Category Archives: Reviews

Hamferð – Támsins likam

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Hamferð’s slavish devotion to pristine technique and execution on Támsins likam (Metal Blade) becomes abundantly clear merely minutes into it. It’s got the type of laser-focus that may not be feasible for other metal musicians. It’s so well-formed and thought through that it could slightly border on predictable for some listeners. And it’s all well and good to feel that way, but this reviewer enjoys a good Doom Metal album that’s been properly mapped out and won’t run way passed its welcome.Continue reading →


Corrosion of Conformity – No Cross No Crown

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It has been 13 years since Pepper Keenan’s last album with Corrosion of Conformity; 2005’s excellent and under-rated In the Arms of God (Sanctuary). In the meantime, the rest of COC ploughed on as a trio, releasing the passable pair of Corrosion of Conformity and IX (both Candlelight); two records which tried to combine their early Punk and Thrash roots with the groove-laden rock and metal of their latter days, to only middling success. Continue reading →


Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Wrong Creatures

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From the 1:57 opening strains of the first track of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s newest release, Wrong Creatures (Abstract Dragon/PIAS), ‘DFF’, I know I’m in for a treat. I’m instantly transported back to a Mad Max Thunderdome setting. Leather. Blood. Fire. This puts a smile on my face. I’m totally pumped for what’s to come next! Continue reading →


Heidevolk – Vuur Van Verzet

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In the arena of folk and pagan influenced metal, which is often (and at times unfairly) thought of as pure silliness, drinking and near cartoonish portrayals, Dutch Folk Metallers Heidevolk have always been a consistently decent outfit, but one that has never reached the mainstream dabblings of a Turisas. Perhaps this is, in part, due to their more balanced take on the genre which sits between the fun-loving, grandiose approach, thoroughbred Heavy Metal grit and a more intelligent, nuanced side; Heidevolk is a name yet to progress beyond the most ardent of Folk Metal fan-bases only.Continue reading →


Watain – Trident Wolf Eclipse

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When it comes to the enjoyment of music, it goes without saying that the most important of the five traditional human senses is hearing (well, duh). However, as anyone who has witnessed their infamous stage shows up close and personally can attest, smell can be just as important a sensory device with Swedish Black Metallers, Watain.Continue reading →


Dyscarnate – With All Their Might

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Though it was conceived elsewhere, the UK can boast some real pedigree when it comes to Death Metal. From classic acts such as Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, and Akercocke to more recent acts such as Mithras, The King is Blind, and Venom Prison, there’s no shortage of quality. And 2017 sees the return of Dyscarnate.Continue reading →


Minors – Atrophy

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Well, bugger me! Holy Roar Records just continue to bring us some of the best underground heavy music around at the moment. I had previously reviewed The Barn from Idylls from the label and the quality is matched and even bettered here on Atrophy which is the début album from Windsor, Ontario’s Minors. The overriding feeling here is a sense of oppression and being pinned to my seat as the band dealt out wave upon wave of hardcore Sludge drenched in feedback, a stylistic choice which was very prevalent throughout. Continue reading →


Dirge – Alma | Baltica

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Although initially billed as an Industrial Metal band, France’s Dirge have long left the confinements of the classification. And although electronic sounds abound on their latest EP, Alma | Baltica (Division), the style here is somewhere even further down the post-metal rabbit hole. I’m not quite sure even if Alma | Baltica falls under metal anymore. These five tracks seem more like the score of a science fiction film that’s yet to be filmed. Continue reading →


Asking Alexandria – Asking Alexandria

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Asking Alexandria have been through some dramatic turbulence in the last few years and if music is the best therapy, this experiment is proof that music is the best medicine. Continue reading →


Schiermann – Schiermann

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Despite this being a début release, the name Schiermann is highly regarded in the contemporary progressive metal/djent community. At the helm is guitarist Chris Schiermann, who over the course of a decade of recording and writing music has befriended many titans in the genre, with the likes of Animals As Leaders, DispersE and TesseracT, and has taken inspiration from a wide range of influences and styles from such contemporary metal maestros to the virtuoso guitar players, most notably like Randy Rhoads. A wide palette that is abundantly clear on his début solo project release Schiermann (Purple Sun), which includes a plethora of guest appearances from such alumni as mentioned and thus offers a vibrant mix and character.Continue reading →