When power metal is done well, it is done bloody well. When it’s done badly, it’s done bloody atrociously. The second album by re-united Sicilian trio Holy Knights falls somewhere between these two extremes. Way back at the turn of the 21st century, Holy Knights could have been, in words …
Read More »Simbiose – ‘Economical Terrorism’
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. …
Read More »Grog – ‘Scooping The Cranial Insides’
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 …
Read More »Zonaria – ‘Arrival Of The Red Sun’
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 …
Read More »Gorod – ‘A Perfect Absolution’
Typical, isn’t it? You complain about the apparent lack of decent French metal bands and then, like buses to the mysterious ‘Not In Service’, a whole bunch come along at once. ‘A Perfect Absolution’ is the third full-lengther – and the second on Listenable – from this Bordeaux five-piece and, …
Read More »HellXhere – HellXhere
The French heavy metal scene isn’t known for its international impact – personally, and without the aid of Google or Wikipedia, I can count less than a handful bands who have made any sort of significant impact outside their homeland: Trust, of course, who in turn give us the living …
Read More »Arrayan Path – Ira Imperium
In times of desperation and trouble, people often look to their history and heritage for inspiration, recalling past glories to give them a positive outlook on the travails currently facing them, drawing upon that which has gone before to drive them forward to face up to the challenges before them. …
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