now due to head out …

  When it comes to French metal bands, the older generation would probably recall Trust and the newer generation,  Gojira. But a new and worthy name can be added to the list, the crushing Livarkahil. I reviewed their last full length studio album Signs Of Decay for Planetmosh last September …

Nachtblut are prepared to conquer the dark scene with their second album. “Dogma” which was release 25th May through Napalm Records. The title track ‘Dogma’ starts off the album in great style. It has a superb heavy groove filled will drum beats, bass lines and riffs along with some evil …

Anger Denial Acceptance is Spineshank’s fourth full length and first one in almost a decade, where has the time gone! The album was released in Europe on the 18th June via Century Media Records. ‘After the End’ starts off with a huge scream and continues on in an angst driven …

Seattle’s progressive death metallers, 7 HORNS 7 EYES, released their first full-length album, ‘Throes Of Absolution’, throughout Europe on 23rd April this year via Basick Records. ‘Divine Amnesty’ gets us off to a slow, very melodic start before we get greeted by a small barrage of riffs, drums and screams that continues …

Over the past 18 years – and certainly in the decade since the release of their brutal debut album, ‘Ashes of Purification’ – Merrimack have been slowly building a reputation as one of the forerunners of the French black metal movement and have drawn comparison, not unfairly, with the likes …

This is Finnish band Embassy Of Silence’s second full length offering, following on from 2009’s ‘Euphorialight’ which was released to much critical acclaim in their homeland, with it’s musical twists from light to dark, it immediately got the band noticed. ‘Antler Velvet’ however see’s the band progress firmly to a …

The Electric Lady is a Rock band in the truest sense of the word, hailing from Finland and formed in it’s latest guise in 2007, the band belt out Hard Rock with amazingly catchy melodic hooks for fun. Singer and songwriter Minna Ora creates songs which could easily sit comfortably …

  Mockingbird are a 3-piece hard rock/blues rock band from the southern coasts of Ireland. Formed by Ian O’ Sullivan and brothers Noel and Phil Cunningham in 2010, the band represents a coming home of sorts for these three musicians. Having played in numerous different bands over the years and …

Hailing from the US Agents of Power is their second official studio album from Skelator  from the aptly named Metal on Metal  records. When I first heard Skeletor’s album Give me Metal or Give me Death I admit I thought they were an old school thrash band due to the awesome …

  Reaper are an underrated Teutonic Metal band that was founded in Kassel back in 1984. In the glorious 80’s they only recorded two demos (“Reaper“ in 1985 and “Metal Or What???“ in 1988) and a self financed E.P called “Fairies Return“ in 1986.  It wasn’t before 1990 until their …

Ahead of their debut album release later this year, Southampton sextet Kids Can’t Fly have released their third EP, Northern Horizons. Despite their previous efforts which saw them showcase a unique brand of ‘ska punk’ (the traditional guitars have been complimented with a saxophone and trumpet), Northern Horizons sees them …

Combining former members of King Diamond’s band with a young singer was always going to attract attention, more so if that singer was the son of none other than established and widely respected basset Hal Patino famed for his work with King Diamond and Pretty Maids, and had featured highly …

Hailing from Poland, and sheltering under the banner of Gothic Metal , I fully expected an album of dark and doom laden overtones, lyrics dealing with lost love and forlorn figures running through moonlit forests (well, you get the picture) but I was pleasantly surprised. Ok, so the subject matter …