The wait for a new Candlemass album can often be slower than their riffs so it’s always a pleasant surprise when an interim release appears on the horizon. Four-track EP Black Star (Napalm Records) might only contain two original songs from the Godfathers of Swedish Doom but, as usual, it’s a tale of quality over quantity. Continue reading
Having undergone a major upheaval in 2022, Illinois thrashers Misfire return with a very different line-up and some of the gnarliest ’80s San Francisco Bay Area riffs to come out of modern-day Chicago. Second full length studio release Product of the Environment (MNRK Heavy) not only finds the band in devastating form, but also boasting guest performances from the likes of Rob Cavestany from Death Angel, and Rob Dukes (both formerly and currently of Exodus).Continue reading
Rebranding himself simply as Changeling for this eponymously titled release, German guitar maestro Tom Geldschläger (aka Tom Fountainhead) is one of those musicians who never seems to stop working. Whether it’s projects like Despotic, NYN or My Atomic Majesty, his studio engineering and session musician work, or as a music clinician, author, and speaker on music production and musicians’ mental health, Geldschläger always keeps a full diary. Continue reading
Having already dropped a handful of short-form studio releases, Massachusetts Progressive Death Metal act Ancient Death finally unleash Ego Dissolution (Profound Lore Records), their full-length debut album. Having already built up a well-deserved reputation in just a few short years, the four-piece from Walpole throw their psychedelic hat into a ring occupied by such luminaries as Gorguts and current darlings of the scene Blood Incantation.Continue reading
Revitalised and rejuvenated by the homecoming of original frontman Ezra Haynes, Colorado Tech Death act Allegaeon return with its seventh full-length studio release The Ossuary Lens (Metal Blade Records). Since Haynes’s return at the back end of ’22, the quintet has already teased fans with two singles before finally unveiling what everyone has really been waiting for. Continue reading
A duo accompanied by an unofficial yet ever present third member, German Blackened Death Metal act The Infernal Deceit are back with second full length album The True Harmful Black (Personal Records). Formed in 2018, the pair from North Rhine-Westphalia go only by enigmatic single initials – guitarist/bassist C and vocalist R – while session drummer Jörg Uken gets to use his full name while pounding the living hell out of his kit.Continue reading
A common lesson we’re all taught at some point is to never judge a book by its cover. There are times, however, when it’s actually perfectly acceptable to do just that. Especially when talking about three-piece Thrash Metal bands from the mainland of Western Europe. Continue reading
It’s quite astonishing that fourteen albums and thirty-four years into their career, Goth metal act Cradle of Filth are yet to produce something that could be overwhelmingly described as poor. At the top end of the scale we’ve got classics like Dusk and Her Embrace, Cruelty and the Beast, and Midian but at the other end, it’s more a case of least best, rather than worst with not a single St. Anger in sight. Some bands barely get to release two albums without the first rumblings of discontent but while hardcore black metal fans might still turn their noses up, the fact is that Cradle is as popular now as they’ve ever been. And it’s been that way for years. Continue reading
If you believe Hardcore has little to offer outside of the fairly narrow musical alleyway it usually occupies then today might just be the perfect time to take a listen to SpiritWorld. Combining Country Music and bedazzled outfits with Punk aggression and Thrash Metal riffs, the Las Vegas act are a sight to behold and they return with a vengeance on third full-length album Helldorado (Century Media Records).
Innovative avant-garde trio Imperial Triumphant are back, and once again the sprawling metropolis of New York City provides the backdrop. Showing the opulence, greed and decadence of the rich and shameless as a stark contrast to the grime and squalor of the less privileged is something the band already has down to a fine art but sixth full-length studio release Goldstar (Century Media Records) manages to refine it even further.Continue reading