ALBUM REVIEW: Xandria – Eclipse


Personnel changes are a pretty regular occurrence for German Symphonic Metal act Xandria, so it should come as no surprise that ninth full-length studio album Eclipse (Napalm Records) finds guitarist and sole mainstay, Marco Heubaum, in all too familiar territory. The departure of bassist Tim Schwarz earlier in the year was the latest spanner in the works, but Heubaum worked quickly to secure the talents of Sascha Mordtmann, the remainder of the line-up staying the same as 2023’s The Wonders Still Awaiting. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Morbyda – Under The Spell


Although only formed in 2022, you could easily be forgiven for thinking that Leipzig speed metallers Morbyda have been around since the early eighties as debut album Under the Spell (Dying Victims Productions) hits all the right nostalgia notes while delivering something uniquely its own. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Cytotoxin – Biographyte


Cytotoxin have well and truly embraced the Chernobyl disaster as impetus for what they term Nuclear Death Metal, and their latest foray, Biographyte (Self-Released) is yet another gruelling installment, for better and worse. Continue reading →