There must be something about the thin air, and gloom of Seattle, WA that has given birth to some fantastic modern melodic NWOHM bands. Serpent Rider is one of those bands and hearing them for the first time rekindled my love of NWOTHM (New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal) bands. For a while there, I found myself somewhat bored with the bands that seemed to either deliver each album with disappointment or bands that would take years off, return with a subpar album, and then disappear again. It’s hard to keep my attention that way but Serpent Rider grabbed my attention immediately.
Tag Archives: music reviews
ALBUM REVIEW: Fleshspoil – The Beginning Of The End
Fleshspoil not only features the former drummer of Arsis but finds them attacking the Blackened Death Metal subgenre, with a catchier take than most. Their debut album The Beginning of the End finds their dissonant mix of atmosphere and thrashing striking a soothing discordance. They do not attack your ears with a bludgeoning hammering, but there is nuance to their intricate songwriting that holds the technical aspect of their sound check This album is produced in a manner that makes it sound like it came out twenty years ago, which plays to their favor.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: David Judson Clemmons – Everything A War
Those who dwell in these dark territories of underground Rock and Metal, of the noisy, the abrasive, the alternative, and the avant-garde are not always so open to big anthemic hooks. Sometimes our reaction to music that dares to rouse the spirits and attempt to soar can be somewhat dismissive. But let us not entirely close our ears and our hearts to hope, because sometimes in the right hands, the results of such sincere passions can be glorious and in the case of Everything A War (7 People Records/ Village Slut)—the latest record by former Prog-Metal frontman David Judson Clemmons (previously of Damn The Machine)—glorious is exactly what they are. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power
Since their inception, Deafheaven have always been that band not to show where they’re going next. After releasing what some could consider their magnum opus in Sunbather (Deathwish Inc.), the band did not let that define the band they would become. Only two years later, they’d return with the far more moody New Bermuda (Anti Records/Epitaph Records). This would continue for the career they’d lead up to this point, especially in their previous efforts, Infinite Granite (Sargent House), taking the band from the Blackgaze sound they had cultivated and popularised, in search of a lighter, synthier approach. That brings us to the modern day, and it seems for all the teasing the band have done over the lead-up to their new project, Lonely People With Power, their debut release in their new deal with Roadrunner Records. This appears to be a culmination of what’s come before in one solid package, how these conflicting sounds will come together and meld is a completely different matter altogether.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Bloodywood – Nu Delhi
With a pair of studio albums under their belt (including 2022’s magnificent work Rakshak), Metalcore/Indian-inspired Folk/Hip-Hop standouts Bloodywood have both carved out a bit of a signature sound whilst also leaving room to continue experimenting and injecting flair and originality into their work.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Calyces – Fleshy Waves of Probability
Hailing from Greece, the Athenian Progressive Rock band Calyces has crafted a thoroughly eccentric sophomore record titled Fleshy Waves of Probability (Self-Released). They are, without a doubt, masters of their instruments. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Cradle Of Filth – The Screaming Of The Valkyries
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
ALBUM REVIEW: Spiritworld – Helldorado
If you believe Hardcore has little to offer outside of the fairly narrow musical alleyway it usually occupies then today might just be the perfect time to take a listen to SpiritWorld. Combining Country Music and bedazzled outfits with Punk aggression and Thrash Metal riffs, the Las Vegas act are a sight to behold and they return with a vengeance on third full-length album Helldorado (Century Media Records).
EP REVIEW: Iron Form – Cut From Cold Blood – Church Road Records
The new EP from Church Road Records artists Iron Form titled Cut From Cold Blood is a five-piece band showing off their musical influences and technical merit. Another example of a band breaking through genres by just playing what comes naturally to them in their songwriting process.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Warbringer – Wrath and Ruin
Spring is coming to the Northern Hemisphere as the temperatures start to rise. The bar for the coveted Album of the Year continues to rise as more music is released weekly. Thrash stalwarts, Warbringer, take their shot at the crown with their seventh full-length, Wrath and Ruin (Napalm Records). Each album the California-based group releases builds upon their last release, continuously pushing the boundaries of their brand of thrash metal. For forty minutes, John Kevill and company command your attention as their riff-powered tank tramples the mangled corpses of the fallen.Continue reading