BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch has quit his long-running project with ICED EARTH’s Jon Schaffer, DEMONS & WIZARDS. Hansi announced his departure from DEMONS & WIZARDS two weeks after Schaffer was arrested for his involvement in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The 52-year-old ICED EARTH guitarist, who…
Song Dreams-Part Two (A Heavy Metal short story)
Back in late 2020, a local author approached us with a proposal to publish her Metal themed short story. We here at Metal-Rules like to encourage metallic creativity so we are pleased to present this unique story for your reading pleasure. Try to pick out all the Metal references!…
‘Spin The Wheel’ ft. Biff Byford (SAXON), Eric Peterson (TESTAMENT), Cecilia Nappo (BLACK MAMBA), Hannes Van Dahl (SABATON) & Jay Jay French (TWISTED SISTER)
With Covid plaguing the world during 2020, the international Heavy Metal community came screeching to a near standstill. The silence became deafening. And then one day, like a bolt of lightning, an idea came to us: What if you brought together a bunch of the heaviest hitters in the world…
Interview with SOULS OF DIOTIMA
Interview with SOULS OF DIOTIMA Claudia Barsi – Lead vocals Giorgio Pinna – Drums Antonio Doro – Bass, scream vocals Fabio “The Black Mask” Puddu – Guitars Interview by Rossy Maguire Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Spotify Hey and thank you for taking the time…
Royal Hunt-Dystopia
Reviewed: February, 2021 Released: 2020, Northpoint Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: JP I have to get this off my chest. This goes out to Royal Hunt and applies to any band. Please check on-line BEFORE you name your album, to see if any other band has the exact same album name. Dystopia.…
Black Hole Deity – Lair of Xenolich
Reviewed: February 2021 Released: 2021, Everlasting Spew Records Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Demitri Levantis Death metal has a long history of welcoming many wide and versatile themes into its echelons. Whilst themes of gore and death, destruction, murder and violence reign supreme, science fiction or the speculative genres that talk about…
Lunatic Power-The Great Light
Reviewed: February, 2021 Released: 2020, Indie Rating: 4 /5 Reviewer: JP I’m a little late with this review but better Kate than never! Back in October of 2020, the French Metal band Lunatic Power released their sophomore effort, THE GREAT LIGHT. The very first thing that caught my eye was…
Souls of Diotima – Janas
Reviewed: February 2021 Released: 2021, Diotima Records/ Rockshots Records Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Rossy Maguire SOULS OF DIOTIMA is a band with a unique style, featuring recognizable elements of traditional, progressive, and symphonic metal, as well as unconventional elements, woven together musically in a powerfully expressive new way. Their style recalls…
Rage In My Eyes – Ice Cell
Reviewed: January, 2021 Released: 2019, Independent Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Cristóbal Torres Rage In My Eyes is a Brazilian group from Porto Alegre born in 2002 under the name Scelerata. Under that name, they released three albums, until in 2018 they decided to change to the current name. We are facing…
Butterfly – Doorways Of Time
Reviewed: February, 2021 Released: 2021, Petrichor Records Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Erich Retro and revival bands are commonplace in rock and metal today. This proliferation makes it easy to miss or dismiss many of these bands, the thought that often passes through my mind being “Do we really need another 70’s…
Colossus – Degenesis
Reviewed: February 2021 Released: 2021, Comatose Records Rating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Kira Levine Illinois-based death metal trio Colossus (featuring members of Lividity, Cryptic Fog and Cereviscera) ring in the new year with upcoming debut album, Degenesis. A statement from the band on the release: “They watch from the distant, endless darkness,…
Lake, Daniel-USBM (Book review)
Reviewed: February, 2021 Released: 2021, Decibel Publishing Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: JP I couldn’t help but chuckle reading this book. Near the start of Chapter Three (p. 153) we learn that John Gossard, formerly of the band Weakling, responded to the author’s request for an interview with the following quote; “If…
Quick Jabs for February 2021
This is a new monthly section where we will post an assortment of shorter reviews for albums that we have checked out or may have missed out on previously. The reviews are short and to the point, thus the tile “Quick Jabs”. Tantivy – Eyes Of The Night January 15th,…
Viral – Viral
Review Date: February 2021 Released: 2021, Independent Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: RC2000 Hailing from Sweden, heavy metallers Viral have released their first album entitled VIRAL. They describe themselves as being ‘heavily rooted in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, with influences from thrash and power metal’. I’d say that’s a…
Schizophrenia – Voices
Schizophrenia – Voices Reviewed: February 2021 Released: 2020, Independent Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz Remember when Kreator circa ’86-’87 was the fastest and most pissed off sounding band you’d ever heard? That was the same vibe I had listening to VOICES, the debut EP from Belgium’s Schizophrenia. One of the…