Blood Star are a heavy metal band from the US and this is their debut album.
Featuring a member of Visigoth, First Sighting provides us with a 33-minute journey into the past. First Sighting is a well-written slab of traditional heavy metal. The band ply their trade with passion and obvious skill, and the Continue reading “Blood Star – First Sighting (Review)”
Hail the Void are a doom/stoner metal band from Canada and this is their second album.
Memento Mori is a doom metal record that pays homage to the classic style, while delivering an experience that 2023 should be pleased to host. Continue reading “Hail the Void – Memento Mori (Review)”
This is the debut album from Sarayasign, a rock band from Sweden.
Occasionally you stumble, blindly, across an album that is a real gem. Throne of Gold is exactly one such release. Sarayasign’s rock style may have fallen out of fashion some time ago, but that doesn’t change the fact that what they have produced here is a damn good album. Continue reading “Sarayasign – Throne of Gold (Review)”
This is the sixth album from Polish black metallers In Twilight’s Embrace.
Featuring current and ex-members of Bloodthirst and Blaze of Perdition, In Twilight’s Embrace offer up 48 minutes of blackened darkness on Lifeblood. Continue reading “In Twilight’s Embrace – Lifeblood (Review)”
JIRM, (previously known as Jeremy Irons and the Ratgang Malibus), are a Swedish hard rock band and this is their fifth album.
Following on from 2018’s Surge ex Monumentis, JIRM’s new offering contains 52 minutes of hard rocking atmosphere and progressive wanderings. Continue reading “JIRM – The Tunnel, the Well, Holy Bedlam (Review)”
This is the second album from Doctor Smoke, an occult metal/rock band from the US.
Doctor Smoke combine metal and rock influences into 43 minutes of infectious material. The songs boast a relatively good range of stylistic influences, while still retaining a holistic feel and good flow to the album; the tracks all share largely the same template, but one that’s made up a few different details and nuances. Continue reading “Doctor Smoke – Dreamers and the Dead (Review)”
This is the third album from Swedish black metallers Wormwood.
This is Swedish melodic black metal that exists within a post-black metal framework, with the latter allowing the former a broader range than it usually benefits from. Wormwood’s music has an epic streak, an atmospheric proclivity, and a good grasp of emotion and depth. Arkivet is a mix of the classic and the contemporary, and the band have balanced these influences very well to produce an evocative and compelling album. Continue reading “Wormwood – Arkivet (Review)”
This is the second album by US heavy rockers The Age of Truth.
Are you after some fluid grooves and engrossing riffs? Do you want good tunes delivered with an assured attitude? Looking for a band that are able to kick out the jams, but also have enough range and depth to keep bringing you back to them? Well, The Age of Truth have you covered. Continue reading “The Age of Truth – Resolute (Review)”
Reach are a Swedish rock band and this is their third album.
Reach play song-based rock music, and they have produced 38 minutes of this for us to enjoy on The Promise of Life. You can imagine Reach as a mix of bands such as Muse and Queen, as a rough starting point. Continue reading “Reach – The Promise of a Life (Review)”
This is the third album from Uada, a black metal band from the US.
Bursting at the seams with 60 minutes of ambitious, energetic material, Djinn is melodic black metal played by a talented band that know how to write the style. Clearly influenced by the classic blackened style, Uada have taken these influences and channelled them into music that has its own personality and character. Continue reading “Uada – Djinn (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 