Reviews: Instigators, Vitamin X, Mammon's Throne, Lord Centipede (Spike, Mark Young, Matt Bladen & Rich Piva)

Intigators – Sanctus Propaganda Sessions Vol 5 (Sanctus Propaganda) [Spike]

It’s a peculiar, sobering thing to realize that the targets of 80s anarcho-punk haven't actually gone anywhere; they’ve just upgraded their surveillance equipment. For Dewsbury’s Instigators, returning for the fifth volume of the Sanctus Propaganda Sessions isn't an exercise in nostalgia, it’s a necessary update to a long-standing grievance. Recorded with the raw, "no safety net" philosophy that defines this series, the album serves as a documented riot, proving that age hasn't softened their skeletal, high-velocity attack.

The record hits the floor with Tricked And Abused, and immediately, you notice the lack of studio-mandated fluff. This is punk in its most honest, unvarnished state, all jagged guitar lines and a rhythmic engine that sounds like it’s being pushed to the point of a mechanical breakdown. By the time we reach the five-minute sprawl of The Blood Is On Your Hands / Free, the band’s mastery of the "shove" is clear. It’s a sophisticated bit of pacing that transitions from a blunt-force trauma intro into a soaring, defiant call for autonomy.

Lyrically, the band remains as articulate as they are angry. Full Circle and Cry Freedom deal with the repetitive nature of social struggle, delivered with a vocal grit that suggests these aren't just "protest songs," but lived experiences. There is a distinct "UK82" DNA here, that specific, melodic-yet-aggressive strain of hardcore but it’s been braced with a modern weight. Tracks like Blind Eye and Computerage feel particularly sharp; the latter targets our digital incarceration with a level of vitriol that feels entirely earned.

The production favours the "live" friction of a room over the clinical perfection of a laptop. You can hear the strings groaning under the pressure on The Sleeper, and the drums on Summer possess a physical, snapping presence that keeps the momentum at a heart-attack pace. It’s a sound that suits this mission statement: documenting the underground as it actually sounds, sweat, feedback, and all.

The record finds its conscience in the final act. Hedonism is a sharp, jarring closer that targets the hollow distractions of the modern era, refusing to offer a tidy resolution or a comfortable singalong. Instead, it leaves the listener exactly where they started: in a room that suddenly feels a lot colder now that the noise has stopped.

Instigators haven't just delivered a "session" record; they’ve proven that the foundations of anarcho-punk are still the most effective way to talk about a world in decline (and boy do we need that currently). It’s honest, it’s loud, and it’s a masterstroke of professional, unpolished defiance. For those who still believe that the point of a riff is to start an argument, this is essential listening. 9/10

Vitamin X - Ride The Apocalypse (Svart Records) [Mark Young]

And here we are again at the end of another quality week of widely different releases. Apart from me, where I find myself reviewing two bands whose emphasis is on short, sharp shocks and basically getting in, getting done and getting out before their welcome wears out. And I have to tell you that I am here for it. I adore the fact that this is 17 songs of pure adrenalin, fast, thrashy riffs and song structures that hark back to when the whole crossover vibe was brand new. As far as being an alternative to the normal music styles I’m listening to, it is welcome.

It does, however, give me a problem as a reviewer. On the face of it, its 17 songs that are aligned with how Vitamin X go to work and looking online they reflect their earlier releases and don’t stray too far from them or from a central blueprint of how the songs should be. What this means is that we have a variation on a theme that expects you accept it and just stay onboard because its fun. You might call them shallow songs that have no merit, and therefore not as important as other bands. But you would be wrong and its my job to convince you of this.

They aren’t expecting to be heralded as the new face of a movement, or to have provided something deep and meaningful. These songs are as much for the band as for us and its success will rely upon what you want from your heavy metal. If you want, for example odd time signatures, operatic vocals, orchestral arrangements and that detuned drone sound that is popular, then you really need to look elsewhere. Similarly, if its super black metal with a frozen core then it’s the same answer. This is for people who just want to be able to switch off and listen and not have to worry about how valid this is as a piece of art.

What I can say is that you can dance to these and they are designed for a good time, for the release of energy be it in a club or watching them live. Don’t think for a second they don’t take this seriously just because its assumed that these are simple songs. They aren’t. Give it a spin, and have a bit of fun. 7/10

Mammon's Throne - My Body To The Worms (Hammerheart Records) [Matt Bladen]

some crushing blackened death/doom now which references bands such as My Dying Bride, and Pallbearer along with acts like Hooded Menace, Spectral Voice and Worm. Expect huge riffs where massive down stabs are interrupted by blast of glacial double kicks, vocals that embrace sickening growls and booming cleans and a sense of impending doom that's counterpointed by virtuoso melodies.

Built on their unstoppable touring, where they have found themselves sharing stages with Rotting Christ, My Dying Bride, Conan and others. Plucking some stylistic elements from these bands to make their own. They continue the style they established on their 2023 album but more refined and impressive. This Aussie band are now on their third record and as such My Body To The Worms, is the sound of band who have defined their approach to metal.

Signing to Hammerheart Records, I guarantee that more people outside of their native country will hear the band's complex musical and narrative moments, whether it be to bang your head to tracks such as Elixir or Everyday More Sickened where they move into epic realms of Candlemass. Or perhaps take a trip into the gothic atmospheres of At The Threshold Of Eternity/Departed as Mammon's Throne prove they aren't just here to destroy, they have a lot more to offer than standard death doom, My Body To The Worms delivers quality and volume. 8/10

Lord Centipede - Centipede II: Electric Boogaloo (Morbid & Miserable Records) [Rich Piva]

First, I must comment on the name of the new EP from Michigan band Lord Centipede, Centipede II: Electric Boogaloo. What do the kids say these days? IYKYK? Anyway, the press release mentions genres such as doom thrash, stoner crust and sludge crossover. Yes. This is my first experience with the band, so I feel like I may be in for a wild ride with song titles like Dumb As Fuck and Shitstorm Of Stupidity. Let’s see.

Yup. I think with the first track, the aforementioned Dumb As Fuck, I get more crossover thrash than anything, so think DRI but recorded in a closet, which is in no way a slag, given the more hiss on my boombox recordings the better. One thing is for sure, it rips. So does Shitstorm Of Stupidity, which gives off strong 80s garage thrash vibes and a fuck it all punk attitude. I love the breakdown too. I get old school Venom vibes, or maybe old Bathory with Wolf Witch and that is fine by me. Want to start a 148 second wall of death? Crank up Dawn Of The Troglodytes. The closer, Sword Of Conan swings the steel and cuts your crust punk loving head right off.

This was a fun, old school, crossover thrash explosion that had me ready to throw down for all 17 minutes. Lord Centipede rips, and hopefully breakdances too. 7/10

Reviews: Lamb Of God, Black Crowes, Monstrosity, Witchcraft (Mark Young, Rich Piva, Spike & Matt Bladen)

Lamb Of God - Into Oblivion (Century Media Records) [Mark Young]

Ah, now a bone-fide metal titan.

Lamb Of God have represented, at least to me a high watermark of metal. A band who can write riffs that seem to collapse in on themselves without sounding as though they are ever treading water. Personally, Sacrament is probably my go to, primarily because of Walk With Me In Hell being an all time classic. I think you can hold their 3-album run from As The Palaces Burn to Sacrament up as prime examples of truly brilliant heavy metal. Extending that further, you could squeeze Wrath into the conversation too, except that it was the beginning of a cycle where each album would come and there would some absolute class on there, but there would also be some padding. 

Lets be honest, a ton of bands would love to be able to write to the same level as this. I suppose it’s something that every band falls into, especially those where the early releases are at god level and you have to play songs from it or we riot. Does the energy go as bands evolve where the excitement becomes unadventurous? As people grow does the same spark happen when they are in a room? I’m not sure how many were welcoming this release other than being something to kick start a tour cycle but I’d like to say that Into Oblivion is the best thing they have done in a long time.

It's exciting, starting with Into Oblivion, this opening salvo seems like a return to Walk With Me, but with its own swing. Straight away its them but with additional weight removed from their sound. Its lighter but still heavy. Its direct and has zero fat on it whatsoever. It starts, detonates and moves allowing for the super speed of Parasocial Christ to rip you to bits. Look at the track lengths, these have been pared down at each step, removing anything unnecessary from each song. Yes, its familiar, of course it is but it’s the manner that each of them drop in. It is an album for them, on their own terms. 

What’s different here is that it is a no skip trip (stealing with pride from some chap off Twitter). There are no boring or meh moments that have been the case previously. Sepsis is a monstrous beast where the pace is slowed down at its start, so when it does do the expected switch its all the more powerful for it. St. Catherine’s Wheel scorches, that trademark stop-start riffola they do so well is in full force. It hints at songs past, again how can they not? They are 12 albums in and still pulling crackers out of their collective hats, Blunt Force Blues possessing that crushing groove, impetus and 1st song energy on a track that is the near the end is telling. 

They have gone into this with a mindset that each song must match the one before and after it. Even when they adjust tempos to suit, those ‘slower’ songs like Bully still move. There is never a sense of standing still, or worse yet trying to play catch up with other bands or trends. I didn’t expect this from them at all, they still sound vital and have something interesting to say. 9/10

Black Crowes - A Pound Of Feathers (Silver Arrow Records) [Rich Piva]

There have been a dozen or so bands I have had obsessions with over my music listening life. The Black Crowes are one of them. When the band decided to do the Dead thing and become this “live” band I became this crazy tape trader guy. I must have had 200 Crowes boots, from 3 plus hour shows to rare demos recorded on a boom box. I still feel, to this day, that their discography through By Your Side is pretty much perfect, and yes, I do love By Your Side. 

This obsession did slow down, but I have always been a huge fan. I was pumped when we got a new record in 2024, Happiness Bastards, which was good for what it was, but I thought that was it for them. But alas, the brothers are back, with a new lineup and what they both said is a record that is back to their roots AND transformative at the same time, titled A Pound Of Feathers, which, ironically, was the title of a demos bootleg I used to have as part of my tape collection. I am not sure I would say musically transformative, given it sounds like The Black Crowes, but back to their roots, a bit more raw, and containing some cool new Crowes tracks? I can get behind that.

The opener, Profane Prophecy, is a cool upbeat bluesy rocker with Rich doing his thing he does so well and Chris’s voice as strong as ever. This will be a live staple for sure. The boys still dig The Stones. Cruel Streak has a fun little riff and that wonderful Crowes signature sound that, even now, I can never get enough of. Pharmacy Chronicles is no Sometimes Salvation but it will do, in 2026 at least. Do The Parasite may be my favorite track on the record. A fun rocker with the brothers finding their chemistry once again, even if the other guys are new (not Sven, but you get it). I also dig High & Lonesome, that has this Wings thing going on which makes me happy. 

I always love when Rich pulls out the slide, like he does on the acoustic Queen Of The B-sides. Love when they harmonize on this one too. It’s Like That sounds like it's a By Your Side outtake and I am certainly here for that. Rich has had a riff revival, as I really dig the one on Blood Red Regrets too. Eros Blues is the other highlight on the record. As the guys are channelling their Southern Blues roots and creating one of the cooler songs they have in a couple decades. The closer, Doomsday Doggerel, is pretty cool too, channelling some of those epic Zeppelin tracks that the guys did so well with Mr. Page back in the day.

I am not sure what I am even expecting from a Black Crowes Record in 2026. I guess if I can get one like A Pound Of Feathers that has a bunch of cool songs, two excellent ones, maybe only one or two that could have been left off, and Chris and Rich vibing as well as they have in many years, then I guess I should be happy; and I am. 7/10

Monstrosity – Screams From Beneath The Surface (Metal Blade Records) [Spike]

The Florida death metal scene has always felt a bit like a geological layer, reliable, impenetrable, and built on a foundation of Lee Harrison’s drumming. Monstrosity have spent the better part of three decades acting as the structural engineers of this sound, and their latest, Screams from Beneath the Surface, is exactly the kind of high-velocity, technical excavation you’d expect from a band that refuses to succumb to the rot of modern trends.

It’s an album that understands that "classic" doesn't have to mean "dated."

The record doesn't bother with a polite preamble. Banished To The Skies hits with a nearly seven-minute demonstration of why Harrison is still one of the most respected architects in the genre. The blast beats are clinical, providing a rigid framework for Mark English and Matt Hall to weave those needle-fine, technical riffs that have become the band's signature. It’s a dense, complex opening that gives way to the more straightforward, pugnacious energy of The Colossal Rage. If the opener was a lecture in composition, this is the physical demonstration, a heart-attack pulse that demands a circle pit.

Mike Hrubovcak’s vocals remain a crystalline anchor amidst the chaos of The Atrophied and Spiral. He possesses that rare death metal clarity; you can actually hear the vitriol in the lyrics without needing a lyric sheet to act as a translator. It gives tracks like Fortunes Engraved In Blood a narrative weight that survives the high-velocity churn of the guitars. There is a "no-frills" honesty to the production here which I love, it sounds like a band playing in a room, not a collection of plugins trying to sound like a band.

The momentum shifts gear during Vapors And The Thorns, where the band leans into a more rhythmic, mid-paced grit. It’s here that the specific "Florida" DNA, that humid, oppressive atmosphere that made the 90s scene so vital. Blood Works and The Dark Aura double down on this, featuring solos that cut through the low-end churn like a surgical laser. The technicality is high, certainly, but it never feels like they’re showing off for the sake of a guitar clinic; every note feels like it’s been placed there to increase the overall pressure.

The experience culminates in Veil Of Disillusion. As a closing statement, it’s a monolith, a huge five-minute descent that brings back the progressive, sprawling ambition of the opener. It refuses to offer a tidy resolution, instead collapsing into a final, abrasive rhythmic collapse that feels entirely earned.

Monstrosity haven't tried to reinvent the wheel with Screams From Beneath The Surface; they’ve simply proven that the wheel is still the most effective way to crush everything in its path. It’s a masterclass in professional, unvarnished death metal from a band that knows exactly where the bodies are buried. It’s honest, it’s brutal, and it’s arguably one of the best things to crawl out of the sunshine state this year. 9/10

Witchcraft - A Sinner's Child (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Matt Bladen]

How do you follow up an album like IDAG? The album that brought you the acclaim that you so deserve after a long career?

Well in the case of Swedish occult doom act Witchcraft, you strip away all of the heavy stuff to just it's simplest form, only two tracks with a full band line up as three if the five just feature the talent of bandleader/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Magnus Pelander. As if welcoming the Spring, A Sinner's Child is an EP infused with warmth and a feeling of rebirth and renewal, it's the tender side of Pelander's songwriting, these songs coming from his soul, one at least, Själen Reser Sig, recorded over the course of eight years over three separate occasions before finally being released.

With so much of this album just falling to Pelander, it celebrates his talent throughout, defining his position as the heart and soul of Witchcraft for 20 years, while also carrying things back to his humble solo artist beginnings. Both the title track and it's follow up Sinner's Clear Confusion have the woozy indie approach of The Tragically Hip, while Even Darker Days Slowly Coming My Way comes from that darkened folk tradition, while there's some riffs on Drömmen Om Död Och Förruttnelse and Själen Reser Sig that takes Witchcraft into fuzzy doom.

20 years and numerous evolutions, with this EP Witchcraft are more Jeff Buckley than Black Sabbath and that's a very good thing. 8/10

Bloodstock M2TM South Wales Interviews: Disrupt The Continuum East Heat #4 Green Rooms, 21.03.26

Interview With Disrupt The Continuum East Heat #4 Green Rooms, 21.03.26



1. Please introduce yourself for anyone who may not know you. Tell us a little bit more about you as a band.

We are Disrupt the Continuum, we have been together for 13 years, playing all over south Wales and further into the UK.

A little break from everything music wise in 2019 then getting back together to play again we have now added a new member to the DTC family in the4 form of a second guitarist and plan on getting more gigs to share our fast hard metal style to the masses, pun intended.

2. What made you want to participate in the Metal To The Masses South Wales 2026 campaign? Have you had previous experience? Or is this your first time?

We previously have competed in MTTM competition in 2017 and last year in 2025 getting to the Quarter finals where we shared the stage with some really excellent bands, it has always been a great competition to play with meeting new people and networking with bands.

3. M2TM is all about supporting your local scene. How important is the local scene to you as a band?

If there is no local scene there is no scene at all, every band has to start somewhere and helping each other out is very important not only for bands but also for venues, promoters and media. Grass roots music is where it all starts for everyone.

4. We have a slightly different set up this year with Heats/Quarters/Semis taking place at Bunkhouse/Green Rooms. Have you played the venue before or is this your first time? Are you excited to get on those stages?

We have played the Green Rooms before and love the place, Jonny Foxhall has created a place that bands can not only rehearse but a really fun and great venue for bands to showcase there talents to the masses. The adjustments and improvements that have been made in recent years with the addition of the TGR festival just goes to show how much effort and commitment everyone at the Green Rooms has made.

5. What are your expectations from being a part of M2TM?

All bands want to win it all and go through to play Bloodstock Festival but like I said previously this competition is a great chance to meet and connect with bands you may never play with at any other gigs and that's really important to us because meeting people and bands from all metal genres helps broaden the scope of not only opportunities but the mind and music in general.

6. What would getting to our Day Of Wreckoning final and the possibility of playing Bloodstock Festival 2026 mean to you?

Day of Wreckoning has been such a great success over the last few years that it would be amazing to play and be at the final just to say you have played it but also having the chance to play such a great festival like Bloodstock, the bands that have graced the stages at Bloodstock over the past 25 years would make anyone want to play it. It would be a great achievement for any band that wins.

7. We encourage all the bands in M2TM to try and check out the other bands, who are you most looking forward to? Who should your fans also try to catch?

There are a lot of bands that are returning to the competition that we have played with before like Excursia which are really good people and very talented but also some new bands that we are excited to see and hopefully play with like Avicide, Convoy and Exuast in the East Side east side and bands like Thawn, Scratch One Grub, Inscape and Manumit in the West Side but the bands that enter every year always show you something new and surprise you so to play with any of them would be a honour.

8. Tell us in five words why people should come and see your band?

Fast Fun Heavy Disruptive Metal

Facebook - www.facebook.com/DisruptTheContinuum

Instagram - @disruptthecontinuum

A View From The Back Of The Room: Bleed From Within (Spike)

Bleed From Within, Disembodied Tyrant & Baest, Epic Studios, Norwich, 10.03.2026



There is a specific, gritty satisfaction in seeing Epic Studios pushed toward its near-1,000 capacity limit on a school night. It’s a reminder that good music remains a primary pull, regardless of the temperature outside or the day of the week. Last Tuesday, the room wasn't just "busy", it was properly swamped, providing the perfect pressure-cooker environment for a bill that moved through three distinct tiers of heavy.

The night ignited with Baest (8). The Danish death metal machine doesn't bother with the theatrical preamble; they delivered a blistering 30-minute set that functioned as a masterclass in engagement. Minimal chat. Maximum friction. Within minutes, an immediate circle pit had claimed the centre of the floor, a physical response to a sound that is as honest as it is brutal. They didn't just open the show; they kickstarted the room’s pulse.

The weather shifted significantly with Disembodied Tyrant (9). If Baest was an invitation, Blake Mullens and his lot provided a confrontation. Mullens stalked the stage with a predatory intent, almost challenging the thousand-strong crowd to match the velocity coming from the PA. This is Deathcore for the high-IQ set, epic, super-fast, and possessing a level of technical dexterity that makes your eyes bleed.

The highlight was the skilfully integrated nod to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, a moment of baroque insanity that proved this isn't just about the breakdown; it’s about smart, sophisticated songwriting delivered at a heart-attack pace. The guitar work was needle-fine, cutting through the low-end churn with a surgical precision that left the audience both battered and genuinely impressed. It was an awesome, exhausting build-up for what was to come. I managed to catch up with Dominic Petrocelli, lead guitarist, for a quick chat after their set and it’s clear the band are loving this tour, getting to engage with a new crowd and truly seizing the opportunity.

By the time Bleed From Within (9) hit the stage, the venue was a powder keg. The Glasgow five-piece hit the ground running, ripping through the opening salvos of Sovereign and I Am Somewhere Else with the kind of arena-ready confidence that suggests they’ve outgrown these rooms, even as they clearly relish the intimacy of them.

Between the high-velocity riffs, there was a brief moment of reflection. The band noted the contrast between tonight’s massive turnout and the much smaller crowds of their previous visits to Norwich. Filling a room of this size on a Tuesday is a well-earned ascent and a testament to the pull of this specific triple-bill.

The setlist was a relentless march through their most potent material. Pathfinder and the massive, melodic soar of Levitate showed a band that has mastered the "shimmer and shove" of modern metal. They’ve found a way to maintain the raw, bruised-rib honesty of their early days while draping it over cinematic, towering structures. By the time they reached the final, feedback-saturated roar of The End Of All We Know, the job was done, Metalcore Tuesday nights should be a thing. This was the perfect evening to get rid of start of the week annoyances.

It was a night of pure, unadulterated intent. Bleed From Within didn't just headline; they provided the definitive proof that the UK metal scene is currently operating at a world-class level. For those of us who braved the cold to stand in the heat of a packed Epic Studios, it was the best kind of Tuesday night, loud, honest, and utterly essential.

A View From The Back Of The Room: The Crystal Teardrop (Spike)

The Crystal Teardrop, Scott Hepple And The Sun Band & Lassie, Voodoo Daddy's, Norwich, 07.03.2026



The air in the basement of Voodoo Daddy’s has a way of thickening before a single note is even struck, a damp, expectant humidity that tells you the next three hours are going to be physical. It is a space that offers no room for vanity, where the small stage acts as a pressure cooker for any band brave enough to step onto it. Saturday night, that pressure resulted in a three-act descent into the strange, the psychedelic, and the brilliantly nostalgic.

"It sounds like Lassie’s in a well."

That single, dry observation from the stage during the opening set from Lassie (8) was the moment the room truly unified. A two-piece specializing in "psychedelic folk laced with tribal punk," their 30-minute performance felt more like a series of fragmented, urgent stories than a standard set. Vocally and musically these two delivered. For those of us old enough to remember the TV canine’s penchant for rescuing Timmy from various subterranean predicaments, the ad-lib was a masterstroke of wit that grounded their eccentric, tribal energy in a moment of genuine local humour.

The momentum shifted gears significantly with Scott Hepple And The Sun Band (8). Hailing from Newcastle, this garage rock outfit brought a blistering, 70s-influenced fire to the basement. The band was anchored by an absolutely incredible lead guitarist who commanded her space on the tiny stage with the kind of effortless authority you usually only see in much larger venues. Her playing was a high-velocity tribute to the greats, fluid, technical, and possessed of a rhythmic grit that turned the room into a single, head-nodding entity. It was a sophisticated, high-octane set that left the air vibrating.

By the time The Crystal Teardrop (9) took the stage, the venue was at capacity. I’ll admit to being a newcomer to their specific brand of chaos, but when a fellow Musipedia Of Metal writer like Rich Piva tells you a band is worth seeing and specifically requests you export their debut album across the Atlantic (read hand deliver it) you listen.

The Crystal Teardrop are a ball of kinetic energy, a band that manages to soak their sound in the late 60s without ever feeling like they’re wearing a costume. It’s a blend of garage rock, psychedelia, and acid folk that feels visceral and immediate. From the opening notes, they treated the small stage like it was a launchpad, tearing through a set that culminated in a riotous performance of the title track from their album ...Is Forming.

Alexandra’s vocals are a crystalline anchor amidst the feedback-laden psych-rock, delivered with a conviction that suggests the band is enjoying the riot every bit as much as the audience. A brief chat with her after the show confirmed as much, there’s a genuine, unpretentious love for the craft here that is infectious.

By the time the final, feedback-saturated roar of "...Is Forming" was bouncing off the damp brickwork, the room felt less like a basement in Norwich and more like a portal to a better, weirder 1967. Rich was right, it’s the kind of energy that deserves to be exported, but for Saturday night, it was exactly the kind of noise we needed in Norwich.

Reviews: Salos, Vanity's Disciple, Winter Eternal, Sinistrous Mist (Matt Bladen)

Salos - A Slaughter For The Empire (Self-Released)

Salos are 🜄 on guitar and 🜃 on drums, an instrumental duo from Kalamata who showcase that music can definitely speak louder than words. From their early rumblings in a decade ago, they have grown Salos into a project that brings together soaring post rock and complex prog metal with an explorative focus that is built on massive riffs and blissful atmospheres.

Arriving fully fledged on their debut, there's maturity and experience pulsating in every guitar riff and drumbeat, the A Slaughter For The Empire is cinematic musical masterclass akin to bands that play with dynamics such as God Is An Astronaut and Russian Circles along with the ones that could easily hold their own in the prog realms like Earthside or Intervals.

On Arches they take a leap into some of the high profile juxtaposition of Mono or Pelagic with those guitar lines, heavy moments and the addition of sax from Greek jazz musician Yiannis Kassetas. With Slaughter they bring out the death/thrash metal battery, as We Deteriorate detonates when necessary. Hvitserkur, Leviathan and Sagittarius all have the impressive duality that Salos have crafted for this debut.

Salos shout about their talent louder than many other bands do, proving that's vocalist isn't always necessary, when you have a duo that sound like a collective. 8/10

Vanity's Disciple - Blind Belief… Ill Intention (Self Released)

An amazing power/prog metal debut from Athens now as Vanity's Disciple release their first album Blind Belief… Ill Intention. They kick off their recording career as a band with a with a concept album in nine chapters which is a bold thing to do but with a story that revolves around sin, belief and manipulation, they have crafted nine songs that drive the layered narrative which these virtuoso musicians are backing with some muscular heavy metal that brings both the US and European scenes together, where thrash, power, neoclassical and good old fashioned heavy metal combine with a sprinkling of prog when they launch into longer tracks.

Blind Belief… Ill Intention was written by guitarists Dimitris Kouroutis (rhythm) and George Rosenberg (lead), they are responsible for the music, lyrics and concept, as well as all the tasty riffs and solos on the record, showing that their playing is just a expressive as their writing. The duo have some excellent musicians with them as a part of Vanity's Disciple as that darker, meaner steak comes from the history of bassist/drummer/producer Dimitris Sakkas, who has paid his dues in the extreme metal scene, so can blast with the best of them, bring nuance when needed, lay down the gallops and groove all while giving the album it's polished heft.

Up front Vanity's Disciple have brought in vocalist Jon Soti, he is the singer in the brilliant Floating Worlds, so I knew instantly what to expect and he brings his skyscraping, Geoff Tate meets Michael Kiske-like vocals to this record, adding drama and power brilliantly over yet more conceptual heavy metal. They've grabbed a few guests too with Mark Minoa brings a guest bass slot on Forged Faith while Soti is joined by powerhouse Stu Block of Into Eternity on  the closing chapter Descend Decay, which you can imagine sounds like Into Eternity or IE.

Guest slots are all well and good but Vanity's Disciple don't need them, when it's just the four of them they remind me of the brilliance of bands such as Queensyche, Savatage and Shadow Gallery, with Blind Belief… Ill Intention they have created a conceptual masterclass of a debut album. 9/10

Winter Eternal - Unveiled Nightsky (Hells Headbangers Records)

Originally formed in Athens but having relocated to Glasgow, Winter Eternal is a one man black metal project that is five albums deep into existence. Their latest, Unveiled Nightsky is another set of melodic black metal tracks that are inspired more by the Scandinavian style than the Hellenic one.

Soulreaper peels off trem picking, clean leads and thrashy riffs from the opening moments of Born Of Winters Breath. The theatrical touches coming from that anthemic middle section of Omen Of The Cosmic Order where V.Nuctemeron's drumming is relentless, as it is on the biting Nurtured By The Night which races by.

Unveiled Nightsky is a record that bring a lot of speed and often locks into headbanging rhythms. The balance between the black metal extremity and melodic moments is struck very well, with frenzied assaults such as Descent Into Hades Embrace, evolving into the likes of the mid-pace The Deceivers Tale or the dramatic Echoes Of A Fallen Crown.

Despite being a one man project the additional drummer and strings players all add depth to this great melodic black metal record. 7/10

Sinistrous Mist - A Voice Through Constellations (Self Released)

Over to the more vicious side of black metal now as Athens band Sinistrous Mist bring anti-Christian black metal that dwells in the shadow and darkness of the Hellenic Scene, but also fully utilises keys to great effect. Divine Black driven with the gothic twinge of Type O Negative. While Mother Mary is not a UFO cover but a track that builds on orchestrations, through throat shredding vocals and a symphonic closing moments where the drums hit full power.

It's breathless stuff and shows that even though it's a debut A Voice Through Constellations, it's been composed by veterans who can manipulate multiple styles into incendiary black metal that's got heavy cinematic leanings from the keys, the title track begins with some creepy carnival organs before unleashing hell again.

It seems they're so focussed on the keys, drums and vocals, that their guitarist no longer seem to be in the band, still that only really matters on the live stage, as the core line up on this record deliver some really excellent atmospheric black metal for what is a debut. 8/10

Reviews: Dauðaró & Pantheïst, Wolfbastard, Gotthard, Zepter (Matt Bladen, Mark Young, Cherie Curtis & Simon Black)

Dauðaró & Pantheïst — Af Holdi Og Málmi (Melancholic Realm Productions) [Matt Bladen]

From the frostbitten, isolated, alien landscapes of Iceland comes the figure known as JTS. Draped in mystery, this musical enigma has singlehandedly created a scene all of his own within the Icelandic underground. JTS is the anchor point for numerous projects but one of the prolific is Dauðaró, one that expresses the introspective outlook of a musician at the end of the earth through doom/drone/ambient textures.

Who better then, to collaborate with then than funeral doom maestro and ambient soundscape creator Kostas Panagiotou of Pantheïst. An internet/social media friendship that has birthed a sprawling, claustrophobic, intense 77 minutes of music, that plays with dissonance and directness, the slow repeating drone, the gothic ambience and a sense of foreboding, engulf this record in maudlin brilliance.

It's complex but never flashy, the musical skills of JTS creating most of what you hear, from the riffs that cave in reality itself, to a low end that will threaten to dislodge the tallest building and drums that so often are there to set a glacial pace, the layered, all consuming style of his JTS performance is what fans of Dauðaró will switch on for.

However here the addition of Kostas' terrifying vocals, that are often manipulated to be made more intense and inhuman than they are on a regular Pantheïst record and of course his mastery of the keys which bring a whole other level of sacred synthetism with his keys/organs and general otherworldliness to this conceptual piece.

Af Holdi Og Málmi, which translates to Of Flesh And Metal, delves into the philosophical argument between humanity and A.I and what truly defines as the record moves through an Asimov inspired story where an A.I built to protect humanity determines that we are flawed and uses it's technological superiority to correct the behaviour of human beings.

It's filled with existential questions, philosophical arguments, asks wider questions on autonomy and ideology as more people are able to do incredible things with A.I at what point do states have to intervene on individuals rather than other states and ultimately it tries to answer moral questions that with our own debates about the A.I explosion currently raging, are all very pertinent and perhaps may prove to be a little prophetic too.

There's little point trying to pick out individual parts of this work as it's meant to be heard in one sitting, a complex, cavernous record of two masters of the craft coming together with shared ambition and creative flair. A testament to our digital age that it can bring together like-minded individuals from across the globe, but as this record deals with very well, a small fleck of silver in a huge black cloud. 9/10

Wolfbastard - Satanic Scum Punks (Apocalyptic Witchcraft) [Mark Young]

This is going to be a relatively brief review. You just have to look at that top line to basically get all of the information you will need prior to diving into this album. Throw in that its for fans of Venom, Exploited and Extreme Noise Terror and is a savage welding of black metal with crust punk, and you can be under no illusion about how these 11 songs will sound.

If you are looking for soft, gentle melodies that escape into the spring air, this isn't the band. There are no ballads, introductory soundscapes with cod orchestral movements (in the dark) or anything approaching subtlety. This is a full on, boot to the head old school assault. They don’t attempt to be anything other than true to their art and to themselves. 

By the time this review lands, they will have kicked off their national tour at the Star And Garter in Manchester, and I cannot think of a more suitable place to start this tour. For me, this is a good album that doesn’t stray from a path in any respect. It starts and expects you to stay with them from Its Fucking Dark to B-I-F-F-O, taking in a frenzied 30 minutes along the way. There are some pearlers on here, lyrically very funny but always backed up with a feral punk approach. It may sound like a joke, but they deliver it in a completely straight way.

Wolfbastard are one of those bands where the live show is what its all about. It’s a powerful album, but I get that feeling that once they are in front of you, marshalling that crowd and absorbing that energy then they become something more than what is committed to tape. Its not for the faint of heart, or for those wanting technical wankery. This is straight forward, stove your skull in music that your parents warned you about and the clergy bathe in holy water for. 8/10

Gotthard – More Stereo Crush (RPM) [Cherie Curtis]

Swiss Rock legends Gotthard bring More Stereo Crush to follow their previous hit album, Stereo Crush, and it’s just that: the icing on the cake. This release offers 8 tracks, including unreleased songs, a radio edit, and a fan-favourite duet featuring Marc Storace from Krokus.

It's straight- up hard rock: catchy, nostalgic and feel- good. It isn’t revolutionary, but it doesn’t have to be; Gotthard has been around since the early 90s and doesn’t have to knock your socks off to prove their worth. Their tracks are solid enough to speak for themselves, bringing just enough spark to a classic formula to keep you interested.

It's an album that's felt like an old friend you haven't seen in years - you may not be enraptured, but you're glad they are there. There is a contrast throughout that works; Gotthard provides hard rock nostalgia with a polished and contemporary sheen, so it doesn't feel overdone. This is a difficult balance and marks them as true professionals.

More Stereo Crush features sharp, bristly riffs and gravelly vocals, delivering a lively and satisfying rock n’ roll all-rounder with sprinkles of sentiment. It’s perfect for a long drive or a productive Sunday afternoon, as the tracks are undeniably punchy and raw; they’ll certainly get your hands drumming on the steering wheel. It’s a fun, casual listen; that’s undemanding and feels effortless. Their strength shines through their consistency and their understanding of what their fans want from them right now.

Overall, it’s a textbook hard rock LP. Gotthard hasn’t reinvented the genre here, but they have executed it very well. After all, who doesn’t like a bit of hard rock? I liked what I heard; while it won’t make its way into my daily rotation, i certainly won’t skip it if it comes on. They have stuck to their guns and, once again, produced something high-quality and very likeable. 7/10

Zepter – Zepter (High Roller Records) [Simon Black]

Zepter hail from Austria, and this is their first full length LP. It’s very much trying to sound like it was found behind the back of a filing cabinet in a studio from the early 80’s, following the continuing trend of bands aping analogue sounds with digital kit. Unusually it does that better than most, as the mix has a good low-end rumble that does have the analogue feel I get through my sound stack when I play old vinyl records of the period, with enough crispness and clarity from the digital sounds of the current era. 

That however misses the point I have laboured many times before, that the energy and zeitgeist that those old recordings often had early in an act’s recording career were more often the product of the need to cram the recording process into very tight time windows at ungodly (and cheaper) studio slots, aided by adrenaline and chemistry, rather than whatever benefits the actual ageing recording kit gave.

Musically this is twin guitar traditional Heavy Metal and does this by the numbers. Which is part of the problem… It has a very demo-sounding feel to it, despite the fact time was spent in the studio doing this properly, the net result is the desire to capture the single take effect was of more importance than getting the best out of the arrangements.

Vocalist Lukas Götzenberger also delivers synth and half the guitar parts, and although it’s not specified in the press release, I would lay odds that he’s mostly doing the rhythm parts as his vocal phrasing synchs with these. That works well in other styles of the period, like early Thrash where the staccato delivery of the vocal arrangements aided the overall sense of brutality, but here it has the effect of detracting from the vocals, which is a shame as he has quite a good vocal timbre and range. The net effect is his vocal lines get lost in the mix, which is a shame. I would recommend splitting the tasks in the future, as freeing him up from the six string gives space to expand the vocal delivery into the songs, rather than being a slave to the instrumental arrangements.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the musical feel which works really well instrumentally, it’s just missing that final bit of pizazz that would dial things up a notch or two. A promising start however, and definitely something to build on. 6/10

Reviews: N.M.B, Fangus, Red Sun Atacama, White Skies (Simon Black & Rich Piva)

N.M.B. (Neal Morse Band) – L.I.F.T. (Inside Out Music) [Simon Black]

There was a time during the most frustrating depths of lockdown when Neal Morse seemed to be at his most prolific. Let’s be honest, the guy is an absolute cornerstone of all things prog, and with his various collaborators and frankly formidable array of projects seemed during that period to be cranking out something new every month. 

I suspect that this was more to do with the inability to cut anything new face-to-face back then meant that projects that never saw the light of day, plus a plethora of live recording got to see the light of day in a positive bow wave of releases.

The master of all things progressive varies his style enormously, but for me the releases branded under the Neal Morse Band (or N.M.B. as it has morphed into this time around) always ticked my boxes more than many projects have because fundamentally it was often a bit heavier than Transatlantic, Morse, Portnoy and George, Flying Colours and most definitely Worship, despite the fact that musicians were shared across so many of the projects. 

Absolutely a cross-project cornerstone of the last few decades has been former and once more current Dream Theater maestro Mike Portnoy, and the NMB output often felt closest to that of that most successful of Prog Metal acts in style, whilst clearly being Mr Morse at its heart.

This album may mark something of a change then…

Portnoy’s much publicised return to Dream Theater means a huge chunk of his availability just disappeared well into the medium term, because DT are both globally successful, and fairly prolific as well in terms of recorded outlay, so the reality is that we are unlikely to see Portnoy sitting behind Morse live or in the studio as frequently. 

It’s also been a while since the NMB released a studio album, and clearly Portnoy’s shift back to DT has precipitated one (I am reluctant to say) final studio opus from this fluid and frankly spot on line-up. Time was a pressure here, with a limited window of Portnoy’s availability for direct collaboration compressing writing and recording somewhat, yet as is so often the case that pressure has resulted in one of the most dynamic and fresh sounding releases of the NMB range.

OK, there’s a bit of after the fact polishing going on here, with all the members of the band able to come back and tweak the core tracks cut in the studio from their home studios, but that hasn’t taken away the energy and dynamism of L.I.F.T. A challenge often laid against Morse and his projects is their repetitive nature, but this one feels both of that stable and clearly moving the dial into fresher territory. 

There is a feeling here that they want to cram as much as they can into the record stylistically too, and there are many moments that feel like a nod to heights of the past, but it’s also thematically contiguous, with a lot of lyrically influence from Morse’s religious inclinations, but let’s face it they’re as constant in his recorded output since he left Spock’s Beard as Portnoy.

Unlike many of previous releases though, the energy here makes the album fly by despite it’s run time. When you have an hour and ten minutes of music, sounding concise is something of a challenge here, but the band pull it off because they have distilled all their writing experience together into one polished whole. Not so much a Best of Compilation, as a stylistic compendium of what they all do best, this is one of the freshest slabs of Prog to hit my platter in some considerable time. 9/10

Fangus - Emerald Dream (From The Urn Records) [Rich Piva]

I first heard of the band Fangus when interviewing Sons Of Arrakis for The Rich & Turbo Heavy Half Hour while discussing the Montreal scene and some cool bands that we may not have been familiar with that we really should be. 

I immediately went and grabbed the EP and was blown away by the frantic 70s proto metal vibe, and, of course, the organ. That EP, Meet The Reaper, was so cool and had an aura of mystery to the mad men behind this organ driven goodness. Thankfully, out of the shadows they come with their debut full length, Emerald Dream, and boy does it rip the place up and take that raw, early EP sounds to another level on these eight tracks.

The opener, Howling Hammer kicks it off with a cool, heavy 70s riff that Leslie West would be proud of, the drums kick in and sound great, and then the organ. Oh, the organ. A man named Chub plays all the keys on the record and I bow to his greatness. What an amazing opener and just a frantic, LSD fuelled proto trip that will leave you wanting more and more, which is what you get as Pyre Of Love keeps this amazing energy and vibe going. 

The organ here is next level, which I have now said for two weeks in a row, with the Gjendferd record from last week being another example. While Gjenferd is firmly rooted in the 70s too, they lean a bit more proggy and classic rock, while Fangus goes full Sir Lord Baltimore without ever letting their foot off the gas. 

Layers of keys kick off Psychoïd Telepath, and while the pace slows just a bit, the proto psych vibe does not. This track could absolutely be in a classic B horror movie and steal the show. An organ solo kicks off Quest For Fire before the riff kicks in and the guitar and organ meld to form one epic monster ready to tear up 1976 Montreal. The title track opens up with an operatic organ solo that slowly builds up to that perfect pairing of instruments that is like a freight train off the tracks heading right towards your city center. 

For a second it looks like someone jumped in the engine and took control, until it all goes off the rails again. Fangus has the fast slow/loud quiet thing down pat with the killer heavy psych of Time Gambler. The guitar work on this one is just massive. Shapeshifter sounds like Witchfinder General, with an organ. Enough said. Somehow the band saved the best track for last, as the energy on Stardust Regulator is off the charts, making me try to figure out a way to see these guys live at some point.

Fangus really kills it on their debut full length. Emerald Dream is non stop 70s inspired proto psych heaviness driven by amazing organ and guitar work, great song writing, amazing sound, and next level playing all around. I am not sure how a debut could be much better, given this album has been blasting non stop and am getting really good at air organ. Killer, next level stuff. 10/10

Red Sun Atacama - Summerchild (Mrs Red Sound) [Rich Piva]

Red Sun Atacama are a psych punk band out of Bordeaux, France. Psych punk you say? Yup. Up tempo rippers with some serious mind bending guitar work, cool tempo changes, and a frantic energy that landed their last album, Darwin, in my top 20 of 2022. The band is back with their new record, Summerchild, with very similar (killer) results.

The band self describes as “desert punk” and I can certainly get behind that, especially with the stoner gallop of a track like Conveyor, with its big chunky riff and punk rock tendencies all encompassed by a nice thick layer of fuzz. The opener, Passenger, is a straight up punky QOTSA style ripper that sets the stage nicely for the rest of the record. The snotty vocals add to the desert punk thing they have going on too, which all works great. 

It’s not all breakneck punk speed, as RSA can plant their feet firmly in the (French?) desert with a trippy slow burn too, like on Weightless. At least that is what you think you are getting until you remember these guys love big riffs too. I dig the guitar work on the back half of this one. Great stuff. Speaking of rippers, Commotions lives up to its name with the drum work standing out on this psych punk explosion. That is until it slams on the breaks and goes all quiet…until the (of course) big riff breaks through the wall and the reverb drenched vocals grab you. 

Graze The Sun may be my favourite on the record, with some more killer guitar work, a 90s feel, but also this Hanoi Rocks with lots of Fuzz thing that I hear. Not sure anyone else will but I hear it, and it is wonderful. The riffs are endless on this one too. This one shows how RSA have mastered the start fast, slow down, end fast formula. The title track is ear worm material, showing off the band’s pop sensibilities while still channelling Rated R/SFTD era QOTSA. 

Thankfully Ragdoll is not an Aerosmith cover, but it is eight minutes of what RSA does best; snotty desert punk with a side of psych, with the psych being layered on heavy over this one. The closer, the very chill and perfectly titled Sundown, is just the thing needed to come down from the wild ride that is Summerchild.

A worthy follow up to their last killer record, Summerchild will show the Red Sun Atacama are the real deal and in no way any sort of side project or one off thing. Eight driving songs touching on a bunch of genres but never veering off the path of awesome. 9/10

White Skies – Shouting At The Hurricane (Conquest Music) [Simon Black]

I first came across White Skies opening up for Ten at a show in Cardiff about 18 months ago and was hugely impressed by them at the time. It was a tough gig to open, as despite the calibre of the headliner the promoters at The Globe elected to do zero publicity whatsoever, so the room was rather depressingly sparse for them (never mind for the headliners), yet they did an admirable job of delivering their well-crafted Melodic / AOR Rock to an audience that had never heard of them. 

It was good enough for me to splash out on their debut CD Black Tide that night, and the album did not disappoint either, so spotting this sophomore in the slush pile at Musipedia Towers (well, more of a two up, two down to be honest) was a no-brainer for me.

Shouting At The Hurricane does not buck the trend. It’s a consistently strong album, which, as the title implies has a slightly rougher edge to it than its predecessor. Not in terms or recording or quality, but it’s definitely more a Hard Rock affair than their debut, although there’s plenty of steady synth-laden hooks that the fan base isn’t going to see too much of a step beyond their debut. 

To be fair, the band may be new, but the members are all old school pros. White goes all the way back to one of the late 80’s incarnations of Samson, and many things since, but the rest of the band have been around the block some as well. That’s always a help when everyone has a depth of writing and recording experience and often means they tend to cut straight to the point with little padding when the chemistry is right. Which it certainly is here.

When an album kicks things off with the two banging singles, then I usually start to worry that there is a risk of shooting the load a little early, but in this instance, I need not have lost anymore hair than time and genetics have already taken so cruelly from me. These two are obvious singles to be fair, particularly 88 Crash, which has all the anthemic hallmarks of a track that they will be closing their live sets with forever, but quality and consistency are in harmony here. This album is positively dripping with catchy anthems however…

…And so well delivered to boot. The arrangements are crisp, precise and well-tailored, but there’s enough freshness in the performance that this feels neither derivative, unoriginal nor stale. Whichever way you look at it, this is a sub-genre mostly played by and listened to by folks who have circled around the sun for a fair few turns to the power of ten, but when something rocks up feeling that it just fell out of this decade as well as any since the mid-80’s so effortlessly.

Mainly through that reliable formula or good musicians, who know what they are doing and who know how to trim the fat from their work what you end up with is this: a strong, well-crafted and refreshing record for a band who are rapidly becoming a firm favourite. 10/10

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

The Hara & Profiler – The Adrian Flux, Waterfront Studio, Norwich, 06.03.2026



There is a specific, claustrophobic magic to the Waterfront Studio. When you pack a couple of hundred people into that upstairs space, the boundary between the band and the audience doesn't just blur, it disappears entirely. It’s a venue that rewards the bold and exposes the half-hearted. Last Friday, it played host to a bill that felt like a deliberate middle finger to genre boundaries, moving from the tech-heavy emotion of Bristol's Profiler to the high-octane, theatrical defiance of The Hara.

The evening began with Profiler (8). In a world where nu-metalcore is often reduced to a series of predictable breakdowns, this lot manages to find a much more vulnerable frequency. Their set was a masterclass in balance; the guitars were thick and bruising, yet they left enough air in the room for the emotive, almost fragile vocal lines to land. It’s a sophisticated sound, properly technical but never cold. They didn't just warm up the room; they filled it with a dense, atmospheric weight that felt far larger than the guys on stage.

By the time The Hara (8) took the stage, the humidity in the room had reached a tipping point. Josh Taylor and his lot don't just "perform" a set; they stage a minor riot. From the opening salvos of Autobiography and Faking It, it was clear that the "genre-less" label they wear is less of a marketing tag and more of a survival strategy. They move through alt-rock, pop-punk, and gritty industrial-tinged anthems with a frantic, heart-attack energy that refuses to settle.

The highlight of the night was the sheer, unvarnished charisma of Taylor. He spends as much time in the crowd as he does on the stage, turning the tiny Waterfront Studio into a single, kinetic entity. Tracks like Okay That's Me and Circus were delivered with a level of vocal precision that survived the chaos of the mosh pit. It’s a polished, professional act dressed up in a "fuck you" attitude.

The setlist was a relentless march through their latest material, peaking with the roar of Afterlife. Without the need for massive screens or arena-sized pyrotechnics, The Hara proved that they are one of the most dynamic live acts currently working the circuit. They have a gift for making every person in a two-hundred-cap room feel like they are part of something exclusive and dangerous.

It was an honest, exhausting, and utterly brilliant bit of work. The Hara provided the proof that you don't need a stadium to create a massive moment. This was a reminder of why we bother with small-club shows in the first place, loud, intimate, and massively important for both bands and the people who want to see them.

Reviews: Neuronspoiler, More, Serpent Gates, Ravenspell (Matt Bladen)

Neuronspoiler - The House Always Wins (Self Released)

London heavy metal brigade Neuronspoiler return with their fourth album The House Always Wins and its definitely a win for anyone who likes their heavy metal from that classic school. With three records behind them, the band have quite a pedigree on the UK scene and you hear their experience in every single moment of The House Always Wins.

It's classic heavy metal with a modern freshness, inspired by the likes of Maiden, Priest, Queensyche and even some of the sleazier acts on the heavy metal scene. The opening bounce of Crazy Love and the muscular balladry of a Hundered Years are both dressed in 80's finery with a Sunset Strip strut, a style that is very prominent on this fourth record as Witness and Barren Soil have the drama of Queensyche as New Thing meanwhile is pure pop metal pomp.

Thankfully for anyone who wants to bang their head there's the likes of Spoils Of War and Ascend To Death to get the neck moving at pace the cutting through slicker sound with good old fashioned thrashing while the lumbering, Manilla Road-like Crimson Tales will make sure the fans of the slower side of metal are catered for, showcasing a wide array so styles here but never moving too far from the foundations of heavy metal.

Neuronspoiler then bring more British metal clout on album four, playing a winning hand for the most part. 7/10

More - Destructor (Warhead Music)

More come from the early days of NWOBHM, the London based band were contemporaries of Iron Maiden on the London scene forming in 1979, they like all the bands who never quite reached Maiden's size have had a bit of potted history. 

Several hiatus, reformations, new names and many new members, however in the mid 10's they seemed fully ready to return, reverting back to the More name after a few years under a similar guise.

They were also joined Chris Tsangarides a man who has production credits as long as your arm, including Judas Priest's Sad Wings Of Destiny and Painkiller, Anvil's Metal On Metal, Thin Lizzy's Thunder And Lightning and Black Sabbath's Eternal Idol. His name will be known to anyone with more than a passing interest in the history of the British heavy metal scene and I made a special trip to find the bench dedicated to him in Regents Park.

With him on guitar and behind the desk, More began to record their third ever album Destructor, however tragedy struck when Chris passed away at 61 years old in 2018, this of course was a huge blow for the band however he had completed the production and the mix on the album before his death, so why it's taken nearly nearly 10 years to release I don't know.

It's also not the best record in the world, good when they stick to some galloping NWOBHM and even when they lean into the likes of Y&T and AC/DC-like pub rock but there are a few tracks that are best left ignored. Destructor then is for NWOBHM completests and fans of Chris Tsangarides', though his legacy lies elsewhere, there's lots to appreciate here at least. 7/10

Serpent Gates - The Veil Of Darkness (Venomoon Records)

If your kids want you to buy Iron Maiden tickets then you can always tell them you have Iron Maiden at home, especially if it's The Veil Of Darkness from Serpent Gates as singer Antony Parviainen is a dead ringer for the Air Raid siren himself.

Oddly he also seems to be listed as a "guest" on this debut record, but it looks as if he's the full time singer of the band now which will be a massive boon to the Finnish classic metal band which was formed by Sami Tapola (bass), Juho Hakalax (drums) and Tuomas Västilä (guitars), the instrumental trio that are responsible for the brilliant heavy metal sound on this debut.

Now I said Iron Maiden at the beginning and there's of course a lot of influence from them, but the more recent Maiden output, Brave New World onwards, with the dramatic thrashy sound of Bruce's solo stuff coming through as well (Down The Cross). However they can throw it back with the horror themed Night Creeper, which would fit perfectly on No Prayer For The Dying/Fear Of The Dark where Maiden embraced horror movies.

We're on to a winner with Metamorphosis which has all the gallops in the right places while the groove locks in on the Tolkien inspired The Beast With The Seven Heads, both setting the pace for the record before The Veil Of Darkness moves into a mid-pace anthem, the cinematics come on Sanctimonious as this and The Goblet Of Tears bring a flair for the dark and dramatic.

Maidenesque metal from this Finnish foursome, The Veil Of Darkness is a strong beginning for Serpent Gates. 8/10

Ravenspell - Obsidian King (Fighter Records)

With a line up that includes, Alisander The Seer (vocals), Ravok Blackwing (guitars), Corvax Crowhammer (bass) and Volpale The Ravenous (drums), I think it's pretty easy to guess what a band called freaking Ravenspell will be bringing to the (D&D) table with Obsidian King.

Strongly leaning on the NWOTHM sound that has is still going strong despite lasting almost as long as the NWOBHM did. Wrapped in mysticism and fantasy storytelling, the Canadian band invite you to join the Black Feather Legion with their debut album of darkened speed metal that has the bite and distorted riffs of members that have spent time in the black metal scene, all of the band having done time in league with Satan.

Lyrically here as well they're obsessed with the occult and the arcane as Book Of The Dead gets groovy with inspiration from Army Of Darkness (Hail To The King Baby!), but there's more standard speed metal inspiration in the shape of wars, battle and Attilla The Hun, the main course of lyrical fascination. As well as Ravens, lots of Ravens!

What Ravenspell do well on their debut is bring a bit of variation to the NWOTHM blueprint, a bit of speed metal ferocity and some symphonic tones as well. Come to the throne of the Obsidian King and bang thy head. 8/10