"Planet Earth: Ground Zero", released in the autumn of 2012, skates over the characteristics of ‘one and done’ artists that record subpar music. This album is angry and in your face like the person at the bar whose drink you just knocked over. Usually, it is a grave sign when the title track is the first track on any album. Typically, it is chee...

30/10/2013

The intro on "Red Scare", which is Panoptikon’s six track EP released June 15th of 2013, is a piece of ‘If I Didn’t Care’ by the Inkspots, released in 1939. At first listen, you might think you popped the wrong CD in your player or that what you thought was death metal your little ears waited for in earnest was recorded over by your grandmother. Le...

30/09/2013

Released in June 2013, "Panic Transistor" is a smorgasbord of a few different types of metal - the most prominent being industrial. The music coupled with the song titles and lyrics is reminiscent of a mash-up of GWAR and Fear Factory. It is difficult to pull off heavy and poppy at the same time, but Sadako, who hail from Austria, do a fairly good...

07/09/2013

Maze of Terror hail from Lima, Peru, which is pretty far out.  A thrash metal band from Peru. Yes, there are other metal bands from Peru, but not like this. "Skull Crusher" is a five song EP released in 2012 and kicks ass from start to finish. There is only one way to do thrash metal successfully, and "Skull Crusher" pulls it off with remarkable...

28/08/2013

September Murder hails from Thale, Germany and their first full-length album ‘He Who Invokes Decadence’ (released in June 2013) is a must have for any heavy metal fiend.  The complexity of this album is amazing to say the least.  The vast intricacies of instruments and vocals flood the ears with a cascade of melodies and harmonies that can be heard...

08/08/2013

Formed in 1995, Synkletos, who hail from Russia, delivers an interesting concept of melodic death metal on their newest release, ‘Spiritual Alchemy.’ Even more interesting is they released the demo for ‘Spiritual Alchemy’ in 2002. Good things take time, I suppose. The complexity of ‘Spiritual Alchemy’ is stellar to say the least. The soothing st...

15/07/2013

Magister Dixit (which is Latin for “Master Said”) pack such a sound on the album ‘Maze Of A Thousand Ways’ you might think they are from the depths of Norway. Alas, this melodic black metal band hails from Montreal, Quebec, Canada and delivers a classic black metal sound complete with grungy growls, grainy instruments and that metallic ‘are they pl...

01/07/2013

Hard rock and heavy metal sometimes walk a finely woven tightrope that hovers over the wall of talent. "Near-Birth Experience" released by Order Of 315 in 2012, walks that tightrope with success. The first track, ‘Enemies Wait Inside’ is the best track on the CD, which is a little disappointing. From personal listening experience, the best track as...

09/06/2013

Deemed 'Dark Atmospheric Blackened Metal,' Ov Hollowness delivers exactly that in the 2013 release, 'The World Ends.' With such an intricate, disturbing sound, one would think there were many members from Sweden in this band. Alas, Mark R. is the only member and hails from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. His vocals range from haunting singing to clas...

21/05/2013

It isn’t often (or lately) that I hear a band that really makes me do a double take with my music-loving ears. There are a lot of well put together up and coming bands in the last two years but none (with the exception of the Philadelphia area) that grasped the old school thrash sound. With a heavy heart and a tear-stained face, I thought Thrash Me...

06/05/2013

Ya know, every once in a while a band comes along that I can say with one hundred percent honesty: these guys sound the same but different. That is a good thing because these days no one seems to like ground breaking change. Turn on any radio and you'll hear the same three chord songs with the same types of vocals... it sucks.</p><p style="margin-t...

14/03/2013

Lyonite hails from the Netherlands and delivers a catchy, symphonic sound that cascades with an array of drums and bass. This musical melody coupled with the angelic voice of Claudia Edwards-van Muijen captures the essence of progressive metal. As a long time metal head, I'm not too keen on female fronted metal bands. After all there is a fine line...

21/02/2013