Fredrik Andersson has left Swedish Death Metal stars Amon Amarth. An official statement by the band reads as follows: “Amon Amarth and drummer Fredrik Andersson have decided to part ways after 17 years. Fredrik has been an important part of Amon Amarth’s development since he joined the band in 1998 …

When you are an artist of any medium you expose yourself. Particularly when you release any product of your creative endeavour.  Even as a reviewer you are liable to a difference of opinions from those that read your musings. The home studio has become so affordable in recent years that …

One thing I enjoy most about music is how different everybody’s approach is. It can be quite bizarre to think about how something so personal and individual to conceive is as equally personal and individual to listen to. Which often leaves reviewing an album   a daunting task. It is …

Something I’ve always tried to do when going to a gig is to see the support acts. I’ve been surprised quite a few times that in some cases the supports were just as enjoyable as the main band. Triosphere are one of these bands for me. Almost 6 years since I …

We can all remember when female fronted bands were the band du jour for record companies. A lot of the bands were record label copy cats essentially. Like the hair metal scene of the late 80’s early 90’s there were a lot of strong bands that were caught up in …

I will admit I’m not au fait with Greece’s musical contributions aside from Firewind and that Iced Earth recorded a live album there many years ago. So a stoner groove laden rock band called Planet Of Zeus piqued my interested when it’s latest release “Vigilante” was up for review. Opening …

Califiornia’ s Cold Blue Mountain, to me, are somewhat of an anomoly. When a band has numerous influences and straddle many sub genres often the result is somewhat confused and directionless. The second full length offering “Old Blood” combines doom/sludge with post-rock with harsh vocals similar to that of  Parkway …

Heavy metal, in general, in it’s most simple terms deals mainly with strong view points or emotions be it hate, war, death, religion etc. Feelings of vunerability, sorrow or fear are only usually dealt with in passing, this tends to be because writing about such topics without sounding trite or …

A miserable wet Friday  helped set the atmosphere for  In Solitude‘s Dublin date with support from the mighty Beastmilk. The smell of incense filled the air to alert the senses that this wasn’t to be a standard metal gig. Opening proceedings was solo act Daniel Bay, who, as a replacement …

Arguably two of the greatest singers metal has had in the last 20 years have once again come together. Russell Allen (Symphony X) and Jorn Lande (Jorn, Yngwie Malmsteen, Masterplan) have released 3 previous albums with Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear ) taking the duties of writing, producing and playing nearly everything …

Finnish psychedelic doom  Jess and the Ancient Ones  have, to my delight released  a 10″ two track, Castaneda. JATAO (Jess and the Ancient Ones) possess two things that make them special, superb songwriting and direction. They know where they wish to bring the listener and how to do it.Following on …

Rise Above Records is a mark of quality that all record labels should aspire to. I’m pretty sure I like every band on their roster, or if I don’t like them I know somebody who loves them, such can be differences of opinion. Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats are a …

The internet is really a double-edged sword. There is more entertainment than you could ever imagine all in the palm of your hand. Unfortunately with that, there is a lot of stuff that is derivative and  lacking any talent. On the other hand to get gems sometimes you have to go …

About 10-15 years ago power metal was the genre that enevitably went from popular to over-saturated. Bands like Edguy, Dragonforce and Blind Guardian had massive amounts of coverage and all the while Hammerfall were there to see it all happen.Not only were they there they came out of hype that spawned so …

Twenty years is a very long time to be doing anything without due recognition. Hailing from Sweden WOLF are experiencing that very same situation. I saw them a few years ago supporting ACCEPT and they were nothing less than superb. Initially I though they were a new band but to …

For those that haven’t heard of Swiss band Bölzer they are without a doubt the band-du-jour of the extreme metal scene, but with one difference. Bölzer are the band most people have been wanting but just didn’t realise it. They are better produced than black metal bands, more interesting than …

To be a proper death metal band you need to bring something to make think, be it superior musicianship, atmosphere or something that people can’t quite put their finger on. Louisiana’s Abysmal Lord have all three but definitely mostly the latter. Their 26 minute long MLP “Storms of the Unholy …

Powerwolf, for those who are unfamiliar with the German quintet, are a power metal band who write about over the top religious imagery and of werewolves and demons. They also do it with a grandiose tongue in cheek and the last 3 albums ‘Bible of the Beast’, ‘Blood of the …

Sometimes not knowing a lot about a band can be an asset. Your views and opinions of what music you’re about to listen to aren’t coloured by others. Darkest Era are one of those bands for me. I knew the name and that was it, a little assumption on my …

Reunions are a fickle beast. Sometimes they work, sometimes they are a callous attempt to make some money and sometimes they are initially a response to a rose tinted view of the past but turn out to be better than before. Europe, Journey and Accept are three names that have …