This is the second album from Swedish melodic death metallers Frantic Amber.
Boasting ex-members of Insision and Ice Age in their ranks, Frantic Amber play death metal that combines melody and brutality into songs that are well-written and tight. Continue reading
This is the fourth album from UK atmospheric/post-metal band Latitudes.
Having enjoyed 2016’s Old Sunlight, when Part Island made its presence felt I was compelled to sample its delights. I’m glad I did, as Part Island is a stunningly well-realised development of the band’s sound. Continue reading
This is the second album from Witherfall, a progressive/melodic metal band from the US.
Featuring members and ex-members of various notable bands, including Iced Earth, this is 57 minutes of polished, dark heavy metal that’s a blend of exotic power metal, rich melodic metal, and progressive metal exploratory worldbuilding. Continue reading
This is the sixth album from Skeletonwitch, a blackened metal band from the US.
Well, this is not what I was expecting to hear from Skeletonwitch. I confess that I’ve only ever really heard a small amount of the band’s prior material, and what I did hear was kind of a thrash/melodic metal affair, from what I recall. I approached this Continue reading
This is the seventh album from Redemption, a progressive metal band from the US.
2016’s The Art of Loss was a compelling and engaging listen, skilfully weaving together melodic metal with progressive know-how. Well, a couple of years and a change of singer later, and we have a 66 minutes of new material in the shape of Long Night’s Journey into Day.
This is the debut album from Italian metal band Gigantomachia.
Here’s a somewhat evocatively heroic release. Mixing elements of melodic, doom, death, and epic metal into a meaty metal base, Gigantomachia have produced 41 minutes of engaging metal. Continue reading
Tantal are a Russian metal band and this is their third album.
Mixing elements of modern, progressive, melodic, and Gothic metal into 49 minutes of music, Ruin is the follow up to 2014’s Expectancy, which was a good starter for getting to know Tantal’s sound. Ruin sees the band Continue reading
Barren Earth are a progressive metal band from Finland and this is their fourth album.
My my, there’s a lot of talent in this band. With members from notable groups such as Amorphis, Moonsorrow, October Falls, and Kreator, as well as many others, you know this isn’t going to be a dud. Special note should Continue reading
NVC are a Canadian progressive metal band and this is their debut album.
This is modern and emotive progressive metal that marries some latter-day Anathema influences with a melodic death metal side; think Ensiferum and Wintersun for a starting point. The resulting Continue reading
This is the fourth album from Swedish progressive/post-metal band Agrimonia.
Agrimonia’s music combines melodic, progressive, and post-metal elements, with doom, black metal, and hardcore influences. This results in long, involving songs that effectively balance both quality and quantity. Continue reading
