Reviewed: October 2020 Released: 2020, Rockshots Records Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Lee Carter If you have even a passing interest in rock or metal, it’s quite likely you will have heard some form of either that weaves in symphonic/orchestral elements. Done well, the grand aural spectacle that unfolds can pack the…
Album Review
Forlorn World – Umbra
Reviewed: October, 2020 Released: 2020, Self-released Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Jack Merry Forlorn World is a melodic death metal outfit formed in July 2019 by frontman and founding member of Bloodshot Dawn, Josh McMorran. With music using soaring guitar melodies whilst mixing dynamic clean and harsh vocals, Josh set out to…
The Hawkins – Silence is a Bomb
Reviewed: September 2020 Released: 2020, The Sign Records Rating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Lisa Nash The Hawkins started out in a small Swedish town back in 2013, building their reputation on live gigs and e.p’s culminating in a huge chance to tour Russia in 2016. Mixing elements of rock, pop, punk and…
Sonic Circus – Everything
Reviewed: September 2020 Released: 2020, self-released Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Rebecca Bush Sonic Circus released their debut single ‘Princess Blues’ and made their live debut to a sold out show at the Cherry Bar, back in 2018. Now the Australian rock trio make their return with their debut album, ‘Everything‘, produced…
Svederna – Härd
Reviewed: September 2020 Released: 2020, Carnal Records Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Demitri Levantis Svederna, one of Sweden’s recent additions to its black metal horde are back with third studio album: Härd, which translates to “hearth” in their native tongue. From their press release, they say a hearth is where all things…
Pain of Salvation – Panther
Reviewed: September 2020 Released: 2020, InsideOut Music Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes Pain of Salvation are rightly considered consummate heavyweights in the world of progressive music, and Panther aptly demonstrates just why. As always with any album that is inspired by more than a simple desire to keep making enjoyable…
The Last Reign – Evolution
Reviewed: September 2020 Released: 2020, independent Rating: 2.5/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes Melodeath is a tricky one to pull off these days, at least on its own merits. It’s a style that took extreme metal in fresh and interesting directions 20-25 years ago, but since then the quality has varied wildly.…
Pessimist – Slaughtering the Faithful
Reviewed: September 2020 Released: 2020 (original release: 2002), independent Rating: 1.5/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes Originally released in 2002, Slaughtering the Faithful is the third (and for now, last) full-length album of Pessimist, now remastered and re-released independently, perhaps as a prelude to new material round the corner. Slaughtering the Faithful…
Arrogant Destruktor – No Fucking Mercy
Reviewed: September 2020 Released: 2020, Analog Ragnarök Rating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Demitri Levantis No Fucking Mercy is the second studio outing from Birmingham’s Arrogant Destruktor, a group of guys who love the old school sound of black metal and don’t pull any punches with their output. In all, this record has…
Dying Vision – The Death and its Slaughter
Reviewed: September 2020 Released: 2020, Self Released Rating: 5/5 Reviewer: Demitri Levantis In a year overrun by a murderous pandemic stealing the lives of the best part of a million innocent people, the genre of death metal seems more appropriate than ever – particularly from bands who like to explore…
Interview with Naglfar
Interview with Andreas Nilsson (Guitars) Interview by Demitri Levantis Website – www.naglfar.net/ Facebook – www.facebook.com/naglfarofficial Instagram – www.instagram.com/naglfarofficial/ We caught up with Andreas of Sweden’s Naglfar to chat about their new album “Cerecloth” and what the band has in store for the future. Please follow and like us:
MESSIAH – Fatal Grotesque Symbols – Darken Universe
Reviewed: August 2020 Released: 2020, High Roller Records Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Jack Merry 26 years after their last studio album, extreme metallers Messiah are about to unleash the successor to their “Underground” record from 1994, entitled “Fracmont” on High Roller Records later this year. For now, however, the band are sweetening…
Kryptamok – Verisaarna
Reviewed: August 2020 Released: 2020, Purity Through Fire Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Demitri Levantis It would be quite a cliché to say a veteran of a certain scene will produce some of the best new music, but the reason that’s a cliché is that it normally turns out to be true.…
Entartung – Maleficae Artes
Reviewed: August 2020 Released: August 7th 2020, Dunkelheit Produktionen Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Annalisa Orlando This German black metal trio deliver a classic record. The combination of high-pitched vocals and extraordinarily long tracks all hark back to the 90’s heyday of black metal. Having said that, the clean and tidy production…
Cardiac Arrest – The Day That Death Prevailed
Reviewed: August 2020 Released: 27 July 2020, Boris Records/ Memento Mori Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Annalisa Orlando Staunch and pleasantly straightforward death metal from Chicago veterans. The record kicks off with “Thrive On Fear” with a howling siren. It’s a real headbanger, the best of roaring, aggressive death metal, with screeching…