Album Reviews

Glaswegian death metallers Blood Thread have been on the go since about 2009 and their first EP, The Tolerance is Over, is a sound platform to grow and build on from.

‘Paradise’ = noun, “a place or condition of great happiness, where everything is exactly as you would like it to be”. A description never more apt.       Continuing their relentless march towards conquering the globe, Within Temptation throw out this four track E.P. ahead of next years highly …

Progressive Israeli metallers, Omb have released their self-produced debut, SwineSong. Middle-Eastern acoustic leanings tailored with blackened thrash are the order of the day in this schizophrenic body of work. It’s their pushing of the creative boundaries that proves to be the album’s downfall. Tossing everything into the cauldron does not …

This is Lancaster-based Promethium‘s second album, titled Origins. This is a ten-track rock and roll album which ventures in to both metal and acoustic ballad territory. It’s fairly even-tempered, with most songs bearing different nuances of hard rock flavor. While crisp and modern, the mix is very vocal-forward or vocalist-centric, …

Death metal band Craven Idol have arrived, with their debut album Towards Eschaton. This is the UK-based band’s first major release on a label, although their demo, released in 2006, did sell out all 50 copies. Raspy, caustic vocals in these eight tracks blend with ‘fast to blast’ tempo metal. …

France’s Bliss Of Flesh upholds the brutal death metal genre with their 2013 release, Beati Pauperes Spiritu. They seem vaguely similar to Behemoth in the latter’s early, intense years. The band does experiment with melody, especially during “On The Path To Expiation”. What sets this album apart from others within …

Mordecai, a band from London, bring listeners 11 tunes showcased on their debut Undaunted. The band mixes two styles of rock in to their signature: a slower, melodic balladry and a fairly modern rock swagger. They sound vaguely American, but not so ‘in-your-face’. The songs follow, for the most part, …

Beaten To Death is a band from Norway, featuring members of current, established metal acts: Tsjuder, Insense, and She Said Destroy. If you are looking for vicious grindcore that’s also innovative and satirical, look to Dodsfest!. These guys nail it: everything from dirty grind to jangle-pop melodies (played over blastbeats). …

The Temperance Movement are quite simply refreshing. To see a band of musicians rise rapidly to a significant level of success in the space of just twelve months provides hope and inspiration to the aspiring musicians of places like London’s Tech Music. In this short time they have gone from …

The Crunch may be a new name, releasing their debut single earlier this year, but the members certainly aren’t new to the music scene.  Singer Soren ‘Sulo’ Karlsson was the singer with Blues-rockers Diamond Dogs, Bassist Dave Tregunna was in Sham 69 and Lords of the new church, Terry Chimes …

Ghost Avenue‘s brand of heavy music used to be called classic or power metal. On their eponymous 2013 disc, this Norwegian band showcases 11 energetic, catchy, melodic songs powered by dual guitar riffs. Add to that a solid rhythm section and a reasonably good vocalist for the genre, and you’ve …

It has been nine years since “Meet The Man” and now we’re finally treated to another solo album from House of Lords singer, James Christian. Recorded at his home studio in Florida and self-produced, this sees Christian collaborating with the likes of Tommy Denander, Chris Pelcer, and Jeff Kent, who’ve …

Canada’s Dissension have released a ten-song, fifty-minute concept album, Of Time And Chronic Disease. Combining elements of symphonic black, gritty death, burly power, and raging thrash metal, it offers sonic shocks to a diverse palette. Fans of second-wave symphonic metal (contemporaries to Dimmu Borgir, Cradle Of Filth, et al) ought …

Rare is the band who grasps the concept of ‘storming out of the gate’ with a killer debut that meshes great musicianship, good songwriting, and top quality production. Portugal’s Destroyers Of All offer a left-of-center metal assault, combining technical proficiency with catchy riff arrangements and songwriting, to deliver an incendiary …

Prog metal masters Dream Theater are back with with their twelfth studio album – the imaginatively titled “Dream Theater”.  Their last album, “A dramatic turn of events” was their first since the departure of founder member Mike Portnoy, but the album was written before his replacement on drums, Mike Mangini, …

Free Fall is the first full-length studio album by Swedish heavy metal songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Magnus Karlsson. What is amazing about this release is that the album features nine lead singers, on paper this should not work, mainly due to the vast difference in style and range each …

All To Ruin are a melodic metal quintet from Wales who formed just two short years ago. After recording a demo which gained attention from various big name metal publications, as well as radio airplay, the five-piece have now released their first official EP entitled Parables. ‘A Part of a Line’ has …

Ashes Of Ares‘ credentials are just about as impeccable as they come,  with the the band being made up of former Iced Earth vocalist Matt Barlow and bassist Freddie Vidales, and ex-Nevermore drummer Van Williams. With the meeting of two such strong forces of nature, you would expect something special to …

Faroe Islanders Týr may find themselves, by the fate of geography, isolated on the northern outskirts of Scandinavia but this, their seventh album, proves once again that they are very much at the centre of the particularly geocentric folkloric mythos which has helped this particular sub genre very much re-establish itself …

I first saw The Graveltones performing live supporting the band Stonerider, and then with Rival Sons a few times earlier this year. What impressed me about their live performances is the amount of noise and rhythmic sounds that the two Aussie band members Jimmy O and Mikey Sorbello produced as …