Tag Archives: Gary Alcock

ALBUM REVIEW: Scour – Gold

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Trading Louisiana sludge for a more European soundscape, black metal act Scour is the latest project from Phillip H. Anselmo, the former frontman of Texan bruisers Pantera and New Orleans supergroup Down. Although quite some distance away from his usual musical stamping ground, this isn’t the first time Anselmo has turned his hand towards black metal, but where the likes of Eibon and Viking Crown merely laid the groundwork, it’s with Scour where all the pieces have finally come together.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Stress Test – Stress Test

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The more uncertain the times, the more violent the reaction. A point proven in the eighties with the explosion of Hardcore and Thrash, and this self-titled debut by Oregon act Stress Test is like taking a step back into that time. A time when everyday existence meant the fear of war, disease and hate; a time when religion and politics were even more corrupt and depraved than certain types of criminals. The sad thing is though, you only have to spend thirty seconds watching the TV or doomscrolling through your news feed to see history repeating itself, only worse and often in more insidious ways.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Lacuna Coil – Sleepless Empire

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Back with their tenth full-length studio release (eleven if you include Comalies XX, the reworked version of their 2002 breakthrough album) Italian alt/goth metal act Lacuna Coil return with Sleepless Empire (Century Media Records), one of their strongest records in years.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Dream Theater – Parasomnia

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A record called Parasomnia (InsideOut Music) which explores many of the unusual behaviours and emotions experienced during sleep, written by a band called Dream Theater (a spelling which, due to my almost painful levels of Englishness, never fails to make me shudder) seems the most obvious pairing in the world. The question of why it’s taken until their sixteenth full-length studio release for this to happen is something for the band to explain but it’s here now, and in true Dream Theater tradition, you’re going to need time to absorb it fully.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Black Talon – Scenes Of Agony

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It’s taken ten long years but Edinburgh thrashers Black Talon follow up highly promising full-length studio debut Endless Realities with their independently released second album, Scenes of Agony. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: The Great Old Ones – Kadath

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It’s been six years since the last malformed utterances of The Great Old Ones, but now the French H.P. Lovecraft worshippers have returned from the cosmic void, not only with new album Kadath (Season of Mist) but with a change in direction.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Grave Digger – Bone Collector

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Formed all the way back in 1980, German Metal stalwarts Grave Digger return to celebrate their 45th anniversary with a new album Bone Collector (RPM Roar). The band’s 22nd full-length studio release (if you choose to include the time during the eighties they were known as Digger) finds the band in blistering form with one of the finest records they’ve released in years.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: The Halo Effect – March Of The Unheard

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After blasting onto the scene a few short years ago with their electrifying debut, Swedish supergroup The Halo Effect return with second full length studio release March of the Unheard (Nuclear Blast Records). Comprised entirely of former members of In Flames, The Halo Effect is sort of like the musical equivalent of a support group for disgruntled ex-employees, but with riffs instead of complaining.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Dominum – The Dead Don’t Die

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Almost a year to the day, theatrical German zombies Dominum return to build on the success of their full-length studio debut Hey Living People. Keeping the corpse costumes, make-up and props close to hand, the undead quartet still look like they’ve escaped from the nearest graveyard but now come armed with a sharpened sense of melody and even more confidence in their delivery.Continue reading →