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It's albums like Generation of the Void by German death doomers Nailed to Obscurity that leave me feeling strange. I can tell that all of the foundations are here, great death doom production, a solid driving bass to carry the album forward, guitar variation and a pretty good vocal range. This album reminds me of the recent gothic side of Katatonia, but where Nailed to Obscurity move away from that is the death growls from the vocalist; it gave the record the feeling of a Swallow the Sun type record. The tracks themselves are pleasant to listen to with plenty of enough variety to keep the album flowing and not become overbearing.

And despite all of that, I feel a sense of indifference towards Generation of the Void. Perhaps it's the burden of higher expectations with bands like Fires in the Distance, Swallow the Sun and Red Moon Architect that have projected the death doom metal genre to ceiling shattering heights that Nailed to Obscurity just do not have here. I for one, was anticipating when the harsh vocals that were commonplace on the opening handful of tracks ("Glass Bleeding" and "Liquid Mourning") to be pushed back as the clean singing takes center stage, and the harsh vocals serve more as embellishment instead of the main attraction. And when that happened on "Generation of the Void", I felt a sense of simplicity; it still sounds good and is one of the records bast songs, but the Katatonia influence takes over and it becomes hard to separate the influencer from the influencee. 

It's still not a bad album. My time with Generation of the Void was mostly enjoyable with good fundamentals and a strong sense of belonging within this style of music. However, without a true standout moment or idea for Nailed to Obscurity to latch onto, I'm afraid that this record (and band) lose my interest. This void is quite a dull place when you really think about it.

Best Songs: Overcast, Generation of the Void, Misery's Messenger

Woods of Belial was created by the Sorvali brothers Henri and Ville, members of Finnish Pagan black metal band Moonsorrow. Adopting the stage names Blood and Wohi, they took on a darker, more experimental sound, industrial black-doom. They already made two demos before this, Thy Unholy Pentagram and Baxabaxaxaxaxabaxaxaxaxa! 666 Yndstr Draconis, both in the late 90s. In 2002, the band began making a 3rd demo, then Firebox Records offered a deal to promote it as a full album...

Deimos XIII is, similarly to Green Carnation's Leaves of Yesteryear, a 5-track album that includes two extras. 5 tracks in 50 minutes, wow! They do their industrial black-doom sound pretty well. Although the old-school black metal elements bleed through, the compositions are slower and darker in the riffing and drums.

"Worm of Na'ruq" is a sinister electronic intro. It leads to "Desolate", which is the more doomy track, even leaning into the post-sludge of Neurosis and Isis. The riffing is a bit repetitive, especially when it keeps getting repeated for a third of the track, but other than that, it's pure high-quality darkness. "Halla" is the shortest full song, but it has their blackened side, including screams and organs. Atmospheric black metal is combined with funeral-ish doom, in a similar vein to Katatonia's debut and Dolorian. Suitable for exploring the dark lands of Morytania in RuneScape.

"The 13th Horror" has some killer moments from all 3 of the main genres, but some parts can a little boring and dragged out throughout those 17 minutes. The ambient industrial instrumental finale "Pervertum II" is, oddly enough, the most memorable part of the album. It pretty much exemplifies the dark temptation of the more experimental side of The Sphere. A breath of fresh dark air!

Deimos XIII is a fresh decent album. I just wish some things would be improved for a less draggy repetitive album. It's always good to try new things, whether the results are exciting or disappointing. The Sorvali brothers would focus on their main band after this....

Favorites: "Desolate", "Halla", "Prevertum II"

Trivium is back with their first new material in 4 years, Struck Dead! Well, it's a short 3-track EP, but one that really SLAMS. They have their usual thrashy melodic metalcore with fire and fury. It's an amazing way to make up for when their Poisoned Ascendancy tour with Bullet for My Valentine fell through partway, and it shall gets us geared up for their next album to come next year.

As the band continues to evolve throughout their over 25 years of existence, these heroes of Florida's modern metal scene aren't putting out the fire anytime soon. What you can expect from this EP is similar to the rest of their catalog, bloodthirsty riffing and epic melodies.

The first track and single, "Bury Me With My Screams" shows that the band is back with a vengeance, filled with awesome heavy groove. It's an explosion of crushing riffing, Matt Heafy's vocals ranging from raw screams to emotional cleans, and energetic drumming by Alex Bent. Truly a pit-ready anthem! The title track, "Struck Dead (Pain is Easier to Remember)" has that mid-paced groove with Heafy bellowing the track's title, "STRUCK. F***ING. DEAD!!!". And when it switches to the big melodic chorus, it already seems like a remake of their ultimate best track that is the In Waves title track. That is, until it speeds up for a long brutal thrash/groove bridge. It's just pure rage throughout, with the most of that in the breakdown. Enjoyable, but can't beat the other two tracks here and especially not "In Waves".

"Six Walls Surround Me" is the EP's 7-minute epic. It may just be the "And I Return to Nothingness title track" of this EP, longer and more epic than the heavy rest of the offering. After a haunting one-minute intro, the remaining 6 minutes has the band's thrashy melodic metalcore reminiscent of Ascendancy, with a more cinematic progressive structure. It's the perfect emotional storm! Oh, and I would like to note that based on the different keys that are out of the E-flat/drop D-flat/7-string B-flat/drop A-flat tuning range, this may be the first ever Trivium track in D tuning (not drop D, standard D) (in my theory). So many surprises in that towering track that are easy to remember!

Struck Dead shows the band looking back at the past while preparing for the future. It also fits well as a farewell to Alex Bent and his drumming fire. His replacement, the previous unavailable Alex Rudinger (Revocation, Monuments, Whitechapel, Light the Torch, Threat Signal, Intronaut, etc.) will make the band destined for a brand-new more technical era. In the meantime, this 18-minute EP has brought their heavy memorable sound back on top. Their talents are unforgettable!

Favorites: "Bury Me With My Screams", "Six Walls Surround Me"

When I heard that Labyrinthus Stellarum had a new album in 2025, and in such short order after Vortex of the Worlds, I wasn't expecting the album to be this drastic of a departure. It still has what I would consider the essence of the Ukrainian atmospheric black metal project, but instead of playing into the expected tropes of bands like White Ward and Deafheaven, Labyrinthus Stellarum borrow heavily from Blood Incantation of all groups! Specifically, the minimalist electronics of the album Timewave Zero. Make no mistake, Rift in Reality is an EBM album, and that's not the abbreviation you think it is.

Rift in Reality is, by all accounts, a pop album that just so happens to use black metal foundations. And I could not help being a little bit excited with "Voyagers", "Take Us Home" and "Cosmic Plague". And because the tracks are so short in execution, it becomes really easy to digest a project like this; it feels like you're getting hit by a truck relentlessly, but before you know it, it's over.

I would say that's a good thing most of the time, but Labyrinthus Stellarum litter Rift in Reality with some truly gross mixing. This record has zero grit and no desire to grow or show any dynamic swell. The guitar playing on this record is so neutered by compression that it might not even be here at all. The idea that this album could be considered metal at all should be troubling. The bass might as well not even exist with the exception of the few synth breaks because most of this albums highlighted parts are the percussion and vocals. The vocals are pleasant enough, but the percussion, like with their previous album, has this faded reverb effect throughout the album, which contributed greatly to the spacey and existential themes presented, but without anything to ground it in place, it loses some of that grandeur.

Rift in Reality is an album that might be considered controversial, especially by the black metal purists. But I wanted to like Rift in Reality within its first few moments and its attempts to go more pop. But terrible production choices make the rift between artful black metal and mainstream electronic metal more defined than ever before.

Best Songs: Ravenous Planet, Lost in the Void, Cosmic Plague

Fourteen albums in and still Chuck Billy sounds like an absolute fucking monster. In terms of positives to take from Para bellum, it is a tossup which to take as the standout section, Billy’s vocals or Peterson and Skolnick’s guitar work. The riffs on here are certainly on a par with the quality exhibited on Titans of Creation, an album that I only recently revisited, awarding a four-star rating to it in fact. For the first three tracks on the new record at least, Testament pick up where they left off on their previous album from five years ago. That level of intensity of delivery from a band who are four decades into their existence is no mean feat it should be acknowledged. There is a vitality to Testament that left the likes of Megadeth many records ago. It sounds like Testament are not simply enduring the latter years of their career, more that they are enjoying them.

That is not to say that Para bellum is a flawless record, in fact it is far from that in my experience. When I first played it, I was bitterly disappointed, to the point where I was possibly not going to bother revisiting. My recent exploration of Titans… had left the bar high and the initial run through of this album did not get anywhere near for my money. A more critical listen (in my usual protected place of in bed with headphones on) did pay dividends though and I am now of a much more positive mindset of than I was. I must agree with what Sonny calls out in his review though, Para bellum does suffer with filler and as a result ends up outstaying its welcome. I too can forgive the power ballad, ‘Meant to Be’ even though it is placed far too early in the track listing for my liking and is quite disruptive as a result. The fact that the ‘High Noon’, the first of the filler tracks comes in after it makes this random cowboy track stick out even more.

There is in fact no memorability across the middle section of the album. The track listing appears to disappear into a black hole in fact for three tracks which is a particularly bad place for any album to run out of steam. The fact that it then falters again after ‘Room 117’ ensures that the band end up feeling like they just fall over the finish line as opposed to romp over it with the success that the record promises early on. I am not even convinced by the title track that closes the album. So, in the end, Testament show enough positives to avoid a score that reflects their latest album being a failure, yet they do lack the stamina to go the full length. Right now it sits just behind Sodom’s effort this year and ahead of the poor Destruction album that came out this past March.

What is it with live shows being better than albums for some bands? Not that I would ever complain because this one is so awesome and beautiful! The power and emotion are to be checked out to believe. It's a true swan song show for the band, grand enough to make history.

X Japan is pretty much the Queen of Japan. And I mean the rock band Queen. X Japan is a band pretty much everyone in the country has adored, and the live shows can be considered an audio-visual treasure. So it was a sad day when the band announced their intention to call it quits. The band knew they had to end their journey in a proper bang, hence their concert at the Tokyo Dome on New Year's Eve 1997. It would be the final time many of 50,000 fans would see them live.

The smooth peaceful overture "Amethyst" fills the stadium, sending fans on a cheering frenzy once it begins. Soon the band members enter the stage as the noise from the crowd rises and the announcer introduces... X Japan! The band begins performing "Rusty Nail" as vocalist Toshi screams "LET'S GO!!!" in Japanese. Although this is still a heavy metal song, it has a similar vibe those J-pop rock antime themes. It's actually the first song I've heard from this band, mainly because of Dragonland's cover. "Week End" is a catchy song to get the crowd going. But then we have a tricky turn in "Scars" into mainstream electro-industrial rock. It's still a good energetic track though. The title opener of Dahlia blends heaviness with accessibility. If there wasn't any metal, it would've been more like an upbeat J-pop song, with the verses and chorus having that vibe. Then we have a quick two-minute "Drum Break" from Yoshiki. "Drain" is another more industrial track, and it actually rules! I enjoy the heavy groove despite being different from any of X Japan's albums before Dahlia. After that is a "Piano Solo" from Yoshiki to make up for not having the epic piano-led "Art of Life" in their setlist.

"Crucify My Love" is a short ballad, at least short compared to the other 3 ballads in Dahila that are each more than 7 minutes long. One such song being "Longing ~Togireta melody~" which is perhaps the greatest ballad by X Japan and one of the best ballads I've ever heard, and I'm speaking as someone who doesn't enjoy a lot of ballads. I can really feel how moving it is! And then we get back to the earlier heavy stuff with "Kurenai", still one of my favorite tracks from their debut Vanished Vision, with a total catchy headbanging chorus. The riffing and the soloing are some of the best from the band. I'm still amazed by their ability to go from a slow love ballad to a fast speed/power metal song. And that alone is enough to make that song a remarkable one, along with everything else within. And the fast speed doesn't end there, as we switch to the short swift "Orgasm". Well, the original song is short, perhaps their shortest non-interlude song. However, they've actually extended it into perhaps their longest track! Besides "Art of Life" of course. Yeah, this is the point where the tracks begin to get extended to over 10 minutes each, almost like prog-metal epics! But if you think that's impressive, get a load of Yoshiki's 14-minute drum solo. Amazing f***ing strength, just hitting those drums until he practically passes out. I sense some jealousy from Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater. While Yoshiki has some to rest, Toshi steps in to sing "Forever Love", another breathtaking ballad. In all honesty, if I was listening to ballads like that a few years before this review before restoring my interest in more melodic metal genres, I would've probably dozed off. And now I don't, I can just listen to them nice and awake.

It leads to the only short track in the second half, "Prologue", which is the intro to Blue Blood that originally has the subtitle "World Anthem". It sounds like a happy Maiden-infused march that's never a drag. It segues straight to the highlight of the entire concert, the band's own theme song, the catchy speedy "X". I'm sure the original song has planted the seed for international power metal bands like Stratovarius. The crowd really goes wild, participating as they should, with their "X" shouts and forming the "X" symbol. And as the music gets extended, it never drags. An absolute banger that never lets itself down! Amazing piano can be heard in "Endless Rain", proving that the band can make a tearjerking ballad without it coming out as cheesy sh*t. After that is another contender for one of the most beautiful power ballads ever, "Say Anything". I swear this can practically make a grown man like me cry. If you can translate the lyrics to English, you would know the tragic tale of a man's futile attempt at saving his relationship, "Say anything, you can dry my every tear". Now the thing is, the band didn't actually perform the song in this show. Really the only live thing to occur there is the audience singing along. The band was too busy handing out different gifts to the fans, as their way of saying "thank you" (or in Japanese, "Arigato"). At last we get to the aptly titled final single "The Last Song". Yoshiki begins playing his piano, and the rest of the performance is emotional history. Once it ends, the band members exit the stage one by one, and Yoshiki is the last to leave after playing the final notes. The true final song is the 10-minute ballad "Tears". It plays during a montage screening of the band over the years. And to end it all for real, an excerpt from "Unfinished" is heard, "Oh, I'm looking at you, can't control myself, nothing but pain for me." And that's the end. Happy New Year!

Fast forward to now, X Japan is back together and having been trying to make their 6th album for nearly two decades. Sadly, just a little over 4 months after their then-final show, Hide hung himself to death. It was widely believed to be suicide, but the band insisted that it was an accident. So that show was truly a heartbreaking farewell to Hide. RIP... Also, Heath passed away from colon cancer two years before this review, but he already completed his recordings for the upcoming album. RIP him too... Anyway, any fan of X Japan, metal, or music in general should encounter this live beauty. Perhaps one of, if not THE, greatest live show in Japan, and possibly the world!

Favorites: "Rusty Nail", "Week End", "Dahlia", "Longing ~Togireta melody~", "Kurenai", "Drum Solo", "X", "Endless Rain", "Curtain Call (Say Anything)", "The Last Song"

It seems like the Old School are mounting a fightback in 2025 with new albums from Coroner, Sodom, Dark Angel, Destruction, Onslaught, Hirax, Sacrifice and Testament all hitting the shelves of metal emporiums the world over. I would be lying if I said I was feverish with anticipation over any of the above, but in the past all have made thrash albums I love to a greater or lesser degree, so at least deserve a hearing. Now, I do like Testament, Chuck Billy is one of my favourite thrash metal vocalists, but somehow, much like fellow Californians Exodus, outside of their debut album they just don't excite me as much as they should, their songwriting not always flipping my switches.

Initial impressions of Para Bellum, however, are good, especially as Chuck's excoriating bellow is still as potent as ever, despite being the same age as me, old bastard (me, not Chuck)! Kicking off in thrashtastically invigorating style, the opening dual salvo of "For the Love of Pain" and "Infanticide A.I." hit pretty hard with some high-energy riffing, scintillating leadwork from Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick and defiant roars from Chuck. They follow this up with the medium-paced chug of "Shadow People", allowing for a change of pacing and lyrical content. Whereas the opening brace are lyrically centre around the modern concern that the power-hungry few are trying to exert control over the wider population's lives, "Shadow People" takes on the old metal staple of demonic forces and black magic.

"Meant To Be" kicks off in 80's power ballad style as Testament attempt their own version of "Fade To Black", with the track building in intensity and heaviness, although the stadium-friendly, Zippo-waving chorus is a bit cheesy-sounding for my taste, the lead work is pretty decent. Whilst it misses the mark a bit, I do applaud the band trying to mix things up and provida a little bit of the epic amongst the machine-gun firestorm around it, which certainly continues apace with the next couple of tracks, "High Noon" and "Witch Hunt", both of which attempt to tear your head from your shoulders with chainsaw riffs and by sheer weight of aggression. I think new drummer, ex-Seven Spires skinsman Chris Dovas is probably worth a mention at this point. Following previous two drumstool occupants Gene Hoglan and Dave Lombardo gives Dovas some pretty big boots to fill, but his drumming is precise and powerful and provides the riffs with added impetus and velocity.

Unfortunately this point now sees the album hit a flat spot as we hit filler territory. "Nature of the Beast" is the blandest and most uninspiring track on the album for my money and I feel its presence also has a negative effect on the next track "Room 117", which isn't strong enough to lift the album, despite a decent chugging riff and a nice mid-track solo, with it feeling like it too is dragged down by the banality of its predecessor. "Havana Syndrome" encounters more of the same, with the vicious main riff being let down by a rather unimpressive chorus. The album concludes with the title track and here we hear the band back at full tilt and sounding so much better as a result as they declare war on your eardrums once more with a war-drenched slab of epic thrash glory.

There is a killer 41 minute album in here. I would have liked them to have stripped out the two filler tracks, "Nature of the Beast" and "Havana Syndrome", which would have left us with a leaner, meaner fighting machine of an album. I also know that "Meant To Be" is a misfire, but like I said, I kind of admire the intent behind it, so am inclined to want it to remain. All-in-all I am glad to have heard Para Bellum and would have no issue picking up a copy if I could get it for under a tenner.

Iceland. The country of volcanoes, hot springs, the Northern Lights and black sand. Add to this list black metal of course, more specifically black/death in the form of Reykjavík’s Nexion. With their sophomore album, Sundrung (disharmony, discord or sundering), this five-piece are showing clear signs of hitting their stride early on in their recorded output. Simply put, this record is monstrous. Monstrous in the sense that it has nothing but wicked intent. Monstrous as in it sounds like some crawling beast that is literally dragging all the tortured souls of hell and Hades’ underneath every one of its groundings. If ever a benchmark for true black/death metal is needed then there is a perfect, modern reference sat right here.

You can easily find comparisons to a whole host of other Icelandic metal bands present in Nexion’s sound. Svartidauði, Misþyrming, Sinmara, etc we all know the key players out there. Yet you will also find a host of other influences on Sundrung. Vocally, on more than one occasion, I hear spurts of Tom G Warrior as Josh Rood goes through his range of scathing, blackened styles against a backdrop of dissonance that would not be out of place on an Ulcerate record (‘When Raven Steals the Sun’, being a great example of the dissonance effect). There is variety to in the track arrangement, with atmospheric interlude ‘:Þþþ:’ acting as a fetid palate cleanser in the middle of the album before the horror resumes with the distinctly black/death n’ roll opening of ‘Hymn of the Valkyrjur’.

Chanted or layered vocals seek to only add more mystery and intrigue into the ritual that it is this album. The frenzied attack of ‘Rending the Black Earth’ does not lose any sense of solemn ceremony during its glorious assault. Mining tremolos resonate throughout the track creating enchanting dissonance as they blare like victory horns across a shattered landscape. The sense of foreboding never leaves Sundrung over the eight tracks that make up its forty-eight-minute run time. The tension is masterfully poised by the band throughout which is an achievement in itslf given that its nefarious intentions are always firmly on display also, leaving the listener in no doubt of what they are dealing with here.

The only criticism I can level at Sundrung is the lack of strength in the drums, which is not something that necessarily wounds the album beyond repair, yet it still is a weakness that is obvious in what is otherwise an incredibly strong album. Arguably, with a twin guitar attack set against those vocals, you should expect something to get lost, but when it is an important component such as the drums then it does have an obvious impact.

Full disclosure, Blessthefall are not my cup of tea when it comes to metalcore. When I was growing up with the genre, I stayed closer to the groovier side of the genre with bands like Trivium, All That Remains and Shadows Fall rather than the more scene side. A lot of these bands gained prominence during the 2010s while I was in university, during my metal purge. GALLOWS by Blessthefall certainly feels nostalgic for that time frame of bands like Silverstien and Pierce the Veil. And you know what? For a pretty short piece of run-of-the-mill 2010s metalcore slop, it actually isn't that bad.

I enjoy how songs like "Venom" and "Y.S.A.B." aren't totally generic buildups/breakdowns and choruses within this subsect of mainstream metalcore. The choruses themselves can be quite catchy like "Wake the Dead" and "Light the Flame", provided you can tolerate Beau Bokan's vocal timbre, both in his screaming and singing. The foundations are extra djent-y and sound like a lot of fun, especially the occasional melo death riff that sneaks it way in between the palm muted riffage. And the record does not become too redundant all at once. Guest features from Story of the Year on "Fell So Hard, Felt So Right" and Alpha Wolf on "Drag Me Under" break up the early runs of similar sounding key centers and tempos. While the closer "This Ends With Us" has some decent brooding to wrap up the record.

I mean, it's hard for me to not enjoy GALLOWS from Blessthefall. Yeah I doubt it will end up in my year end rotation for 2025, and the record has a couple of duds, but the few moments that stand out are a shining example for the target audience of a time once passed. For a style of music that I don't frequent/enjoy very often, this one caught me off guard.

Best Songs: Wake the Dead, Drag Me Under, Light the Flame

Dutch black metal quartet, Kaeck kick off their suitably named third album, (translated as) Horrible Welcome, with a horrible sounding track. ‘Door gespleten tongen bezworen’ (‘Conjured by Forked Tongues’) is a real dank sounding piece of black metal, punctuated by stabs of synths that could accompany crawling shadows in any Nosferatu flick in days gone by. These keys are a key component of the albums sound. Creating atmosphere against the barking guitar that growls like a pack of hellhounds, this adds authenticity to the sound most certainly. In using them, the album avoids embarking on a truly symphonic experience and can focus on generating a real sense of horror instead.

The downside is that it soon gets old. Now, I know that nobody listens to conventional black metal for masses of variation, but Kaeck are on their third album here and as much as I admire them for sticking with a tested format, the issue here is that the tracks soon all start to morph into one. Whilst I accept that the pace and tempo do alter throughout the record, the keys end up just droning on in the background. Sometimes, they aren’t deployed fully even and whilst this I could argue gives a bit of respite, it does unfortunately come across as if the keyboard player is just falling asleep and coming back in between power naps.

What starts out as a promising album therefore soon fades into obscurity, and I can’t help but feel a bit robbed. Even though I acknowledge that Kaeck can create a ghastly black metal sound, they just don’t do enough with it to hold my interest. After four tracks, I could guess the structure of the remaining three, very easily. If you like your bm to be based on pure repetition alone, then this one is most definitely for you. Ultimately though this gives very little reward otherwise. Fair play for trying to recreate those early 90’s eerie vibes but the authenticity of that over three decades after the event is questionable.

For the first ten or fifteen seconds of the new Afsky record, the listener can be forgiven for wondering just what the hell they have gotten themselves into. Bright sounding, female vocals kick off the opening track, sounding to all intent and purpose like some foreign pop group has sabotaged the expected black metal opus you have just clicked play on. Thankfully, it is but a ruse. Soon enough the familiar coldness sweeps into the sound as Afsky treats us to an epic opening tremolo, the kind that vibrates your teeth together as it goes on for the best part of two minutes. Fællesskab has a feeling of the grandiose to it from the off really. This cinematic edge to proceedings with explosions of riffs (check out ‘Den der ingenting ved tvivler aldrig’), howls of ghastly despair and rich, undulating melodicism all makes for one hell of a listening experience.

Possessing the earthy tones of Drudkh and the atmospheres of WITTR, Fællesskab might be Afsky’s best effort to date. Ole Pedersen Luk, to give him his proper name, once again handles everything on the record giving a fantastic acquittal of himself in the process. He drops in some traditional metal sounding moments along the way that sit effortlessly alongside the more traditional black metal fare on offer. Afsky’s high-pitched vocals are toned to bring the cold in at a second’s notice, and so when things get a little too far away from the black metal roots, he’s there with his shrill vocals to bring the temperature back down to a suitable level of tundra. The tremolos have a folk style to them, an almost warbling sound in fact, and as a result they seem to swirl in the air around the listener like bastardised songbirds.

With no track under six minutes in length, the forty-five minute run time feels full yet not bloated. Albeit far from a Marduk level of intensity, the record does have a sense of charging momentum to it. The pace of the attack that opens ‘Arveskam’ is a good reference point for this. There’s a balance to the tempo here that keeps the energy but introduces the melodies at the same time. Having referenced Drudkh earlier in the review, I would say this is a much better album than Shadow Play. It has a more direct approach, resulting in more potency in the riffing. The bell tolls of ‘Flagellanternes sang’ herald a superb, morbidly melodic bm track that is positively spellbinding. Fællesskab may not be the darkest, most glum black metal release of the year but it is the most exciting for sure. Four records in and Afsky is really hitting his stride with his maturing brand of black metal. I am unable to point out criticism on Fællesskab, making it a strong contender for AOTY in my book.

It took me a long time to fully appreciate the value of this album because Death was such a monument in the history of death metal that each work required quite some time to be digested in my soul. For the first impression, Spiritual Healing is quite mediocre, especially compared to the albums succeeding it. However, once you reclaim your mesmerized brain after the four albums the band put forward, you actually realize that Spiritual Healing is actually fed with so much raw emotion blended with old-school horror.

Lunatic asylums, hypocrite priests, medical nightmares, and a world full of conspiracies... A mind that is shattered between the morbidity of reality and the games of its own hallucinations.... This album is overall quite psychological as much as horrific. Rather than "healing", it is almost dissecting "spirituality". Both lyrically and musically, the album tells us how our spiritual existence and the material world surrounding it became a stage that degrades our physical and mental integrity, eventually "Altering the Future" within the world of "Genetic Reconstruction". Therefore, Spiritual Healing can be defined as the first album on which Death, or specifically Chuck Schuldiner (R.I.P.) starts to "philosophize" death metal themes. 

Years after this album, Schuldiner would say in an interview: "Reality is far more evil than a demon". Yes, Spiritual Healing is the beginning point of this realism.

In terms of the band's discography, Spiritual Healing plays a key role in the musical evolution of the band, as it was on this album that the first attempts at later experiments and progressive trends that would put Death into a legendary category were made. 

Musically, the highlight of the album is the lead guitar duels of Chuck Schuldiner and James Murphy. Such collaboration is exactly what makes the album quite melodic in both riff and solo arrangements, without sacrificing death metal identity.

It may not be one of the highlights of Death's career, yet it is definitely a "must-have", both for the band and for the fans.

Trivia: Chuck's vocals in this album are the favorite "Schuldiner vocals" for the ex-Morbid Angel frontman, David Vincent. If you carefully listen to the vocal style in Blessed Are The Sick, you can easily hear the influence.

I think it was possibly Knife’s debut album from 2021 which would mark the last time a speed/thrash metal record showed enough vigour and intensity to make me stop and take notice. For all the talk of regurgitation of old ideas, themes, styles and genres in modern metal, it is the likes of Vulture who give me the assurance that, if done well enough, the old-school can be worshipped and not come off as simple plagiarism. Whereas their fellow countrymen in Knife deploy a blackened edge to proceedings, Vulture are all about the shrieking, banshee wailing style of speed metal that you would associate with the likes of Razor or Exciter. Perhaps bordering on the power metal elements of Agent Steel also along the way, these Dortmund residents certainly know how to wear their influences on their sleeves.

Above all else, Sentinels is fun. It’s 80’s horror flick style album cover perhaps denotes a band with serious intent and I am not intimating for one minute that Vulture are a goofy band, more that they approach their art with a genuine enthusiasm, a passion that bleeds into their music. Leads soar over galloping riffs, vocals pierce the ears of anyone within a mile radius, yelled from lungs that swell with pride as they sing each lyric, and all the while the drums “thunk” along in the background. Never coming across as having much in the way of venom or bite, the drums are the most understated instrument on the record, to my ears at least. However, this is not necessarily a criticism as I think the production job does the sound real justice overall. Clean without being overproduced, the album has an atmosphere of a band playing live almost.

This is not my first venture into Vulture. I gave their 2019 album, Ghastly Waves & Battered Graves a four-star rating back in August of that same year, and I find Sentinels to be in the same ballpark of the ratings, albeit that I sense a step up in quality of musicianship, certainly in the leads department at least. I am not a massive fan of the hi-pitched vocals that are used here, although my tolerance of them during my listen through of this record was surprisingly good. It is the fiery riffs and blinding leads that reign supreme over the record for me though. The inclusion of an instrumental at track seven seems a bit of an odd choice if I am honest, and I struggle to fight the feeling that it is little more than filler, despite its best efforts.

Leave me with tracks such as the rampant ‘Death Row’ and I am much happier though. In fact, the section of the album that follows ‘Der Tod trägt schwarzes Leder’ is probably the stronger part for me. There certainly feels like an uptick in the quality for me over this backend of the record at least. Keep flying the flag for the old school fellas, it is appreciated.

The legendary debut of the Florida death metal band Deicide was not a small issue. Many extreme metal bands were around at that time, claiming the title of "the most satanic and blasphemous band the world has ever seen". Bands such as Morbid Angel, the early phases of Immolation, Incantation, the Norwegian and Finnish black metal circles, etc., indeed created some of the most devastating albums in support of that claim. However, let's admit that none could sound as furious, satanic, and possessed as the early era Deicide. Indeed, the early Deicide was something else.

As soon as you start to listen to Deicide, you open the gates of Hell and see how morbid, vengeful, dedicated, and scary could be the world of the Biblical Satan. Inspired by the atonal and cacophonic lead guitar work of Slayer, combining Dave Lombardo's style with non-stop blast-beat attacks, and surrounding such instrumentation with the themes of Possessed's Seven Churches or Sarcófago's I.N.R.I. , Deicide became the epitome of "satanic death metal". Last but not least, you also have to give credit to Glen Benton for the identity of this album. Simultaneous manifestation of brutal and scream vocals together with vulgar and hyper-offensive lyrics delivered by Benton was even above the standards set by Morbid Angel via Altars of Madness. 

Once you listen to the songs like "Sacrifical Suicide", "Crucifixation", and "Carnage in the Temple of the Damned", you suddenly understand that this album is not a joke or a cartoonish satanic cookie monster. No... With this album, Deicide basically showed their middle finger to those who claim themselves "satanic" and said, "Really? Let's find out who really is...".

For some, the album may sound a bit repetitive after a few songs, but this also contributes to the overall ambience created by the album. Due to the intense and non-stop violence delivered by the band, the listener may easily become numb, like after consuming too much hot and spicy food, you can't feel your lips. This "satanic lethargy" is the purpose of the album. 

In the end, it would not be wrong to say that Deicide was one of the most, if not the most, evil-sounding and nefarious death metal records a band could create.

New Gods, New Masters is one of only a handful of death metal albums that I have entertained over the course of 2025. In a year that has only seen me focus on death doom as part of my discovery of new music in The Fallen clan, conventional, technical and progressive death metal has not been on high rotation over the past twelve months. If I am honest, Revocation hadn’t piqued my interest with any of the previous releases I had heard, although I cannot say with hand on heart that I recall listening to a full length of theirs in recent history. It was upon hearing the chug fest that is ‘Confines of Infinity’ on an interview with Dave Davidson that my ears pricked up to the promise of some hard-hitting death metal. Seeing that one of my death metal heroes, Luc Lemay was making an appearance only enhanced my urge to give New Gods, New Masters a listen.

Now, I cannot pretend to be a massive fan of technical death metal. Despite owning all Death albums on physical format, I do have to be in a particular mood to put on Individual Thought Patterns, for example. Whilst my guard was up going into this Revocation record, having heard many times how proficient a player DD is and fully expecting an expansive wank fest as a result, I was surprised at how riffy New Gods, New Masters is. Even the technical and progressive mastery is difficult to not be impressed with, to the point where my admiration even extends to acknowledging who well controlled those potentially alien elements are throughout the album. I will not pretend some of those dashing and clipped riffs that kick off ‘Sarcophagi of the Soul’ do not irritate me though, and I much prefer it when the track settles into more rhythmic territory.

Guests appear to have been queuing up to perform on the album with the likes of Travis Ryan (Cattle Decapitation), Jonny Davy (Job for a Cowboy), Luc Lemay (Gorguts) and even jazz guitarist, Gilad Hekselman making contributions to the proceedings. Surprisingly for me, it is Travis’ track that I find the most appealing of all. ‘Confines of Infinity’ has an infectious, hacking riff to it that contrasts with the more chaotic main parts to the track which also makes good use of some groovy riffs to temper the song back to that main riff. Leads/solos all have a crispness to them, and they benefit from the production job of DD, as you would perhaps expect. I am not as enamoured with the drum sound though, that instrument sounds a bit lost in the mix. The presence of Ash Pearson is still, somehow, unquestionable despite this injustice, and he gives a good acquittal of himself regardless.

I am pleased I found so much to enjoy from this record. It proves that there is still some interest in death metal for me beyond the confines of the more gloomy and funeral doom styles that I have focused on more this year. Retaining some of their death thrash elements of old most certainly has helped me with being able to connect so easily with this record also. The longevity factor remains in question for me, but for now I will just enjoy it whilst it lasts.

Popol Vuh is a total sonic assault on the senses for those who dare to delve into this latest release from the renowned main persona of the Black Twilight Circle, Eduardo “Volahn” Ramirez. It is a complex blend of atmospherics, scathing black metal and indigenous sounds that can be traced back to the Mesoamerican civilisation, the Mayans. Sang entirely in Spanish, these six tracks leave very little room for breath, charging at the listener with an unrelenting fury that is as dizzying as it is terrifying. Popol Vuh is quite the disorientating experience at first, and it took a couple of listens for me to grasp what was going on and understand that despite the raging intensity of the pace, it is a well-balanced record.

This is an album that sounds evil. Reminiscent of the smothering soundscapes of Akhlys at times, Popol Vuh has its roots embedded in the true extreme foundations of the black metal genre. From a guitar perspective, it rarely involves melody when it comes to laying down the grounds of its attack. Favouring acoustics for any requirement to bring the record into less offensive sounding territory, it is the use of native instruments that really sets the sound apart from probably most of what the average black metal fan has heard so far this year. Couple all of this with the icy sonics of Paysage d’hiver and you soon come to an understanding of the quality on offer here.

Absolutely resolute in its Mexican nationalism, this album commemorates “the anniversary of the Spanish defeat at the hands of the triumphant Guatemalan warriors” and heralds “the twilight of Mexican Independence”. The sound of the album portrays superbly the tumult of the history it shares and is delivered with a clear passion. There is a sense of mastery to the album that usually comes when the traditional instrumentation of an ancient civilisation is played so well alongside such an extreme facet of music as it is here. There is almost an astral element to Popol Vuh that I was not expecting to hear at the outset and as such it is an album that has caught me off guard in terms of how much I have ended up enjoying it.

The loosely described “experimental black metal” of Arrows offers a different side to the Jünger Tumilon music collective that explores a much darker aesthetic. Retaining those death doom elements also, Yearning Arrows; Cloven Suns still packs a hefty punch and infuses this brevity of riffs with a level of horror atmospherics to really mix things up. It is hard not to be terrified at various points of ‘At War with Peace’, blending tribal elements with more progressive elements and a driving rhythm too boot, this is a massive track on what is only a(nother) four track release. The clean vocals that are used here fit perfectly into the menacing fade of the track, suggesting this battle is still ongoing long after the record is finished.

Arrows have synths and they are not afraid to use them. Stabbing atmospherics into songs like devilishly sharp blades into flesh, they accompany the guitars perfectly whilst building tension well at the same time. The main point of interest in the sound of Arrows though is the bellicose vocal style that gets used intermittently throughout the record. Clean vocals can be made to sound threatening and this approach is a perfect example of this being done to good effect. I did find this element to be leaning on the too quirky side of things at first. However, I soon found them to be more of a unique identifier in the sound of the album. Darvish and Menetekel share vocal duties, cleverly giving this variety into proceedings without making it sound forced as I suspect it would if one vocalist tried to flex their style.

It is clear to hear Arkhaaik in Arrows, given that all three band members on Yearning Arrows; Cloven Suns are the exact same trio who put together Uihtis this year. What a wonderfully busy and experimental 2025 these three are having. Of the two records, this one shades the other (albeit marginally) as it presents much more directly. Whereas Uihtis relies a lot more on build up, this Arrows release manages to retain that same element of mystery whilst being able to express more of a bloodlust in how it is presented. The experimental tag does not mean a multitude of instruments either, similarly I can also allay any fears of sprawling structures of endless spoken word inserts (thankfully). Despite its clear progressive tendencies, this record retains an earthiness to it still and comes out very near the top of the pile of releases this year. It is The Fallen clan that this one should definitely reside in still, its monolithic pace is still the core of the sound after all.

Jünger Tumilon is described as a musical collective from Switzerland. What it appears to mean is that most of the band that make up the collective all share members or are involved in multiple projects that make up the collective. It’s like a Kibbutz for fucked up music basically. The trio that makes up Arkhaaik all conform to this multi-faceted approach to band membership, with no fewer than eleven different, active bands being listed as containing members of Arkhaaik. Described as blackened doom by at least one reviewer on Bandcamp, they certainly do not conform to any norm when it comes to their sound.

Whilst I would perhaps challenge the blackened element as being that prominent in their sound, there is no question on the doom front when it comes to Uihtis. Riffs are thick and atmospheres often thicker, the tribal aspects to the sound invoking as much mystery into proceedings as they do heaviness. The theme of the album is a Bronze Age hunt, obviously; aren’t all good metal albums themed on this after all? Except the album goes beyond the mere act of hunting and the ceremonial slaughter of an animal and adopts the concept for half of the album of the sun hunting the moon and vice-versa. Did you follow that? Keep up, folks.

Joking aside, Uihtis is not half as bonkers as I expected it to be. The chanting vocals that expand tracks beyond the gruff approach that is generally deployed do fit well in terms of furthering that transcendental aspect to the record. Where those mining black metal riffs do get to stretch their legs, they bring some element of dashing menace to proceedings. Yet in the main, Uihtis is structured on strong percussion and rhythmic riffing to drive the message home. Arkhaaik’s sound is the marching of foot soldiers, not as an army, more as resistance fighters. A small, yet capable band of warriors, relentless in their pursuit of their prey, regardless of whether it be man or beast.

With no track being under ten minutes, the band have lots of time to fill and thankfully their approach to song writing rewards the listener. Cleverly balancing the use of atmosphere and instrumentation to build and temper tracks appropriately, I soon found myself absorbed into tracks such as the mesmerising ‘Hrkþos Heshr Hiagom’. The structure changes regularly enough on this track to keep it interesting without losing momentum or the sense of intrigue either. This is the main reason for the success of Uihtis, it is varied without feeling like it is just lots of things thrown into a studio mix for the hell of it. It won’t make many end of year lists probably as there is more than enough content here to alienate a hardened metalhead. Yet it should be recognised for its ingenuity alone. My advice is to look beyond the length of the tracks and settle into the content.

Skillet was part of the league of my brother's favorite alt-rock/metal bands alongside others such as Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, and Disturbed. Back around the Rise era, shortly before getting into "true" metal, I was following his footsteps and liked some songs from those bands. He hasn't listened to Skillet for the past few years before this review, but I didn't think too much about it. Then just the other day, he told me that he doesn't listen to one other band anymore, that band being Disturbed. Y'know, the one band that really started it all for his music taste, which would in turn caused my music taste to start building up. This made me wonder, is he really moving on from what was once his favorite style of rock/metal, a significant token of both his and my past? And that revelation came after I moved out of The Gateway...

At that moment, I remembered checking out Skillet's RYM page and seeing their album Collide qualify as alternative metal, within the 2:1 ratio and all. I consider Skillet more of a rock band than metal, but when I gave that album some listening for the first time in many years, I realized it has the most metal Skillet has ever sounded in their career, as heavy as frontman John Cooper's side-project Fight the Fury. The electronics of the band's prior albums were reduced in favor of pure guitar intensity, with John's singing having a bit of a screamy edge. This is total riff aggression that the band has barely done before and after. And for that reason, this album sits well right here in this site.

Synths still pop out subtly in the opening track "Forsaken" while already unleashing that heavy riffing. "Savior" is a perfect song to rock out to, often going from bliss to devastation (not to be confused with that Vision of Disorder album with a similar sound). The album was reissued a year after its initial release and includes a bonus track, "Open Wounds" which has softer melody. "A Little More" is an uplifting ballad, though I think it could've been better placed at the end of the album instead of so early.

This then leads us to two of the best songs in the album, starting with "My Obsession", in which the crushing riffing and vocals have similar vibes to Linkin Park at the time. But nothing compares to the actual best song here, the title track. I loved this song when I was following my brother's footsteps, and I still do today! It's a grand example of how to make alt-rock/metal epic by adding in Within Temptation-esque strings, hinting at the band's more symphonic sound from Comatose onwards. Truly the "Krwlng" of Skillet, and a fantastic gem! "Fingernails" is another rock-on song, though a little overproduced on the vocals.

Another empowering track "Imperfection" can help you through life struggles while letting out more of that rock/metal fury. The chorus is relatable for anyone realizing where those struggles might lead them to. "Under My Skin" is another soft melodic ballad that isn't all that great. The vocals in "Energy" are so energetic, "Everywhere I go I can’t escape your energy". Finally, "Cycle Down" ends it all in reckless abandon. Cool track, but I wish the album could've ended with one of the aforementioned ballads.

Collide has shown Skillet really making their way to the alt-rock/metal generation. And it has still pleased listeners in the next couple decades that would follow. If my brother and I both end up saying goodbye to alt-rock/metal for real one day, this offering can still be something for us to remember....

Favorites: "Forsaken", "Savior", "My Obsession", "Collide", "Imperfection", "Energy"

Some discoveries may have an interesting backstory from my perspective. When this Ten After Two album was added to the site, I realized that its cover art is a lot similar to that of Bullet for My Valentine's Fever. They both have the same "bobcut hand-bra girl" image! Coincidence? Rip-off?!? I have no idea, but it made me up to checking out this album, which is good but somewhat generic...

Ten After Two first entered the scene with their EP If You Don't First released the prior year. The scene being "Risecore", referring to Rise Records bands that blend heavy breakdowns with clean choruses. In their only album to date Truth Is..., they take those aspects and crank them up a notch.

The beginning track "Yes" has what to expect from Risecore. Hardcore screams and falsetto cleans fill the track up to the brim. Although the riffing is interesting, that's not really an opening song to remember. Then "Before You Know It", this second track dominates further. The cleans are increased and in a good way. The vocalist has fantastic range in both his singing and screaming. The guitars are worth hearing for all their technicality to balance out with the breakdowns. "Dead After Dallas" continues the well-done vocals. Sadly, it's brought down by the sh*tty lyrics. Yeah, 80% of those lyrics are pretty bad. I would like that track more if it had an instrumental version. "Satan's Slumber Party" is heavier and has much better lyrics, "I've never felt so alone or so alive, I call this one my favorite strain, the ambulance showed up too late".

Bring the pace back up further is "Anxious". It's a quick heavy track right from the intro, soon leading to a catchy chorus and a haunting synth-infused breakdown. "Well, Oh Well" is also good yet losing the earlier heavy energy. Really making up for the album's mistakes is the title track which is the best highlight here. Everything is done perfectly in the guitars, lyrics, and chorus. The absolute pinnacle of the album, and that's my true opinion! An interesting track follows, the accurately titled "Interlude in D Minor". Just some eerie guitar with background noise, which is fine but not interesting.

The awesome "The Awe Song" is another one of the best tracks here. But then it leads to another one of the worst, "A Sight at Sea". It's just clean pop-ish filler sh*t that sounds bad in both the music and lyrics. Now I'm wishing this album would be over, in case another f***-up comes on. Fortunately, the closing track "Believe Me" isn't that. More of a scream-less power ballad starting with soft piano, but it's done in a way that pleasantly surprises me. Still not really the best though.

This young band (and I mean YOUNG, they were in their late teens) have made good effort in this album, despite the g****mn generic filler. It's too bad they split up after this album, but can there be more potential if they reform in the future?! That would be great! But I guess the truth will remain out there....

Favorites: "Before You Know It", "Satan's Slumber Party", "Anxious", "Truth Is...", "The Awe Song"

Just as it looked like 2025 was going to be more than a little light on funeral doom, along come Norwegian five-piece, Gloombound with their debut record Dreaming Delusion to ensure the levels of desperation are suitably smothering enough. As I sit here, drenched in misery, with wave after wave of it hitting me in tandem with the stab of the organ on album opener ‘At the Precipice to Longinquity’, Gloombound have clearly done their homework. Now, whilst I may not be grading everything as an A+, there’s enough references here for me to think of the likes of Disembowelment or Skepticism as the track lumbers towards its conclusion after nine minutes. This is a strong opening track that balances the instrumentation well. Crushingly heavy riffs and crystal clear, sorrowful keyboard passages combine well. 

There are unexpected moments of clarity in here also. The sheer twang of the guitar strings on the build up during ‘An Eternity of Complete Acquiescence’ borders on middle eastern almost. Fast forward 90 seconds though and we are in riff mode, rumbling away with some good old-fashioned repetition to underline the point. At this point I would like to call out the excellent work of the vocalists, Emma and Mina. Again, they are both obviously well-schooled in the sub-genre and do a fantastic job of delivering guttural yet abrasive vocals. Handling bass and drum duties also, the duo are a real focal point for the band, carrying a real presence which is to be expected from the percussion and vocal section I suppose.

Similarly, lead and rhythm guitarists Nate and Hakon do a great job, and I quickly got the impression that Gloombound are serious about their artform. As funeral doom records go, Dreaming Delusion is a largely professional job. Things do go a little astray timing wise on ‘Luminary Dissolution’ but it is a debut record so I will cut them some slack. I could do without the mid-point instrumental palate cleanser if I am being totally honesty as it does disrupt the flow of the record a little for me. The record does bounce back nicely, immediately afterwards but even with a fifteen-minute closing track, the two minute track ‘Salvation’ does little to differentiate itself from the opening of the album closer.

The final track does help the album live up to its title. It feels disorientating in its build, yet the organ and light mix to the drums does feed the dreaming aspect of things. The clean singing is by far the most challenging aspect of this track, if not the whole album. That awkwardness may very well be an intentional factor, that was added in with some desire to create alienation for the listener given that funeral doom is not supposed to be a comfortable listen exactly. It is still a bold move to include a fifteen-minute track anywhere on your album, let alone do it on your debut, right at the very end. Nate flexes his fingers nicely on the solo on this track, his notes crisp and clear, piercing through the murk of the record in general. Impressive debut.

I was not expecting much out of a new Mors Principium Est record in 2025. Hailing from Finland, they came out late in the 1990s as one of the premiere 2nd wave Melodic Death metal bands after the success of the Swedish neighbours. Now running on for over two decades, much like their 1st wave contemporaries, I did not know how much a band like this would be able to provide. Well colour me shocked that Darkness Invisible is one of the best melodic death metal records I've heard in 2025 so far. This band has a way to write some immensely catchy choruses alongside groovy and unique riffs. The album is heavy with its percussive blast beats and strong foundation, and while the record does feel a little padded with the symphonic inclusions, I would say most of this record's poorest sounds come by the way of messy synths that double and harmonize with the lead guitar, but their presence is muted throughout so it isn't that big of a deterrent. The individual songs all sound great, but the length of tracks like "Summoning the Dark" and "The Rivers of Avernus" feel bloated. The penultimate track, "All Life is Evil" has this doom tinged pivot, almost as if a progressive style album closer, which I'm not opposed to, but the inclusion of clean symphonic singing just felt out of place; nowhere on Darkness Invisible is the idea of death doom or clean symphonic singing even been hinted at. And so when they make their first appearance on the final moments of the record, it feels like wasted opportunity. Still, I had no idea that Mors Principium Est were still making high quality melodic death metal two decades later.

Best Songs: Venator, Monuments, Beyond The Horizon, In Sleep There is Peace

For me, Covenant is by far the best Morbid Angel record. It not only perfectly reflects the band's evolution in 1993, but also combines the identities of the previous two albums. Take the speed and brutality of Altars of Madness, and add the sophisticated songwriting of Blessed Are the Sick. Finally, give this result to Flemming Rasmussen, the legendary producer of the three great Metallica albums, and then release it. You will have Covenant. Period.

While musically more ferocious, Covenant is also more satanic, thematically. Yes, the issue with Morbid Angel was being satanic as much as possible around that time, but the songs like "Lions Den", "World of Shit (The Promised Land)", and especially "God of Emptiness" increase the anti-religious and satanic tone dramatically, and make you understand why they call the band MORBID ANGEL. Lovecraftian themes are still present, but less visible compared to the previous albums. Cthullu Mythos would dominate Morbid Angel again, after Vincent left the band and Steve Tucker joined.

The best aspect of the album is that when it is slower, it becomes more horrific. As I said, this is one of the fastest and brutal records the band has ever released, but after the closer duo of the album, "Nar Mattaru/God of Emptiness", Morbid Angel leaves the scene in quite an unorthodox way. You would rightly expect that the ending of an album like this might have been a massacre. But, no. Morbid Angel had a different attitude this time. the way David Vincent sings the lines below ultimately became the essence of death metal: bold, imposing, and fear-inducing in its overconfidence:

"Bow to me faithfully,

Bow to me splendidly."

The first impression I have regarding this album is that it lacks the musical integrity Abigail has. In other words, the album doesn't sound as monolithic as its predecessor. But don't get me wrong, Them isn't bad at all. Indeed, it's one of the best albums King Diamond has ever produced. The major drawback is that in Abigail, the story and the music were so in tune and integrated that the whole album flowed like a stream, while in Them, the technical proficiency of the band and the level of progressiveness in song structures seem to level up, but this also makes the album less fluent, less memorable, and naturally, more ambitious. Even the album cover, showing a house in the night, seems to evoke "A Mansion in Darkness" in Abigail, as if pointing out an idea that the major story was told previously. Nevertheless, you still have a very good record and one of the finest moments in King Diamond's career.

Recommended songs for the first listeners:

- "Welcome Home": the legendary opener of the album - if you don't count the intro "Out from the Asylum" - and one of the most popular King Diamond songs.

- "The Invisible Guest": a song that is quite "power metal" in essence, but delights in horror!  Also, many good solos.

- "Bye, Bye Missy": I think the best riff in the album opens this song.

- "Twilight Symphony": the last show in the album is there.

If you loved King Diamond at first sight, it is almost impossible to neglect Them.

As alternative metal goes, Confessions of the Fallen has been a neat find over the past week for me. Triggered by some algorithm somewhere, the 2024 deluxe edition fell into my recommendations and here I am, five days on, writing a review. As I read back my review of 2001’s Break the Cycle it is interesting that my thoughts are largely still the same when it comes to a record that has come out circa twenty-two years after that album. Clearly a trademark of the band, that depressive, self-loathing, over-thinking, underachieving and sullen take on life is once again at the forefront of the twelve tracks that make up the record. Such an expression of feelings is not wrong by any means. Indeed, when they hone it appropriately, it works well to produce memorable, catchy and emotionally taut songs. However, just like it was in 2001, here in 2025 (accepting the album came out in 2023) it becomes a bit of a slog after four or five tracks.

Thankfully, the better tracks are interspersed amongst the filler well enough in terms of arrangement to make the album more than palatable. After a strong opening three tracks, the power ballad ‘Here and Now’ presents the first of the infectious, written for the big screen moment. Sarcasm aside, it is a great track, and I can’t stop playing it, so fair play Aaron and co. Similarly, ‘Better Days’ follows a simple format with a memorable dictation of the chorus line to ensure hooks are firmly embedded in the brain. Confessions of the Fallen is not just about bleating ballads and overly expressive vocals though, when Staind riff on this thing they truly drop the weight on the listener, and for me it has more impact than any of the lyrics or arrangements. The album opens with ‘Lowest in Me’ which shows the teeth of the band early on deploying some core mentality towards the final third of the track. The title track is probably the heaviest of these moments, it’s implied darkness from the lyrics borne out in the crushing riffs that are present on the track also.

The filler does bring the score down, however. ‘Cycle of Hurting’ with its electro pulses and more nu-metal ethos just stands out as an obvious dud to me. Likewise, ‘Full of Emptiness’ has an almost laughable level of clunkiness to it and should have been left for a B-side compilation at some point in the future. Ending on a positive note though, there is a grit to Aaron’s vocals nowadays that does provide some mature edge to proceedings (much needed at times) and for all my gripes, the album has grown on me since I first picked it up. This is rare for this sub-genre as it represents one of the smaller percentages of my collection overall, so fair play once again guys.

As I grow older, and my catalogue of music listening grows, fewer things surprise me. ...And Oceans surprised me with some great melodic black metal on Cosmic World Mother in 2020, they surprised me again in 2023 when the album As in Gardens, So in Tombs flew entirely under my radar, and in 2025, The Regeneration Itinerary made it to my review bench with industrial and cyber metal elements!

Now long time fans might find this less than surprising since the band has dabbled in electronics before on albums such as Cypher. But I wonder just how well the electro-industrial tinges will actually work with a band that is already pretty bloated with symphonic orchestras. And here's the thing: I'm not trying to say that ...And Oceans don't deserve some credit for being ambitious, but sometimes the pendulum swings way too far in the opposite direction. In short, The Regeneration Itinerary is an album trying to redirect everything wrong with Lorna Shore's discography, but it ends up becoming too drastic.

While Lorna Shore litter their albums from top to bottom with every single instrument screaming at you nonstop for over an hour, the main criticism is that albums like Pain Remains have no leveling. Conversely, ...And Oceans have the same problem, but the compression here is drastic. And while it certainly makes for a more enjoyable project than anything Lorna Shore has done, I cannot help but feel like the intensity is missing. The necessity by ...And Oceans to compress this album as much as they did is part of the problem; every part of the record sounds purposeful and given attention. When the electro-industrial parts of "Inertiae" and "The Form and the Formless" come out they are present, but when the guitars and drums re-enter, they sound timid. And that carries even more so into Mathias Lillmåns' vocals. 

I won't call it a bad record. Compositionally, The Regeneration Itinerary is a well constructed release with plenty of variety between the individual tracks. But the way in which it has been mixed and mastered does no favours. It's more pleasant than listening to a Lorna Shore album in 2025, but ...And Oceans are left feeling like they are not playing up to their full potential.

Best Songs: Chromium Lungs, Bronze Optics, Prophetical Mercury Implement, The Ways of Sulphur, The Terminal Filter

Zaraza is a Canadian band that combines the industrial metal of Godflesh with death-doom. In theory, that would've been acceptable for my taste. Unfortunately, many parts drone on for so long, there's too much f***ing fuzz, and the overuse of samples are too much sh*t to handle. The two tracks I like and don't find disturbing are "Every Day is a Funeral" and "Necessary", the latter having great potential for doom fans. Everything else is just unnecessary sh*t, and that's enough deathly industrial metal for me today....

Favorites (only two tracks I like): "Every Day is a Funeral", "Necessary"

Now this is the death metal I prefer, when its blend has more emphasis on industrial instead of the blackened crust of Deathrite. See, I'm the kind of person who would like to explore at least one thing from different metal genres while I'm still alive and can hear well and even see well. Oh yeah, sight is also important so you know the name of the band and album you're listening to along with the cover art. But you can also close your eyes and focus on the music your ears would witness. The music can range from soothing white noise to thunderous heaviness, the way industrial death metal should.

I think I like Worldly Separation more than their other album Perspectives! Remember, Inner Thought was formed by guitarist Bobby Sadzak, formerly of thrash band Slaughter. At that time, Slaughter went under a name, Strappado. For Inner Thought, Sadzak was in charge of all the instruments, including guitars, keyboards, drum programming, and most of the bass. The only other member was vocalist Kelly Montico. The album was also dedicated to war victims around the world. Worldly Separation has more deathly might than Perspectives while still having that industrial atmosphere. I've mentioned that Perspectives is like a continuation of Fear Factory's Soul of a New Machine. Worldly Separation is like a continuation of Fear Factory's demo album Concrete, more deathly while still industrial, and at times reminding some of Morbid Angel.

The haunting intro "Madness" consists of church organ and prophetic spoken vocals. That may be more suitable for a black metal album or something. The title track reigns supreme with its mid-paced march, soon interrupted by a quick blast-beat/keyboard storm. Female singing by guest Andrea Skewes in "Drowning in Sorrow" alternates with the usual growls by Montico, making things sound more cryptic.

Although there's nothing totally bad about this album, "In Ourselves We Trust" has keys that pop up too quickly. Adding different aspects helps get lyrical messages across in "War", in which war sirens and spoken samples float behind the industrial rhythm. Bobby's wife Susan Sadzak provides a spoken narrative in the perspective of a person who lost her family at war, "My husband and two children have been killed in this war, now I am all alone." The band has done well in detailing the tragic consequences of war in that bleak track. Then there's the straight-up deathly "Diseased Infected Earth" with the only industrial thing being the beat.

"Forever Distant" continues that sound, giving their death metal side more atmosphere. It's slightly annoying but still cool. But if you really want the heaviest this album has to offer, "Disorder of Battles" has it all. The riffing speed goes on and off, and when it goes on, it's WAY on. The serene background keys never reduce the rampage. A different track from the rest is the closing track "Ethnic Cleansing", just drone death-doom until it speeds up a bit, sounding like My Dying Bride's debut from the previous year.

I would say Worldly Separation is a deathly work of art with splashes of industrial that almost cover the canvas. It stands slightly above Perspectives, and throughout these 35 minutes, you can really hear their talent and dedication!

Favorites: "Worldly Separation", "Drowning in Sorrow", "War", "Disorder of Battles"

Sometimes albums just slip by you, don’t they? Whilst I would not class myself as an avid fan of Testament exactly, I do have a few of their albums and made a purchase of Formation of Damnation on vinyl in the last twelve months. Yet somehow Titans of Creation slipped by me unnoticed. I could say “more or less” unnoticed because now I have gone back to my catalogue Excel spreadsheet I can see that I rated this record at three out of five, which could suggest an average album, or (given that I never transferred that rating onto Metal Academy) more likely that it was a holding score until I could find time to give the record a critical listen. News today that a new album is in the offing, in a year that has little in the way of quality releases stacking up in The Pit clan, brought this album from five years ago back onto my radar.

The fact is, Titans of Creation is a great thrash metal record. I would go as far as to say Testament’s best since 2008’s Formation… album that I enjoyed so much I made a physical purchase of it. Following the mediocre Dark Roots of Earth and the flat sounding Brotherhood of the Snake, Titans… is a much more dynamic sounding record. Opening strongly with the racing ‘Children of the Next Level’ I immediately sensed that the band indeed had upped their game to the next level in a literal sense. The guitars and vocals especially sound like they have a burning hunger to them, the lead work is nothing short of exceptional at times which is something that has been missing for too long on Testament records. ‘Dreamer Deceiver’ is brilliant in this regard and it is a toss up between this track and ‘False Prophet’ for which is my standout moment on the record.

Inevitably almost, with twelve tracks in play, there are some blunted moments where the razor-sharp nature of what we have heard overall gets the edge taken off it. After a solid first half of the record, things do get a little patchy thereafter, but they never go into full on filler mode thankfully. Whilst it may not always translate into fluid thrashing music, the energy levels behind it rarely abate and that is so refreshing to hear from a band at this stage of their career. The outro to the record seems particularly pointless in the grand scheme of things but I still find it forgivable if a few less-than-ideal moments slip through due to clear overexuberance on the bands part. If they can carry this enthusiasm through into Para Bellum later this week then I personally be a very happy chappy.

As the Burzum chimes grow heavier on 'Der Spalt zwischen den Welten' ('the gap between worlds') there is a sense that Rauhnåcht's fifth full length has arrived. I am very much a fan of that particular trait from the Filosofem album, so any use of that sound can only be a good thing in my book. For a band/artist that is advertised as pagan black metal, it was a bit of a surprise to hear ambient chimes, yet it fits the track aesthetic perfectly. There are other influences on show as well, such as the illusions of grandeur of Summoning or the earthy fortitude of Drudkh.

Zwischenwelten (‘between worlds’) is music for times of adversity. Acting as a balm with its soothing atmospheres yet also providing strength and hope in the chants and resonating tremolo riffs. As an album it has a succinctness in how it plays for just under forty-minutes, as if the artist is taking brief respite from some daily labour to share tales of mysticism and dark fantasy. As the album artwork alludes to, there is a darkness to the album that dress its contents as a warning, a collection of tales of what exactly it is that lurks in that gap between worlds; without ever stating which worlds are being spoken about.

Although less direct in approach than Drudkh, the timbre of the guitar matches on track such as ‘Naturgewalten’ (‘forces of nature’) as it builds up to full speed. Cleverly applying atmospherics in the vacant space around the instruments is well done. As with the album overall, the pagan/folk elements are obvious but never intrusive and as such Zwischenwelten feels like a more conventional black metal album than at first expected. I think the release is only let down by the fact that it lacks any genuine standout moments though. There is no raging intensity that takes the breath away at any point, nor any passages of true ethereal beauty to reflect upon either. Closing track ‘Alleinsamkeit’ comes close with its choral vocals and melancholic leanings but still comes up short in the long run.

The melodeath stuff on Heimat is not too bad for a band that has been doing it for almost twenty-five years, but the metalcore elements are overly forced and take away whatever momentum those songs may have. I was expecting a bit more of a progressive pivot after the first track "War Is the Father of All", but instead, Heimat just kind of treads its feet along the dirt road and becomes quite predictable. Luckily, Heaven Shall Burn know how to properly mix a bass on this album, so even though the grooving is forgettable, at least it drives. The crustiness in the percussion gives the record some old school death metal appeal, but that's about it. "A Silent Guard" is the only saving grace near the albums conclusion.

Best Songs: A Silent Guard, My Revocation of Compliance, A Whisper from Above

I've been in quite the heavy/power/melodic progressive metal zone lately ever since I fully restored my interest in those genres. But every once in a while, I feel the need to balance things out with something dark, something violent, something brutal. I don't wanna go too bright and I don't wanna go too dark either. I just feel like making sure I have diversity in my metal palate. This may not be the best release at that, but it's worth a try...

Deathrite is a German band that's all about darkness and violence. They've taken a lot of punk and metal sounds and made them more bludgeoning. The end result is a full-on blast of hardcore/blackened death 'n' roll in the face. Delirium is a short yet savage release that can cut more than a razorblade.

The metallic title opener is filled with underground deathly heaviness. "Repulsive Obsession" continues that sound from the depths, with more of a hardcore death 'n' roll sound similar to Entombed's Wolverine Blues. Amidst the rough raw production are the vocals, guitars, and drums cutting through your eardrums. This is only for the experienced who have already gotten used to such a style, and I'm in that category.

"From the Edge to the Abyss" is the first of two dark synth-laden spoken-word interludes. It segues to the haunting "Someone to Bleed". It's the longest track at only nearly 5 minutes. What makes it a highlight is the tempting noise-filled atmospheric black metal sound while still having some guitar aggression.

"Vortex" continues the usual blackened death 'n' roll, although it's a little too scattered for good listening. "Vicious Nights" is another short track, having just pure industrial there. We get to a solid ending for the EP with "Sepulchral Rapture" having the last of the deathly chaos. Once it's all over, you would feel all refreshed and ready for more of those band. At least the more deathly metalheads and punk rockers would be...

Delirium is a decent EP of hardcore/blackened death 'n' roll. But with that said, I feel like there should've been more cohesion and variation. I would recommend this EP for punk/metal fans wanting some apocalyptic fury....

Favorites: "Repulsive Obsession", "Someone to Bleed", "Sepulchral Rapture"

It has take me a while to catch onto LoM. This one-man black metal project sees high praise regardless of where I look and last night, whilst revelling in the glorious fury of Storm Amy to remind us all of our place on this planet, I watched a couple of USBM documentaries with this guy being called out on both. Whilst I have high hopes for the new album, based on the single that is out currently at least, I have found this debut to be inferior to Saturnian Bloodstorm from 2023, yet not without its merits.

I like how the majority of the similarities come from other contemporary bm acts as opposed to just endless second wave worship (Immortal and Mayhem aside - those yodellingvocal moments are pure Attila, "De Mysteriis..." worshp to my ears). This makes for an interesting album that sounds modern whilst still firmly nodding to the old ways. It has an enduring, ever-forging direction to it. The atmospherics seem to grow as the album presses on, culminating with the Dead Can Dance cover at the end of the record.

Embracing rawness alongside melodicism to much success, Heir of Eclipital Romance is a strong debut album that sets out the stall of LoM well enough I feel. It is a tad too long in hindsight, which could be put down to over-exuberance on the artists part. Credit where it is due though, I enjoy the record enough as the start of my (chronological) LoM journey.

Arkhaaik are a Zurich-based three-piece who, as their name, a stylised version of "archaic" suggests, are interested in exploring pre-history, in particular the culture and practices of Bronze Age Europe. Their debut album, 2019's "*dʰg̑ʰm̥tós", was an exploration of the religion and deities of this culture, with the somewhat questionable claim to being sung in the long dead Indo-European language of the time. This 2025 follow-up takes as its theme The Hunt in both a literal and an analagous religious context.

Musically, this takes the form of blackened, old-school, cavernous death metal with death-doom tendencies, which often utilises pounding rhythms and horn-like effects to give the album a paganistic and sometimes ritualistic vibe. The tracks are fairly lengthy affairs, with the almost fifty minutes of "Uihtis" containg only four, varying from ten to fifteen minutes in duration. This affords the band plenty of leisure to build the atmospheres and vibe of arcane hunting ritual that they are striving for. Whilst metal is rightly most often judged on the quality of its riffs, and the album contains some very nice death metal riffs to be sure, I think the strength of "Uihtis" lies in its percussion and the tribalistic patterns and atmospherics that it conjures up. To this end I think drummer Vâlant deserves huge praise as his work is crucial to the album's success. The vocals also contribute massively with the bellowing roars and growls being supplemented by the whoops and howls of the (presumably successful) hunters alongside some nice native-like chants.

Despite all this aesthetical window-dressing and conceptual exposition, I guess what most metalheads want to know is, "Does it fucking slay"? I would reply with a resounding, "Oh yes, you fucking bet". I don't think it leans as heavily into the death doom side of the equation as the debut did, this being more in the vein of blackened Autopsy-style OSDM than true death doom, but with some pretty fucking brutal blasting sections and those hulking, tribalistic throbs this could indeed slay a woolly mammoth by sheer bludgeoning weight alone.

In conclusion I would say that if you are someone who loves old-school, cavernous death metal and would like to hear it used in a slightly different context then this is definitely a release you should wrap your ears around.

Derby's Abduction are one of those black metal bands who seemingly beaver away with no fanfare or support from the music industry at large, making me wonder how they keep at it. It isn't like the UK has exactly ever been overflowing with good black metal acts now is it? Anyway, Abduction is the brainchild of guitarist and vocalist Phil Illsley, aka A|V, with guest musicians providing drums, bass and additional guitars. I was well behind the band around the time of the 2018 album, "A Crown of Curses" which I have on cassette from the now defunct Death Kvlt Productions label, but I have lost touch with their progress over the last few years.

So here we are in 2025 and album number five. This is a well-produced and written slab of vicious and savage-sounding black metal that makes no pretence to the folky or celtic atmospherics which are often a staple of UK black metal, but which goes for the jugular in full-on attack mode. That doesn't mean the thin and tremolo-heavy sound of true raw black metal, the production is too thick and muscular for that, but it takes a more bludgeoning approach, in the vein of death metal. Even though this is still unambiguously black metal with pummelling blast beats and tremolo riffing, there is a fullness of sound that puts more meat on the genre's usually skeletal bones. The band sound very tight and the playing is excellent throughout.

A|V has an excellent vocal delivery with a howling savagery and angst-ridden desperation borne of emotional frustration that screams in the face of an uncaring universe. His lyrics are poetic and dense and I haven't had much time to sit down with them so far, but I am sure they are much deeper in meaning than I have as yet been able to ascertain. The killer riffs are powerful and are driven by a phenomenal powerhouse of a rhythm section as drummer Ed Gorrod and bassist Gavin Archer blast a path with the force of a high explosive drone strike. The tracks all flow nicely with decent variation of pacing, despite the overarching aggressive feel of the album. and the songwriting seems of as high a standard as the musicianship.

All told, this is a very good slab of UKBM and with, in my opinion, the recent decline of previous UK heavyweights such as Winterfylleth and Saor there is no reason why Abduction should not sweep in and claim the mantle of the premier UK black metal act.

When I was revisiting the music of Fates Warning, I've realized that I enjoy the earlier heavy/progressive metal era of their first 3 albums more than their subsequent melodic progressive metal era. John Arch is one of the best vocalists of the genre. He may sound annoying at first but then you realize how amazing he is with his unique voice. The vocals aren't the only great thing about this album though.

The Spectre Within is a true progressive/US power metal gem! It even has a slight edge over their next album Awaken the Guardian that other fans prefer. Their second album with they really start to add progressiveness to their US power metal sound. My first full experience with this band's material was 5 years ago. I was more focused on heavier modern metal than the more melodic old-school metal of yore. I enjoyed the music a lot but eventually got tired of it, especially the vocals. Some things need some time away from me to restore the glory, and when I came back just a few days before this review, I can hear it again as the masterpiece I first thought it was. So worth the wait!

The progressive changes begin to shine in the 7-minute opening track "Traveler in Time", one of the best tracks here and the perfect way to start. Then we have the more mid-paced while still sometimes upbeat track, "Orphan Gypsy". One track that has really gotten me excited is "Without a Trace". It sounds like a song Iron Maiden could've written, only made better and more progressive.

"Pirates of the Underground" is another long track, and it levels up the progressiveness with the structure not having a set chorus. "The Apparition" still remains as my favorite track of the album on the US power metal side, with the best vocals from Arch.

There's more of that heavy speed in "Kyrie Eleison" while having some doomy sections. The perfect grand finale is the 12-minute epic "Epitaph". It's Fates Warning's first ever 10+ minute epic that would hint at the ones they would make in later albums. It starts off all atmospheric and doomy, almost like what Katatonia would make a decade later. Then it impresses me with everything from the guitars, bass, drums, and of course, the vocals, all heard loud and clear. Absolutely memorable!

This has to be said: The Spectre Within may just be the true start to the progressive metal genre. Every metalhead should get that offering and listen to this incredible talent, especially from the vocals. It's honestly quite underrated compared to the popular Dream Theater. All praise Fates Warning!

Favorites: "Traveler in Time", "Without a Trace", "The Apparition", "Epitaph"

In 2010, Amorphis decided that they were ready for a live DVD, and there was no better time than on their 20th anniversary. It's a monstrous packed release that should appeal to many fans of the band. Originally a two-disc DVD, it was re-released with an additional two-CD version not released separately until 2017. The DVD is a f***ing impressive journey through a lot of the music the band had made so far. I don't even have to be picky about what I like, I love pretty much all of it in this form!

The main course of this entire meal is a one-and-a-half-long concert at Oulu, Finland in November 2009. While it's good to appreciate the visuals, the meat is in the music. And after the intro, it is time to start the show...

The beautiful blazing "Silver Bride" begins the set, although it is actually the second track of the band's latest album at the time, Skyforger. The album's actual opening track, "Sampo" comes next, filled with enchanting melody. Then "Towards and Against" has nice keyboard atmosphere without any of that Children of Bodom-esque soloing. "The Castaway" is a more unique earlier song with an Egyptian folk vibe.

I think the best tracks here are the medleys, the first of which being "Smithereens / The Smoke". They only play the outro of "Smithereens", but then it leads straight into "The Smoke" which truly represents the Tomi Joutsen era. Both of his cleans and growls really shine alongside the guitar melodies. He really alternates between both styles in the chorus, coming out so wonderful. I love the solo that then leads to a soft break before the climax. That climax being a final passionate chorus that would make you up to giving that anthem another spin. "Majestic Beast" is heavier and throws back to their earlier deathly roots despite being from their at the time new album. The more melancholic "Alone" is pretty much the only song from Am Universum they perform live these days, which is a shame because there are a few other solid songs from that album. Then we have a serene progressive highlight in "Silent Waters".

"Divinity" is the one track from Tuonela that marks a live staple, and the addictive chorus makes it the right choice. Then comes the second medley, the "Elegy Medley". It's perhaps the centerpiece of the entire show and DVD, throwing back to an amazing album with all its diversity, as proven in the "Against Widows" part. It transitions to the second part based on "Cares" which includes some synth experimentation that may seem odd out of context, but when heard with the rest of the medley, it's yet another beautiful thing. The 3rd part, "On Rich and Poor", has cool melodies and occasional key changes, before ending the medley with an epic reprise of the first part. "From the Heaven of my Heart" has nice clean emotion. "Sky is Mine" is another serene track, in which the music and lyrics greatly resonate.

And here's one more medley, "Magic and Mayhem / Black Winter Day". It starts with the enchanting keys and heavy riffing of "Magic and Mayhem" that are then displayed the best in "Black Winter Day", as the heaviness lightens up a bit. "Sign from the North Side" is more mid-paced and the riffing doesn't hook you enough, but it still has a great sense of deathly action. "House of Sleep" has more of a classic heavy metal direction in the rhythm and keys. They really took some old-school metal aspects and blended them with the metal we know today. Then it all ends with the grand finale "My Kantele". The sorrowful lyrics really detail the emotional magic from the Finnish instrument in question ("Its strings gathered from torments, and its pegs from other ills. Truly they lie, they talk utter nonsense... So it will not play, will not rejoice at all. Music will not play to please.") The vocals work well with the guitars and keyboards. The track is basically extended into an epic as the heavy version is combined with the acoustic reprise for a memorable climax of harmonic leads. Beautiful!

Now the second DVD consists of a different shorter show also from 2009, as well as all the band's music videos so far, a couple more separate live tracks, an interview, and a documentary. All I'm going to cover here are the two tracks that weren't in the first disc. The second show, at Summer Breeze Open Air, starts with "Leaves Scar". I just can't put to words how melodic and beautiful it is. Tomi's growls were pack a punch, while the clean chorus is sung with the might of a warrior. Both vocal styles work so greatly together. "Evil Inside" is a highlight from Far From the Sun. I just wish they would've performed that song in one of those shows instead of just adding in its music video.

So yeah, Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes is the ultimate live album for 90s/2000s Amorphis fans. The songs' live forms may just be the best yet. Even though it is a live DVD, it's a fantastic start for any new Amorphis fans, a best representation of their first 9 albums. It is also perfect for longtime fans for the band's most glorious journey of songs. Let's hope for another milestone-celebrating live DVD in 2030, 5 years after the review. In the meantime, let this one bless the heaven of your heart!

Favorites (one track per album, plus the two highlights in disc 2): "Sampo", "Smithereens / The Smoke", "Alone", "Silent Waters", "Divinity", "Elegy Medley", "Magic and Mayhem / Black Winter Day", "Sign from the North Side", "Leaves Scar", "Evil Inside"

You know what, I don't think we have to wait until 2030 for another perfect live album to follow up from Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes. We already have it in 2017's An Evening with Friends at Huvila! It's a shorter live show while still including some of their greatest tracks throughout the two decades prior. If we put all the live tracks from this live album and the other one together, the only album at the time without a song performed live is The Beginning of Times. I should review that album again sometime.

The show took place in the Helsinki Summer Festival the previous year. Guests include jouhikko player Pekko Käppi, flute/saxophone player Sakari Kukko, and a special vocal appearance by Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering). The band really let those non-metal instruments shine in the songs, making them calmer while more diverse.

We already hear these more acoustic tendencies in "Enigma", replacing a lot of the heaviness while still sounding beautiful. "Far from the Sun" is an epic yet relazing highlight with a poetic chorus, "I walk away now from you, and your sun, it goes down from you, as I walk, away now from you, far, from your sun." Then we have another serene progressive highlight in "Silent Waters".

Up next is the grand "My Kantele". The sorrowful lyrics really detail the emotional magic from the Finnish instrument in question ("Its strings gathered from torments, and its pegs from other ills. Truly they lie, they talk utter nonsense... So it will not play, will not rejoice at all. Music will not play to please.") The vocals work well with the guitars and keyboards. The beautiful blazing "Silver Bride" begins the heavier part of set, although it is actually the second track of Skyforger. That album's actual opening track, "Sampo" comes next, filled with enchanting melody.

The more melancholic "Alone" is pretty much the only song from Am Universum they perform live these days, which is a shame because there are a few other solid songs from that album. There's more accessible speed in "The Wanderer", which is one of the best singles from their new era. "Her Alone" ends the set as the most progressive standout here, with the gorgeous singing of the aforementioned Anneke van Giersbergen.

You can either get this glorious live CD on its own or as part of the tour edition of Under the Red Cloud. Apparently, there was an entire performance of that album later that night that didn't make it in. Still this solidifies Amorphis as one of the best live bands. Acoustic folk never sounded this majestic when added to melodic progressive metal!

Favorites (one track per album): "Far From the Sun", "My Kantele", "Sampo", "Alone", "The Wanderer", "Her Alone"

After that massive live DVD and that re-recording album comes their 10th offering, The Beginning of Times, continuing the Tomi Joutsen era. Ever since he joined the band for their 2006 album Eclipse, the lineup has stayed steady with one lineup change later on. While The Beginning of Times isn't as much of a classic as their first 4 albums, they just go with their stylistic evolution, all for some authentic diversity...

The album is longer than their other albums, having 12 tracks instead of the usual 10. It might take some time to digest, but in the end, it will really grow on you. I think now that I've just given the album more actual time to grow, I can really get most of the complexity I've once experienced.

Starting this album is the f***ing kick-A "Battle for Light", one of my favorites from the Tomi Joutsen era. It's the best track to introduce to Amorphis newcomers. A peaceful piano intro paves the way for the rest of the instruments to shine. What makes the song a standout is Joutsen's vocals ranging from cleans to growls, best heard is the mighty chorus. It throws back to Elegy in both the music and the lyrics continuing the Kalevala theme, "The sun no longer shines on us, no silver moon reflects." I honestly think "Mermaid" should've been a single because it's so beauiful with the right amount of catchy accessible melody. One song that continues the melody they've had since Eclipse while having growled verses is "My Enemy". After that is "You I Need", which has a great chorus but everything else is just OK.

Revisiting Elegy's sound further is "Song of the Sage". Even a ballad-ish track like "Three Words" can have heavy variation including more of those harsh vocals. Some choral vocals appear in the background of "Reformation". Then "Soothsayer" has some of my favorite lyrics based on Finnish mythology.

"On a Stranded Shore" tells the story of a man and his wife who's a mermaid, "My maiden's hair, grass on the waters’ edge, now willows on the shore." Throwing back to some of the riffing from Eclipse is "Escape". Then "Crack in a Stone" is more dominant in the growls. The grand title epic has some of the best lyrical imagery. You should definitely get the version of the album with the bonus track, "Heart's Song", which sounds like a Tuonela B-side. It's so memorable in the riffing, soloing, chorus, and lyrics.

So yeah, Amorphis can still go strong at the time of their career when they were 20 years in. And they would continue to sound fresh in more of the releases that would follow. The Beginning of Times is an underrated album for both new and longtime Amorphis fans, and nothing shall disappoint....

Favorites: "Battle for Light", "Mermaid", "Three Words", "Soothsayer", "Crack in a Stone", "Beginning of Time", "Heart's Song"

Apocalypse Orchestra are a five-piece from Gävle in Sweden and they have a penchant for doom metal heavily coloured by european folk music. They seamlessly integrate medieval folk instruments such as hurdy-gurdy, mandola, cittern and pipes with the modern electrified instruments of doom metal in a way that feels perfectly natural and unforced. The slow, plodding riffs of doom metal are used as a foundation upon which the band interprete medieval folk melodies for a modern metal-loving audience.

I do love folk music, but I am often disappointed by its unsubtle use when utilised as a trope in metal, with a lot of folk metal sounding trite and just downright cheesy. I never felt that way once though whilst listening to "A Plague Upon Thee" because it is just so tastefully done, with an apparently equal reverence for both folk and metal. You would be forgiven for suspecting AO of playing a doom metal version of viking metal, given their swedish origins, but there is a distinct lack of the whiff of longship and battleaxe within "A Plague Upon Thee", with it often being more celtic-sounding à la Saor than the Norse influences of a Bathory or Wardruna. The doom metal side of the equation is quite functional and, in truth, it doesn't vary hugely from track to track, with most of the eight tracks following the same tempo. It is perfectly well executed, but is utilised more as a foundation or rhythm section if you like, providing the staging upon which the folk melodies and instruments perform their magic.

The lyrical themes revolve around the harshness of medieval life, plague and the ever-pervasive presence and domination of religion over the lives of the peasantry. The lyrics are beautifully delivered by voclist Erik Larsson who has a great line in clean vocals, supported by almost symphonic backing vocals provided by the rest of the band. Despite the inate heaviness and mournfulness of doom metal and the generally bleak tone of the lyrics, the music still often feels almost hopeful, as if, despite the harshness of life, there is still a ray of light or shred of comfort to be gleaned amidst all the darkness and hardship.

I really enjoyed "A Plague Upon Thee" and found its folk-centric take on doom metal to be a refreshing twist on what can often be a conservative and predictable genre. That it also avoids the trap of cringy cheesiness that plagues so much folk metal is testament to the band's skillful songwriting and reverence for their sources of inspiration. If you are looking for a different take on doom metal then I would heartily recommend this.

This year, 2025 saw the return of two thrash/tech-thrash bands after over 3 decades without new material; Dark Angel and, you guessed it, Coroner! The progressive tech-thrash of this Swiss trio is still in full force after that huge gap, proven in their new album Dissonance Theory, sounding modern while staying true to what they are.

The band has really picked up where they left off after Grin. However, instead of continuing that album's industrial-ish groove sound, they level up the riffing artillery from guitarist Tommy Vetterli, almost as many riffs as Dark Angel's Time Does Not Heal. The vocals of frontman Ron Broder still have that energy from their initial run. Dissonance Theory can be considered the missing link between Mental Vortex and Grin, filled with progressive thrash compositions combining aspects old and new.

"Oxymoron" is an ominous intro to begin this offering. It segues to "Consequence" which greatly exemplifies the album's sound. "Sacrificial Lamb" slows things down to a sludgy tempo. It's a little draggy but still great. In the last couple minutes, things speed up for the technicality of Revocation, complete with melodic soloing.

"Crisium Bound" has cool dynamics. Then we get to one of the two singles for this album, "Symmetry", one of my favorites here. It blends the progressive tech-thrash of Mental Vortex with a bit of melodeath, and the soloing beauty of Vetterli. The riffing sounds so modern while still thrashy, owing it all to the D-flat/drop B tuning throughout this album. "The Law" has some crushing groove in the first half, then in the second half, they really turn up the thrash aggression. "Transparent Eye" shows the band's progressive side more, and while some parts might be a little bland, nothing is worth skipping.

The best of their progressiveness comes in "Trinity" with its perfect mix of atmosphere and heaviness. "Renewal" is the album's last full song and its first single. When that first came out, I thought it was the heaviest I've heard from these Swiss tech-thrash masters! It's still a heavy highlight, but earlier tracks like that other single level that up further. The outro "Prolonging" is a 3-minute continuation of the previous track. I feel like they should've been embedded together, yet it's all good as-is.

Dissonance Theory is the album Coroner fans have asked for and received. While not many comeback albums from earlier bands have pleased their longtime fans, Coroner's return shall bring them back along with new listeners. It's a must for anyone willing to hear more from one of the most creative bands of progressive tech-thrash!

Favorites: "Consequence", "Symmetry", "The Law", "Trinity", "Renewal"

They are back again. Halifax’s finest are here with album number seventeen. Again, I am stood scratching my head wondering why I have neglected to listen to probably fourteen of those records from that back catalogue, having made a vow to dip back further into the discography after being interested enough in 2020’s Obsidian to write a review on here for it. Like Obsidian, it is the riffs and leads on Ascension that steal the limelight for me. Aedy and Mackintosh’s resilience on guitar to keep their instruments at the center of proceedings keeps me interested in most of the record as I find my attention on Holmes’ vocals waning every now and again (just like on Obsidian).

Tracks like ‘Diluvium’ are unfortunate examples of where the credibility of the song writing gets called into question. Vocals sound like they are striving rather than driving here on this track and it is Mackintosh’s antics on the fretboard that save the track for me. This consistency to the potency of the riffs is what keeps me away from the skip button on more than one occasion on Ascension. As the album goes on, and it is another long-arsed Paradise Lost album we must contend with, the filler starts to get increasingly obvious though. The bite to proceedings never quite blunts altogether but I find the vocals sound increasingly sterile and flat.

This is a shame, not in the least because I do think PL are genuinely trying to be entertaining. As it turns out though, they do end up building more of a sense of running through the motions and at this stage I am not sure if I have another PL record in me. Seven or eight tracks maximum would suffice I feel, as although I can resist the skip button, I am still checking that track listing to see how long there is left. With Guido Montanarini now stepping away from drumming duties (leaving the seat for the returning Jeff Singer) PL are losing a solid drummer based on what is on show here. Maybe a (re)refresh of the line-up could help reinvigorate things enough to see us avoid repeating what has plagued the last two albums. Complacency is culpable for Ascension’s downfall sadly and something will need to change to see me increasing my scores on any future release.

Forming in Ventura, California in 2004, Warbringer are a five-piece thrash band centred around vocalist John Kevill and guitarist Adam Carroll alongside a revolving door of drummers, bassists and second guitarists. However, they have managed to maintain a stable lineup since 2018, so "Wrath and Ruin" features the same five as previous album, 2020's "Weapons of Tomorrow". Now this may not necessarily be a good thing because I wasn't that impressed by "Weapons of Tomorrow". It was a bit too Exodus / Testament for my preference. Now there is nothing particularly wrong with either of those bands, but I like thrash that has a bit more bite, hence my love of recent chilean thrash alongside old favourites like Slayer and Kreator.

So here comes the good news, because it sounds like Warbringer have been bingeing Kreator albums in the last five years and that has given them a harder edge than previously, making me much more amenable to "Wrath and Ruin" than I may have been otherwise. A big contributor to this is that John Kevill sounds to be taking his vocal cues from Mille Petrozza this time around, with a ragged and howling bark that sounds significantly more aggressive than he has previously. The production has been a big help and its clarity has lent the riffs a more jagged, savage feel. The emphasis in the songwriting seems to have moved away from hooky melodicism towards upping the ante on aggressive riff writing and just letting rip. This doesn't manifest as an all out blitz, though, with the pacing of the tracks varying throughout from ripping high velocity salvos like "Strike From the Sky" and "The Jackhammer", through medium-paced chuggers like opener "The Sword and the Cross" and "Neuromancer" to the markedly slower menace and portentiousness of "Through a Glass, Darkly", which is possibly my favourite. The two guitarists, Carroll and Chase Becker, unleash some impressive solos, complementing each other really nicely with high-velocity stringwork that brings to mind some of Dave Mustaine's better work. The rhythm section is also damned impressive with drummer Carlos Cruz laying waste to whole city blocks with his relentlessly busy battery, ably supported by Chase Bryant's throbbing bass lines.

All in all, in 2025, Warbringer have managed to turn in a thrash album worth listening to that isn't from South America and once more giving the US a seat at the thrash metal table. I have to admit that I didn't think these Californians had an album this good in them, which just goes to show, never count anyone out and definitely not thrash metal which, despite its limitations, can still turn up diamonds occasionally.

I've been a big fan of Apostle of Solitude for some years now, but I must admit to being a bit disappointed with previous release From Gold to Ash as I thought it sounded a bit flat. Happily, Until the Darkness Goes sees the band get back into form with some tremendous, thunderous doom metal, particularly during the opening half of the album with the first three tracks being some of their best work since Sincerest Misery. The guitar sound has that requisite solid "crunch" to it that the best doom metal possesses, the riffs are fairly memorable, often possessing enough power to topple small buildings (When the Darkness Comes, Relive the Day), and the tracks have plenty of melodic hooks. Chuck Brown's vocals are adequate, but I really think a top-knotch vocalist would elevate Apostle of Solitude into the upper echelons of the doom metal universe. Still, that minor criticism aside, this is an album that puts the Indianapolis doomsters back on track and is well worth the time of anyone into conventional doom metal such as Pallbearer, Lord Vicar and Reverend Bizarre.

Prepared for a fun album rather than a great one, I think I ended up getting both.  This has plenty of thrashing, but above anything else, it's multiple kinds of fun, the spirited kind that defines the album like a Zappa one, rather than the general kind that tries to justify the existence of an otherwise undercooked movie, like Kung Pow.  Now one thing that disappointed me about Agent Orange was the glaring inferiority of the band's attempts at straightforward heavy metal in comparison to their thrash works.  But here on Better Off Dead, songs like their cover of Thin Lizzy's Cold Sweat prove that they finally got a grip on this.  They're making fun, catchy songs of various kinds, leaving room for some raw thrash material such as Shellfire Defense and Bloodtrails.  Thing is, in place of the occasional blackened influence of previous efforts, they included some more obvious attempts at melody, and this helps differentiate the album from previous efforts while still managing the Sodom spirit.  I mean, hell, Shellfire Defense is Agent Orange material, and if you're a classic fan then you'll definitely get a big kick out of the title track.  I even went back and listened to Shellfish again.  Might be my favorite Sodom track up to this point; it left me wide-eyed, something that even the best Sodom albums haven't achieved yet.  It also takes time to be a little weird more often than not.  Gotta say I'm kinda lovin' that two-part intro to Bloodtrails.  Though I WOULD say Healing Wounds is basically speed metal filler.

Bro, treading some reviews in an effort to grasp an inkling of why this album gets any kind of slack, I found that Sodom fans consider this a disjointed work in comparison to the classics.  And to that, I say, "Check out Thembi and call me in the morning."  If you ask me, this whole albums feels the way I've been asking it to feel, a largely consistent vibe that shows the band trying to expand.  I came into this expecting anything from 60-80 / 100, but I'm not gonna lie, I'm in the rare came again, the Prometheus / Tauhid / Fulfillingness' First Finale / no better EDM than FSoL camp: this is better than Agent Orange.  They're doing what they can to put out another real Sodom album while trying to expand their horizons, and they largely succeed.  This album has tricks up its sleeve that I wished Agent Orange would even simply try to attempt.

At the time of writing this, I've given this album its highest rating on Metal Academy: 92/100 = 4.5 stars.

My reach into the underworld of raw black metal stretches further than ever before in 2025. Tornekrans from Norway are proof of this with their rampant charge of black metal that whirrs violently at the listener across ten tracks that rarely let up for breath. I stumbled my way to this one-man project after discovering Khaos Aura earlier this year and being the naturally inquisitive type that I am, my research soon directed me to other projects band members are involved with. Torkus, who does everything in Tornekrans, unleashes his debut full length following his demo from last year. Clearly worshipping at the altar of 90s second wave, he crashes and bashes his way through the album with the fury of Gorgoroth on crack.

This is a record steeped in the stench of that dank scene. Attacking each track with a seemingly inexhaustible level of enthusiasm, Torkus leaves me in no doubt of his intentions on Silent Whispers Echo from Forbidden Realms. There are no whispers or silence for that matter on the record, just echoes from forbidden realms. They come in waves, constantly. Like a hideous undead army of evil spirits, they just keep coming. Attack after attack makes for an unrelenting experience. Zombified warriors, drunk on their hatred and vitriol for the living just hack and slash away at all in their path. A record that is not for the faint of heart, Silent Whispers Echo from Forbidden Realms is a furious expulsion of black metal played against a pagan/folky backdrop.

The croaking harshness of the vocals slices through the wall of tremolos and percussive chaos, and they do elevate what are otherwise simple song structures. Nobody is coming to raw black metal for its complexity of arrangement and so this format works well enough. Whilst I am sure some will find this too frantic an experience, I cannot help but admire the approach. Unwavering and perhaps unnerving it may well be, but at the same time it stays true to the aesthetic it sits in. The folk instrumental that opens the album is the only respite you get folks, it is hell for leather from track two onwards.

Having got through the EP's and albums before this one, including their first live album, I'm happy I'm finally checking this out.  Their second album and second extended play showed a major upgrade in musical quality, both on a songwriting and heaviness factor, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect except for a good time.  The titular opener showcases a new ability to go from careful melodies to proper thrashing instantly while keeping the essence strong.  Some may miss the fuzz factor that defined their blacker albums, but the clearer production gives them a chance to really show off their thrashing abilities, especially in regards to their guitarists.  We also get some more excellent drumming from the always wonderful drummer, Chris Witchhunter, who's consistently been my favorite member.  Hell, even Tired and Red is able to showcase just how far they're willing to take thrash by going from the blackened riffs to a softer ballad solo to some easier, chiller thrashing akin to Jump in the Fire.  This is the most any Sodom song had done so far.  If you're a fan of the really early Sodom stuff, then you might get a huge kick out of Incest (I want you to pay very close attention to the capital I).  Its first half is entirely made up of the extra-strength muscle rub that slathered the earlier blackened stuff, heavier than anything on Agent Orange thus far.  The second half is slower and a little more "epic" in that vein, before ending with a return to the first verse's form, as expected.  This first side ends with Remember the Fallen, which starts as more of a heavy metal song than thrash.  I'll be honest, they obviously didn't learn how to make a great heavy metal track yet.  It was alright, palatable, but had nothing really amazing about it.  At least they gave heavy metal a shot.

Side B kicks off with Magic Dragon (no relation to Gloryhammer or Puff).  The heavy metal intro and first verse carry on the heavy metal sound of the last track with a slight improvement in quality, but it only made me want the thrash to come back because there's a difference between "pretty good" and "great."  Thankfully, the second act kicked off just like that.  Nothing new but it had much more personality and ability.  But I certainly don't want the album RELYING on the thrash.  I'm an "expand your horizons" guy, so I was a bit disappointed that Exhibition Bout started out the same thrashy way we've been getting for the previous few releases.  Thankully the song took a softer thrash route after the first minute, and it really wasn't that bad.  It was catchy and operable, but it only lasted for the middle section.  The saving grace upon returning to typical form was one of their best solos overtaking the third act, a grand one that makes this one of the best songs on the album.  Track 7, Ausgebombt, is practically a crossover thrash song that retools the Sodom sound, and adds a little something to the album that honestly should've been done ages ago (Slayer were doing it pretty often), so it's nice to hear that.  And finally, yet another grand thrash, Baptism of Fire, shoves the black metal influence and the Teutonic majesty in your face as it should.

So this wasn't the most diversified album, as expected being a Sodom album, but it was another upgrade in quality, albiet a small one from their sophomore release.  This is one of the harder thrashers in the Teutonic scene based on what I've heard so far, and I can get behind it being a thrash classic.  Still, give me Metallica any day.

90

My knowledge of these Illinois alternative metallers is solely restricted to their 2021 album "Niratias", an album that I quite enjoyed at the time, even if it was not the sort of fare I normally tuck into. So here we are again and they are back with a new album, their tenth in just over 25 years and I have to say I really enjoyed it. With loads of nu-metally bounce and some wicked melodies, despite some of the lyrical themes, I found this to be a fairly upbeat and uplifting experience. The brothers sound exceedingly tight and well-drilled as befits a band well into their third decade of existence. I must confess I never really look forward to the Gateway features very much as I find an awful lot of them to be a bit bland, but the melodic sensibilities and hook-laden quality of the songwriting on "Bright as Blasphemy", coupled with the guys' evident technical competence and a production job that is almost perfectly suited to the material made this a bit of a minor revelation for me. The first three tracks and especially the two-parter "Cowards", are a great beginning to the album and whilst the rest doesn't quite hit as hard as these, as a whole this sounds as good as anything I have heard from the Gateway over the last few years.

Dust off those hand-painted lead figures, dig out the D20s and fill your personalised, engraved pewter tankard with foaming ale, because Blazon Rites are here with their Battleaxe of +4 Damage to deal righteous retribution to the evildoers and ne'er-do-wells that plague the lives of mere simple folk. Yes, Blazon Rites leave no uncertainty as to their love of fantasy with both their cover art and their, frankly, exceedingly cheesy lyrics. But, you know what, as a one-time table-top role player myself, back in my youth, I thoroughly enjoyed this romp through the wilds and taverns of fantasy stereotype.

Musically and, to a degree, aesthetically, they remind me somewhat of Solstice, or, to be more accurate, Rich Walker's short-lived side project, Isen Torr, whose Mighty & Superior EP may have been a touchstone for BR. Vocalist Johnny Halladay very much reminds me of Sami Hynninen, to the point where I had to check that they weren't yet another project of the Reverend Bizarre frontman himself (they aren't, they are from Philadelphia). Anyone thus familiar with old Witchfinder will also realise that, in a Maiden-esque, heavy metal set-up this means there are limitations in the vocal department. For me this isn't a problem, but anyone looking for power metal hystrionics (which you may well be justified in doing considering the album's optics) you are going to be severely disappointed. In truth, Blazon Rite aren't particularly sophisticated song writers, with the opener "Autumn Fear Brings Winter Doom" probably being the pick songwriting-wise and this is an area where they leave scope for improvement. That said, they do kick out decent, fist pumping heavy metal riffs and lead guitarist Pierson Roe delivers Adrian Smith-like leads with aplomb. What they do exude by the barrel-full, though, is enthusiasm and a seemingly genuine love of heavy metal and its fantasy trappings and that is not to be underestimated in a world where musical experimentalism and po-faced seriousness threaten to crush all sense of fun out of the genre. I think us internet metal nerds sometimes forget that metal can just be entertaining and fun without us feeling guilty about not pushing ourselves with every release we listen to, or not contemplating the depths of our psyche with every lyrical musing. So crack open a beer, kick back and feel a smile crawl across your face thanks to the simple metal fare that Blazon Rite have served up here.