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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King Heavy – self-titled
OK, so it’s certainly not the most original moniker (to be fair, they are from Chile), but hey, King Heavy kinda has a nice ring to it. Don’t know much about these guys, being that this is their debut album, but they are signed to Cruz del Sur, home of Argus, Apostle of Solitude and…
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Finger Eleven – Five Crooked Lines
It was very reasonable to assume that Finger Eleven had totally sold out years ago. Back in 2003, the success of “One Thing” – a mid-tempo, melancholy and balladesque number found in the late-playing of the band’s fourth album – dangled the gold-plated chain of pop prosperity before the group and they took it. After…
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Carousel – 2113
I’m not really a Rush fan, but I gotta say, it takes some giant gonads to effectively name your album 2112 + 1. Then again, the official explanation from these Pittsburgh rockers is that 2113 is actually their house number. And hey, Carousel don’t sound much like Rush, anyways… unless you go all the way back…
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Yellowtooth – Crushed by the Wheels of Progress
Yellowtooth, an Indiana sludge/doom trio, had their 2012 debut with Disgust. It was a decent platter of lo-fi filth, with down-tuned riffage and rough hewn production that brought Winter’s Into Darkness to mind. With that said, I’m intent to see how they’ve progressed in the three years since. I was somewhat surprised to hear a…
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Shooting Guns/Hawkeyes – Brothers of the Nod
I get excited about things sometimes. Like that new Clutch video. It practically has be wetting my pants with excitement. Another thing that excites me outside the bedroom or the bottom of a beer glass is some high grade…Canadian metal. So when I found out that two of the finest dealers in Canadian heavy instrumental…
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Behold! The Monolith – Architects of the Void
Behold one of the few (if not the only one I can think of) “noun the verb” bands that doesn’t play metalcore. Instead, The Monolith deals in stoner/sludge stuff somewhat akin to High on Fire and/or Lord Dying, with song titles (and artwork) that would give The Sword’s J.D. Cronise a hard-on. Actually, not gonna…
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Unleashed – Dawn Of The Nine
As I write this review I am looking out over the mighty River Shannon where, centuries ago, the Vikings sailed their long ships to establish the still-thriving city of Limerick. As an Irishman, the Vikings are a big part of my cultural heritage and one I am very proud of. Vikings still strike a chord…
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Kataklysm – Of Gods and Ghosts
There is much speculation about what groove-metal band could fill the gap left by the sad demise of Pantera. On the strength of the splendidly titled Of Gods and Ghosts, Kataklysm could well be it. Good song-writing matched with top-notch playing prevails. Above all, there is muscle and melody, and that is what gives Kataklysm…
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Cradle of Filth – Hammer of the Witches
Hammer of the Witches has the best Cradle of Filth cover since that of Cruelty and the Beast, which featured the lovely Luisa Morando as Elizabeth Bathory (where is she now?). The new artwork is very much in the vein (if you’ll pardon the pun!) of such Hammer Films classics like Twins of Evil and…
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Valkyrie – Shadows
Well, kudos for the name for a start! Opening with ‘Mountain Stomp’, Valkyrie nail their colours to the mast. This fine tune is somewhat reminiscent of Thin Lizzy’ circa ‘Emerald’. ‘Golden Age’ could well refer to the period of time they take musical influence from – here we find them drawing on the spirit of…