Author Andy Barker
As fine as it is, that artwork doesn’t give a lot away does it? Possibly something retro? Something a touch Doom-laden perhaps? Well actually Sisare are a Finnish progressive rock/metal quartet, building nicely on their debut with this, their 2nd… Continue Reading →
If someone as musically innovative and fan-friendly as Arjen Lucassen is approached to release a ‘Best Of’, it’s pretty fair bet he will find a way to do it differently, in a way that treats his fans to something new…. Continue Reading →
Sweden is a damn fine place for Heavy Metal – it has been for many years. So many Metal bands of so many genres have hailed from it’s musically fertile territories and it’s an absolute pleasure to welcome another one,… Continue Reading →
In 2015 Canadian Dark Power Metallers Borealis released “Purgatory”, an album that elevated the band onto a new higher level, booking their place as one of the top bands in their genre and (to a much less worldly important level)… Continue Reading →
Ideally, side-projects should be different from the full-time band that the main protagonist is known for, otherwise many would argue what’s the point, and Tuomas Halopainen from Nightwish has always been well aware of this. Whether it’s the classy turn-of-the-millennium… Continue Reading →
It’s a daunting prospect – an album that’s 98 minutes long and basically about how great the sun is. I worried it would be like watching endless re-runs of “Wish You Were Here” with Judith Chalmers being gradually baked in… Continue Reading →
So I took a look at that cover artwork and expected something like Tyr or Ensiferum. I read that Armored Dawn are from Brazil, so armed with that extra info changed my guess to folk-tinged metal like fellow South Americans… Continue Reading →
I’ll clear one thing up straight away, Visigoth aren’t Goth in any way. I was once misled in a similar way by Belgian Metallers Ostrogoth, who also aren’t Goth-like…but they do have a little in common with Visigoth ironically. Not… Continue Reading →
If you have a penchant for Melodic Metal’s heady late 80’s period of wealth there are still plenty of routes open to you if you want to reconnect with those halcyon days. Many of the bands have reformed, some of… Continue Reading →
Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society genuinely need no introduction, so for just about as long as it takes to type that opening sentence, plus the additional line – Grimmest Hits is BLS’s tenth studio album, the opening track has… Continue Reading →
“Catharsis” is the fourth outing for Greek Symphonic Metallers Meden Agan, who continue to make further in-roads into the imposing territory occupied by bands like Epica, Xandria and Nightwish (by pure coincidence, and in-keeping with Symphonic Metal history, it has… Continue Reading →
Like a ruthless assassin pursuing it’s royal folly (it’s a relevant analogy, you’ll see…), Viktor Smolski’s Almanac release “Kingslayer” just one year after 2016’s highly regarded debut “Tsar”. Last year’s album was a good tsarting point (it just had to… Continue Reading →