Album Reviews

The greatest selection of albums, reviewed and rated

INTENSE – ‘THE SHAPE OF RAGE’ CD REVIEW.

If you fancy spending your Christmas gift money on something guaranteed to blow the festive cobwebs away then you could do a lot worse than give this album a go. Released via Pure Legend Records at the end of October it boasts 9 blistering slabs of Power Metal that fair …

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Resistance – To Judge and Enslave (cd)

Belgian extreme metalers Resistance formed in early 2004. Initially starting of as a hardcore band they turned into the full on Death Metal beast it is today as a result of several lineup changes. After years of playing shows and building up their name in Belgium and France, Resistance released …

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Derision – Ancient.

  Clocking in at just under 50mins,the debut cd from Bolton/Wigan based thrashers Derision pulls no punches from the mauling riffs of opener Pain Of Conviction to the lightspeed buzzsaw riffs of closing track Final Solution.Quite simply,as debut albums go, the quality of material here is on a par with …

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Stuka Squadron – Tales Of The Ost

MP3 album  downloaded from Stuka Squadron’s website.   Review by Carl “Thunarr” Pickles   Pardon?  Are you sure about that?  OK, let me get this right… Vampires in the Luftwaffe?  They’re playing what?  NWOBHM-influenced Metal?  They’re reminiscent of Maiden, Cathedral and Manowar at their best?  What’s not to like?!   …

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Cirith Ungol-Servants Of Chaos

  Where to start with this one eh?31 tracks on 2cds and a bonus live dvd as well.Metal Blade Records,due to demand,have re-released Servants Of Chaos from the vastly underrated and sadly disbanded Cirith Ungol.Originally released as a dbl cd in 2001,Servants Of Chaos contains rare,demo,live and unreleased tracks from …

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Fiona/Unbroken cd

I was as happy as a kid in a sweet shop when i found out that Fiona Flanagan was back in the music business earlier this year, and was due to release an new record, as it has been 19 years since her last release “Squeeze”. As a long time …

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The Quill/ Full Circle cd

Being honest, i’d never heard of The Quill before this cd landed on my door matt, but apparently this is their first album since 2006 and it’s a bit of grower. After a nearly five year hiatus, Swedish rockers The Quill return with their sixth album Full Circle, and introduce …

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BLACKWIDOW/sleeping with demons cd

Its been nearly 40 years since Black Widow released a record, and founder member Clive Jones has urged those intrigued enough to purchase Sleeping With Demons to listen to it with the lights down and the volume up. So I did. If Black Sabbath were very serious in their songs …

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Betraeus – Towards The Sun (E.P)

Betraeus are a four piece progressive death metal band from Manchester, UK. Forming in 2009, the band have a distinctive sound which treads a fine line between Atmospheric, Progressive & Death Metal genres. In just two years they have gone from a local phenomena to one of the UK’s most …

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Wolfsbane Save The World – Album Review

Right then personally I have been waiting for this album for a very long time, the welcome news that Wolfsbane had reformed and were heading into the studio to record a brand new album was like the promise of my favourite present at Christmas but being told in March. A …

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Senser Biting Rhymes EP review

As a prequel to releasing their fifth album Senser have created a 5 track EP of Hip Hop cover versions to pay tribute to the artists that inspired them to start playing music in the first place called Biting Rhymes due for release on the 27th of November as a …

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Lazarus Syndrome E.P Flatline.

Hailing, and hailing very loudly from Liverpool, Lazarus Syndrome have composed  4 tracks of melodic brutality. The Flatline e.p is not available yet but is mixed and ready for release. Apparently a lazarus syndrome is an awakening from the dead. Well,judging by the quality of Flatline, the band are certainly …

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Grand Illusion/Prince of Paupers cd

A year after the release of “Brand New World”, it’s time for the 6th Grand Illusion studio album and which this time is titled, Prince of Paupers. On this release, the Grand Illusion core trio consists of Anders Rydholm, Peter Sundell and Per Svensson who are joined by Steve Lukather …

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Grand Design – ‘Idolizer’ cd

Grand Design’s debut ‘Time Elevation’ was way to much like Def leppard’s ‘Hysteria’, for my liking, so is “Idolizer” any different?. Well the short answer is yes, and no. lol The Grand Design “sound” is still in evident, and yes, they still sound like Def Leppard, however there is a …

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BUSH/The Sea of Memories CD

Ten years ago, Bush released “Golden State”; it was a commercial failure, and it would be the last that we would really hear from Bush for the rest of the decade. Since then, Gavin Rossdale formed “Institute”, which only cut one album. He then released a solo record, which also …

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DYLATH-LEEN “CABALE” REVIEW (CD)

Dylath-Leen return with their superb new offering ‘Cabale’. ‘Cabale’ follows the bands 2008 release ‘Semion’ and whilst the wait has been far too long the result is well worth it. From the opening track ‘Never Rising Sun’ the tone is set for an all out assault on the senses with …

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King Mob/Force 9 cd

King Mob, a new group featuring ex-Sex Pistol bassist Glen Matlock, has released their debut album force 9 The group is a departure from Matlock’s punk rock background, instead focusing on classic rock and roll and listing their influences as wide ranging as Duke Ellington and Jimmy Page. Glen is …

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