I was less than impressed with Prong’s last outing, Power of the Damager. I preferred it to the more industrial stuff they’d been doing, but it hasn’t returned to my rotation in the nearly five years since it came out. I thought it was OK, but didn’t have a lot of passion or energy. So […]

Skinny Puppy is an institution. Let’s just get that out of the way right out of the gate. Even if you’ve never heard them, you’ve heard of them. What’s tricky about reviewing a new album from the industrial/electronic pioneers is the question: do you cater to the potential new listeners who haven’t taken the plunge, […]

I usually cover a lot of black metal, tech death and the like for this site, but finding a great power/progressive album is a real treat. It’s also rare, because I tend to be pretty picky about the vocals. I like a strong balance between beauty and brawn, with just the right amount of bravado, […]

Since losing vocalist extraordinaire Carl Albert in 1995, Vicious Rumors has attempted to carry on with no less than four other singers: Brian O’Conner (on 1998’s Cyber Christ), Morgan Thorn (for 2001’s Sadistic Symphony), James Rivera (of Helstar for Warball in 2006) & Ronnie Stixx (who toured with the band but never recorded). At one […]

Jag Panzer certainly need no introduction to heavy metal fans. Stalwarts of American Heavy Metal for going on 30 years now, Jag Panzer has never failed to deliver epic heavy metal to its awaiting fans; flying under the mainstream radar (due largely, no doubt, to the 10 year gap between its first and second albums), […]

I’ve held off on this review for a while, hoping the record would grow on me a little more, but I think it’s time to let it go. You won’t find a much bigger fan of Tim Owens than me (you may remember my rants when he was booted from Iced Earth last year), but […]

Stoner Metal fans are certainly no stranger to vocalist/guitarist Spice as a longtime member of Swedish rockers Spiritual Beggars. He and drummer Bob Ruben (The Mushroom River Band) released Spice & The RJ Band’s debut The Will in 2007. Now with Shave Your Fear, the band returns with 15 new songs of raucous, catchy Hard […]

It is no secret there are bands that are mediocre on CD but manage to destroy live. Goatwhore is one such band, an act whose studio efforts have never wowed me the way their presence on stage ALWAYS has. Skinless is another, and though I’ve liked their earlier material, From Sacrifice to Survival onward hasn’t […]

Kai Hansen certainly has made quite a name for himself in the world of Heavy Metal. The influence of Gamma Ray (let alone his music in the early days of Helloween) upon scores of modern Power Metal bands is simply undeniable. Now, this elder statesman of Metal has documented the current state of Gamma Ray […]

No introductions required here. Kreator are back with their 12th studio album and first since 2005’s Enemy of God, which is possibly their best (at least it’s my favorite). Four years is much too long of a wait after such an incredible last offering, but I’m glad to say that it was well worth it, […]

In this, their 30th year since the self-titled debut, Saxon releases album number 27 Into The Labyrinth. Now, when a band lasts this long there are always hills and valleys in the discography; some inspired and some less so. After spinning this CD a few times now, I am happy to report that Into The […]

Metal Church delivers their 10th record and, aside from the lineup, not much has changed since they released their self-titled debut back in 1984. That’s both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, they’ve stuck to their guns and continue to deliver what fans expect. On the other hand, the music here is not […]

“In this world people will always throw stones in the path of your success, it depends on you what you make from them, a wall or a bridge…” Being one of Sweden’s most controversial and widely debated outfits, Evergrey seem to have been ignoring any disrespect they keep getting year in year out, constructing one […]

I have to be honest; I don’t know why anyone reviews Motorhead albums anymore. If you haven’t been paying attention these guys have been doing roughly the same thing for the past 33 years, namely blowing out everyone’s eardrums and loving it. These guys make Nigel Tufnel look like a weakling because Motorhead clearly goes […]

Let’s say you’ve got a car. It’s a nice car. It looks good, it’s dependable, it’s comfortable, it gets good gas mileage. You really like it. Then, let’s say, you get your hands on a sleek sports car that’s loaded with options. It’s faster, more powerful, has a little something extra. Then gas hits $4 […]

For the past few years, Alice Cooper has been trying, with limited success, to recapture the sound and feel of his 1970s heyday. Those records, The Eyes of Alice Cooper and Dirty Diamonds,  had a little problem, though. While some of the tunes hit the right note, both albums had several songs that sounded like […]

While being chased after stealing Suttung’s mead, Odin was nearly caught and that close call made him wet himself, the urine raining down upon Midgard to inspire mortal poets. Obviously some spilled directly into Johnny’s glass shard filled drinking horn. Johnny’s vocals are getting harsher again, no mellowing with age here. Hedlund hear my call. […]

*sigh* Bland, boring, vanilla, unoriginal, uninspiring, unenthused, lacking of energy – all descriptors of Engel’s Absolute Design. Coming from one of my favorite metal cities in the world, Gothenburg (on top of the impressive list of musicians and their former bands – I’ll dig into this more shortly), I expected more – at least a […]

This new live DVD/CD from Germany’s finest thrash band, Kreator, is a re-package, re-edit and re-release of their 1990 VHS, Live in East Berlin. Included with the live show is the mini horror movie the band made for their Coma of Souls album titled Hallucinative Coma, a documentary type thing with interviews from around the […]

I’m a big enough man to admit when I’m wrong, but in this case, I’m not. Tim Owens owns Matt Barlow in Iced Earth, and this EP is the absolute proof. Those of you who have read my blog and talked to me on the forums won’t find any surprises in this review. It’s no […]

“The fans have spoken and we delivered it.” – Jon Schaffer, Iced Earth guitarist. Since the December return of Matt Barlow to the Iced Earth fold, fans and critics have speculated the ‘classic Iced Earth’ vocalist’s ability to bring back both the noise and the funk of previous releases, perhaps moreso one than the other. […]

Following intense and very constructive discussions, Steamhammer/SPV have announced their future collaboration with Swedish dark melodic metal act, Evergrey. The deal includes not only the group’s brand-new studio album, Torn, which will arrive at the stores at the beginning of September, but also Evergrey’s complete back catalogue. SPV Head of Labels, Ulrike Rudolph says: “We […]

Moonspell has been a fan favorite of mine since the release of Irreligious, but I think the Portuguese lost their focus after The Butterfly Effect. Darkness & Hope, The Antidote had only a few good things going for them, rendering the releases quite forgettable. Moonspell wasn’t the only band in creative doldrums. Anybody care to […]

How many years has it been since Mr. Coverdale & Co. graced us with a new album? Well over 10, I’m sure. They’ve been back on the touring circuit now for a few years and have given us a live album & DVD, but this is the first album of all new material since 1997’s […]

If you’ve heard Freedom Call before, you won’t be surprised by their most recent album. What you expect is what you get — a lot of uptempo power metal influenced by the likes of Gamma Ray and Helloween. Let’s start with the unneccessary intro, “Demons Dance”; I’m begging, can we just drop these useless wastes […]