The ninth album from Greek power metallers Firewind finds the band introducing their latest vocalist Herbie Langhans, the former Sinbreed frontman replacing fellow German Henning Basse earlier this year. And the eponymously titled Firewind (AFM Records) is a fine way to get things rolling with their new frontman.Continue reading
Released in Japan and the UK earlier in the year, other territories have had to wait until now to hear the latest album by Japanese power metallers, Lovebites. Every bit as impressive as their previous records, Electric Pentagram (Victor Records) even draws inspiration from the likes of Slayer for their latest release, the appropriately titled opening track, ‘Thunder Vengeance’ having been conceived after watching the legendary thrashers at Download Festival Japan in 2019. Not that you’d be able to tell from the chorus, which carries a hook so beefy you could eat it for Sunday lunch.Continue reading
The Metal Hall of Fame (formerly known as The Hall of Heavy Metal History) has announced that it has added new categories for 2020! The additional thirteen new sub-genres of Heavy Metal and Hard Rock music have been baked into its voting categories. The fan vote, an extremely crucial part of the band/artist Induction process into the Metal Hall of Fame, is open on a year-round basis. Continue reading
Ohio Power Metal champs Solar Flare will release their self-titled debut album on May 23rd! Today Ghost cult brings you their new single, ‘Medieval’! The track features guest keyboardist Peter Danielsen from Legend of Valley Doom. This powerful band has opened up for great and diverse bands such as Anthrax and Sonata Arctica to Crobot and Joe Lynn Turner, a testament to their rising status in the scene! Check out ‘Medieval’ now! Continue reading
Speed and heavy metal tend to go hand in hand, so it comes as no surprise that Almanac guitarist Victor Smolski (formerly of German legends Rage) also has a sideline in motor racing. A runner-up in the Supercars division of German Rallycross in 2018/19, Smolski has taken his love of burning rubber and hit the accelerator on the band’s latest album Rush of Death (Nuclear Blast Records).Continue reading
It’s hard to believe that fifteen years have passed since power metal supergroup Demons and Wizards released their last album. A collaborative effort between Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian and Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth, the two frontmen finally found the time amid their busy schedules to work together once again, returning to the project so widely anticipated by their legion of devoted fans.Continue reading
The seventh full-length album by symphonic metal act Serenity, The Last Knight (Napalm Records) is inspired by the story of Maximilian I, the Holy Roman Emperor who, through a combination of military pressure, treaties, and marriage, expanded Austria’s borders across Europe for his family, the Habsburgs.Continue reading
Starting out in 2008 as a neoclassical power metal act, Finnish band Amberian Dawn have continued to evolve and refine their sound over the years. Now, with their ninth full-length release, Looking For You (Napalm Records), the band have decided to fully embrace their already less than hidden inner Abba, even recording in Benny Andersson’s own studio and using some of the legendary Swedish pop band’s original equipment.Continue reading
Sometimes you really do only need to look at an album cover to know what you’ll be getting, and just one glance at Space Ninjas From Hell (Napalm Records), the latest album from German power metal act Victorius will be more than sufficient. Reveling unashamedly in its distinctly mid-late 1980s vibe, the frankly ridiculous cover art features robot ninjas, laser katanas, electric shuriken, dragons, purple skies, plenty of fire, and flying sharks shooting lasers from their eyes. If none of that piques your interest even slightly then it’s probably best to move swiftly along.Continue reading
Decibel Magazine’s Decibel Metal & Beer Fest was, to put it simply, stacked. Fourteen bands across all variants of Death, Grindcore, Prog, and Doom, descended onto Orange County for a weekend of heart-pounding jubilation. The two-day event was held this year at The Observatory, a large yet paradoxically intimate standing-room-only venue, intelligently designed to put the audience at three different heights across the entire space, offering uninhibited views of the stage beyond the perils of the pit.Continue reading