Damnation Festival – Leeds University, 05/11/16 (Live Review)

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This is the twelfth edition of the UK’s Damnation Festival, and although it may be cold outside, inside there’s more than enough incendiary metal to heat things up. Hopefully the recent preview whetted your appetite, and now it’s time to see how the real thing turned out…

Damnation Festival Bands

Attan 13:00-13:30 Terrorizer Stage

Attan

It’s with great excitement and expectation that I await Attan’s arrival. From Nothing is such a colossal opening statement for a band that I can’t wait to see how it translates into the live environment. Continue reading “Damnation Festival – Leeds University, 05/11/16 (Live Review)”

Interview with Wovernwar

 

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Wovenwar’s second album Honor Is Dead is a surprisingly catchy and memorable example of just how electrifying modern metal can be if it develops its own personality and niche. In a scene that’s usually bogged down in a severe lack of creativity, that’s an impressive result for Wovenwar.

The band’s guitarist Nick Hipa discusses Wovenwar and their latest creation… Continue reading “Interview with Wovernwar”

Interview with Lectern

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Lectern’s second album Precept of Delator is a very satisfying listen. Containing the kind of classic death metal that reaffirms why you love the genre, it’s 37 minutes of warm, fleshy death metal that hits the spot quite nicely.

Long-serving bassist/vocalist Fabio Bava and drummer Marco Valentine talk of things truly metal…

Introduce us to Lectern

Fabio: This is a death metal band, out with Precept of Delator as our last record on the market, so far. You read of us here, as we are promoting this release of nine songs through some videoclips too, at its finest. We really believe in this new opus, take a listen on the web to understand who are we. Lectern is now a four piece again, with the joining of Gabriele Cruz on the other guitar, last August of this year. We, the Word of Satan! Join us into the abyss! Continue reading “Interview with Lectern”

Hellripper – Complete and Total Fucking Mayhem (Review)

HellripperHellripper is a one-man black/speed metal band from the UK.

Complete and Total Fucking Mayhem is a compilation of all of the Hellripper work so far. This includes The Manifestation of Evil, a split with Batsheva, a three-way split with Acid Cross and Kreigg, and finally a split with Fetid Zombie called Prophecies of Ruin. All tracks have been remastered for this release. Continue reading “Hellripper – Complete and Total Fucking Mayhem (Review)”

Mesarthim – .- -… … . -. -.-. . (Review)

MesarthimThis is the second album by Mesarthim, an Australian atmospheric black metal band.

Mesarthim create cosmic-themed black metal that’s spacious and rich in atmospheric attack.

This is a very striking release. The album layers cosmic Continue reading “Mesarthim – .- -… … . -. -.-. . (Review)”

Ulcerate – Shrines of Paralysis (Review)

UlcerateUlcerate are a death metal band from New Zealand and this is their fifth album.

Ulcerate personify atypical progressive/technical death metal. They incorporate enough other styles and influences to be termed post-death metal in some respects, although they still have the requisite amount of aggression Continue reading “Ulcerate – Shrines of Paralysis (Review)”

Hammerfall – Built to Last (Review)

HammerfallHammerfall are a Swedish heavy/power metal band and this is their tenth album.

Since forming in 1993 and developing into one of the bigger names in heavy/power metal, the title of their tenth album is quite aptly named.

It pleases me that the first song starts right into the action, rather than having any faffing around. It’s a small thing really, but it immediately endears me to the music. Continue reading “Hammerfall – Built to Last (Review)”

Year of the Cobra – …in the Shadows Below (Review)

Year of the CobraYear of the Cobra are a US doom metal band. This is their debut album.

Here we find just drums, bass and vocals, but what a combination. Just a duo, the band nonetheless have a large presence with the near 44 minutes of music on …in the Shadows Below. Continue reading “Year of the Cobra – …in the Shadows Below (Review)”

Headless Kross – Projections 1 (Review)

Headless KrossHeadless Kross are a doom band from the UK.

Headless Kross don’t play nice music. They do, however, play heavy music, and this is what we like.

The vocals are unhinged screams. They seem Continue reading “Headless Kross – Projections 1 (Review)”