Album Reviews

After listening to rock/metal for almost forty years, albums that really grab me by the scruff of the neck are few and far between but the self titled tenth album by Tampa Bay death metallers Obituary can be added to the list. The atmosphere they create on this ten track …

        Four piece Bereft release an amazing four track album in the form of ‘Lands’   I just love the myriad of sub genres that Metal throws up, and Blackened Doom is one of my favourites. To be fair it’s possibly nothing new , the two genres …

Me and that Man are Behemoth frontman, Nergal, and John Porter.  It’s a radical new sound for Nergal – gone is the heavy black/death metal, and instead you have Nergal doing vocals and John Porter playing guitar (often acoustic) and doing backing vocals, and there’s even Harmonica used.  It’s a …

It’s almost exactly three years since Angela Gossow stepped down as vocalist of Arch Enemy and announced her replacement, Alissa White-Gluz.  At that point the War Eternal album was already written and recorded with Alissa on vocals.  Since then it’s been a long wait for a second album with her …

If it were ever to happen, Blaze Bayley O.B.E has a great ring to it I think. Since singing with Wolfsbane from 1988-94, Iron Maiden from 1994-99 and a solo career from then until the present day, he has doggedly flew the flag for British heavy metal. The title of …

Having witnessed firsthand his continued prowess on stage in early 2016, the release on CD and full gig DVD of Michael Schenker Fest from the Tokyo International Forum takes the experience the German provides to the next level and underlines what is sure to become a legendary show. There have …

After more than two years on the road touring their debut album, The Picturebooks have returned with their new album, Home is a Heartache, which made its official release on 10th March 2017. Much like their first record, this German duo continue to provide an eclectically rare sound, whilst still …

      Illimitable Dolor release an amazing self titled album which is a wonderful tribute to former musician and fellow The Slow Death band member Greg Williamson, who sadly passed away a while ago   Penned by Stuart Prickett (Guitar/Keys and Vocals) these four monumental tracks are as fine …

      Sweden’s Eternal Fear return with their fifth studio album release “Killing Time”, an opus that sees them continue on an upward spiral.     Fashions come and go, fads hit the spotlight, only to fade away as time marches on but that classic Metal riff never fails …

Dissonance are releasing three reissues from Finnish legends, Hanoi Rocks.  The three releases are their first two studio albums, “Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks” and “Oriental beat” along with their 1984 live album “All those wasted years”.  Hanoi Rocks combined punk and glam rock and were making a big …

Dissonance records are reissuing the first three albums from Girlschool – “Demolition”, “Hit and run” and “Screaming blue murder”, dating back to the 1980-1982 period.  Fans of Girlschool will tell you these are classic albums by the band, and that’s certainly reflected in the fact that if you go and …

Funky Queen is the debut EP from Belgian garage rock band Black Mirrors, released 3rd March via Napalm Records.  The band are a three piece from Brussels comprising frontwoman Marcella Di Troia on vocals, Pierre Lateur on guitar and Gino Caponi on bass.  They cite Janis Joplin, Jack White, Anouk, Nirvana and …

The Devil in Faust, Come Apart EP is eventually here and it has been a long wait.  After being impressed with their video single for Dark Places back in December 2014 it has seemed like forever for this EP to appear.  The two further singles released in 2015 (Forsaken and So Clever) only added to …

The band’s most emotionally fraught release to date, The Devil Wears Prada are sharing the serenity and trauma of their ‘Transit Blues’. Six albums into their career, The Ohio set stand firm to share their incredible evolution at the hands of time and the ‘Transit Blues’, a byproduct of their …

The Charm The Fury are a Dutch metal band fronted by singer Caroline Westendorp.  One or two of you may now be thinking – Dutch band with female vocals – they’re bound to be symphonic metal, and to be fair the Netherlands have produced a fair few bands that fit …

Lots of things make perfect sense when put together.  Fish and chips, salt and vinegar.  Some things seem totally incongruous, like cats and dogs, Trump and the Presidency.  And there are other things you would just never even consider pairing up.  Cheese and chocolate, PlanetMosh and boy bands.  The new …

Its been a five year wait for Immortals, the latest studio album released via Century Media Records from Greek power metallers Firewind but the wait is well worth it as founding member Gus G leads from the front with guitar heroics throughout its nine tracks. Founded in Thessaloniki in 1998, …

Hartsick is the debut album from Southampton based band Our Hollow Our Home.   With the album due out on 3rd March, Connor Hallisey – Vocals, Tobias Young – Guitar/Vocals, Josh White – Guitar, Bobby Brooks – Bass and Nick Taliadoros – Drums have produced a great slab of British metalcore that brings the genre back to its basic elements. The album has …

It’s been a few years since Crystal viper released an album as the band went on hold in 2013 due to health issues with the singer Marta Gabriel.  Happily though the silence is over and the band are back.  At a time when there are countless symphonic or gothic metal …

Finnish band Battle Beast are a tricky one to describe.  On a first listen, depending on which songs you listened to, you might say they’re traditional heavy metal with female vocals, and that’s certainly a large part of their sound, but then you come across some of their other songs …