Tag Archives: album review

In olden days of yore – before even most of the Planet Mosh crew was born (and that’s saying something) – grog was (often cheap) watered-down rum served to sailors to keep them reasonably intoxicated enough to fool them into thinking they were happy with their lot and therefore less …

When this black metal crew issued their sophomore EP, ‘To Whatever End’, in 2009, it was hailed as one of the best examples of the genre to emerge from the island of Ireland at the time. It was praise which was well-deserved, as it was an excellent slab of Celtic-tinged …

Having spent the guts of year slogging their way around the Irish club scene (on both sides of the border), as any self-respecting young band should do, Belfast four piece Bäkken’s reputation for good, solid live shows and their typical Norn Iron work ethic has meant that expectations typically have …

Since being formed in early 2006 Final Silence have been carving out a solid fan base in their native Scotland supporting bands such as Bleed From Within.  In 2009 they recorded their debut EP “Past Remains” quickly following that up in 2010 with a second EP “Dawn of a New …

The opening track to Northern Ireland quartet Triggerman’s last album (2010’s ‘Brand New Day’) was appropriately entitled ‘The Riff Holds Sway’: it’s a description which more than adequately describes Triggerman to their particular brand of in-yer-face butt-kickin’ Doc Marten-clad brand of… well… riff-laden rock ‘n’f’n’ roll (as we say around …

Third albums are notoriously difficult for bands, but Swedish death metallers Zonaria have spent a good 13 years perfecting their craft – even if wholesale line-up changes made preparations for the recording process somewhat more difficult than they ideally should have been. In this case, any worries are quickly cast …

Now and again, an album comes along that genuinely surprises you. Having read the press blurb that accompanied this sophomore release from French six-piece MOADM, I was fully expecting to write them off as another bunch of Meshuggah wannabes. Well, how pleasantly surprised I was with what I actually discovered, …

This fourth album from the Arkansas trio – originally self-released last year and now re-issued on AFM Records – is a damn fine slice of doom-laden death metal, which grabs you instantly and beats you into submission, track after track, with its atmospheric, melodic brutality. Veering more towards the doom …

Taking their name from the Greek work ‘mnemonic’, meaning ‘the art of development’, it’s not surprising that this Danish-based international quintet should show off their etymological skills with the play on words that is the title of this, their latest full-length opus.  It’s just a pity that this is one …

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 …

It’s taken these four Italian signori nigh on nine years of solid gigging in their homeland to get round to unleashing their particular brand of old-school, straight-through-the-middle metal on the rest of the planet. Taking their name from the twin-peaked mountain in the central Greek Peloponnese, where the sacred altar …

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 …

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 …

Fronted by Russian-born guitarist/vocalist Nil Dilian, this Bergen-based quartet have self-released an eight-track debut album that is fairly standard second wave of Norwegian black metal fare, made up of crunchy groove-laden riffs over mixture of clean and deathbeat drumming. Opener ‘Delirium’ is nothing special – the sort of thing the …

Emina is a female rock singer who has formed her own band and released this, her debut album.  Her biography on her website is fairly vague – she moved to Europe (from somewhere unspecified, but presumably the USA as her home town was into folk and line dance).  So really …

For all its many inherent faults, the internet, and especially social media, is a wonderful tool for those of us in the music business who are always on the hunt for new bands, new experiences and new sounds. So, when this quartet from Teesside contacted PM via our Facebook page …

Phantom Antichrist is the thirteenth album from German thrash legends Kreator.  If you’re thinking that after 30 years they might have softened and started to mellow then you couldnt be more wrong – Phantom Antichrist is just as hard, heavy and angry as ever. The album’s title relates to Osama …

“Few against many” is the new album from Greek band Firewind.  Perhaps best known to many music lovers for their extremely talented guitarist, Gus G, who as well as playing in Firewind is also guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne.  That connection means Gus G has had a busy time recently as …

“The Aftermyth” is the debut album from London hard rockers Zodiac N Black.  The band cite influences including Led Zeppelin, Queens of the Stone Age, Soundgarden, and Black Sabbath. Comments on a couple of the tracks… The album opens with a heavy track, Bastinado (Useless trivia – apparently Bastinado is …