Band: LORD OF LIGHT Title: Morningstar Label: No Remorse Country: Sweden Release date: March 13, 2020 (self-released digitally on 11/11/2019) Format reviewed: (high-rate) mp3 promo "Morningstar" was initially self-released in the late 2019 on digital platforms. Based on the accolades the album received from the fans, just weeks later found LORD OF LIGHT signing a multi-record agreement with the Greek label No Remorse Records. "Morningstar" will be released for the first time

Band: DEXTER WARD Title: III Label: No Remorse Country: Greece (Athens)/Italy (Venice) Release date: March 13, 2020 Format reviewed: (high-rate) mp3 promo When the stars align … your band gets to debut its’ new album at one of the most respected European metal festivals! The band: DEXTER WARD, the album: “III“, and the festival: the XV edition of Up The Hammers taking place in Athens, Greece, between March 12-14, 2020. (A/N: without any doubt a headbanger’s “wet-dream” lineup

Band: AMBUSH Title: Infidel Label: High Roller Records Country: Sweden Release date: March 13, 2020 Format reviewed: (high-rate) mp3 promo The traditional traits of heavy metal will maintain an important position among this year’s releases. The (more) traditional heavy metal has been already on an ascending trajectory for the last couple of years. Personally, I’m loving it! I don’t necessarily buy into the “nothing can reach the level of timeless classics” analogy - as I stro

Band: STALLION Title: Slaves Of Time Label: High Roller Records Country: Germany Release date: February 28, 2020 Format reviewed: (high-rate) mp3 promo STALLION keeps the mighty flame of traditional heavy metal burning high and bright with the release of their third full-length effort, on February 28, 2020. This album is a clear statement of to what placed the band into the higher tiers in a relatively short period of time. With new blood from the band's two new members, bass

Band: DEAD KOSMONAUT Title: Gravitas Label: High Roller Records Country: Sweden Release date: January 31, 2020 Format reviewed: (high-rate) mp3 promo To qualify DEAD KOSMONAUT's music on their forthcoming opus, "Gravitas", simply as heavy metal would be inaccurate. Admittingly, I was unaware of the band's previous offerings: debut full-length "Expect Nothing" (2017) and 2019's EP, "Rekviem". The day before yesterday I've played the promo for the upcoming album for the first t

Band: PORTA NIGRA Title: Schöpfungswut Label: Soulseller Records Country: Germany Release date: January 17, 2020 Format reviewed: (high-rate) mp3 promo German avant-garde black metallists PORTA NIGRA are releasing their 3rd full-length effort, "Schöpfungswut", available worldwide on January 17th 2020. The band's founding duo: O. (drums/vocals) and Gilles de Rais (guitar/bass) have recruited Tongue (André Meyrink, vocalist, guitarist and founder of German black metal outfit Ch

Band: REVEL IN FLESH Title: The Hour Of The Avenger Label: War Anthem Records Country: Germany Release date: December 6, 2019 Format reviewed: (high-rate) mp3 promo This IS death metal! For the last eight years, the southwestern German Deathkult metallers REVEL IN FLASH had launched awesome albums (four full-lengths, to be precise) and a load of (equally great) splits, received by the underground metal masses and critics with high accolades, building a true kult grassroots fo

As a preface to this review, I'd like to bring to readers attention a rather important fact. I don't get material assigned to review - out of the dozens of promos received on weekly basis, I personally pick albums that I personally like, and in the vast majority of cases, physical copies (on vinyl or CD) will become permanent fixtures in my personal collection. I won't waste any of my own time reviewing something that just doesn't cut it. There is no financial gain from runni

Band: Necropanther Title: The Doomed City Label: independent Country: USA Release date: November 15, 2019 Format reviewed: (high-rate) mp3 promo NECROPANTHER launched their self-titled debut album in 2016; cementing their spot in the underground with their sophomore release, "Eyes of Blue Light" in the early 2018; followed by the EP "Oppression" (first in a series of EPs individually written by one of the band's members), roughly a year ago. On an exponential ascension and wa

"Beyond the realm Devoured by darkness Cursed storms will rise The omen returns ..." Band: Diabolic Night Title: Beyond the Realm Label: High Roller Records Country: Germany Release date: November 15, 2019 Format reviewed: (high-rate) mp3 promo Multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer, Heavy Steeler (Kevin Heier) conceived DIABOLIC NIGHT back in 2013, as a solo project. And so under this moniker, Steeler released a demo, followed up by a debut EP, in 2014, and a precursory

Band: Bullet Title: Live Label: SPV/Steamhammer Country: Sweden Release date: July 5, 2019 Format reviewed: (double) vinyl LP It was about goddamn time a proper heavy metal double live album got released! As the time progressed, fewer and sparsely apart live albums graced the fans. Not all metal enthusiasts are content with live recordings. Personally, I prefer a solid recording of a band's most popular songs, in a live setting, rather than a "greatest hits/best of" compilati

Split EP Two heavy hitters of Portland, Oregon's underground heavy music scene, HOUND THE WOLVES and GLASGHOTE, teamed up and released today, August 2nd 2019, a split EP to where each band contributed two songs. A little bit of history for those not familiar with one or both of these two bands: Started in 2015 as an art project among friends, Hound The Wolves, quickly evolved into a full-blown heavy rock experience. The band's principal songwriter Juan Carlos Caceres, surrou

“Though it might be nice to imagine there once was a time when man lived in harmony with nature, it’s not clear that he ever really did.” Elizabeth Kolbert, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History Band: Dialith Title: Extinction Six Label: self-release Country: USA Release date: August 16, 2019 Format reviewed: (high rate) mp3 promo Dialith formed in 2015 in Danbury, CT, and debuted on record in 2017, via a three tracks EP titled "Through Stone". On August 16th the band wi

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. Jimi Hendrix Just shy of fifty years, on Friday, August 15, 1969, at 5:07 PM, when after a short introduction, Richie Havens launch into the first guitar chords of "From the Prison" ... reverberating over the electrically charged air afloat a 600 acres dairy farm near White Lake in Bethel, New York state ... forever changed music! Band: Children of the Sün Title: Flowers Label: The Sign Records Co

It is with distinct privilege to bring you the first in many, I hope, contributions by my friend and fellow metal maniac, Mr. Terry Gardner. And what better way to commence than reviewing the new Arctic Sleep opus. Take it away, Tez! Band: Arctic Sleep Title: Kindred Spirits Label: Self-released Country: USA Release date: July 12, 2019 Format reviewed: vinyl double LP One would imagine there are few more daunting tasks in the world of music journalism than reviewing the late

"Why is this new wave of heavy metal relatively ignored by the metal masses?" - a question that I recently asked and was discussed, with fellow distinguished metal enthusiasts on social media, to a certain extent. The question drew two distinctive main responses. K, my brother in metal, made the valid point that most of the seasoned audience have transitioned to more extreme metal realms, therefore, regarding the more traditional, or classic, if you wish, side of metal as "no

Without doubt, in the last couple of years we have been witnessing the return to glory of metal. The last twenty-four months, or so, were an absolute orgy of new releases, representing well, all of the familiar styles and further crossing over into new trends and dimensions. Some may argue that metal has been making a comeback since the early days of this millennium. While that statement has a lot of truth to it, I argue that at no time, perhaps in the history of the genre, s

Band: Widower Title: Cataclysmic Sorcery Label: Black Market Metal Label Country: USA Release date: May 24, 2019 Format reviewed: (VBR) mp3 promo If I am to use just one word to describe WIDOWER's forthcoming full-length debut effort, "Cataclysmic Sorcery", that word would be "density". Density of compositions, density of guitar riffs, density of drumming ... if you catch my drift. This album ranks in quality with some great efforts, in the same blackened thrash metal vein, o

Band: Iron Fire Title: Beyond The Void Label: Crime Records Country: Denmark Release date: March 8, 2019 Format reviewed: high-rate mp3 promo There is a fine line between power metal and traditional heavy metal. Sitting at the crossroad between epic heavy metal and speed metal, power metal saw a large number of permutations throughout the years. The Danes IRON FIRE have been crossing that line, both ways, numerous times since inception, over twenty years ago. The best selling

Band: Booze Control Title: Forgotten Lands Label: Gates of Hell Records Release date: February 22, 2019 Country: Germany Format reviewed: high-rate mp3 promo This is a classic heavy metal album! Not a dated album. Rather an album that if released thirty years ago, we would still talk about it, today. Building on an undisputedly clear connection with NWOBHM, BOOZE CONTROL advances the right amount of current production qualities, delivering an incredibly well written, recorded