Reviews: The Fifth Alliance, Bong Voyage, Blood Of Angels, Mirror Of My Soul (Spike, Rich Piva, Mark Young & Matt Bladen)

The Fifth Alliance – Stenahoria (Tartarus Records/Breathe Plastic/Ardua Music) [Spike]

The first hit is a cold, heavy blow to the solar plexus. When the opening movement of Phoenix first rattles out of the speakers, the sense of total, suffocating confinement is immediate, like the grey, freezing rain of the Netherlands has suddenly found its way inside. 

Hailing from the region, The Fifth Alliance have spent the last decade building a reputation for a grim, uncompromising brand of post-metal and doom. Their latest effort, Stenahoria (distress, in the Greek), is a record born from sorrow and fear, and it doesn't offer a single melodic line without also offering a crushing weight designed to pull you straight back down into the mud.

I’ll admit that on the first pass, I struggled a bit with the architecture. There is a tendency here to push too much into a single track, pulling the listener in three directions at once, it's doom, it's post-metal, it's blackened fury and in isolation, it can feel slightly disjointed. 

But you can't treat Stenahoria like a collection of singles for a playlist; you have to take the whole thing in as one massive, forty-minute monolith. When you commit to the holistic transit, the joins disappear, and you realize the band are actually forging a very distinct, uncompromising path of their own.

Natalya Thelen (ex-Yantras) is the undisputed catalyst for this new era. Her voice elegantly slides from fragile, ghostly whispers to a raw, bone-shivering wail on Benandanti, completely redefining the band's emotional reach. She is backed by the relentless, heavy-handed precision of new drummer Peter Scheffer (Soliton), whose performance gives the crushing, progressive riffs on The Fool On The Hill a physical, bone-shaking gravity.

The production retains all the raw, icy bleakness you want from this genre, but with a massive, high-fidelity presence. You can hear every string groan on Battle Of Barnet, a track that builds a suffocating amount of pressure before eventually dropping you into the dark of the finale, Jakob. It’s a clean, professional mix that somehow manages to keep the "gristle" firmly embedded in the tracks.

It’s not an easy record, nor should it be. If you're looking for a comfortable, predictable post-metal crawl, you're in the wrong place. Stenahoria is a deliberate confrontation with discomfort, demanding your total commitment and rewarding you with a rare, cathartic sense of survival. I’m walking away from this one with the realization that the band has created something genuinely formidable here, a dark, suffocating monument of tone that I’ll be listening to for a very long time. 8/10

Bong Voyage - Hedonistic Hard Rock (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]

Your summer party record is here in the form of Hedonistic Hard Rock, from the supergroup of sorts, Bong Voyage. “All we wanna do is make a living playing rock n roll!” is the quote on their Bandcamp page and one of the opening lines on their debut record, Hedonistic Hard Rock, and if it is tongue and cheek or not, it screams of all the bands on the Sunset Strip who pilgrimaged there to make it big, even if these guys are from Oslo. No matter where they are from, this is super fun and most importantly, it rocks.

I get early Van Halen, early Quiet Riot, Jetboy, and other fun and sleazy bands when I listen to Hedonistic Hard Rock. Saturday Rite Special kicks off the party, and that is exactly what it is, a party. But don’t dismiss what these guys are doing here. There are cool tempo changes and layers to these songs. 

Large And In Charge may be their theme song, and it certainly kicks the door down at the party house with a keg over their shoulder and ready to take shit to the next level. UFOria has an early 80s metal feel, more Maiden than their party obsessed brethren, keeping this one heavier, but in music only, not in subject matter. 

The space theme continues with another standout, Outer Space Freebase, which has a fun gallop to it and big vocals, and is probably my favourite track on the record. I dig Enabler too, which reminds me of Y&T musically, and that is a great thing. There are no stinkers on this record, you just have to be in the right mood to fully enjoy it end to end.

This one is growing on me. I bet by the end of the year Hedonistic Hard Rock is one of my more listened to records. A completely different vibe then some of the guy’s other bands, Håndgemeng (who rule), but just as much love was put into this record by Bong Voyage as anything these guys have done. Not sure if this is just a side project, but if it is, let’s hoe we see what else these guys can do with this style. Party in Olso, everyone is invited. 7/10

Blood Of Angels - Les Agnst Ov Thanatou (Self Released) [Mark Young]

Formed in 2015, with a home base in Tampa, Florida which holds a special place in the heart of all death metal fans for the sheer volume of bands that have sprung forth from there. Blood Of Angels are promising a lot here, lets see what it’s about.

Transitional Portal is their starter, the first offering in what they promise is an to redefine extreme metal. I’m all for big statements like this; the thing is having the necessary tools to back it up. As it stands, this is a largely normal/standard/dull opening instrumental which I’ve constantly moaned about elsewhere. Beating You comes in with a riff and a sound that is straight from 1989, I’m not sure if they were approaching this as a live in the studio recording because this sound very lo-fi. 

Randy Reyes harsh vocals dominate and are suitably guttural which in turn provides a balance to their sound. I’m assuming that they wanted it to sound like this; primitive, served practically raw with no unnecessary fat. It’s taken me by surprise, The Last Rites coming next and it sounds different, a fuller tone now on display. 

In any respect it has probably one of the most annoying arrangements to it, a repeating passage that is similar to an alarm going off. Once it gets going, it gets better. This has a classic DM vibe to it, with the four players all on point with it. The main riff is chunky, and again the vocals underpin everything. The closing lead is just right, and there is a sense now that we have found our level.

Red River Death echoes this statement, with another step up in its tone. It’s an urgent guitar line that drops into trem picking time. They throw in some technical tapping before returning to the more brutal way of doing it. One of the things they aren’t afraid of is throwing changes in direction on a whim, especially if they feel that the song is growing stale. On the flip side is that they could have deployed the scissors on this one, but where is the fun in that?

Where it isn’t fun is on The Pain Inside. I think that it was intended for this to be the albums cornerstone, and with starting with an acoustic passage, you knew that this was going to be one of those earnest, cleanly sung and potentially overwrought songs that just kill an album dead. Luckily, they pull it back and get the distortion going. 

Another change in tone, its deeper and thicker now but it will need to absolutely slay in order to get the first 3 or so minutes out of my mind. I feel like I’m being harsh here, I don’t mean to be because A – I’m not in a band B – I’ve never released any music so what gives me the right to say this? Well it’s because I’m a fan and if a band is telling me that they are doing wonderous things with the genre I love they better deliver. 

There is a good song in this, cutting out the clean passages at the start and end would have made this a belter. When you look at this against those before it, there is definitely an upward trajectory in their respective builds and this is a song that would be better without the cleans. Spillage flies in like it knows it has to take care of a damaged relationship, this is such a welcome blast from them, 3 minutes of death metal that has a fiendish riff set and is furious too. 

Likewise, Minds Of The Broken goes down the same route of just being heads down, brutal metal that fans of the genre can get behind. That lo-fi recording style works in their favour, as mentioned its raw and stripped back to the bone. When they do this, you can’t help but sit back and appreciate it for what they are.

And then they drop the ball with Nevermore. Its not clean singing, its that in between place that’s used before the real guttural style kicks in. It feels forced on this, bearing in mind that this clocks in at nearly 8 minutes long, the immediate energy of Spillage and Minds is now a distant memory for me. 

If you look at the song itself, its got a decent descending pattern to it, nothing wrong with it all. For me, it needed to keep the rough style right through. There is a cracking set of riffs in here, massive even that totally work when the vocals are harsh. I don’t want slightly harsh vocals with my death metal, I just don’t.

Eulogy is just a spoken piece that closes out the album, and there’s not an awful lot I can say about it other than that is the end of this.

I’m not sure how to end this, because despite the ropey sound there are some good endeavours here. The two shorter songs are certainly high points of what they can do, its just that there are some severe missteps on here, which I just can’t get past. I don’t see where they are redefining metal, I also believe that they have talent to write decent death metal. Its just that they need to really look inwardly as to what they want to be. 6/10

Mirror Of My Soul - October Is Rising (Majestic Mountain Records) [Matt Bladen]

The solo project of journeyman bass player Patrik Andersson Winberg (Dun Ringill, ex-The Order of Israfel, Doomdogs), Mirror Of My Soul is a project that serves as vehicle for his storytelling, his writing, outside the constraints of a band.

Inspired by gothic rock along with classic hard and prog rock, it may not be the doom be ply's his trade in day to day but October Is Rising is a record that has an introspection and a heaviness to it, though that's emotional rather than in terms of volume.

It's been a record that's had a long gestation period. probably because there's so many involved with it but underneath it all is the songwriting, bass, keys and more of Winberg that steer these experimentations in style, sound and feel.

Be it the Nick Cave sadness of the title track and A Good Day To Die, the flute driven progging of Mina Fotavtryck, the creeping organs of Grandpa, the songs here weren't recorded until they were ready, regardless of genre, Winberg was committed to making sure his songs were the best expressions of his skill and passion.

Joining Winberg are drummers Pete Campbell (Axe Dragger) and Tobbe Strandvik (ex-Kamchatka), there's guitarist Patric Grammann (Dun Ringill) and keyboardist Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars, ex-Opeth, Tiamat).

While there's also a cast of singers who all bring their own personality to the characters these musical stories deal with. The vocalists are; Terry Slesser (Beckett, Backstreet Crawler, Geordie), Richard Reynolds (Lunar Tantrum), Andy Campbell (Rust Bucket), Damon Collum (ex-Don Darlings), Philip Lindgren (ex-Hypnos), and Niklas Sjöberg (Graviators).

With extra musical power from Lovisa, Songdog, Tobias Jansson (Saffire, Gathering of Kings), Niklas Börjesson (ex-Lotus), Tony Jelenchovich (Transport League, ex-M.A.N), October Is Rising is an exploration of Patrik Andersson Winberg's creative muscle and while it is diverse and beguiling, you may be looking for something a bit louder when this ends. 6/10

Reviews: Evanescence, Tarja, A.A. Williams, Bloodhunter (Matt Bladen)

Evanescence - Sanctuary (BMG)

The band that spawned a million teenage goths, Evanescence, perhaps unfairly, are only really remembered for their debut album Fallen, but there's a lot more to them than just the radio singles that record let loose on the world.

Surprisingly Sanctuary is only their sixth studio record, their last The Bitter Truth came out in 2021, but it does prove to be their most aggressive, written at the time of Trump's re-election and the massive turmoil in their native USA, it's an album of anger and frustration, highlighted by single Who Will You Follow but also one that looks for hope and humanity on How Do I Heal.

It continues the bands journey towards a more modern and overall heavier sound, the piano driven style of their earlier work of course never going away, the fact that a few of the tracks were co-written by Amy Lee, Zakk Cervini and Jordan Fish, injects some more contemporary sounds as all three produce alongside Nick Raskulinecz so Sanctuary feels massive and polished.

The throbbing electronics pulsate beneath colossal djenty riffs of Troy McLawhorn and Tom McCord, the hooky grooves of bassist Emma Anzai (who debuts on this record) and the pounding drums of Will Hunt. There's also an orchestra that emboldens a few of the tracks including the title track and Self-Destruct as the piano still plays a pivotal role on Forever Without You.

Of course Evanescence has always been the vehicle for the unmistakable and I think unmatched vocals of Amy Lee. On Sanctuary she gives a fantastic performance yet again, bringing agility, emotion and rage on About Us. Lee says that with album she has "a lot to get off my chest" on this album and you can definitely hear that she has something to say on Sanctuary.

The entire ethos of the record being that it's not a way to escape, but a way to cope and it's a hell of a record to do it with. As so many bands around try to emulate the records of the early 2000's, Sanctuary feels full circle for Evanescence, retaining the style that took the rock world by storm back then but refined into a more modern beast.

It's their most coherent and cohesive album since Fallen, bringing all of the sonic experiments they've done since then and now together in to a record that defines who the band are now. 8/10

Tarja - Frisson Noir (earMusic)

If you don't know who Tarja is by now then I'm afraid I can't really help you, the Godmother of symphonic metal, she has been one of the performers, that most symphonic metal artists has been compared to.

Her distinctive soprano was the focal point of Nightwish for year but since then she's embarked on a solo career that has been just as significant and successful, combining the powers of the classical world and the metal sphere to great effect.

As a result her solo albums are always both dramatic and intimate the two genres colliding in glorious way. With Frisson Noir, her new record, Tarja has not only released another great album but perhaps her heaviest to date, especially on the metallic side, while also expanding more towards other sounds and textures.

The classical side is of course the most prevailing, delicate piano, stirring strings, from concert pianist Niklas Pokki and violinist Mervi Myllyoja on At Sea. Orchestral swells coming from Apocalyptica on Tango, while Anemoia features flamenco guitar from Julián Bedmar and cello from Valter Freitas. There's even a shamisen from Sayo Komada on The Trace Outlives all adding depth

Alongside all this the guitars chug and the drums pound with modern hued riffage. Komada is one of a few guests that ads something to this record the most nostalgic being, Leap Of Faith a duet with Marko Hietala. The two former Nightwish vocalist joining forces again after Tarja appeared on the song Left On Mars from Hietala's album Roses From The Deep, and while this will be welcomed many may scratch their heads about Dani Filth turning up on I Don't Care and Chad Smith (RHCP) adds some drums to Against The Odds.

Now I will say Frisson Noir is an album that needs investment, even at 10 tracks it feels long, it's over an hour in length and every second is full of grown up compositions and a serious po-face of every note being very important. If you can give it time then Frisson Noir will unfold into a great symphonic metal record, that leans more on the classical side. 7/10

A.A. Williams – Solstice (RPM)

A.A. Williams has been a very potent name in the world of emotionally intensive music for a while now, making her live debut at Roadburn Festival of all places, she has gone on to support some of the massive names who are often linked to festivals such as Roadburn and ArcTanGent.

Leading to two acclaimed albums and three EP’s, her evocative take on music layered orchestrations, post rock shimmers, heavy churning riffs and haunting ethereal vocals drawn from the 90’s scene of PJ Harvey et al, Williams’ classical training always on show often juxtaposed with the cacophony of heaviness in her music be that volume or emotional.

It’s the sort of music where dynamics are key, from a single piano to an epic wall of sound Williams performs music you need to listen to, it’s not the sort of thing you stick on a playlist, maybe you could call it mature but I would say that it’s deliberate, there’s a vulnerability on this record, the songwriting is stripped back, plaintive and poetic.

Solstice welcomes the summer from the long journey through winter with both caution and hope, Hold It Together for instance moves from a piano to a cinematic expanse easily, the fragility showing her emotional depth and introspection while the louder portions invite release and catharsis.

Now I’m usually someone who loves this sort of music, I’ve very much enjoyed (?) the previous releases by A.A Williams but Solstice to me feels a bit too piano heavy, slower and more maudlin than previous efforts. I’m all for sadness and misery don’t get me wrong but the middle of this album drags a little, with a few songs that sound awfully similar; piano, vocal, build, guitars, close. 

Now maybe that reflects the mind-set of Williams but I feel it may have been better as two EP’s one loud, one quiet rather than a whole record. I’m not saying it’s bad, not at all the performance is as harrowing and mesmerising as usual, I’m just saying it’s a little too long and perhaps a little too stripped back in comparison to previous records. 7/10

Bloodhunter - Sons Of The Abandoned (ROAR)

Melodic death metal now from Spain as former Nervosa singer Diva Satanica returns with the new record from Bloodhunter, with some Spanish live dates alongside Crypta (again formed by ex-Nervosa members.

These live shows promise to be a melodeath feast so what can you expect from their fourth album? Bluntly. More of the same; blistering riffs, double kicks heaven, twin axe harmonies and Diva's versatile vocal style which screams, roars and even adds some clean backing vocals for the first time.

Album four begins with the incendiary The Devil's Own and the influences of Arch Enemy, Devildriver and Hypocrisy come through as the technically precise melodeath is joined by groove metal grunt, the lyrics dealing with human and historical themes while the musical palette is also expanded through some atmospheric moments that cut through the heaviness.

However there are not many as must admit I got to the middle of the record and was starting to lose my interest a little as the guitar/drum sound is very similar for every track, making many of them merge together into a melodeath malaise. Only The Night Before Dawn, which is an acoustic interlude, recapturing my interest.

Joining Diva are a couple of high profile guests as The Threshold Of Hell features Fernando Riberio of Moonspell while The Path That Never Ends has Laura Guldemond of Burning Witches, but besides a few songs the most appealing part of this record is a cover of Human Insecticide by Annihilator, if there was more of this on the record the balance would be better.

Sons Of The Abandoned is a fine melodeath album but just that, fine. 6/10

Day Of Wreckoning 2026 Preview

Day Of Wreckoning 2026 Preview By Matt Bladen

Day Of Wreckoning is upon us once again and this time it's bigger than ever before? On the past two editions it's emanated from the Patti Pavilion in Swansea but for the 2026 edition the team have moved to the East Side of Wales basing themselves at Corn Exchange Newport.

However then they all did something silly and roped in Le Pub and The Pit as venues as well to do a One Day, Three Venue salute to the the South Wales metal scene, M2TM and Bloodstock Festival.

Of course the crux of it all is the Bloodstock Metal To The Masses South Wales Final where six bands will play the best they can to earn themselves a place at Bloodstock Festival and we've been keeping you updated with all of that from the front lines but ICYMI the six bands looking to get to the UK's best metal festival are:

Disrupt The Continuum - where metalcore meets melodeath, expect some massive riffs, growled vocals and technically impressive lead guitars, from this veteran outfit who have had a major revival this year.

Excursia - modern deathcore crush with grooves for days, these lads have kept coming back year after year and their ultra modern take on heavy will rattle the walls and cause frequent running man pits.

Grindhorse83 - surf horror punk that tries to answer the question is surf music just black metal without distortion? Expect the weird and wonderful from these veteran musicians of the South Wales Scene.

House Of Hosts - more modernity but with anthemic choruses and a hard rock swagger unashamedly influenced by the American New School of the 2010's. Emotive and riff friendly you'll be singing along to these guys.

Inscape - comeback kids who more than made up for their call back, intensity, technically and brutality as math metal meets all manner of other styles, thrown at you in a hail of noise, they'll get the room bouncing.

Risperidrone - brooding, bludgeoning heavy doom with skull rattling riffs, slow sludge dirges turn into bouncing stoner rampages, fuzzy and furious in equal measure, they may not get pits going but they'll make sure you ears bleed.

All six of these bands will be taking the stage at Corn Exchange, many of them playing to the largest crowd they have before, make sure you get down the front early to support all of them as the outside judges will want to see you supporting your scene and your bands.

After all the stressful bit comes the fun, previously we've had four guest acts take the stage after the finals but this year we have a grand total of 12 guest acts across three venues to get you excited.

The Pit

Starting out with the The Pit, which is downstairs in McCann's Rock & Ale Bar, we have the heaviest sets of the day, black, death, doom metal all coming from the primordial ooze in a basement venue where the walls will pour with blood, or more likely sweat!

Kicking things off here are former M2TM Winners Democratus who will make sure to get things going loudly, if you've been around the scene for a while you will know what to expect here as Democratus can command a crowd easily even if they are on first.

Following them are Tumanduumband, making their Welsh debut. The two piece (bass/drums) will don their cloaks and proceed to make the loudest style of doom they can, glacially slow and punishing they won't be for the faint of heart.

Making their return this year after a lengthy hiatus are Welsh black metal troupe Agrona. Former winners of M2TM, they've played Bloodstock a few times previously, but with a renewed line up they will be looking to make a statement in The Pit, proudly taking the special guest slot here as a reminder of their place in South Wales metal scene.

Finally the headliner for The Pit will be the disgusting sounds of Sodomized Cadaver, death metal done brutally, this trio will be cracking out their gore soaked death and encouraginyas much movement as possible. Let's make the foundations of The Pit shift when these Welsh death metal veterans explode onto the stage.

Le Pub

Next on to Le Pub which features an eclectic line up for the day getting started with the chorus driven prog/power of Awake By Design, big melodies and plenty of virtuosity on offer here, for those that like to bounce into the day, this Bristol band will be perfect.

After that though there's a lot of riffage heading your way as Syncolima come down to South Wales to crank out the psych stoner sounds, the trio will be turning up the volume in Le Pub so get ready to bang your heads.

Keep them banging, though a bit slower for Lifer, South East Wales' answer to Down, these legends played Bloodstock many moons ago but in front of a home town crowd you'll definitely want to make sure you get down the front as Scriv and the boys will be on fire.

As the headliner of Le Pub it's another local(ish) act as the mighty Black Lakes will be closing out the day here with their dark, melodic mixture of alternative metal/hard rock which promises to draw you into their melancholic musical world. Having cultivated a strong following across the UK, seeing them in Le Pub will be an intimate and enthralling experience.

Corn Exchange

On the Corn Exchange stage we have your big hitters, getting the day off to a rabid start will be Swansea thrashers Helldown, having played Bloodstock recently, they stormed the stage with their throwback sound and will.be shredding up a storm when they reach Newport.

Get ready to get on your dancing shoes after that with Scots, Tiberius who bring modern metal meets prog meets goblin energy. Sing along choruses, big anthems, Dungeons & Dragons and spending most of the set in amongst the crowd, the energy will be pumping when they take to the stage.

Keeping that energy and turning it to one of the most frenzied performances you will ever see Mother Vulture are welcomed back to the Day Of Wreckoning stage, higher up the bill, more experienced, louder and better than before, they're one of the best live bands in the UK and you will be able to see that close up on 20th June.

With all the other stages finished and the day coming to a close Day Of Wreckoning will proudly welcome a true rock n roll survivor. The legendary Ginger Wildheart and The Wildhearts will close the day with a full loaded set of heavy rockers new and old guaranteed to close out the day with the mother of all parties.

There are few bands still around that enoby rock n roll like The Wildhearts and with Ginger's recent announcement, this will be a perfect way to celebrate one of the UK's most enduring bands and I can't think of a better way to finish Day Of Wreckoning than by raising a glass (or three) to good old rock n roll!

So that's your full day run down of Day Of Wreckoning, it's going to be an amazing day of music where one of our six finalists will secure a place at Bloodstock Festival while you get enjoy 18 Bands across 3 stages!

Head over to Tickets 24/7 or Corn Exchange for tickets:

https://ticket247.co.uk/Event/517805

https://cornexchangenewport.gigantic.com/day-of-wreckoning-mmxxvi-ft-the-wildhearts-tickets/newport-the-corn-exchange/2026-06-20-12-00

Reviews: Khemmis, Lex Legion, Defiled, Fleshcrawl (Matt Bladen & Mark Young)

Khemmis - Khemmis (Nuclear Blast) [Matt Bladen]

In the music world self titled albums are either a birth or a rebirth of a band, so when Khemmis announced that their fifth album would carry their band name I braced myself for these heavy riff veterans to embrace K-Pop with their new record but thankfully they haven't.

What the Colorado four piece have done though is define what Khemmis is, the band themselves say that they have "rediscovered something unexpected and powerful–the joy of making heavy music together."

So Khemmis by Khemmis is an album inspired by the band Khemmis, the four individuals that make the music here and how these friendships have endured the trials, tribulations and the music industry at large, driven by the love of making music together.

Though this version of the band is not the same as the one that started out, though 3/4 are as vocalist/guitarists Ben Hutcherson and Phil Pendergast alongside drummer Zach Coleman are still the driving force of Khemmis with only bassist David Small being a new addition, although he joined officially in 2022 and brings a meaty, bottom end to this new music.

Despite being a key part of the Denver metal community, two members now live in different states but reconvening to record this record has inspired them to create the most expressive music of their career. Locked in an in a flow state the separation was a benefit to the process as they really gelled together in the studio to pump out riffs like it was 2012 all over again.

So this self titled album is something of a return, the return of fun, it's their heavy metal album, the worship of the classic sound more prominent than on any previous releases, it's what the kids call Epic Metal, doom merged with traditional sounds as rock solid rhythm section gallops and grooves ready for the twin axe attack to do it's thing on tracks such as Tomb Of Roses.

With influences from Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, Candlemass as well as Mastodon, Baroness and The Sword, Khemmis leaning into anthemic epic metal, but there are still homages to all the styles of heavy metal from death growls on the Opeth-like Corpsebloom Garden, prog/classical/thrash on Invocation Of The Dreamer, some sludge riffs on the psychedelic Beneath The Scythe and old school death doom comes on Carrion King.

To truly finish off the trifecta, this concept album needed a song called Khemmis, but as it stands Khemmis by Khemmis, is a brilliant record from a band who have fallen in love with making heavy metal all over again. 9/10

Lex Legion - Lex Legion (MNRK) [Matt Bladen]

It's funny that way people look at things. I'm sure everyone else's will be absolutely enamoured that Lex Legion contains four-fifths of the King Diamond line up from the late 80's.

Formed by guitarist Pete Blakk, he's recruited bassist Hal Patino, guitarist Andy La Rocque (ex Death) and drummer Mikkey Dee (Motorhead/Scorpions) to create a band heavily inspired by the King/Mercyful Fate/Judas Priest and any heavy rock band where the guitars are razor sharp, the rhythm section is let loose and the vocals shriek high enough to break glass.

It's in the latter that I get excited about this record as they've brought in Nils K. Rue of Pagan's Mind to take the mic, in an inspired step as he has the same ear piercing power as the King himself but with a broader tone too. Pagan's Mind have long been a favourite with me so, the majority will love the idea of these four instrumentalists making music together again, I'm excited by hearing Rue belt out some classic metal.

It's an album written in between the various other projects the members are part of, an album of leisure with an almost 25 year gestation period, the fact that most of these performers have more than forty years of experience behind them only means that this debut record is free of ego and of any reservations.

They're not trying to deliver box office smashes or platinum selling records, just honest, straightforward heavy metal with big choruses and plenty of fist-in-the-air riffs. For instance Gypsy Tears will have you thinking of what would happen if King Diamond and Uriah Heep wrote a song together while opener Sleep Eternally just sets the right tone for the whole record/band a metallic stormer with big chorus.

From here it's non-stop ride through leather clad heavy metal, the gallops of Patino controlling the changes of pace, to bring some progressive tones. The interplay between La Rocque and Blakk as crisp and harmonious as it was all those years ago, be it the distorted horror-tinged riffs of (I Am) The Resurrected or the countless solo sections.

Dee still hits with more force and ferocity than drummers more than half his age, even when they settle into the mid-pace chugs on When The Stars Align he's all double kicks while Rue's vocals are just right for the muscular rocking of Lost Inside and theatrical moments such as Saviours.

Lex Legion bring the Heavy Metal Thunder, have their Balls To The Wall, they're Screaming For Vengeance and they're here to Welcome Home heavy metal with their debut album. So if you're savvy enough to know these, thinly veiled song titles you'll love this album. 8/10

Defiled - Altered State (Season Of Mist) [Mark Young]

There are difficult reviews, those that should on paper be right up your street in terms of the core music you listen to. I’m not too shallow to admit that sitting down with a chunk of death metal is probably more preferable to shoe gaze or maybe tech metal. I’m comfortable with it and I still get excited by releases by bands new and old. 

Defiled unfortunately fall into the either/or position with their latest opus, Altered State. There are positives and negatives here, I think that my problem is that it feels like it is the same song repeated 14 times. I know that bands are often set in a particular style of how they go about writing and recording new material, which can sometimes work against them.

I’d never come across them prior to this and reading their accompanying press it promised that it would satisfy a lot of things I associate with this genre. My main takeaway was that it suggested something new, which I found to be not quite correct. The songs come and go with varying degrees of speed and intensity without leaving any real mark on you. 

Repeated listens which often unlock something you miss revealed nothing more for me, other than its death metal. Sitting down to write this I realised that I had more negative things to say, which serve no purpose other than to make me look witty and I hate that in reviews. Simply put it’s a dull album.

There are jagged shards present, like I said there are positives but they are swallowed by an overwhelming cloak of grey. The opener starts like you would hope, Dazed In Blindness has a frenzy to it but it feels off, like they have purposefully leaned into making it off-centre. Its feeling that continues right through, because you have the music side flying along but the vocal delivery doesn’t match it. Its harsh which is fine in itself but it’s just delivered in one way that flattens the songs. 

In any respect, I want to move on from taking shots at them because for someone this will be a cracker. The fact it doesn’t work for me shouldn’t put anyone else off from trying it. Obsession, as an example does a good job of being heavy, as does Genocidal Stage but there is little variance between them. Still, there are some good moments here, it’s just a bit of chore to sit through the 14 tracks to discover where those moments are. 6/10

Fleshcrawl - Epitome Of Carnage (Reigning Phoenix Music) [Mark Young]

And so onto the second album of the weekend, with Fleshcrawl, the veterans who bring you their latest full length release. I think that when a band suggests that this is going to be old school brutality or its going to do this or do that, it feels like they are setting a bar too high before they start. So, let me help you make a decision here using the Death Metal Ready Reckoner:

Do you like Death Metal – yes or no.

If its yes, please proceed and take a seat. If its no, then maybe you will find something in the easy listening section. Fleshcrawl basically promise an album of uncompromising, violent metal. Epitome Of Carnage should at least give you some kind of clue as to what they are all about and where their heads were at during the making of this record. 

Starting with the negatives first so we can get them out of the way, as an album it has one way of doing things, and it hopes that you are onboard with them doing things this way. All of the core ingredients are here – harsh vocals, speedy riffing, double bass doing that machine gun thing, everything that you associate with this genre of music. 

They make good on that promise and there are definitely no lies detected from them with this, it’s just that I press play with Blood Dominion kicking things off and, I look again its Committed To Suffer with no apparent breaks in between. My point is that in an effort to make this as brutal, as old school and feel free to add your own labels here, its punched them into a corner. 

There is nothing ostensibly wrong with any of the songs on here as I’ve said above, they do what they need to do and do what you expect them to. Its just that there is very little difference on display here. I’m of the opinion that they could have trimmed a couple of songs from this too without affecting the way it lands.

It all goes back to what you want from your death metal, or extreme metal in general. If its just pummelling brutality, then pitch your tent here. If you are looking for something more than that, you may be disappointed with it because there is nothing more here. It exists just to be heavy, that’s it. 6/10

Reviews: Gozu, Requiem In White, Iron Kingdom, Your Spirit Dies (Rich Piva, Spike, Adz Redpath & GC)

Gozu - Gozu VI (Metal Blade Records / Blacklight Media Record) [Rich Piva]

Yes, Gozu gets thrown into stoner rock band categorization, and for good reason. But no band swings like Gozu swings, and no band sounds like Gozu does, even with the seemingly thousands of stoner bands out there today. 

This is very evident on their new record, Gozu VI, which shows some of their metal side too, but keeps their trademarked Gozu sound that you know and love and ratchets up the harmonies and catchiness that help make this band so special.

Marc Gaffney’s unique vocals are at the top of his game while Doug Sherman brings out his shredder for the eight tracks on VI. Banacek kicks all sorts of ass, with Sherman doing his best early 80s metal impression on the solo, simply ripping it up. Killer Khan is another favourite, and the band really layers in the background vocals and the harmonies to really make this group of songs stand out. 

Of course you get the great titles that have no meaning to the lyrics, but with those lyrics you get some of the deepest, personal, and best songs in the band’s career. That is really saying something, given how much I love Gozu. Plus they have a song called Corinthian Leatherface which is great on multiple levels.

Gozu never disappoints, and they don’t here either with VI. They may have even exceeded expectations with these songs. Don’t let the 80s wrestling and old TV titles fool you. Gozu is not screwing around on Gozu VI, an album of the year contender. 9/10

Requiem In White – The Visible Heaven (The Circle Music) [Spike]

Back in 1985, if you wanted to play dark, romantic music in Boston, you were fending for yourself. There was no organized gothic scene to coddle you. Requiem In White built their own fortress out of classical operatic drama and jagged, raw post-punk friction. 

By the time they took over New York in the late 80s, headlining over the likes of Christian Death and Type O Negative, they had become a myth, partly because their music was exceptional, and partly because they flat-out refused to play the media game. 

After 32 years of silence following their painful 1994 split, The Visible Heaven is a resurrection that shouldn't work on paper, yet it stands as one of the most vital, majestic things I’ve heard in a very long time.

This isn't a band trying to copy modern "darkwave" trends or hide behind cheap drum machines. The record opens with the title track, The Visible Heaven, and the hair on your arms immediately stands up. 

Lisa Stockton’s vocal range remains an absolute force of nature; she doesn't just sing, she commands the frequency with a classical, theatrical gravity that most of the modern goth circuit can only dream of. Doc Hammer’s guitar work is right where it needs to be, thick, ominous, and shifting seamlessly from jagged metallic riffs to sprawling, gothic soundscapes.

The rhythmic spine of the record is incredibly bitter-sweet. While we deeply feel the absence of the late Chris Walsh on bass, the foundation provided on tracks like Ursuline Sister and True Lovers and Whores is remarkably heavy and physical. Javier Madariaga’s drumming retains that urgent, street-level pulse, a reminder of his roots in Reagan Youth which keeps the "gothic opera" tag firmly anchored in a raw, unvarnished punk reality.

Missa Brevis for the despised king in D minor is the absolute centrepiece of the record. It’s a track that highlights their unique ability to weave classical mass structures into a rock framework without ever feeling pretentious or silly. It’s dense, atmospheric, and has a cold-blooded elegance that reminds me of early Paul Chain or Sex Gang Children at their most creative. The guitars don't just play riffs; they build a grey, towering cathedral in your living room.

The back half Solus Sum, Suffer And Sleep, and Reckless In Misery doubles down on the melancholy. I’ve been listening to Cold Or Divine in the car, and the way the vocals layer over that crawling, feedback-laden groove is pure, late-night catharsis and could be the reason for the odd speeding ticket late at night too. It’s honest, pained, and entirely unmasked music for people who understand that goth isn't about the hair dye; it’s about the soul of the noise. 

The Visible Heaven is a heavy, shimmering triumph of composition and intent, proving that some myths are entirely real. For those of us who still remember goth from the 80s, this isn't just a record, it’s a home. 9/10

Iron Kingdom - Shadows And Dust (Steel Shark Records) [Adz Redpath]

Forming in 2011 in Vancouver, Canada This is Iron Kingdom's 6th full length studio album and coincides with their 15th anniversary as a band, having had quite the illustrious career to date with support slots with everyone from Anvil, HammerFall, Angra, Metal Church and Jag Panzer to the mighty Flotsam and Jetsam, and with many festival and tour shows under their belt this group have a definite calibre and track record to be respected.

A self proclaimed self produced and mainly DIY group in most every aspect of what they do is not so common at this level and especially within the traditional, classic and prog metal genres. At this stage a band would usually hit big studios and big production to give the huge sound that is so iconic within these styles but to their credit they as a band have taken a different route. 

Unfortunately this does show in the overall sound, whilst this is their first release in their own self constructed studio I feel it is underwhelming on the production front, lacking both definition and separation overall and in particular with the drums which are lacking a punch that is sorely missed, both the cymbals and guitars feel washed out and almost hark back to the mp3 era, the bass guitar is almost non existent sonically and missing the frequencies that fill the low end of the mix which even falls flat when the bass is alone such as on the intro of the track Blood And Steel and for majority of the record.

There is a sound here that speaks to everything being mastered at too low a hz level with samples sounding like they were low rez ripped from Youtube and a lack of space within the mix that even programmed music ad's these days, this is missed greatly given the scope of the songs on display here and has more of a production sound that is reminiscent of the first Iron Maiden album before the remasters, not bad but not up to modern standards.

The musicianship here is very strong and undeniably adept as the band puts a strong foot forward in these areas most of all, and whilst being masterful in every instrumental aspect of their craft this release however simply lacks the songs to carry it to any massive heights in what is a very strong scene. 

Mashing the more classic thrash metal and NWOBHM with soaring vocals and shredding solo's mixed with the anthemic gang vocal sections and almost symphonic parts there is a clear calibre here but lacks its own distinct voice. Hopefully the next album will find them more at ease with their new studio and more able to elevate what they have as despite my criticisms this is clearly a band that knows what they want.

Worth a listen but not a head turner. 6/10

Your Spirit Dies - It Is Well (MNRK Heavy) [GC]

Lots to like about EP’s, if you like it you can dive into the rest o the bands catalogue or look forward to what is coming in the future, if its god awful you can be pleased that its short and you have wasted much time on it and move on quickly! So, with all that in mind, I have the new EP from Your Spirit Dies, It Is Well is it bin or get in???

They literally blast out of the blocks on Starless and it is full of the anger and brutality you want but the drums kind of drown everything out at first, when anything else does come through you get a familiar modern sounding metalcore sound that is overtly electronic and this takes something away from the overall sound, like it decent but it sounds to clean and produced, I know that sounds mental but you need a bit of dirtiness to really do this justice, I honestly have no idea why they have decided to put When Peace, Like A River on this as its just 56 seconds of ambient background filler? 

This is really not needed and almost slightly insulting to include on this release, put it on an album to break up the flow of as an intro/outro on this? 100% pointless and annoying! So, Whispers In Omen is the next and final track, once again it has all the huff and puff but is just so overproduced that you miss certain things and have to go back to really pick them up and when you’re not actually that bothered about the sound it grates massively, the breakdown in this song saves it from falling into total mediocrity but only just the rest has all been done before and much better.

So, for me this falls directly into the move on quickly category, 2 songs are not enough for me to really form a strong opinion on a band and what I heard made me just think they are ok but I won’t be going out of my way to listen to anything in the future and that’s a shame. 4/10

Reviews: Fireball Ministry, Xenosis, Harboured, Dutch Elm (Rich Piva, GC, Spike & Adz Redpath)

Fireball Ministry - Beneath The Desert Floor: Chapter 10: The Second Great Awakening (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]

Fireball Ministry is one of my favourite bands of all time, and one of many that never got the love from a larger public that they deserved. Yes, there was a video game soundtrack, MTV show appearances, and some big tours, but the true genius of this band was never fully realized in mass. 

One guy who does get it, of course, is Todd from Ripple Music, who, for his Beneath The Desert Floor project, is putting out all of the back catalogue of the band. We are at the second of the Ripple rerelease set, this time with my favourite FB record and one of my favourite records of all time by any band, The Second Great Awakening.

Album two from FB, originally released in 2003, is perfect heavy rock and roll. The vocals and melodies from the good Reverend James Rota paired with the never-ending riffs of Fireball Emily could not have been more effective for a listener to both bang their head and have an earworm attached simultaneously. 

Fireball Ministry is catchy as hell, and the choruses and bridges stick with you, as they have for me for over two decades, as this record has never been out of rotation for me. Zero skips and end to end perfect, King, The Simmer, Master Of None…it is really no use listing them off because all the songs on this record rule. The production and sound is exactly what it should be, perfectly balanced and capturing what this band is supposed to sound like. A desert island record for this reviewer, and one that everyone needs to hear if you have ever liked any band I have reviewed.

I am so happy Ripple Music is doing the rerelease and new vinyl pressings of the Fireball Ministry discography. All of their records are great, but The Second Great Awakening is special and pretty much perfect. Still sounds just as fresh now as it did in 2003. 10/10

Xenosis - Hermetic Transmutation (Transcending Obscurity) [GC]

It feels like it has been a long time since a new death metal record has excited me, I truly love the genre and it was my first foray into extreme metal back in the day but sometimes it’s just so tiresome and lacks imagination to really get the blood flowing, saying this I can usually rely on Transcending Obscurity to put out interesting and challenging records, hopefully with Hermetic Transmutations Xenosis can keep the good name of T.O going and drop a killer record.

If the first minute or so of Sentient Shapes is anything to go by, I could be in for an interesting ride, its technically excellent and still punishingly heavy with time changes a plenty and new directions taken at the drop of a hat, the guitars are crisp but still have that dirty edge needed, the drumming is insane the only thing that gets slightly lost in the chaos are the vocals that feel slightly too low in the mix but overall a great start! 

Prolapsed Twin Entombment is a quality title and the track itself is also quality, blasting drums take over everything and the guitars squeal and crush in equal measure, the bass shines through here as well to create a sound backbone for the craziness of everything else and the vocals do come though better on this track, wonderfully insane sounding music.

Spore Whore is just unrelenting brutality from the very second it starts to the end, it also has a jazz element in the mix of everything and the nature of the timing is truly brilliant, it jostles and shakes you from pillar to post without ever giving you a minute to gather yourself before the next onslaught is thrown at you.

It’s an utterly beautiful wave of noise that just keeps coming and coming and when its over your almost pleased because you can re-group, but then unfortunately Engravings For Dyslexic Clairvoyants is just a mid-album noting track, 1 minute of utter pointlessness and for an album with 8 tracks seems completely unnecessary!! 

Thankfully, Rapid Metamorphosis is more of exactly the same bat-shit crazy technical death metal that the rest of the album has been, the way the song flows here feels slightly different to everything else, it seems to have a bit more of a mathcore tone, that death metal sounds are all there but the way the song goes just has that different feel.

It’s all done tremendously well though and continues the triumphant technical excellence that is the hallmark of any good tech-death band. The only slight gripe is some tracks can seem to go on slightly longer than is needed, like they always need just one more bit? 

Sea Of Teeth is not one of those tracks however! It feels like they have just gone directly back to just full-on death metal, its not nearly as technical as the rest of the album and feels like a throwback to a simpler time, when death metal was just heavy and menacing, a glorious homage to days gone. 

Alter Of The Hound dials the tech back up to maybe 9 here, its not as intense as the rest of the album and the way the bass leads everything is really well done, the track has the more old school sound mixed in but still manages to sound fresh and challenging all the way through and you almost wonder if the drummer is actually human because the pace is always relentless all the way.

Even the slower more jazzy bits are still technical and demanding, I take my hat off to him, mega drummer! No Longer Human has the task of finishing the album and its done so in a wonderfully executed blast of madness, it squeaks, thuds and pummels in equal measure and never really eases up and is just another example of technical excellence in death metal form.

Well, well, well! That was a ride! I wasn’t familiar with Xenosis before this, but I certainly am now! A completely batshit crazy album with musical excellence dripping from every note on every track, if you like technical death metal then trust me Hermetic Transmutation will tick every box and leave you wanting more!! 9/10

Harboured – We’re Only The Love That We Lead (Lost Future Records) [Spike]

Michael Stancel’s idea of a lyric sheet is basically a civil engineering disaster report. Instead of the usual whiny, post-breakup oversharing, the Denver guitarist uses structural collapses, failing infrastructure, and moral decay as metaphors to anchor his sophomore album with Harboured, We’re Only The Love That We Lead. 

On paper, a trio consisting of Allegaeon’s tech-death shredders (Stancel and bassist Brandon Michael) and Oak, Ash & Thorn’s folk-black metal drummer (Cierra White) should be an over-technical mess. But what they’ve actually built here is a massive, moody collision of blackgaze, post-metal, and alternative rock that refuses to stay in any of the boxes the internet tries to put it in.

The album creeps out of the traps with W.O.T.L.T.W.L, a slow-building, menacing crawl that quickly switches into a heavy, pounding dirge. It sets the stage for Dead Ringer, where White’s thunderous, piston-like drums and Michael’s throbbing, heavy bass lay down a raucous riot, with Stancel’s fizzy guitars and atmospheric synths giving the aggression a glossy but dangerous sheen.

What’s most impressive about this record is the band’s willingness to let their actual musical loves bleed through. Stancel has mentioned wanting to hear "what Phoebe Bridgers would sound like if she listened to Failure and Alcest," and you can hear that creative friction everywhere. There's a slippery, hip-hop-inflected groove and a high-pitched whirr on Sevin that sounds like Public Enemy trying their hand at black metal. You know that shouldn’t work but it really does.

The transition into Guardrail pulls the volume back, ushering in delicate, plucked guitar tones that feel like pure, fragile silk. Stancel's clean vocals are sweet and yearning, before the track opens up into a swirling, heavy-set pool of chugging guitars and throat-shredding roars. They navigate these high-contrast dynamics with a level of veteran focus that carries over into New Year's Day, which starts with futuristic, droning synths before veering headlong into a furious blizzard of drums and scorching post-metal ferocity.

Even when they lean into familiar tricks like using that distinct, scraping "cat-screech" guitar lick on Debts that you usually find in Gojira tracks, they make it their own, alternating between a moody, quiet verse and a raging chorus. The true highlight of the record, however, is Halifax. It begins almost like an acoustic, campfire ballad. This made me think of R.E.M. at their most reflective before a swift, thunderous rumble of the drums kicks the song into the blackgaze ether, screeching and roaring to an epic finish. You can practically smell the pine trees before the smoke takes over.

There are still surprises in the trunk. End Credits is a complete red herring. This is a straight-up indie-rock banger with driving guitars, a shimmering piano hook, and an earworm melody that sounds like a lost Snow Patrol anthem (in a good way). They close the book with a piledriver cover of The Faint's Agenda Suicide. It’s a choppy, thrusting, and aggressive finale, even if it pales slightly in comparison to the sheer brilliance of their own songwriting.

I love the sheer unpredictability of this album and it is what keeps me hooked. It’s a record that works because they let their actual influences, not just their technical pedigree, drive the vehicle. When you've spent forty years listening to the same four metal formulas, a record like We’re Only The Love That We Lead is exactly the kind of unexpected, left-field shock to the system that makes you glad you're still looking and also it underlines the opportunity that writing for Musipedia Of Metal gives us. 

You get given diamonds like this to listen to and in this case run off and buy the physical album. 9/10

Dutch Elm - Dutch Elm (Ripcord Records) [Adz Redpath]

Dutch Elm are an intriguing instrumental band hailing from Newcastle in the U.K. and having built their own prog rock sensibilities since 2016 this is their first full length release after several establishing singles. 

This is technically an album although does feel more like a stretched out E.P in both concept and musical variation. However that being said this doesn't get boring or feel like it lulls at any point, it has strong musicianship and themes throughout.

The production here is very solid although a touch overzealous with the top end where the guitars and cymbals are concerned a slight shrillness does hit home on certain sections in particular when I took it to A/B on my studio monitors but this genuinely doesn't detract from a very strong release here in most every aspect otherwise.

I will state what many will expect and feel, this with the right vocals would be a release that could have massive traction in particular with the likes of Muse fans, which strikes even more home when you hear the final track Soledad Brother, if these vocals ran throughout then it would open a lot of doors for this band, with huge commercial viability from a group of young guys who have massive potential on show here. 

That being said this release is an enjoyable and easy listen, whilst not feeling hugely original in sound or concept it stands tall with a bright and captivating feel throughout, my personal favourite being You're Not Invited To That Riff with its groove ridden bass guitar from Callum Bell and some great guitar work on show from Matthew McKenna and Lewis Ticket with simple and iconic melodies that truly lend themselves to a repeat listen, supported throughout by the creative and solid drums from Liam Bird.

I would personally be very intrigued to catch these guys live as I've a sneaking suspicion that if they can keep as tight as this release and given the right amount of energy then they could well turn heads across the country and further afield as they are on a clear upward trajectory. Keep expanding the vision and maybe add some more of the excellent vocals and expect to be heard far and wide in the near future. 7/10

Reviews: Divided By Design, Slakter, Bayonet Dismemberment, Vow (Matt Bladen)

Divided By Design - Stages To Osiris: Rebirth (Self Released)

Instrumental prog trio Divided By Design have decided to follow up their previous album A Canvas For The Universe by reimagining their 202 debut record.

Stages To Osiris: Rebirth is technically their fourth studio full length, but it seems them going back to their first record with the skill and experience they have now having released a lot more music, cultivated a huge online following and even winning M2TM and going on to play Bloodstock.

The original album was conceptually driven by the grief cycle and this one follows the same inspiration but delivers it in a different way, with a much broader musical résumé and advanced production skills from band founders Tom Chambers (drums) and Liam Stephenson (guitar).

They're joined by Sam Young on bass and the trio run the full spectrum of progressive metal and rock. Denial begins with a heartbeat and then shifts towards Dream Theater-like riffs and organ tones, weaving it's way through riff driven flurries and virtuosos solo sections as the guitar takes the form of the melodies.

The bass and undulating rhythm for it to build on as the drums often play at counterpoint to the rhythm with fills inspired by jazz playing, taking the band into the Djent heaviness of Reactionary. Now the main riff of The Negotiation rips off Schism by Tool, the rest of it goes full jazz fusion meets organ led doom, but that riff is exactly the same as Maynard & co.

Thankfully Collapsing Reality brings back originality as The Fatalist pairs orchestrations with twitchy atmospherics as it closes this re-envisioned chapter in Divided By Designs story. Some bands take a risk by messing with material that they've already released but this instrumental trio have made a good record even better, with the experience they've gained since then. 7/10

Slakter – Infernal Exekution Reign (Witches Brew)

Infernal Exekution Reign is a throwback to the early days of the thrash scene, when it was volatile, violent and evil, informed by satanic rituals, horror and war, the riffs bit hard, the vocals shouted and the production made it sound like they recorded it in their bathroom. 40 years later Slakter from Indonesia have captured those early days brilliantly with their debut full length. 

Produced as if it’s been tape traded over and over again, audiophiles need not apply as this comes straight from the underground where style shouldn’t get in the way of substance and production is overrated anyway. You can feel the energy and excitement of the band, they rip through the eleven songs with a sense of reckless abandon that’s dangerous and defiant. 

They raise their steel to Venom, Slayer, Sodom and Kreator as the bass is super high in the mix, the drumming takes one blasting route and sticks with it and the guitars are buzzsaws and the vocals sandpaper. 

Abrasive but with moments of melody Infernal Exekution Reign doesn’t redefine anything, rather it just pays as much deference to the early thrash scene as possible without copying. They even bring some nuance to their retro worship on Hammer Of Blasphemy, Benediction and the two part closer Acts Of Depravity. 

Whether the production is your thing or not, Infernal Exekution Reign does a great job of emulating the sound of early 80’s thrash extremity. Slakter come from the South East Asian underground bearing riffs. 7/10

Bayonet Dismemberment – Skull Crushed By A Tank (Iron Fortress Records)

You’ve got to give it to Iron Fortress Records, they known their audience! The record label that brought you Tombseeker, Emaciated and Infinite Misery now bring you some more disgusting death metal, featuring a snare that sounds like a church bell! 

Vancouver band Bayonet Dismemberment bring the horrors of mechanised warfare right to your earholes with new EP Skull Crushed By A Tank, this isn’t the WWI or WWII inspired noise though, Bayonet Dismemberment stick with 21st Century and the wars in the Middle East perpetrated by Bush and Blair. 

The title track is about as obvious as you can get, a slow, punishing dirge through muddy fields as Ricky Myers from Suffocation joins in with some sick gutturals, it’s not subtle, this is death metal to bludgeon. Mutilated presses on the gas as Alex Sason of Unearth joins the frenzy, the riffs slice into each other with technical brutality. 

Razorwire Laceration has blasts obliterating your skull as it evolves into a grunting chug. Mixed just enough to sound raw and nasty, Skull Crushed By A Tank closes with Decapitation and you’re neck will surely be hanging by a thread at the end of this brutal EP if you choose to bang along to it. A cavalry charge of the mechanical kind as these Canadians deliver yet more brutal death on this third EP. 7/10

Vow – Death Will Be My Bridge (Iron Fortress Records)

Another Iron Fortress Records release now but this time it’s not skull fracturing brutal death but some melodeath from Chicago. Inspired by the European sound of melodeath meeting the stomping style of NWOAHM from the early 2000’s, Vow dwell in dark atmosphere, introspective ideas and frenzied aural assaults with plenty of lead guitar brilliance, unstoppable blast beats and ferocious growls. 

At just six tracks they manage to grab you by the throat with the opening duo Name Not The Fallen and New Patterns In The Blood, the former built on pinched harmonics and breakdowns while the latter has harmony guitars and technical rhythms. 

After a brief acoustic Interlude Vow dive deep into the NWOAHM on Bells Made From Bullets, adding a bit of blackened battery for good measure. Vow have the chops definitely, their playing is highly skilled, but they can use them to make some well composed, anthemic melodeath, shown on the double hit finale of aggro stomp Still Breathing and the blistering title track. 

Death Will Be My Bridge brings extremity and melody from Chicago's Vow, melodeath fans get on it. 7/10

Reviews: Geoff Tate, Cyhra, Erik Grönwall, Leatherwitch (Matt Bladen)

Geoff Tate - Operation: Mindcrime Part III (Self Released)

20 years since Part 2 and 38 years since the influential Part 1, Geoff Tate returns with the third part of his conceptual magnum opus Operation: Mindcrime. In case you didn't know Operation: Mindcrime, by Queensryche is seen as one of the most important concept records in progressive music history up there with The Wall it's a dystopian tale of "political manipulation, revolution, and identity."

It features tracks that are considered classics and much the same way Roger Waters did with The Wall, when he left Pink Floyd, Geoff Tate has made it his mission to adopt Operation: Mindcrime as being the foundation of his solo career. This means that both Queensryche and Tate perform songs from this album right and as we speak Tate is on a tour playing the album in full for the last time.

In 2006 just before he left the band they released a second chapter of the record but it didn't quite hit the heady heights of the first record, inspired by The Bush era, it reshaped some of the lore while adding more.

So what about Part III, the first released under Tate's name alone? Well he returns to the world of Mindcrime with a record that has the spirit of the first one. The advancement of technology and current American culture all influencing the story this time round as it takes the perspective of Dr X, the originals main antagonist, perhaps making you re-evaluate the character after all these years.

While he may not quite have the highs he did then, Tate is still a great vocalist, embodying the characters fully to tell these stories with drama and pathos of a thespian, his biggest influence being Tom Jones when delivering power in the lows and mids. He's joined by the excellent vocals of Clodagh McCarthy as Sister Mary. 

The band are also highly skilled; Kieran Robertson, Dario Parente, and Amaury Altmayer sharing the guitars, as Robertson and Tate take keys and bulk of the writing too, Rich Baur is a star behind the kit while bass and production comes from Disturbed's John Moyer, his groove powering Set You Free.

The music is the right mix of progressive metal, on I'll Eat Your Heart Out and You Know My Fu*king Name, introspective balladry from Do You Still Believe, tinged with electronics, and anthemic choruses on The Answer and Power.

Operation: Mindcrime III then. It was never going to surpass I, but it is better than II, so if you're a Tate fan, or even a Queensryche loyalist, you'll get a lot out of it too. 8/10

Cyhra - Requiem For A Pipe Dream (Reigning Phoenix Music)

It's been 10 years since Swedish supergroup Cyhra formed, an alliance between, vocalist Jake E (ex-Amaranthe) and guitarist Jesper Strömblad (The Halo Effect/ex-In Flames), they were joined by drummer Alex Landenburg (Kamelot), guitarist Euge Valovirta (Suburban Tribe) and bassist Peter Iwers (The Halo Effect/ex-In Flames).

They've released three records but the line up today sees Iwers having departed as Valovirta and Strömblad playing bass in the studio, adding Marcus Sunesson (Ronnie Atkins) as another guitarist. Valovirta also plays the keys and co-produces alongside Jake E.

So album four seems Cyhra as a well honed veteran unit, on this record, they're looking to cement who they are, more ferocious, bigger, bolder but more vulnerable and melodic, there's no room for compromise or slavish following of what's hot and what's not, Requiem For A Pipe Dream is an album more collaborative than any previously, each member bringing influence from their previous alliances into Cyhra.

This chemistry can be heard on track such as Ghostbound where the anthems of Amaranthe merge with the double blast of In Flames, the electronic creepiness comes in on Miss Me When I Gone, it's melodic metal with a harder edge and some shifts that may take you by surprise. In The Centre Of A Miracle is an emotive Euro-ballad while Skin From Bones takes breakdowns and puts them with some rap vocals.

Though for many the style they'd want from Cyhra is bonus track Hold Your Fire which features Samy Elbanna from Lost Society. Requiem For A Pipe Dream has Cyhra roaring back with their most cohesive and diverse record yet. 8/10

Erik Grönwall - Bad Bones (Greenwall Entertainment)

Erik Grönwall is a bit of melodic rock superstar, he's been the voice of H.E.A.T, Skid Row and Michael Schenker, so a set of pipes that's in demand and he's finally doing something for himself with the release of Bad Bones.

A solo record where he can put wrote the songs he wants bringing his brilliant vocals to what is fully his own music rather than stepping into the shoes of someone else. He describes it like so "it’s time to tell my own story", Bad Bones a personal and honest record that follows it's own path.

So what kind of performer does Erik want to be outside of other people's bands? Well he seems to stick to the melodic rock style, from the bouncy title track, the stomp-clap of Save Me, through the Scorpions strut of Twisted Lullaby, to emotional balladry of Praying For A Miracle and Written In The Scars.

However there's even forays into Queen/Broadway on Who's The Winner Now and blues on the hip shaking How High, all slickly produced, performed well and sung with that skill that sees him as a go to voice for so many classic bands, Bad Bones shows what Erik Grönwall can do when left to his own devices. 7/10

Leatherwitch - First Spell (Listenable Records)

Heavy metal lives in the heart of Marta Gabriel, the ex-frontwoman of Crystal Viper, she's a very in demand session musician and has turned these skills into her new project Leathewitch.

A solo record, Marta writes/sings/plays/produces everything on First Spell, with Giuseppe Taormina adding guitar solo. It's very much the creation of Marta, paying homage to her influences through her keenly trained heavy metal instincts.

Erupting with metallic power, Heroes And The Dice, is inspired by D&D with classic metal melodies, while Beast Inside is precision speed metal, Bound By The Night and Silver Stallions both have Maiden gallops.

It's not all full speed ahead as The New Beginning slows it down for some metal balladry as the 80's metal sound returns for Two Tons Of Steel, continuing right through to a very true cover to Walls Of Jericho/Ride The Sky by Helloween.

Anyone who has heard anything that Marta Gabriel has been involved in, will find no surprises on First Spell, but a whole load of heavy metal worship from one of the genres most loyal warriors! 7/10

Review: Urzah - A Tranquil Void (Matt Bladen)

Urzah – A Tranquil Void (APF Records)

We’ve been following the career of Bristol based noisemakers Urzah since their inception in early 2020, battling through a pandemic, they released two EP’s which honed them as a studio acts before they even got on a stage together. On stage they’re a primeval force of heaviness, progressive sludge that dwells at the fringes of both, drawing in hardcore, post metal, punk, classic metal and more like a sonic black hole. 

They finally released their debut album The Scorching Gaze on APF records in 2024 and this was the first ‘proper’ chapter of their story, the self-actualisation that Urzah could become the next mega force in this genre the same way as bands such as Urne and DVNE have exploded in recent years.

Sharing similar influences such as Neurosis, Mastodon and any band that blends sludge with more atmospheric and progressive tones, their debut album was rumination on the human experience, the cycles of life death and more. It took them to bigger stages and higher profile shows, with the momentum not slowing even in the face of replacing their bassist. 

Dan Bradley took up the low end in November 2024 and they decamped to Josh Gallop’s Stage 2 Studios in Bath again to record the follow up to The Scorching Gaze, as Josh has very solid, sonic acumen for music of this style. 

That follow up is A Tranquil Void, another conceptually and philosophically driven record that joins its predecessor and a thematic diptych, the debut burning red with fire and rage while this one a calmer, reflective blue where the aftermath is examined, so keeping the same producer is a must if both albums are two sides of sonic coin. Though you shouldn’t expect Urzah to have mellowed, there’s little in the way of happy-clappy realisation, flashes of introspection and ambience yes but Urzah are still a band who reach catharsis and closure through heavy riffs, they’re still a progressive sludge band. 

However with A Tranquil Void they broaden their sonic display through folk influences, broader spatial exploration, wider complexity in the songwriting and collaborations with guest vocalists of the Bristol music scene including, Dave Cook (Empire Of Dust), Chris Wilson (Row of Ashes) and Victoria Bourne (The Spark’s Desire), reinforcing their place and their pride as prominent members of the Bristol/South West scene. 

Beginning with the insistent an ominous At The Mouth Of The Cave, they immediately break new ground as acoustics fluidly play the melodies over concrete stabs of heaviness, as if approaching a terrifying new phase of living. It does a lot to build up the dissonance and rage, which is unleashed on second track The Call Beneath. A tech metal showpiece that, really gets the record started in the way you’d want from Urzah. It’s a track about overcoming grief, it does so with gifted guitar interplay between Ed Fairman and Tom McElveen, set against and industrial dirge, and it’s a song which starts and stops like a mechanism for rage. Their vocals are just as intertwined as their guitar playing is, sharing riffs, melodies and leads, the density is just as potent as the complexity. 

From here the pace increases on Infernal Star I, those Mastodon influences that are mentioned, are here if you’ve been looking for them. Though they are more pronounced on Infernal Star II, which continues this two part sludge suite by dialling up the heaviness, driven by the impressive drum work of James Brown and the guttural bass of Dan Bradley, as the last moments erupting into solo section, which will see many air guitar heroes following along. This is the fantastic sound of Urzah at its most refined. 

Four tracks through and you can hear that Urzah are reaching for something much more intense and emotionally expressive than on their debut. It’s on the last four tracks though where the band push the experimental personality of their work. 

Side B begins with the woozy tribal beat of Bark & Branches, folksy and meditative, you may think it’s Heilung, but as In The Mouth Of The Wolf hits, this short rest bite is destroyed by more fierce technical aggression, again the guitar playing features plenty of thunderous brutality, the riffs contradicting and conjoining as it shifts towards the longest solo section on the record, taking the track and the band into classic heavy metal anthemia. Beneath all of these movements the rhythm section stays thick and crushing.

Getting heavier and louder as we move into another massive sludge beating on Hunter In The Veil. It’s here that the Neurosis sound comparison hits home, deafening drones of guitar and cello from Luke Clemenger, anchored around the, off time drumming, sprawling lead bass and raging vocal. 

A Tranquil Void is an opus, no mistake about that, any notion of a “difficult second album” blown away in the first half of the record, while on side two they settle into a new soundscapes, framing themselves as not just a riff heavy beast but a band who can play with nuance and intelligence. 

A Tranquil Void culminates in the 11 minute closer; Entwined, Twisted Roots Of Chaos, beginning with a dissonant slow burn and ghostly female vocals, it’s a track that builds, as if signalling the final chapter of this dual album journey, the constant increase of volume, emotion and atmosphere, never fully bursts like you may want it too, but it does just enough to give the felling of acceptance and appeasement that this album is trying to epitomize. 

It just caps off what is an incredible album number two from Urzah. The Scorching Gaze lit the fire, but A Tranquil Void has turned Urzah into an inferno of creative brilliance. You need this album! 10/10

Reviews: Evergrey, Ditheist, Kid Feral, Sleepbomb (Simon Black, Mark Young, GC & Adz Redpath)

Evergrey - Architects Of A New Weave (Napalm Records) [Simon Black]

Evergrey are another act absolutely in my sweet spot but to whom I only came upon fairly late in the day a couple of albums back. Architects Of A New Weave is, believe it or not, their fifteenth studio recording. The line-up may have ebbed and flowed a lot in that time (and indeed quite a lot recently), but the consistency and quality have not, and I remain surprised that this unique and prolific act have not achieved more success than they have, because it’s surely deserved.

This new opus does not buck the trend.

A conceptual piece thematically (something Evergrey are no strangers to) the album starts a little clunkily with a narrative opening, which frankly serves little purpose other than to give the band 90 seconds to get on stage when playing live. At first I’m a little disorientated by the slightly jumbled opening bars of the opener proper - The Shadow Self, although once it gets going it delivers exactly the kind of catchy, mood and haunting vocal chorus hook that makes this band so distinctive.

The title track then proceeds to knock things out of the park, along with any of my concerns. Whilst clearly the strongest track of the crop, it’s also probably one of their best songs to date, and one I suspect is going to be in the set live for some time.

The record continues mostly in the darkly melodic, progressive-tinged vein that they are such masters at, but the pitch and tone do head into faster and more upbeat terrify from time to time, varying the pace at just the moment when things could get repetitive. There’s a slightly different and edgy vibe to this disk as well, and perhaps the line up fluctuations have been therapeutic as well, because at this stage in their careers it would be easy to just stick to what you know, but overall this feel like a positive step in a slightly different direction without losing the key sound which makes them so recognisably unique. 9/10

Ditheist - Cosmic Liar (Heathen Tribes) [Mark Young]

Ditheist, hailing from Chicago come in and drop what is essentially a decent bit of Death/Grind for their second full length release, Cosmic Liar. What you get is 8 songs that stick to a plan with little deviation in how each of the tracks deploy. There are moments where they spread their approach wider, such as the middle eastern tinge to Nyarlathotep but I’m getting ahead of myself by not starting at the beginning. 

It’s an odd one as the opening trio of Cosmic Liar, Evil To Live and Kill The Priest are relatively ok and represent a fairly strong start. Each of these take the core requirements for extreme music and apply generously like they are spending someone else’s money. For me, they don’t do enough to grab and to be honest I thought that this would be the general theme running through it. 

When we get to Nyarlathotep suddenly you sit up and take notice. This is a grand moment, carrying an epic feel to it where everything clicks into place. Riffs are huge with a cracking pace to them that drops in and out to suit. Throw in a lead break that does a lot in quick time and we are off with renewed interest. 

Apoplectic Delirium follows and keeps that intent steady, the band returning to a more traditional death metal sound which for me is a shame but this is still a strong track. One of the things that does punch through is the feeling that they are consciously being a little loose instead of being rigidly fixed to time. As a result of this you have a more organic touch to it. In any event its two for two. This upward swing continues with Covenant Ov Torture, a furious stab at old school goodness that Vader would be happy with.

The closing act consists of Mouth Of Hell and Singularity and its great to hear and acknowledge that they don’t drop the ball at the end. Mouth Of Hell is rapid, full of razor sharp riffs and that unswerving looseness. Its like a cart trying to come off the rails, tipping to one side before they manage to pull it back to relatively safety. It’s a strict combination of speed and brutality, a straightforward kick to the skull that is sure to scratch the itch of anyone looking for new death metal. 

Of course it has to come to an end and Singularity holds that position. This takes another turn, mixing in a wicked groove to the head kicking arrangements they have been dropping here. I go on about how the last song can really make or break an album and be the reason for future listens. Singularity builds on the good work that started with Nyarlathotep and provides a strong finish that I really wasn’t expecting earlier.

It is a literal album of two halves, one that starts slowly and finishes on a high. In terms of extreme music, its certainly worth a listen and I would have loved to have heard more like Nyarlathotep because they did it so well. It certainly represents the moment where things picked up but ultimately you have a decent bit of death metal. 7/10

Kid, Feral - 2019 (Backpack Records) [GC]

When you see the writing process for this record began all the way back in 2018, you wonder what has taken them so long to get it released, apparently parts of the songs have been re-written several time and they wanted to really take time to make sur everything was on point!? 8 years is a long time to spend on an album by anyone’s standards, so is 2019 worth the wait?

It gets going with Funeral In A Grocery Store which is a bit of a whirlwind it has the essence of a great screamo track but the way it dips in then mixes the jagged Dillinger Escape Plan style guitars in there but it feels a little short, maybe I’m missing something but the build-up feels like it needs to be more dramatic to have the full affect they are aiming for? 

Stop ‘N Go is a blur of noise over it 54 second run time and it feel like there is something there and I appreciate a short track more than most people but here the drama just seems to get lost, Substance is a bit more what I am looking for, the song has a bit more body to it and allows for a build-up and the emotion gets to really take the lead and the chaotic-ness of it all really takes it up to another level. 

Medieval Poetry again has the same sort of stylistic vibe and carries the emotion forward on a seething wave of anger, which grabs the attention and makes you really invest into the sound a bit more its melds the unpredictable and the heartfelt nature that is needed and you can really feel the energy through the whole track and it ends in a gloriously batshit way as well which is always a bonus.

Pothead Archaeologist is a blink and you will miss it 51 second blast of unhinged noise that arrives, kick you in the teeth and then just leaves, no nuanced soft sections or emotional tug, just pure unbridled savagery which is nicely done and mixed in after a couple or more though provoking tracks.

With Memories From A Stamp Collection you can just picture a shitty practice room somewhere in the mid 00’s with 4 guys with t-shirts that are 3 sizes too small, skinny jeans, Converse and black Romulan haircuts just chucking their instruments about and diving all over each other and hoping a song comes out of it and it sort of does in a way, again the main word that comes back to me is chaotic and honestly I’m not sure if that’s in a good or bad way? 

I Want To Be Your Canopy then of course just veers off in a totally new direction and throw in some black metal, just because, you know why not they have tried everything else so they may as well give this a bit of a go and honestly? It works it adds more drama to the overall sound of the song and gives it an interesting backdrop against the more emo-y sections an unexpected and savage mix of styles that compliment each other well. 

Puddle Jumper is the last track to give us one last weird pummelling, it smashes together the emo soft bits with more unwillingly bonkers mathcore which is the basis of screamo and they absolutely nail it here.

Reading over the PR for this I wasn’t 100% sure what I was expecting really, what I got was lots of chaos and emotion, sometimes mixed together really well, sometimes they allowed their intrusive thoughts take over and let them get too involved and the sound got a bit too much and didn’t make much sense but overall, I enjoyed what I heard and would be interested to see where they go from here in the future. 7/10

Sleepbomb - Songs In The Key Of Conan (Koolarrow records) [Adz Redpath]

After over a decade of fluctuating lineups with a stable core of 3 members this San Francisco Horror/Doom metal band provides here their interpretation of what the original Conan movie from 1982 should have had as a soundtrack. This is an intriguing and attractive concept to a movie buff such as myself and seeing their prior influences on past releases including the mighty George Romero I was excited to broach this and hear what vision this band was going to put forth. as a whole.

The production work on show is very solid here and undulates with atmosphere throughout, balanced and well mixed with a great use of instrumentation on show here although nothing of any particular prowess or technicality and with a lot of repetitive themes and time signatures. At times it does feel like a click was never used although that only serves to give the album a more organic feel and does not detract from what's on show here. Musically the tracks flow well although it's hard to find any stand outs amongst this release as it truly does feel more akin to a movie soundtrack than an album of songs that you will want to repeatedly listen to.

This could be epitomised as great background music with truly solid production and some really spacious undertones and musical soundscapes, but feels like an overly contrived concept that in all honesty I will be unlikely to check again unfortunately and was quite a slog for a newcomer to the group to get through. They fulfil what is a very niche vision that within the movie industry may do well but for the average fan of doom or metal is unlikely to garner much interest .

I don't like to go full Dave Portnoy but it does seem to be my way with reviews and this although well constructed fails to deliver more than a conceptual idea. 5/10