Along with the likes of Dan Terminus and GosT, Perturbator has been one of the leading lights in the burgeoning Synthwave scene. The combination of retro, 80s-infused electronica played with the enthusiasm and tempo of Heavy Metal has become the not-so-guilty pleasure of metalheads looking for a reprieve from their usual playlists. Continue reading
Since their full-length début back in 2012. Australian prog metallers Ne Obliviscaris have shown a tremendous boldness of vision but yet have not quite managed to get it to gel to perfection. Their amalgamation of extreme metal, complex tech-metal, progressive rock’s wide arrangements and added orchestral elements have proven equally impressive and daunting, and despite some moments of brilliance, they haven’t quite backed their talent up with a landmark release. That is until now, with third album Urn (Season of Mist) being an unprecedented step forward.Continue reading
Hold on to your intestines. Buffalo’s finest (via Florida), Cannibal Corpse, are back to shred your organs, peel your skin, and violate your ears in the vilest, sickest ways possible with new album Red Before Black.Continue reading
Mirror Queen’s journey continues apace with the release of their new album Verdigris (TeePee), the New York bands third record and it further hones their sound, which mixes melodic guitar leads of Thin Lizzy and the heavy approach of NWOBHM with lighter, Pink Floyd like, prog-rock flourishes. The introductory song in this short six-part compendium cranks the volume up, it is a powerful nugget of hard rock with sumptuous twin guitar flourishes and a Budgie like a sense of power and speed. Verdigris is bookended by bangers as ‘Curse the Night’ takes a similar four to the floor approach, after a doomy intro you are hit with pounding drums, pacey riffs and rather tasty solos courtesy of Morgan McDaniel and axeman cum vocalist Kenny Kreisor.Continue reading
If there is one definable moment when 20th Century history took the wrong path, it’s when we decided to remember Prog as being safe. Yes, by the end it was all twenty-minute drum solos and Rick Wakeman in a dress, but Prog grew out of the thrill of experimentation, the desire to subvert and transgress against rock orthodoxy, and the best of it always had a sense of danger at its core. Continue reading
Symphonic Power Metal band Serenity is back with a new album, Lionheart (Napalm), and they are strong as ever. As on previous album Codex Atlanticus, which explored the life and writings of Leonardo DaVinci, the band’s passion for history inspired the themes and lyrics of the album. Continue reading
I’ll be honest I really wanted to start the review with a Mork calling Ghost Cult gag. I mean REALLY wanted to, had it planned out and everything. The problem being is that Eremittens Mal (Peaceville) is such a damn good album it kind of felt wrong to pluck that low hanging fruit. Mork is a Norwegian one-man black metal band and a damn good one at that. Continue reading
At the peak of their power in the late 1970s, Queen released News Of The Day (EMI/Elektra) to only solid reviews at the time. The band was riding high on a string of mid-70s chart-topping albums, with already some of the biggest hits of all time, that established them as one of the biggest bands in the world. Becoming of those bands changed Queen, a group of highly accomplished master musicians and live performers. Their concerts were already the stuff of legend since they were the first band in the world to book sold-out gigs at sports stadiums worldwide when arenas could not contain the scope of their shows. So as a response, the band began writing with the crowd in mind even more, creating entire passages meant for audience participation, not just the choruses. Critics at the time dissed them for this, but in hindsight, they presaged Metallica, AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Guns ‘N Roses, Judas Priest, Queens Of The Stone Age, Muse and just about every other arena rock band since in this regard. Continue reading
You must respect any band that lives up to their moniker. Imagine being an impressionable metallic youth raiding the local record store and picking up albums from acts known as Poison and Slaughter. Seems metal enough, but then you get home only to realize the swindle and that those tapes were as hard as the Pillsbury Doughboy. When you listen to Hostage Animal (Southern Lord) by All Pigs Must Die, you don’t have that problem. Continue reading
