Album Reviews

So after no studio output from Def Leppard since 2008, what does the new self-titled album have to offer? Something for everyone would be the first answer that comes to mind. As a long-time Leppard fan I have always managed to find at least part of their more recent output to satisfy …

Hailing from a decidedly unfrostbitten San Francisco, the blackgaze Deafheaven has released its latest five song album, titled New Bermuda. Ranging from a drain cleaner caustic to a gentle caress, the five long-playing tunes on New Bermuda weave experimental, varied, smooth tapestries of sound. Deafheaven is one of a select …

Inescapable Damnation, the Solo EP release from Murashita, is set to break new ground as far as solo projects go. The five track EP, due to be released on 16th October features metal giants such as David Ellefson (Megadeth), Kevin Talley (Suffocation, Six Feet Under, Chimaira), Kelly Conlon (Death, Monstrosity) …

You can’t fault Michael Monroe for trying. The former frontman of glam rock legends Hanoi Rocks has been in the music business for well over three decades now and built a huge reputation in the process, yet he shows no signs of resting on his laurels and continues to write and record new …

This debut album should really have been a stone cold classic from Metal Allegiance as their core musical line up consists of Mike Portnoy on drums, Alex Skolnick on guitar and Dave Ellefson on bass guitar with an array of guest vocalists but out of the 9 tracks, only 7 …

‘Wolf metal’ takes a turn for the fantastical at the hands of VARG’s ‘Rotkäppchen’. Contemplate fledgling concept ‘wolf metal’ and the mental image of canine dominance and menace suitably demonstrates a visual representation of VARG’s ‘Rotkäppchen’, otherwise known as ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. Hinged on a fairytale of innocence and concealed …

Despite having only emerged from Norn Iron’s dankest extreme metal sewers within the past 12 months, The Crawling are by no means newcomers to the scene over here, with the triumvirate collectively counting nigh on four decades of experience between them.  Guitarist Andy Clarke, for example, was the cornerstone of …

Throughout their decade long career, German doomsters Ahab have consistently displayed a fascination with both all things nautical and literary:  previous albums have been based on works such as Herman Melville’s epic ‘Moby Dick (with the band, of course, taking their name from the novel’s psychotic lead human character) and Edgar …

Bauda first came to life in 2006, ostensibly as a solo project by Chilean guitarist and vocalist César Márquez.  It wasn’t until 2012 that it became a fully formed band.  The following year, Márquez and his fellow musicians – drummer Nikolas Recabarren, bassist Juan Díaz and keyboard player Edgardo González …

Persecution Complex is the new EP from Leicestershire band Resin.  It’s been an unsettled year for the band, with the departure of drummer Danny Finch in October last year followed by what seemed to be the end of the band in December.  That would have been a shame after a great 2014 in …

A somewhat unusual name which conjures up images of men in corpse paint, axes, hammers and the usual paraphernalia suited to such a name. This is far from the truth. The band hail from Sweden and formed in 2006. To date have released a series of eps and now this …

          Sweden’s purveyors of Doom return with a stunning follow up to 2011’s “A Rose For The Apocalypse”. Much has happened in the Draconian camp in the intervening four years, the major upheaval of losing long time vocalist Lisa Johansson, the subsequent search for and unveiling …

Sweden’s long-running death metal stalwart act, Grave, has returned with an aggressive, pummeling new album, titled Out of Respect for the Dead. The disc is a blistering marathon through nine tunes, ranging from mid-length to a nine-plus minute epic. Recorded, mixed, and mastered at the modern, digital Studio Soulless, Out …

There have been some fantastic releases this year so far; one I have been eagerly awaiting is Mercy Isle’s new EP; Storm.  Having been lucky enough the last few years to see Kassandra Novell in action at Metal Female Voices Festival, I knew Mercy Isle would be something special.  Kassandra really …

Sometimes a band comes across your path by seemingly the most inconceivable route.  In the case of Kinasis, that path traversed its journey from Somerset to Belfast via Dublin – and more especially one Gareth Jeffs, guitarist with extreme death groovesters Xerosun who, one day out of the blue, contacted your humble …

For Arlington, Virginia band Deceased‘s devotees and collectors, the new 2 CD set, Cadaver Traditions, is a treasure trove of uncommonly-heard cover songs. Featuring 53, yes 53! full length songs, this set incorporates 2 albums of Deceased’s which were out of print, plus a collection of 17 previously-unreleased tunes. The …

@planetmosh reviews Cobras and Fire (The Mastermind Redux) by .@monstermagnetnj on .@NapalmRecords Almost a year ago I reviewed Milking the Stars: A Re-imagining of Last Patrol.  Around the same time I had the privilege of interviewing singer and the creative force behind Monster Magnet, Dave Wyndorf.  It was twenty minutes …

Slovenian melodic black-death metal act Dalkhu has released its latest opus, Descend… Into Nothingness. The album contains seven songs, which are an intense mixture of death, black, and even folk metal elements. Guttural, brutal death metal vocals permeate “Pitch Black Cave”, and the other tunes. Like Jeff Walker‘s famed vocal …

Daylight, a self-proclaimed hard working pop-punk band from Barcelona, Spain, has released it’s latest offering, an album called One More Fight. One More Fight contains ten songs of pop-meets-rock-meets the melodic sensibility of punk, delivered on the gentler side. The album’s mix is contemporary, crisp, loud, and clear. The sound …

Welsh alt rock band Dream State have their debut, 5 song EP out, titled Conssquences. The band states that they draw inspiration from melodic hardcore, and the EP seems to back this up, with melodic arrangements, well-sung female vocals by Charlotte-Jayne Gilpin, and interesting instrumental breaks and tones. The band …