Cannibal Corpse 1992 (l-r): Alex Webster, Chris Barnes, Paul Mazurkiewicz, Bob Rusay and Jack Owen Lyrics penned during Chris’ tenure pushed the envelope to its very extremities, perhaps too much so in the case of numbers like ‘Necropedophile’ (from Tomb Of The Mutilated). “It’s totally disgusting, yeah,” Alex recognises. “That’s a sick and appalling song, […]

LOST SOCIETYFast Loud Death Nuclear Blast (2013)Rating: 6.5/10 The thrash revival continues. Lost Society are a Finnish outfit who’ve clearly been feeding on the scraps of the Suicidal Tendencies, Anthrax and Exodus vinyl they found in the local skip. Complete with Ed Repka cover art, moshing chants, chugging guitars et al, this is very much […]

UNKUREDAs Reality Melts… EP Self-released (2013)Rating: 7.5/10 Hard to believe this Ohio quartet has churned out six demo tapes since their inception back in 2010. As Reality Melts… is a five track EP that has a strong demo feel to it, and yet somehow it works, made all the more mature by that strong yet […]

PANIKKUnbearable Conditions Metal Tank (2013)Rating: 6.5/10 Who’d have thought it, Slovenia is now giving birth to formulaic thrash bands clearly influenced by the 80s scene. Oh well, I guess it’s the in thing to make a living by trawling through the best, or worst, of 80s thrash and stealing just about every ingredient. Of course, […]

BLACK CRUCIFIXIONCoronation Of King Darkness Spinefarm (2013)Rating: 7.5/10 Despite Coronation Of King Darkness being Black Crucifixion’s third full-length opus, these guys have actually been around for some time. The Finnish quartet began life in 1991 when, mainly due to the Norwegian influence, black metal was very much on the rise. The band initially was of […]

UPON WINGSAfterlife EP Sword Of The Spirit (2013)Rating: 5.5/10 Classically-trained vocalist Anne Autumn Erickson enters the hard music arena with Upon Wings’ debut EP, Afterlife. Featuring guitar work and production from Kevin Jardine (Slaves On Dope) and guest vocals and production from Brett Hestla (Creed / Dark New Day), the EP is a quick, but […]

LORDITo Beast Or Not To Beast AFM (2013)Rating: 6.5/10 Finnish shock rockers Lordi return with To Beast Or Not To Beast, a lively collection of tunes assumingly inspired by edgy 80s hard rock. The album, which was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Michael Wagener (Metallica, Megadeth, Skid Row, etc.), marks the recording debut of […]

SAXONSacrifice UDR Music (2013)Rating: 9/10 Saxon’s latest album, Sacrifice, comes on the heels of the acclaimed Call To Arms (2011). The album was recorded in Yorkshire, England at LS Studios and is co-produced by mainman Biff Byford and Andy Sneap. As the story goes, the band dug into their back catalogue for inspiration and the […]