Despite releasing now three albums of remarkable Metal music, England’s My Silent Wake seems to go largely unnoticed. Part of this, I believe, is that they don’t belong to a singular genre. The band deftly combines elements of Doom, Death and Folk Metal utilizing four vocalists while creating waves of melancholic mastery. One can find […]

These are the kinds of reviews that are hard to do. When there are things that are clearly very good about an album coupled with things that seem to hold it back from becoming essential, it can be confusing trying to write them. If the good is over-praised, you run the risk of disappointing people. […]

Memory Garden has been cranking out its own brand of Traditional Doom Metal (laced with Power Metal) for well over 10 years now. With its fifth release (and first since 2000) Carnage Carnival, the band proves itself to be a lasting force in the Metal scene. It’s easy to expect great things when the band […]

A little Doom, a dash of Sludge, a hint of Stoner and a whole lot of Metal comprise the music of Canada’s Bison B.C. Mixing these influences into a cohesive concoction could have been no easy task, but Bison B.C makes it sound natural…jumping from grooves to melodies to fast to slow tempos has never sounded […]

Well established bands re-recording their past work has never really gone over well with fans. Most fans hold to the notion that not even the band itself can do anything that will even come close to capturing the magic of the original versions. To some fans, it’s outright blasphemy. Now, whether that’s a case of […]

Admittedly, I haven’t given Daylight Dies very much attention at all since their debut Tribunal Records EP, entitled Idle. Back then, I saw them as a natural offshoot of Opeth (with hints of early Katatonia). They employed slower tempos, melancholic melodies, and an overall dark presence. With Lost To The Living being the first thing […]

Taking cues from legendary acts such as Neurosis and Electric Wizard, Italian Sludge-merchants Ufomammut release Idolum, their fifth full-length album, upon an unsuspecting world. With the raw aggression of a rabid wooly mammoth coupled with the psychedelic shadings of early Pink Floyd, Ufomammut’s sound churns and swells like an ocean of Post Metal muck, lapping […]

I hate it when bands try too hard. In the case of Drain The Sky’s album Haunted By Rivers, the band is trying too hard to sound creepy and intense, but all they manage to muster is boring. It’s a noisy mish-mash of blast beats, slow (trying to be) creepy passages and dissonance. They’re trying […]

Finnish band Saattue (meaning Procession, in their native tongue) have certainly taken their time coming upon the scene. With two independent EP releases, in 2004 and 2006, their debut album Jäähyvästi (translated as Farewell) comes 7 years after the band first formed in 2001. Thank you, Spikefarm. Playing a tried and true form of Gothic […]

I’ve spent a lot of time listening to this album. I’ve started this review 2 different times, only to trash it. You see, this album has caused a plethora of different emotions. At first, it sounded creepy…the acoustic guitar/violin combo has a certain ominous air. After a while, it struck me as almost comical…like Black […]

I tell you, if you don’t know what to expect from Zero Hour, it can be a somewhat overwhelming experience. They’ve gotten a new singer since I last heard them (which was the amazing Towers Of Avarice album) and seem to have really cranked up the intensity level. They were already heavier than most other […]

Original Dream Theater vocalist Charlie Dominici returns with the third installment of his epic, conceptual trilogy. I must confess to ignoring the first two chapters strictly based on Charlie Dominici’s presence. I never liked his vocal style in Dream Theater, so I surmised that I would not like it in his own band either. I […]

Female-fronted Epic Power Metal…this description alone should be enough to inform you if you’re interested in going any further. Still with me? Ok, then. Edenbridge is what I call a “Genre Band” (I need to copyright that). If you’re into the specific genre to which they belong, then no arguable reason can be found for […]

King’s X is a band that has lived a tumultuous life. They’ve found themselves on the edge of mass success, all the while watching other bands of arguably lesser talent cross that edge into worldwide stardom. They’ve had people on both sides of the Christian rock debate give them hell over their lyrics (ie too […]

How many years has it been since Mr. Coverdale & Co. graced us with a new album? Well over 10, I’m sure. They’ve been back on the touring circuit now for a few years and have given us a live album & DVD, but this is the first album of all new material since 1997’s […]

Chilean Gothic Doom Metal. This is the simplest, most concise description of Mar De Grises’ (Sea Of Gray) music. All the requisite elements are present to warrant this description as well. Within the 64 minute release, we find plenty of slow tempos, sad, depressing melodies, Death Metal vocals & an overall darkly romantic vibe. Now, […]

Hailing from Sweden, Dead Man also sounds like it hails from about 3 decades ago. Taking its cues from Psychedelic bands like Jefferson Airplane and, to a certain extent, Pink Floyd while also flirting with a darker ambience (think Black Sabbath’s “Planet Caravan”), Dead Man have crafted an album that is as much of a […]

Forsaking vocalists, a lot of bands these days are opting to stick to instrumental creativity to construct vivid, emotional sonic tapestries. An entire genre & scene has in turn been constructed. Bands such as Red Sparowes, Pelican, Canvas Solaris, Explosions In The Sky & others have built substantial followings over the last few years by […]

Beginning life in 1991 as an ultra-heavy, distorted, Drone Doom band, Earth created some of the most mind-numbingly massive instrumental music on the planet. As the years went on Earth found itself developing a few more textures & different tones, yet the band has lost none of the atmosphere it has always been known for. […]

Let’s establish something at the outset. Arjen Lucassen is an absolute musical genius & visionary. His Ayreon discography alone is enough to solidify this fact. Not to mention his side project forays; Ambeon & Star One among them. His penchant for combining what sounds like every Rock & Metal sub-genre under the sun into double […]

There are a lot of bands popping up with a sound that is a throwback to the glory days of ‘80s Sunset Strip Sleaze Rock. Most notably, Buckcherry (who recently went platinum), but also Vains Of Jenna & Hardcore Superstar. Call it the 20-year cycle…2007 is seeing 1987 manifest itself in the Rock scene. Witness […]

Just in time to cure drag me out of my Power Metal funk, along comes Saint Deamon with an album that is already on my Top Releases of 2008. I was getting burned out on all these Power Metal bands still going to great lengths to reinvent the wheel that Gamma Ray had already worn […]

Since their last album, 2005’s How The Great Have Fallen, Raging Speedhorn has gone through a bit of a change. They added two new members, Bloody Kev (vocals) and Dave Thompson (bass), and apparently suffered some deep psychological trauma. That would be the only thing that could explain the vibe on the latest album Before […]

Mighty New Mexico thrasher’s Ultimatum return with their first album in 6 years titled Into The Pit. Not only is this album a long time coming, it also very well may be the best music Ultimatum has ever produced in their 14 year existence. Best described as a blend of Classic and Thrash Metal, Ultimatum’s […]

Despite the band’s seventeen year existence, I’ve not had the pleasure of hearing any of Pentacle’s old-school styled Death Metal before now. Best described as Classic Death Metal in the vein of early Celtic Frost & Possessed, ‘Under The Black Cross’ is rough, raw & relentless. A concept album based on a WWII Naval battle, […]