Category: Reviews

KNIGHTS OF BLOOD ”Falsa Realidad” () Every now and then along comes a Spanish band that I have not heard of before. So did KNIGHTS OF BLOOD. When I checked them out I was so impressed by them that I had to interview them. You might have read the interview. Here is the review of the album “Falsa Realidad”. Musically this is heavy metal with an edge. Apart from the typical metal melodies there is an aggressive touch to this that gives it a distinct sound. As much as I love melodic metal as much do I like it when… Continue reading

LIZZY BORDEN ”My Midnight Things” (Metal Blade) You all should be familiar with both the folklore tale of Lizzy Borden as well as the US melodic metal band LIZZY BORDEN. Having flown the flag of metal since the 80s this is one classic act. And even though I wasn’t too into the melodic metal thing in the 80s I still liked LIZZY BORDEN. And ever since then the act has been in my conscious in one form or another. Turn the clock forward 33 years and here I sit with a brand spanking new album. Still flying the flag for… Continue reading

MARENNA ”Living No Regrets” (Lions Pride Music) I don’t know who Rob MARENNA is. I have never heard of him before I got sent this new album by his AOR/melodic hardrock band. From what I can tell this Brazilian singer and his band are not bad at all. I don’t know about the AOR tag because this is so much melodic hardrock that it leaves nobody unsatisfied. My softer side really like this kind of stuff. There is nothing wrong with melodies. Like everybody else I like to sing along. It took me a while to realize that this is… Continue reading

PASTORATET ”THLM” (Cramada) Swedish punk is one of my small treats. I wish that more Swedish punk releases was sent my way, or punk releases in general. Ever since I heard Ebba Grön back in 1978 I’ve been hooked on punk. I am not gonna lie and say that I have the greatest check on what is going on in the world of punk but I do know if something is good or not. And to my ears PASTORATET are classic Swedish melodic punk. Unfortunately all my references are stuff like Asta Kask and Strebers and Dia Psalma. I have… Continue reading

POSTMORTAL ”Soil” (Solitude Productions) There are words and sentences that I keep repeating every now and then simply because they are so very much me. Like my love for melancholic metal, the sadder the better. At times it feels like my life’s mission is to find the saddest possible metal. I really hope I won’t find it because then there would be no need to look any further. But in my quest to do so I have no stumbled upon Polish POSTMORTAL and their funeral death doom. This is slow and heavy and melancholic just like it want it. It… Continue reading

ROCKSTAR FAME/KIARA LEATITIA ”Bullet Proof” (Musicarchy Media) KIARA LEATITIA I know from her work with Skylark. A symphonic/power metal band. I was not that naïve to expect this to be more of the same but I wasn’t really ready for what this is. to be honest I don’t know how to properly label this. For some strange reason I get flashes of Nena mixed with Nina Hagen when I listen to this (yeah, I know. I am older than time). But apart from my strange mind working in mysterious ways I still can’t get my head around this. If I… Continue reading

VELD ”S.i.n” (Listenable Records) This is a collaboration between musicians from Poland and Belarus. Even though this is the fifth full length I have managed to miss every single one prior to this one. Which is a shame as this is some really cool death metal. I don’t want to say that this is a typical Polish death metal release but it does have that sort of sound. You know, the intense, full on attack kinda sound. But then again it does remind me equally as much of the US death metal sound. So I’ll give that a rest and… Continue reading

WHEN REASON COLLAPSE ”Omen Of The Banshee” () This French band is new to me. And from hearing this new album I kinda know why. This is what my ears tell me metalcore sounds like today. And since I haven’t been the greatest fan of this style until very recently I have stayed away from it as much as possible in the past. But now I kinda feel that I have been to unfair to it and have therefore revised my dislike for the genre. My biggest bug with modern metalcore has been that it is too stop and start-y.… Continue reading

Lizzy Borden – “My Midnight Things” (Metal Blade Records) If you thought arena rock was dead then think again. Master of mayhem Lizzy Borden has been going at it since the mid 80s and has become a legendary name associated with LA’s glam scene and arguably its sole survivor. Despite a hiatus through the 90s, Lizzy returned with a vengeance in the new millennium, both as a recording artist and touring entity. While releases have been infrequent, Borden’s perfectionist approach has been met with respect, and certainly no shortage of fans both old and new to his material. “My Midnight Things”, the… Continue reading

Madball – “For The Cause” (Nuclear Blast) NYHC. You heard it all throughout the 80s and early 90s. Made (in)famous by legendary bands like Agnostic Front, Cro Mags, Biohazard and Sick Of It All, the New York Hardcore scene has been inspirational the world over in spawning even more bands in support of their cause. Somewhat eclipsed at least from a mainstream perspective has been Madball, a band consisting of Agnostic Front members, including Roger Miret, half brother to the then 12 year old Freddy Cricien, who would ultimately inherit the vocal mantle and ever since be the heart and… Continue reading