3 songs out of the 7 on the self titled e.p by London based Green River Project are instrumentals. That may seem excessive at 1st but on listening to the guitar histrionics by founder member Mick Priestley then its a bit of a no brainer. Be it his gentle …
Read More »Interview with Steve Souza from Hatriot
I had the honor of catching up with former Exodus singer Zetro aka Steve Souza about his new band Hatriot via email. Hello Steve! Great news that Hatriot has taken off. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. It is my pleasure. I’m glad to talk …
Read More »The Wretched End – Inroads.
Norwegian based The Wretched End, formed in 2008 by ex Emperor/Zyklon member Samoth and ex Mindgrinder member Cosmo along with drummer Nils Fjellstrom have certainly released one of the most claustrophobic albums you may hear this year. It is their 2nd full length release after their 2010 debut Ominous. …
Read More »Def Con One – Warface.
Def Con One (Defence Readiness Condition) is a warning that nuclear war is imminent and the debut album Warface by the band Def Con One could be the soundtrack to it! For example the drumming alone by ex-Venom member Antton Lant could be described in one of the album …
Read More »Black Wolf – Taking Root e.p
Taking Root, the debut e.p by Bristol based band Black Wolf was recorded in March 2012, released in April and is a very impressive piece of hard rock/metal. 1st track Stairway Ticket begins with a ” one, two lets go ” with Scott Sharp sounding like a higher ranged …
Read More »Deathtale – Apocalyptic Deadline.
The opening track of Apocalyptic Deadline begins with a beating heart which is the slowest beat on the album by Austrian metal band Deathtale. Guitars build up and as the heartbeat flatlines all hell literally breaks loose with next track Suffering Rain. I was expecting a death metal album to …
Read More »Marvlec e.p – What Are You Waiting For
After the 1st play of this 3 track e.p by Coral Springs, Florida based band Marvlec, the 1st 2 words that sprung to mind were melody and muscle. The songs have the hooks for radio play but they still rock hard enough to keep metal fans happy. Also, considering …
Read More »Tribune – Elder Lore / The Dark Arts.
There must be something in the water in Burnaby, Vancouver judging by the creation of this album by “progressive death metallers” Tribune. It has more time changes than an Axl Rose tour itinerary! For example, 1st track It Came From The Swamps starts with a croaking frog sample which leads …
Read More »Dragonforce – The Power Within.
Even though i’m a fan of Dragonforce, their previous album Ultra Beatdown in 2008 was patchy to say the least but their latest release The Power Within surpasses it with ease. The departure of long standing vocalist Z.P.Theart in 2010 may have cast a giant shadow over Dragonforce’s future …
Read More »Pilgrim – Misery Wizard.
The last few albums i’ve reviewed have been mainly thrash metal so now its time for some crushing doom metal from Rhode Island based 3 piece band Pilgrim. Formed in early 2010 they have released a stunning debut album, following on from their Forsaken Man e.p. Misery Wizard is on …
Read More »Holy Moses- 30th Anniversary-In The Power Of Now.
Holy Moses may well be an unknown name to many metal fans but they were one of the 1st German thrash metal bands after forming in Aachen, Germany in 1980. Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy seems to receive all the attention for a female fronting a heavy metal band but …
Read More »Anvil – Plugged In Permanent and Absolutely No Alternative + Speed Of Sound and Plenty Of Power (re-releases) [2-in-1]
Following the re-releases of Strength Of Steel,Pound For Pound and Worth The Weight at the end of 2011, Steamhammer/SPV Records will be re-releasing the 4 Anvil albums that followed them, once …
Read More »Legion Of The Damned – Malevolent Rapture,In Memory Of.
This is not a new release by Dutch band Legion Of The Damned but a re-release of their debut album Malevolent Rapture ( they had 5 albums released under their previous name Occult ) as a tribute to their ex- bassist Twan Fleuren who took his own life in May …
Read More »Interview with Mem Von Stein from Exumer, April 2012
I had the pleasure of catching up with Mem Von Stein, vocalist from Exumer via email for this interview. 1. Prior to Exumer reforming, did Ray approach you or did you approach Ray? We were getting so much mail over the years and it really did not stop after …
Read More »Accept – Stalingrad
Formed in 1976 it is correct to say that Accept are one of Germany’s high profile metal bands. Since their inception they are now on their 5th vocalist. Founding member Udo Dirkschneider left in 1987 ,rejoined in 1992 but after a band split from 2005-2009 he did not want to …
Read More »Exumer-Fire And Damnation.
GERMAN THRASH METAL IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE!! Well it never really went away but over the last few years classic German thrash metal bands have made welcome returns to the UK. Accept have headlined Hammerfest and done a UK tour. Others like Kreator,Sodom,Destruction and Holy Moses have all …
Read More »Dio re-issues :- Holy Diver/Last In Line/Sacred Heart.
Ronnie James Dio,born as Ronald James Padavona sadly left us almost 2yrs ago on May 16th 2010. A sad day for many of us but we will always raise the devil horns listening to the music he left behind! So on that note, Universal Music …
Read More »T.Rex-Electric Warrior ( Deluxe Edition )
The word genius surely applies to Marc Bolan ( Mark Feld ),best known as founder/lead singer/lead guitarist for T.Rex but also a successful solo artist. He also had his own television show,a feat that many so called glam rock artists of today cannot aspire to! He had the diversity to …
Read More »M-Pire Of Evil – Hell To The Holy.
On playing this album i recalled a quote from Geoff Barton when he reviewed Hell Awaits by Slayer for Kerrang (when it was worth reading) back in the 80’s. He said, “albums that make you throw back your head and shout woooooargh are few and far between”. Well,the debut …
Read More »Evil Scarecrow -The Sanctuary, Burnley, 25/2/2012
After about 12 months, the Nottingham based noisemongers Evil Scarecrow returned to The Sanctuary rock club in Burnley to show that the heavier side of metal has not got to be played with a frown but to bring a hilarious sense of showmanship to their music but which does …
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