Black Void – Antithesis (Review)

Black Void - AntithesisThis is the debut album from Black Void, a Norwegian black metal band.

Featuring members of Borknagar, Ihsahn, In Vain, Profane Burial, and Solefald, Antithesis delivers 39 minutes of furious black metal cut with harsh hardcore punk, black ‘n’ roll, and some unexpectedly anthemic influences. Continue reading “Black Void – Antithesis (Review)”

Dead End Scene – Dead End Scene (Review)

Dead End SceneDead End Scene are a Finnish metal band and this is their latest EP.

Dead End Scene play modern metal. Now, before you start rolling your eyes in boredom, I’d recommend giving Dead End Scene a chance, as they’re more individual and agreeable than you might expect given the genre tag. Continue reading “Dead End Scene – Dead End Scene (Review)”

Diablo Blvd – Zero Hour (Review)

Diablo BlvdThis is the fourth album from Belgian dark metal/rock band Diablo Blvd.

Just take a look at that album cover. I mean, how could you not be intrigued by that?

When you delve in, you’ll find that Diablo Blvd play a mix of classic and Continue reading “Diablo Blvd – Zero Hour (Review)”

I, the Betrayer – 7 (Review)

I, the BetrayerI, the Betrayer are a Norwegian metal band and this is their debut EP.

This is the first EP from this new band, although as there’s over 30 minutes of material here, it’s actually longer than some albums. Continue reading “I, the Betrayer – 7 (Review)”

Blowsight – Life & Death (Review)

BlowsightBlowsight are a Swedish Rock band, and this is their latest album. It’s nowhere near as heavy as most of the stuff I cover, but it’s good to have some variety in your Metal diet.

This has the requisite Rocky swagger and attitude, and the songs bleed confidence and self-assuredness. The band are right to have confidence in their abilities though as this is a veritable feast of chorus-heavy Rock songs with a shiny Metallic sheen underpinning everything.

The band play their instruments proficiently and ably enough to show what they can do with a good riff. Sometimes they remind of 80’s party/hair Metal bands only sans “irony” and with a hyper-modern sound, (Play Play Play), other times they’re more like Avenged Sevenfold in their approach, (It’s Me You’re Looking For), and other times they enter power-ballad territory, (Through These Eyes).

The singer has a great voice, full of power and attitude. His chorus lines are huge but not in a sugary commercial way, rather they have a more refined post-grunge feeling, which goes for the music as well. It’s more Audrey Horne than the majority of the radio-botherers, although almost all of these songs has the potential to be a radio-friendly unit-shifter; they even have a song called Hit on the Radio, which admittedly is a little more saccharine than the other tracks here.

A surprising album with a lot to give; varied modern melodic Rock that makes me realise that perhaps all is not lost for the more commercial sounding side of hard music. With the right exposure these could be huge.