Reviews

When you get your hands on a new Inter Arma release, two things are certain: a) you don’t know what to expect, and b) you know it’s going to be good.

By this point in time, saying that a new progressive death metal band sounds like Opeth has arguably become such a habitual comparison that reviewers have to take conscious effort to avoid doing so reflexively.

Maybe now that Agalloch is back, people will finally care about John Haughm's ambient works. I know, that's very delusional.

Breaking the law! Breaking the law!…

The Dutch black metal scene of the past decade has had many moments that veer away from the black metal core, and now members of various bands joined to create a very unique brand of post-black metal.

Sumac push even further into what makes them Sumac. For better or worse.

There’s many a story of major bands drastically changing their style and featuring a revolving door of musicians while retaining their original name, alienating portions of their fanbase in the process.

The blind leading the blind.

Who's Better, Who's First?

All hail H​á​lios, for once again the Ceremony Of Silence is broken!

Look what the wind blew in.

A Lucifer’s Ceremony...

The Curse Of The Sabbath's Son… A Tale of Obstinacy.

Something has really gotten into the Amorphis boys in the past few years; while none of them have had an exclusivity with the band for their music, it is remarkable that within 3 years, half the band’s…

BleakHeart definitely know how to live up to their band name.

They're not quite a Forgotten Tomb just yet.

Symphonic metal generally has to balance two things: not sounding like it's just a song with some strings slapped on top of it, and still being catchy.

The French Revolution may have ended in 1799, but Seth have now re-captured the legacy of one of their nation's most historic moments through their impressive signature black metal sound.

Ever felt the need to scratch that Moonsorrow itch? I sure have. Ever felt like adding some avant-garde leanings into that progressive Pagan mix? I sure have.

Arising from Catalonia, Meltem draw upon Anatolian, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern musical influences in crafting their debut album, Mare Nostrum.

Tuonela is Amorphis’ most beautiful album. It defies metal boundaries and explores uncharted sonic paths. With an almost perfect collection of songs from start to finish and a haunting atmosphere, it is…

"Sunday Doomy Sunday."

A Tribute to Grace...

With an Icelandic band name and an opening song beginning with traditional singing and percussion, those newly acquainted to Blóð may be lulled into thinking that this is a Nordic folk project. Initial…

I wasn't really gonna review this album, feeling like I've already given Mono their dues, and feeling that there's not much to add to what's already been said about them and their music.

One man's Dreck is another man's treasure.

“Stoner metal. Sludge. Doom. Call it what you will” – so say Horseburner about their music, and it’s fair enough; we (and especially I) can get bogged down in labels. One extra genre I’ll throw into the…

I never thought I'd see a brutal death metal concept album about Oregon.

An interesting progressive death metal mixture that sadly suffers from annoying problems.

NWOBHM and 80s thrash may be scenes of the past, but the music they spawned still remains alive and well, thanks to bands from unlikely regions far and wide.

Join Nyktophobia on their epic melodeath journey To The Stars; let's just hope you'll be immersed enough to reach the end of the voyage.

The Hard Road to Manilla.

Who would have thought that the mix between a Japanese style and power metal would produce such an incredible result?…

Don’t fix what ain’t broken, just build on it. Here’s how.

Each year there's bound to be at least one album that – appearing perfectly decent but somewhat nondescript on the first spin – slowly, over time, one nonchalant spin after the other, climbs its way…

Every now and again I stumble across an album that I cannot quite pinpoint for myself. Often it can be the oddest minuscule detail about it or something to that effect that turns out to be the key. In…

There's hardly much "super" to go around in most supergroups. It is at best a marketing gimmick to give a handicap to already established musicians that mostly tips the scales of expectations…

Not the first and not the last time noise has been used to convey anguish. But Uboa has never been all noise, but has always been all anguish.

There's a grain of truth to every joke and Freak Kitchen are, to a certain extent, about serious fun. A silly exterior, deceiving musical simplicity, and often borderline juvenile lyrical jabs, however,…

I was late to the party with Lamašhtu's previous album, Tro. I mean, late late, like, over two years late. Nevertheless, it proved to be one of the highlights of that year for me. I was pleasantly…

This album marks the return of Japan's blackened thrash Sabbaticult.

Limbonic Art is a demonic art form that one must embrace if you want to be subject of the unholy Norwegian black madness, but it doesn't always work for everyone.

The progressive nature of Enslaved, the exploratory nature of Dødheimsgard, and the psychedelia of Oranssi Pazuzu. And yet Hail Spirit Noir have never been about sounding like other bands, and Fossil Gardens…

Tomorrow’s Return.

The New Wave of Heavy Metal "Chileno".

Ichor is a timeless but undervalued classic packed with creativity, amazing performances, and beautiful atmosphere. While it's the band's first album, it represents an achievement that remains…

Ulcerate’s formula of dissonant, highly technical and atmospheric death metal remains pretty much unchanged. Not like it matters if the results continue to be this engaging.

The fat lady begins to sing.

More famine than Feast.

Let's face it, bringing heavenly atmospheric black metal down to us all is just Sear Bliss.

Alcest as we've grown to love them.

With this bass intro, I knew in advance that the album couldn't be bad.

A slow, pummeling exercise in heaviness……

Centralia is probably one of the best progressive power metal albums of all time that nobody really talks about.

One of the most powerful yet emotionally expressive albums that I have heard.

What we have here is a Portrait of The Host, but will the host provide some quality NWOTHM for its honourable metalhead guests?

Inherits The Void imprint Scars Of Yesteryears in the form of nods to the 90s Scandinavian meloblack scene on this latest instalment.

Eynomia's second album is an excellent example of considerable talent not guaranteeing good results. Phyllis Rutter is a wonderfully skilled vocalist and Mike LePond is not a stranger to any fan of…

"She wanted an Einstein, but she got a Frankenstein." Here's Alice Cooper, in almost as pure a spirit as the band ever recorded. Boasting one of rock music's most timeless and enduring…

While our current world may be Fueled By Fear, Wraith are fueled by the power of sizzling hot thrash metal fun.

Dödsrit sacrifice some of their punky uniqueness for a folksy, other uniqueness. The result? Cascadian metal, Nordic style.

It’s been close to a decade since we last heard from Julie Christmas, but the time has once again come to revel in one of metal’s more unique voices.

Rezn took their time after 2020’s Chaotic Divine, but they’ve been rife with industry in the past two years, and what’s more, they’re producing quantity without sacrificing quality.

It's hard to talk about an 80s thrash album, especially from a legendary band like Accept.

From country to crime drama, Dog Fashion Disco didn't know what theme to cover, so they decided to tackle them all.

A reorientation of style that was announced from the cover of the album: unfortunately it did not succeed for them.

A very enjoyable melodic black metal experience with a fantastic sound that sadly offers nothing new in this saturated genre.

If Apes are really this savage, then we humans are all in big trouble, and I don't suspect they'll show any signs of Penitence towards us either.

As numerous as the melodic black and melodic death metal bands of the world are, the overlap between the two styles has not been explored as extensively as one might anticipate. Albums as mesmerizing as…

I'd go to church if this was the sermon.