Tag Archives: new album

I cannot be the only one struck by the irony of the coincidence… just days before Black Star Riders – basically, Thin Lizzy with a bit of makeover – release their much-vaunted but ultimately disappointing ‘debut’ opus, the one band acclaimed by many as the natural heirs to the crown …

Although personally this is my first encounter with DGM, if the evidence of ‘Momentum’ is anything to go by it is not hard to see why the Italian five piece are highly regarded as one of the better progressive metal bands on the continent of Europe. Featuring guest performances by …

At first listen, German electro-industrialists Stahlmann evoke immediate comparisons with fellow countrymen Rammstein – huge chugging, crunching riffs, backed by punchy rhythms… and vocals delivered in their native language!  Add in a penchant for covering themselves in silver paint on stage, and its a parellel which they make stupidly simplistic …

I love underground music, if it brings out some obvious talent, and especially if it’s from outside my home country – the USA. Turin, Italy’s Ultra-Violence (yeah, like Death Angel, or A Clockwork Orange, your choice) seems to fit that bill. Their newest, Privilege To Overcome, is a long-playing album …

Unsurprisingly, this seventh album from Rome’s Kaledon is forged in the fires of pure epic metal:  after all, this is a band who, over the course of the past decade, have released a six-part concept work set in medieval England – or the Kingdom of Kaledon as they refer to …

Kadavar are another in an increasingly long line of bands – such as Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats and Purson – who recently have been following in the footsteps of illustrious predecessors of the ilk of Electric Wizard and Spiritual Beggars in re-ploughing the retro furrow of late-60s psychedelica blues meets …

Every genre, musical sub-division, has its artists who epitomize its highest standards, and others (the vast majority, if truth be told) who are content to be pulled along on the coat-tails of said leading lights, often becoming mere pale imitations of the innovators who have gone before them.  Metalcore is …

To say that this, the follow-up to their (initially self-released) debut, ‘The Devil Rhythm’, has been one of the most eagerly anticipated releases in this particular part of the world – that’s Norn Iron, for those of you who don’t know – is one of the hugest understatements in the …

Formed by guitarist Doug Aldrich and vocalist Keith St John back in 1998, Burning Rain recorded two well-received albums – their self-titled debut and ‘Pleasure To Burn’ – before the six-string slinger left to team up (albeit briefly) with the late, great Ronnie James Dio, while the vocalist pitched his …

Originally founded in 1999 as a means for the then 21-year old Tobias Sammet to produce what he regarded the ultimate rock opera project – something which he apparently eventually drew a line under when he announced the end of Avantasia from the Wacken stage back in August 2011.  But, …

Despite having been around, in one shape or form, for almost a quarter of a century, and being one of the most respected but under-rated acts on the Swedish black metal scene, it’s hard to believe that this is only Grief Of Emerald’s fifth full length album… With their more …

Having loaned an entire new meaning to the phrase ‘down under’, Australia’s most OTT black metallers have split up and re-united more times than PM’s esteemed editor-in-chief has brewed a mug of Horlicks – originally calling it a day back in 1996 and then again at the beginning of 2007, …

Right from the outset, this fourth album from Finnish thrash metal five piece Gloria Morti is a bruising, punishing affair, treading a path between thrash and death metal, with elements of BM thrown in for good measure. It’s not that the band can’t make up their mind which sub-genre they …

This fifth album from the Brazilian duo of Mantus and Triumphsword is very much an homage to the traditional values of late ‘80s / early ‘90s black metal.  And it carries no pretensions about being otherwise. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-GRCarR-JE] Each of the 12 tracks (the titular opener is very much a cinematic-style …

After apparently calling it quits two years ago, German power metal maestro Tobias Sammett delivered a pleasant surprise to his legions of fans when it was revealed that there would, in fact, be a new Avantasia studio album, ‘The Mystery Of Time’, which is being released at the end of …

In Mortis Veritas is a one-man French black metal project, with the man in question being the extremely mysterious Non Serviam, or The Dark Nazareen. Recorded over a two year period, this debut album is a dark and dense affair, and as mysterious as its creator.  Arising from an ethereal …

This ninth album from the Swedish thrash/sleaze mutants sees them abandoning the former and very much planting their feet in the latter camp – a direction they have taken more and more since the recruitment of former Crazy Lixx guitarist Vic Zino six years ago. Following an intro that wouldn’t …

Dublin metal band, Dichotomy, are due to release their eight track album, Paradigms, this coming Saturday 2nd March. This band has a great reputation when it comes to live performances both at local venues and around the country. A reputation that has seen them land support slots for big bands …

I’ve often accused black metal of being staid and derivative, content to rest on its laurels:  but, part of the excitement which initially drew me to what I regard as real darkened extremism was the way in which BM artists were prepared to experiment and push their boundaries to their …

The third album from Swedish doom crew Kongh is not one which is for the faint-hearted.  For a start, its four tracks clock in at around three-quarters of an hour (give or take a few seconds here or there) long. This is loud, dirty, brutal, bruising doom metal of the …