Reviews: Grave Digger, Dunes, Slinky Vagabond, Lifer (Liam Williams, Rich Piva, Dan Sierras & Matt Bladen)

Grave Digger – Bone Collector (ROAR/RPM) [Liam Williams]

Power metal band Grave Digger have released a large catalogue of albums over the last 40 years, and now they’re adding to that catalogue with their latest release Bone Collector. Featuring some heavy hitting riffs, great drums, groovy basslines and gritty vocals. This band stands out from most other power metal bands by being darker and heavier, and this new release only cements that claim.

We start things off with the title track, Bone Collector, which comes in with a very eerie sounding intro before the whole band comes in and really kicks things off. Solid track, I really like the pre-chorus sections. This is followed up with The Rich The Poor The Dying. It has really cool lead guitar intro. Again I love the pre-chorus sections and the chord progression in the actual choruses are pretty great too. There’s a nice bit of wah action in the guitar solo and the song ends with the main riff coming back in for the outro. 

Kingdom Of Skulls is up next and this track starts off with a great bass and drums intro. The guitar riffs are really good and the verses are quite bouncy and energetic. There’s another great guitar solo and a faster drumming section with another little guitar solo for the outro. Track 4 is The Devils Serenade and this one is particularly groovy and chuggy. It features a fairly short but quite technical guitar solo. The guitars drop out for the lead-up to the final chorus before we get to the outro, where the lead guitar starts going a little bit crazy in the background. 

Then we get to Killing Is My Pleasure. This track has a wicked main guitar riff, really good drumming, and again I really like the chord progression used in the chorus. Mirror Of Hate changes things up slightly, with some clean guitar in the verses and the outro and a really cool instrumental section before the guitar solo. My favourite track on the album is Riders Of Doom. This track has a very mean meaty riff, it’s much darker and heavier sounding than the rest of the album in my opinion, not that it’s all been sunshine and rainbows so far.

Made Of Madness is next. This track has some clean guitars in the intro. There’s some lovely sounding bass and things get crazy when the full band comes in. I really like the instrumental section after the second chorus. Coming to the last few tracks of the album, we get to track 9, Graveyard Kings. This track goes back to a similar style as the other tracks on the first half of the album. 

Still quite beefy and heavy sounding, nice bit of guitar chugging along, but I do think the drums really do the heavy lifting with this track, I’m not saying that as a bad thing, I just couldn’t take my attention away from the drums while listening to this one. There’s a nice bit of duel guitars before the final chorus too which is always a win for me. 

Forever Evil & Buried Alive is another thrasher, not much else needs to be said about it, it’s another banger! The album ends with Whispers Of The Damned. This one starts with some clean guitars in the intro, then there’s a short instrumental section with the full band before stripping things back and bringing in the clean guitars for the first verse. The second verse is a bit heavier with the addition of overdriven guitars taking over from the clean guitars of the previous verse.

During the first half of the guitar solo, we just get the lead guitar accompanied by bass and drums before the other guitars come in for the second half which helps this solo to stand out from the rest. The clean guitar comes back in for the bridge section before the final chorus. Then the lead guitar comes back in before the chuggy outro and the end of the album.

Grave Digger have done a fantastic job with this album, as I have previously said, I don’t listen to much power metal, but these guys stand out by sounding a lot darker and heavier than other power metal bands. They’ve got more of an attitude and a bit of edge to them which I quite enjoyed. They show no signs of slowing down or getting softer and that’s probably for the best, they do what they do well, and I hope they keep doing so for many more years to come. 

A solid album in every sense and I can’t find any fault in it. It’s bloody brilliant! 10/10

Dunes - Land Of The Blind (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]

UK band Dunes is drenched in 90s alt rock and grunge in all the best ways on their latest record, Land Of The Blind, their first release with Ripple Music. Land Of The Blind gives us some serious chunky riffs, fuzzy atmosphere, cool vocals, and a moody and dark feel to go along with all of the heavy goodness the band brings across the nine tracks.

I love the opener, Cactus, which leverages all you loved from the Pacific Northwest from back in the day but adds a bit of a polish to it, creating more of a second wave grunge feel, but the good stuff from the second wave. The riff and guitar work remind me of Valley Of The Sun, which, of course, is a good thing. 

Tides is heavy and dripping with fuzz and has an anthem-like feel to it. Stoner vibes peek through with the grunge on One Eyed Dog, where the background vocals grab you and bring you closer to this little ripper. There is something so familiar (in a very good way) about the track Norther Scar, but it is their own enough that I can’t quite put my finger on what it reminds me of. 

Riding My Low may be my favourite track on the record, another one that reminds me of VOTS and shows that Dunes knows how pick up the pace and rip it out when they want to. The guitar tone is very cool on Land Of The Blind, with How Real Is Real being a perfect example, to go along with some more great vocals. 

Voodoo may be my other favourite track, with that killer riff and psych-tinged guitar work. The 90s are certainly alive (again, in the best way) with the would have been a radio hit in 1997, Fields Of Grey. My only question is the closer, Riding The Slow, that is an instrumental guitar driven track that seems like an anticlimactic way to end the record.

Another cool record from Ripple Music. Dunes fits perfectly for those who dig bands who understand what was happening in the 90s grunge era and what people want to hear from groups playing that style today. If part of you us stuck in the 90s, like me, then you will dig Land Of The Blind. 8/10

Slinky Vagabond - The Eternal Return (Independent) [Dan Sierras]

On their third release, Keanan Duffty and Fabio Fabbri of Slinky Vagabond return with an eclectic mix of art rock, tinged with doses of piano and synth throughout. Joining them on this journey of rock and Brit pop are Mike Garson, Ava Cherry, Percy Jones and other guests on various tracks.

You can hear influences of David Bowie and The Beatles interwoven from track to track. Although on tracks like Ad Astra & Anthem, Mike Garson’s tickling of the ivories standout to me, especially towards the end as the notes cascade of the edge of the songs.

On an album mostly comprised of Brit pop, two songs that were memorable to me were deeper into the album. I enjoyed the opening guitar riff and drum beat on I Can Fly. The song does make you feel like you’re flying during the chorus with Fabbri’s majestic guitar work. 

The banger Perfect World was probably my favourite off the album. More of a heavier track than the rest of the album. The appropriately named End Of The Show closes this album out, drifting out with a very familiar lyric similar to a famous Beatles track (you’ll have to listen to find out).

Upon first listen, this album didn’t grab me, but after multiple listens, it grew on me and wasn’t too bad. Give it a listen (or two) and see if it does the same for you. 7/10

Lifer - Lifer (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Stalwarts of the South Wales heavy scene Lifer return to bring some fat NOLA-esque riffs on their first album in 10 years. Balancing sludge and stoner with thrash and hardcore, these foul mouthed heavy riffers make a welcome return in 2025 with a self titled album, that is normally a sign of a refocus on a new style or return to something they were.

The gruff drawl of Schriv is up front they have chosen the latter, Different Kind Of Pain will immediately bring to mind Down and if you have never heard Lifer before I suggest listening to Men And Pigs, which is deafening blues based heaviness, the slide guitar in the middle promoting Lifer's Southern rock trappings.

With some new blood in the band, this self-titled record feels a bit more biting and vital than it should be for band with this much experience coming off a lengthy hiatus. With Lifer, there’s influence born from various sides, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished is hardcore punk, the Southern NOLA heavy features on Imperious Delirious and Fire In The Hole. 

The band also bring some other sounds to this 10 track record. Hallowed By Thy Pain split between CoC and New Jersey psych of Monster Magnet, the Wyndorf influence also comes on strong for Stone Widow. Elsewhere there's Motorhead ferocity on Born To Lose (naturally), thrash on Rise Above and a general loudness and confrontational attitude. Included too are some "clean" versions for some reason but they don't detract from the songs. 

My advice is stick to the originals and dial it up for this South Wales riff crew. 8/10

Review: Godzillionire (Rich Piva)

Godzillionaire - Diminishing Returns (Ripple Music)

Godzillionaire has had an interesting journey. Lead singer Mark Hennessy was the main man in the criminally underrated 90s alt/grunge band Paw, a band that I still, till this day, absolutely love (I have Death To Traitors on vinyl, something that Mark told me he doesn’t even have). 

Mark’s ability to tell a story in his lyrics and his trademarked voice made Paw stand out to those who know what shit is good. They should have been huge, beyond the MTV Buzz Clip of their best-known song, Jessie. Mark’s life has gone in all sorts of directions since then, but eventually gravitated to Kansas-based musicians Mike Dye, Cody Romaine, and Ben White to form his next musical adventure, Godzillionaire. 

The band has been somewhat under the radar but still releasing killer records like Small Change and Negative Balance in a very DIY sort of way. The songs on those records are great, but now, in 2025, the planets have aligned for Godzillionaire. The band has signed to Ripple Music and created what very well may be my album of the year. I know it is January, but that is how much I love Diminishing Returns.

The playing, writing, and production on Diminishing Returns is perfect. The record goes in all sorts of directions but never is scattered or seems like it is veering off track. Mark’s vocals are some of his best ever, even if you can’t tell he was the dude in Paw. Ben White’s guitar work is excellent, bringing the necessary riffs while building the atmosphere and vibe around the eight tracks. Cody Romaine’s drums are expertly added in the mix and he partners seamlessly with Mike Dye’s killer bass work. Three of the four guys lend vocals to the record, another aspect of the songs I love. The eight songs that make up the 45 minutes of this record should be looked at as a crowning achievement in the music lives of the four members of the band. 

If there is a better track than 3rd Street Shuffle this year, I will be very surprised. Why? The riff, the melody, the vocals, and the lyrics are all perfect. Oh, and that bass line. Damn. The opener, Drowning All Night, is right there too. I am not going to throw labels on the band, but if you like melodic heavy rock I can’t see how this track would not be on any playlist that you build. For you stoner rock fans asking where all the riffs are, check on the heaviest song on the record, Boogie Johnson (title of the year too). This one rips and creates a frantic scene with vocals from Henessey that match the vibe. Boogie indeed. 

After you listen to this record a few times, sit and listen closely to the lyrics. Spin Up Spin Down is a 90s alt psych leaning slow burn that is as profound a song as I have heard in a long time and really grabs me every single time. It has a great solo from Ben White too. A quiet chug is what you get from Astrogarden, a grungy little number with cool harmonized vocals and something that brings a band like Soundgarden to mind, but in their quieter moments, but not too quiet, especially when the band brings down the hammer at the end. The rhythm section really stands out on this one. Hennessy’s ties to the 90s alt rock/grunge scene are inescapable, and the band leverages this and even leans right in. 

What 90s band didn’t try a synth driven track, with results all over the map? Godzillionaire offers Unsustainable, a moody and mellow song that bleeds 90s. You may not think this track fits on Diminishing Returns if you had heard it out of sequence, but it works perfectly as it relates to the rest of the record, with Hennessy singing more than I have ever hear him, partnering beautifully with guest vocalist Lizz Weiler. 

Common Board, Magic Nail is more moody alt rock, delivered by four musicians who understand what this truly means, and has a killer psych-tinged solo to go along with it. The song brings a sort of heavy shoegaze vibe to it that is even more impactful with the background vocal of Chelsey Larson and Lauren Mayhew added to the mix. The closer, Shadow Of A Mountain, is adjacent to the impact that Like Suicide has as the closer on Superunknown, which is really all I need to say here.

Some records just hit you. Whether it is because it reminds you of a time in your life, or because the lyrics hit home for you, or the music is just catchy, memorable and expertly played, or maybe because the band in question and has caught lightning in a bottle. Maybe in the case of Diminishing Returns, it is all of the above. Godzillionaire have created what I consider a perfect record that should be experienced by all. 10/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: The Jesus Lizard (Live Review By Joe Guatieri)

The Jesus Lizard & Lice, The Fleece, Bristol, 10/01/25

I never thought that I would be at The Fleece for this gig… People couldn’t have been more excited for it on this cold January night, taking it all in with a pint at the Seven Stars pub next door beforehand was a sight alone. 

Seeing so many friends in there laughing just made for an ideal start to the night and we couldn’t believe that the singer of the headline band David Yow was sitting right behind us, watching on. I couldn’t bring myself to talk to him there as I didn’t want to spoil the surprise that we soon got.

Then we went into The Fleece for the opening band Lice (10) and I was stunned from the start. They were both heavy and hilarious going from one genre to another seamlessly. 

Honestly there was something there that everyone could enjoy from insane Jazz drumming, David Bryne-esque screams and yelps, pounding bass, a noisy guitar and of course the all important throbbing synthesiser. 

They reminded me at points of some of my favourite bands including Talking Heads, Butthole Surfers, Nine Inch Nails, Devo and even fucking Ween! They acted as the perfect start before the chaos began.

Then at 20:30 on the dot, The Jesus Lizard (10) walked on stage as casually as you like and bashed out one hell of a set! Opening with the anxiety-inducing Seasick, everyone in that room started moving as one as a wave of heads banged uncontrollably to the off-kilter groove. 

My eyes might have deceived me but it looked like Mac McNeilly, their drummer was standing up, beating the drums as if they owed him money. This was only the calm till the storm as then for the next song Gladiator, David Yow at the ripe age of 64 jumped off the stage to surf the crowd in a moment of pure insanity.

As Yow washed up back onto the stage, The Jesus Lizard then exploded into Boilermaker, my favourite song of theirs. They unleashed an animalistic performance in every sense of the word.

Now this wasn’t just a reunion tour for nostalgia bait, it was done with purpose as late last year, the band released their new album Rack which was their first in 26 years after 1998’s Blue.

Rack is great and these songs interspersed with older ones worked so well together, if anything they are more melodic which adds more depth and range to The Jesus Lizard sound that we all know and love.

Overall, all of the members of that band are well into their 60’s and they performed like it was their last night on earth but they’ve done this their entire career and that’s what makes them the legendary band that they are. 

The Jesus Lizard have been pushing the envelope and making music to be played from the bottom of a well from day one.

Reviews: Datura, Sarcator, Howling Giant, Thy Kingdom Will Burn (Rich Piva & Matt Bladen)

Datura - Visions For The Celestial: Beneath The Desert Floor Chapter 8 (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]

I did this backwards…I found Dead Shrine in 2023 via the amazing release, The Eightfold Path, before I heard Datura. Now I knew about Craig Williamson and his other work, but had not really listened anything from his late 90s band that started it all for him. 

The records have been long gone, so of course, what does Todd from Ripple do? He goes and rescues it from out-of-print Hell and gets it to the hungry heavy rock fans via the Beneath The Desert Floor series, and oh how happy we should all be because Chapter Eight, Visions For The Celestial, is a breath-taking and amazing record.

Originally released in 1999, Visions For The Celestial is the second record of the early times of stoner rock trio and expanded their sound to a more psychedelic and atmospheric vibe that very much shows how Dead Shrine came to be. I mean all you have to do is listen to the first track to understand how amazing this record is. 

Magnetise is 90s stoner rock at its absolute finest, with a ridiculous guitar tone, killer riffs, a wide-open sound, and a rawness to it that is just so very real. This sentence applies to all six tracks on Visions For The Celestial. When you listen and think, “whoa, that was awesome…”, just wait until the guitar takes off on Sunshine In Purple. Holy crap that guitar tone.

While the first two tracks were mid-tempo stoner jams, Reaching Out goes faster; more Kyuss, less early Monster Magnet, for a reference point. It works perfectly in the sequencing of the six tracks. How about that middle breakdown? Damn. Craig Williamson is the name you may know but Brent Middlemiss guitar work on these songs is something to behold. 

The real mind-bending commences on Euphoria, where the psych is turned up to 11. How about all of the awesome of the first four tracks but now add keys? Well, that is Voyage. If you thought that closing with a 14-minute spacy psych out was a good idea, then you will be super happy with Mantra too. Just an amazing piece of recorded music. 

Ripple Music gets it. Todd understands what records should have been given more exposure and love and what records deserve to be out there for everyone to be able to experience, not just because of how great they are, but also because of how important they were and are to the genre at large. 

Even if you missed them or weren’t into the scene the first time around. Visions For The Celestial is the perfect example of this. Anyone who likes the music I write about needs to experience Datura in their prime and buy this record. 10/10

Sarcator - Swarming Angels & Flies (Century Media) [Matt Bladen]

Sarcator are a band who are only six years old but my lord they make an unholy racket. Swarming Angels & Flies is their third full length album and shouts about being their most dynamic yet. 

Well on first listen I have to confirm that there is certain an experimental edge to Burning Choir and Comet Of End Times, both switching riffs with disregard for any convention in way that reminds me of Coroner.

The dive bombs, fret slides and explosions of widdly solo ferocity are grounded by raw intensity from the blasting blackened thrash metal rhythms. So it's extreme metal, inspired by Kreator and Slayer but now with a fuller sound as there's classic metal coming through on The Deep Ends, post punk on the bass heavy instrumental Closure. 

By leaning on their influences, alongside eight of their own songs they have three covers, the first being The Black Vomit by Brazilian extreme metal band Sarcófago, they jump into the punk side with Dogfight by Anti-Cimex while a Torture by Sadus is obvious and still as brutal as before.

Sarcator take pride in doing things with simplicity, recording most of the record live in the studio just increasing the technicality as they weave complex guitar over the ferocious metal, there's moments where acoustics take hold at the beginning and through the swirling cosmic death of Where The Void Begins as Unto Sepulchres closes the album with yet more flesh ripping thrash. 

Sarcator's third album refines their last two but manages to keep the aggressive vitality of what they do as a band. 8/10

Howling Giant - Howling Giant EP - 10th Anniversary Edition (Self Released) [Rich Piva]

I love Howling Giant. The Nashville, Tennessee trio (there is a 4th member now) bring everything to the table for the music I love. The band combines the perfect mix of stoner, desert, psych, and doom while incorporating organ and harmonies (they all sing!) into their songs, so yeah, of course they are one of my favourite bands, with proof of this being my ten out of ten rating for their last record, Glass Future. 

The band has grown so much in their ten years together, and getting the 10th anniversary of their debut EP re-released on vinyl with some demos and a crazy cover song is a great treat for fans of the band and others who may be just getting into them and want to hear how it all started.

The original EP, recorded in guitarist/vocalist Tom Polzine’s bedroom, has four songs that show the major promise of what these guys were musically all about. Three of the four were written when they were a four-piece called SKLDZR, so let’s be happy with the name change. The remastering on the tracks sound great, while still capturing the rawness of the band at that time.

The opener, Husk, has those harmonies next to some chunky riffs and serious power trio activity. Yeah, it’s a bit raw, but damn is it killer. Whale Lord is one of my favourite Howling Giant songs, as the call and response vocals are awesome and it is one of the heavier tracks by the band out there today, lead by the excellent guitar work. 

Doug is another excellent track, the fastest of the four and the one where the organ makes the most impact, with excellent results. Camel Crusher, sounds like the name, a plodding, slow, doomy, mostly instrumental track that shows off how the band can mix up a bunch of styles seamlessly, even on a four song EP.

There are three demos included in the anniversary edition, including two demos of the first two tracks on the EP and one other, recorded as SKLDZR that are not too far off from what the originals sounded like, but fun to hear nonetheless. The biggest treat of the set is Tusk Of The Thunder Mammoth, a SKLDZR demo track that rocks and has some seriously cool proto vibes. 

The anniversary edition goes in a weird direction next, with a heavy cover of Yummy Yummy Yummy (yes, that song) done originally by the Ohio Express that sounds like it would belong on one of those 90s Saturday morning cartoons comps they did back then, and WZRDLF Origins, a spoken work origin story that is quite interesting to say the least.

Howling Giant rules, and hearing these songs in both their remastered and early demo forms is really fun for me, especially as a huge fan. The Yummy Yummy Yummy cover is a huge bonus on top of this entire origin story of the might Howling Giant. 8/10

Thy Kingdom Will Burn - The Loss And Redemption (Scarlet Records) [Matt Bladen]

Finland has quite a history with melodeath, in particular the more emotional side of melodic death metal be it Children Of Bodom, Amorphis, Insomnium, Wintersun, Swallow The Sun or Omnium Gatherum there’s a rich vein of melodic, folksy death metal that comes from the “land of a thousand lakes”. 

The third album from Thy Kingdom Will Burn is deeply indebted to the bands I have talked about, as were their previous records too.

  

The Loss And Redemption though brings more darkness and emotional turbulence than before. It’s their most personal album, swathes of melancholy can be felt on Obscure Existence, lyrically inspired by loneliness and wanting to escape modern life, allowing them to be bit more broad with the styles they choose to highlight. 

There’s a progressive lifeblood that pours through the record, tracks such as Escape From Solitude and They Have Come going harder towards the gothic soundscapes, synths, strings and keys creating the atmosphere.

Suffering Sky and Dreams Of Calamity are more traditional melodeath driven by twin guitar harmonies (Sami Kujala/Esa Virén), galloping rhythms (Janne Ruuskanen) and blastbeats (Lauri Virén).

A track that really shows what this album is about though is The End Of Times, putting the clean guitars with thrashy riffs it’s insistent and propulsive while also being vocally emotive due to the harsh and cleans both creating introspection and catharsis. 

With so many of the Finnish melodeath bands, they have quietly adapted their songs towards the gothic doom sound and with final track Sydänyö, Thy Kingdom Will Burn bring to mind Swallow The Sun, it’s actually STS’ Juho Räihä that produced the album, which explains why it sounds vast. 

Third album The Loss And Redemption sees Thy Kingdom Will Burn, calcifying their place in their countries melodeath scene. 8/10

Reviews: Sacred, Blacksun, Raging Fate, The Cimmerian (Matt Bladen)

Sacred - Fire To Ice (Stormspell Records)

Something of a Swedish power metal supergroup Sacred bring us their debut album Fire To Ice. Inspired by the classic metal bands such as Maiden and the legends of the power metal scene such as Hammerfall, this has everything you could want from a band in the power/classic heavy metal sound. Anthemic songs about fantasy battles, historical themes (The Flying Dutchman) and a cover of Queen Of The Reich (featured as a CD bonus track), Sacred are another excellent band from Sweden. 

Driven from the opening track by dual harmony guitars, soaring vocals and muscular rhythms, utilising the bass as a lead instrument as much as the guitars. Those rhythms do their best impression of Magnum on the epic On The Verge Of Becoming A Shadow, with a walking bassline creating an anthemic sound. While Caught In A Snowstorm is bit like Swedish band Armory in its Neo-Classical pomposity. Sacred draw from the top tier of classic/power metal and as such have produced something similar to their influences

Performed with skill, produced well and featuring the exact sort of melodic metal you'd want from a Swedish power metal act, Fire To Ice is a debut album that may be difficult to beat this year. 9/10

Blacksun - Karma Somnium (Self Released)

Owing influence to bands such as Queensryche or Kamelot, Blacksun are veterans of the Greek scene being formed in 1993. Now of course there have been trials and tribulations, the band really started getting going with recordings in 2008 shifting members but still led by guitarist Minas Papadopoulos they have been pretty established since 2015 so we have come to their new album Karma Somnium their second full length album. So an established band, with a long tenure finally having the musicians to deliver his vision.

So what is that vision? Well on Forever Lost there's the shifting rhythms and dramatic vocals that are very reminiscent of Queensryche, the whole album leaning on cinematic orchestrations and speedy synth rundowns Light Remains. Even when they get heavier with tracks such as Till The End, the vocals from Manos Xanthakis (Ocean's Edge) on the lower end but putting in drama and pathos on You Are Me, a piano based ballad that is directly from the Kamelot songbook featuring some haunting female vocals.

Melodic but heavy, progressive but powerful Karma Somnium is a complex record but one that's extremely entertaining for fans of melodic power metal. 8/10

Raging Fate - Mutiny (Stormspell Records)

Swashbuckling heavy metal from Sweden as Mutiny, the third album from Raging Fate is a a record built to carry out sea battles with. Obviously with such lyrical content and speed metal/power metal fury they can be compared to Running Wild, Blazon Stone and ever Grave Digger. So Raging Fate are band from Sweden but sound German.

Teutonic riffs are driven by band founder Mattias "Matte" Lövdal takes vocals/bass/guitar he's the anchor point of the more mid-paced rockers such as Horror Movie Mania or the full bore In Darkness And Sorrow which has a galloping fade out. Mutiny is all about speed, most of the record runs at full bore, though Raging Fate also work well when they slow with Powder And Flame.

Raging Fate are Under Jolly Roger with Mutiny, heavy metal inspired by the privateer era, influenced by multiple German bands. 8/10

The Cimmerian - An Age Undreamed Of (Hyborian Rage Records/BVR)

Praise be to Crom as we have more sludge/doom/thrash inspired by the works of Robert E Howard. This trio from L.A plays fuzzy, distorted doom that is inspired by High On Fire and lets face it Conan.

Ferocious chugging riffs, raw vocals and aggression two thirds of the band are part of a crossover thrash group and there's quite a bit of thrash influence in this record reminiscent of Venom at times but mostly David Gein has Matt Pike's shirtless guitar playing down to a tee.

David Morales is the pace setter no matter whether it's fast or slow he brings power from behind the kit, the thick sludgy bass from Nicholas Rocha just as dirty as his vocals. If you like High On Fire or Conan you'll dig The Cimmerian. They don't do anything you won't have heard before but they do it well. 7/10

Reviews: Dragonknight, FAITHXTRACTOR, Necromaniac, Moon Wizard (Simon Black, Matt Bladen, Mark Young & Rich Piva)

Dragonknight – Legions (Scarlet Records) [Simon Black]

Just when you thought that Euro Power Metal couldn’t get any more cheesy, please welcome Finland’s Dragonknight! This five-piece collaborative project is made up of musicians attempting to avoid their home country’s fiendishly complex taxation laws by preserving their anonymity behind robes and masks, with the exception of vocalist Mikael Salo who can be seen unmasked on the video for single The Legions Of Immortal Dragonlords. Yes, they really have song titles like that. And ones like Pirates Bloody Pirates! too…

It's all great fun, and deliberately tongue in the many cheeks of Power Metal stalwarts like Blind Guardian, in exactly the same way as Gloryhammer do, so plenty of conceptual sword and sorcery at play, but in an affectionate doffing of the cap way, rather than the more blatant piss-taking style of Christopher Bowes’ side project. Salo is not someone I’ve come across before, but he’s got a broad and varied range on him, and particularly shines on the slower and gentler pieces of music, although he’d more than capable of belting out multi-octave scales on the fast, traditional Power Metal belters, of which this record is liberally sprinkled. 

The other aspect that makes them noteworthy, is that there is some pretty nifty playing going on here too. The guitar and keyboard interplay has strong neo-classical twists (to the point where I am convinced that the keyboard player is Stratovarius’s Jens Johansson) and would not be surprised to find that Matias Kupiainen is in the mix too. All in all, it’s a good mix of songs, with a lot of maturity in the writing and arrangements, and although the cheesiness is baked in, it’s not overtly silly and the focus remains on delivering some good tunes and performances, rather than being slave to a forced concept. 

I was not expecting that. 8/10

FAITHXTRACTOR - Loathing & The Noose (Redefining Darkness Records) [Matt Bladen]

This blows you away from moment one. 2 years since their last album FAITHXTRACTOR return with new record Loathing & The Noose but this two year gap hasn't dampened the technical brutality at all. From finger blistering supersonic lead guitars, dive bomb solos, to blastbeats upon blastbeats and guttural vocals that come from the lower cockle region (any Dennis Leary fans in?) every moment of this 8 track record is extreme metal excellence.

FAITHXTRACTOR is the creative output for extreme metal veteran Ash Thomas, having been involved with tonnes of projects he's the US equivalent of Rogga Johansson, albeit not quite as prolific as Rog. There is however quality in the quantity, Thomas whipping up a storm with tracks such as Fever Dream Litanies or bludgeoning with Flooded Tombs.

It takes several turns towards stifling doom on a track such as Caveats which asphyxiates you then switches back to technical death metal with Ethos Moribund. Loathing & The Noose is another savage shot of dense death metal, tinged with doom from FAITHXTRACTOR. Ash Thomas delivers more gravedigging death from the underground. 8/10

Necromaniac - Sciomancy, Malediction & Rites Abominable (Invictus Productions) [Mark Young]

As we bid farewell and adieu to 2024, its out with the old and in with the black metal and the debut from Necromaniac. This is about as old-school as you can get in terms of how it is put together and for its overall sound. It’s a collection of tracks that steadfastly anchor themselves to the early primitive days of black metal. And I mean that in a good way. 

This isn’t new, modern or post black metal, this is material hewn from the blackest seam they could find, and it positively drips with an evil intent. Lest you think I am getting carried away, it is simply a collection of songs that could have been released in the early 90’s such is the way they have been put together. 

Caput Draconis kicks off with a bombastic instrumental opening that gives way to the frenetically paced Daemonomantia that speeds in like the proverbial demon. Its aim is to go for the throat, with a spot-on low growl courtesy of C. Howler, who is credited as Throat Possessions and its that kind of nasty, low guttural spew that we love. There is a love of Slayer in here too, check in around 2.30 for some nifty parts. 

It might sound ‘dead’ but with a good set of earphones you pick up the keys and subtle changes amongst the battering from Messrs Sadistik Fornicator, The One and V.Pestilencia. It’s a strong opening for them, and one that they follow up with by slowing the riffs down on Grave Mound Oath. At least for a spell as they boot it into overdrive after 2 minutes and they drop some glorious old school black metal on you. It’s played with energy and focus, the drums from V.Pestilencia powering it along as well keeping the rest firmly anchored and its surprising how fast it’s 7 minute runtime passes. 

Next up is Calling Forth The Shade, a ponderous beast that has echoes of Nile in there. Its almost like a spoken word tale with a taut bass that feels like a counterpoint to the main rhythm. I’ll be honest in that I wasn’t sold on it and its probably due to the two songs that came before. It didn’t sit well with them, at least for me. Great Is The Thirst Of The Restless Dead comes in with another stormer of a bass line for its intro and then BANG we are off once more. This is standard heads down trem picking at its finest, serving up a whirling swarm of angry noise and is complimented by the frontal assault of Teraphim (Skull Sorcery) with some riff patterns that some could call prehistoric compared to modern metal. 

I’ll tell you what, I’ll take theirs 7 days a week and twice on Sunday. The guitars are played like this music demands, rapid with a full steam ahead approach. It sounds familiar without being a rip-off of anybody else. They know exactly what they want to do, and they do it well. However, I wish that they’d dropped Conjuration Of St. Cyprian, which in some ways is a condensed version of Calling Forth. After the energy of Teraphim, it comes in and squashes the momentum they built. Swedenborg’s Skull (what a title!) attempts to put that right with some considerable aplomb and nasty guitar. It’s a showcase for their talents, one that manages to combine atmosphere, brutality, and sheer aggression under one hat.

They close out with Necromancess / Cauda Draconis, a near 11-minute opus that goes down the controlled route, building it up and then setting it alight with an extended melody break until they throw the brakes on and usher in some doom, complete with toiling bell. It’s a brave move from them, rather than go all out they change it up again and in doing so show that they have some serious tools at their disposal.

This is a very effective debut from the multi-national (Greek, Spanish, Swedish and Polish) outfit who have been active since 2011. It has some great songs on here, with Teraphim and Swedenborg’s Skull vying for my faves, it also suffers from a couple of missteps which knocks their score down. On balance, it’s a well-deserved 7 and If they can keep this momentum going then we should be seeing a lot more of them. 7/10

Moon Wizard - Sirens (Hammerheart Records) [Rich Piva]

I have not been there, but Salt Lake City, Utah doesn’t seem like it would be a hotbed for heavy rock. However, with bands like Iota and the group to be discussed in this review, Moon Wizard, repping, that assumption is wrong, if only using the re-release of the Moon Wizards record from last year, Sirens, as an example. Sirens was self-released early in 2024, and now Hammerheart Records has swooped in to give it a proper wide release in 2025, vinyl and all, and good on them for picking up this killer record.

Right off the bat you get fuzzy riffs, excellent vocals courtesy of Sami Wolf, and a super tight band that has grown leaps and bounds since the first couple of records. I love the guitar tone, with the opening track, Meteor, serving as a perfect example. If you dig bands like Wytch, Aluna, and Guapa you will for sure dig this one. 

As mentioned earlier, the band seems to have gotten tighter on Sirens, and even more comfortable playing this style, as they come from a black/death metal background. The certainly prove the can slow it down and doom in up on tracks like Mothership and Epoch, where the drumming really stands out as well. Other standout tracks for me include the proto-esque Desert Procession, the killer riff machine used on the song Sunday, and the doomifed closer, Phantom.

If you like your proto doom fuzzy, with killer female vocals, and by a band who knows how to play together, pick up the re-release of Sirens, and don’t let anyone tell you that Utah can’t bring the heavy. 8/10

Reviews Wyatt E, Beriedir, The Halo Effect, Children Of The Sün (Joe Guatieri, Liam Williams, Mark Young & Daniel Sierras)

Wyatt E - Zamaru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Joe Guatieri]

Wyatt E are a band which presents a unique blend of Doom and Drone Metal, hailing from Belgium. They return with holy scriptures that present their third full-length album called Zamaru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1, released on the legendary Metal label, Heavy Psych Sounds.

I had first heard of them when I saw them at ArcTanGent Festival last year after a recommendation from a friend and they both surprised and impressed me with their inventiveness and the power that they possessed. It’s safe to say that from that performance, I was excited to see what Wyatt E could come up with in the future and that leads me to now with this new record of theirs.

The album opens with Qaqqari La Târi Part 1, a slow and unwinding instrumental which is constantly adding in new layers in overtime. One of the things that makes Wyatt E stand out from the crowd is their use of multiple percussionists which make their presence felt here, being sparse yet intense, making moments matter. Qaqqari La Târi Part 1 makes me picture an overgrown flower which is touching the skyline.

Going into track three with Im Leyla, for the very first time Wyatt E has brought a vocalist into the mix with Tomer Damsky. The bass echoes history within its rhythmic stylings, everything in the song builds from this element. The guitars strike like a ship colliding with an iceberg whilst Tomer sounds like they are screaming out for their dear life.

Next we have track four, The Diviner's Prayer To The Gods Of The Night, which introduces a singer with Nina Saeidi (of Lowen). This song presents the softest thing to grace us so far with a fluffy cloud for us to lay our head on, compared to the jagged rocks which we’ve narrowly avoided before. We are taken by the hand on an acoustic and hypnotic journey where every nook and cranny of space is made use of, being filled by gentle strumming here and a tabla beat there. The right channel genuinely feels heavenly in its approach, you might as well be sat in front of someone playing a gigantic church organ. The Diviner’s Prayer To The Gods Of The Night is beautiful and is definitely my favourite song on the album.

Overall with Zamaru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1, Wyatt E has crafted the first part of a film and that’s what every song here has echoed so far. The ideas that are being presented here have made this a very visual album for me. Although not everything has hit me, this record is great and makes me incredibly excited for Part 2. 8/10

Beriedir – Liminal Spaces (Rockshots Records) [Liam Williams]

Liminal Spaces is the spectacular third album from Italian proggers Beriedir. This album has 10 great tracks of groovy, heavy prog goodness. Solid song writing, great playing from the instrumentalists, some really good vocals and all mixed to near perfection. If you couldn’t already tell, I really liked this album!

We kick things off with track 1, Halo. This track is a solid album opener, straight into the action. The guitars sound great and there are some symphonic metal elements with the addition of some synth. Really groovy first verse quickly followed by a guitar solo before the chorus. There’s a quieter bridge section followed by a really cool section where the rest of the band comes back in for the final chorus. 

Then we have Neon. It starts off pretty strong then calms down a bit with some clean guitar and vocals for the first verse. The first chorus is a little bit weak vocals wise but the second and last choruses make up for it, being more upbeat and heavy. There’s another calm bit for the bridge section before building back up for the final chorus. 

In The Corner Of My Eyes has a cool synth intro and quickly gets very fast and heavy. There’s a calmer yet more haunting sounding pre-chorus but things get heavy again for the chorus. The second part/bridge section is pretty cool and after the second chorus there’s an excellent instrumental break. The guitar accompanies the vocal melody for the outro of the track.

As Tight As Phantoms Hold is a very cool track. Really good intro before slowing things down for the first verse. The second verse changes things up a little bit with an almost lo-fi sounding drum beat grooving along which works really well. This track has an epic breakdown section before the final chorus, which is then followed up with another breakdown for the outro. 

Track 5 is the aptly titled F.I.V.E. and this track is perhaps my favourite. It’s got a very Muse vibe to it but heavier, but in terms of the song structure, chord progression and vocal melodies, it sounds a lot like Muse. There’s a couple of cool synth solos and the parts where the guitars and synth play together sound spectacular. 

Up next is an epic ballad sounding track, More Than Starlight. This track kind of sounds like a theme song for a JRPG. It starts with a nice lead guitar led intro before the first verse comes in with just piano and vocals. There’s a cool heavier part before a clean guitar solo that leads into the second chorus. After the final chorus, there’s a really great outro with the lead guitar and vocals harmonising. As the track comes to an end, there’s a build-up to the next.

Burnout kicks off immediately where the last track ended. Another great track with more harmonising between the guitars and vocals. The second verse is a bit heavier before a really cool groovy instrumental break with some nice funky bass playing comes in followed by a nice chuggy section. There’s an ominous sounding synth section which is joined by some drums before the rest of the band come in for the final part of the song which ends with a guitar solo for the outro. 

Anemoia begins with a variety of anxiety inducing long notes before the piano comes in, joined by appregiated synth and eventually, the rest of the band. It has a pretty groovy first verse, but the second verse is a little bit heavier with the addition of more guitar. There’s a really cool guitar/synth solo, some great drumming and then the track ends with the piano coming back in with some strings.

Track 9 is Massive, and it quite literally lives up to that name. Great intro and first verse. Then some nice groovy chugging for the second verse. There’s another cool heavy breakdown/bridge section and then the song ends with some strings playing the vocal melody from the choruses for the outro. 

Then we come to the final track, In The Liminal Space. There’s some nice bass in the first verse, some great lead guitar in the choruses. A little guitar break going into the first bridge before the second chorus comes in. This is followed up by another epic heavy instrumental break at about the halfway mark. He final chorus starts with just vocals and acoustic guitar before the rest of the band come back in and then the track ends with an acoustic guitar solo for the outro.

Fantastic album from start to finish. My only little nit-pick is with the vocals being a little bit weak in a couple of parts, but overall, there’s nothing else I can think of which brings the quality of this album down in any way. Really well written and performed and a strong mix. The guitars are very good, the bass has a few groovy moments to shine, the drumming is solid, all the other additions like synths/strings/piano is done well and the vocals are really good for most of the runtime, both clean and screams. They absolutely smashed it! 10/10

The Halo Effect - March Of The Unheard (Nuclear Blast) [Mark Young]

The Halo Effect are here with their take on melodic death metal and it’s remarkable that given it’s members have served their time at the very forefront of the Gothenburg sound and you would think that they would know how to create music that would reflect the core aspects whilst bringing something new to the table. The band DNA is one that takes from In Flames and Dark Tranquillity, two of the most well known to come out of that scene and with the benefit of going in blind I was looking forward to hearing what they had to say. 

OK, so before I get into it, both In Flames (Foregone) and Dark Tranquillity (Endtime Signals) released new material over the last two years which didn’t set my world on fire. March Of The Unheard falls into that camp and so if you loved those two albums, then you should be happy with this. If on the other hand you didn’t warmly receive both albums then I don’t think you will find much here. It feels ‘light’ in execution and is no way as heavy as it should be. The melodic touches are all there, the hooks and a vocal delivery that is as good as you would expect from Mikael Stanne and it moves at a decent pace. 

Everything is there but there is an unpalatable sheen to it. There is no grit and opener Conspire To Deceive comes and goes delivering a perfectly functional piece of melodeath that you will consume and move on from. Detonate is next and is fine. I never want to describe any metal as just ‘fine’, but it sums this up for me. There is a fast section, a slow section but it’s nothing we haven’t heard before. Don’t get wrong its played well with a high level of skill but that feeling of playing safe is looming larger and larger and after two songs I’m almost convinced that this will not change. 

Our Channel To The Darkness continues in that vein, another variation on a theme: fast verse, slower chorus and like Detonate it does its job but it’s almost like they are hemmed in being who they are and its sent them down a path that they have trodden so many times they cannot find a new way to go. The rest unfold in much the same way and I would have dearly loved to say otherwise. Again, you cannot fault their playing or Mikael’s vocals but none of the material grabbed me in that way that game changing music does. 

The title track is not the killer you want it to be and there isn’t a single ‘oh yes’ moment on here. As I’ve said each song does what it needs to do without exciting and I think that is criminal. I know that I’ve been critical of recent melodeath releases and its purely down to the high regard I have for it. I think sometimes that bands forget about the death part in melodeath, it needs that grit and needs to be aggressive sounding and positively has to kick your face in. 6/10

Children Of The Sün - Leaving Ground, Greet The End (Lovely Eyes Records) [Dan Sierras]

Children Of The Sün release its third album, Leaving Ground, Greet The End, via their own label Lovely Eyes Records, with a folksy, rocker that ebbs and flows from beginning to end. Josefina Berglund Ekholm’s vocals are the highlight throughout.

The first track, Sugar (Shape Of A Gun) is a groovy little tune. It’s very catchy with some nice drum fills in between. Ekholm’s vocals soar on the next track Lilium, a haunting ballad where she shows her strength with her vocal range. Starlighter comes in as another mellow addition, really cementing this release as a call back to their ‘60s, hippie influence. Come With Us picks up the pace a bit, with Jacob Hellenrud showing off his guitar chops with a nice solo.

Glaskogen is a little interlude that leads into the slow paced Lovely Eyes that builds up towards the end, with Ekholm’s vocals really shining and Hellenrud finishing up with some nice guitar work. Children Of The Sün take a stab at covering the mighty Led Zeppelin with their rendition of Whole Lotta Love. A much slower, bluesy take on the classic. My opinion on covering huge bands like Led Zeppelin, is you really need to knock it out of the park, and I don’t feel they quite hit the mark.

Gateway ends the album quite the opposite of how it started with a hypnotic, mellow track that ends this trip down ‘60 nostalgia. If you’re into bluesy, folk-rock, that beckons the Woodstock- Era of music, then this album is for you. As for me, it’s not really my cup of tea, but I give lots of respect to the vocals throughout. 6/10

Reviews: Tremonti, PATRIARKH, Ex Deo, Hanry (Matt Bladen)

Tremonti - The End Will Show Us How (Napalm Records)

Mark Tremonti seems to be constantly working, between the reactivated Creed and Alter Bridge he has a solo project and also manages to release some swing/Sinatra tributes too!

The End Will Show Us How is his sixth solo record and alongside his band of Eric Friedman (guitars), Tanner Keegan (bass), Ryan Bennett (drums) and long time producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette. What I'm always surprised about on Tremonti's solo albums is how good of singer he is.

Everyone knows about his guitar prowess (though once I'd love him to write against type and do a proper shredfest metal record), there are moments like that throughout his solo albums, here it's One More Time, I'll Take My Chances and Live In Fear all three having heavy thrashy riffs though none of the songs here are without big radio friendly choruses.

On this sixth album Tremonti isn't trying to reinvent the wheel but he does approach this album with 12 songs that have variation be it the proggy starter The Mother, The Earth And I, the massive sounding Nails, the djenty influences on The End Will Show Us How or the multiple uplifting anthemic tracks and ballads such as It's Not Over.

Putting together the music he known for with the music he's inspired by The End Will Show Us How is another class act from Tremonti. 8/10

PATRIARKH - Пророк Илия/Prorok Ilijah (Napalm Records)

After releasing Hospodi and a few EP's it was perhaps time for a change of identity. Batushka, fronted by Bartłomiej "Варфоломей" Krysiuk, was embroiled in a long term legal case with Krzysztof Drabikowski the guitarist of the original Batushka who formed his own version of the band after the initial split.

I won't go into the detail here (Google it) but Krysiuk's band have sought to distance themselves from this legal trouble by just changing the name of his band to PATRIARKH (Patriarch), the music on Пророк Илия/Prorok Ilijah (Prophet Elijah) remains very similar to what they played on Hospodi, Polish black metal blasts that burst forth from a soundscape inspired by the Eastern Orthodox church.

Using liturgical chants, heard throughout the Byzantine and Orthodox churches to this day in the Balkan countries, it's this style that prevails above all of the other sounds here. The atmosphere of the church lingers set against black metal, doom metal and Balkan folk traditions. This album is conceptual, the spoken word passes linking the songs as each chapter is unveiled, telling of Eliasz Klimowicz who became a self proclaimed prophet and lead the Grzybowska Sect until WWII though it lasted until the 1960's.

It's a story from one of many 'reborn Christ's' in Russian Orthodoxy, this sense of cinema coming from the addition of an orchestra and the use of pastoral imagery, theatrical play fragments, poems and liturgical sermons. The sequencing too plays a huge part in how the album is presented, each track segues into another, performed in various languages against Orthodox church traditionalism and Polish black metal.

PATRIARKH is Krysiuk's vision reborn and re-adjusted away from the past issues. 8/10

Ex Deo - Year Of The Four Emperors (Reigning Phoenix Music)

Maurizio Iacono of Kataklysm returns with a new EP from his Ancient Rome themed project Ex Deo, the first for Reigning Phonenix Music it covers the Year Of The Four Emperors, AD 69, bloody uprisings and coups as the most powerful military leaders fought for position after the Julio Claudian dynasty ends in flames with Nero.

Each of the four tracks covers one of the four Emperor's who schemed, betrayed and fought their way to the ultimate position in the Roman world, leading to the rise of the Flavian dynasty which would culminate in 96 AD with the assassination of Domitian. Maybe this will be the next Ex Deo album? Though personally I think a jaunt to the later Empire would be great.

I've always got to watch myself with Ex Deo records as my degree is in classics so I could go on and on about the Year Of The Four Emperors forever so let's stick to the music. Beginning with Galba, the symphonic elements are abound on this vainglorious triumph of extreme violence and eventually bloody downfall as Otho brings a speedy style of melodeath with lots of guitar shredding.

The two sides of Maurizio Iacono's career can be heard in these two tracks alone, the expansive orchestral swells and nasty death riffs. From here get to the thunderous industrial dirge of Vitellius the final pretender before the new dynasty comes with the ascension of Vespasian on another epic track that closes this EP.

For me new Ex Deo is always a cause for celebration and this four track EP is perfect if you want to get into the band and their Roman history influenced extreme metal. 8/10

Hanry - Disruption EP (Pelagic Records)

Signed to Pelagic Records and claimed to be for fans of Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky, Rennes, France based six piece Hanry astound with their latest EP Disruption. 

Having already released one EP in 2022, they look to follow up with Disruption which marks their debut on Pelagic Records a label who promote the most esoteric and inventive music around. Hanry fit into that category with atmospherics shimmering post rock brought with layered acoustics, elongated runtimes a bit of post-hardcore bristle.

Instrumental but speaking louder than words, the four tracks on this EP create inviting musical travels that swell with virtuoso performances and cross genre pollination. Feeling a lot like Bruit, I wasn’t surprised to learn that Clément Libes of Bruit mixed the record as it flows organically from one song to the next in peaks and troughs of ambient electronica, trip hop wooziness, industrial thunder and cinematic scope similar to the numerous pioneering French synthwave acts or the soundtracks of Eric Serra. 

It’s difficult to pick out individual parts as Disruption is filled with music you have to let wash over you and just experience. 8/10

Review: Magnum (Simon Black)

Magnum - Live At KK's Steel Mill (Steamhammer / SPV)

Magnum holds a very special place in my blackened heart, because they were one of the first Hard Rock acts I listened to when I was a kid, and really were my gateway into this whole hard and heavy genre. I simply would not be sitting here writing this thirty-five plus years later had not a friend’s copy of On A Storyteller’s Night not blown my recently dropped balls off back in the 1980’s. I’ve followed them ever since, have physical copies of every release, have been there for the live shows most years, chatted with them occasionally and genuinely consider myself lucky to have had that opportunity. So, this release was always going to be a tough one to review…

Recorded on 10th December 2022, this was what sadly became Magnum’s final live gig. I had seen their penultimate show a mere three days earlier in Cardiff, had the chance to interview Bob Catley and say hello to Tony Clarkin in the corridor, but like everyone else I expected the magic to simply just carry on and come round again the following year for the next album and tour, because like a good wine they just kept getting better with age.

That album did indeed rock up the following January (the superlative Here Comes The Rain), but Tony sadly passed away a few days before it was released and moved on to the great gig in the sky. Now, I am well aware that Magnum are playing some tribute shows in a few weeks’ time around the UK, and I’m not sure how I feel about that, because without Tony ripping the ceiling off with his utterly unique and distinctive playing style, it isn’t Magnum - for me at least, which is why I felt that I didn’t want to be going when they were announced.

People like me who always shell out for the enhanced editions of the studio albums will have this material already, as there’s a full DVD of this show included on that version, but since the numbers of those pressed were always limited and rightly the surviving members of Magnum felt that everyone should have the opportunity to hear this show. It’s a fantastic set list, and with sixteen songs in there is value for money. With twenty-three studio albums to draw from they always resisted the temptation that most bands of their longevity make of just going through the motions with a couple of new songs getting aired each tour and playing it safe with their greatest hits for the remainder. 

Although Magnum included a couple of tracks from the then current album The Monster Roars (another absolute belter by the way) the remainder of the set balances their extensive discography very well. Yes, we all love it when our long-term favourites get an airing, but it was always refreshing when Clarkin dug out less well-known songs which may not have been played live when the studio album that spawned them was current. This is one of the reasons I always made the effort to try and catch the show every year, because they always kept us on our toes.

The sound quality has been much enhanced from the DVD version as well, which was a bit rough and ready, and the band are on excellent form, but then they always were. At this point Tony and Bob were celebrating fifty years of working together, and despite the fact that the line up had some newer (if not necessarily younger) blood in it, with Lee Morris, Dennis Ward and the quite fantastic Rick Benton were breathing huge amounts of new life into Magnum. It showed in the studio releases, and it definitely drips from the live performance which oozes the mutual love and respect flowing between the band and the audience. Magnum shows were always special, but with an almost hometown Wolverhampton show always closing the tour there is always an extra bit of frisson in the air, and this recording captures it perfectly.

It has also reminded me of what I have been missing, which is that wonderful feeling of standing in the audience hearing Clarkin’s fantastic songs played live. So, I find myself revisiting and regretting my decision to not go to one of the upcoming tribute shows, now long since sold out. In the meantime, this gets a resounding full marks from me. Thanks for all the fantastic memories, Tony. 10/10

Reviews: Dominum, Final Siege, Lord Agheros, Mors Atra (Matt Bladen & Liam Williams)

Dominum - The Dead Don't Die (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]

Zombie metal, like pirate metal, dwarf metal etc etc is metal with a gimmick, usually a good gimmick but one that always has the potential to get really old, really fast. Dominum are the first purveyors of 'Zombie Metal' their debut album only being released 10 months ago. They've played many high profile shows since then but the creative brain of bandleader Dr. Dead doesn't cease and they now have their second record ready to go.

So does The Dead Don't Die do anything different to their debut Hey Living People? Well they've leaned more into the horror influence, making for a darker, more sinister style of metal that shifts from power into more classic 'heavy' metal realms. That being said they still use synths/orchestrations, the real heaviness arriving with the pulsing One Of Us while the title track is a twisted lullaby that has a guest appearance from Dominum's tour mates Feuerschwanz's Ben Metzner. Though Killed By Life is much more like Feuerschwanz's style of folk metal.

There's more of epic feel on this record, more maturity but still some tongue in cheek lyrics, including a cover of Scorpions Rock You Like A Hurricane. Dominum seem like they have discovered what works for them as a band, if you want to hear their progression then check out the bonus live disc from Graspop 2024. The Dead Don't Die, they just get stronger on album number two. 8/10

Final Siege – Nuclear Doom State (Wormholedeath) [Liam Williams]

Happy new year to one and all, I hope you all had a very metal Christmas! My first review of the year is for the second album Nuclear Doom State from New York based death/thrash metal band Final Siege. This is a very beefy serving of some great thrash songs with a strong mix of death metal elements to spice things up a bit.

We start off with a short intro track The Day After... This song starts with some eerie clean guitar with a lead guitar joining in over the sound of total warfare. Air Raid sirens, guns being fired, bombs going off, total chaos. A fitting start for what’s to come. Next up is W.A.R. and this track really kicks things off. Nice thrashy intro which leads into the main riff. There’s a short guitar solo before the main riff comes back in. The bridge section has a nice chuggy guitar part with a chorus effect leading into the next guitar solo which begins with some cool divebombs. After the solo the guitars pick up speed and the rest of the band join back in for the outro of the song.

Then we get to the title track, Nuclear Doom State. Another air raid siren and a little bit of duel guitars lead into more chaotic thrash fun. This track features not 1, not 2, not even 3... But 4 guitar solos which progressively get longer and more flashy, with the last being my favourite. It also leads into the outro which slowly fades out. I do think the vocals are slightly weaker in this track but the rest of the band more than make up for it. 

We then come to my favourite track on the album, Psychological Maceration. Really cool intro, nice lead guitar leading into the first verse. From then on the guitars chug along nicely with the drumming until we get to the chorus which is where things get really fast and epic sounding. This repeats for a second time before we come to a more almost progressive sounding bridge section which sounds pretty good. Things then speed up again for the outro and then we reach the end of the song.

Track 5 is An Insatiable Lust For Violence. This one has a dirty dissonant sounding sludgy intro, more great drumming and a nice build-up to the first verse. This is another song where I felt like the vocals were a bit weaker to other tracks on the album but it’s still a good song. There’s a couple of guitar solos, with the second being a lot better than the first. There’s a nice blastbeats section after the second solo and then the song erupts into total chaos for the outro, very epic! 

Primordial Combat is up next and this is another absolute banger of a track. It begins with a drum intro and some guitars slowly creeping in. There’s a nice lead guitar part with tremolo picking, more epic blastbeats while the guitars chug along and some great vocals which fit pretty well with this track. We then come to the final track on the album, Taxed To Death. This track is a great one to end the album on. It keeps changing up throughout the song which keeps things interesting. There’s a nice dirty guitar solo for the outro, bringing the album to a close.

This is a great album. It’s a little rough in some parts with the mixing, I think some of the guitar solos could have been improved on and as I mentioned, there’s a couple of tracks where the vocals don’t quite hit the mark for me, but apart from all that, it’s a solid listen! Some parts are very old school thrash while other parts are proper over the top, crazy death metal with other elements sprinkled in throughout, like little bits of sludge, prog and groove metal. This was a fun album to start the new year off with a bang! 9/10

Lord Agheros - Anhedonia (My Kingdom Music) [Matt Bladen]

Gerassimos Evangelou is Lord Agheros, Lord Agheros is Gerassimos Evangelou, they are one and the same, a single person project which features all compositions/performance's done by the Gerassimos. Because he is a solo artist it means that an album such as Anhedonia will never really be stuck in one genre for too long, fearlessly combining multiple styles for a huge cinematic effect. Be it acoustics, operatic sopranos vocals, a string section and a wind section, these tracks are all epic, noted by long run times and dense compositions. 

Lord Agheros comes from the more atmospheric and avant-garde style of black metal favoured by Ihsahn on his solo project, alongside the gothic proclivities of Wolves In The Throne Room and Moonspell. This new album broadens the style more so than before with fearsome blasts of black metal counterpointed and coddled by symphonic backing, ambient sections, classical/operatic moments and world music influences (Can I hear a digeridoo?) 

There's plenty to get your head around each track unfolds like it's own storyline, taking you through the mind of it's creator. It's a record that needs repeated plays to fully understand and while many may not quite understand what's happening at first, when you listen to it a couple of times you understand that Lord Agheros' takes the pioneering spirit of black metal and brings it to some sprawling musical brilliance.

Not your average extreme metal album but one that is highly impressive. 8/10

Mors Atra - Eternal Rest (Self Released) [Liam Williams]

Back for more! And this time we have a serving from Deathcore group Mors Atra with their new album Eternal Rest. This review is going to be a bit short because as much as I do like most of this album, I really struggle thinking of things to say when reviewing heavier stuff like this and I don’t want to start getting too repetitive with my reviews.

This album is quite a long one, with 13 tracks in total and lasting just under 50 minutes. There are 3 interlude tracks including the intro. The first 2 are quite symphonic and have a haunting vibe, but the third is surprisingly quite upbeat and a little bit funky sounding which was a bit odd but I did enjoy it more than the previous 2, purely because I was expecting it to be exactly like the others. 

I can appreciate it when bands and artists throw a curveball like this in out of nowhere, especially when it’s done well like this example. I just wish they could have experimented like this a bit more. The first proper song is the albums title track and to be honest, I really didn’t like this song. It starts off with just an absolutely unbearable and incomprehensible amount of noise and I had no idea what was going on from the start of the track until the end.

However, the rest of the album is actually really good. Very fast and aggressive throughout most of the run time with hardly any moments of slowing down or getting boring. There was some parts that got really chaotic and a little bit messy sounding but nowhere near as bad as the title track. There’s quite a few standout moments which I really found myself enjoying, like for example; a nice panned guitars section before the bridge of Purgatorium. 

The doom metal sounding intro of No Rest For The Wicked and the panned whispers leading into the first verse of the final track The End. The further I got into the album the more I was enjoying it. It’s very heavy, great drumming, great guitar playing, some symphonic death metal parts and really good screaming vocals for the most part. Although there were a couple of instances of long low EEEEEEEEEEEs which gave me Chris Barnes related PTSD flashbacks, so just adding that in here as a warning.

Overall, like I said, it’s pretty good generally, some parts do sound a bit too messy (especially the title track) but if you like your heavier chaotic stuff then I’m sure you’ll like this. Great playing from the band, and mostly great vocals from the vocalist! 8/10