Aviana – Epicenter (Review)

Aviana - EpicenterThis is the second album from Aviana, a metalcore band from Sweden.

Aviana play modern metalcore that’s mixed with elements of 90s nu-metal and a slight contemporary progressive/djent edge. They play on the heavier end of the metalcore spectrum, and although there’s clean singing included, it’s still with a focus on heaviness overall. Continue reading “Aviana – Epicenter (Review)”

Twilight Force – Dawn of the Dragonstar (Review)

Twilight Force - Dawn of the DragonstarTwilight Force are a power metal band from Sweden and this is their third album.

This is epic, symphonic power metal, the type that makes no apologies for its extravagance and sumptuous presence. These Euro-metal hymns are enhanced with all manner of additional instruments and symphonic keyboards. It’s the kind of music that embraces all of the clichés about this sort of thing, and does so willingly and with passion. Continue reading “Twilight Force – Dawn of the Dragonstar (Review)”

Unprocessed – Artificial Void (Review)

Unprocessed - Artificial VoidUnprocessed are a German progressive metal band and this is their third album.

Artificial Void contains 58 minutes of technical wizardry and complex structures and fuses them into a modern progressive metal journey that’s a rather impressive achievement. Not the least of this is because the album takes a vibrant, fresh approach to what could easily be tired and stale in another band’s lesser hands, (and frequently is). Continue reading “Unprocessed – Artificial Void (Review)”

All We’ve Known – Dissidence (Review)

All We've Known - DissidenceAll We’ve Known are a South African metalcore band and this is their debut album.

All We’ve Known’s chosen style of music is modern metalcore, mixed in with some electronic elements. The typical structure is that of heavy verses with harsh, shouted vocals, combined with a more melodic, emotive chorus with clean singing. Yes, it’s a Continue reading “All We’ve Known – Dissidence (Review)”

Northtale – Welcome to Paradise (Review)

Northtale - Welcome to ParadiseNorthtale are a power metal band and this is their debut album.

Formed by musicians with a lot of experience in the metal arena, they have given us 53 minutes of infectious and well-delivered power metal. Continue reading “Northtale – Welcome to Paradise (Review)”

The Odious – Vesica Piscis (Review)

The Odious - Vesica PiscisThe Odious are a progressive metal band from the US and this is their second album.

The Odious’ progressive metal is a mix of modern technical/progressive/death metal and progressive rock. The end result can be loosely characterised as a mix of The Faceless, Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, Sikth, Meshuggah, Ulcerate, and Devin Townsend. Continue reading “The Odious – Vesica Piscis (Review)”

Howling Sycamore – Seven Pathways to Annihilation (Review)

Howling Sycamore - Seven Pathways to AnnihilationHowling Sycamore are a progressive metal band from the US and this is their second album.

Combining technical, progressive, avant-garde, forward-thinking metal music, with old-school, classic progressive metal vocals probably shouldn’t work, but Howling Sycamore easily prove that it most certainly does. This is a band that have taken their Continue reading “Howling Sycamore – Seven Pathways to Annihilation (Review)”