Therion has released their biggest project to date in the form of a three-hour long metal opera. While Beloved Antichrist (Nuclear Blast) has been in the works in various forms for years, it has finally come to completion as a triple album with forty-six songs, and the band hoping to bring it to actual opera houses. The story was initially based on Vladímir Soloviov A Short Tale Of The Antichrist, but has since been adapted and had characters changed and added, ending up with twenty-seven characters performed by fifteen vocalists, along with a full choir. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Power Metal
Listen To The Title Track Of The New Judas Priest Album!
Judas Priest is coming in hot with one of the most anticipated albums of 2018 in Firepower, due on March 9th from Epic Records. Jam the throwback sounding title track out loud right now! Continue reading
Heidevolk – Vuur Van Verzet
In the arena of folk and pagan influenced metal, which is often (and at times unfairly) thought of as pure silliness, drinking and near cartoonish portrayals, Dutch Folk Metallers Heidevolk have always been a consistently decent outfit, but one that has never reached the mainstream dabblings of a Turisas. Perhaps this is, in part, due to their more balanced take on the genre which sits between the fun-loving, grandiose approach, thoroughbred Heavy Metal grit and a more intelligent, nuanced side; Heidevolk is a name yet to progress beyond the most ardent of Folk Metal fan-bases only.Continue reading
Reviews Editor Steve Tovey’s Top 20 Albums of 2017
In previous incarnations of these end of year pieces, whether hosted by the good ship Ghost Cult, or wherever, I’ve indulged myself by launching into a kind of state of the world address at the outset. You’ll be pleased to know that, in the main, I’m going to spare you such an ordeal and just get down to the business of Heavy Metal brilliance. Why, you cry? Because, listening-to-music-wise (and in general), I’m in the best health I’ve been in for a good twenty years, I’m back in my zone of loving what I love… oh, and there’s a lot of damn good metulz to get through! So, here be my snapshot in time at my thoughts on 2017… (note, “favourite”, not “best”)Continue reading
Wildestarr – Beyond The Rain
The third album from Texas based husband and wife act Wildestarr has quite a sad background in that the project was born from the tragic suicide of singer London Wilde‘s brother, Gary, in 2012. Married for over fifteen years, Wilde and husband/guitarist/bassist Dave Starr formed the band in 2003, with the current line-up completed by drummer Josh Foster who joined for the band’s previous album, A Tell Tale Heart (Scarlet) in 2012.Continue reading
REVIEWS ROUND-UP: Ghost, Lovebites, Babylon Fire, HammerFall and more…
The beauty to last weeks’ beast, the Ghost Cult album round-up is back for your vulgar delectation, and our final compilation of 2017 captures albums most Metal and most Melodic, shining a light on last-minute stocking fillers that St. Anne, rather than St Nick, would approve of… Continue reading
REVIEWS ROUND-UP: Week 45 Part 2 – Sinsaenum, Impureza, Scour, Amberian Dawn And More
REVIEWS ROUNDUP: Week 44 – Cyrha, Adimiron, Beast In Black, Vandenberg’s MoonKings and more…
Blind Guardian – 1988 to 2003 Reissues
Remastering albums is a tricky business. For every perceived mistake or fault which gets cleaned up, smoothed over, or completely erased; for every tweak or alteration to the mix, there will always be listeners who prefer the original, no matter what. Trying to improve a recording can often lead to losing the charm of the original, and so as much as record label Nuclear Blast have given a significant portion of Blind Guardian‘s discography a deserved facelift here, the results will lie purely in the eye (or in this case, the ear) of the beholder.Continue reading
Serenity – Lionheart
Symphonic Power Metal band Serenity is back with a new album, Lionheart (Napalm), and they are strong as ever. As on previous album Codex Atlanticus, which explored the life and writings of Leonardo DaVinci, the band’s passion for history inspired the themes and lyrics of the album. Continue reading