On paper, a band from Italy dubbed as “Dwarf Metal” may have you scratching your head. Yet when you listen to Wind Rose, it just works and it just makes sense. The quintet from the Tuscany region takes the festive feel of Folk Metal and the playfulness from Power Metal to create this fantastical new genre. Their unique merry-making is greatly contagious and explains why they are rapidly growing in popularity. They are now getting ready to release their sixth full-length record, Trollslayer (Napalm Records) that advances the band’s well-known jovial sound. They have managed to take all their best features, importantly multiple songs about beer, and compiled it all into this new album.Continue reading
Tag Archives: album review
ALBUM REVIEW: Seether – The Surface Seems So Far
South African rock band Seether are back with their ninth studio album, The Surface Seems So Far via Fantasy Records. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Wolfbrigade – Life Knife Death
Sweden’s Wolfbrigade occupies a very specific place in hard-core. The band’s 11th album Life Knife Death might be their first for Metal Blade Records, but it does not venture far from the sonic ground they covered on the previous ten albums. This aligns them closely to Motorhead in a few ways, the first being they are steadfast in their dedication to burly hardcore champs. It charges at you with all the Punk and rocking fury you might expect from this band who infuses Entombed’s dense guitar tone with Motorhead’s reckless energy. The raw-throated vocals are more Lemmy-influenced than metal. There is a scant trace of the stomping sections you might expect from hardcore, though this is way heavier than punk, thus making it hardcore. Ten albums in they know what they are doing.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Stryper – When We Were Kings
Stryper is one of those bands that has won world recognition for their consistent and dauntless directive. Their resolution to overtly share their beliefs through their big and boisterous sound has made them one of the most acclaimed faith-based Metal acts out there. Their ability to share a powerful and positive message while still being aggressive has been an impressive feat throughout their career. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Molchat Doma – Belaya Polosa
Belaya Polosa (Sacred Bones Records) is the fourth full-length release from Belarus’ Molchat Doma. The band consists of vocalist Egor Shkutko, guitarist, synth and drum machine player Roman Komogortsev (who is also the primary songwriter), and bass guitar and synth player Pavel Kozlov.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Boston Manor – Sundiver
While the band started with a familiar yet distinct brand of pop punk, British rockers Boston Manor’s sound has evolved into something even more defined. Ever since their second full-length Welcome To The Neighbourhood, Boston Manor have been experimenting with and expanding on a sound reminiscent of film noir—one that gets more and more vivid with each release. Their fifth album Sundiver (Sharptone Records) shines a new light to the world they continue to grow. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Leprous – Melodies of Atonement
Leprous is a band that stands apart from other progressive acts. Their ability to effortlessly experiment while remaining exceptionally grounded in their superior signature and skillful sound is uncommon. This Norwegian five-piece has been labeled as unique and is known to be creatively inventive within the heavy music sphere. Each record they make manages to explore new ground and deliver world-class wonders. They are about to release their eighth full-length record, Melodies of Atonement (InsideOut Music) and its distinctively different approach compared to their previous works proves once again how aptly ingenuous the band is. Continue reading
EP REVIEW: Horns and Hooves – Spectral Voyeurism
The two renowned Extreme Metal labels Stygian Black Hand and Invictus Productions are collaborating this time to release the anticipated mini-album coming from the ever-gnarly unholy trinity Horns & Hooves, entitled Spectral Voyeurism. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: In Hearts Wake – Incarnation
If you kept up with the metalcore scene a decade ago, you definitely knew about Australian outfit In Hearts Wake. Now in 2024, the band is getting closer to qualifying as a “classic” metalcore group—and still embraces every aspect of the classic sound they started with on their new album Incarnation (UNFD). Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Lord Buffalo – Holus Bolus
A dark cloud is on the horizon. There’s a sense that a storm is coming. But while such imagery often suggests bad times ahead, with Holus Bolus (Blues Funeral Recordings), the latest record by brooding Folk-Rock four-piece Lord Buffalo, those coming rains could be a welcome release. Continue reading