A band with absolutely nothing to prove to anyone releases one of the best albums in their incredible career, 50 whole years after their debut. Next time someone tells you that you should lower your expectations and just be grateful when a legacy band puts out new music, even when that music is objectively subpar/shite, slap them in the face with this album.

Invincible Judas Priest.

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nikarg Yaniv, RaduP, Dream Taster, ScreamingSteelUS

With IIII (and not IV, for a reason), Solbrud have delivered a musical opus of epic proportions, a work of art based on the four elements of nature, with a magnificent cover art that expresses the individuality of each of the four parts of the album. Each band member individually composed the tracks featured in each vinyl side, yet the flow and the cohesion of IIII is exceptional. This is a musical journey that is breathtaking when it is thunderous and intense, and mesmerizing when it gets emotional and reflective. A unique blend of moods, melodies, and atmospheres, all brought together for a 94-minute experience that can only be defined as cathartic.

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nikarg Starvynth, RaduP

So pure. So cold. So old…
How old? 30 years old!

As an indisputable masterpiece of the genre, Darkthrone’s Transilvanian Hunger still plays a central role in the making of black metal. New acts seeking raw evil and hypnotic despair for their musical endeavours know the groundbreaking opening riff by heart. There is little left to be said about this album. So I’ll end this with the final lines of a short-but-sweet guest review, which described the album perfectly:

”Satan himself has certainly shed a tear facing so much genius - the art of regression and of musical purification, which is the climax of the beauty of evil...”

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X-Ray Rod nikarg, RaduP

It's always nice when form follows function and the message dictates the medium of its expression. What starts out as a somewhat ordinary prog rock album soon turns heavier and blends space rock and stoner to support the narrative of a space exploring android. I've always found bands to be at their most imaginative when they cross over into genres outside their established conventions. If unwilling to explore the album in full make sure you at least listen to the (mostly instrumental) closing track "The Return of Daedalus." It's some great songwriting and theme development right there with exceptional bass-work to boot. It's not an all around perfect album but some of it is quite spectacular indeed.

Listen in full at Bandcamp.

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Ivor Auntie Sahar

Beyond The Breakers is an album of fantasy tales about fanglors, warmoths, and other bizarre creatures, narrated alongside captivating heavy metal music that stays interesting despite the length of the songs' runtime. It is Dio who has resurrected in the form of a man named John Evermore.

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nikarg ScreamingSteelUS, Starvynth

Following Baron Blood's death, The Magus disbanded Necromantia and started a new project to express his musical and mystical journey, aptly called… The Magus. The band’s debut release Βυσσοδομώντας (Vissodomontas), actually meaning ‘building in the abyss’ but also ‘conspiring in darkness’, is a concept album about Lucifer being pissed off at the decline of humanity. The music is dark, diverse, and apocryphal, with choir arrangements by Christos Antoniou ( Septicflesh), and it is an eclectic form of black metal that needs repeated listens to fully unpack and grasp. Above all, it is quite theatrical and almost ‘visual’ to the point that when listening to the final track, which is essentially a blues black metal song, it feels as if you can watch the band play in front of you.

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nikarg RaduP, ScreamingSteelUS

This gloomy slow folk experience is well worth taking your time to get through. While the album is rewarding as a whole it's the closing track that takes the cake. Just like with Pink Floyd's Meddle it's "Echoes" that you really long to hear, it's going to be the magnificent experimental cover of Scott Walker's "Farmer in the City" that you'll be returning for. In doubling the length the song's crushing culmination has more in common with Swans than with the haunting original, making it literally the hefty anchor-piece of the album.

Listen to the YouTube playlist.

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Ivor RaduP, nikarg

The album tells the story of three sons (angels) of the seventh (in the mythology the number seven refers to God). The seventh was divided into three, representing the divide of the Abrahamic religion into three main streams: Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Each angel was given a power and representation. The first angel is Judaism; he is represented by a Star of David and his power is magic. The second angel is Islam; he is represented by a half of moon and his power was his strength. The third angel is Christianity; he is represented by the cross and his power is his wisdom.

God had forbidden the angels from reuniting because of fear of their strength. Ignoring the divine order, the angels united into one angel, who immediately got exiled from heaven to earth and was divided into three again, sentenced to fight each other until they can prove themselves and get back into heaven.

The angels then try to convince humanity to stop their sins and warn them of a coming flood as punishment if they do not. The album describes the journey of the three, their convincing, and in the end, their failure.

Let's pray for peace between Israel and Palestine and for an end to the suffering of innocent people on both sides.

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Nejde nikarg, musclassia, Netzach, Dream Taster, Starvynth

It would be too easy to pick a terrifying extreme metal album for Halloween. But there's much more to this day than just scaring people. This is a celebration for the macabre. Let us fully embrace what lies beyond the dark veil of the underworld! And what better way to do it than with Devil Doll's elegantly dark debut album, The Girl Who Was... Death. This Slovenian project led by the enigmatic Mr. Doctor lasted less than a decade, yet grand works were made in that time. On his debut album, based on the cult tv-series "The Prisoner", we can find some of the best classical instruments and choirs ever used alongside progressive rock. To top it all off, Mr. Doctor's unique vocal performance will send shivers down your spine as his thousand voices pierce your mind.

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X-Ray Rod RaduP, Redel, nikarg, ylside

Two of 20 Buck Spin’s most interesting bands join forces on the split release, Starpath. First, immerse yourself into Dream Unending’s sea of Pink Floyd-ish death doom, with guitar playing to die for. Then, let yourself fully absorb the chilling atmosphere, the blackened touches, and the gothic feel of Worm’s take on the genre. These bands play unique death doom metal that really stands out and mimics no one.

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nikarg RaduP, musclassia, Starvynth

At a time when the Swedish death metal scene was preparing for the soon to emerge Gothenburg metal, the largely overlooked death metal band Cemetary found themselves on a path from the raw death metal played on their debut to gothic metal, which will be found on their later albums. Godless Beauty is their transition album on this path. It is more melodic and not as raw as the debut, yet it still exhibits the death metal grounds from where they started and which would mostly vanish already with the succeeding album. This is their opus magnum. It is one of the most overlooked death metal albums from that era. And it has been released 30 years ago. We haven't seen any new albums from this band during the last 18 years. But they seem to be back in the studios and early this year they announced a new album. While we certainly cannot expect another Godless Beauty to come, it would be nice to at least see a transition back to where they came from.

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Redel ScreamingSteelUS, nikarg, Starvynth

Khanate returned with a new album after 14 years. A return to the stage has been promised and the label announced re-issues for the first two albums. The stars aligned themselves perfectly so that you, Metalstormer, can ruin your whole weekend with what I think it’s the band’s masterpiece. I’m talking about their sophomore record, Things Viral, which turns 20 years today. This is when the drone super-group deconstructed the foundations of sludge metal from their debut, in order to transport the listener to a far more surreal landscape of horror. Some of these viral things include minimalistic song structures, waves of feedback, ultra-low bass, unpredictable drumming, unnerving electronic effects, and a terrifying vocal performance. Khanate mastered the concept of torture music from the start. No one came close enough to touch them. No one dared to.

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X-Ray Rod RaduP, Netzach, Auntie Sahar

This band has managed to get themselves banned in both Germany and Japan for the questionable lyrical content on 2000's Nihil, which still remains the finest performance of our dearly departed Alexi Laiho ( Children Of Bodom, also see: the Metal Storm logo). "Brutal music needs brutal lyrics," as vocalist Mika Luttinen tends to argue, and sure, this album opens with a short blast of a song, the title of which translates into "Pissed To The Utter Maximum", and involves lyrics such as "After I buried you I jerked myself off and shouted that I am god!". Unsavoury indeed, but there is no denying the insane conviction and catchiness of songs like the black power ballad "Blood Is Thicker Than Water", the bass-driven craziness of "Let's Fucking Die", and the unforgettable hardcore/D-beat-cum-black-metal of the classic "Ghettoblaster". Whether you're offended or not by Impaled Nazarene, you can't deny the absolute impact and catchiness on display here, and it's a joy to listen to from start to finish. Such a joy that I have the vinyl framed on my wall. Suomi Finland Perkele! "Ghettoblaster, nerve gas, KILL!"

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Netzach RaduP, nikarg

There is absolutely nothing wrong in copying another band's style as long as you do it well - that's what we call "influence". Mgła sure has a big influence on Non Est Deus, but Legacy sets itself apart with its different melodious aspects, production, and songwriting style. Well, at least in certain parts of the album; quite few parts at that, frankly. But what does a lack of originality matter when the result is so immensely memorable and entertaining as Legacy? I think you know the answer: it does not.



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Netzach Starvynth, RaduP, Nejde, ScreamingSteelUS

If you are feeling calm and comfortable in your daily life–the situation in the world being what it is and all–and are looking to boost your sense of distress and nervousness, Kong are here to provide. The primary emotion of their music is that of anxiety and restlessness. Quality is for you to judge. I'm just a messenger.

Bandcamp.

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Ivor nikarg