Reviewed: January 2022 Released: October 2021, AFM Records Rating: 5/5 Reviewer: Buddy H In the pantheon of hard rock and metal, some guitarists are so well known, they’ve become household names. Eddie Van Halen. Yngwie Malmsteen. George Lynch. Zakk Wylde. The list goes on and on. One name that should…
Album Reviews
Exodus – Persona Non Grata
Reviewed: January 2022 Released: November 2021, Nuclear Blast Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Buddy H Certain people are put on this Earth to do certain things. Some are called to be doctors. Some are called to be teachers. Some are called to be musicians. Thankfully, for us metalheads, Gary Holt was put…
Beast in Black – Dark Connection
Released: November 2021, Nuclear Blast Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Brat While listening to DARK CONNECTION and assembling my thoughts on the album, I went back to the review I wrote for BERSERKER and was shocked to realise BERSERKER was released in 2017 so I went in search of the Beast In…
Primalfrost – Lost Elegies
Reviewed: January 1, 2022 Released: December 28, 2021 Rating: 5/5 Reviewer: The Elitist Metalhead So 2021 has been an incredible year for metal. There have been huge releases, killer debuts and now a last minute twist in the 2021 round up. I reviewed the debut full length by multi talented…
Maule – Maule
Reviewed: January 1, 2022 Released: January 24, 2022, Gates of Hell Records Rating: 4.5/5.0 Reviewer: The Elitist Metalhead Well metal never takes a day off and just as we are preparing our best ofs and AOTYs for 2021, 2022 is already attempting a “hold my beer” moment. 2021 was most…
Hypocrisy – Worship
Reviewed: January 1, 2022 Released: November 26, 2021, Nuclear Blast Rating: 4.5/5.0 Reviewer: The Elitist Metalhead If you are not familiar with Peter Tägtgren then you must have been living under a rock. He has been part of the metal scene since the late 80s and, even though he is…
Quick Jabs for January 2022
Welcome to another installment of “Quick Jabs.” This is the section where we post an assortment of shorter reviews for albums that we have checked out or may have missed out on in previous months. Seeing as these January reviews are typically for releases of the prior month, this is…
James, Richard-UFO-Every Album, Every Song (Book Review)
Reviewed: January, 2022 Published: 2021, Sonic Bond Publishing Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: JP Back in October of 2019 I had the pleasure of reading a book by John Tucker from the On Track Series called Judas Priest:Every Album, Every Song. It was (at the time) a relatively new series of publications…
Ghost Bath – Self Loather
Reviewed: Jan 2022 Released: 2021 Northern Silence Productions Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Demitri Levantis The depressive post-black metal forerunners, Ghost Bath have returned with their fourth studio piece, “Self Loather.” Something of an ironic title given how easy-going and helpful I found this record when listening to it. I should…
Khemmis – Deceiver
Reviewed: January 2022 Released: 2021, Nuclear Blast Rating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes Despite only just coming up on double digits of age as a band and their fourth full-length, Khemmis have already made a solid name for themselves among doom fans. Their approach manages to expertly tap into the epic…
Boarhammer – I: Cutting Wood For Magickal Purposes
Reviewed: January 2022 Released: 2021, self-released Rating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Kira Levine Boarhammer is a German black metal duo (guitarist/vocalist Wodwoz and singing, drumming bassist The Vessel), formed in 2020. I: Cutting Wood For Magickal Purpose is their debut demo, limited to only 150 independently-released tape cassette copies. Atmospheric opener “Riding…
Hertkorn, Andreas-Todessehnsucht:Longing For Death (Book review)
Reviewed: November, 2021 Released: 2021, Seven Metal Inches Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: JP There are thousands of publications about Metal but the regional/genre category is one of the most specialized and the most rare. In the last 40 years you can list books about a regional genre on two hands. There…
Swallow The Sun – Moonflowers
Reviewed: January 2022 Released: 2021, Century Media Records Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Lee Carter As one of the genre’s most celebrated figureheads, Finland’s SWALLOW THE SUN needs absolutely no introduction and continues to carry the torch for those of a death/doom persuasion. They may be over twenty years into their existence as…
Demonicera – Blasphemous Thoughts
Reviewed: [January 2022] Released [2021 Self-Released] Rating [4/5] Reviewer: Peter Atkinson Kinda lost this one in the shuffle of late summer stuff, but glad I stumbled upon it while sifting through end of the year stuff. The debut EP from Demonicera delivers Swedish-style death metal by way of Austria with…
Ministry – Moral Hygiene
Reviewed: January 2022 Released: 2021, Nuclear Blast Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes It’s been a bit of an interesting trip with Ministry through the years, as the Christ-constructed hotrod found their route, built up speed, careened along with style that felt classically punk, simultaneously carefree and deeply motivated by socio-political…