Category: Reviews

  • Film Review: Så Jälva Metal – The History of Swedish Hard Rock and Heavy Metal

    Film Review: Så Jälva Metal – The History of Swedish Hard Rock and Heavy Metal

    I’d recommend the documentary for metal fans who are particularly interested in the origins of the genre and the roots of metal in hard rock. While I think the narrative could have been weighted more evenly, there is some fascinating archival and interview footage in Så Jälva Metal, and seeing the music from a new…

  • Coheed and Cambria / Moving Mountains / Pianos Become The Teeth @ Music Farm, Charleston, SC Apr 30

    Coheed and Cambria / Moving Mountains / Pianos Become The Teeth @ Music Farm, Charleston, SC Apr 30

    “With the upcoming Iron Maiden tour preparing to get underway, many people are aware that half of the tour will be getting Alice Cooper as their opener — a man that needs no introduction — and the other half will be getting New-York based Coheed and Cambria. I know a lot of people who are…

  • Dawnbringer – Into The Lair Of The Sun God

    Dawnbringer – Into The Lair Of The Sun God

    Into The Lair of the Sun God plays like an open-hearted love letter to an age when heavy metal was the brightest star in the sky.

  • Soen – Cognitive

    Soen – Cognitive

    Cognitive by Lopez and Co is an excellent debut album, full of intelligent and engaging song material which should thrill the Porcupine Tree, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Oceansize and Amplifier crowds.

  • Tankard – A Girl Called Cervesa

    Tankard – A Girl Called Cervesa

    Overall, for a band with a career spanning over three decades and ten plus studio albums, Tankard is as potent as they ever were. A Girl Called Cervesa really is a treat for the old fans and newcomers to the band, so re-fill your Tankard and get ready for that hangover because A Girl Called…

  • Sabaton – Carolus Rex

    If you like hoisting a mug while you sing with your mates and pumping your fist in the air while singing the glories of battle or prefer to imagine yourself with one foot on a monitor, leading a crowd of enthusiastic head bangers in a chorus of “Gott Mitt Uns, As We All Stand United”…

  • Rush – Clockwork Angels

    Rush – Clockwork Angels

    “Clockwork Angels” is indeed a serious contender for album of the year. Utterly breathtaking!

  • Witch Mountain – Cauldron of the Wild

    Witch Mountain – Cauldron of the Wild

    If South of Salem made you a believer, you’ll be defending keeping the faith with Cauldron of the Wild.

  • Nile – At The Gates Of Sethu

    Nile – At The Gates Of Sethu

    At The Gates Of Sethu is first and foremost a very traditional Nile album. Brutal technical death metal is still at the heart of it all, the three-pronged vocal attack has lost nothing of its venom and the religion and history from Ancient Egypt still form the main source of inspiration for Karl Sanders. What…

  • Church of Misery – The Second Coming

    Church of Misery – The Second Coming

    This sophomore release would feature some of the band’s most well-known compositions, such as “I, Motherfucker,” an ode to Ted Bundy, and the Andrei Chikatilo-inspired “Red Ripper Blues”—though it was initially only available in Japan.