Category: Reviews

Domination Inc. – “Memoir 414” (Steamhammer / SPV) Five years on since their fiery birth and keen to move on from “Infants Of Thrash” despite it being well received, these Greek thrashers have supported Kreator, Annihilator, Behemoth, Decapitated and Sepultura as well as playing Wacken Open Air, having won the Green ‘Wacken Metal Battle’. Now, pulling out all the stops for this sophomore, the band have collaborated with former SepticFlesh drummer Fotis Benardo at the helm of renowned Devasoundz Studios, with the mastering job entrusted to the practised hands of Henrik Udd (Architects, At The Gates, Dimmu Borgir) and Vagelis Petikas of Revolver… Continue reading

Saxon – “The Eagle Has Landed 40 (Live)” Signature Edition Boxset / 5 LP Boxset / 3 CD (Silver Lining Music / Militia Guard) ‘..Where were you in ’79 when the damn began to burst?..’. One of Britain’s heavy metal greats and NWOBHM legends in their own right, Saxon will celebrate their 40th anniversary through this monster 40 live track release, handpicked by Biff Byford himself and spanning the band’s career from 2007 to 2018!!! If you were indeed around back in those early days and ‘..queue(d) for your ticket through the ice and snow..’ you’d know what a special… Continue reading

Riot V – “Live in Japan 2018” DVD / Blu-Ray / 2 CD (AFM Records) There are few bands that could have a tale to tell like that of Riot, once famed then unjustly underrated over the years to being tragically taken but ultimately immortalised. Such is the story of Mark Reale and his band Riot, and whose members Guy Speranza and Rhett Forrester were befallen by similar fates themselves. Despite being a lifelong sufferer of Crohn’s disease, Reale put the band together in the mid 70s, achieving promising starts touring with AC/DC before the NWOBHM catapulted Riot even further… Continue reading

Narnia – “From Darkness To Light” (Sound Pollution) Oh wow,  the spark that Narnia lit on last year’s live album “We Still Believe – Made in Brazil” has undoubtedly followed the band into the studio from whence is amazing album has emerged! Fantastic songs performed through stellar musicianship and most of all, incredible passion that leaves you with the same upbeat feeling as if you’d just witnessed the band is the best way I can describe my overloaded emotions after listening to the 10 hugely catchy numbers here. Taking in the full spectrum of melodic, power, prog, christian and neoclassical… Continue reading

The New Roses – “Nothing But Wild” (Napalm Records) In less than a decade this hard rocking band have skyrocketed their way to the top, touring with Accept, Saxon, ZZ Top, Y&T, Black Stone Cherry, The Dead Daisies, Joe Bonamassa and Molly Hatchet – even playing at the UEFA Champions-League-Final at the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin and not forgetting the 2 shows at Camp Marmal, Mazar i Sharif, Afghanistan for the multinational troops of operation “Resolute Support”! With one of their tracks being included on the “Sons Of Anarchy” TV series soundtrack and a string of European festival performances including… Continue reading

Lordi – “Recordead Live – Sextourcism In Z7” DVD / CD / LP (AFM Records) Forever to be remembered as the winners of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, Lordi have been going for 27 years and with 9 albums released, a live DVD has been long overdue. At over 2 hours featuring 25 tracks along with bonus backstage footage, “Recordead Live – Sextourcism In Z7” also includes 14 music videos, including the previously unreleased ‘Inferno’, made in 1994 and directed by Mr Lordi himself! Recorded – or maybe I should say recordead – at the Z7 Club on the Swiss… Continue reading

H.E.A.T – “Live At Sweden Rock Festival” DVD / CD / Blu-Ray (earMusic) ‘…We heard the call and answered. Fire and Hard Rock in the night…’. Certainly living up to their name, H.E.A.T have to be one of the hardest working – and most successful – upcoming bands around. In just over a decade, they’ve released 5 albums, including the acclaimed “Into The Great Unknown” and a live album “Live In London” in 2015. With the return of former guitarist Dave Dalone from the 2007 line-up, all the stars were aligned for this incredible show at the prestigious Sweden Rock… Continue reading

Lacrimas Profundere – “Bleeding The Stars” (Steamhammer / Oblivion) ‘..this new record is like a new beginning for us…I cast aside the shackles of the last years in search of my musical roots..this includes my brother Christopher..’. Well, it doesn’t get any more dramatic than this, with guitarist / keyboardist / founder Oliver Nikolas Schmid (re)starting Lacrimas Profundere over as a 3 piece, while former vocalist Christopher now collaborates as a song writer. Recruiting singer Julian Larre (Lessdmv) and Dominik Scholz (Antiadore) on drums, Schmid completed the making of this 12th album with producer Kristian Kohlmannslehner (Hämatom, Powerwolf, Aborted), who… Continue reading

Tomb Mold – “Planetary Clairvoyance” (20 Buck Spin) Already making their name across 2 prior albums, these Canadians have rebounded for the 3rd time in 3 years with “Planetary Clairvoyance” – and folks, lemme tell you, it’s mightily impressive! Seemingly mixing the best of the old school with the new and indeed the world, there are traits of Demilich sitting comfortably alongside Incantation, but on “Planetary Clairvoyance”, Tomb Mold have taken it to a whole new league, hitting a home run well into outer space on the 7 tracks making up this amazing album. While handling all the death metal… Continue reading

Beastmaker – “Eye Of The Storm” EP / Tape (Shadow Kingdom) With 2 acclaimed albums and a staggering 11 self released EPs, the doom glory of Beastmaker has finally been laid to rest in this 4 tracker EP. Now, with vocalist/guitarist Trevor William Church and bassist John Tucker putting new focus into their true heavy metal band Haunt, “Eye Of The Storm” serves up the final offering albeit with its own wicked twist – namely that it’s played in a halfway house style between doom and true metal! Personally I think it works a treat and makes the ending of (hybrid) Beastmaker even more… Continue reading