I cannot help myself. At the beginning of every year, there’s always an album I hear and say “GUYS! We already have an album of the year contender! Really, I swear!” It’s dumb. That’s not to say any of those albums haven’t merited the attention I’ve given them, but saying something will stand as the […]

Last year I reviewed the reissue of the classic debut Hammers of Misfortune album – The Bastard.  I have enjoyed their progressive brand of metal that is quite eclectic, mixing in styles ranging from Manilla Road, Fates Warning, Omen, 70’s prog rock metal to more extreme forms of death and thrash metal.  Somehow their conglomeration […]

Sometimes you stumble across an album that you just know is going to either be a complete and utter hit, or an absolute whiff from listener to listener – there will be no in-between. You either love it like you love your own child, or you want to throw it off a cliff like a […]

The new Spellbook album is not as good as their debut. That could be the review. However, it’s not always so easy to explain. You see, there are still several excellent moments, but where the debut felt like a complete album experience, Deadly Charms feels like a collection of songs. That’s not necessarily a bad […]

Vengeance is a dish best served heavy. And melodic. And epic. OK, I guess I shouldn’t assume “vengeance” as being the first emotion that would come to mind for former Absu guitarist Melissa Moore, who is jumping back into the spotlight after a very ugly and public firing from the band following her coming out […]

I reviewed UK’s Heavy/Power Metal band Dark Forest’s fifth album Oak, Ash & Thorn a few years ago. I raved about the album and now they have returned with a 5-song ep Ridge & Furrow. Opening with the longest track, “Skylark”, excellent double bass drums with the continued Iron Maiden influences all over the place with some melodic yet excellent power metal […]

This is hardly any kind of hot take, but I’m a friggin’ sucker for heavy metal with big, booming, powerful voices. The kind of voices that can slam you to the floor, take your lunch money and probably smear some dog poop or something in your face. A real dick move, but that voice owns […]

What happens when you get members of Gravehill together, throw in some female vocals, keyboards and the drummer from past bands like Morgion and Crimson Relic?  Well you get a doom metal outfit called Stygian Crown releasing their self-titled debut album….and it’s heavy. This is a 2020 release and yes I know it’s 2021, but […]

I like tradition in my metal, just like everything else. In my shaving (dry shave only), my food (well done steak with ketchup only, please), and of course sex (missionary only-no eye contact ever, for reproduction purposes only). While none of that’s true, it’s also not true when it comes to my metal. However, I […]

Chalk up another winner from the Cruz del Sur Music record label.  Witch Hazel was a band from 2007-2020, but now a new band has been formed called SpellBook.  Hailing from Pennsylvania Spellbook play an earlier form of Heavy Metal mixed in with NWOBHM and some slight power metal elements.  Think: Blue Oyster Cult/early Maiden/Priest/Rainbow/Angelwitch […]

I gotta hand it to Cruz del Sur – this label keeps taking me by surprise. Granted, this might be more to do with my apparent inability to just retain what is an obvious, unmistakable truth, but it seems like every time I venture into one of their new releases, I start off chuckling to […]

Talk about a surprise band for me. This 4-piece British band has been around for close to 20 years, flying under my radar as they have released 4 prior albums to this fifth one Oak, Ash & Thorn. Dark Forest play a brand of Heavy/Power Metal. Think early Iron Maiden mixed with early Fates Warning […]

What do you get when you cross the most successful and popular NWOBHM band, Iron Maiden, the (slightly) darker thrash of King Diamond and even Iced Earth, the swagger of Motorhead, and the headstrong dominance of Manowar, with ass kicking XX chromosomes of mighty frontwoman power? Lady Beast, you get Lady Beast my friends. Wait… […]

I learned a long time ago that taking labels like “occult heavy metal” seriously missed the point. Except for the hood and robe crowd putting the music second to their image and dogma, countless bands have enjoyed great success embracing the supernatural imagery so often associated with metal without ever taking themselves too seriously. A […]

Indianapolis doomsters Apostle of Solitude have been active for the past decade, establishing themselves as an underrated but respected force on the doom scene. 2010’s Last Sunrise, the band’s impressive sophomore album, was worthy of high praise due to its potent blend of emotion, melodicism, catchy songwriting and sonic heft. The band’s doom formula is […]

Chicago’s Bible of the Devil is a group that’s always pulling from one place to the next, though you’re never really sure which direction they’re heading until they’ve arrived. Predictability is not in their repertoire. Stability, on the other hand, is — they consistently release high quality, high voltage rock’n’metal records at a pleasingly steady […]

There are some bands out there that really don’t need a review. When you hear the name, you know it’s going to be quality. Pharaoh has become one of those over the years. But, since it’s my job here, I’m going to give you a review anyway. Pharaoh is dependable. So much so that I […]

As fans await the follow-up to 2008’s Be Gone, Pharaoh offers them a little teaser with this six-song EP featuring two new tracks, two rare tracks and a couple of covers. It’s not the four-course meal we may have wanted, but it’s a nice little appetizer. The new tracks are the title track, “Ten Years,” […]

The debut record from Fool’s Game is a promising collection of melodic metal tunes, if at times frustrating. The clear strength of the record is in the guitar work of Matt Crooks and Matt Johnsen of Pharoah fame. The six-string mastery is the foundation that the band is built on and is solid enough to […]

Though still on a similar wavelength as their last effort, Crescent Shield’s newest release, The Stars of Never Seen, is more grandiose, more expansive, and packs less punch. The NWOBHM-paced gallop woven into 2006’s excellent The Last of My Kind has gone by the wayside of a looser (and more progressive) sound. Progressive is not […]

There’s a dude on the back cover of Rex Mundi X-Ile wearing a gas mask and PVC latex. It’s never a good sign when your band photo apes something Marilyn Manson did back in ’96 (on the inside jacket for Antichrist Superstar). And it’s not because I’m anti-Manson or anything (I’m not, though I wish […]

Who among you doesn’t now realize that Slough Feg is one of the best bands on the planet? They do in fact rule; always have and always will. Through all the discussions of a sound that is slightly askew in a cult NWOBHM kind of way with a Celtic folk thread that always simmers just […]

Over the past couple years, Cruz Del Sur has done a good job of establishing themselves as a top flight powerhouse of power and traditional heavy metal with the likes of Pharaoh, Slough Feg, Icarus Witch, and now with the addition of Pennsylvania’s Crown the Lost, their run of dominance in the genre(s) continues. Now, […]

I had heard this band’s name several times in the last couple of years, but this is the first opportunity I’ve had to listen to them. I really had no idea what to expect, so I had no preconceived notions. Suffice it to say that after several spins, I am digging this one. What we […]

Pittsburgh melodic thrash metallers Crown The Lost have signed a worldwide deal with Italy-based Cruz del Sur Music for the release of their Blind Faith Loyalty album, set for a March 2009 release. Commented guitarist David E. Gehlke: “Obviously, we’re enthused to be working with such a reputable label like Cruz del Sur. We’ve heard […]