Flotsam and Jetsam https://www.flotstildeath.com/ I’ve waxed nostalgic about the 80s many times. I enjoy being able to watch or listen to something from the decade and say “I remember when that happened” like that time when Flotsam and Jetsam‘s original bassist Jason Newstead joined Metallica. I remember when that happened… Anyway, if you know that […]

Italy’s Graveworm has been around since the mid/late 90s, plying their form of gothic/ melodic black/death metal, and by all accounts have been a pretty respectable act over their career. They found themselves on Nuclear Blast Records with 200s Engraved in Black when the label was saturated with the likes of Agathodaimon, Godgory, Sculpture, Crematory […]

Long-running UK trashers, Onslaught has been one of my fave thrash bands and certainly my fave UK thrash band since their 1985 debut Power From Hell, which I purchased on vinyl when it was released.  To this day their second album The Force, from 1986, is still my favorite release from them, but all their […]

I know what you’re thinking, “Why the hell is Flotsam and Jetsam‘s latest full-length, Blood in the Water, being reviewed now, months after the album’s release in June”? Well, I can give you two reasons for this. First, and this is the most important reason, Blood in the Water is 100% THE SHIT. This album […]

Galloping guitars galore! If you’re a fan of Mors Principium Est (and alliteration), get those sweet buns in here and check out their new album. It’s exactly what you expect, but in some cases, like with pizza, that’s not a bad thing. If you didn’t know, Mors Principium Est deal in death. Melodic death, to […]

Coming out the starting gates with their seventh full-length album, UK longtime thrashers, Onslaught, know how to do deliver well-crafted and brutal thrash metal music.  I have followed the band since their debut album Power From Hell.  Yes, The Force is my fave album from them and that will never change- sorry, but all their […]

It would be easy and somewhat lazy to call Germany’s Asenblut (roughly meaning ‘Aesir’s blood’)  an Amon Amarth rip off, as they are a quality melodic death metal band with a little more black metal thrown in to their blood pumping, viking/pagan assault. But fuck it, I’m lazy , so…..they are an Amon Amarth rip […]

I discovered this  7 piece fur-clad, face painted, power metal collective back in 2018 with Prophecies of Ragnarok, after AFM picked it up after a self release in 2o17. And I’ve been waiting for a follow up for a while, and it’s worth the wait. As with most power metal, don’t come into this with […]

One of the coolest and lesser known (at least in the US) power metal acts I have discovered recently is Germany’s Orden Ogan. A long running band with 5 albums under their belt since 2004 (with 2015s Ravenhead and 2012s To the End being the ones that got me hooked), these guys add a little oomph to power […]

Hey, even the most jaded among traditional/power metal fans would be just a little curious when the album sticker includes text like “the leading heavy metal band from South America” and “featuring Tim ‘Ripper’ owns & Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear). And then there is that whole thing about being “for fans of Primal Fear, Dio, […]

The Final Journey is a definite continuation of the First War of the World. The band obviously was quite happy with how that turned out. Finland’s Ensiferum have moved pretty fully toward the power end of metal though the black part of their name still resonates deep down with their black viking metal origins, and […]

The first impression that Lyriel’s Leverage makes on the listener is a little deceiving. After listening to the title track, which is the first real song on the record, I thought they were a pretty good Lacuna Coil knock-off with some traditional metal leanings. Heard it before, I thought, but I’m glad I pushed forward. […]

There’s something about album art drawn in the Marvel Comics style that goes really well with neo-classical power metal. Is it because this particular American comic drawing style is reminiscent of the ‘80s, which reminds one of the group vocals so commonly heard in power metal from that same decade (and for every ‘80s power […]

It’s been a while since I heard a quality, old school, pure modern melodic death metal album  — and no, In Flames does not count. Here is Poland’s Made of Hate attempting to solve just that with their sophomore effort and they meet with a measure of success. Though glossed with a little thrash and a little, dare […]

More than a quarter century after releasing their debut record, the current lineup of Helstar has released the band’s heaviest record to date in Glory of Chaos. Like its predecessor, 2008’s The King of Hell, this record leans more on thrash influences than the band’s earlier power/speed metal tendencies, but it’s a more potent recipe […]

Phobia, the debut album from Germany’s Athorn, seems to be right up my alley. In the vein of a band like Kiuas, one of my favorite discoveries of the last 10 years or so, Athorn blends power metal melodics with thrash and groove and maybe just a little hint of death here and there. I […]

I’ll preface this review, as I usually do, by admitting to my fanboy admiration for Savatage and the projects of the various members. That said, Zakk Stevens’ Circle II Circle has never completely connected with me since the band’s best effort, their debut record Watching in Silence in 2003. Their last outing, 2008’s Delusions of Grandeur, […]

Fans of Symphorce are likely to be split on their latest record, Unrestricted. The album moves the band farther away from the progressive and symphonic elements of their earlier work and puts more of a straight-ahead hard rock spin on their sound. Album opener “The Eternal” gives us a dark piano intro that sounds promising, […]

Jorn Lande makes his return to Masterplan on their latest effort, Time to Be King, and it makes all the difference. The band’s 2007 outing, MKII, without Lande at the helm, was an OK effort, but he was definitely missed. This record makes the absence obvious. With Lande on the mic, they’re a much more […]

So, Christian Älvestam delved into a few projects after departing from Scar Symmetry. The standard melo-death of Miseration, the more aggressive The Few Against Many, and now the Swede is involved in (restrained and commercial) supergroup Solution .45. The presence of Älvestam’s Miseration and The Few Against Many cohorts (guitarists Patrik Gardberg and Tom Gardiner, […]

I’ve been a fan of Jon Oliva since the first time I heard Savatage, and I honestly don’t think that anything he’s ever touched has turned out remotely bad. (OK, I do try to block out Fight for the Rock). In my mind, he’s one of only a handful of creative geniuses in metal, and […]

I’ve been a big fan of Germany’s Brainstorm since I discovered them with 2003’s Soul Temptation, and their last outing Downburst remains a favorite from 2008. When it comes to power metal with traditional leanings, the band is about as consistent as they come. Their latest effort, Memorial Roots, which came out last year overseas […]

Sometimes you run into bands that have elements that you really like, but those elements never quite come together completely. That’s the case for me with Nostradameus’ Illusion’s Parade. There’s quite a bit to like, but not enough to raise it above other power metal contenders. For the most part, the music packs more of […]

Germany’s Mob Rules fits in that large category of European power metal bands that have just never connected with me personally. Generally, I prefer the mid-tempo style the band employs more than the speedsters, but, despite a few bright moments here and there, I’ve largely been unmoved by their work. After draggy album opener, “Children […]

If you’ve heard any of At Vance’s past offerings, you won’t be surprised by anything you find on Ride the Sky. The 11 tracks here are competently done but not very exciting pieces of fairly generic melodic/power metal. It’s not their best work. It’s not completely awful. It’s just kind of there. There are moments […]