Rounding off the British summer festival season, the first (and likely last) edition of UK Deathfest was witnessed by an eager Omne.

In case you hadn't heard, the boys were back in town recently, and they were asking about you. Specifically, they were asking why you haven't listened to every single Thin Lizzy album yet.

Back in February I got an opportunity to go to Stockholm for three weeks on short notice. As Swedes were very liberal with their pandemic restrictions, I started looking for concerts I could attend. I found five! Once there, however, not a single one of them happened. Among those postponed shows was the Green Carnation acoustic tour that I was so eager to see and eventually was lucky to attend in Helsinki about half a year later.

The impacts of the pandemic can be felt far and wide. Touring bands alongside restaurant businesses are probably the ones that have suffered the most from the travel restrictions, lockdowns, and isolation requirements. After a sit-out period of two years, the test for bands is not only to overcome their own pandemic rustiness but also to stand out amongst the busy competition.

We here at Metal Storm pride ourselves in the metal that we live and breathe, and most importantly, write about. But there's a whole world out there aside from Satan-worshiping black metal and dragon-slaying power metal. Here's what we checked out this month.