Tag Archives: album review

Good bands, like a really fine Cabernet Sauvignon, truly do get better with age, improving on the palate as they in turn develop and mature:  but, like wine, they also need the right environment in which to do so – and, with a new three-album deal with Napalm Records tucked …

Having released their first demo away back in 2002, this debut album by Peruvian devils Goat Semen has been more than a decade in the making.  In the intervening years, the band have released a few split EPs, deliberately designed to tantalize their fans – among whom they have reached …

A brilliant 13 song offering released in late 2014, Once, Forever & Again by London-based The See See showcases the band’s latest sonic journeys, and is the subject of this week’s Pop Focus. Once, Forever & Again, The See See’s third full-length studio effort, finally breaks some ground and gains a …

Hailing from São Paulo, Jupiterian play the sort of funereal doom-laden sludge metal that is darker and denser than the rainforests which surround their home city. This EP was originally released in Brazil last July (and subsequently has been succeeded by a second EP, ‘Proclamation’, in the latter part of …

Italy’s Game Over, founded in 2008, has presented fans with a crisp, 13-track re-release of their 2012 debut disc, For Humanity. A word being thrown around these days in some metal circles is “revival”, with practitioners labeled “revivalists”. Thrash and speed metal arguably had their heyday around the same time …

One thing keeps me interested in UFO, and that is Phil Mogg, the singer of UFO (and joint founding member along with Pete Way) since the band formed in 1969, I was 4 then. Phil’s vocals are still solid; if slightly lacking in power since the hay day of UFO …

Sometimes an album, or even a band, is of its time.  This re-issued debut from New Jersey (at the time) upstarts Exxplorer definitely falls into that categorization – but, in a good way. Quite rightly, when first released three decades ago, ‘Symphonies Of Steel’ was regarded as a groundbreaking album, …

Satan’s Host are one of those rare bands that the much over-used musical terminologies “cult” and “underground” most definitely can be applied – and liberally! After forming around the nucleus of guitarist Patrick Evil and vocalist Leviathan Thisiren (otherwise known by his real name of Harry Conklin, frontman of Jag …

This band’s fans, humorously dubbed Peripherals, are going to adore this set by Washington, D.C’s Periphery. Titled Juggernaut: Alpha and Juggernaut: Omega, the dual-disc ‘concept album’ set serves to redefine the band for anno 2015. Seventeen songs of djenty, modern progressive metal glory will tickle the earholes of an eager …

Atlas Losing Grip a five piece Alternative Crossover Punk band from Sweden released their third album ‘Currents’ via Cargo records today (16th January 2015). Formed in 2005 ‘Currents’ marks their tenth anniversary. Atlas Losing Grip embark on the Currents European Tour 2015 Part 1 next week with support on many …

This second album from Hamburg-based power metallers Shadowbane is one which almost did not see the light of day, as – in common with a number of other projects – it was undergoing its mastering process, at the hands of Dirk Schlächter when the Gamma Ray bassist’s Hammer Studios spectacularly …

Sicilian black metal maestro Vardan has been described as perhaps the busiest man in the genre:  and, with an amazing work rate which has seen him release an astonishing 22 albums during his career – including three (and one split EP) in 2014 alone – that is undoubtedly a more …

This fourth album by Reading’s Sylosis is one born out of trauma:  several months before they started recording it, the band were involved in a serious road accident while touring the States with DevilDriver – and it is this incident which seems to permeate the sense of darkness which pervades …

Hailing from the eastern French region of Haute Savoie, Hybrid Sheep play traditional deathcore heavy enough to induce devastating avalanches on nearby Mont Blanc and send it crumbling into Lake Geneva. For where these five young guys score heavily is in their emphasis on old-school death metal sensibilities – such …

Bigfoot are a five piece hard rock band that were only formed in Spring 2014 .They are from Wigan and combine powerful vocals, dual lead guitars and a heavy driving rhythm section. They state their influences are from The Eagles to Pantera. The band members are:-Antony Ellis -Lead Vocals, Sam …

Formed out of the ashes of Norwegian AOR-sters Wig Wam, Ammunition is the new project from vocalist Age Sten Nilsen who, since the surprise split of his former band last March, subsequently has teamed up with guitarist/producer friend Erik Mårtensson (best known for his work with W.E.T and Eclipse), with …

Despite hailing from 21st century California, Night Demon are a band with their roots very firmly in the NWOBHM, encompassing influences from the obvious ones such as DiAnno-era Iron Maiden and Saxon through Angel Witch, White Spirit and Raven, as well as the first wave of US bands to in …

Two years on from their acclaimed second album, ‘Beneath The Surface’ (enthusiastically reviewed by PlanetMosh at http://planetmosh.com/alpha-tiger-beneath-the-surface/), young Saxony retro melodic metallers Alpha Tiger return with their third offering, and their first for the mighty Steamhammer imprint. Hailing from Saxony, the powerbase (sic) of the German power metal scene, Alpha …

While most bands try to follow their debut album as quickly as possible, Californian grinders Cretin waited a full eight years to release their second opus, with the result being issued via Relapse Records at the end of last year.  But, then, these Santa Cruzers seem to like to take …

Hailing from the darkest nether reaches of Florida, but drawing their lyrical and musical influence from Greece (their name comes from the Greek term “religion of knowledge”) both ancient and modern, Gnosis deliver a dark and malificent brand of dark and dank black metal that is as primeval and primordial …