Tag Archives: music reviews

ALBUM REVIEW: Seventh Storm – Maledictus

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Seventh Storm are a new band formed by Mike Gaspar, formerly the drummer for Portuguese gothic metal legends Moonspell. As well as handling drum duties for Seventh Storm, Gaspar has also written and and arranged all of the music for their debut album, Maledictus (Atomic Fire). The album cover and promo photos convey a piratical theme that befits the band name and reflects Gaspar’s intention to depict the Portuguese tradition of “discovering the world, travelling far from home, exploring the seas.”Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Norma Jean – Deathrattle Sing For Me

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If you know your old sayings, it is considered something akin to poor taste to judge a book by its cover. Yet, if you apply twisted logic and judge the new Norma Jean album by its song titles…  well, you might just be onto something and assume the Atlantan metalcore mainstays took the Timewave Zero route Blood Incantation trekked through, while remaining heavy and fierce.  Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Aronious – Irkalla

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There are times when album art seems absolutely representative of the music contained within. So it is with Irkalla (The Artisan Era), the forthcoming album by Green Bay, Wisconsin’s Aronious. The technical death metal group’s follow-up to their 2020 album Perspicacity, rushes at the listener in relentless, head-spinning waves, as though the band was charting the soundtrack to the formation of galaxies. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Oceans of Slumber – Starlight and Ash

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Patience is a virtue. And, no, this isn’t some flippant or patronising reference to Oceans of Slumber “finally fulfilling the potential shown on their first album”, because they fulfilled that already from the off and especially on their third / self-titled release a couple of years ago. I mention it because the benefits and, yes, virtues of Starlight and Ash (Century Media) may not be immediately apparent. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: H.E.A.T. – Force Majeure

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As subtle as a brick and as silly as a juggling monkey riding a unicycle, Swedish Hard Rockers H.E.A.T are back with new album Force Majeure (earMUSIC). It is the Swedes seventh record and despite its over the top, everything and the kitchen sink nature it is a damn good time. It is a rich mixture of AOR, glam metal and hard rock with big riffs, flashy solos and huge choruses coming at you thick and fast. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Banks Arcade – Future Lovers

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New Zealand newcomers Banks Arcade describe themselves as a heavy metal boyband. That might sound like an oxymoron, but there truly isn’t a more accurate way to describe their sound. Their debut album, Future Lovers (UNFD), utilizes tried and true methods – intro designed to establish atmosphere ahead of a set blended seamlessly into the first track, a few radio-friendly bangers, and a closing epic while also implementing innovative musical components. A winning combination. Continue reading →


EP REVIEW: Oceans – Hell Is Where The Heart Is: Longing

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In lieu of releasing a full-length album in one fell swoop, Oceans instead decided to divide their eight tracks into a pair of EPs – one released in early 2022 and the other six months later. That second mini-record – Hell Is Where The Heart Is: Longing (Nuclear Blast) – features four straightforward post-metal compositions, and follows the trail blazed by, Hell Is Where The Heart Is: Love. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Whiskey Myers – Tornillo

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A circle of discerning music lovers tasked with burying a time capsule to reveal to future generations the state and spirit of US rock in the mid-to-late 1970s would perhaps have included albums like The Last Waltz and Street-Legal, Born To Run, Grievous Angel, Street Survivors, Rust Never Sleeps and Tornillo – if, in fact, the latter had existed back then. Luckily, for us, right here, it exists right now. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Dune Rats – Real Rare Whale

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With the majority of rock bands using their platforms to speak out about common world issues through blunt execution, Australian trio Dune Rats acknowledges those issues with their own amusing perspective. Their new album Real Rare Whale (BMG) was written in an effort to fight off the negativity brought on by the pandemic using rowdy feel-good tunes. With this new release, the band says, “Life is hard, but let’s have all the fun we can while we’re here.”Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Black Magnet – Body Prophecy

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Industrial metal — of a recognisably early 90s style — lives on in 2022 in the form of Body Prophecy (20 Buck Spin) by Oklahoma’s Black Magnet. Following up Hallucination Scene — the project’s debut album — this latest release arrives with more than a casual nod to Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and Godflesh (from which Justin K. Broadrick even lends his mixing talents on the album’s closing track).  Continue reading →