{"id":105848,"date":"2026-02-20T00:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=105848"},"modified":"2026-03-05T09:45:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T09:45:38","slug":"ep-review-avalon-astral-claw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/ep-review-avalon-astral-claw\/","title":{"rendered":"AVALON – Astral Claw EP (2026) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

AVALON
\nAstral Claw EP<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nHigh Roller (2026)<\/span>
\nRating: 5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Obviously these German rockers didn\u2019t check to see if any other bands, past or present, had the same moniker. I found at least ten other bands called Avalon, but this clan has certainly done its best to suggest they\u2019ve been around a lot longer than 2019. The whole look of this EP suggests early 80s New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, but no, Avalon are in fact a raw thrash act that wouldn\u2019t have been out of place on some 80s Brazilian speed metal compilation.<\/p>\n

As soon as the opening title track hits there\u2019s a rawness and sense of obscurity, especially as vocalist Deanosaurio Del Rock (real name probably Dean!) wildly lashes his tongue in blasphemous ways. Fans of classic Venom and Slayer<\/a>, old Sodom, old Sepultura and anything in-between will appreciate such raucous designs. Bass, drums and guitar are always on full throttle; spitting dust n\u2019 rust the EP rattles by like a brief downpour of acid.<\/p>\n

\u2018Dante, The Loss\u2019 continues in similar fashion; all spit and no subtlety. The vocals are delivered as short chops and gasps, a marked improvement on the bands earlier demo recordings. Even so, the whole primitive clatter \u2013 summed up by the frantic and short \u2018Cerberus\u2019 \u2013 is a novelty which wears thin after just a few spins. \u2018Eternal Darkness\u2019 hisses and fits after a promising slower start and \u2018Pandora\u2019s Doom\u2019 is almost comical as the vocals reach a hysterical fever pitch.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s little to no variety here, but I doubt the band will care. After all, it seems clear that Avalon have set out their stall to provide unhindered bestial metal. They\u2019ve certainly achieved that, but with the lifespan of a Mayfly.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AVALON Astral Claw EP High Roller (2026) Rating: 5\/10 Obviously these German rockers didn\u2019t check to see if any other bands, past or present, had the same moniker. I found at least ten other bands called Avalon, but this clan has certainly done its best to suggest they\u2019ve been around a lot longer than 2019. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,6013],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-avalon-germany"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105848"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105850,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105848\/revisions\/105850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}