Reviewed: June 2021 Released: 2021, DevFire Entertainment Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Graeme Smith Debut albums can be a bit a hit and miss. Often they are raw at the edges but offer hope and promise of what’s to come later, and then sometimes they can be the omen of doom and…
2021
Oldskull – Nether Hollow of No Return
Reviewed: June 2021 Released: 2021, Inhuman Assault Productions Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Demitri Levantis Discovering a band from Thailand is one thing, but to find out they are a band that have a strong and vicious old school vibe in their take on the death metal world is a whole new…
Malum – Devil’s Creation
Reviewed: June 2021 Released: 2021, Purity Through Fire Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Demitri Levantis Malum, representing their native Finland since 2013 in the world of satanic black metal, have returned with their fourth studio album, Devil’s Creation. An aptly named release, given that it sounds like nothing more than an echo…
Ringarë – Thrall of Winter’s Majesty
Reviewed: May 2021 Released: 2021, Amor Fati Productions Rating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Kira Levine Haling from Sweden / USA, Ringarë are an ambient black metal band who formed in 2004 (as Ringar) from the ashes of Troglodytic. Thrall of Winter’s Majesty is their second full-length record. A statement from their current…
Mephisto – Pentafixion
Reviewed: May 2021 Released: 2021, WormHoleDeath Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Demitri Levantis Gothic black metal is, in my eyes, one very underrated sub-genre and whilst some of the biggest names in metal like Cradle of Filth carry gothic elements, it’s bands who combine gothic metal and black metal well with overarching…
Lost Division – Cuts and Scars
Reviewed: May, 2021 Released: 2021, Inverse Records Rating: 2.5/5 Reviewer: Rebecca Bush Founded in Oulu, Finland in 2015, Lost Division released their first single ‘Wish You Were Dead’ in 2018, before swapping singers and beginning their journey to compose their debut album which was recorded back in 2020. Without knowing…
Millstone – Isle
Reviewed: May 2021 Released: 2021, self-release Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Kat Knite Isle is the newest release from Siberian metal collective Millstone, each song on the album winding and moving to the beat of its own drum while existing cohesively and potently within the groove/death-metal universe. Written by Ivan Scherbakov and produced by…
Christian Liljegren – Melodic Passion
Reviewed: May, 2021 Released: 2021, Melodic Passion Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Jack Merry With 35 years as a hard rock/metal singer and nearly 40 albums worth of experience, Christian Liljegren has established himself as one of the most productive metal musicians on the metal scene. His debut solo project, released under…
Cryptosis – Bionic Swarm
Reviewed: May 2021 Released: 2021, Century Media Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes Bionic Swarm is the debut album of Dutch thrashers Cryptosis, though that’s not the full story. The band were previously known as Distillator, and the new identity represents a transformation, a rebirth into a new, more efficient killing…
The Plague – Within Death
Reviewed: May 2021 Released: 2021, Bitter Loss Records Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Demitri Levantis It is something of a cliché for a band of any genre to call themselves “old school”, particularly if the said genre has a wide, versatile and eclectic or experimental canon of practitioners like death metal. However,…
Miasma Theory – Miasma Theory
Reviewed: May 2021 Released: 2021, Shadowlit Music Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes Miasma Theory is the self-titled debut album of a Florida-based quintet, each with their own existing resume in heavy metal (including Zachary Randall and Leona from epic doomsters Northern Crown). It’s a nicely vintage affair, though in an…
Vrademargk – Arrelats
Reviewed: May 2021 Released: 2021, self-released Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Demitri Levantis Spacing out album releases across a big number of years can be something of a mixed blessing. Either the final product tends to reflect the maturity of the band or it turns out to be nothing short of an…
Interview with Evilizers
Interview with Fabio Attacco (vocals) Interview by Andrea Di Stasio Hey and thank you for your time. Please state your name and position in the band. Hi, I’m Fabio Attacco, the singer. Congratulations on your second album, how does it feel to go from a tribute band to a band…
Vokonis – Odyssey
Reviewed: April 2021 Released: 2021, The Sign Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Lee Carter There’s somewhat of an expectation with modern progressive metal music that it needs to sound somewhat introspective. Whether that is in harder, heavier subgenres such as death metal, or lighter examples, there’s a certain level of brood that…
Band of Spice – By The Corner of Tomorrow
Reviewed: April 2021 Released: 2021, Scarlet Records Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Jack Merry Beginning his time in the music industry as the vocalist and bass player for 90s’ stoner metal band Spiritual Beggars, Swedish musician and songwriter Christian “Spice” Sjöstrand has a fondness for 1970s’ hard rock and has incorporated elements…