Tag Archives: metal EP reviews

EP REVIEW: Artillery – Made In Hell

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Danish diehards Artillery surely had to be one of the most overlooked thrash acts of the eighties. With the metal music press more concerned with covering every Tom, Dick, and Kerry on the American scene, bands across the rest of the globe were left jostling for position. Up against the likes of Germany and the UK, Denmark was left somewhat out in the cold, despite having given the world the wonderfully evil Mercyful Fate. Even Canada, Brazil, and Switzerland ended up making more of a dent in the scene.

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EP REVIEW: Sepultura – The Cloud Of Unknowing

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So this is it then. After more than forty years of crushing skulls with Brazilian riffs, the legendary Sepultura is heading off into the sunset. Only bassist Paulo Xisto and guitarist Andreas Kisser remain from the original line-up these days, but vocalist Derrick Green – to many still the new boy – has been present for nigh on thirty years himself. More than twice the length of his predecessor, in fact. Making his one and (presumably) only studio appearance with the band, fresh-faced twenty-three-year-old drummer Greyson Nekrutman is the real newbie here. Continue reading →


EP REVIEW: Mothica – Somewhere In Between

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Mothica’s Somewhere in Between (Sharptone Records) steps away from the darker synth pop of her previous full-length, Kissing Death. Her sound has now evolved into something closer to the sonic zip code of artists leaning toward the version of modern metal that blends the genre with pop, like Poppy and Spiritbox. Heavier guitars are just being pushed more to the forefront, so it’s not a huge leap from her previous sound, and it does not feel like she is jumping on a bandwagon. The pop sound she toyed with on her last album is being refined and brought to a larger-than-life, cinematic scale. Lyrically, conceptual, but it deals with themes of inner struggle.

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EP REVIEW: Sire Languish – Pull To God

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The name Garrett Bussanick has been well known among followers of the New York underground metal scene for years. As well as his latest band Sire Languish, he is also the frontman of experimental death metal act Aeviterne and a former member of acts such as Tombs and El-Ahrairah. Continue reading →


EP REVIEW: Palladists – Tenebrous Ways

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Rather than worshiping Minor Threat, DC Punks Palladists pursue darker sounds on their new album Tenebrous Ways (Fiadh Productions). This is fitting when you are named after a satanic cult hidden within early Freemasonry. When it comes to the vocals on this album, they are still very much rooted in punk. It is the guitar tones that set them apart from the rest of the punk pack. They use more effects to add a creepy touch to the otherwise in-your-face rapid-fire attack. In terms of their songwriting approach, they are not busting out the kind of hooky anthems the Misfits are known for, nor are they dwelling in the kind of drug-induced morbid self-reflection Christian Death once lamented upon. Continue reading →


EP REVIEW: Car Bomb – Tiles Whisper Dreams

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It’s anniversary time for New York Mathcore mob Car Bomb. Formed in Rockville Centre all the way back in 2000, it doesn’t take an advanced mathematician to work out the band is twenty-five years old this year. Their first studio release since Mordial back in 2019, independently released three-track EP Tiles Whisper Dreams is a much-anticipated short, sharp, and extremely brutal shock to the system.

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EP REVIEW: Freeze the Fall – The Red Garden

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Spoiler alert, this is one of the best albums released so far in 2025. If you do not know this young power trio, Freeze the Fall, from Canada, it’s time you did. This is the band’s second EP, but the path from gaming and internet buzz to the Rock perfection achieved here on The Red Garden (604 Records) found Freeze the Fall coming into their own as songwriters along the way. They went from being known as the kids who covered The Warning to being a superior band to their early inspiration in a short time. Most of this growth came thanks to the depth Quinn Mitzel sings with, in order to nail uncanny hooks in every anthemic chorus she utters. Continue reading →


EP REVIEW: GEL – Persona

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As the world comes to an end, one can only hope punk and metal bands will get angry regarding our collective demise to provide a decent soundtrack. Thanks to record labels who want products that can be easily marketed a more pop element has been diluting genres that should be holding the middle finger up to the imminent mushroom clouds to come. A few brave bands are shunning this kinder and gentler direction. New Jersey’s GEL is one of them. Their new album Persona (Blue Grape Music)  finds the band ready to give the middle finger, as they get right up in your face with their pumped-up take on punk. 2023’s “Only Constant”  had not only momentum but did not compromise when it came to the songwriting. This time around the energy leans more into the hard-core side, throwing more weight behind its punches.  Continue reading →


EP REVIEW: Horns and Hooves – Spectral Voyeurism

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The two renowned Extreme Metal labels Stygian Black Hand and Invictus Productions are collaborating this time to release the anticipated mini-album coming from the ever-gnarly unholy trinity Horns & Hooves, entitled Spectral Voyeurism.  Continue reading →


EP REVIEW: Graywave – Dancing In The Dust

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Starting out as a solo project for singer and multi-instrumentalist Jess Webberley, Graywave have released two previous EPs – Planetary Shift in 2021, followed swiftly by their first for Church Road Records, Rebirth in 2022.  Continue reading →