Twenty years into their existence, Metalcore prize fighters The Ghost Inside look, feel, and sound as good as they ever have. Searching For Solace (Epitaph Records) the sixth installment in the band’s catalog, is not only a de facto extension of the emotionally driven self-titled album; it’s purposeful, tight, and as good a case as any that TGI are (still) at the height of their career.Continue reading
Tag Archives: metal reviews
ALBUM REVIEW: Nest – Endeavors
Nest is helmed by multi-instrumentalist John Jarvis of Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Scour. Given his connection to Phil Anselmo through Scour, it only makes sense for this project to be on Housecore Records. Endeavors marks the third full-length album of the project. They opened select dates for Pantera’s recent tour; they are at least heavy enough to warrant having a slot on that run. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Blue Oyster Cult – Ghost Stories
One of the least high-profile sign-offs since Button Gwinnett affixed his moniker to the Declaration, Ghost Stories (Frontiers Music srl), billed as Blue Oyster Cult’s final studio album, still qualifies as a “must have” for aficionados, even if it will never be widely celebrated or remembered in the same way as Secret Treaties, Agents Of Fortune, Cultosaurus Erectus, or Fire Of Unknown Origin.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: My Dying Bride – A Mortal Binding
My Dying Bride might be the most important Doom band ever. Their second album Turn Loose The Swans (1993, Peaceville Records) redefined the genre, forsaking Sabbath worship, and creating a romantically depressing river of sonic darkness from which they sailed. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Iron Monkey – Spleen and Goad
Iron Monkey were one of the OGs from the UK underground Sludge Metal scene back in the mid-late nineties and had a run that included the reissue of their self-titled debut album (1997), and their follow-up Our Problem (1998) – on the mighty Earache Records. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Lustmord – Much Unseen Is Also Here
Lustmord is the pseudonym of Brian Williams, now more than four decades into his music career and with myriad releases under his belt, including many soundtracks and collaborations, as well as a plethora of “ordinary” albums.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Myrath – Karma
The Myrath sound is an exciting, intoxicating and entertaining one. On Karma (earMUSIC), there’s a dark side to some of the lyrical content (“Wrath of a raging sea …” Demons, oblivion, etc), leaning towards the heavy and the epic, but the overall impression is relatively light, hooky and generally uplifting. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Kollapse – AR
The newest offering from Kollapse is by no means something that should be consumed whilst in a distraught headspace. AR (Fysisk Format Records) is as much an introspection as it is a complex collection of seven Noise Rock, Sludge, and experimental tracks from the Danish trio. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Ace Frehley – 10,000 Volts
You can take the boy out of The Bronx, but can’t take The Bronx out of the boy.
Ace Frehley, Kiss guitar legend, gives birth to some of his finest cuts and hottest licks with the fret-burning, string-bending, grin-inducing 10,000 Volts (MNRK Heavy).Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Pestilength – Solar Clorex
Art is a reflection of life. Thus the upswing in Death Metal – a renaissance that is not just a matter of marketing hitting just right. There is a wide breadth of different stylistic turns being taken, rather than just a worldwide tribute to the Tampa of the eighties. As someone who lives in Tampa at present, this might be the one city without an abundance of the deathly goodness that the rest of the world is nailing right now. Continue reading