April 2021 March 1st, 2021 / Stormspell Records Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 Reviewer: John Haseltine Starscape was initially intended to be a one-person solo project by Anton Eriksson under the moniker Pilgrim in 2015. After the release of a demo in 2017, the project started picking up steam quickly,…
Traditional metal
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…
Best of 2020: Kieron Hayes
01. Igorrr – Spirituality and Distortion (SAMPLE) Spirituality and Distortion is a truly strange album, and it plays into that as its strength just perfectly. It’s one of those avant-garde metal albums that throws in a ton of different sounds, either one after another or at the same time. You’ll…
Chalice – Trembling Crown
Reviewed: December 2020 Released: 2020, High Roller Records Rating: 2.5/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes According to their bio, Finland’s Chalice have spent the last 5 years composing the songs present on Trembling Crown, their debut full-length. This only makes it all the more a shame, then, that the album is so…
Interview with Ecclesia
Interview with Ecclesia Frater Arnhwald – Vocals Julius Accusator – Lead guitar The Witchfinder General – Rhythm guitar Frater Ignis Sacer – Bass Pater Hexenhammer – Drums Pater Walkelinus – Organ Interview by Kieron Hayes Facebook | Bandcamp Ecclesia’s debut album, De Ecclesiæ Universalis, made a great impression here at…
Ecclesia – De Ecclesiæ Universalis
Reviewed: November 2020 Released: 2020, Aural Music Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes French sextet Ecclesia are here with their debut full-length, De Ecclesiæ Universalis, a fervently fun slab full of heretics, witches and the ever-unexpected Inquisition hunting them down. The band is most often described as doom metal, and while…
Tantivy – Eyes in the Night [EP]
Reviewed: November, 2020 Released: January 15th 2020, Church Recordings Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Rebecca Bush This duo waste no time in powering into their debut EP full throttle with opening track ‘I Am The Wolf’. A fast and furious riff reminiscent of Motörhead’s Ace of Spades paired with gravelly raw vocals…
Interview with Adamantis
Interview with Adamantis: Evgeny Gromovoy – Drums Javier Estrada – Guitars Jeff Taft – Guitars Jeff Stark – Vocals Cody Pelchat – Bass Interview by Kieron Hayes Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram Hey and thank you for your time. What first inspired the formation of Adamantis? Is there a meaning behind…
Possessed Steel -Aedris
Reviewed: October, 2020 Released: 2020, Temple Of Mystery Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Erich Gotta love the band name, so metal and so expected. AEDRIS is the debut full-length album for Toronto, Canada’s Possessed Steel. The band formed and have been playing since 2010 but did not finally release their debut EP…
Spirit Adrift – Enlightened in Eternity
Reviewed: [October 2020] Released [2020 20 Buck Spin] Rating [4/5] Reviewer: Peter Atkinson The traditional metal duo Spirit Adrift manage to capture the, well, spirit of metal past yet present it with a modern feel and panache like few others. Instead of slavish devotion to aesthetic or sound – in…
Steve Blower – The Prophecy
Reviewed: September, 2020 Released: 2020, Self Produced Rating: 3.5/5 Reviewer: Erich Steve Blower is the guitarist, main composer, and singer for Wakefield, England’s Hamerex. The band is currently on hold, so Blower has been active with his solo music. THE PROPHECY is the follow-up to 2019’s BACK IN HELL and…
Greyhawk – Keepers of the Flame
Reviewed: July 2020 Released: 2020, Fighter Records Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes Greyhawk’s debut album, Keepers of the Flame, out now via Fighter Records, is an absolute treat for any heavy metal fan, and a stalwart reminder of just why we love this genre in the first place. This is…
Torchlight Parade – Torchlight Parade
Reviewed: July 2020 Released: 2020, self-released Rating: 3/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes To say an album rocks is almost always a resounding and succinct form of praise. And Torchlight Parade’s self-titled debut certainly -does- rock. The problem is that’s more or less all it does. The band is certainly very clear…
Northern Crown – In A Pallid Shadow
Northern Crown – In A Pallid Shadow Reviewed: June 2020 Released: 2020, Bandcamp Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Aaron Yurkiewicz Since their formation in 2013, Ft. Lauderdale’s Northern Crown have been independently releasing some of the most vibrant, epic doom metal that you’ve probably never heard. IN A PALLID SHADOW is the…
Wolftooth – Valhalla
Reviewed: June 2020 Released: 2020, Ripple Music Rating: 4/5 Reviewer: Kieron Hayes Do you like the classic sound of the early albums of The Sword or Mastodon? Then Wolftooth have got you covered! That sound much more dismissive than it’s intended to, though the score given should help offset that.…