Guitars quite literally illustrate the opening action of “By The Light”, a group of paladins attacking an evil necromantic death cult. Their failure and the sole survivor Emaly’s efforts to avenge the deaths form the balance of Burning Sun’s Retribution (Metalizer Records), a Power Metal tour de force of a concept album in the vein of Helloween and my last album reviewed for Ghost Cult, Martyr. Pancho Ireland’s vocals maintain smooth power akin to Bruce Dickinson.Continue reading
In just a month, Louder Than Life will stage one of the biggest and LOUDEST festivals in North America all year — and the largest in the history of producer Danny Wimmer Presents! With more than 175 bands, 7 stages, and a newly expanded and enhanced festival site, the 11th edition of Louder Than Life – held September 18, 19, 20 & 21 at the Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY – will be like nothing music fans have experienced yet. To help everyone plan ahead, DWP has now released the music performance set times and a new mobile app so attendees can create their dream weekend and make sure not to miss a moment of the action. In addition to the previously announced return of metal legends Slayer, the four-day destination event will also feature Rob Zombie in a global exclusive performance of Astro-Creep: 2000 in honor of the album’s 25th anniversary, plus Marilyn Manson on Thursday; Avenged Sevenfold, Sleep Token and Breaking Benjamin on Friday; Deftones, Bad Omens and A Perfect Circle on Saturday; and Bring Me The Horizon, $uicideboy$, and Evanescence on Sunday.Continue reading
From underground gems to headline-worthy drops, it’s New Music Friday
7-25-25
Who has the best album cover this week?
Bruce Dickinson, the legendary frontman of Iron Maiden, is to appear as a special guest at the HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinnati this September 12–14, 2025. This year, the company also celebrates its 20th anniversary of serving the horror community through magazines, conventions and events, podcasts, special edition publications, a record label, and more. Keep reading below for more information.
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Louder Than Life will be disturbing the peace in 2025 with one of the biggest and LOUDEST festivals in North America all year. Over 160 bands will perform on 6 stages September 18, 19, 20 & 21 at the Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY for the 11th edition of Louder Than Life. Louder Than Life 2025 also marks the largest lineup in the history of producer Danny Wimmer Presents. In addition to the previously announced return of metal legends Slayer, the four-day destination event will also feature Rob Zombie in a global exclusive performance of Astro-Creep: 2000 in honor of the album’s 25th anniversary, plus Marilyn Manson on Thursday; Avenged Sevenfold, Sleep Token and Breaking Benjamin on Friday; Deftones, Bad Omens and A Perfect Circle on Saturday; and Bring Me The Horizon, $uicideboy$ and Evanescence on Sunday.Continue reading
Last-minute slinky Norwegian jesters aside, our dedicated and awesome team of writers, photographers, editors, contributors, alumni, designers and what have you, have come together to work through our regular collaborative and demographic confirmation of those albums that tickled our collective pickle in 2024.Continue reading
Some shows you take road trips to go and see, and this was one of them. On November 1st, I made the trek to Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center to see the Iron Maiden and The Hu share the stage. From New York, it should be a two-hour trip-plus with traffic, you can add an extra hour. Silly me, that wasn’t enough. Continue reading
Bruce Dickinson has released the limited-edition CD of his new single “Resurrection Men,” featuring two live bonus tracks. It originally appeared on his latest album, The Mandrake Project, and is accompanied by a video video looking back at recent touring, from L.A. on April 12th, to Athens, Greece on July 21st playing to over 350,000 people. Find the video and more below.
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Stjepan Juras, Paul Di’Anno’s manager, just reported on a significant event in Iron Maiden and heavy metal history as Paul and his replacement in Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson met in person for the first time in Zagreb, Croatia. Bruce is on tour for his new solo album and Paul was doing a record signing for his new album Paul Di’Anno’s Warhorse recently announced that their self-titled debut album will be released worldwide on July 19th via BraveWords Records.Continue reading
For their sixth full-length studio release, Swedish metallers Portrait journey to the land of the concept album in order to conjure up a tale of sword and sorcery set in the seventeenth century. Their first full-blown conceptual release, The Host (Metal Blade) is not an entirely fictional piece but also inspired partly by historic events, with the band imparting the tale of an unnamed protagonist seeking strength after encountering injustice and hypocrisy.
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