Author Andrew Doherty
Frenzied violence greets us. But this is the deathly black world of Poland’s Stillborn, whose fifth album this is. Space is not allowed for compromise or mercy in the Polish metal scene, and it’s not here. All that is allowed… Continue Reading →
I was very impressed with the variety and intensity of Hopeless Youth’s album “Disgust (2014). Here come the Canadians again with this EP. From the outset, I was bouncing. With a riff to infect your brain, “The Garden” is hard,… Continue Reading →
Like many, I have always enjoyed Haken’s original take on progressive music and their live shows. Their 2013 album “The Mountain”, which was full of feeling and originality, knocked me out and added to an already impressive portfolio. So I… Continue Reading →
If hard-hitting, invigorating death metal is your bag, then this could be just for you. “Swarm” is the first punching thrusting melody of “Mechanisms of Omniscience”, the US band’s second full release. Brutality and technicality are the order of the… Continue Reading →
Almost 100 minutes telling the story of a man disillusioned by betrayal can only mean a prog album. Sure enough Tiles, with assistance in various parts from Ian Anderson, Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy and many others including the Miles Davis… Continue Reading →
This version of Messenger is the London-based progressive rock band. I’ve heard of them but I confess that this is the first time I’d listened to any of their work. What struck me at first was the clean and dreamy… Continue Reading →
I can’t recall an album where the opening has cried out “prog!” to me in such a way as this one. But this is a prog which winds along regressively as well as progressively with a 70s hard rock fuzz… Continue Reading →
It’s always a real treat when a Crematory album comes out, and there have been plenty of them over their 25 year journey. “Monument” is their twelfth, and while I have a great affection for “Revolution” (2004) in particular, I… Continue Reading →
Sinistro by name, sinistro by nature. “Semente” (Seed) is the Portuguese band’s third album, and it is as if an artist were painting black canvases. Leaden-heavy in a post metal way, disturbing yet with soft background patterns and a female… Continue Reading →
It’s amazing. I can’t describe it any other way. When one of my absolute favourite bands releases an album after nine years of nothing, at least in the album-releasing sense, it is just amazing. “Classica” (1999), “Novembrine Waltz” (2001), “The… Continue Reading →
For me, the band Amon Amarth immediately conjures up memories of rousing nights of Viking Metal in the 00s. They are one of those bands who have a template sound yet never fail to inspire with their pumping, steaming melodies…. Continue Reading →
“Advent of the Human God” is Neconomicon’s fourth album in over fifteen years of existence. What is immediately noticeable is the slickness with which this album is produced. That’s a positive point and it’s no compromise as these Canadians have… Continue Reading →