Reviews: Nickelback, Asomvel, Soho Dukes, Shogun Mojo (Matt Bladen)

Nickelback - Everything Under The Sun (Virgin Media Group)

For a band everyone supposedly hates, Nickelback have released ten studio albums, play sell out arena tours, have received multiple GRAMMY® Award nominations, alongside major international awards, tens of millions of plays and induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Hell they've even got a Netflix documentary about them which brought a renewed interest from those that may only know them from How U Remind Me or Rockstar, it does seem to me at least, someone who has always been a fan of the band, that Nickelback have started to be liked deliberately rather than ironically.

Which I'm all for as they write bangers, yeah their radio ballads are often saccharine and schmaltzy, but they feature on most wedding play list and the juxtaposition between those and the rockier side of the band is still a little odd at times, but that's part of their charm.

They've got songs your mum would listen to, songs your sister can dance to and songs you can bang your head to and they open this eleventh album with two of them, Rattle The Cage features John 5 on guitar and shows that Nickelback can get heavy, these towering riffs carrying into Bones For The Crows.

Then it's the first bit of introspection with the nostalgic I Already Know, a radio cuts for sure made for singing along to, while Leave Me Behind, If I Don't Go and Make Me Love You both are full of storytelling and the blue collar balladry that Nickelback have always done so well and taken up the charts, however all groups together it does give the record a lull in the middle.

The riffs return for Chasin' Famous but they quickly disappear again shortly after, it means that Everything Under The Sun is enjoyable if you're a fan of the slower, more emotional side of the band but if you're here looking for heavy rock then I'd suggest diving back into their early work as it seems like their going through the motions.

No matter my thoughts though they're going to pack every date on their upcoming tour and bucket loads of this record. 6/10

Asomvel - Set Your World On Fire (Self Released)

There's a temptation when reviewing Yorkshire four piece Asomvel to just say "sounds like Motorhead" and leave it that, but that would be lazy journalism and it would be inaccurate. Asomvel do sound like Motorhead, but they also have musical similarities to AC/DC, Status Quo and any of the 70's dinosaur rockers that played their music through huge speaker stacks, at excessive volume and clad in dirty leather jackets.

Asomvel are a rock n roll brotherhood, a family, formed by vocalist Jay-Jay Winter and his guitarist brother Lenny Robinson, after Jay-Jay's passing Lenny was joined by his sons Ralph on bass/vocals and Stel on guitar to carry on the legacy of Asomvel and bring volume to the UK rock scene. This current line up, including Ryan Thackwray on drums has been in place since 2024's Born To Rock N Roll and on the back of that record they have been hitting stages across the UK and Europe, playing alongside the likes of Airborne and at numerous festivals.

Their music is built for the road hogs they are, honed for maximum impact this is pure distilled rock n roll made to be played live, from the moment King Of The World erupts from the stereo speakers, we're on a rampage of raw rocking, the thunderous drums, rampant bass, the searing guitar riffs and the snarled vocals.

They're a band who stick to the idea of "don't bore us get to the chorus" tracks such as Lone Wolf, I'm Back From The Dead, Blood Runs Cold all rely on repetition that is made for crowds to shout back. Though Asomvel aren't just dealers of anthems they show their diversity with the bluesy title track, the dramatic, politically charged World At War and the joyous bounce of If It's Too Loud, You're Too Old.

Rock n roll played at high speed and high volume, Asomvel will be on a stage near you soon bashing out these tunes to Set The World On Fire. 7/10

Soho Dukes - Don't Spare The Horses (Duchess Records)

On the back of their album Nighthawks, Acrobats And Everything Under The Moon, Soho Dukes show off the band they really are with their live album Don't Spare The Horses.

The Dukes thrive on the live stage from the vaudeville intro into the punky rock n roll of Home Sweet Camden Town, this a band who live and breathe the London scene so with a hometown audience hanging on every word, Soho Dukes deliver a rollicking good time at Esquires in Bedford.

Consisting of a 13 song set drawn from three albums, this is Soho Dukes in their natural habitat, opening for The Quireboys, they share a lot of similarities to their compatriots, theres influences from Mott The Hoople and The Faces as boogie woogie piano meets bluesy guitars and clever lyrics on tracks such as Elaine.

Their friendship with The Quireboys is easy to see, mainly as they recently supported them on their tour too, but when Spike joins them for A Stone's Throw, it's obvious that everyone is having a ball and you do feel a little left out for missing out the first time, however Don't Spare The Horses takes right into the front row of a Soho Dukes show! 8/10

Shogun Mojo - Shogun Mojo (Frontiers Music Srl)

Another Frontiers collaboration, this time it's called Shogun Mojo and features Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer and Dan Reed of Dan Reed Network and it opens with some funk rock, Dan doing a lot of what he's good at with Funk Party, his vocals still as unique as they've always been.

Musically Shogun Mojo is a continuation of the funk rock sound Dan and his Network helped perfect, back in the late 70's and early 80's, with drummer Robert Ikiz and bassist Bengt Jonasson handling the groove and Dan up front you may feel that Thayer may be a little left out.

However with tracks such as Gonna Raise Hell, that overspill from having played I Was Made For Loving You and Strutter so many times lingers, Thayer more than handles the funk with waka waka riffs and a solo on every track even an absolutely horrendous version of In The Air Tonight (yeah that one), in a funk rock style

How much you enjoy this album, depends on how much you like Dan Reed Network, for me the cover is unforgivable but the rest of the album is just ok analog funk rock, which doesn't do much more than anything else involving Reed. 5/10

Reviews: Valley Of The Sun, Midnight, Mr Bison, Lockslip (Spike & Keith Boswell)

Valley Of The Sun – The Blacklight Sessions (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Spike]

There are bands that spend their entire careers overthinking every single transition, chasing whatever production trend is sweeping the internet this week. And then there are bands like Ohio’s Valley Of The Sun. 

Ever since 2019’s Old Gods hooked listeners with its sun-baked stoner riffs and 2022’s The Chariot raised the bar for midwestern heavy rock, frontman and guitarist Ryan Ferrier has known exactly what makes this power trio tick. 

Now landing on the ever-reliable Heavy Psych Sounds roster, their sixth studio album, The Blacklight Sessions, takes things right back to their foundational roots: warm fuzz, blues-soaked jamming, psychedelic head-trips, and massive, infectious desert-rock grooves. It is a lean, confident six-track record that does away with pretence, pure, unadulterated "all killer, no filler" heavy rock.

What works so well from the off is their decision to let the instrumentation establish the terrain before a single vocal is uttered. Opener The Whiskey Elf is a full-throttle instrumental statement of intent. 

The guitars ring out with that distinctive, tube-warmed grit, locking into a muscular rhythm with bassist Chris Sweeney and drummer Johnny Kathman. It grabs your attention immediately, proving that Valley Of The Sun don't need to lean on lyrical hooks to pull you in; their physical power and swagger do all the heavy lifting.

From there, the throttle stays pinned to the floor on Low Not Slow. Ferrier steps up to the mic, and his unmistakable, soulful roar cuts right through the fuzz with stadium-sized authority. 

Anchored by a stomping, addictive riff and even throwing in some well-placed cowbell to keep the groove swinging, it’s the kind of high-octane rocker that begs to be blasted through a car stereo with the windows wide open. It captures that effortless, head-nodding bounce that made cuts like Old Gods instant staples of their live sets.

The centrepiece of the record arrives with The Long Song, and as the blunt title suggests, it stretches out past the ten-minute mark. Rather than turning into an aimless noodling session, it’s a masterclass in dynamic patience. It begins in a moody, somewhat melancholic lull before detonating around the quarter mark into a colossal, chugging groove. 

The layered guitars swirl and erupt across the middle section, creating an intoxicating wall of noise that feels completely organic. The ten minutes breeze past, showing how comfortably this lineup can explore longer, progressive structures without ever losing their rhythmic anchor.

They follow that mammoth journey with A Greater Meaning, which pivots into shorter, feistier, and more experimental territory. Ferrier adopts a deeper, softer vocal tone in the verses, exploring subtle melodic shades that challenge traditional stoner rock boundaries before the tempo shifts gear and drives home.

Down the home stretch, Mountain brings back that brooding, bass-heavy intensity. Sweeney’s thick low-end rumbles beneath Kathman’s energetic drumming, steadily ratcheting up the tension until the whole track explodes into a monstrous wall of fuzz. 

Closing out with No Hope, the trio wraps things up with a measured, heavy dirge where sudden bursts of deafening roar collide with Ferrier’s soothing, melodic vocal hooks.

The Blacklight Sessions doesn't try to reinvent heavy psych or stoner rock; it simply reminds you why the genre is so damn fun when played with authentic heart, grit, and veteran craft. Valley Of The Sun have delivered a tight, riff-packed record that goes down smooth and hits heavy. A thoroughly enjoyable ride from start to finish. 9/10

Midnight – Satanic Attack Live (Metal Blade Records) [Keith Boswell]

The band Midnight who hails from the mid-west in the United States are about to uncover a new live album on the 6th November 2026 entitled Satanic Attack Live. 

Released on the Metal Blade Records label the album consists of fifteen tracks for a combined effort of fifty-five minutes of finest black metal one could wish for. Recorded over two sold out memorable shows at Hollywood’s Knucklehead venue during May 2026, principally concentrates their set list upon their debut album Satanic Royalty which is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary since conception in 2011.

With its opening rendition of Unholy and Rotten the band clearly states its intent by providing the listener with an unashamedly unpolished brand of high intensity, riff laden, with hooks aplenty black metal music.

Such honest and authentic style immediately catches the listeners ear with Evil Like A Knife, which is quite possibly my favourite on the album with its great speed, intense opening riff and a great hook to boot. Leading onto the ageless Satanic Royalty the real riff laden hook type riffs being really evident and starting to become a common theme.

As one progresses through this musical extravaganza more of the same is observed until we get to Black Damnation which almost provides respite from the bone crushing intensity of those tracks before it. This reduction in tempo delivers a magical opening solo which is to be commended and returns throughout giving the song great balance and appeal.

After the short interlude more of the same is observed all the way until the final track F.O.A.L which puts the icing on the cake and brings the record to a close. A great album which certainly grows on you, those hooks just do it for me every time I listen to it. Cast your ear over it, you won’t be able to put it down I promise! 8/10

Mr Bison – The Garden Of Forgotten Dreams (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Spike]

Hot on the heels of being completely blown away by hijss's self-titled record, another heavy trip out of Italy lands on the desk courtesy of Heavy Psych Sounds. 

Tuscan heavy psych and progressive rock outfit Mr. Bison have come a hell of a long way since their raw, no-bass blues-rock beginnings on 2012's We'll Be Brief. Over six studio albums, they’ve steadily stretched their limbs, transforming from fuzzy stoner rock roots into one of the most reliable and ambitious heavy psych/prog outfits in Europe. 

Following the cosmic conceptual sprawl of 2020’s Seaward and 2024’s Echoes From The Universe, The Garden Of Forgotten Dreams sees the four-piece raising the bar once again. What they’ve delivered here is a record that feels far more immediate and song-focused than their previous output, without sacrificing an ounce of their signature experimental weight.

What strikes you right away is that "cosmic" never means "floaty" in Mr. Bison's world. Too many bands in the modern psych scene end up disappearing into endless, aimless delay loops or relying on the fog machine to do the heavy lifting. Mr. Bison don't play that game. They keep plenty of dirt and grit in the gears, but they’ve thoroughly polished the windscreen so you can see exactly where the journey is heading. 

Every instrument occupies a distinct, physical space in the mix, thanks to stellar engineering from guitarist/synth player Matteo Barsacchi alongside Richard Behrens at Big Snuff Studio in Berlin, with mastering duties handled by Carl Saff and Adam Ayan. The production sounds completely alive: the low end lands with intent rather than muddy bloat, the keys add lush atmosphere without suffocating the guitars, and the songs hit with punch.

The record opens with Cosmic Tide, and right out of the traps, its warm, analogue embrace wraps around you. Shimmering synthesizer textures and organ flourishes from Davide Salvadori interlock with Barsacchi's fuzzy riffs, sailing between 70s acoustic warmth, space-rock drift, and stomping, heavy grooves. Matteo Sciocchetto’s vocals sound fantastic—carrying a bluesy, relaxed swagger that roots the galactic expanse in genuine human grit. 

It glides effortlessly into the title track, The Garden Of Forgotten Dreams, which builds on rich vocal harmonies and driving rhythmic shifts, delivering an addictive, melodic hook that burrows straight into your head on the first spin.

Where the band truly flexes their creative muscle is on the standout centrepiece, Bright Shadow. The track feels like a masterclass in dynamic tension and release. 

In the verses, drummer Lorenzo Salvadori lays down an intricate, polyrhythmic drum pattern that pays unmistakable homage to Tool's Danny Carey, complex and hypnotic without ever tipping into self-indulgent shredding. When the fuzzy, overdriven riffs drop, they collide with twinkling keys and crushing low end, proving this is a band completely secure in their own identity.

The momentum carries high across the middle stretch. On lead single Astray, the band navigates the lyrical concept of feeling lost among ruins and memories, searching for something solid to hold onto until the very act of wandering becomes the path to salvation. 

It’s got a buoyant, driving energy that leads naturally into Turn To Stone and The Sunrise, weaving bittersweet melodies through rolling, vintage 70s-inspired riffs that recall classic space rock while remaining fiercely modern.

Down the back stretch, the swampy blues-rock pull of River Moan clears the runway for the crushing closer, Old Hue. This track is a stroke of tactical genius. Rather than letting the album drift away into an ethereal fade-out, Mr. Bison seize a massive, 90s grunge groove straight out of the Alice In Chains playbook and mutate it into their cosmic palette. 

It brings your boots firmly back down into the mud, leaving you with physical grit and rumbling low-end in your hands.

The Garden Of Forgotten Dreams is the sound of a band operating at the absolute peak of their creative powers. By blending heavy grooves, progressive twists, and vintage space-psych into a cohesive, instant whole, Mr. Bison have planted their flag near the summit of modern European heavy rock. 

An outstanding, beautifully crafted record. 9/10

Lockslip – The Conversation (Bleakhouse) [Keith Boswell]

Building on their 2024 self-titled EP the Los Angeles, California, quintet Lockslip will release their first album under the Bleakhouse banner entitled The Conversation on the 6th November 2026. The album will consist of eleven tracks and run for thirty-three minutes.

Starting to build a name for themselves in the hardcore / metalcore arena Lockslip endeavour to catch your attention and maintain it throughout. Indeed, the first track Gray World begins at one hundred miles per hour at full throttle with this intensity being maintained throughout the album from start to finish.

The vocals of Sarah G are solid and reliable with the intense guttural shrieks well suited to the dark riffs of an accomplished baseline. There are no two ways about this, Lockslip are a very intense and extreme metal band whose musicianship is very evident if not a little disguised on occasion, unfortunately very often the songs tend to merge into one another and lack some clarity between instruments. 

A definite exception to this is the song Speak Without Words and also Cut Out The Odds where guitar and bass intro / riffs throughout are very evident and most welcomed to the uninitiated.

For fans who have a passion for these metal genres will, I’m sure, relish the challenge that Lockslip offer in actually unlocking their thought processes as very often the use of instruments can be very random and indeed not making much sense however I would anticipate that is the outcome that Lockslip are looking for. 6/10

A View From Dead Of Night: Celavi (Misfit Jax)

Dead Of Night Featuring Celavi, Hangar 18 Venue, Swansea, 07.11.26



Hangar 18 Nightclub/Music Venue in Swansea has a history rooted in both its modern incarnation as an alternative music club/performance venue and its long-standing legacy as a fixture of Swansea’s nightlife, It has gone by many different names in the past, tonight it is the venue at every first Saturday of the month an event called Dead Of Night, an inclusive alternative night that focuses the gothic/industrial subculture and genre which has been going for just over 20 years in which it has been an important and crucial part of south Wales alternative industry and scene.

Now before the DJ's and the dancing, a band takes the stage to open the night, the band for this occasion Celavi (10)!, The Bangor North Wales based band fronted by Sarah and Gwion Griffiths that not only bring loud, hard fast, poetic, passionate, aggressive, cathartic lyrics and music that are sung in the Welsh language, but a bright and dark visual spectacle that they deliver not just seen in their imagery and music videos like bite my tongue, Morgana, Ar Dy Liniau (On Your Knees) and Eyeliner but with a delivered live performance aswell that just give you the feeling, nostalgia and importance of live music,

We get songs like as mentioned as well as Sori, their new song 13, and Plaster, all with a let's fucking go scream and kick from Sarah and shreds and licks from Gwion. Celavi have played castles, they have played download festival, they have played around the UK, Europe, venues of all shapes and sizes

While singing in their Welsh native language and introducing it to a whole new spectrum, but to introduce it to a familiar one tonight at a Welsh venue already just adds that extra fuel to fire and the embers of screams,cheers and applause of the welsh fans old and new colliding with the aggressive enthusiasm of the band delivering such a spectacle of performance visually vocally and musically that is Celavi.

Reviews: Darkest Hour, Detresse, Vanaheim, SiM (GC, Yasmin Mason, Mike Bailey & Spike)

Darkest Hour - Suffer Divine (MNRK Heavy) [GC]

What is there to say about Darkest Hour? They have been around for 30 years and have been a part of making metalcore what it is, they really broke through in the early 00’s with their phenomenal record Hidden Hands Of A Sadist Nation and then never really stopped releasing albums that everybody loved, they have consistently just plugged away and are one of the bands that you look forward to new releases from and I have their latest Suffer Divine to get into today.

The intro All Cruelty Springs From Weakness offers nothing really as its just 30 seconds of random noise that could 100% not have been included and the album should have just started with the blistering insanity of Gods Of Decay because its everything you would expect it to be, savage, rampaging guitars and layered over the harsh, antagonistic and the drumming creates a solid and furious back bone and the main riff will stick in your head for a longtime after the song is done.

No Conquered Hearts doesn’t give any time to recover as its straight into the same sort of rhythm and speed, it has a little more subtlety in the main body of the song and lets some more mellow sections take the lead and its manages to blend both styles with consummate ease and shows a band comfortable with what they offer and are able to show all the skills form a lengthy career. 

Salvation offers a more subtle and anthemic approach, you can imagine this in a decent sized venue sounding absolutely huge and getting everyone moving, the hard edge is there but the melodic tendencies really shine through and show that there is more than one way to do metalcore and not sound dated, boring or over produced and the guitar harmonies on this track are stunning! 

The title track Suffer Divine is just a good old fashioned barn burner, foot to the floor banger of a track, scything guitars that throw out solos for laughs mix with more precise and pinpoint drumming all delivered with complete ease and the vocals add the extra layer of heavy in a flawlessly executed track. 

Warrior harks back to the days when all metalcore bands tried the Swedeath sound, not all got it right and some nailed it, well Darkest Hour are one of the ones who 100% nailed it and made a statement with it, the melodics and harmony is all there in huge amounts and also they manage to add that little bit of their own style and update the sound to bring it into the modern day beautifully.

Vile Angel in a few parts is a little slower than anything else on the album, it mixes the bluster and power of earlier tracks and also adds the subtlety they know how to use so well, when its fast it is executed brilliantly and when they drop back a, little it never effects the song and just creates more levels of enjoyment.

Tis leads into The Unforgiving Hand which is all about the melody and atmosphere, its full of beautifully soft guitars and its not until about 2:30 you notice there hasn't been anything else and then it expands the sound and the vocals and drums joint the party and it is still paired back just enough but it keeps you wanting more and more as it goes then and has one final push before its done and you cant hep appreciate the beauty of this track once it over.

Tribalist turns thing back around to more of what you may expect, its another staccato, twin guitar attack with the melodics tuned in all the way, it’s not as full on as most of the rest of the record has been but it still does a job very well. 

Everyday Horrors is exactly what I want, its full force metalcore, you can also really feel the hardcore running through this track, the guitars are cutting and merciless, the vocals are furious and unrelenting and the drum work is once again nothing short of phenomenal, the way it starts fast and hard and manages to throw up more death metal influence in the middle but never stray to far from the hardcore influence is masterfully done.

They save the longest till last and on A Story Of Redemption they get a chance to REALLY flex the death metal side of things, the guitars play off each other perfectly and might even start off a bit too over the top but you get past that very quickly when the song gets going it has an unmistakable gallop throughout and the pacing is wonderful all the way through and the way all the different parts and styles are put together is really just testament to what you can do with 30 years of experience behind you and it’s a fitting end to the album.

After all the years and all the albums released, you wonder if Darkest Hour are still going to be relevant and on this showing the answer is 100% yes! They sound as fresh and vital as they ever have, the way they mix all their influences and show them is particularly invigorating and if they keep this sort of standard up then there really is nothing that can stop them. 9/10

Detresse - Miseres (Vendetta Records) [Yasmin Mason]

Formed in 2024, Detresse are relative newcomers to the black metal scene. Despite having band members based both in Austria and Canada, the three piece have still managed to be incredibly productive, releasing their second album in the space of 2 years, Miseres.

I'll cut straight to the chase; I really like this album.

Opening track Vallee De Miseres gets the album off to a strong start. The track alternates between slow, heavier riffs and fast, frantic beats, synths adding to the atmosphere towards the end of the track. 

Verrottet is faster paced throughout with blast beats aplenty: this track really does showcase the drums and they sound great. Schwefel is my favourite. The track opens and closes with melodic yet hypnotic riffs that feel like a dark waltz. This song simultaneously reminds me of Dissection's Where Dead Angels Lie and Stahlsarg's Das Fallbeil.

While Schwefel felt like a beautifully dark interlude, Les Nuits Jaunes brings us back to speed. An intro of tremolo riffs and tribal beats gives way to a more up tempo beat as the vocals kick in. The spoken vocals in the background of the latter part of the track add extra atmosphere. Peine Perdue and So Bitter, So Kalt continue in the same vein with melodic riffs, blast beats and tempo changes aplenty in both tracks, yet, as with the rest of the album, each song manages to retain its own personality.

The album ends with an unexpected but beautifully melancholic instrumental track, Veloren. As crackling flames and voices are heard in the background, a lone cello weaves through the clavichord and guitar, creating a hauntingly beautiful medieval atmosphere, which matches the theme of the album cover perfectly.

It's safe to say that this album will be on regular rotation on my album playlist from now on.

For fans of melodic black metal, I would absolutely recommend giving this album a listen. 8/10

Vanaheim - Roede Voor De Borst (Fireflash Records/Edel) [Mike Bailey]

Roede voor de Borst is the second full album by Vanaheim, the epic Folk/Pagan Metal band from the Netherlands. The Album is a Saga told in six parts – Geestenmist speaks to embarking on a journey of redemption from exile, all the way through to Roed Voor De Borst, the homecoming and conclusion of the saga.

The album starts explosively. Vocals, by Zino Van Leerdam, are a relentless snarling barrage to the senses, accompanied by Het IJsel En Waal Koor, raising the feeling from tale to Saga. Michael Van Eck on guitars and Mike Seidal on bass guitar provide thunderous propulsion to the songs, with Bram Trommelen creating a cavalry charge with the drums. Finally, like a crow hovering over a battlefield, Rikke Linssen adds an accent of grace and elegance with her violin; it becomes truly epic.

This energy continues throughout the entire album, ebbing in places, but never losing its momentum. Even without speaking Dutch, the story is told through the bridges, shifts, ebbs and flows. When you finally arrive at the titular Roede Voor De Brost,a song about the grief of surviving a journey home when many other did not, you feel like YOU are finishing this long hard journey alongside them.

It can sometimes be daunting to approach a non-english speaking album, this album really does succeed in taking you on that journey, regardless. For fans of early Nightwish, Epica and Kamelot, this is essential listening. For anyone else, this album is legitimately good fun, and well worth your time. 9/10

SiM – Hooman After All (UNFD) [Spike]

If you pitched a band as "the Japanese Skindred colliding head-on with 2000s skate-punk, drum-and-bass, and anime theme bombast," most people would assume you’d completely lost your mind. But for Kanagawa’s SiM (Silence iz Mine), that chaotic blender isn’t an experimental gimmick; it has been their entire identity for over two decades. 

Ever since their colossal single The Rumbling catapulted them onto global festival stages via Attack On Titan, frontman Mah and his crew have occupied a wild, cross-pollinated corner of heavy music. On their seventh full-length outing, Hooman After All, they make zero apologies for their hyperactive DNA, delivering a breathless, twelve-track salute to late-90s and early-2000s rock that trades restraint for pure, unhinged adrenaline.

The album wastes no time grabbing you by the scruff of the neck with opener Five Times Dead (By My Wallet). It hits with sonically crushing metalcore down-tuning before pulling a sharp handbrake turn into hyper-kinetic drum-and-bass breaks and syncopated reggae upstrokes. Mah switches effortlessly between gravelly growls and dancehall cadences, backed by a rhythm section that treats steady tempo like an optional guideline.

The guest spots across this record are integrated with surgical brilliance, pulling together the heavyweights of contemporary Japanese rock. Lead single Blindeyes brings in Yukina of Hanabie. for an explosive vocal duel. The track’s central refrain ("Mou sumimasen deha sumimasen" / "Your apology won't fix this anymore") sees Yukina's piercing harajuku-metalcore shrieks collide with Mah's theatrical sneer over a sea of razor-sharp riffs.

From there, the stylistic shifts come thick and fast. Dalala opens with a murky, low-slung nu-metal beat and distorted vocal filters before executing a wild key-change into a sun-drenched, major-key chorus that sounds like 2001 pop-punk on steroids. Just when you think you’ve adjusted your balance, Hold My Beer and Karen's Son kick in. Hold My Beer is pure two-stepping, pit-ready ska-punk loaded with infectious swagger, while Karen's Son plays out like a biting, 2000s pop-punk diss track, flipping Fountains of Wayne's Stacy's Mom trope into a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek crowd anthem.

The undeniable party centrepiece arrives with The Sniffing Cats Ska, enlisting fellow Japanese punk stalwarts Hey-Smith. Anchored by blaring horns, upbeat skank rhythms, and metalcore chugs, it is an unapologetic riot of brass and distortion that proves heavy music is allowed to be ridiculously fun.

The second half of the record refuses to let the energy flag. The title track, Hooman After All, brings that signature ska-metal bounce, while coldrain frontman Masato drops in on Zion for a darker, post-hardcore workout that shows off their heavier technical chops. Later cuts like the Black Torch anime anthem Freeze Me Up and the anthemic closer Sailing On wrap things up with soaring, festival-sized choruses.

Does Hooman After All suffer from a bit of sensory overload? Absolutely. SiM cram so many ideas, tempo changes, and genre flips into forty minutes that purists might find their heads spinning. But if you walk into this with an open mind and a love for high-energy, genre-smashing madness, it is an absolute blast from start to finish. Infectious, heavy, and wildly entertaining. 8/10

Review: Underdark, Saor, Deathchant, Ruynor (Matt Bladen & Spike)

Underdark - O Come Forth Annihilation (Church Road Records) [Matt Bladen]

Underdark have been delivering their own brand of extreme metal since 2015 however it's really with the release of their debut Our Bodies Burned Bright On Re-Entry that they booked their place as one of UK's must hear acts.

With second full length Managed Decline in 2023 they defined themselves as a band that has a unique sonic imprint and strong ideology behind them, a profound exploration of their own experiences and those from the world at large, dealing with the historical collapse of industrial Britain with a wealth gap that gets wider and wider.

With a sonic union that features ferocious anti-fascist, left wing, pro-LGBTQ+ musical assault drawn from black metal, post-rock, and post-hardcore, through atmospheric darkness and emotional catharsis.

All of these diverse genre ranges are found once again on Underdark's third album O Come Forth Annihilation they move from historical decline towards the here and now, the continual feeling of crisis that is part of the every day at the moment from ecological collapse, to the housing crisis, the wealth gap and the rise of the far right.

It's an album that carries the soundtrack to a population staring, horrified by what's happening around us but unsurprised, a nihilistic expression of rage that shifts between blasts of black metal rage and shoe gazing ambience on The Hit Piece, the post metal side of the band ramped up as the waves of percussion crashes.

The black metal intensity returns for Death Of A Toolmaker, the drums locking to a blast beat battery as the guitars deliver tremolo veracity and the vocals move between savage and guttural. You can feel the anger in this album, a record for a world collapsing in on itself, it takes Underdark to darker places.

This is true even when there's ambient moments such as Hollow Platitudes it feels desolate and dissonant, though the low end crush and viciousness return for Foucault Wept and the longing of Non Linear Warfare, Underdark welcoming the apocalypse with a strong cynicism and some finely tuned extreme metal on O Come Forth Annihilation. 9/10

Saor - Caledonia (Season Of Mist) [Matt Bladen]

Andy Marshall has spent more than a decade positioning Saor as one of the seminal Celtic/Folk black metal acts in the country.

Hailing from Glasgow, he's still the driving force behind the band to this day, performing all the vocals, guitars, bass, synths on the records, with guest musicians adding percussion, woodwind, pipes, strings to create the 'Caledonian Metal' inspired by the legacy and landscapes of his native country that have come to define the band.

The first albums were sprawling folk/black metal epics and while later records brought more focus, layering and defined lyrical storytelling the esoteric sound of Marshall's early work was never fully forgotten, and on Caledonia, he has looked back to go forward with record that features five compositions from Roots, Aura, and Guardian, renewed for 2026.

Marshall utilising his 13 years of experience as a performer, producer and arranger to redefine these early songs alongside producer Chris Fielding, in a way they have evolved on stage and elsewhere in the time since their first recording. With a much more expansive dynamic range and fully cinematic arrangements, that weren't able to be fully realised when they were recorded the first time.

For this reimagining of early greatness, Marshall has brought in drummer Carlos Vivas and violinist Àngela Moya Serrat along witg Ella Zlotos who not only adds angelic/haunting vocals against the harsher tones of Andy, along with tin whistle, low whistle, and Uilleann pipes, to fully flesh out the folk influences..

Not a reinvention but realisation, you will have heard these songs before if you've been following SAOR in the past 13 years, but you won't have heard them like this. The spirit of Caledonia is strong with this five track return to the early Roots of Andy Marshall and Saor. 8/10

Deathchant – Kova (RidingEasy Records) [Spike]

When fellow reviewer and trusted set of ears Rich Piva tells you you're going to love an album, you sit up, pay attention, and get the headphones on without delay. 

Rich rarely misses the mark on recommendations, and with Kova, the fourth full-length from Los Angeles crew Deathchant, he has knocked it clean out of the park. 

This isn't just another rowdy, tire-smoking hard rock outing; it’s an emotionally charged, raw-nerve eulogy that balances full-throttle rock 'n' roll swagger with the aching weight of brotherhood, grief, and survival.

Named in honour of their late best friend Davey Kova, a man who lived fast, white-knuckled life at full speed, and tragically passed away during the writing sessions, the record acts as both a raucous, Viking-style send-off and an unflinchingly intimate look at loss. 

Frontman and producer Thomas J. Lemieux (TJ) poured a brutal stretch of life directly into these songs: welcoming a child, navigating a divorce, battling the bottle, and mourning close friends. Mixed by Zach Weeks at Kurt Ballou's revered God City Studio, the sonic result is drier, punchier, and more deliberate than anything Deathchant have tracked before. 

The vocal reverb has been pulled back, putting TJ’s gravelly, soulful rasp right in your face where every ounce of strain and grit can be felt in real time.

The record hits the ignition immediately with lead single Enemy. Starting with groaning, distorted feedback, a sharp melodic guitar lick suddenly kicks the doors off their hinges, hurtling into a galloping duel of NWOBHM-infused twin guitar harmonies courtesy of TJ and Doug Stuckey. 

Built around the introspective realization that you are often your own worst enemy, the track pairs breakneck speed with screeching wah-drenched solos, proving that self-reckoning hits hardest at maximum volume.

That ferocious pace carries straight through Red Sun and Funeral Pyre, driven by the relentless, pocket-tight rhythm section of bassist Quinn-George Camacho and drummer Nick "Joose" McDonnell. 

It’s got that greasy, intoxicating West Coast collision of Thin Lizzy boogie, Motörhead grit, and doom-laden psych fuzz that Deathchant have honed across releases like Waste and Thrones, but sharpened into razor-tight hooks.

Where Kova elevates itself into a truly profound record, however, is across its deeply vulnerable midsection. After the brief, swirling breather of Reverie, Worshipper steps up as arguably the darkest cut on the release. 

Smouldering with heavy riffs and an eerie sample of singer-songwriter Shannon Lay drifting over distant, gothic string arrangements, TJ takes aim at the weaponization of spirituality and faux-righteousness by toxic narcissists. 

It’s bitter, heavy as hell, and played with palpable venom.

Then comes the centrepiece emotional double-punch of the six-minute epic Ruin and the title track, Kova. Moving between mournful acoustic strums where TJ sings with quiet heartbreak ("I heard that little boy go quiet, with heavy hearts we said goodbye") and a colossal, swinging stomp of triumphant power chords ("Call him the king of wild hearts").

It perfectly captures the two sides of Davey's spirit, the wild, self-destructive darkness and the generous, radiant light. It’s rare for a hard rock band to wear grief on their sleeve so openly without tipping into melodrama, but Deathchant pull it off with sheer authenticity.

Closing out with the dusty, blues-soaked guitar cries of Forgiveness ("Truth is a chamber of bullets and echoes of friends") and the haunting, cinematic exhale of Requiem, you're left feeling like you've just shared a late-night toast over a campfire in the middle of nowhere, swapping stories of absent friends until the embers burn out.

Kova is a total triumph. It’s heavy, cathartic, and packed with irresistible riffs, but anchored by a beating, bruised heart that gives every single groove lasting purpose. Rich Piva called this one early, and he was dead right, an essential, deeply rewarding record that deserves to be spun loud and often. 9/10

Ruynor – Metal To The Punk (Metalapolis Records) [Spike]

There are times when you don't need boundary-pushing post-metal soundscapes, seventeen-minute conceptual epics, or pristine, surgically corrected production. 

Sometimes you just need three blokes in a room plugging straight into the front of an amplifier, stepping on the gas, and playing filthy, high-octane rock 'n' roll like their lives depend on it. 

That’s precisely what Southern Germany’s Ruynor deliver on their fourth studio full-length, Metal To The Punk. Coming into this completely blind for a first listen, it only took about thirty seconds to put a massive, unabashed grin on my face.

Founded back in 2013 in Geislingen by frontman/guitarist Twisted-Felix Ruyn and bassist Dome Ruyn (later joined by drummer Sammy Sin Ruyn), the trio spent five years quiet on the studio front following 2021's Here We Go. 

But having Michelle Darkness of End of Green behind the mixing desk has paid serious dividends. They’ve returned louder, dirtier, and with a swaggering, beer-soaked sneer that hits with zero hesitation.

Right from the opening chords of Bring Bakk The Balls To Punk, the overarching influence smacks you square in the mouth: pure, unadulterated Motörhead. It’s got that greasy, fast-chugging Lemmy groove where the bass runs distorted and thick, the drums drive a relentless pub-rock beat, and the vocals sound like they’ve been marinated in bourbon, black tobacco, and gravel. 

Add in some unruly gang-shouted backing vocals, and it sets a riotous bar for the rest of the record.

They don't let up on 10 Years or Your Threats Don't Sway Me, blending the sawing guitars of classic UK punk (think The Damned and Sex Pistols) with the chugging, galloping riffs of early New Wave of British Heavy Metal. 

Then comes Metal Punk Commando, a sub-two-minute sprint that feels like an unhinged hybrid of Midnight and Ramones, fast, dirty, and made exclusively for spilling pints in a cramped mosh pit.

Across the twelve tracks, the band keeps the energy remarkably buoyant. Date Of Death leans heavily into their street-punk roots, while Twisted Daze & Hellfire Nites takes a fun, nostalgic detour into 80s hard rock. On Into The Mosh, Sammy’s hammering rhythm section drags you onto the floorboards.

While the guest appearance from Michelle Darkness on Nightmare (Horrific Scenes Of Days Past) brings a darker, horror-punk Misfits vibe into the recipe. By the time the incendiary riffs of P.C. Scum bring the curtain down, you feel like you've just survived a breathless Friday night pub brawl.

Sure, it's not trying to reinvent the wheel, and occasional tracks like Misanthropic Tendencies stumble slightly in momentum compared to the bangers around it. But Ruynor aren't here to lecture you, they're here to tear down polite genre boundaries and deliver raw, unpretentious fun with teeth. 

If you love fast riffs, filthy basslines, and that unmistakable Motörhead drive, Metal To The Punk is an absolute blast from start to finish. 8/10

Reviews: Little Angels, Deathbarrel, Bosco Sacro, Coilguns (Matt Bladen, Spike, Will Bond & Joe Guatieri)

Little Angels - Big Bad & Back (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Little Angels managed to capture lightning in a bottle when they first burst in to the scene in 1984, for a decade they were the UK's premier glam rock export with appearances on TOTP, support slots to Van Halen and Bon Jovi but with slow record sales they staged one last hurrah at the Royal Albert Hall.

In the interim all the band members joined other projects before they came back for a year in 2012 but this again was weighed down with other commitments but it seems that in 2026, Little Angels are Big, Bad & Back, this new EP featuring a return of the Jam-era line-up; vocalist Toby Jepson, guitarist Bruce Dickinson, keyboardist Jim Dickinson, bassist Mark Plunkett and drummer Mark Richardson.

They announced a very rare tour that comes at the end of this month, but once a creative always a creative, as they returned to their rehearsal space in Scarborough and started to create new songs which they went to Chapel Studios to record before the completed verisons made its way to mixing legend Mike Fraser.

Suddenly and without warning they had their first new music since 1994, recapturing that feeling of jamming together in the early days but finding new things to say as a band with a long shared history on all sides of the rock world from recording, to management, to radio DJing but as band who are also in their mid 50's.

It's not a new album, but a five track EP that kicks the door in with All For One, a defiant, politically charged, unifying rocker that features the big percussive power, the choppy guitars, those soulful vocals and of course the horns in the background, it builds towards a frenzy crescendo and announces that Little Angels are indeed back!

I've always had a soft spot for Little Angels, which comes from my admiration for Toby Jepson's voice, for me he's the perfect rock n roll front man and hearing him with the Dickinson brothers, and the two Mark's on tracks such as the bluesy Hero (That Was Then, This Is Now), it feels like they've never been away.

Small Town Boys channels the majesty and nostalgia of The Who, with it's pulsating organs, as You Want Love goes back into bluesing with this updated number from their Too Posh To Mosh EP, reminagined as a duet between Jepson and Doris Brendel, it's a great continuation from where they left off in 1994.

The EP closes with the rocking gospel-tinged, harmonica driven Raised To The Ground there is no doubt in my mind that Little Angels are Big, Bad & Back (hopefully for good!). 8/10

Deathbarrel– Life Resignation Notice (Soulseller Records) [Spike]

Metal has always possessed an uncanny ability to bleed into the weirdest, darkest fringes of contemporary music. Every now and then, a record comes along that sits way outside standard genre boundaries, daring you to figure out what shelf it actually belongs on. 

Hailing from Stavanger on the cold southwest coast of Norway, Deathbarrel proudly dub their sound "True Norwegian Outlaw Country." Borrowing the uncompromising, purist slogan of second-wave black metal.

Slapping it across dusty acoustic guitars, murder ballads, and Appalachian gothic dread, their latest offering and first full-length album in fourteen years, Life Resignation Notice, is an absolute marvel of niche, outsider storytelling.

Sitting down with this record, my mind instantly wandered back to the dusty, dust-choked desert gothic atmosphere of Dawnrazor by Fields Of The Nephilim, collided head-on with the macabre, bluegrass-fuelled darkness of The Dead South, and spun together with a genuine, heavy metal bite. 

It shouldn't come as any surprise that this landed on Soulseller Records, an imprint usually revered for underground black and death metal or that Norwegian metal royalty like Abbath publicly raved about it ("Haunting, authentic, well-honed and crafted... 

This stirs the Dust – Demons deep in the Canyons"), with guest spots featuring Hoest (Taake) and Dominator. The metal pedigree is in the marrow; it’s just being channelled through banjos, baritone groans, and the cold North Sea wind.

The album sets its bleak stage with a brief Intro before galloping into Pale Rider. Right away, the atmosphere wraps around you like a moth-eaten trench coat. 

Ottar B. Stangeland’s vocals are low, raspy, and marinated in stale whiskey and hard miles, trading between traditional outlaw country twang and a menacing, gothic drawl that wouldn't feel out of place on a vintage Sisters of Mercy record. 

Rolf Gjesdal’s electric guitar leads slice through the acoustic strumming with jagged, metallic distortion, proving they aren't playing polite Nashville pastiche.

Where Deathbarrel truly excel is across their murder ballads and character studies. Suffer You and the exceptional lead single Calm Before The Storm take classic country storytelling and drag it through icy Scandinavian fjords. 

There are no tidy happy endings, no radio-ready redemption arcs, and zero polite polish, just bad decisions, open graves, and driving rhythm work anchored by bassist and producer Tollak Friestad. The drum arrangements have a heavy, physical thud that gives every track genuine room-clearing weight.

The midsection pulls no punches. Going Down and Capsized Dance inject a jaunty, dark-cabaret stomp into the proceedings, sounding like a tavern band playing while the floorboards rot beneath their boots. Then you hit Four Sisters, a sprawling, cinematic tragedy where acoustic guitars and mournful string arrangements interweave with crushing emotional resonance.

Even when they lean into dark humour, it hits like a lead pipe. A Classic Christmas Song is as far from festive cheer as humanly possible, subverting the holiday trope with pitch-black folk tragedy and eerie folk fiddles. 

Down the back stretch, the apocalyptic dread of End Of Days clears the path for their rendition of the traditional standard O'Death. Running that iconic, mournful hymn through heavy distorted chords, cavernous vocal barks, and suffocating doom atmosphere makes it one of the absolute peaks of the entire record. 

Closing out on the defiant, exhausted strums of Don't Mind Me, you feel like you’ve just staggered out of a remote Norwegian roadhouse at four in the morning.

Life Resignation Notice is a rare, fascinating beast: a record that takes the grit of American outlaw country, the brooding melodrama of 80s gothic rock, and the unyielding coldness of Norwegian metal, fusing them into a seamless, deeply compelling statement. 

It’s dark, authentic, and utterly captivating. An essential spin for anyone who loves heavy music when it dares to roam off the beaten trail. Personally I love this. 9/10

Bosco Sacro - Inhabit (Supernatural Cat) [Will Bond]

Italian quartet Bosco Sacro blend elements of trip hop, ambient, shoegaze and doom, on their new record Inhabit. The dense soundscapes provide a surface for the vocals to dance on, weaving up and under while the sound morphs and transforms.

Inhabit opens the album with waves of reverb soaked guitars and sweeping pads, driven by meditative drums and bass. Gift From The Fog follows with a lamenting guitar and soft vocals just above a whisper, while rhythm emerges from the ambience. 

It is a soft, contemplative album, the music doesn’t so much hit, as it swells and breaks like waves of sound. It is incredibly wide sonically, I expect there are layers which are imperceptible to the listener, but which are deepening and backing up the sound.

Vertigo opens with a soft bass line with hints of flamenco under reverb soaked vocals, then drops into a haunted verse reminiscent of Portishead. It builds to a huge heavy section, seemingly achieved through layering of sound rather than through extra distortion. There are beautiful vocal performances throughout the record, with the band working together to create a cinematic ambience.

Trickster has a primal rumble to it, with repeated mantra like vocals, while swelling guitars build to a fuzzed rumbling later section. The Future Past finishes the album with an ambient intro leading to a menacing bass line. The track has an unsettling mood, and layer upon layer of sound grows, slowly engulfing the listener.

Inhabit evokes a feeling of late nights and introspection, with tracks moving from part to part without sharp changes, building and receding naturally. It is a record that requires multiple listens to really get a hold of as there is a lot at play here. 

Turn down the lights, put on your headphones and sink into an ocean of sound. 7/10

Coliguns - Everything We Love, We Destroy (Humus Records) [Joe Guatieri]

Coilguns are a long-running Noise Rock band from Switzerland, forming back in 2011. Over time they have amassed a great discography, covering all sorts of ground, with their last release being their 2025 EP, Lost Love.

I first heard of them when I saw them at ArcTanGent, back in 2025 but I have no footage to speak of, only my memory. I remember them impressing me with how loud and immediate they were. 

It’s safe to say that I was looking forward to hearing more from these guys and now I get that with 2026’s, Everything We Love, We Destroy.

We open with the album-titled track and we are presented with pulsating drums and bass which both feel on the verge of collapse with the vocals match that energy too. Then pianos appear in the chorus where a sense of calmness is felt, it’s humanity with a heartbeat. 

This juxtaposition can cause an itch if it doesn’t work but for some reason it feels welcome here, though the guitars do have less weight as a result.

Later on we go into track four with Platform Decay which displays more of Coilguns Mathcore tendencies with a busy approach. 

This is where I highlight my core critique with this LP which happened before, during and after this point where the band prioritizes melody over attack.

While their hooks are catchy and have a sharp and meaningful political edge to them, often they overtake the instrumental as it feels like the band slams on the breaks, focusing on the sound of the horn. 

Whilst this is unique for Noise Rock, everything needs to be loud in order for things to work in tandem with each other.

The further we go into Everything We Love, We Destroy, Coilguns change their tune, adding in some much needed volume to put in emphasis on where it matters. 

Track seven, Teach Ourselves, raises what I think is the most important subject that is brought up throughout the entire listen.

The song is about being ashamed at oneself for the damage that man has caused in all aspects of life, the fact that evilness has triumphed again and again and how people keep on getting away with it.

It mentions how if only people of different genders spoke about it, only so much can be done as men need to talk about it too. Some people sadly refuse to be educated and are ignorant about these matters and that’s not right.

This poor attitude needs to be stomped out of society at every single possible opportunity and men need to take responsibility and join in with this cause too as no one should ever be treated as less in this life. 

Coilguns approach the topic of Teach Ourselves with maturity, sincerity and good morals. It’s truly a moment that transcends the music as it’s something that you can apply to your life.

The last track on Everything We Love We Destroy is called Perfect Fit Content and is my favourite song on the record! It’s so tense and cutting, taking influence from both Grunge and Sludge Metal and has the effect of a punch in the gut.

The lyrics of this song insist on supporting human made art, fuck algorithms and typing in prompts. Find something that a person has crafted and put their soul into and love it, warts and all.

Coilguns have penned an album here that is a hammer on head in its directness. The words used throughout the runtime show a band that wants to change the world or at least people’s minds. 

Whilst I think that Everything We Love, We Destroy achieves the band's goals of putting meaning into every song, the music itself gets lost at some point along the way.

To repeat myself from earlier on, the further you dive into this album, the heavier it gets, having more impact in the musicality and this really should have been done from the start. It seems to me that Coilguns have put too many eggs into one basket and other areas lack a spark sometimes as a result.

Overall, with Everything We Love, We Destroy, Coilguns have constructed a bridge that has a rock solid foundation, it performs its purpose as intended but it lacks hand rails that guide you to the other side. 

The bio for the record on Bandcamp states “This is Coilguns writing urgent music in urgent times” and this sums up the entire listening experience perfectly. I’m very impressed here but this Rock, needed more Noise. 7/10

Reviews: Saturna, Hijss, Son Of Boar, Mushroom Beard (Spike & Matt Bladen)

Saturna – Light And Shadow (Spinda Records/Discos Macarras) [Spike]

I’ll be the first to admit that dropping a record tagged as "Heavy Rock" onto my desk usually means a bit of a recalibration. 

When you spend the bulk of your listening hours neck-deep in cavernous death metal, suffocating post-sludge, and abrasive hardcore, stepping into the realm of warm vintage valves, dual guitar harmonies, and classic 70s-infused swagger can feel like taking a completely different motorway. But good music is good music, regardless of how far it sits from your default corner of the underground. And across the forty-six minutes of Light And Shadow, Barcelona’s Saturna make a damn convincing case for stepping off the extreme-metal path.

Arriving as the Catalan quartet’s sixth studio full-length and backed by striking cover artwork courtesy of long-time collaborator Jondix (well known for his iconic visual work with Tool), Light And Shadow finds the four-piece operating with the seasoned confidence of a band that knows their craft inside and out. Rather than churning out an exercise in hollow retro-fetishism or tired nostalgia, Saturna understand that classic heavy rock only works when the songs have actual swing, genuine dynamics, and a beating human heart.

The record opens with the moody, acoustic-tinged setup of Unheard before rolling straight into Falling Apart, and the live-in-the-room feel hits you immediately. Frontman James Vieco brings a soulful, smoky grit to his vocal delivery that feels thoroughly authentic, channelling that golden era where vocalists actually pushed from the diaphragm without relying on modern pitch-correction crutches. Behind him, the guitar interplay between Vieco and Alexandre Eriksson crackles with warm analogue distortion, anchored by the heavy, fluid rhythm section of bassist Rod Tirado and drummer Enric Verdaguer.

The title track, Light And Shadow, is an absolute standout. It’s a driving, propulsive rocker that balances infectious blues-rock hooks with subtle flashes of proto-metal punch, capturing the push-pull lyrical tension between opposing forces, internal conflicts, and finding clarity amidst life’s fog. It bleeds seamlessly into Absence and About You, where the band demonstrates their greatest asset: sonic malleability. 

They can lock into a muscular, riff-heavy groove that nods respectfully to classic Thin Lizzy, UFO, or early Grand Funk, and then pivot effortlessly into breezy, melodic alternative rock and psych-tinged contemplation without missing a single beat. Across the second half, the record refuses to settle into a predictable groove. Cuts like So Long and lead single Self Told Lies pack infectious hooks and fiery guitar solos that beg to be heard through rolled-down car windows on a sunlit afternoon. 

Meanwhile, acoustic interludes like Opus One and the easy, soulful blues shuffle of Drifting provide brilliant atmospheric contrast, paving the way for the doomier, riff-thick rumble of Words Of Doom before closing out with the reflective, spoken-word-laced charm of A Strange Mix Of Humans.

Coming into this a little outside my usual sonic diet, Light And Shadow proved to be a thoroughly refreshing, deeply engaging surprise. It’s got warmth, killer guitar craft, exceptional songwriting, and zero pretension. 8/10

Hijss – Hijss (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Spike]

There is nothing quite like the feeling of going into an album completely blind. No baggage, no preconceptions, just dropping the needle and seeing what the hell comes out of the speakers. 

Hailing from the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol in Northern Italy (around the Bolzano and Laives valley), power trio hijss are a brand new name on my radar. After spending some quality time with their self-titled second offering, they’ve made such a massive impression that I’m already heading straight over to dig up their 2024 debut, Stuck On Common Ground. This is an absolute gem of a record.

Released via the ever-reliable Heavy Psych Sounds, hijss doesn't behave like a conventional, run-of-the-mill stoner or psych album. Instead of leaning into tired Sabbath worship or predictable retro fuzz jams, this three-piece, comprising Lois Lane (guitars, vocals, electronics), Pan (bass, synth), and Maurice (drums), takes the raw, physical collision of a noise-rock trio and launches it headfirst into cosmic, hypnotic "kosmo-kraut" territory. It’s got the unvarnished grit of 90s alternative rock and the biting attitude of post-punk, but wrapped around pulsating electronic textures, motorik krautrock rhythms, and deep space exploration.

The record opens with the seven-minute epic Drain Of Thoughts, and it pulls you straight into their orbit. Rather than battering you immediately with a wall of noise, they let the groove stretch out, breathe, and hypnotize you. Pan’s bassline carries a massive, physical presence that feels like it’s vibrating through the floor, while Maurice’s drumming provides an insistent, trance-like pulse. Over the top, Lane’s guitars grind and soar, weaving sharp, fuzzed-out distortion with eerie synthesizer tones that add a cold, mechanized edge to the warmth of the power trio format.

From there, Vicious Cycle and Parasite tighten the screws with nervous, punk-derived momentum. It’s heavy, but never clumsy; there's a constant, bubbling tension in how they circle around their riffs, making it feel like the music is perpetually gathering itself for a massive detonation.

The centrepiece of the album brings pure dynamic brilliance. Underwater is a gorgeous, melancholic curveball, a fragile, spacey ballad dripping with genuine atmosphere and heartache that completely disarms you before the driving, intoxicating electro-fuzz pulse of Dopamine takes over. Then you hit the seven-minute sprawl of S.W.A.N., which pushes into the shadowy, translucent edges of their sound, hovering beautifully between raw physical noise and ethereal drift.

Closing out with the jagged punch of Fatal Attraction and a moody, atmospheric Outro, you realize hijss have pulled off something exceptionally rare: they’ve made an album that works as a seamless, immersive journey from the first note to the last. They haven't abandoned the raw abrasion of noise-rock; they’ve simply discovered that noise hits with twice the impact when you give it room to travel and breathe.

Coming into this fresh, hijss has been one of the most thoroughly enjoyable surprises to cross my listening desk recently. If you love heavy music that dares to be hypnotic, adventurous, and gloriously unclassifiable, do not sleep on this band. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got their debut album waiting to be spun. 9/10

Son Of Boar - The Hand That Reigns (Pale Wizard Records) [Matt Bladen]

Another recent Pale Wizard Records release, who are on fire with signing bands at the moment. The Hand That Reigns is the second album from Bradford stoner/doom band Son Of Boar, a band who have spent the last few years forging a formidable reputation on the UK live scene.

It's seen them support Conjurer, Desert Storm and Sergeant Thunderhoof which explains them joining Pale Wizard for this record. Their debut in 2021 was an example of their idea of 'Grim North', harsh, heavy and drawn from the the vista of Ilkley Moor to harsh concrete of their city's textile and steam industries.

Their music is a result of where it comes from, similarly to the NOLA scene in the USA, it's a reflection of their surroundings, through crushing sludge stomps, desert rock expansion and Sabbath worship, they honed their heaviness but with second album they take it further, in as many directions as they can be that getting louder, more atmospheric or harsher than on their debut.

Stepping into Corner House Studios with Kurt Wood, The Hand That Reigns saw the band members navigating hard times, which bleeds into their music, making for a four tracker that is full of gruelling sludge grooves, punctuated visceral hardcore screams, it's an aggressive record which channels dark times through the sound they have defined but far grimmer and murkier.

The frustration can be felt on first single In The Eyes Of Hatred, which reminds me of the mighty fuzz of Crowbar, or Down then they're at their steamrolling best, while Lord Dope is full of low end boom and an incredible slow burn, that builds with guitar solo driven Sky Valley psychedelia, though it struggles to match the glacial pace, emotional power and sense of catharsis that comes through on Warning Of The Witch.

The Hand That Reigns brings more sonic demolition from Son Of Boar, charged with emotion, armed with huge riffs, it's one hell of a monolithic record. 9/10

Mushroom Beard - Mushroom Beard (Pale Wizard Records) [Matt Bladen]

Stoke-On-Trent stoners Mushroom Beard have grown out of the desert blues rock of Quiet The Thief, three members of that band blooming into a psychedelic, stoner doom band that plays music that is slower, heavier, fuzzier, like audio treacle that is there to consume you.

The trio also seem to have an affinity with prog rock as their self- titled debut album is a concept record that tells a story across six colossal tracks through "cosmic journeys, woodland spirits, and strange encounters" the story unveils itself though chugging, thunderous riffs, spatial atmospheres and inventive storytelling.

It's all very deliberate as Stig Chell (guitar/vocals), Gareth Harding (bass) and Norbert Hussey (drums) wanted to explore the louder, heavier and an all together more sweeping style of music than in their other band, it's a hypnotic ride through their collective creative mindset that draws from Sleep, High On Fire and Cathedral.

The trampling riffs of March Of The Shroom Elephant begins this odyssey with some serious heaviness, all based on the grooven and propulsion, it's a fine way to begin this before Elden Beard, builds from an Al Cisneros-like bass throb into some blissed out voyaging across this ten minute ride.

Recorded at Paladin's Studio, the mix and master comes from the wizards Josh Gallop and this record is being released by Pale Wizard, who's co-founder and vocalist of Sergeant Thunderhoof, Dan Filcroft gives his voice to the chunky swirling psych of Speech Of The Leaf And Beard.

By appearing on the record and signing them to his label it not only adds another element to this band, but shows that they are making waves in the stone doom scene and Mushroom Beard is an impressive debut album from this band of the same name, huge riffs, woozy ambience and reverbed vocals.

It's a triumph of psychedelic stoner doom and as Fungal Haze unfurls into Khala-Shai, you want to relive this story all over again. Sublime heaviness from these hairy fun guys. 9/10

Reviews: Cirith Ungol, Stoned Jesus, Rattlesnakes, Black Royal (Matt Bladen & Spike)

Cirith Ungol - All The Shadows (No Remorse Records) [Matt Bladen]

Cirith Ungol are mentioned a lot in this publication and that's because they've influenced countless bands under the 'epic metal' umbrella with their unique sound.

Merging the NWOBHM, 70's heavy rock and doom metal they have had a potted history of existence since their formation in the 1970's.

They've been fully back since 2015, releasing two albums before this one, but it was their return to the stage that was hailed as the bigger deal as live shows were few and far between so their return to the stage has been lauded, but in 2024 the announced they would perform their last shows.

It seems it's hard to keep a good band down as they're now releasing their seventh album All The Shadows through Greek label No Remorse Records, as it's the Greeks who have seen the lions share of these shows since 2015 as they have an affinity with Cirith Ungol and epic metal on the whole. So what's All The Shadows like?

Well it's Cirith Ungol, heavy metal distilled, with the heavy riffage of the title track getting what the band called one of their "strongest efforts ever."

Going with all the heavy metal power you want, the doom comes This Mortal Stain and Turning Blind as Tim Baker's distinctive vocals howl at the moon on track such as Shallow Reflection and Empty Tomb.

They bring the epic feel of their music on the cinematic On Broken Wings, which has a lot of acoustic guitars and drama, that continues on Hollow Nimbus. 

By the time the bass driven Venus In Thirds closes All The Shadows, there's very little argument that this could be one of the best Cirith Ungol albums in their lengthy career. 9/10

Stoned Jesus – Songs To Moon (Season Of Mist) [Spike]

There has always been far more instrumental intelligence and emotional depth to Stoned Jesus than their weed-dappled moniker might suggest to the uninitiated. 

Anyone who pigeonholes Ukrainian mastermind Igor Sydorenko and his crew as a mere bong-rattling stoner outfit has clearly missed the last decade and a half of relentless sonic evolution. 

Following on from the sun-scorched, sprawling ambition of 2025’s Songs To Sun, Songs To Moon arrives on Season Of Mist as the second chapter of Sydorenko’s grand thematic trilogy. 

Make no mistake: where its predecessor basked in blazing heat and daylight urgency, this chapter plunges headfirst into the cold, introspective night of the soul.

Clocking in at seven tracks across forty-one minutes, Songs To Moon asks a fair bit from the listener, but it rewards your patience tenfold. 

Sydorenko has openly reflected on how so many of his narratives feature characters either falling from great heights or gradually losing their grip, and that psychological freefall forms the dark spine of this entire record.

The journey opens with Under The Skin, and it wastes zero time blowing away any lingering cobwebs. It hits like a thunderous slab of post-metal, heavy, dissonant, and bruising—before letting Sydorenko’s soulful, melodic vocal rise through the murk. 

It bleeds straight into Velvet, which Sydorenko playfully teased as "What if Nirvana was shoegaze?" It’s a brilliant description; marrying fuzzy 90s grunge riffs with intoxicating, reverb-washed doomgaze textures, it boasts one of the most irresistible, melancholic choruses they’ve ever written.

From there, the record enters genuinely adventurous progressive territory. ZYX rolls forward on a driving, syncopated rhythm, leading directly into Syzygy. 

Sitting right at the physical centre of the track list and falling precisely at the midpoint of the entire album trilogy, it serves as the band's first-ever pure instrumental, cleverly threading melodic motifs from each chapter of the three albums into an atmospheric tapestry.

The theatrical peak of the album arrives with Jackal. At nearly seven minutes, it is Stoned Jesus operating as an eccentric mini-prog opera, shifting between jagged rhythmic stops, howling guitar leads, and harsh backing barks from bassist Andrew Rodin that push the band right to the brink of chaos before pulling back into focus.

Where Songs To Moon truly leaves an indelible mark, however, is its final, stark descent. In the proud tradition of classic records taking an acoustic left-turn, think Led Zeppelin III, Opeth's Damnation, or Alice In Chains' Jar Of Flies, the band strips away the colossal fuzz pedals for the back stretch. 

The eight-minute epic Window In My Room explores quiet, intimate space like the band never has before, letting delicate acoustic strumming and hushed vocals carry the emotional weight. 

It transitions into closer One More Empty Day, where nylon-string acoustics and the faint, atmospheric sound of a rainstorm close the curtain on a note of weary, hard-won wisdom ("And when the sun goes down / It brightens up my mood").

Songs To Moon is a bold, challenging, and profoundly moving statement. It isn't afraid to let the silence hurt or trade crushing riffs for fragile beauty. As the halfway mark of this massive conceptual cycle, it proves Stoned Jesus are operating at the absolute peak of their compositional prowess. 

An essential listen. 9/10

Rattlesnakes - Shadows In The Night (Listenable Records) [Matt Bladen]

Do you know how good you have to be to be signed to a label like Listenable Records for your debut? Well that's exactly what has happend with UK heavy metal act Rattlesnakes.

They released their first EP, Deeper Shades Of Torment was released in 2025 and it got rave reviews, massive listening figures and saw Rattlesnakes arrive as one of the British heavy metal bands to watch. It also led to them getting signed with Listenable Records and they set about writing their debut full length.

A huge part of their appeal as a band is that they treat 80's NWOBHM with some serious respect, no tongue in cheek here, just fist clenching, leather clad heavy metal, drawing from the greats of the genre such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, while there's also a lot of influence from Warlock and Chastain while Breakdown reminds me of Motorhead.

Now if you've not heard of Chastain then go listen to them but Rattlesnakes share a lot of similarities with the US powerhouse, founded by guitarist David Chastain who was key person in Gus G's career, his love of speed and shred is shared by Josh Brown and George Charleston, on blistering Lost Nor Found.

While there's bouncy and deceivingly techinical grooves from Elliot Dryden (bass) and Nathan Gratton (drums) on Spellbound, heavy metal galloping on For Even Gods Can Die, as things get folksy on Where The River Meets The Sea, a track that even features some flute to really show the creative brilliance of Rattlesnakes.

Rattlesnakes' influenece of Chastain can be heard mainly in the incredible vocals of Rowena Neale , the right kind of rough, but delivered with muscle and might she also reminds me of Lzzy Hale on Destroyer, The Other Side Of Midnight which adds a shimmering glimmer/AOR sheen.

Rattlesnakes pay homage to their love of classic heavy metal on Shadows In The Night, the Nottingham mob do so wrapped in modern trappings and aggression but heavy metal is their game and they play it extremely well. 

Keep you ear to the ground as these snakes are poised to strike. 9/10

Black Royal – Abyssian (M-Theory Audio) [Spike]

Labelling Finnish sludge metallers Black Royal under one neat banner has always been a fool’s errand. 

Ever since they first emerged from Tampere, the quartet have proudly brewed an unholy, subterranean cocktail they’ve previously coined "death 'n' roll" or apocalyptic sludge-death. 

On their fourth studio album, Abyssian, they plunge headfirst into the crushing, lightless depths of the oceanic void. It is a record dripping with dark, suffocating atmospheres, built from an eclectic DNA strand where the greasy pub-sweat and driving bounce of Motörhead collides head-on with the blackened, ritualistic majesty of Behemoth and the melodic, battle-hardened stomp of Amon Amarth.

Clocking across ten tracks, Abyssian wastes zero time dragging the listener down beneath the crushing weight of the continental shelf. The journey commences with Abyssian Doom, setting a grim, cavernous tone that immediately showcases their affinity for classic Scandinavian buzzsaw HM-2 guitar tones paired with sluggish, tectonic sludge. 

Just when you think you’ve settled into a standard funeral crawl, Water Of The Crow and Extremophiles kick the tempo into gear with that unmistakable Motörhead-style engine block rumble, dirty, direct, and driven by a bassline that rattles loose fillings.

What keeps Abyssian so thoroughly engaging is its refusal to let the murk turn into a stagnant pond. On Suffocation and Vetehinen (named after the treacherous water spirits of Finnish folklore), the band weaves eerie, folkloric dread into huge, mid-tempo Viking-metal swagger. 

Sharfe's throat-tearing roars carry immense gravitas, sounding like an ancient titan bellowing through seawater, while Toni's guitars layer mournful melodic leads over crushing rhythmic downstrokes.

The standout centrepiece of the record is undoubtedly Drown The Seaweed. Premiered via Decibel Magazine, it condenses everything Black Royal excel at into a single, devastating package: rolling double-kick artillery, eerie aquatic sound design, and an infectious, neck-snapping groove that makes you want to smash pint glasses against a stone wall. 

It proves that heaviness doesn't have to sacrifice a killer hook.

Down the back half, In Dark Embrace and Tidal Wave deliver on their promises of pure dynamic violence, ebbing and flowing between atmospheric ambient lulls and crushing sonic floods. 

Closing out with the murky depths of Shallow Waters and the sprawling, apocalyptic weight of Beneath The Surface, the album leaves you feeling like you’ve survived a gruelling, oxygen-deprived dive into the Marianas Trench.

Abyssian is a massive, multi-genre assault that hits with physical, room-shaking force. By anchoring their crushing sludge-death attack to irresistible rock 'n' roll momentum and blackened atmospheric weight, Black Royal have delivered their darkest, heaviest, and most formidable statement yet. 

A crushing, essential spin. 8/10

Review: Crystal Throne, Powermönger, Avaland, Unchained Vengeance (Matt Bladen & Mateusz Stefanow)

Crystal Throne - Chantry Of Sacrifice (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

The third band reviewed recently with Crystal in their name, but where as the other two were power and melodic metal this one is much proggier in its delivery.

With inspiration of Symphony X, Queensryche and Crimson Glory, all bands who love a concept and Crystal Throne are also drawn to a conceptual piece which is what Chantry Of Sacrifice is. A sci-fi record set in 5150, where the last human in the universe has to try and save Earth by altering the course of history.

Crystal Throne manage to tell their conceptual storyline through progressive metal town changes, genres shifts but also a lot of classic heavy metal in there as well as the twin guitar assault attacks, the bottom end gallop through every changing rhythms and a mixture of melodic moments and heavy cinematic soundscapes.

Guitar fans will find a lot to like on this record, it's got loads of shreddy moments even on the slower number such as Electrical Savior, there's a definite Queensryche influence on Walls Of The Silent Mourn and Insurgent Outcry while Antagonists features some female vocals to flesh out the characters.

This second album from the French band skillfully mix classic heavy with prog metal, another Crystal, another gem of a record. 7/10

Powermönger - Powermönger (Jawbreaker Records) [Mateusz Stefanow]

Some bands try to reinvent the wheel, and succeed, whilst others fail. Powermönger instead threw that idea in the bin and went back to 80s-era speed metal with their self-titled EP.

The self-titled title track is an immediate punch to the face, muddy mixing with a very subtle reverb effect on the vocals, with guitar riffs that slice through the mix much like a shark fin piercing through choppy waves. Powermönger know what they’re here to provide, and they provide it in bucketloads.

Leather Legions will be Powermönger’s moshpit song, it is fast-paced, punk-influenced, and reminds me heavily of Bonded By Blood by the Bay Area legends Exodus. Vocals steal the show here, raising the pitch up, before crashing down again.

Hellfighter is the song of the drummer, prioritising the percussion over the guitar in the mix, with those edgy satanic 80s metal lyrics that drew in all those oldheads back when. Off The Menu is shrieky and melodic, not to mention the fantastic percussive fills that continue the punk influences and gallop onwards to fist-pumping, head-banging heaven.

Order Of The Lich is heavy, thrashy and razor sharp, and personally I find it to be the high-point of Powermonger’s return to the 80s soundscape. Speed metal fans will immediately spot Max Overdrive for what it is- an Acid cover! Imitation may be the highest form of flattery, but this cover is not imitative, it stands on it’s own and shows respect to the dearly beloved greats of the scene.

Powermönger is a strong EP, it may not be the most unique addition to the scene, but it absolutely succeeds at calling back to what speed metal was, and what made it great. 7/10

Avaland - Chemical Poetry (Storytium SAS) [Mateusz Stefanow]

Chemical Poetry is the newest album of metal opera by Avaland, and right off the bat I was expecting something akin to Pavarotti, Price or Bocelli, but rather than that this album is more of a storyline with power metal musicianship, something in the vein of Ayreon.

Opening with When the Night Comes Alive, my immediate thoughts were that Avaland sound like a more mature Visions Of Atlantis, with grandiose sound design, with power metal lyrics and themes. Soaring synth segments lift the song up high, before we move on to the next track, Alchemy. Some complaints and weaknesses of this album start to crop up here, but I will touch upon these later.

Beauties And Beasts feels like it belongs in a 90s animated movie scene in a bar strangely enough, compounded by the back-up vocal sections, This speakeasy vibe is further continued with the blending of synths and guitar, and by the varying vocal styles explored in this song in particular. To Fool A Witch features Helle Bohdanoca doing growls, and Adrienne Mien, who are both super talented vocalists and a definite boon for this album.

As you may have pieced together already, this album feels rather bloated at 63 minutes runtime. It has definite strong points, but it is a diamond in the rough, and like this figurative diamond it requires the trimming of the chaff to highlight those strengths. 

Some of the songs, like Fate, or Alchemy do not bring much to the overall album, and have such repetitive sections that feel like they drag out the album and reduce the focus on what Avaland were going for. 5/10

Unchained Vengeance - Unbound And Unforgiving (Nameless Graves Records) [Matt Bladen]

Emerging from Portland, Oregon is new heavy metal act Unchained Vengeance, who combine two heavy metal veterans in former Vicious Rumors vocalist Nick Courtney and multi-instrumentalist Nick Wusz of Dolven/Travellers Rest.

This debut record is an ode to classic heavy metal, that features twin axe harmonies, powerful vocals and epic scores where there's acoustic beginnings that give way to epic theatrics on Only Ruins Remain, one of the ten "tales of warriors, conquest, revenge and redemption" that this album features.

Though one of them is an interlude which features dungeon synth musician Fen Walker to bring a cinematic tone to the record, but Unbound And Unforgiving is hinged on classic metal, from the swaggering The Whisper Of Sorrowbane, through the galloping Warrior Heart.

Unchained Vengeance then is a new project in veteran hands and this debut shows that I'm spades. 7/10

Reviews: The Eternal, Crystal Eyes, Embryectomy, Cardinals Folly (Spike, Matt Bladen, Mateusz Stefanow & Myrto-Panagiota Zacharof)

The Eternal – Obscured Horizons (Reigning Phoenix Music) [Spike]

Pulling off a multi-continental band dynamic is notoriously tricky, especially when your home bases are literally on opposite sides of the planet. Melbourne and Helsinki aren't exactly an easy commute. Yet Australian/Finnish dark metal collective The Eternal make that staggering geographical divide feel completely seamless. 

Anchored by the Australian founding nucleus of Mark Kelson (vocals, guitars) and Richie Poate (lead guitar), alongside the powerhouse Finnish rhythm section of bassist Niclas Etelävuori (ex-Amorphis, Flat Earth) and drummer Jan Rechberger (Amorphis), this crew has spent the last few years operating in a rich creative vein. Arriving on Reigning Phoenix Music as the follow-up to 2024’s widely praised Skinwalker and their recent Celestial EP, Obscured Horizons is their eighth full-length album and easily their most cinematic, textured, and emotionally heavy offering yet.

What immediately stands out across these nine tracks is how naturally The Eternal bridge classic gothic melancholia, crushing doom weight, and progressive metal sophistication. In lesser hands, blending the weeping sorrow of My Dying Bride or Paradise Lost with Finnish atmospheric majesty and the melodic sweep of progressive rock can turn into an over-engineered soup. 

Here, however, Kelson and Rechberger (who co-produced the record) have struck gold with the sonic mix: the guitars crunch with immense physical density, the low end is warm and massive, and Kelson’s vocals are front and centre, dripping with genuine, heartfelt gravitas.

The record opens in grand fashion with Lament For The Hollow. A slow-burning, melancholic build gives way to thunderous rhythm work from Rechberger and Etelävuori before Kelson’s voice soars into a towering chorus. 

Rather than surrendering entirely to bleak nihilism, the album sets its philosophical stalls early: confronting grief, fractured identity, and mental fog, but searching desperately for light on the other side. That defiance carries straight into Existing To Expire, a punchier, driving number packed with sharp guitar harmonies from Poate that evoke classic Finnish melodic metal without losing the band’s distinctive Australian gothic DNA.

The sequencing across the first half is exceptional. Colours Fade leans into sweeping, sorrowful melodies before Harmony Breaks takes the dynamic range up a notch. It’s got an infectious, bittersweet hook that burrows into the skull on the very first pass, contrasted by heavy, chugging riffs that hit with genuine room-shaking weight. Meanwhile, I've Seen The Dream serves up lush, progressive layers that bridge dark rock restraint with sudden bursts of atmospheric power.

Where the record truly enters elite territory, however, is on the sprawling B-side. Clocking in at seven minutes, Liminality is an absolute tour de force. It drifts patiently through atmospheric, keyboard-laced verses and delicate clean guitars before detonating into an expansive, progressive doom crescendo that feels tailor-made for closing your eyes and getting completely lost in. 

It flows effortlessly into the imposing title track, Obscured Horizons, which stands as arguably the defining track of the entire release. It condenses everything The Eternal excel at into five magnificent minutes: soaring vocal lines, razor-sharp melodic leads, and an irresistible rhythmic groove.

Down the back stretch, Yesterday's Gone catches you completely off guard with a punchy, technical opening that carries an unmistakable whiff of early Images And Words-era Dream Theater, before settling into a brooding, dark prog anthem. 

Closing out with the six-minute epic Awaken, the band brings the emotional journey to a triumphant, cathartic conclusion. There’s a palpable sense of renewal here, the clouds parting after a long, gruelling storm.

Obscured Horizons is a mature, beautifully crafted record that proves The Eternal are operating at the absolute peak of their powers. By balancing heavy doom-laden crunch with gorgeous progressive melody and sheer emotional honesty, they’ve delivered a dark metal masterclass that will stay on the turntable for a very long time. 9/10

Crystal Eyes - Thunder God (Massacre Records) [Matt Bladen]

For over 30 years Crystal Eyes have been delivering fist in the air power metal storght from the heart of Sweden. Thunder God is their ninth studio album and it's got all the elements of their sound you'd want from this band who have carved out their own niche over 30 years.

There's classic heavy metal of We Came, We Saw, We Conquered, some glam on Kids Of Rock N Roll, rampaging power metal on Follow The Storm and a few Maiden gallops courtesy of The Battle Will Be Won, it's a record with a lot of riffs driving the heavy metal anthems such as the the epic sounding Remembrance.

Mikael Dahl the voice and guitar and talisman of Crystal Eyes, laying down the melodic grooves on Metal Bound, celebrating the genre he's been so dedicated to since 1992 while a track such as A Silent Farewell allows them to bring a flair for the dramatic as Dahl really shows off his vocals here against a Blind Guardian-esque folk background.

With Thunder God, Crystal Eyes keep true to their Swedish heavy metal history, swords drawn high and Valhalla in sight, it's got a sense of the epic and lots of traditional heavy metal power. 8/10

Embryectomy – Vitriolic Baptism (Unique Leader Records) [Mateusz Stefanow]

The third full-length release from Greek slamming death metallers Embryectomy comes crashing in, titled Vitriolic Baptism, and listening to this album- yes you will feel like you’ve been dropped into a vat of pure unfiltered vitriol. Slam fans who do not recognise this band outright may recognise them from collaborations with Peelingflesh, .357 Homicide, Hacked Up and Slamskies, so their credentials in the scene check out.

The album opens with the melodic interlude Progeny Shredder, lulling us into a false sense of peace, before blasting into Ecumenical Lobotomy, where their drummer, Jake Gamble, clearly showcases his previous experience drumming for .357 Homicide, which does make the song feel like it could belong to either band. It is not the most rapid song, but it is heavy and crushing, before ending with an adapted Mortal Kombat sample.

Cranioclastic Infanticide and Psychoneurotic Hecatomb keep this slower paced tempo, but the lack of speed is compensated for by the razor-sharp guitar progressions and cymbal heavy drumming to keep up the hateful, heavy atmosphere.

Now Embryectomy pick up the tempo with more rapid songs, with the title track having the gnarliest breakdown of the album, before Chainsaw Symphysiotomy revs up like the titular chainsaw, with Marinas Tountas ripping our eardrums away with a stunning bass and guitar performance.

Newborn Martyrdom ends with a symphonic piano section that immediately seems glaringly out of place, but the disjoint actually adds to the disconcerting atmosphere.

By the time we reach Carbonized Genesis, we are introduced to an Evil Dead sample, immediately capturing the heart of this horror movie fan, while Kyriakos Destounis screams his vitriol down the microphone.

Overall, this is a very solid slam release, not offering anything particularly new to the scene but taken on it’s own merit it is very much worth a listen. 7/10

Cardinals Folly - Let The Posers Fall (Cruz Del Sur Music) [Myrto-Panagiota Zacharof]

Here we are with the brand-new, fresh and vibrant release from Cardinals Folly, Let The Posers Fall! 

The Finnish trio proudly pays homage to the classic heavy metal sounds of the 1980s and 1990s, drawing inspiration from bands such as Iced Earth, Grave Digger, Helloween, Candlemass, and Iron Maiden. The result is an album that feels both nostalgic and sincere, offering a refreshing dose of old-school heavy metal.

The first thing that catches the eye is the album artwork. Resembling a hand-drawn vintage movie poster, complete with elegant gothic lettering, it perfectly reflects the music within. From the outset, the band makes it clear that their goal is to deliver pure entertainment for fans of traditional heavy metal and doom metal, and for the most part, they succeed.

Lyrics in most songs are interesting, the trio takes inspiration from famous murders and world mythology. If there is one aspect that occasionally holds the album back, it is the vocals. At times, Mikko's voice seems pushed unnecessarily high, resulting in a somewhat strained and twangy delivery. Interestingly, whenever he sings in a lower register, the songs flow much more naturally and his performance becomes considerably stronger.

The album opens with House Of The Lords, an atmospheric introduction driven by commanding marching drums and prominent electric guitars that immediately establish the record's heavy-metal credentials. This leads into Hitch Hike, an honest and enjoyable old-school metal track that sounds as if it emerged straight from the crypt. 

Track three, Let The Posers Fall!, is a classic heavy metal anthem featuring galloping guitar riffs, technical drumming, memorable solos, and dynamic vocal shifts between low and high registers. It captures the spirit of the genre while remaining energetic and engaging.

The record continues with New York Ripper, which begins with a compelling minute-long introduction before launching into heavy doom-laden riffs. Its lyrics explore the intriguing concept of "What if Jack the Ripper had terrorised New York instead of London?"

Next comes I Am The Zodiac, another song centred around murder and mystery. Built on a backbone of heavy guitars, prominent bass lines, and deliberately paced drumming, the track creates a dark atmosphere and concludes with an especially satisfying finale. 

Track six, Luchador, is my personal favourite on the album. Opening with a slow and ominous introduction, it blends doom, heavy metal and sludge influences into one powerful composition. The lyrics, inspired by Aztec mythology and culture, add another layer of intrigue to an already captivating track.]

On Your Stallions Are Burning Tonight, the guitars take centre stage. The riff work feels empowering and energetic, while the drums remain impressively clear throughout. The vocals also shine here, benefiting greatly from a lower register that allows for excellent deep, growling interchanges.

Cultist Highway follows with an even stronger doom-metal flavour. Addressing all us heathens, the song combines crushing guitars with an interesting contrast between growled passages and more operatic vocal sections, creating one of the album's most distinctive moments.The final two tracks provide a fitting conclusion to the journey. 

Chiusura Invernale is a brief acoustic interlude that offers a moment of reflection before Providence closes the record in epic fashion. As the ultimate outro track, it effectively brings together the album's heavy and doom-laden atmosphere. 

With Let The Posers Fall, Cardinals Folly continue to build momentum and further establish their identity within the traditional heavy metal and doom underground. Despite some vocal choices that occasionally feel overstretched, the album delivers strong songwriting, memorable riffs, and an unmistakable love for classic metal traditions. 7/10