Tag Archives: album review

Unsigned pop-rock quartet The City Divided, hailing from the county of Hertfordshire, last month released their début EP The Endless Moment under their own steam. Hertfordshire is a county that is rapidly becoming famous for producing rock bands, the most prominent being Enter Shikari, and then also The Subways and …

Ah, those were the days… the school Sixth Form common room, with it’s battered old turntable in the corner – and an equally battered copy of the 12” extended version of ‘Freebird’ sitting right beside it… and blasted out at maximum volume every each and every break time for a …

When you think of Sicily, what comes to mind?  Sea food?  Pasta?  Grandiose Architecture?   The Mafia???  Well now you can add bone crushing metal, courtesy of Palermo’s With All The Rage – or as they are known at home La Raggia (The Rage) – and their (cumbersomely named) debut release …

“That looks interesting…” A dangerous phrase: an extremely dangerous one. It can lead to all sorts of madness and mayhem. And when this particular release popped into the PM inbox, little was this scribe prepared for what he would be subjected to when he decided that party metal mixed with …

Symbiosis is generally described in the dictionary as “the living together of two dissimilar organisms in more or less intimate association” – which, one has to assume is the effect this Portuguese five piece were trying to achieve when they merged crust, punk and metal nigh on two decades ago. …

Attika 7 are the band for whom the term ‘biker metal’ was invented. They define it. In fact, it could be argued that they redefine it. After all, they not only feature a famed motorcycle builder – Rusty Coones – in their ranks, are the band of choice of the …

When you think of Luxembourg, you don’t automatically think of aggressive-as-fuck thrash metal. No sir. You’re more likely to think of likely to think of fat, profligate bankers lolling around mountainside coffee tables thinking of ever more elaborate ways to grind us poor working folks’ noses into the ground: after …

Storming out of Brisbane Australia come Down Royale, a heavy metal quintet looking to burst out of the colonies with their explosive sound.  Formed in 2008 by vocalist Scott Michael and guitarist Corey James, they were joined in 2009 by second guitarist Jackson Cheng and then in 2011 by drummer …

When you think of Latino thrash, your thoughts inevitably stray in the direction of underground forces such as Brujeira and Suicidal Tendencies as well as giants of the scene such as Sepultura and Soulfly. And, certainly, there are parts of this third album from the Virginian combo which are more …

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 …