CONCERT REVIEW: Ghosts of Atlantis – Existentialist – Draugrheim Live at Colchester Arts Centre


 

No review from the Colchester Arts Centre would be complete without hailing the best small venue in the UK. Able to host 400 when packed to the architraves, its post-COVID refurb has cleaned up and modernised where needed (toilets, bars), whilst maintaining the features and character that every converted church that is now a gig-hosting venue should. Added to that, great views and a powerful sound-system, and the stage is quite literally set for a much more adventurous and welcome Tuesday night than you might normally get in the Britain’s oldest (and newest – Google it) city*

*It’ll always be a town, to me.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Invictus – Unstoppable


 

Some people just aren’t happy unless they’re busy, and with two established bands occupying his time Canadian vocalist Maurizio Iacono is certainly that. Not content with already fronting two well known and established bands, the Ex Deo and Kataklysm singer now spearheads Invictus.

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SINGLE REVIEW: Matricide – Talking To The Walls


 

After a studio absence of close to a decade, Israeli act Matricide make a welcome re-appearance with Talking To The Walls (self-released), the rip-roaring follow-up to comeback single ‘Walk Into the Flames’ released in April this year.

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Halo Effect – Days Of The Lost


 

Although lockdown was undeniably a desperate time for the entertainment business, for some, the time spent in isolation actually created opportunities. With schedules and timetables suddenly emptied, many long-standing ideas and projects, that for whatever reason, looked set to never get off the ground, were finally able to grow and develop into something more than a mere hopeful nucleus of an ideaContinue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Horizon Ignited – Towards The Dying Lands


It’s been three years since melodic death metal act Horizon Ignited announced themselves with their independently released 2019 debut After the Storm. Now, with the ink barely dry on a record deal signed in March, the Finnish sextet return with a fully-fledged follow-up Towards the Dying Lands (Nuclear Blast).

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ALBUM REVIEW: Omnium Gatherum – Origin


When it comes to the ever-satisfying subgenre that is Melodic Death Metal, not enough has been – or is being – said about marquee progenitors Omnium Gatherum, sometimes relegated to the last band or two listed when stacking up the scene during reminiscences at local drinking establishments.

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Hath – Of Rot and Ruin


Hailing from the unsuspecting state of New Jersey, Hath is a young Metal act that is blossoming. The band stunned the scene in 2015 when they released their EP, Hive with its modern, Blackened Metal excellence. Now, this budding band is getting ready to release their first full-length record, Of Rot and Ruin (Willowtip Records) and is taking their vibrant heaviness to a whole new level.Continue reading


Children Of Bodom – Hexed


After the initial explosive assault of their first few albums, consistency became a problem for Finland’s Children Of Bodom and a sequence of agreeable but patchy records, brightened only by odd moments of genuine quality, has seen them gradually relinquishing their grip on their status as genuine contenders; still, undoubtedly a hugely popular act with a widespread fanbase, the fact remains that COB really should be sitting among the biggest hitters by now.Continue reading


Soilwork – Verkligheten


Swedish Melodeath purveyors Soilwork are a staple of the scene. Despite never having the commercial success of In Flames nor the critical acclaim that At The Gates garnered, the band is a reliable ever-present, delivering solid albums on a regular basis.

With Verkligheten (Nuclear Blast), the band’s eleventh album, Soilwork deliver another exactly what they’re good at; a mix of shredding riffs, machine gun drumming, and a penchant for bombastic clean vocals.Continue reading