GHASTDread Doom Ruin Todestrieb (2014)Rating: 8/10 I’m loving the title of Ghast’s sophomore effort; a six-track composition that comes some six years after 2008’s May The Curse Bind debut. The Welsh trio of Arrrrrrrach (vocals / guitar), Myrggh (bass; Mulch, ex-Desecration) and Kz (drums) originally emerged from the coastal city of Swansea under the moniker […]
220 VOLTWalking In Starlight AOR Heaven (2014)Rating: 8.5/10 Beginning with a computerised buzz and then overcast by a sturdy, laid-back guitar, the new album from Swedish melodic hard rockers 220 Volt gets underway. For those of you previously unaware of these guys then you should be ashamed of yourself, because these boys have been in […]
HORNED ALMIGHTYWorld Of Tombs Scarlet (2014)Rating: 6.5/10 Danish black metallers Horned Almighty is one of those consistent bands which never gets the recognition it deserves. World Of Tombs is, believe it or not, the fifth full-length offering from this belligerent quartet which formed in 2002. It’s been four years since the impressive battering ram that […]
KHTHONIIK CERVIIKS Heptaedrone (2014) There may be those of you out there in the world of metal that still harbour a fetish for cassettes. Y’know, those things you used to play in your Walkman and when batteries were low, to save energy you’d rewind / fast forward your tape with a pencil! Anyway, the latest […]
BLOOD GODBlood Is My Trademark Massacre (2014)Rating: 6/10 First thing’s first, do not confuse this bunch of German metalheads with the Dutch death metal band of the same name. This particular Blood God delivers high energy rock ’n’ roll that reeks of AC/DC from its vocal rasps to its anthemic choruses, the only real difference […]
STUDFAUSTWhere The Underdogs Bark EP Soulseller (2014)Rating: 6/10 Norwegian duo Studfaust provide a conniving fist to the mid-section with their devilish, rust-bucket of a debut EP. Born in Oslo during 2011, messrs Tore Bratseth and Faust (known to you guys as Bård Faust from Emperor) are possibly the last word in clanking, dishevelled, leather-clad metal. […]
MISS BEHAVIOURDouble Agent AOR Heaven (2014)Rating: 5.5/10 Melodic Swedish rockers Miss Behaviour are another of these sickly sweet AOR bands all too eager to sugarcoat my soul with their fancy harmonies and 80s throwbacks. The band already have two full-length albums to their name – Heart Of Midwinter (2006) and Last Woman Standing (2011) – […]
ALGEBRAFeed The Ego Unspeakable Axe (2014)Rating: 7/10 When I saw the band name and the title of this record, I was wondering if I was in for a rather contemporary, if somewhat bland affair of bewildering yet cold melody. Thankfully, that is not the case. Formed in 2008, Algebra is a Swiss band that have […]
NIVA Incremental IV AOR Heaven (2014) Rating: 8/10 There have been some extremely good AOR albums released in 2014, and this latest melodic opus from AOR Heaven comes via the wondrous tones of Niva. Originally formed in 1994, the Swedish act has already released a batch of recordings, and now entertains the senses with this […]
MONSTERWORKSOverhaul Eat Lead & Die (2014)Rating: 8/10 I was mightily impressed by the 2013 release of Monsterworks entitled Earth. In spite of a more than decent back catalogue, I wasn’t all too familiar with this intriguing quartet who had originally formed in New Zealand back in 1996, but based in the UK since 2003. I […]
