Category Archives: Reviews

Mirror Queen – Verdigris

Posted on by

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 →


REVIEWS ROUND-UP: Week 43 (2017) – feat. Savage Messiah, Winds of Plague, Hollywood Undead, Sparzanza and more…

Posted on by

The Ghost Cult album round up is back in town, for your vulgar delectation…Continue reading →


Fleurety – The White Death

Posted on by

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 →


Serenity – Lionheart

Posted on by

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 →


Mork – Eremittens Mal

Posted on by

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 →


Queen’s News Of The World Album Released Forty Years Ago

Posted on by

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 →


All Pigs Must Die – Hostage Animal

Posted on by

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 →


Deftones’ Around The Fur Turns 20 Years Old

Posted on by

Get in your way-back machine and set the dials for 1997. People back then had big 1990s optimism and even bigger pants (JNCOs). James Cameron’s Titanic was dominating the box office, and sadly two iconic women, Mother Teresa and Princess Diana died. Scotland cloned a sheep named Dolly, and the first of the Harry Potter novels was published. And a band from Sacramento, CA put out their second album. Of course, we mean Deftones and Around The Fur (Maverick). Not just any sophomore effort, the album would be a stylistic left turn for the band that was on the forefront of Nu Metal just a few years earlier. A classification the band would come to shun and remove themselves from over future releases.Continue reading →


Gold Key – Hello Phantom

Posted on by

Gold Key is an interesting prospect both in terms of concept and delivery. Formed in Watford, England with former and current members of bands such as Sikth, Gallows and Spycatcher they are now ready to unleash their début album Hello Phantom (Venn) on a world that will probably have already decided on what they think this band will sound like, but right off the bat, the sheer myriad of influences becomes apparent, and it really does take a few listens to appreciate the talent on show, sounding nothing like you’d expect.Continue reading →


Reviews Roundup: Week 42: VUUR, We Came As Romans, Veil of Maya, Then Comes Silence and more

Posted on by

re

Ghost Cult rounds up those albums which didn’t receive the full review treatment, for your vulgar delectation…Continue reading →