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?
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Book reviews by Steve Earles: History and war
‘Amiens 1918: Victory From Disaster’ by Gregory Blaxland Published by Pen & Sword Military One of the many great services Pen & Sword have done for the reading public is reprinting excellent long-out-of-print books which would either be lost to posterity or command criminally high prices on the second-hand market. Gregory Blaxland served with distinction…
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Iron Void – Excalibur
The tale of Arthur and his sword Excalibur is one of the great stories of heroism and in the world we live in now, we need such stories more than ever. Yet ‘Excalibur’ is a very human story, the characters have all the normal human virtues and vices, which is why the tale still resonates…
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Windhand – Eternal Return
Windhand has consistently been one of my favourite doom bands of the past few years. They’ve shown that “female-fronted doom” isn’t limited to cloaks, capes and songs about Satan while cranking out a string of pretty solid records. But when I heard the initial press describing Eternal Return as a “doom/grunge” album, namedropping the likes…
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High On Fire – Electric Messiah
Some people might say Matt Pike’s the new Lemmy, but when it comes to High On Fire’s consistency, I’d compare them to AC/DC. As they enter their 20th year as a band, you pretty much know what you’re gonna get before you push play – and yet, I can’t say I was disappointed by Electric…
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Create a Kill – Summoned to Rise
Being a fan of the Thrash genre since the tender young age of 12 (I’m now 45) I have been fortunate enough to hear and witness the birth of some of the greatest Thrash music known to man. For some time it seems like the genre which I have hung my hat on as my…
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Behemoth – I Loved You At Your Darkest
Behemoth, one of Poland’s biggest black metal bands, returns yet again after the successful release of their 2014 record, The Satanist. The new album, I Loved You At Your Darkest, is another album of a fully-realized vision by Behemoth frontman, Nergal, and is nothing short of atmospheric, offensive and melodic. Imagery is something that Behemoth…
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Gevurah – Sulphur Soul
Gevurah, the French-Canadian black metal duo have just released the follow-up to their debut album from 2016, Hallelujah!. This comes in the form of a four track EP titled, Sulphur Soul (Or an Inquiry on the Four Elements of the Spirit). It clocks in at just over thirty-one minutes and is roughly the same length…
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Zero Down – Larger Than Death
Minotauro Records are synonymous with quality. I have yet to listen to a release from that esteemed label and not be impressed. But even by their high standards Zero Down are truly excellent. Their songs are really catchy and strong, think classic Priest or Maiden. The production is first class and all the band members are outstanding…
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Hawkwind – Road To Utopia
Years ago, whilst writing an article on Hawkwind’s seminal Warrior At The Edge Of Time, I asked my friend Crin of Godreah Records to sum up Hawkwind in a single sentence. Godreah released a very good Hawkwind tribute compiled by Crin, so he knows the band well. He replied that Hawkwind were and are “a British…
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Kingwitch – Under The Mountain
This is an extremely impressive debut album; anyone whose taste runs from Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath through to Mastodon will find much to enjoy here. Kingwitch’s musicianship is extremely strong as is their songwriting; these are truly great songs, catchy and complex at the same time, with truly engaging lyrics. At times I was reminded…