It’s been a couple of weeks since Metal Injection Fest 2024 melted faces in Brooklyn NY. It was a doozy of a weekend with the likes of Converge, Jinjer, the first live appearance on the East Coast by 3 Inches of Blood in 10 years, God Forbid, Cave In, Gost, Revocation, and a plethora of others. Continue reading
8.24.24 KNockdown Center, Brooklyn, NY Due to the massive success of the second edition of Milwaukee Metal Festival, the iconic midwestern event is returning in 2025! The festival will take place once again at The Rave/Eagles Ballroom from May 16-18, 2025, with the pre-party kicking off on May 15. Early bird tickets are now available at the link below! The festival is now pleased to welcome Down (w/ Phil Anselmo, Kirk Windstein, Pepper Keenan, Jimmy Bower + Pat Bruders), The Dillinger Escape Plan (performing Calculating Infinity in its entirety), Exodus, 3 Inches of Blood and more to the lineup, with many more TBA! The first wave of bands is now as follows:
With 2024’s event underway and already laying claim as one of the biggest and best Bloodstock’s ever, festival HQ have set the wheels in motion of 2025’s heavy metal juggernaut by announcing not one, not five, but nineteen bands for its hottest summer yet, including all headliners. Bloodstock 2025 will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 7th-10th August.Continue reading
It’s no secret that Canada has a long and storied history of producing quality Heavy Metal. From classic bands such as Anvil, Annihilator, and Exciter to more recent acts like 3 Inches Of Blood, Cauldron and Unleash The Archers, Canadians always seem to hit the traditional Metal mark. Continue reading
Trad Metal Flagbeaers 3 Inches of Blood have been much-missed in their almost 10-year hiatus as a working band. After much teasing on social media, the band has announced a one-off comeback show. Unto Others will provide direct support. The show will take place in their hometown of Vancouver Canada on January 13, 2024. The band will come full circle in the same place it ended, at the legendary Commodore Ballroom on Granville Street. Tickets officially go on sale September 15th at 10 am PST at livenation.com. Pre-sale tickets will be available on September 12th at 10:00 am PST. Check out the 3 inches of Blood Instagram and Facebook pages later on for pre-sale code.
For their seventh full-length studio release, Irish thrashers Gama Bomb return with a 19th-century nautical theme. Sort of like Moby Dick except with a Yeti, Sea Savage (Prosthetic Records) finds the band dressed like a hairier version of the cast of arthouse horror film The Lighthouse while presenting the album as a play split into two acts. Or at least try to anyway, as they inevitably end up getting sidetracked into songs involving movies and martial arts.
According to Welsh folklore, Cŵn Annwn (probably not pronounced the way you’re currently trying to say it) were spectral hounds from the mythical otherworld of Annwn. The creatures were dubbed “hounds of hell” by Christians, although Annwn was actually less of an infernal landscape full of pitchforks and torture, and more of a heavenly afterlife of eternal youth and plenty. Oh well. Christians gonna Christian.Continue reading
Formed in 2007 by vocalist Brittney Hayes (aka Brittney Slayes), drummer Scott Buchanan, and former guitarist Brayden Dyczkowski, Canadian Power Metal act Unleash The Archers have been steadily gaining more attention for themselves with each release, and this upward trend looks set to continue with their fourth album Apex (Napalm). Continue reading
Formed in 2000, Boston act Revocation have come along way since starting life under the rather uninspiring name of Cryptic Warning. Sounding like a particularly vicious blend of Sepultura and Pantera, the band were already exhibiting great technical skill, but changing both their direction and name in 2006 took things to the next level. Two years later they unleashed their début album, the self-released Empire of the Obscene, and the transformation was astonishing.
Effortlessly combining Technical Death Metal and Thrash, the band released four more albums, each one just as blistering as the last, but moving forwards each time, adding more melodic, Jazz, and traditional metal aspects along the way without losing any of their signature attack.
Now, there comes a time when after a number of well-received releases, a band will eventually feel a backlash. Well, if Revocation are to be on the end of such a thing, then it certainly won’t be with this album as Great is Our Sin (Metal Blade) is every bit as good as their previous five albums. Picking a highlight is a ridiculously difficult task as virtually everything hits the mark perfectly, but listen out for the Steve Vai-esque guitar solo on ‘Monolithic Ignorance’, Brett Bamberger‘s bass line at the beginning of ‘Crumbling Imperium’, and the drums on, well… everything. Anyone concerned about 3 Inches of Blood drummer Ash Pearson not being up to the task of stepping into the formidable shoes of Phil Dubois-Coyne can stop worrying right now.
The guitar work here is sensational; Dan Gargiulo and vocalist/founder member David Davidson utilising many different styles to get their point across without ever feeling forced or awkward. Oh, and just when you think it can’t get any better, here comes Marty Friedman with a guest spot on the quite brilliant ‘The Exaltation’.
Being overly critical, it could be said that Zeuss‘s production maybe isn’t quite as crisp as it could be, and although well played, the cover of ‘Altar of Sacrifice’ by Slayer is exactly what it is – a bonus track. Overall though, Great Is Our Sin is yet another triumph by Revocation. A thundering wall of sound replete with Jazz breaks, virtuoso solos, inhuman vocals, and an abundance of influences. Everyone from Iron Maiden and Testament to Gojira, Cynic and Gorguts and in between. And more.
8.5/10
GARY ALCOCK
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If Armored Saint’s new album, Win Hands Down (Metal Blade) taught us anything, it’s that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel or ignore your legacy to make a good album. Despite having been going since the mid-seventies, British NWOBHM crew Raven still know how to crank out an energetic slab of rock.
ExtermiNation (SPV/Steamhammer) is the 80s speed metal veterans’ 13th album and one they funded through Kickstarter late last year. The band, consisting of Gallagher brothers John and Mark [Bass/vocals and guitar respectively] plus drummer Joe Hasselvander do a good job of defying their years and combine plenty of energy with “shove in as many riffs as possible” approach to song writing.
On their Kickstarter page, the band billed ExtermiNation as “the best Raven album yet.” That might be a stretch for any band with such a lengthy legacy, but it’s definitely a raucous ride. There’s plenty of pounding drums, squealing guitars and crowd-pleasing sing along moments. Raven’s ability to mesh those Megadeth-esque speed metal moments with the more mid-paced NWOBHM chugging and even borderline AOR melody is probably their strongest asset. Not of it is particularly aggressive – it’s more fists in the air than fist to the face – but they know how to craft a few good tunes.
‘Thunder Down Under’ mixes AC/DC groove with beefed up rock, while the likes of ‘No Surrender’ and ‘Battle March/Tank Treads (The Blood Runs Red)’ and have a classic Iron Maiden style regard to squealing guitar leads. Gallagher’s vocals range from a simple shout right through to the kind of falsetto more suited to (now defunct) 3 Inches of Blood – and might be the strongest but suit the band’s rough around the edges sound. The more ballad/melody-oriented songs drag on and there are times when it all gets a bit too hackneyed, but the whole it’s a surprisingly enjoyable listen.
As many imitators as the whole NWOBHM scene as, there’s a reason the original acts are still seen as the best. Few bands can combine that energy, catchiness and ability to make you smile. It’s not big, clever, or anything we haven’t heard a thousand times elsewhere, but ExtermiNation is a simple and enjoyable slice of good time rock that harks back to metal’s heyday.
7.0/10
DAN SWINHOE