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)”
Blue Heron are a heavy rock band from the US and this is their debut album.
I quite enjoyed Blue Heron’s brief two-track debut EP that they released last year, so when Ephemeral appeared I thought I’d take the time to see how they were coming along. In fact, Black Blood of the Earth from that release makes a reappearance on Ephemeral. Continue reading “Blue Heron – Ephemeral (Review)”
This is the second album from Italian stoner rock band Slowtorch.
The Machine Has Failed contains 37 minutes of hard rocking stoner rock fun. Tailor-made for fans of bands like Clutch, Corrosion of Conformity, and Orange Goblin, the album has riffs, hooks, and good tunes aplenty. Continue reading “Slowtorch – The Machine Has Failed (Review)”
This is the sixth album from Alunah, a doom metal band from the UK.
Both 2017’s Solennial and 2019’s Violet Hour were solid examples of Alunah’s art, and Strange Machine carries 42 minutes of new tunes to enjoy. At this point in their career Alunah know how to play this sort of music; a Sabbathian mix of doom, hard rock, and stoner that’s based around good songs and a strong singer. What can go wrong with a formula like this? Continue reading “Alunah – Strange Machine (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)”
Wonderbox Metal gets sent a lot of new music, (which is great), but there’s no way that everything can get covered unfortunately, (which is not so great). This new column hopes to redress this balance, if only slightly, by taking a look at a handful of releases that a record label has recently sent out that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.
Have you heard of Dying Victims Productions? They deal mostly with traditional heavy metal, and the label is home to a number of great bands and great albums, (Witchseeker are just one such example). The below three releases all see the light of day on January 28th 2022, so I thought it’s a great to catch up with some of the label’s latest output. Continue reading “Label Roundup: Dying Victims Productions – Tension, Tangent, & Vicious Knights (Reviews)”
Yes, it’s that time of year again! 2021 gave us some very, very good metal, and I feel honoured to have been able to have listened to as much of it as I have done. There are some notable absences, (for me at least), from the below list, but there’s just not enough time or space for everything, dammit!
2020 was a very blackened year for me; I listened to a lot of black metal, and the list for that year reflected that. At the start of 2021 I decided I’d consciously try to ensure I cast my net a bit wider again, reconnecting more deeply with some of many other styles of metal that I enjoy. 2021’s list reflects this. However, I’ve still ended up with much more of a black metal presence in the list than I was initially expecting. What can I say? I’m a sucker for all of the myriad blackened flavours of the style. However, there’s also a lot of other stuff here that I hope you’ll dig into and enjoy too. I felt that there was a notable absence of grindcore in 2021, as well as some of the more extreme styles of doom. What do you think?
I hope you enjoy perusing some of my favourite records from this year, and I hope you find something new to tickle your fancy. What’s your number one this year? Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2021”
This is the second album from Russian doom rockers Scarecrow.
Scarecrow play a classic, old-school mix of doom, hard rock, heavy blues, prog rock, psychedelia, and proto-metal.
Scarecrow II is a 44-minute time travelling psychedelic journey into the past, with the band as very capable guides. If you think of a 70s-style rock band, with some beefy guitars, the occasional Continue reading “Scarecrow – Scarecrow II (Review)”
Green Lung are a doom rock band from the UK and this is their second album.
Green Lung play a catchy and infectious brand of doom rock. The band have an expansive sound that takes liberally from doom metal, hard rock, folk, stoner, and Gothic rock. Continue reading “Green Lung – Black Harvest (Review)”
Black Sites are a heavy/progressive metal band from the US and this is their third album.
Untrue combines progressive features with traditional heavy metal to produce a 44-minute album that’s all about the songs. There’s no gimmick or ostentatious nonsense here, no pointless bloat or filler, just eight songs of hard riffs, soaring vocals, and rich melodies. Continue reading “Black Sites – Untrue (Review)”
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