Your No. 1 Source For Extreme And Atmospheric Music And Film.

Author Paul Maddison

I grew up in the North East at the tail end of NWOBHM and US Power Metal scene and more noticably during the glam vs. thrash conflict. I then upped sticks to spend a good few years in the West Midlands during the late 90's.

Over the years I have become a fanatical collector of records, T shirts and CD's and in this current internet age, mp3's are not what i consider to be called part a record collection for the "record"!

I decided to start writing reviews as I thought that it would be a good way to give back some positive support for artists and a music phenomenon that has given me great pleasure over the years. I prefer to listen to bands that can really play their instruments and have a talent for melody and good arrangements. I try to be constructive with everything I endeavour within music. When on or off "duty" you will more than likely see me enjoying rather a few pints of the good stuff at the bar in the London area and maybe at some various other watering holes around the country...i don't bite, i just stumble a bit...

Long live metal with all its triumphs and tribulations, metal fans are a community, it's a lifestyle, it is everything to man and beast!

Caronte – Codex Babalon (Van)

Italian doomsters Caronte are a special bunch of musicians, not only can they hold a flame to the considered greats, but they manage time after time with each release (no matter how relatively short in duration) to kick out the… Continue Reading →

Disarm Goliath – Wisdom And War (S/R)

Whilst no stranger to this website, these West Midlands residents play traditional metal. If you like Maiden post-1995, then this will excite. On their last outing, 2013’s ‘Born to Rule’, I found to be a rousing release; but this time… Continue Reading →

Widow – Carved In Stone (Pure Steel)

North Carolina’s Widow had a breakthrough with their last album ‘Life’s Blood’ and with subsequent touring around the globe, they enhanced their footprint on the traditional metal circuit. The great thing here though was that I just knew I was… Continue Reading →

Vulture – Victim to the Blade (High Roller)

I have to admit, this has been pre ordered for a while from an online retailer and to get to review in advance is the icing on the cake. Vulture are from Germany, and pay old school speed/thrash, very much… Continue Reading →

ADX – Non Serviam (S/R)

This long standing French band started with a trio of albums of really cool speed metal, they tried an English speaking album in 1990 (‘Weird Visions’), but for some reason or other didn’t match their expectations of their former offerings…. Continue Reading →

High Fighter – Scars & Crosses (Svart)

It’s no surprise that this German band have been picked up by Svart, their debut self-released EP ‘The Goat Ritual’ received epic praise from all quarters of the press, so with the full length album there’s no better home for… Continue Reading →

Cauchemar – Chapelle Ardente (Nuclear War Now)

With full length album number two, ‘Chapelle Ardente’ ups the stakes in terms of quality of song writing in comparison to this Canadian nightmare’s last album ‘Tenebrario’. Similar is the heavy/doom metal flavour with an added peppering of NWOBHM, the… Continue Reading →

Tyfon’s Doom – Yeth Hound (Gates of Hell)

Well this is a turn up in the reviews pile. This is a one man project (Tommy Varsala) from Finland and this is simply the best combination of metal music I can imagine at this moment. Take a splash of… Continue Reading →

Blizzen – Genesis Reversed (High Roller)

Last year’s ‘Time Machine’ EP was a good starting point, although it seems there were too many comparisons to bands from their German homeland for their liking, admittedly I did this comparison on the earlier review of the said EP…. Continue Reading →

Omen – Hammer Damage (Pure Steel Records)

Omen are a name heavily associated with US power metal, their early material is some of the best out there. Of recent times, in which their last studio album was some 13 years ago (this one has been delayed by… Continue Reading →

Spell – For None and All (Bad Omen Records)

Spell are a band that really hit a sweet spot for me with ‘The Full Moon Sessions’ release which was a real slab of traditional heavy metal from Canada. The dark mystical world of Spell is highlighted even more so… Continue Reading →

Vandallus – On The High Side (High Roller)

Now this is a surprise. Vandallus features two thirds of the satanic royalists Midnight, namely Steve Dukuslow (drums) and Shaun Vanek (guitar, drums Bass) and this trio is completed by Jamie Vanek (vocals/guitars). However, the other Jamie from Midnight did… Continue Reading →

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Ave Noctum — Powered by WordPress

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑