Category: Reviews – Audio

Glorious metal in all its earthly forms, compressed onto shiny plastic discs or into digital files. Which ones will become the soundtrack to your life?

  • Wintersun – Time I

    Without the soy sauce Wintersun need, Time I is not seamless. But like vegetables in a good stir fry, their talent is fresh and inviting. This band has been harvested to think outside the box, even if it means adding a little Hoisin.

  • Holy Grail – Ride The Void

    Ride the Void all you want. It’s mad fun. But remember there are other attractions waiting for you too.

  • Iron Maple Volume II: Robert Zemeckis, Tapout, Orchid’s Curse (and more Abriosis and some Thrawsunblat too!)

    Well, here we are with week two’s Iron Maple column. With any luck there won’t need to be a name change this week or anyone crying ‘conflict of interest’ with my reviews! It’s been an interesting week for me here in Iron Maple land, racking up plenty of interviews as well as a whole lot…

  • The Linus Pauling Quartet – Bag of Hammers

    Basically, if you like a little SRV sizzle with your thick Texas steak, and some hash brownies for desert before wandering in the desert… yeah, you’d probably dig this.

  • Bad Religion – True North

    while the albums that Bad Religion has released since returning to Epitaph in 2002 have been consistently improving, True North marks the high point of a decade’s worth of work. This album is a true classic which marks a pinnacle of powers in Bad Religion and upholds everything that is best about the band.

  • Iron Maple Vol 1: Abriosis, Anciients, Chariots Of The Gods and Adrenechrome

    Jason Wellwood kicks off his new Iron Maple column, focusing on Canadian independent metal bands, with reviews of new releases by Abriosis, Anciients and Chariots Of The Gods, plus an audio interview with Chris Friesen of Adrenechrome

  • Rotten Sound – Species At War

    Species At War is an incendiary and blindingly ferocious blitzkrieg of power. In full gear, the album flays the ears like a sandstorm of razorblades.

  • Dark Descent Double Shot: Vorum and Paroxsihzem

    “Dark Descent has a characteristic signature that lends confidence to, and underscores, the veracity of its releases. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily imply that you’re going to enjoy every album with Dark Descent’s sigil attached, but all its releases are imprinted with a strong sense of integrity bound to the label’s trustworthy aesthetic.” Craig Haze…

  • Doro – Raise Your Fist

    Raise Your Fist can keep a venue or party going all night. The record doesn’t show Doro in a new light, but depicts her self-respect through some seriously fetching tracks. At 48 years old, Doro is still hot in leather, strikes chords and bakes like a boss. Horns to her.

  • Baptists: Bushcraft

    The songs are the thing, riffs and hooks left and right that snatch your breath, but it’s the squeezed-fist-grip-on-your-heart attack that makes Baptists your better-than-average d-beat plus metal guitars unit.