Misery. Sorrow. Doom. Welcome to Halifax. Since 1988, UK gloomsters Paradise Lost have been dishing out the most downcast and despondent riffs known to man, and on their seventeenth studio album Ascension (Nuclear Blast Records), they prove once again there’s still plenty of despair to be mined.Continue reading
Long Islanders False Gods emerged in 2015 from the ashes of the well-regarded Skeletondealer! Prior releases include a trio of EP’s: 2016’s Wasteland; 2017’s Reports From Oblivion; and 2019’s The Serpent And The Ladde. Twenty-twenty’s full-length debut No Symmetry…Only Disillusion followed soon after, as did 2022’s Neurotopia and finally a 2023 split with Japan’s Abiuro. 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
With strong Folk and Medieval undertones, Potsdam-based Subway to Sally announce the release of their fifteenth studio album entitled Post Mortem via Napalm Records, following its predecessor entitled Himmelfahrt. Having been around for over 30 years, they mainly play sounds under the Medieval/Folk Metal soundscapes, but they also managed to incorporate Gothic Metal and Folk Rock elements on the later trajectory of their musical career. Regarding Post Mortem, it is an album with an unbreakable force of light, and its enthusiasm radiates, to an extent where its listeners could absorb the passion and medieval spirit.Continue reading
Known more for its repetitive club beats and nauseatingly upbeat dance music, Spain does actually have an ever-increasing underground metal scene, and the symphonic/melodic death metal of Galician act Dark Embrace is about as far removed from glow sticks and foam parties as you can possibly get.
Fourth Dominion hails from Rochester, New York already steeped in a rich musical heritage, cue No-Wave legend Lydia Lunch, Swing era Jazz musician Cab Calloway, Garage-Rock revivalists The Chesterfield Kings, and of particular interest to Ghost Cult regulars, Grind gods Brutal Truth. Fourth Dominion therefore appear to be in esteemed company.
Ah, Eurovision.
That strangest of competitions where coming last can be as much of a badge of honour as winning. Continue reading
Named after the epic 17th-century biblical poem by John Milton, Paradise Lost are without a doubt one of the real success stories of British Heavy Metal. Continue reading
More so than many records, the eighth full length studio release from symphonic metal act Within Temptation serves as a perfect snapshot of current times. A combination of the ongoing recovery process from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the way that modern presentations of popular music consistently change and mutate, by the time Bleed Out (Force Music Recordings) finds its way into your grubby little paws, seven of its eleven songs will already have been released into the world of Spotify and YouTube.
Summer has just begun in Athens, Greece and festival season has made its way all around the city. Presented by Athens Rocks, June 26th was a day for the masses, literally, as the band Ghost have arrived to perform their Gospel to their Greek clergy at OAKA Stadium. Supporting them were national favorites Rotting Christ, and also presenting were Candlemass and Tyhus for those who braved by arriving early into the hot and sunny Grecian sun.