Another cold night in Manchester, and another quality show beckons. Paradise Lost are always going to be a decent draw, and tonight the venue is packed and enthusiastic. Continue reading “Paradise Lost/Outshine/King Goat – Manchester Gorilla, 23/02/18 (Live Review)”
Promethean Misery is a one-woman project playing atmospheric and doom metal-influenced neo-classical music.
After her extremely impressive and enjoyable Bloodlet EP from earlier in the year, this new album contains more alluring, dark, and wonderfully-realised music. Continue reading “Promethean Misery – Ghosts (Review)”
Dead 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)”
This is the latest EP from Promethean Misery, a one-woman Australian doom metal band.
Full of melancholy and misery, this is a single 20 minute track of dark riffs, haunting piano, and seductive violin. Continue reading “Promethean Misery – Bloodlet (Review)”
This is the 15th album from UK metal band Paradise Lost.
After recently reviewing the reissue of Paradise Lost’s seminal 1997 album One Second, it’s somewhat appropriate that I now catch up with their latest album Medusa, released twenty years later. Continue reading “Paradise Lost – Medusa (Review)”
This is the debut EP from Gothic metallers Vetrar Draugurinn, who are from the Netherlands.
Featuring current and ex-members of bands such as Stream of Passion, The Saturnine, and Autumn, this new band brings a wealth of experience to the table, showing a maturity and professionalism that you’d expect from such accomplished artists. Continue reading “Vetrar Draugurinn – I (Review)”
This is the eighth album from Norwegian symphonic/Gothic metallers Sirenia.
After being around for a good 15 years now, Sirenia know a thing or two about the style they play. Largely held in high regard for their symphonic/Gothic metal, they’re back once more with what is, I think, one of their Continue reading “Sirenia – Dim Days of Dolor (Review)”
Dimlight are a symphonic metal band from Greece and this is their third album.
Now this is quite interesting. Here we have a Gothic/symphonic metal band that have some death/black metal elements entwined into the tracks.
This is a modern, updated version of the old, so-called, beauty-and-the-beast vocal approach that twins angelic female cleans with guttural male growls. I always quite liked this approach when it was probably at the height of its popularity Continue reading “Dimlight – The Lost Chapters (Review)”
Elyria are a symphonic metal band from Germany. This is their début album.
With a Classically-trained female vocalist in the ranks, you already know that her singing is going to be first-rate. With her Classical training it’s clear from the off that she really knows what she’s doing. How well this works for you depends on your take on the style and how you feel about these kinds of vocals.
There are some really nice vocal melodies strewn about these tracks, reminding me sometimes of older Kamelot in their delivery, and her voice is very enjoyable.
The music is largely of the Gothic/symphonic variety, but interestingly Elyria spice Continue reading “Elyria – Reflection and Refraction (Review)”
This is the second album from Tothem, an Italian gothic/heavy metal band.
This is the band’s follow up to their début album Beyond the Sea, which was a polished collection of gothic metal tracks.
As with their first release; no matter how enticing the female vocals are, Tothem still remember that they’re first and foremost a metal band. This means that the music is just as important as the singing, and the guitars are present and correct as they should be.
