Despite thirty-five years in the business, Finnish sextet Amorphis’ fire has not dulled. Borderland (Reigning Phoenix Music) is the melodic Death Metal group’s fifteenth album, and it is the same multi-layered mix of Death, Folk, and Symphonic, only this time there is a greater emphasis on melody, and it is not as heavy and bombastic as Halo.
When it comes to musical acts, Eluveitie is a bit of an anomaly.
Created nearly twenty-five years ago, the Melodic Folk Metal band has a literal laundry list of former members and only has one musician who has been there since day one. Yet despite these factors usually causing the act to fizzle out, it instead enabled Eluveitie to constantly reinvent themselves while also somehow retaining a very clear and very likeable common thread.Continue reading
When Stick To Your Guns are firing on all cylinders, it really is top-notch melodic-tinged Hardcore. And their latest full-length is a shining example.Continue reading
The Perth-based Make Them Suffer transcend the boundaries of Deathcore with their self-titled fifth album being released on SharpTone Records. Continue reading
It may be a dying art form these days, or I might be living under a rock. Either way, Paganizer have put strong emphasis on their title track, which elicits a sigh of relief from this writer.Continue reading
The Icelandic music scene has always been an integral part of me that shaped my identity into the person I am today, ever since I was a middle schooler (which is also what got me into learning Icelandic at 12. Who on earth learns Icelandic at 12, in this economy?). The metal festival Eistnaflug and the multi-genre festival Iceland Airwaves have always been on my ongoing bucket list.Continue reading
The selling point for A Giant Bound To Fall (Transcending Obscurity Records), the latest full-length from progressive/melodic death metal outfit Eternal Storm, is the simple fact that every song on the record brings something different and unique to the table. Continue reading
The title of Hiraes’ new album, Dormant (Napalm Records), caught me a bit off guard.
The word “dormant” conjures images of calm, rest, inactivity. Yet, I’ve seen them play and listened to their first album numerous times, and nothing led me to believe that the band would be entering such a period or engaging in such a manner. Continue reading
In late 2020, Foretoken warned the entire world of one thing: the Virginia Beach-based duo is on a mission to completely shake up the status quo. Three years later, Triumphs (Prosthetic Records) is proof positive the mission is so far a smashing success.
Simply put: Allegaeon manifested 10 dizzying tracks of utter brilliance; gave (further) proof the band is profusely proficient as a whole and individually; and created a Technical Melodic Death Metal album packed with so much aggression and speed, it sounds like Monster fornicated with Red Bull.