Malevolence are a metalcore band from the UK and this is their fourth album.
2022’s Malicious Intent was a solid mix of groove metal and metalcore, so I was interested where Malevolence would take their sound and increased popularity for the 43-minute Where Only the Truth Is Spoken. Continue reading “Malevolence – Where Only the Truth Is Spoken (Review)”
I fell hard for last year’s Make Them Suffer, so the opportunity to catch the band live was irresistible. Since then, I’ve only enjoyed the album more and more, and I’ve delved into their back catalogue too. In general, I’m not a huge fan of modern metalcore, but Make Them Suffer are a notable exception. They somehow manage to effectively manifest a host of ideas and sounds that I would usually not care for most of the time; they have that special something in abundance.
Anyway, fawning over with, let’s get to the show. There are three other bands first, only one – Conjurer – that I already know. Continue reading “Make Them Suffer/Resolve/Conjurer/If Not for Me – Academy 2, Manchester – 10/05/25 (Live Review)”
This is the fifth album from UK metallers Employed to Serve.
With every release Employed to Serve just seem to be getting better. This culminated in 2021’s Conquering, a record that made it onto my best of list of that year. Which is why expectation is high for the band’s latest 48-minute record Fallen Star. Continue reading “Employed to Serve – Fallen Star (Review)”
This is the seventh album from UK metal band Bleed from Within.
Despite being aware of Bleed from Within since they began – and I even saw them live I think many, many, many years ago in a support slot somewhere – I had never actually heard them properly before now. Zenith was a good opportunity to change this and see what I’ve been missing out on. Well, what do Bleed from Within have to offer? Continue reading “Bleed from Within – Zenith (Review)”
This is the debut album from Australian progressive metal band Primrose Path.
The promo blurb says this is for fans of Opeth, Tesseract, Mastodon, and Gojira, which should give you a starting point for approaching the 43-minute Ruminations. Now here’s an underground gem that likely won’t stay underground for long. Continue reading “Primrose Path – Ruminations (Review)”
Bleeding Through are a metalcore band from the US and this is their ninth album.
It has been some time since the last Bleeding Through album, (2018’s Love Will Kill All), but fresh off the back of seeing the band last year at 2024’s Damnation Festival, I have been looking forward to getting stuck into Nine. Continue reading “Bleeding Through – Nine (Review)”
This is the fifth album from Ukrainian metal band Jinjer.
I haven’t caught up with Jinjer since their 2016 album King of Everything, so this new album seemed like a good place to see how the band are faring in 2025. It turns out, very well indeed. Duél is a keeper. Continue reading “Jinjer – Duél (Review)”
Now this is a lineup. All three bands I’d go and see in their own right, let alone all touring together. Tonight I feel like I’m in for a real treat. Morale is high as I enter the Academy 3, and it’s about to get a whole lot of busy. Continue reading “Better Lovers/Frontierer/Greyhaven – Academy 3, Manchester – 19/01/25 (Live Review)”
Yes, it’s list season once more, so gather round and witness some of the best metal that 2024 had to offer!
2024 was a fantastic year for metal, and that’s an understatement. I thought 2023 was one of the weaker years for metal releases, overall. As such, putting last year’s list together, although challenging as it always is, was relatively effortless compared to this one. I don’t think I’ve agonised over placings more any other year. In the end, similar to last year, I just decided that enough was enough and I needed to just stop needlessly obsessing. Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2024”
Another year, another Damnation Festival. As always, the organisers are to be commended for putting on one of the UK’s premier metal festivals. I’ve been coming here most years for almost two decades now, and I’ve never yet had a bad day.
There are three stages. Two smaller stages that clash with each other, and a main stage that clashes with nothing. Continue reading “Damnation Festival 2024 – BEC Arena, Manchester – 02/11/24 (Live Review)”
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