A View From The Back Of The Room: Halestorm (Alex Tobias)

Halestorm, Bloodywood & Kelsy Karter And The Heroines, The nEVEREST Tour, Utilita Arena, Cardiff, Wales, 20.11.25

I am back in the Welsh capitol tonight to watch Halestorm start their latest UK part of The nEVEREST Tour with support from Bloodywood and Kelsy Karter And The Heroines, a ram packed Utilita Arena are in early tonight as the ques start forming in the afternoon and by 6pm we are all in as the first band takes the stage at 7. As its Thursday a early finish is much appreciated but from my research on these bands a quiet night is most defiantly not on the cards, lets get stuck into our first band of the night.

I am not going to lie I have never heard of Kelsy Karter (7), but after this performance I will not forget the performance tonight, Kelsy and the band walk to the stage without any intros or flashy lights etc just stroll on with an air of confidence and smiles all around. 

A bit of a change from a band just kicking into a song or playing a big dramatic intro, Kelsy talks to the crowed first asking "How is everyone doing Cardiff" and thanking Halestorm for being on the tour then the first song introductions. We do get a first night of the tour glitch when Kelsy's radio mic cuts out mid song but thankfully its sorted pretty quickly while she uses the mics set up for bass player and guitarist to finish the song. 

From there on a pretty flawless set from the band, listening to them beforehand I will admit they would not be a band that I would normally regularly listen to but digging deeper by hearing more songs and watching a few interviews etc I can very much appreciate the drive and attitude of the band, that comes across live also, looking good on stage and not looking out of place at all as they riff off each other seamlessly. 

A stand out song from the set was from the bands last album, 2025s Love Made Me Do It, Lightning In A Bottle is a really passionate song with snappy end guitar solo and a fun chanting na na na type sing along section, it gives off lots of different vibes and influences that the band have from mellow Bruce Springsteen stuff through to the more heavy rock style Foo Fighters type drumming and guitars. 

A really good set from a band that I would not normally see that really impressed me live, I am now a fan and will be keeping an eye out to see them again for sure, and so should you.

We get a break before our next band, New Delhi's own, Bloodywood (8). I have been a fan of this band for a while but haven't caught them live yet, I missed them the last time they came to Wales so I was excited to see what they can deliver live. This band was born to do this, they come to the stage with Sarthak Pahwa the bands dhol player crashing his sticks hard to the first song, Gddaar from the bands 2022 release Rakshak, a song that gets the crowd here up and bouncing. 

Described as Nu metal with folk metal and metalcore elements Bloodywood are so much more than a genre, they are a force of nature. Ploughing through with groove you can feel in your gut and that distinct Indian sound that just blends effortlessly with the heavy guitars and hypnotic vocals of singer Jayant Bhadula. 

The band fill the stage well, all dressed in a mix of traditional Indian get up with sprinkles of a pair of new rocks and a band T here and there, they just look and sound like a band that is so comfortable on the big stage. We get a few more songs from Rakshak until the band take a pause to thank everyone.

"This is our second time in Cardiff, and we loved it the last time and are so happy to be back" says the bands rapper Raoul Kerr. The introduction to the next song, "a song about fear, fear is a simple thing, either it holds you or you hold it" singer Jayant Bhadula explains to everyone, the song is Bekhuaf from this years album release Nu Delhi, a song that the band did in collaboration with Babymetal. 

I have had this banger of a song in my head most of the year so to see it played live, minus Babymetal, was such a pleasure, catchy as hell to the core, now I don't speak Japanese or Indian at all, I know you are shocked, but that doesn't stop me making a ass out of myself and singing along not just to this song but to all the bands songs. 

After the title track from the bands last album Nu Delhi we get to the bands last song, 2019s single Machi Bhasad, a song that made me aware of the band in the first place. A bouncing and heavy song that brings all those influences together that result in quiet a big circle pit something I was not expecting but made the ending of the set that little bit more. 

For the first time seeing Bloodywood I was not disappointed, sound was spot on, stage presence for days and just a really good fun heavy band to watch live, would most certainly see them again anywhere. 

After a short break we are back for the main act of the show, Halestorm (7), who are starting the UK run of their tour after the success of their latest album from august Everest. Before they come to the stage we get a huge white sheet covering the stage ready to be dropped for the first song, the band walk out and there shadows get projected out on the sheet which makes the crowed go wild and roar with cheers and excitement. 

I have never really given the band a good in depth listen before tonight, only catching a few songs on the radio or suggested to me on playlists so checking them out I was happy with what I heard and was excited to see what they could pull off in a live performance. (Another writer was supposed to do the review for this show but got called away for work last minute - Ed)

As soon as that sheet drops we blast straight into the first track from the latest album, a song called Fallen Star, a guttural song that starts fast and gets you moving then shifts to a very old school heavy rock groove into a catchy chorus straight from the heavens above, a great opener that has everyone jumping about and so many singing along which is showing just how well the new album was received by all. 

Between this and the next song I Miss The Misery from the bands acclaimed album 2012s The Strange Case Of... vocalist Lzzy Hale shouts out "How we doing Cambridge?" to which the reception wasn't to good from the Cardiff crowed but due to getting stuck into the song the band did not notice until we pause after and Lzzy says it again, only this time there is a huge boo from everyone and guitarist Joe Hottinger told Lzzy where they actually were. 

We get full apologies from Lzzy before we crack on with the rest of the set, by the reception after and during the show it was a funny mistake but not one that I think spoiled the night for anyone at all, mostly due to how tight and good the band sounded and performed on stage from start to finish. 

Next we get one of the bands most popular songs Love Bites (So Do I) which everyone here goes crazy for with lots of singing and we are really starting to see the whole arena moving and enjoying this now not just the front rowers. 

Halestorm have really good chemistry on stage with each other, genuinely look like they love performing and playing there music to people, they have not been called the hardest working band for nothing. Further into the set we get a awesome cover of Ozzy Osbourne's Perry Mason which the band played at the Back To The Beginning concert a few months ago before the great mans passing. 

Following that we get the soul piercing song Like A Woman Can which everyone is singing along and feeling the energy and passion that is coming from the stage, a great song that is performed flawlessly. After a few more songs from Everest we get a pretty impressive drum solo from drummer Arejay Hale, then onto another of the bands classic tracks and fan favourite Freak Like Me. 

The band have brought with them tonight lots of fire cannons and confetti throughout the set going off to roars from the crowed, the stage show that the band bring is very entertaining with the huge backdrop being the excellent artwork from the latest release Everest. 

We come to the last song of the night, a sing along song to end with the last song from The Strange Case Of... album Here's To Us has everyone here singing like a choir along with Lzzy. A good start to the UK tour and a very good performance from a band I was not sure of what to expect. 

Review: 1349, Pale Horse Ritual, Fessus, Doubtsower (Spike, Rich Piva, Mark Young & Matt Bladen)

1349 – Winter Mass (Season Of Mist) [Spike]

This is not a concert recording. This is a documentation of a plague, technically I guess it’s a documentation of a plague lifting being recorded shortly after the COVID lockdown passed. I’ll just pause on this, this is a live recording. I had to listen to this a few times to get that as it is so tight, so fast and so damn good.

1349's Winter Mass is the sound of the Black Death reaching Norway and deciding to take no prisoners for an hour straight. Named after the year of total societal collapse, this live album, recorded in their native Oslo, is a testament to unchained, uncompromising Norwegian Black Metal.

Forget ambience. this is a the band themselves say, aural hellfire. The core unit, featuring drummer Frost (Satyricon) and vocalist Ravn, operates at a velocity that defies physics. The band's guiding principle is simple. to be fast, brutal, and grim, and this performance is the ultimate delivery on that promise and yes, this is delivered in a live setting and it’s razor sharp. 

Frost's merciless, ultra-fast blast beats descend upon the listener like a blizzard of shrapnel, while Archaon's guitars thrash with a raw, chaotic fury. The production is sharp enough to capture the chaos without polishing away the necessary grimness.

The setlist is a calculated exercise in extremity, spanning three decades of hate. Early classics like Sculptor Of Flesh are executed with unchained madness, proving the band's older material maintains its lethal firepower. For me, the stand out track is I Am Abomination which blisters with unmatched speed, affirming Ravn's snarled declaration, "I will always be here / In all ways in all times." 

This isn't just music; it's a proclamation of endurance delivered through a sadistic, guttural snarl. Even the mid-set tracks like Cauldron and Striding The Chasm whip by at a pace that suggests time is actively running in reverse.

The band's sonic fingerprint is unmistakable. the chaotic energy is rooted in the legacy of Mayhem and Celtic Frost, bands they proudly align with. This is not about genre evolution. it is about unwavering adherence to a violent aesthetic. 1349 refuses to make concessions to the current scene. 

Winter Mass is the perfect proof that after three decades, they are louder, faster, and more vital than ever. Imagine being unlocked after months following COVID and getting welcomed to freedom by this. 9/10

Pale Horse Ritual - Diabolic Formation (Black Throne Productions) [Rich Piva]

There is a way I want a record to sound. It is impossible for me to put it into words, but it is some combination of heavy, fuzzy, dark, leaning more lo-fi than over produced, weird, mindbending, scary, evil, melodic, with harmonies, and different from most other stuff. Words, but not a real thought or description to that sound, and a combination not often heard in just about anything out there. 

Well, instead of trying to describe that sound, from now on I am just going to ask people to turn on the new record from Pale Horse Ritual, Diabolic Formation, to explain how that jumble of words in my head comes out in recorded form. 

The seven tracks from these veterans of the Canadian heavy underground can be exhibit A for what I want to hear when I start a record, and how I feel once it is through, and start it up all over again.

From the first fuzzy, dark, and psych dripping note of the opener, Deflowered, you know this record is about to be something special. The dual guitar action and Sabbath crawl is just killer, with James Matheson on lead guitar and Will Adams on rhythm laying out the template for exactly how fuzzy stoner psych doom should sound. This crawls up from the gutters of Toronto and steals your soul, all without any words, on the instrumental opener. 

Wickedness brings Paco’s haunting vocals to go along with the out of this world guitar tone and amazing playing, as well as hate of organized religion, which tracks with the whole evil thing I mentioned above. I love the old movie clips added, which doubles down on my need for something to amp up the fear factor. 

Holy shit the guitar work on this track. Holy Lies has drummer Jonah Santa-Barbara displaying how he brings his hard hitting style and cowbell to the table to amp up the heavy and partner perfectly with Paco’s way down low bass. Oh, and how about we add some subtle harmonies to the vocals too? And that solo just rips so hard. 

PHR obviously love Sabbath, and Save You is their Planet Caravan, but please, never think these guys are clones of the masters. The acoustic guitar and synth on this one bring so much atmosphere to the table with the layered vocals, creating the exact vibe this one was going for. 

This track is the perfect bridge to Bloody Demon, which may have the filthiest sounding riff of the year. The haunting background vocals is another small detail that makes this record so special. The vocal patterns on this one makes the melody stick in your head like the track’s anti-hero that is in your mind to make you do the most heinous of things. 

Just in case you needed another riff to belt you over the head and slash you up you get D.E.D., a track that is scarier than any horror movie since 1986, and another one where the synths add so much to the track in the background. The vocals in the bridge just rule, and show how both evil and harmony can mix. 

Can an album like this close more perfectly than with a filthy doom track titled A Beautiful End? With what sounds like an exorcism being performed in Italian over riffs and organ and, of course, the guitar tone straight from Hell circa 1976, there could not have been a more ideal record closer.

A perfect sounding record, Diabolic Formation is exactly how I would describe the music I love. An album of the year candidate for sure. If I was creating a record in Frankenstein’s lab, the monster that came alive and destroyed the town would be the nine songs created by Pale Horse Ritual. Diabolic Formation indeed. 10/10

Fessus - Subcutaneous Tomb (Darkness Shall Rise Productions) [Mark Young]

How often do you get a band whose output matches the accompanying PR words that come with a new release? Personally speaking, it’s few and far between for me if I’m honest so when one comes along with the now de rigueur grand description of brutality, of capturing a certain vibe or feeling and then actually delivers on it, well I’m going to pay attention. 

Such is the case with Fessus, who carve their own path by actively avoiding the usual speed fest and attempt to bring aggression in a more controlled manner. Subcutaneous Tomb is their debut courtesy of Darkness Shall Rise Productions and follows on from an earlier demo.

So, what do we have? An extremely gnarly guitar tone that is brittle, crystalline and unique to them. Its abrasive and completely fitting that medium tempo that Pointless Anguish occupies. As promised, this is death metal that concentrates on being oppressive and uses drawn out harmonic parts to keep that dark vibe in place. 

It’s a real blast of fresh (fetid?) air, one that is honest and doesn’t rely on speed to mask any shortfall in song craft. Their songs take as long as they need to take to get from start to finish with Pointless Anguish kicking things off. They have made a brutal opener that lives up to what they promise. 

Asphyxiate In Exile follows suit, and if you wanted to know the kind of speed we are looking at, I’d say its steady. And because of that it works so well, that reduced tempo is reminiscent of Obituary but just a tad slower. 

What it means is that when they do up the speed it registers more with you, but this is done in a controlled manner. Any change in tempo is done with the song in mind and if you take Cries From The Ether as a great example of this where they up that pace prior to dropping a lead break in it makes perfect sense. 

Brenton’s vocals move between the guttural and anguish and it has to be said that they are perfectly set to the music under them. What this does mean is that if speed is your thing, then you will need to look elsewhere for that fix. They say it themselves that their tempo leans more into the slower slide of things and if this isn’t your thing then no hard feelings.

The Depths Of Lividity has an almost boppy drive to it, one that seems to sit outside of normal death metal realms. It doesn’t stay like that for long but you have to admire that they are wanting to come at you like their predecessors Pungent Stench who did death metal their way. 

Does every song hit? Well again it depends on how you take your death metal. Yizkor certainly has the riffs but could have been shorter which for me would have made it more immediate. It is a minor criticism to be honest, but it felt that it was repeating itself.

Living Funeral is their final word and is a fine end piece. Perhaps recognising that Yizkor was a bit lengthy, this goes for a more concise build but one that doesn’t repeat itself. Using that reduced tempo to grind out each song gives them more life than just the usual blast-beat, super-speed affair. 

Their songs are memorable, and that guitar tone is cold and a complete departure from the norm. It will be interesting to see where they go next and I hope they continue to stick to their guns with their next release. 8/10

Doubtsower - The Past Melts Away With A Sneer (UBAII) [Matt Bladen]

Let's get this out of the way now The Past Melts Away With A Sneer clocks in at 48:29, it's an albums worth of music but in one track. I wouldn't expect anything less from One-Man Doom outfit Doubtsower, who has been producing some of the most experimental sounds in the genre for a good few years now.

Matt Strangis, the Doubtsower himself is also a member of funeral/atmospheric doom veterans Pantheïst and an electronic music producer under the name Kyam. He utilises both of these backgrounds plus countless more experimental and traditional influences within Doubtsower, be it funeral doom, post rock, sludge, field recordings and even soundtracks.

This release is his most adventurous yet, playing everything himself and drafting in Greg Chandler of Esoteric to give it a raw, uncompromising master, this journey has a punk ethos and sets an uncomfortable, uncompromising tone, leaning on the nihilism of modern life and rejecting the idea of music becoming content and revelling in the idea that this has to be taken as one whole journey rather than in snippets.

It's difficult to try to describe this record as it needs to be listened to, however if doom with nod to the avantgarde and no fear of embracing multiple genres thrills you then Doubtsower should be on your listening list. 8/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Drowning Pool & Spineshank (Alex Tobias)

Drowning Pool, Spineshank & (Hed)PE, Electric Bristol, 16.11.25

Tonight I am at the SWX in Bristol to watch three bands that were among my favourite when I was in my teens and still listen to often now, Drowning Pool, Spineshank and (Hed)PE come together for a UK tour that almost dint happen or wouldn't of happened the way it was planned anyway. 

The problems the bands have had on this tour and the fact that not only this night in Bristol, but from what I have read of the previous gigs beforehand, they have all performed really well and have had great receptions from everyone that has been so far, but lets get back to tonight.

First up we get (Hed)PE (8), coming to the stage after the lights go out to a huge roar from the sold out SWX, with singer Jerad Gomez asking the crowed right off the bat "Are you ready Bristol?", these fans most definitely are. 

We get groove after groove with this band, ranging from reggae beats, pounding metal riffs and bouncing drums, sold rap breakdowns and the unique French romantic sound played effortlessly by singer Jerad on his melodica. 

We get a cover of the Bob Marley hit Get Up, Stand Up along with hits from the bands big back catalogue of songs like Bartender and Blackout. The confidence and charisma ooze from the stage from (Hed)PE tonight, such an eclectic mix of styles that never seems miss the mark and every moment had the audience happy with singing and jumping all the way through.

I have not seen this band for a good 10 years and nothing has changed with how happy they make me feel to watch them perform live, if you ever get the chance on any tour to get out to go see them I would highly recommend for a good time, great music and lots of bouncing. 

Next up we get Spineshank (8) after a little break, a band that did the first two shows of this tour with a different vocalist due to singer Jonny Santos having passport problems in the US before the tour started, James Mills of Hostage filled in and was praised by all for leaning the songs so quickly and giving really good performances on both nights. 

Like I said previously the problems started early but we are back to full line up tonight as the band walk onto the stage to huge cheers and chants of "Spineshank, Spineshank". Everyone here is buzzing to get into this set with it being celebration anniversary of their iconic nu metal album The Hight Of Callousness from 2000. 

Spineshank have not toured or played anywhere since 2012 so 2025 was a very anticipated reunion tour with the band announcing on their socials that new music was being made with a release date coming soon. 

With hit after hit come from The Hight Of Callousness like Synthetic, Asthmatic and Seamless the band being on top form with the crowed opening up a huge pit that had crowed surfing spilling from the front of it like a tsunami.

With Jonny telling everyone that surfs over to give him a fist bump on their way being carried by the hard working security at the SWX. We get a stop mid song for an injured fan in the pit to which the band stops everything and makes sure its dealt with properly, saying we wont start again until everything is ok, thankfully the person is ok and helped out by security. 

Then came the "I am old" part of the night when Jonny said to everyone between songs "we haven't played Bristol in 22 years "its so good to be back" breaking my brain knowing I was there watching them supporting Dry Kill Logic in the Exchange.

 Spineshank also now have former guitarist and founding member of the band Chimera Jason Hager and on other guitar is drummer Tommy Decker's son Tommy Decker Jr. Jonny also explains to the audience, after they play the title track from the album last before playing other songs, that "we really love and appreciate the UK fans" and "we get more love from you than most back home" which had the crowed cheering even louder. 

After a few more songs from their 2003 album Self-Destructive Pattern we get to the encore which is a song that got me into the band in the first place, I remember hearing it on the radio one rock show in 1998 and loving it so much to make me get my ass to my local record store after school to buy the album, Detached from the bands first album Strictly Diesel.

A very strong return a great reminder of how good this band is, I look forward to the new material and if you get chance to go catch them again or for the first time then do it.

After the pit settled and everyone caught their breath and got the drinks in we are back to darkness waiting for the always entertaining Drowning Pool (8), who warmed up the crowed and walked out to stage to I Was Made For Lovin You by Kiss which has everyone singing along. We kick into Sinner from the bands excellent album of the same name which gets everyone here tonight back to jumping and getting back to where we left off with the crowed surfing. 

Drowning Pool are just pure fun, from that distinctive nu metal sound to what I always thought was a little southern rock feel to them they just give off that commanding stage presence that will come from the now veterans of the metal industry. 

I have seen them many times in the past on lots of different tours or festivals but never a headline set which was a nice change as you get to experience the whole package they have to offer. 

Vocalist Ryan McCombs tells everyone that "this has been a hard tour to keep together" and that "we are so glad that it went ahead and I just want to thank the bands and crew for keeping it all together", referencing more issues all bands had after their Ireland show with traveling back across the sea to the UK was hit with problems and delays due to weather and ferries which meant they had to do the Bradford show a lot later than scheduled. 

Nothing is holding them back tonight though as we blast through hits like Step Up and Enemy and then we get a great cover from their 2007 album Full Circle, Billy Idols classic Rebel Yell which goes down really well with everyone. to finish off we get more songs from Sinner, like Pity and the classic Tear Away until we get to the ending which obviously has to be the bands most iconic song Bodies to which is a excellent way to end a great gig.

Drowning Pool have everyone in the palm of their hands tonight singing and going crazy for every song and Bodies just tops it off for that metal anthem to send us all home. A great performance and was a pleasure to see them headline for once.

A View From The Back Of The Room: Saxon (Simon Black)

Saxon & Dirkschneider, Great Hall, Cardiff, 16.11.25



Tonight is all about demonstrating longevity, and that includes the punters. As my companion and I enter the venue, it feels like the average age of the room might have just dropped by a few years, and bear in mind we’re both in our mid-fifties, so we are used to the reverse being the norm. 

Judging from the age of some of the tour shirts in the room tonight, some of those were bought at gigs before I had even discovered Heavy Metal, and that’s a long time ago. But that’s nothing compared to who is actually performing on this stage. With a combined age of 157, the two frontmen delivering tonight could be forgiven for dropping the ball or playing under par, but this evening is a double celebration of 40th Anniversary release dates for two iconic albums from two legendary bands. It’s also the last night of the tour, and even for a Sunday this sold-out show crowd is absolutely up for it.

With both bands playing full sets, the venue has mistimed getting the audience in, as no-one wants to miss anything, and sadly Dirkschneider (7) are already most of the way through opening track of that magnum opus Balls To The Wall by the time I get through the joy of press lists and security. The room, however, is fairly rammed already, and the crowd know this album back to front, so the atmosphere is fair to fizzling. 

It’s been a long time since Herr Dirkschneider was truly the front man of Accept on a continuous basis (OK, he’s come back a few times for reunions, but it’s not stuck and not happened for a while). His various solo efforts have produced way more original material and too many live albums to count than his period in Accept did, but for all that time people still show up because he was there for this the definitive Accept album, which we get in full tonight. This incarnation of his band seems to exist for no other reason than a legacy celebration, as no material from U.D.O. makes the set list, but let’s be honest, it’s not what the audience want to see.

I suspect the combined age of the rest of the band is less than that of the frontman (and one of them is a member of his family), and their energy and vigour balances Udo’s physical challenges on stage. Vocally however Udo is not as strong as he used to be. That vocal style is hard on the body, and he’s been pulling his punches live for a while judging by some of the recent live releases I’ve heard. It’s noticeable that other members of the band are actually delivering the distinctive style of vocal lines with more slightly more efficacy, but it’s only hard-nosed hacks like me that really notice and with Fast As A Shark closing the set as the only non-Balls track, the audience are nicely warmed up. As indeed is the building, which is hot as hell at this point…

Saxon (10) could be forgiven for just going through the motions, but they’ve earned the nickname of The Mighty Saxon by defying expectations and consistently delivering the goods for a very, very long time. I was conscious that frontman Biff Byford is recovering from cancer, and might not be up to full power yet, but he was bang on the money tonight. The band (no spring chickens either these days) have an energy and vigour to match and from the moment they hit the stage they have the crowd.

I’m often critical of older bands who crank the handle releasing frankly lacklustre new records just to have a reason to keep touring, but who deliver a set that’s 95% retro with minimal new material, but Saxon are not usually guilty of that in two ways. Firstly, their albums have been consistently good of late, particularly since Producer / touring Judas Priest guitarist Andy Sneap came into the frame. He’s notoriously pushy in the studio, gently but firmly encouraging incrementally better takes and arrangement tweaks to achieve consistently strong results, which means they’ve hit the road with a healthy batch of quality songs to choose from every time of late. Secondly, when they do tour, the set list balances well across the years and doesn’t lean too heavily on the glory days - unless perhaps they’re playing mid-table on a festival slot that just wants to hear the anthems.

They do turn down the newer material a little tonight however, although we do get a couple of cuts from last year’s self-titled release since that tour got delayed, and for once the set list is littered with classics and that’s before we get to the half way point and Wheels Of Steel is delivered in its entirety, but then 40 years is one hell of anniversary. To be honest at this stage in their career they could get away with a much more lacklustre performance, but there is a lot of wallop here tonight. The addition of Brian Tatler permanently to the line up after Paul Quinn stepped back has well and truly cemented in, and the wiry Tatler is a lot livelier on stage anyway. He’s a good fit for the band all round and has helped inject some vibrancy back into a band that used to rely on the frontman to do a lot of the physicality.

Saxon haven’t put much in the way of theatrics into their shows the last few times I’ve seen them, but a dynamic screen backdrop has been opted for this time out, perhaps out of concerns that Biff has been ill, but frankly this is a band that does not need such antics, although it’s a nice bonus and doesn’t detract from the performance. Biff is perhaps not quite as physical on stage, but to be honest everyone is glad that he is there at all, under the circumstances. The crucial part, his voice, is pitch perfect, powerful as ever and always the consummate front man, he has the audience with him every step of the way.

It's a generous set list too, with no less than twenty-one songs, another five classics being heaped on after Wheels is run through and over two hours of run time, which on a Sunday night is going to please the venue staff hoping for an early end to their shift no end. What they do leave behind is a very pleased audience, who appear to have drunk the bar dry. Not bad for a bunch of old farts. The audience that is, not the bands….

Reviews: 1914, Dune Aurora, The Behaviour, Sainted Sinners (Matt Bladen & Rich Piva)

1914 - Viribus Unitis (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]

If you thought Sabaton were obsessed with Word War I, then you clearly don't know about 1914, or you don't like extreme metal. The Ukrainian trench warfare enthusiasts are now on album number four based around the horrors of The Great War, and anyone who has done any research into it will know I mean horrors.

1914-1918 was one of the most bloody and brutal chapters in European history and unlike the Swedes, the blackened death doom of these Ukrainians is a much more fitting style of music in which to discuss Ypres, Passchendaele and Verdun. It's also far more resonant as 1914 are a band who have had much of their momentum, on the live stage stalled due to the invasion of their country.

The album title is Latin for "With United Forces" and was the personal motto of Franz Joseph I, equally it's a motor for the band themselves as they try to stay resilient through what is happening on their country and produce their conceptual, cinematic music. It's also reflective of this records tone, the abject misery and pointlessness of WWI, described on previous records gives way to a feeling of hope. The personal stories of men who endure but survive, taking on the hell on earth that was Europe in this period and through 'united forces' coming out the other side.

What I love about 1914, other than their music which is a given, is their commitment to historical accuracy and their use of real events and personal accounts of the period. Viribus Unitis comes from the view of a Ukrainian soldier from 1914 to 1919, portraying every facet of this horrific conflict and it's aftermath with a human lense.

Aaron Stainthorpe of High Parasite, Christopher Scott of Precious Death and Rome’s Jerome Reuter all join the record to add their talents to these stories, 1914's conceptal approach giving them room to take on different roles within the narrative. 1914 don't need guest recognition though as their music speaks loudly enough for itself.

At times it's blistering and rapid, like an artillery barrage being dropped on enemy trenches, at others bludgeoning and crushing like an early mechanised cannon crawling over No Man's Land, then in an instant it's harrowing and solem, rife with doom laden introspection.

However there's more with more melodic guitars, broader orchestal movements and even clean vocals, used with the sound effects, spoken word moments and samples to make it a truly cinematic affair. 1914 still make historically potent and politically charged extreme metal that is relevant to today.

Through blackened death doom focussed on the darkest moments of The Great War they show that we can overcome tyranny as a united force and only through camaraderie and unity will we be able to make it out the other side. 9/10

Dune Aurora - Ice Age Desert (Octopus Rising) [Rich Piva]

The ladies of Italian band Dune Aurora bring some nice and fuzzy heavy rock on their debut record, Ice Age Desert, which has the trio delivering the goods with nine tracks of what you want to hear in your fuzzy stoner/desert rock. This is some seriously solid heavy and melodic stoner goodness that differentiates itself with killer, three part harmonies living alongside all the riffs.

Opening with a bluesy, harmony filled opener, Gateway is just that to what’s coming up on Ice Age Desert. It is an interesting way to kick the record off, with a build up to Tundra, where the title is cold but the riffs are hot, and the harmonized vocals are killer. Ginny Wagon brings both the voice and the riffs, partnering her siren song voice and axe work perfectly. 

Tundra has a couple of cool tempo changes to go along with all the other goodness going on. The rhythm section of Serena Bodratto and Roberta Finiguerra not only hold down the back end perfectly, they also add so much to the vocal harmonies as well, which I just love. A cool riff kicks off Burning Waters that heats everything up in multiple ways. The trio understands melody, and this track confirms this. 

The band reminds me of Kabbalah, just more driving rock than atmosphere. Crocodile opens sounding like a Fu Manchu song and is a straight up ripper that paired with the harmonies is just killer. The guitars get a bit psych to start until the full on ripper Trapdoor kicks you right in the teeth. Sunless Queen is the epic on Ice Age Desert, with a riff right out of Seattle and a slower burn. This track is the most diverse and best amongst all of the nine songs and certainly channels Soundgarden but with three part female harmonies. 

Dune Chameleon has more Fu but also I also get Truckfighters and Tidal Wave vibes on this one and it is sure to be a live crowd pleaser. The elements play a big role on Ice Age Desert, with Fire being a stoner rock siren song if I have ever heard one. The rhythm section shines on this track, leading the drive when the pace picks up. I am not sure what they are saying in the closer, Se Ponga El Sol, but the record closes like it started, with some excellent, stoner/desert rock with amazing vocals and cool changes.

Dune Aurora brings it on their element-field, hot and cold, always heavy and always harmonizing debut record. Ice Age Desert is an excellent start for a trio who gets both the heavy and the harmonies, like a band that has been doing it for decades. Great stuff and a killer first full-length. 8/10

The Behaviour - Pedestals (Rexius Records) [Rich Piva]

The Behaviour is a gothic alternative rock project created by Marshall Kilpatric. This is the bio I stole from their Bandcamp page and it fits pretty much perfectly. Kilpatric’s low vocals, the dark sound, the shoegazy feel, and swirling guitars all meld well together on the band’s new EP, Pedestals.

Starting with the JAMC/MBV/Slowdive feel of Dark, Not Quiet, you can hear you are in for an atmospheric goth party, all in black. Phantom Hands has a Cure thing musically and the vocals makes this one stand out. I love when it goes all Radiohead at one point too. Haunting. 

Great dark vibes aplenty continue on MK Ultra, which is not a lite beer but is more dark goodness that brings a Murder By Death thing to the goth offerings. Invisible Sun is the most up-tempo song out of the five on the EP, giving off this Bauhaus meets Yaz thing. Dark is how I feel about The Reckoning, which melds 80s goth with 90s alt rock perfectly.

There is a lot of potential with The Behaviour. The darkness, the swirl, The Cure…Pedestals is a great EP for those who prefer to wear black, look down, and get lost in guitars. Good stuff with potential to be great. 8/10

Sainted Sinners - High On Fire (ROAR) [Matt Bladen]

With Whitesnake now over and David Coverdale calling it a day fully only recently, there are plenty of bands who will be looking to take over that mantle. One who has been shooting their shot for a number of years is Sainted Sinners.

Drawing their name from the 1985 Whitesnake record Saints And Sinners, the last to feature that legendary Ready An' Willing line up, the blues based hard rocking of High On Fire draws a lot of inspiration from that Coverdale, Moody, Marsden, Murray, Lord and Paice era. However they also takes in other acts such as Deep Purple (Hide In The Dark), Van Halen (Sweet Sweet Addiction) and a bit of Sunset Strip strutting on Out Of The Blue and even Black Sabbath on Lost In A Storm, closing things out with a rollicking cover of Who Are You by The Who.

High On Fire is their fifth album and they have doubled down on the sounds of the 70's and 80's bringing classic rock to the modern era, Down In A Hole sounding particularly contemporary. With an Extreme-like funk on Sunshine, or the bluesy balladry of Empty Days Of Wonder, High On Fire is a record with tough rhythm section, tonnes of Hammond/Guitar duels and gritty vocals that will appeal to hard rock fans. 7/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: ClownSmashEverything (Spike)

ClownSmashEverything & Washed Up, Dead Wax Social, Norwich, 15.11.25

Norwich: Birth of the Sock Chopper

Dead Wax Society. Norwich. It’s always great to see a new venue start up and despite a warning on the day that due to some structural issues there would be no tickets on the door the place was full and looking forward to the show. We’ll come back to the structural stuff later.

ClownSmashEverything (9) and Washed Up (8) baptized the place with pure, unadulterated noise. This is what small local venues need, some DIY punk, bands who clearly were having a laugh, connecting to the crowd and delivering some awesome music at the same time.

The opening act, Washed Up, arrived with their self-proclaimed title, "saviours of rock and roll in Norwich." And honestly, they played like it. They had the privilege of being the first band to ever assault the Dead Wax stage, and they didn't waste the opportunity. It was pretty evident that if there was indeed structural issues then they were just going to add to it. Their set was a swaggering, unpolished blast of high-energy punk rock that was loud enough to settle the sound issues immediately and tight enough to prove the local scene is thriving with glorious arrogance. They did their job: they lit the fuse, introduced the chaos, and secured their own place in the venue's small, sticky history.

But the main event, Clownsmasheverything, brought the absolute, necessary wreckage. This band operates on the thin line between groove and organized violence, and they introduced the crowd to the night's new ritual. In a brilliant, highly localized nod to Skindred's legendary "Newport Helicopter," the band commanded the crowd to execute the "Norwich Sock Chopper" during their new track Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre.

This wasn't just headbanging; this was a full-contact, low-altitude cyclone where everyone was instructed to hold a sock in the air and whip it around their heads during the final breakdown. The sight was ridiculous, glorious, and perfectly hostile, turning the whole room into a messy, glorious spectacle of airborne footwear.

Their set was built on thick, crushing grooves, the bass lines were epic by Peters almost nonchalantly whilst the rest of the band focused on the aggressive stage presence and delivery that embodies punk rock, executed with a sense of fun that belied the technical heaviness. These are damn fine musicians delivering songs that truly high the mark. They are the sound of a good idea executed at maximum volume. Clownsmasheverything proved that the best part of the scene isn't the pedigree; it's the shared, ridiculous violence. Norwich now officially has its own pit move, and that's all that matters.

Verdict: History was made, and socks were lost. Essential local chaos.

Reviews: Suncraft, Depravity, Gloombound, Beast Eagle (Rich Piva, GC, Mark Young & Cherie Curtis)

Suncraft - Welcome To The Coven (All Good Clean Records) [Rich Piva]

Given the bands I usually review, if you did not know any better you would think a band called Suncraft would be some kind of desert rock band with riffs and fuzz for miles and a stoner rock groove. 

It is partially true, but add things like punk, black metal, thrash, and whatever the hell else they want to include and that is what you get on The Oslo band’s second record, Welcome To The Coven, which is delightfully all over the place, going from genre to genre seamlessly and always keeping the listener engaged and interested.

You get this right away on Welcome To The Coven with the opener, Ragebait, which is killer stoner thrash with some seriously angry punk vocals. Is that some blackish metal I hear about half way through the track too? It sure is. Cool stuff. Love’s Underrated is, dare I say, almost pop punk, but in the good way, like Face To Face or something like that, even the more melodic stuff Angel Du$t is up to these days, which is right in my wheelhouse. 

Suncraft gets melody for sure, which is probably why I am digging this so much. I get a similar punk vibe on Greed Battalion, but leaning more towards melodic hardcore, and they kill it, especially when the real hardcore part kicks in. Fear not stoner rock fans, the title track has an up-tempo killer stoner groove to it while also being punk as fuck. 

Melodic punk is what Wizards Of Anger Magic is all about while Charlatan Killer has these cool hardcore tempo changes to go along with some harmonized vocals, creating quite the interesting five-minute experience. Your more straight up stoner stuff is a track light High On Silence, but vocally there is always this punk thing hanging around. It’s not just hanging around on Forgotten Silence, which is a straight up punk ripper with mild stoner vibes, and it rips.

Suncraft is way more punk than desert/stoner or whatever their band name makes you think, but no matter what you call them these guys rip in up on Welcome To The Coven. Punk stoner thrash goodness for all to enjoy. 8/10

Depravity - Bestial Possession (Transcending Obscurity Records) [GC]

On first glance the cover of Bestial Possession by Depravity screams brutal death metal, you know what I’m talking about, unreadable band logo, questionable title and monster artwork.

I could be completely wrong of course and should never judge before I have heard a note of the music and it’s on a label that is usually very dependable when it comes to metal of the death variety, Transcending Obscurity, so now its time to see what I have to review and fingers crossed its NOT brutal death metal!

I greet opener Engulfed In Agony with a huge sigh of relief because its nothing like I was expecting, don’t get me wrong it its brutally heavy but not in that awful brutal death metal way, this is a tidal wave of unrelenting drumming that just keeps on going and driving forward with force, the guitars are crisp and cutting and not lost in the mix and the vocals bounce off everything beautifully.

Eunuch Maker somehow picks the pace up even more and is a blitzkrieg of a song that just blows up and comes from an all out attack angle, the guitars rattle you and the drumming is once again a force of nature and really needs to be heard to be appreciated fully, there is never really much let up in the song until the end where it makes you think it will be fading out before one last blast of savagery and it could maybe get slightly overwhelming for some listeners but that’s definitely the highlight for me and I want more of the same all the way! 

It’s on Call To The Fallen where we get a slight change of pace at the beginning of the track and while it’s not a drastic left turn and now sounds like funeral doom, the pace has been pegged back a notch or two which is fine and it lets the song breath more and prepares you for the inevitable thundering barrage you come to expect and once again the sheer force of what is being played really is breathtakingly good!

For some reason I fail to really connect fully Awful Mangulation, it just feels like there is something missing to really push it on fully, the musicality is not lacking I just feel that the delivery is slightly less full on than I want and it feels a bit forced, a bit to straight forward thinking compared to everything else.

Rot In The Pit starts the same and I don’t feel it but, as it goes on it does get my attention and really delivers what I have been loving so far, just all out brutality, some of the solos slightly stunt the pace and that’s not ideal but overall it doesn’t suffer too much, Aligned With Satan does its best to not sound like Deicide but does exactly that in every way! 

The pacing, the riffs, the vocal content and delivery could be lifted directly off any Deicide album and you wouldn’t bat an eyelid, now this is of course fine to sound like a band that is synonymous with the style you are playing but it just feels like I’m listening to a totally different band, I suppose its lucky I like Deicide!? 

After a bit of a lull in proceedings its down to Blinding Oblivion to really get things back on track and it does so in sterling fashion with the faster, blasting sections mixed with the wailing and screeching soloing to devastating effect we even get some of the slower parts, not many, but they are in there and it all combines to really create a monstrous sounding song. Legacy is a no-nonsense death metal barnstormer with absolutely no room for subtlety or delicate time changes, this is just a pure and simple bludgeoning from start to finish and really gets the blood pumping! 

Catastrophic Contagion comes in with another mix of styles and is full of the scathing and horrible death metal that has made most of this album a blast to listen to but it also has a few sections that slow it down again and bounce new ideas about and it works well as they never really miss a beat and close us out in triumphant way.

I am so glad that Bestial Possession wasn’t what I was expecting at the start, it was crisp, precise and wonderfully heavy on all fronts. Depravity have delivered an album that any self-respecting death metal fan will love and fans of heavy music in general should definitely check it out as you will not regret it. 9/10

Gloombound - Dreaming Delusion (Gruesome Records) [Mark Young]

Well, I can’t think of a better description for a band than this: Cavernous, grinding abyss of massively dark psychedelic sonic sorcery which adorns their Bandcamp page. I think that is a fabulous and quite fitting too, especially once you have sat down and given this a spin. It should be noted that the copy I have been given for review has three bonus tracks which form the body of their debut EP release from 2023. With that in mind, let’s run through the 5 tracks on Dreaming Delusion and see what time we have left once that is done.

Now, a word of warning. The songs are long, the road is a hard and rocky one so from the outset I feel it is only fair that I should point this out. If long songs aren’t your thing, well you should probably leave the hall now. If you are still reading then it means that you are a fan of funeral doom or doom in general or you fancy dipping a toe into new realms. If it’s the latter, I applaud you.

At The Precipice To Longinquity is the definition of expansive, a sprawling and unhurried opener that brings in a feeling of the cosmos. The initial crawl, with its repeated guitar line that finds support from single note keys has an epic build to it. Its one that they gradually develop that runs through just what you expect from Doom, and then they turn the script and dial everything back, bringing a beautiful section to life that is almost uplifting in its effect. 

They don’t stay in that space for long, the lure of distortion is too much to withstand and they are back on familiar ground. It’s a majestic start. An Eternity Of Complete Acquiescence takes you on a different path, one that is haunting and restrained until they break out the speed trap. Its whole vibe is darker now, fizzing guitars and rising keys. Like the opener they show that they aren’t content to stay in one place and do the same thing over and over to pad that run time out. It’s a complete work, a tale that has a defined start and end. In the space of 18 minutes or so they have dropped two belters. Just class.

On the basis of these, I’ll give them a pass for the instrumental Salvation, which is perfectly fine. Its back to normal service with Luminary Dissolution which gives a strong nod to classic death metal. A tightly focused, more darkened guitar orientated approach on this one and compared to the others is like a sledgehammer. Its uncomplicated, simple (in comparison) and a great way to tee up the last track. 

Dreaming Delusion represents this albums ‘wow’ moment. It is that good they could have just dropped this on its own and that would have been enough. Its opening minutes sees them step into the clean singing arena, a melodious guitar line underpinning it. It serves as a light counter to the darkened notes that follow. The tricks they dropped into play with At The Precipice make a return. Keys that ring out forever, measured arrangements that are forever on the edge of toppling over but always manage to right themselves. 

I should give mention to the vocal performances on this because they are pitched so well, the speed of their delivery from Mina Halvorsen and Emma Theneus Sønstebø (bass) is spot on to the music behind it. The lead and rhythm guitars are matched so well, with the lead break on Dreaming Delusion one that sounds like the chains have been removed from Nate Gundersen who turns in a scorching solo. In terms of an album of standout material, this clears the others by a mile.

So, do we want to talk about the bonus tracks? Mist, is 50 seconds of rising strings, and as an introduction I’m going to move directly onto Pulled Towards Sepulchre Slumber. To compare them to those contained on Dreaming, you can hear almost straight away that the DNA is there, the approach, the way they can build these sweeping musical statements is present and correct. If anything this, and Astral Exhalation are a little rough around the edges, but are still incredibly well put together and worthy of inclusion here and are welcome too.

This is exceptional stuff from them, and I implore you to check them out. Expansive, epic and intelligent songs that are just top class. 9/10

Beast Eagle – Sorceress (Golden Robot Records) [Cherie Curtis]

Hailing from Nebraska, Beast Eagle brings us a short and sweet Midwestern hard rock album. Though only five tracks, their newest album; Sorceress, is substantial and striking with a fierce and groovy rhythm. Every track on the album has resounding and textured vocals, complimented with riff heavy distorted instrumentals as well as rhythmic drums which serve as a steady pulse and provide a dynamically gripping build.

What I really like about Beast Eagle - and it’s pulled off well within this album, is that less is more. They keep it simple without sacrificing the integrity of their original sound and their experience. Though they are a relatively new band, they have a rock veteran feel. They all play superbly with obvious passion that is catching. But the overall composition is simple; there isn't anything technically complex or innovative in the way we expect (for example; there's no 10-minute picking drill mid song) 

However, Sorceress as an album itself is refined. The album is still interesting and enjoyable in a way that feels effortless. The instrumentals take the back seat and let the vocals and dark lyrics provide mighty substance. There's a clear decisive sound to them, Sorceress as a whole, feels charged and alluring.

All in all, Beast Eagle’s new album is a satisfying one. It’s fun and catchy and can appeal to everyone. It may not be my favourite of all time, but I do see myself revisiting this one. 8/10

Reviews: Dødsferd, Temple Of Katharsis, Conatus, InfuseR (Matt Bladen)

Dødsferd - Purification Forms (FYC Records)

In these corrupt times we live in, some bands have to take a stand, it's happened throughout history and with this compilation, Dødsferd compile older songs, newer songs and covers all of which pay homage to fighting corruption and tyranny. Wrath, the driving force of Dødsferd, barks out all of these tracks with his vicious delivery and even throws some guitar into the mix too, as Neptunus is the bass beast and the rest of the songs have a mixture of Dødsferd members from last and present. 

So to the songs, there's two Turbonegro covers tracks here, especially recorded as tribute to Hank Von Helvete and that glam/punk/metal style translates really well into black metal, as do all of the covers to be honest at showcasing that link strong link between black metal and punk. Other covers include We Are The 138 by Misfits, Bite It, You Scum by G.G Allin, Braincell Battle by Anti Cimex, and Iron Fist by Motorhead, all bands who rally against tyranny and the status quo, some of music's great mavericks who have inspired Wrath and Dødsferd as a whole.

It's not all covers though as there's some Dødsferd deep cuts here from their earlier release that recent fans may not be familiar with, they have some re-recorded moments to them which will make them appeal to long time fans as they're interpretations of classic songs. 

Purification Forms puts inspirations with originals together into a record that shows the foundations this Greek metal institution are built on. 8/10

Temple Of Katharsis - Worshipers Of The Ancient Necromancy (Theogonia Records)

After praising their debut Macabre Ritual back in 2023 it's time to enter the heretical world of Temple Of Katharsis again for more odes to the dark lord himself.

Blending the Hellenic and Scandinavian black metal traditions, band founder Hellmaster 666 (bass/vocals) takes his band further down into the depths of darkness with album number two. Ripe with the stench of death, the horrors of war and in praise of Satan, album number two continues where the debut began, emerging from the underground scene as full throttle force but turns up the fires of hell to burn any believer's of the Judeo-Christian dogma.

In the accompanying information it's claimed that this record contains "necromantic sorcery and occult fire" and begins with a lovely bit of raw tremolo picking as an instrumental that leads into the the ferocious Season Of The Blood, the basslines of Hellmaster 666 just as grizzled as his vocals. 

It gets speedier with Celebrating The Coronation Of Grand Evil, guitarists Zeratul and Souleater trading off riffs and solos, as L-Drac is almost unstoppable behind the drums on the black metal tornado of Tainaro which comes out of the Scandi influence as The Darkness Which Swallows The Dawn owes a lot to Rotting Christ and Varathon in it's chugging middle section.

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Temple Of Katharsis as they're from Kastoria which is where my wife Mrs Musipedia Of Metal is from, but if you're a black metal lover you'll definitely be inducted into their cult with this second album. 8/10

Conatus - Fractured Radiance (Self Released)

Another one man outfit but this one feels a bit more au-naturel. Well at least the vocals are real anyway. E.K is the only member of Conatus, playing, composing and performing everything as well as co-producing alongside David Prudent.

Fracture Radiance is a four track EP consisting of four cuts that are between seven and a half minutes and thirteen and a half minutes long and deal with the exploration of the human psyche as they put it "delving into the complexities of existence and the emotional turmoil that often accompanies our journey through life".

This journey through conflict and oblivion is soundtracked by blackened post metal that draws from Ghost Bath, Heretoir and Harakiri From The Sky. Each brooding atmospheric moment of post metal dissonance, segues into incandescent black metal rage or slow moving doom crush shows that E.K is out to impress on the debut record from the Conatus project. 7/10

InfuseR - A Tale Of Tales (Self Released)

InfuseR is the name of a project and a man, the man is Manos Psarros who is a devout follower of the works of Tolkien and the project is his way of paying homage to the epic storytelling and world building that Tolkien is famed for.

There aren't that many writers who manage to transcend the written word or who inspired so many heavy metal bands. The works of Tolkien, are very well covered in the metalsphere, but more so in the world of symphonic and power metal.

So InfuseR, the man has created InfuseR, the band, to write yet more symphonic/power metal music that takes from Tolkien, so how is it? Well musically I have no issues with it, Psarros does most of the work here playing or programming everything from guitars and keys to horns and orchestrations, he also produces, mixes and masters the record.

He's joined by a few special guest guitarists to play the solos on the record but there is quite massive elephant in the room on this album, something that I wholeheartedly disagree with if I'm honest. He has two singers, Afroditi T. from Empty Mirror doing the female cleans and Ilias "BlackBones" Zounis of Moral Corruption doing screams and growls.

However there's also male cleans on this record and it's only if you read the information supporting it you realise that these male vocals are actually Afroditi's voice manipulated using an A.I software called Moises. Chryssa Kleanthi who narrates the album also has her voice processed through the same A.I. voice studio.

I can't get behind this, it's pointless in my estimation, there are plenty of vocalists out there who would have fit the project. Now of course being basically a solo project some of you may be shouting, well a lot of the instruments will be from computer software etc, loads of bands do that.

Yes that's true but my issue is the processing changing female to male vocals, you have two perfectly good singers, and plenty of bands have the clean female/harsh male approach so just stick with that. Unfortunately this has really irked me and no matter how good the music is I can't stop thinking about how much of this is actually authentic. 5/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Orbit Culture (Mike Chew & Nat Sabbath)

Orbit Culture, Gaerea & Atlas, KK’s Steelmill, Wolverhampton, 14.11.25

Storm Claudia made the trip to Wolverhampton feel more like a test than a night out. Sheets of rain hammered the car, streets were turning into fords, and yet the queue for KK’s Steelmill snaked out into the weather; dedicated fans stood hooded and determined, undeterred by the downpour. That alone said everything. This was going to be an awesome night for metal fans who show up no matter what.

Atlas (7) opened the night with the kind of confidence you only get from a band who knows exactly what they’re there to do. Their “northcore” style isn’t quite my thing, but credit where it’s due: they hit the ground running, kicking off with the newer track Tower with big energy and tight playing. Their set balanced older material from Ukko with more recent singles including Salt & Sulfur and I Whisper Your Name Like A Curse. 

The atmosphere was heavy and brooding; strobing lights and an ambient noise intro hovered as the band carved out enough space to warm the crowd. Visually, they had a strong sense of identity. Leevi, on guitar, was almost theatrical in his movements — sweeping gestures, sharp turns, and a presence that suited the band’s artistic, almost gothic aesthetic. Patrik’s mic stand was wrapped with flowers, which added to the atmosphere and tied in well with the emotional weight of the songs. 

At the end of their set, Leevi gently lifted the garland from the stand and passed it to a fan at the barrier. A small moment, but a kind one, and it showed the band’s connection with the people in the room. The emotional highlight was “Anodyne”, a doom-tinged, post-metal track that pulls your attention in even if you weren’t convinced at first. The shift in the room was obvious: Atlas made their job look easy, but warming up a crowd this devoted to the headliner is no small feat. They did it well.

Gaerea (10) were the standout of the night, no question. As soon as the lights dropped, the energy in the room changed. Their stage setup was visually striking: the band’s sigil split in two across the backline, framing the drum kit like a ritual space. Under cold, narrow beams of light, the masked members emerged and dove straight into Hellbound and Submerged. From there, they pushed into deeper cuts from Coma and Mirage, including Wilted Flower and Mirage, both of which sounded enormous inside the Steelmill. Every section felt intentional, every movement choreographed without losing spontaneity, Guilherme can really throw some shapes and the crowd responded to all of it. 

Mid-set, Gaerea thanked the audience for what they called an unexpectedly warm welcome and it felt genuine, humble, and heartfelt. There was an element of surprise in the way Guilherme said it, a kind of shock at how quickly Wolverhampton embraced them. Not long after, he stepped off the stage, jumped down to the barrier and hugged fans, singing with them shoulder-to-shoulder. Seeing him stand right at the barrier, breaking that wall between frontman and crowd, was an unexpected moment, incredibly human, and completely at odds with their shadowed, mysterious image.

Near the end, they asked the crowd to lift their phone torches. Some laughed, some called it cheesy, and even Gaerea joked it was their “Taylor Swift moment.” But when the lights rose, the venue looked beautiful. It was an unguarded, sincere moment, and the band earned it completely. At one point, the sheer immensity of the performance seemed to overwhelm people, I noticed a few in the crowd wiping away tears. There was a strange beauty in the chaos, something raw and emotional that hit in a way you don’t often see at shows this heavy. Flawless, immersive, and in total command of the room, Gaerea delivered the performance of the night.

By the time Orbit Culture (10) walked out, the room felt twice as full as it had at the start. You could feel the devotion before the first note landed; that deep, rumbling anticipation only a dedicated fanbase creates. It’s not quite Sleep Token levels of mythos, but the commitment is absolutely there. They opened with Death Above Life, which hit like thunder and set the tone immediately. That ran straight into The Storm (a fitting choice given the weather outside) and Tales Of War. The room was fully locked in by the time North Star Of Nija began, the front rows lit up and the crowd surfers were hauled over the barrier. 

The middle of the set delivered some of the night’s heavier emotional punches: I, The Wolf, From The Inside, and The Shadowing added darker, dramatic depth. The vocals were sharp, the guitars cut through cleanly, and the audience didn’t hold back once, every chorus shouted back, every moment fed straight into the band’s momentum. At one point, a fan crushed against the barrier and besieged by crowdsurfers caught Fredrik’s attention. After the set, he came over and handed them his set list, a small gesture, but a thoughtful one. Not long after, Richard appeared by the stage curtain, fist-bumping anyone and everyone within reach. It was a simple moment, but full of warmth, and it showed how aware the band were of the people right up front taking the brunt of the chaos. Niklas was in a playful, provocative mood between songs. He teased the crowd, compared them to the “psychos” in Birmingham, and challenged them to out-shout Leeds, earning a wall of theatrical boos that seemed to please him even more. 

The closing run of Hydra into Vultures Of North gave the venue its final surge of energy. Arms were raised, voices were hoarse, and the last chorus landed with real weight. It felt like the perfect ending to the night. Orbit Culture didn’t just headline a stacked bill; they delivered a tight, confident set that felt completely connected to the audience. A band who know exactly what their fans want, and deliver it with heart.

Three very different bands, one storm-soaked Friday night, and a room full of people who refused to let the weather win. Atlas set the table, Gaerea stole the show, and Orbit Culture closed it out with power and passion. An altogether brilliant night in Wolverhampton.

Reviews: Of Mice & Men, Yawning Man, Sun Of The Dying, Love Your Witch (Spike & Rich Piva)

Of Mice & Men – Another Miracle (Century Media Records) [Spike]

This album is the sound of Metalcore achieving maximum, crystalline resolution. Of Mice & Men has been operating at the heart of this genre for over a decade, and Another Miracle proves they are masters of the formula. This isn't raw, DIY chaos. it’s a self-produced, highly polished war machine built to deliver bone-crushing breakdowns while simultaneously conquering arenas with soaring, anthemic choruses.

Forget the messy identity crises of their past; this album defines their current strategy: brutality with maximum melodic yield. The tone is set by the opener, A Waltz. It's menacing and dramatic, built on machine-gun drum passages and a furious, whispering contrast before exploding into sustained screams and broad guitars. This deliberate three-beat rhythm makes it stand out as a threatening, yet engaging, beginning.

The core strength of the album lies in the vocal dexterity of Aaron Pauley. He commands both extremes flawlessly. Tracks like Hourglass rely on his capacity for visceral, raw screaming, while Wake Up showcases his flawless clean singing over acoustic guitar. But the highest peaks are achieved when these two extremes collide. The best moments feature the slicing false chords syncopating brutally with the clean melodic notes, creating a density of emotion that is genuinely fantastic.

However, for the committed fan, this album is a lesson in comfortable repetition. Tracks like Troubled Water and Safe And Sound lean heavily on the genre's established architecture. The structures become predictable. breakdown follows chorus, clean follows harsh. It's safe, easy-going, and utterly serviceable, but it lacks the unpredictable, raw hunger that defined their early work.

The album finds its true depth in its lyrics, which focus on personal battles, self-doubt, and the fight for consciousness. Flowers and the title track, Another Miracle, deliver crushing aggression coupled with lyrical sincerity. By the time you reach the expansive closer, Infinite, the band successfully combines atmospheric sounds with furious screams, completing the cycle started by A Waltz. 

Another Miracle is an intensely polished, heavy-hitting comfort album that ensures Of Mice & Men will continue to thrive, even if they aren't breaking the genre rules anymore. 7/10

Yawning Man - Pavement Ends (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]

At this point it is hard to write a review for a new Yawning Man record without feeling like you are repeating yourself, but here we are with the new album from these instrumental psych desert legends, Pavement Ends. As usual, the songs on Pavement Ends are amazing, trippy soundscapes that are expertly played and convey a vibe completely with zero vocals necessary. 

The six tracks on Pavement Ends continues their trend of great, with founding members Gary Arce and Mario Lalli and long time YM drummer Bill Stinson keeping up both the quality and uniqueness of what the band brings.

Burrito Power’s opening riff is a bit darker than usual, but the sun breaks through by the end, leading to the rain on the way but still shimmering guitar work of Gary Arce on Gestapo Pop. Bomba Negra creates this slow-motion vibe, where the world seems to spin a tad bit slower, led by the rhythm section of Lalli and Stinson. 

Speaking of Lalli, his bass leads the way on the floating though the desert tones of Dust Suppression, while the title track, the nine-minute epic of the record, is what you come to expect from these giants of the genre. The closer, Bad Time To Be Alive is seven-minutes of quintessential YM goodness; the vibes, the desert psych goodness, and Arce’s amazing and trademarked guitar work.

A new Yawning Man record is always a great way to spend some of your down time, a perfect way to chill, or to escape to the far reaches of the desert at night. Pavement Ends is no different. Fans and newcomers alike will dig this for sure. 8/10

Sun Of The Dying– A Throne of Ashes (AOP Records) [Spike]

This is not a record that allows for neutrality. Sun Of The Dying, hailing from Madrid, specializes in a brand of Doom/Death Metal that feels like staring into an abyss that both destroys and offers strangely cold comfort. A Throne Of Ashes is a monument to contradiction. sorrow is not simply sorrow; it is coloured by rage. Depression is not simple numbness; it is a violent anger at existence itself.

The sound is immense, drawing direct lineage from the Peaceville masters (My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost) while adding modern orchestral heft. The album opens with Martyrs, which eases in slowly with a thunderous, chugging riff before revealing the full, rich symphonic sound. This track immediately showcases the band's essential duality: horrid harsh vocals from Eduardo Guilló weave through sweeping keyboard orchestrations and sombre, clean singing. The weight of the emotional burden just increases as the song moves along.

The true impact of this album lies in its dynamics and vast scope. Black Birds Beneath Your Sky comes at you with a darkness that could blot out the sun. Choppy riffs combine with harrowing, sharp vocals, and although there are clean harmonies, the song refuses to leave the confines of the darkness. It’s a beautifully violent piece of art. Similarly, The Greatest Of Winters is a colossal track that moves like a relentless blizzard. It’s a tortured remembrance of an event, building overwhelming tension before taking a dark turn with overly tense tones, where desperate sorrow wrestles with fierce rage.

The guitars are crucial here. Roberto Rayo and Casuso thread mournful, emotional melodies through the heaviest passages, arching out like a vulture's wingspan shrouding the whole album. On With Wings Aflame, the clean tones move into heavier ones, but the orchestral elements take centre stage, driving a crescendo of pure, palpable emotion.

The final statement, Of Absence, closes the record by addressing the inevitable void. As with any profound absence, you might expect withdrawal, pain, and anger, and you get all three here. The track is full-on with melody and symphony, a deep colour representing the painful remembrance of what is lost. A Throne Of Ashes is music that forces you to confront the immense weight of existence, delivered through an authentic, uncompromising blend of brutal death and elegant sorrow. 

Essential listening for the cold, bleak evenings ahead. This is music that pulls at the pain, despair and sorrow of things and because of that, it is utterly beautiful. 9/10

Love Your Witch - Radio Fantasia (Self Released) [Rich Piva]

Love Your Witch is back with another ripper of an album, titled Radio Fantasia, that seamlessly blends stoner grooves and thrash metal aggression that results in another killer outing from the Tel Aviv trio.

Kicking it off with The New World, the trio starts soft but boy does the aggression kick in when the riff starts pounding. There is this QOTSA but heavier thing going on and musically the trio sounds super tight. Speaking of aggression, the thrash is strong with Love Your Witch on the heavy as hell Galactic Order, with Amit Abrahamy’s drum work standing out. Love the tempo change too. 

Strider has some groove to it and has an almost psych thrash thing going on, while Butterfly slows it down and brings a bunch 90s alt vibes to the gathering. We get a similar yet spooky vibe on Sleeping On The Spider's Web, until the guitar kicks in and the song rips the place up. Cool stuff. Speaking of ripping the place up, Mercy Kill is straight up old school thrash goodness. 

Farewell is the epic track on Radio Fantasia, starting off with this haunting 70s proto/psych thing that eventually builds heavier and heavier, and is the most complex and subsequently my favourite song on the record. Given where these guys are from, the most poignant track on Radio Fantasia is Cancel WW3, a sprawling song with riffs and atmosphere and the best vocal performance that Mor Gal has done on any of his work with Love Your Witch.

A fun and diverse record that metalheads and stoner rockers will enjoy alike. Love Your Witch has a great formula on Radio Fantasia while also doing whatever the hell they want. 8/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Conjurer (Matt Bladen)

Conjurer, Pijn & Death Goals, Strange Brew Bristol, 13.11.25



There are gigs that you watch and there are gigs that you are a part of. Whenever a set of bands tour together with similar values, it's always a much more interesting prospect.

Especially when those bands stage their shows in venues that also have similar ideologies, it means there's no conflict, no alienation of the audience, just a collection of beings together fights for the same thing, enjoying the same thing and shouting loudly and proudly about the same things.

This tour was definitely one that needed to be experienced, one that you had to be a part of rather than passively listen too and watch. Playing a venue like Strange Brew which is an art space that is proudly and defiantly a safe space for people who are queer, refugees, or anyone who is a minority.

The colour clash of neon artwork, rustic bar fittings and flags from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum and many that were of Palestine and other cities facing conflict, was exactly the venue that these three bands needed to showcase their music and their ideals.

Setting up the evening was emo/post-hardcore duo Death Goals (8), a band who are extremely forthright in their queer identity and their political stance, all of their music is based around their beliefs and their experiences as two queer people and their call outs to anyone experiencing anything similar.

Calling for unity between those who identify as queer and those who don't, preaching tolerance and acceptance through fierce, short, blasts of emo/hardcore/punk fury much to the delight of the crowd and the bar staff too. 

With pointed words towards those in power, certain leaders in the Middle East and a visceral musical assault Death Goals, went down like a house on fire in Bristol, setting the tone for the evening, they were a incendiary start to this musical experience.

Up next though no words were needed as Pijn (7) took to the stage doused in yellow light they began their rhythmic instrumental ritual and shifted the tone from antagonistic aggression to shamanic expansion, showcasing that diversity on a line up is never a bad thing.

A way to reset the audience after Death Goals in your face, dual vocal assault, Pijn don't do vocals at all allowing their instruments to do the taking, playing with dynamics and space, as post metal meandering leans heavily into jams where even if they change a song you wouldn't always notice due the lack of talking between them.

It was if this was just one sonic journey and the entire sold out crowd moved their heads in unison to Pijn's rhythmic hypnosis. A perfect way to lose yourself after the firebrand first band, the two supports combined, were reflective of the scope of the headliners.

It was on to the headliners, touring in support of their, has to be and AOTY record, Unself, the mighty Conjurer (10) have been flourishing into one of the best UK bands around over the past few years. Apocalyptically heavy, Conjurer are equally all-consuming and crushing alongside atmospheric and melodic, the shifts between the two never jarring just one segueing into the other and back again.

This has become even more prominent on Unself as they have released their most emotional and personal record yet. Detailing vocalist/guitarist Dani Nightingale's autism diagnosis at 31 combined with the realisation they were non-binary, Unself is a record that redefines the band members and the band themselves.

Brady Deeprose (vocals/guitar) made a joke that if you hadn't heard Unself you'd be bored by their set as they basically played the entire album plus a few from Mire and Pathos their previous two albums, however how could you ever be bored of watching Conjurer lay waste to a stage.

Beginning with the title track of the new album, Dani sings the old folk song be by themself before the rest of the band crash into the massive overture that leads into All Apart and There Is No Warmth. With these two you can understand how dynamic the new songs are Noah See's obliteration of his drum kit, divining the pace of these tracks. Locked down with Conor Marshall's filthy bass, standing in the middle of Dani and Brady, he is forever hair whipping and filling the low end with organ moving rumble.

Brady and Dani share the guitar legwork and the vocals, switching from growls to screams to cleans as they unleash more visceral older material such as Retch, Choke and Rot which punctuates the new stuff. However it was the new songs I was interested in and they hold up so well live, powerful and affecting, you can feel that Conjurer have shifted up a gear.

The musical interplay between light and shade is stronger here, carrying more ferocity and aggression but also more introspection and catharsis. Culminating in The Searing Glow and The World Is Not My Own from that ends the Unself part of the show, you can tell that much like Mastodon or Neurosis, the combination of sludge and post metal that Conjurer have always done so well is now elevated into something more complex.

No longer preoccupied with creating music just to level cities, Conjurer once this musical kaiju now bring more humanity to their sound, establishing a collective where artist and audience experience the music in the same way. It makes them imperious and nigh-on unstoppable from here on out.

Editor's note: Having Lay Down by the underrated Priestess as the song playing before you arrive on stage made me extremely happy, though I was probably the only one singing along!

A View From The Back Of The Room: Pendulum (Tom Bladen)

Pendulum, The Prospect Building, 03.11.25

It would be honest to say that Pendulum was my introduction to drum & bass. Before then the closest foray into electronic music would have been something like Enter Shikari which blended in sounds you would expect at a rave not in the pit.

I remember buying the 2007 reissue of Hold Your Colour in Virgin Megastores to ensure I had Blood (F**king) Sugar on the record. (This edition did deprive me of hearing Another Planet for an criminally long time) and it was tremendous, it felt like metal, but it was a synthetic chorus of DnB energy with heavy hooks and 'riffs'.

Their sound has also an uncanny ability to evolve with the progression through their albums. Go back to the Live In Brixton DVD (remember them?) to see the completely unique and reimagined versions of Hold Your Colours anthems. The euphoric yet heavy title track, the almost thrash guitar rhythm underpinning Tarantula. It was totally Different (get it?) but perfectly matched the In Silco sound.

Resonating through the back catalogue and defining the current artistic direction. Seeing an in full Inertia album live set has left me equally as impressed. Turning a very bitter Monday night in Bristol, into a hotbox cementing their sound once again. Being treated to 11 tracks from Inertia mixed with fresh and current iterations of classics or new medleys equally mixed from equal monster legacy tracks.

The whole event felt like it was setting a new baseline, but made you feel like you already know it. Being both familiar and exciting and new. Rob seems so fired up (gone are the days of him looking menacing from behind a double keyboard) owning the stage and crowd. The energy is just as rampant and euphoric as my first gigs in Cardiff, Birminghan and Sonisphere festival, all in the same summer.

Pendulum never cease to bring raw undiluted electronic progress to the eardrums. Their sound is instantly recognisable from their Trinty DJ sets and other projects such as Knife Party. Their undeniable energy is really something to witness. In any format and especially live.

And at the Prospect building (very unique yet Motion-esque venue!) on a frozen Monday night. I was right back to picking up that reissued copy of their first album in Virgin Megastores. 10/10

Reviews: Shores Of Null/Convocation, Electric Boys, Calcraft, Bragging Rights (Martin Brown, Rich Piva, Spike & Mark Young)

Shores Of Null/Convocation – Latitudes Of Sorrow (Everlasting Spew) [Martin Brown]

Latitudes Of Sorrow is the meeting point between two approaches to grief. Shores of Null, from Rome, bring elegance, melody, and form to the collapse; Convocation, from Helsinki, provide the weight of eternity itself. Together they form one of the most complete doom splits in recent years — a dialogue between beauty and decay.

The Shores Of Null half is steeped in refinement. The production, handled at Bloom Recording Studios by Marco “Cinghio” Mastrobuono, captures an extraordinary sense of depth. Guitars move like ocean swells — layered, chorale-like, never static. The rhythm section carries both gravity and clarity, and the drums breathe with a live feel rare in modern metal production. 

Clean passages are crystalline, separating themselves naturally before the next surge of distortion takes hold. The dynamics are wide, giving every track room to rise and recede rather than compressing the emotion into a single plane.

Vocally, Davide Straccione remains the linchpin. His range from baritone cleans to midrange growls defines the band’s emotional signature — expressive but never theatrical. 

On occasion, the cleans flatten slightly in pitch or projection, yet the sincerity cuts through. It’s the only minor imperfection in a performance otherwise grounded in conviction.

The songs evolve through patient layering: new guitars, harmonies, and percussion patterns enter organically. The White Wound and The Year Without Summer in particular display masterful pacing, each section earning its power through restraint. 

The percussion varies subtly throughout, alternating between rolling tom work and precise cymbal detail, constantly adjusting to the mood rather than dictating it.

Convocation’s contribution forms the darker mirror image. The pain and anger are visceral. Their production is cavernous yet articulate, each note steeped in reverb and low-end pressure. 

The tone is glacial, built from synths, organs, and impossibly slow riffs that push beyond structure into atmosphere. Where Shores Of Null offer clarity and reflection, Convocation descend into a sense of malignant ritual, claustrophobia, and a feeling of being trapped inside yourself with no escape.

For progressive and doom listeners alike, Latitudes Of Sorrow offers the satisfaction of composition, texture, and narrative flow. It’s a record that invites immersion — to feel the movement between despair and resolution, melody and void. 

Impeccably produced, emotionally coherent, and executed with intelligence, it stands as a benchmark for collaborative doom in 2025. 9/10

Electric Boys - Shady Side Of Town (Mighty Music) [Rich Piva]

I have been a fan of Electric Boys since I saw the video for All Lips And Hips on Headbanger’s Ball in 1990. I went and bought the cassette of Funk O Metal Carpet Ride and I was all in. The band’s combination of blues rock, Beatle-esque harmonies and trippiness, funk metal, and hair band swagger combined to make one big fan in this teenage rock fan. I even hung in with the US commercial failure Groovus Maximus, which I still love to this day. 

The Swedish band put out one more record in 1994 but then went on hiatus until 2011, and have been relatively active since then. Their 2023 album Grand Explosivos was fun, and the follow up to that, their new EP Shady Side Of Town, is the same kind of enjoyable batch of songs that these guys have proven they can turn out, leveraging all of those cool influences they brought back in the day.

We get four tracks on Shady Side Of Town, with Head Honcho leading the way with great guitar work, some cool as hell rock with swagger, and some ZZ Top vibes, but heavier. Grand Explosivos has a hair metal vibe to start until the Boys get all Flamenco on us. This is a fun track that fits perfectly with what these guys are all about. 

It’s the Electric Boys and they came from a time where a song called Looking For Vajajay would have fit in perfectly. Does it now? Is it silly but also fun? Is there this over-the-top 70s funk thing going on that is quite infectious? You can answer yes to at least a couple of those questions for sure. The best song on the EP is the closer, Keep It Dark, which has more Grand Funk in it than Motley Crue, but either way is a pretty cool song.

A fun EP which brings back good memories for me, it is nice to see the Electric Boys still going strong with Shady Side Of Town. A band that is always fun and always has some good to offer. 7/10

Calcraft – Reborn Through Torture (Lifeforce Records) [Spike]

This is not a pleasant journey of self-discovery. Calcraft's debut, Reborn Through Torture, is a masterclass in Raw, Hateful Death Metal. 

This record exists purely to assault the listener with uncompromising hostility and a suffocating, dense wall of sound. Named after an infamous executioner, this album is a clinical, relentless study in pain, delivered with zero time wasted on melody or pretence.

The Texas-based outfit defines their sound with the uncompromising credo, "Unrelenting death metal. No trends. No mercy." The sound is immediately overwhelming. This is guts-first sonic savagery, deeply rooted in the legacy of Immolation and Suffocation. 

The guitars are thick, corrosive, and constantly churning, creating a muddy, suffocating atmosphere that feels physically taxing to endure. The percussion is a relentless, unrelenting weapon. 

The drumming favours precision and sustained battery over flashy fills, providing the perfect, inexorable foundation for the hateful payload above it.

The track-list is a blood-soaked manifesto. Satisfying Strangulation begins the descent, immediately showcasing the band’s mastery of dynamics with a raw intensity that sets the stage for auditory execution. 

This is quickly followed by Fuck Blade and Slovakian Carnage, which maintain the suffocating pace, firing off thrashy aggression steeped in cinematic violence. The brutal efficiency of the title Perpetually Stabbed embodies the record’s relentless, unforgiving spirit.

The guttural vocals are buried in the mix, sounding like they are being dragged out of a shallow grave, delivering their payload of hate and darkness. The brief Interlude and Outro offer no sanctuary; they are merely the cold, silent moments of counting the dead before the carnage resumes or the final breath is drawn.

The sequencing is relentless. Tracks like Wolves Sight and Carving Flesh maintain the suffocating momentum, utilizing mid-tempo sections not for breathing room, but to emphasize the sheer, crushing weight of the riff when it eventually drops. 

Purest Pain is a testament to the band’s skill in fusing raw aggression with memorability. The riffs are infectious, but still utterly filthy. Calcraft has delivered exactly the kind of hateful, unforgiving death metal the underground adores. This is a blood-soaked soundtrack to the final scene you never survive. 8/10

Bragging Rights - Carpe Jugulum (Self Released) [Mark Young]

If it says Sludge infused progressive death metal, then you know that there is a possibility that this will not be a smooth ride. Its likely that you won’t get on with all of it, depending upon your stance and what genre you lean into. 

I’ll be honest I’ve bloody peppered this with repeated listens as part of the commute to work and I’m still not sure how I feel about it, even as I sit to write this out, I haven’t got a fix on where this review is going or where I’m going with it.

I’ll Make My Heaven brings them in almost with a gentle touch, Shakespeare intoning over it which distracts you as the rhythm picks up in movement, slowly and assuredly. It makes a change having an introduction / intro track that has thought behind it especially as it launches into the title track. 

Carpe Jugulum picks up and runs. It’s solid, ranging in speed but establishes its level of intensity early on. It’s fairly brutal too until they decide not to be brutal any longer. You can hear where that sludge comes into play, especially during the closing seconds before Golem lurches into view. It’s not luck that the two are set together they are, der Golem is pitched like its namesake – slower, methodical until it bursts into life. 

Quake follows this, with a more expansive vocal delivery that is just pure anguish. The notes about being for fans of Gojira will pick up the audio cues on this one as it does smack of them. Thief Of Time vox sortta reminds me someone and for the life of me I can’t place it. 

Its like there are two songs being played at the same time in its early phase before they decide to torture you by inverted gallop. That feeling of them actively trying to stretch the listening experience out beyond its natural state is present on each track with varying degrees of success. 

Grown Cold takes a similar build and mines it to death and represents what I feel is a lull in proceedings.  Its not bad material, it’s just not interesting to me, the early thrill has dissipated and I’m now treating this as a war of attrition. What is evident is that on the previous listens I’ve gotten to here and had enough. 

Maskerade is next but is familiar in the same way that Grown Cold is. It tries to rouse me but the reliance on a certain build has me giving up on it.

For me its taken a number of listens to decide how I was leaning with this and even now I’m unsure in terms of how I should score it. What I will say is that it sounds fantastic. I’ve mentioned before that I mainly set up the reviews as I’m driving to and from work and if it can survive that trip without being skipped onwards it’s doing something right. 

However, Bragging Rights don’t quite succeed with this due to a number of tracks that flounder. I mentioned Thief Of Time earlier, it seems to go on as a punishment and Wait For The End with its repeating measures is interesting at some point I became disengaged and pressed forward. I’ve noted that as I get into the depths of the album my ability to stick with it goes. 

That’s not to say that the later tracks are to be avoided, Prey comes in and steals the show, a more in your face and aggressive arrangement that seeks to lift the energy up but you know what it’s like when you have more or less made your mind up with something. Its like that for this, because overall there are too many tracks that share the same approach and it’s a shame because it sounds so good. 

Even when those songs kick in a little, any favourable feeling I have has left and its too little, too late. Ultimately, I’ve given it a good go, and maybe it wasn’t for me. That’s not to say you shouldn’t give it a go. You could love it. 6/10