Urne – Serpent & Spirit (Review)

Urne - Serpent & SpiritUrne are a metal band from the UK and this is their debut album.

Urne combine a variety of influences onto their sound, resulting in an album of heaviness that’s crushing, while also taking the listener in an emotive journey. You can hear elements of bands like Mastodon, Opeth, Metallica, and Alice in Chains in Urne’s sound, but mostly you Continue reading “Urne – Serpent & Spirit (Review)”

Void Vator – Great Fear Rising (Review)

Void Vator - Great Fear RisingThis is the debut album from Void Vator, a heavy metal band from the US.

Great Fear Rising is a modern take on a very old style. Void Vator play old-school heavy metal; it’s presented with a modern recording and delivery, but this is  mainly a product of the 80s, make no mistake. Continue reading “Void Vator – Great Fear Rising (Review)”

Oceana – The Pattern (Review)

Oceana - The PatternOceana are a progressive metal band from Italy and this is their debut album.

As an introductory description of The Pattern, I’m just going to be lazy and quite the promo blurb – “The intent was to mix progressive metal elements with European-style death doom. Influences, from a musical point of view, range from Edge of Sanity to Katatonia, from Paradise Lost to Duran Duran, from Metallica to Dream Theater, in a Continue reading “Oceana – The Pattern (Review)”

Orbit Culture – Nija (Review)

Orbit Culture - NijaThis is the third album from Swedish metallers Orbit Culture.

Orbit Culture play a type of modern metal that mixes groove metal, thrash, and metalcore together, adds a touch of deathcore, and then coats everything in a meaty production designed to get the blood pumping. Continue reading “Orbit Culture – Nija (Review)”

Shrapnel – Palace for the Insane (Review)

Shrapnel - Palace for the InsaneThis is the third album from UK thrash metallers Shrapnel.

Shrapnel play aggressive thrash in the style of Kreator mixed with some Testament and Metallica. I have a low tolerance for thrash these days, but Shrapnel pass the taste-test quite nicely. Continue reading “Shrapnel – Palace for the Insane (Review)”

Algebra – Pulse? (Review)

Algebra - Pulse

This is the third album from Algebra, a thrash metal band from Switzerland.

Having been impressed with 2014’s Feed the Ego, it’s been far too large of a gap between Algebra releases for my liking. Well, there’s almost an hour of material on Pulse?, including a fiery Sepultura cover, so I feel like the band have made up for their absence. Continue reading “Algebra – Pulse? (Review)”

Gross Misconduct – Equinox (Review)

Gross Misconduct - EquinoxGross Misconduct are a Canadian death metal band and this is their third album.

This is progressive death metal with a thrash influence. The band describe this album in the following way – “Imagine Cynic with a dollop of Death, a smattering of The Crown/Mastodon/Gojira and healthy doses of 1980s Metallica and Slayer.” I’ve simply regurgitated this here as it’s a better descriptor of how Equinox sounds than anything I could come up with. Continue reading “Gross Misconduct – Equinox (Review)”

Carchosa – Carchosa (Review)

CarchosaCarchosa is a one man Swedish thrash/death metal band. This is his debut album.

Featuring seven long songs and clocking in at just under an hour in duration, this album contains a blend of thrash and death metal, alongside a good helping of melodic and progressive elements. Continue reading “Carchosa – Carchosa (Review)”

Crypt Rot/Cringe – Nocturnal Deterioration | Memento Mori – Split (Review)

Crypt Rot CringeCrypt Rot are a death metal band and Cringer are a crossover thrash band, both are from the US and they have teamed up for this split release.

Kicking us off with 11 minutes of very enjoyable Swedish-styled death metal is Crypt Rot. Continue reading “Crypt Rot/Cringe – Nocturnal Deterioration | Memento Mori – Split (Review)”

Savage Messiah – Hands of Fate (Review)

Savage MessiahThis is the fourth album from UK metal band Savage Messiah.

Savage Messiah specialise in modern melodic metal, while combining elements of both old and new into their sound. Hands of Fate contains over 45 minutes of this anthemic, personable metal. Continue reading “Savage Messiah – Hands of Fate (Review)”