In this episode, Ghost Cult’s Keefy chats with prolific artist Sofia Fraz of Exiled Hope and Forgotten Shrine. Sofia released a series of recent singles, including “Lightborn” in 2024. Her new album, the culmination of several years of work, Apocrphya releases in spring of 2025. Exiled Hope will also release a split album in early 2025 with Steel Forge, and also put out the Where Shadows Lie album with Forgotten Shrine this year as well! In addition to all her music, Sofia is a full-time law student and is fast becoming a trusted source of expertise in legal matters and PR in the music industry. We cover a lot of ground in this fun chat. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Power Metal
ALBUM REVIEW: Brothers Of Metal – Fimbulvinter
Formed in 2012, Swedish true metal warriors Brothers of Metal return with all the riffs on third full-length studio release Fimbulvinter (AFM Records). Consisting of eight members, four of whom share two surnames without actually being related, does seem to confuse some people for some reason. Although to be fair, eight-piece bands aren’t exactly common in metal, and one with three vocalists and three guitarists even less so.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Frozen Crown – War Hearts
Frozen Crown is a blossoming band that has captured the pep, passion, and potency of the Power Metal genre.
ALBUM REVIEW: Wind Rose – Trollslayer
On paper, a band from Italy dubbed as “Dwarf Metal” may have you scratching your head. Yet when you listen to Wind Rose, it just works and it just makes sense. The quintet from the Tuscany region takes the festive feel of Folk Metal and the playfulness from Power Metal to create this fantastical new genre. Their unique merry-making is greatly contagious and explains why they are rapidly growing in popularity. They are now getting ready to release their sixth full-length record, Trollslayer (Napalm Records) that advances the band’s well-known jovial sound. They have managed to take all their best features, importantly multiple songs about beer, and compiled it all into this new album.Continue reading
INTERVIEW: Niels Löffler of Orden Ogan on “The Order Of Fear” Album and If The Band Power Metal, or Not
In this episode, Ghost Cult’s chief Keefy chatted with guitarist Niels Löffler of Orden Ogan to discuss their new album The Order Of Fear out now via Reigning Phoenix Music! They chatted about the album, the history of the band, and if the band is truly “power metal!”
ALBUM REVIEW: Powerwolf – Wake Up The Wicked
A full moon hangs in the blackened sky, wisps of cloud partially obscuring the glowing orb for a brief moment as lupine howls drift across the empty, shadowy streets below. Glowing eyes stare out from gloomy alleyways, the sound of heavy breathing and scraping of claws on concrete getting increasingly louder as they slowly emerge from the darkness…Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Portrait – The Host
For their sixth full-length studio release, Swedish metallers Portrait journey to the land of the concept album in order to conjure up a tale of sword and sorcery set in the seventeenth century. Their first full-blown conceptual release, The Host (Metal Blade) is not an entirely fictional piece but also inspired partly by historic events, with the band imparting the tale of an unnamed protagonist seeking strength after encountering injustice and hypocrisy.
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CONCERT REVIEW: Blind Guardian – Live at the Palladium Times Square
Sunday night in Times Square, N.Y.C.- the city that never sleeps comes out in full force on a school night! One of the strongest Sunday night show crowds I’ve seen in a while too… And boy did we get what we wanted. Continue reading
CONCERT REVIEW: Judas Priest – Sabaton Live at MVP Arena Albany
Albany, New York may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of live music and specifically, Heavy Metal. If you take a look at the history of the MVP Arena which was opened in 1990 as the Knickerbocker Arena, you’ll find a gem of a venue in the New York capital. It opened with a concert by Frank Sinatra and has also played host to The Grateful Dead, Phish, The Rolling Stones, and even Metallica on multiple occasions. Most recently it was visited by a Metal God in the form of Rob Halford with Judas Priest. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Rhapsody of Fire – Challenge The Wind
If the quickest way to get from Point A to Point B is a straight line then clearly nobody thought to mention that to Italian Power Metal kings Rhapsody of Fire who to get where they are today obviously took the Enchanted Lands scenic route. This current incarnation of Rhapsody of Fire (version 666.0) might look very different to how it all began but as the fourteenth full-length studio release Challenge The Wind (AFM Records) proves in no uncertain terms, the music and the subject matter remain very much the same. Continue reading