Reviews: Phantom, Mace N Chain, Iron Slaught, Axemaster (Matt Bladen)

Phantom - Not Midnight Yet (High Roller Records)

It's been quite a good year or so for Mexico's Phantom, signing to High Roller Records, they have opened up their back catalogue to a wider audience with reissues and now they are poised to let loose their speed metal assault for the first time on the label.

Not Midnight Yet is a moment in time inspired by that mid to late 80's speed/thrash sound where everything was faster than everything else. Twin axe harmonies everywhere as the guitars collide and combine through rough riffage and firework display solo.

The rhythms are relentless, inhuman drumming, with bass gallops like the four horsemen and screamed/shouted vocals torn from the bowels of hell. These comparisons are all deliberate by the way as Phantom are primarily all horror or occult themed in their lyrics, inspired by Mercyful Fate, Razor and Venom.

Phantom are right at that point where thrash meets black metal, making the NWOBHM style more dangerous and aggressive, however on their third album Phantom also increase the complexity, with some prog rock textures, clean guitars and event clean vocals, but these add to rather than overpower, as Phantom so don't throw out your leather and chains and it's Not Midnight Yet for this Mexican metal machine. 7/10

Mace N Chain - Crowned In Grey Skies (No Remorse Records)

I think you could make quite a good Venn Diagram about how many members of death metal bands end up forming classic heavy metal outfits.

Sweden's David Nilsson is the singer in Feral as death metal band but in 2023 he debuted Mace N Chain with Among The Ancient Pillars, a swords and sorcery inspired solo project that brought out his sword and armour gleaming in the sun, with music inspired by Manilla Road and Manowar.

On the debut he wrote and played everything but with this sophomore record, Crowned In Grey Skies, he's joined by drummer Joey Mancaruso (Fortress/Gravesword) this time around but still plays; acoustic and electric guitar, 4- and 8-string bass, acoustic bass and also sings.

Though a few solos on this record come from special guests in bands such as Smoulder, Vintersorg and Feral. With a drummer now involved Mace N Chain does feel a bit less like a "studio project" there's a more organic flow though the songs and the writing has become diversified due to not having to write to a computer but a real drummer.

Crowned In Grey Skies offers new variations on a theme but never moved too far from classic heavy metal. 7/10

Iron Slaught - Metallic Torments (Gates Of Hell Records)

More classic heavy metal speed from France now as Gates Of Hell Records bring us the second album from Iron Slaught. Formed in South West France in 2011, Iron Slaught are old school, hitting the accelerator with opening instrumental Harbinger Of Afflictions, which gallops like Maiden track.

Increasing speed again on Ghastly Obsession where the thrash and black metal inspiration comes in through the intense blast beats, razor sharp guitar sound and raw vocal shouts, though these move towards more traditional vocals on Soldier Of Fortune.

It's been 11 years since their debut record and in that time Iron Slaught have matured their underground metal approach with advanced melodies, excellent guitar harmonies and a more cinematic atmosphere, all refined well by the two members with tales of medieval battles, witchcraft and more.

The bass leads the charge, and while the drum programming does sound a little artificial, Iron Slaught deliver lighting quick classic metal in both English and their native French on this second record, but they never scrimp on the speed, all of these songs gallop, full speed ahead and nothing less.

Is it worth an 11 year wait? Well yes, but, at the moment this is good studio project that is crying out to get on the road to reach full potential. 7/10

Axemaster - Of Beasts And Plagues (Cosmic Fire Records)

Enough of all this heavy metal revival stuff. Axemaster are the real deal.

Formed in the US Of A in the 1980's they're as authentic as you'll get as with most bands from this era there's been line up changes, periods of inactivity, reformations but always carrying the heavy metal flame is founding guitarist Joe Sims.

Of Beasts And Plagues sees an almost fully revamped line up with vocalist Geoff McGraw the only carry over from their last record in 2017. His voice is gruff but suits the style Axemaster bring to the table as classic metal meets thrash and doom, most of their tracks sit in that mid-pace chug.

The gloomy atmosphere of the doom/occultism influence shifting to slower and rawer moments while they can get fast when they need to, bringing aggression on Dealers and Danse Macabre, and while the production style does vary quite a lot on the record, it's still a good collection of authentic 80's heavy metal. 6/10

Reviews: Solace, Muse, Haserot, Soulburn (Rich Piva, Matt Bladen, Cherie Curtis & Mark Young)

Solace - Fading Failing Ruin (Magnetic Eye Records) [Rich Piva]

Solace will forever have a place in my heart, not just because Tommy and Justin are some of the best dudes you will ever meet, but because their 2019 record The Brink was a pivotal point in my music listening life. 

The record opened up this whole heavy rock underground thing I had been ignorant to for so many years, and got me knee deep into what is one of my favorite times to be a heavy music lover. 

So here we are in 2026. Solace is a different band then they were 30 or so years ago when they began, and 25 or so years from when they dropped their other classic, Further. 

A lot has happened since then as a band and as humans, so it makes sense that their new record, Fading Failing Ruin, is Solace but sounds so much different than Solace at the same time. It also is perfect.

Why, you say? Because Solace rules. You want more details? OK, sure. First off the guitar work on Fading Failing Ruin can only be described as killer. Tommy and Justin have more riffs they have forgotten then most people have put on to tape, and some of those best ones show up on Fading Failing Ruin. 

That’s not surprising to anyone who has been a fan of the band. What has really made this band move into the direction they have is lead singer and primary lyric writer Justin Goins, who has injected both these deep lyrical themes and a sense of melody that was always lurking, on The Brink (see what I did there), but show up loud and clear on Fading Failing Ruin. 

The amount of earworms on this record was the biggest surprise for me. Solace songs that stick in your brain and you can hum along to while still being filthy dirty? I love 2026 (for the music, at least). 

Don’t get me wrong, Solace has not gone all Cheap Trick on us (I love Cheap Trick) but this is by far the most melodic output we have heard from these guys, and I love it so much. 

While the keys are still there, they are way more behind the scenes, less a driving force and more an atmosphere builder, and it works perfectly with these songs. Also Solace is still fucking heavy, while perfectly incorporating the melody I have been blabbing on about. Also, Solace rules.

Look, me going song by song on Fading Failing Ruin is not going to do this record any kind of justice. Dive in and immerse yourself in it. Heavy, melodic, riff filled, killer stuff over nine tracks by dudes who have been at it forever, seen and been through it all, and are here still to tell us all about it through their music.

I love Solace and I love this record. 10/10

Muse - The Wow! Signal (Warner/Helium-3) [Matt Bladen]

Named after the 1977 narrowband radio signal that was purported to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life, epic cosmic rockers Muse return with more space operas, after spending time delving into dystopian nightmares. 

Recently Muse have been able to consolidate all of their previous style experiments into one album, creating a jukebox of everything that's great about the band.

The Wow! Signal continues in this vein with the epic orchestras/choirs of the terrific The Dark Forest along with church organs coming on the mega ballad on Be With You. 

There's the electro dance of Nightshift Superstar, Hexagons and Unravelling, forcing you into some awkward prog dance moves as Chris Wolstenholme's grooving bass the major rhythm of the Muse sound as with tracks such as Hush, which features Ellie Goulding.

Dominic Howard I feel is always underrated as a drummer, but he's such a huge part of the Muse sound. His ability to blend the acoustic and electronic drum styles, comes from the same school as Phil Collins, his symbiotic relationship with co-producer, co-writer, live member Dan Lancaster, is why these shifts in genre are just so seamless.

Matt Bellamy though is a true rockstar, his vocals are so unique and recognisable but with The Wow! Signal his guitar playing takes a lot of credit as Cryogen throws it right back to Origin Of Symmetry/Absolution, while The Sickness In You & I could be the heaviest Muse have ever been.

Inspired by scientific mysteries and by Bellamy's unexpected split with partner Elle Evans, The Wow! Signal is a personal and powerful musical statement from Muse. 9/10

Haserot – Advent Of Suffering (Redefining Darkness Records) [Cherie Curtis]

Haserot has been around since 2020. That's around 6 years of gigs and experience on the scene but they’re still considered to be relatively new. 

With just one other album, their newest- Advent Of Suffering brings us some dark and bitter death metal. This one is brooding, mysterious and very atmospheric with mythical and twisted themes and a strong sense of story. 

This does mean it's not going to be an album for everybody but if it happens to be a genre or style you like then you will love it.

On the first listen I was surprised to find that these guys are relatively new to the scene because they sound so refined. 

They clearly know their stuff and execute it well, each track is thick with texture, we have layers of riffs and different vocal inflexions and subtleties to create a dense level of richness that can be hard to catch at first on the first listen but as you work your way through it, you’ll pick up on some amazing stuff. 

What’s great about Haserot is that they don’t pull punches, they build slowly before delivering sheer ferocity. They’re passionate and demanding but not daunting.

The breakdowns are well timed and meticulous and the riffs are creative and feel quite classic in an Iron Maiden sort of way; very sharp, scribbly and anthemic but the vocals are harsh and raw and often incoherent, so it blends uniquely and works well. 

To me it comes across as very well researched, they have an audience in mind and they're playing to them.

This album serves to amp you up and knock you down, it's impactful but fun. You don't find yourself getting bored which can be easy to do with 10 tracks, the run times are standard 4 to 5 minutes for their longer more pivotal songs like Advent Of Suffering and Tears In Bethlehem and then 3 minutes for the rest, it’s a blast throughout. 

Overall, they are worth the listen, they’re very professional and memorable. The mixing is great and the cover looks good, if it was in a shop or on a market stall you will pick it up and have a look. 

It’s a lot of fun which I feel like is very important even though it does come across as dark and gritty, it’s not it’s not a downer. 

You can hear from how well that they play that they work hard and that they are well practised and it shines through. 6/10

Soulburn - Quantifying Cosmic Doom (Testimony Records) [Mark Young]

Now, this intrigued me. The title hinted at the great wonder of the unknown, coupled with a bit of the old ultra-apocalypse (that could just be me). Album art looked suitably wondrous, and the song titles themselves suggested that this was going to be a cracker.

It didn’t quite tun out like that. Quantifying Cosmic Doom is their 5th album, from a band that has, in one form or another been in existence since the mid 90’s. 

It is an album that on the whole disappointed me, to the point where I was ready to tap out and say no more, I’ve reached saturation within extreme music and I’m off to listen to 60’s psychedelia. I didn’t, but that disappointment remains. 

I’ll start with the most niggling aspect of this, the album length. I am firmly of the belief that they could have introduced the editing scissors to the songs here and made it a more immediate and impacting release than what we have got here. 

There’s 11 songs that seem to stretch time itself and I found myself wondering when it would end. I appreciate that this sounds undeniably sarky, and I’m not normally like this but a combination of the hot weather and the ice cream running out at the local shop has left me in a foul mood.

I’ve mentioned previously that I do a lot of my reviewing in the car. The commute is long enough to get an album or two in and for a lot of cases there’s time for a repeat listen. 

It’s a useful barometer because if I won’t listen to it in the car, I’m 99% not likely to listen to it anywhere. It starts off with blasts, and frenetic guitars on The Braveheart Of Nightmares, so far, it’s doing its thing. Melodic lines are there, but the backbone is what I’d come to expect. The guitars sound mint and then clean singing comes in and kills it dead. 

Now, I want to make something clear here: I am not against cleans in death metal, or in extreme metal. Its not preferable to me (that is my opinion, hopefully yours will vary from mine) but I can see the validity in it, especially as a counterpoint to the standard harsh tones. 

The style here doesn’t work for me, but as soon as the guttural kicks in its like ‘game on’. The harsh vocals suit this down to the ground, the cleans do not. I’m so annoyed that I cannot get past it and I ended up skipping to the next track. 

On the second play through, I didn’t skip forward, but I didn’t change my mind. The music side of things is exemplary, everything is just right; the heavy parts are monstrous, the gentle parts around the 4 minute 30 mark and onwards are great, it’s the singing style that has done me. 

Powehi, The Embellished Dark Source Of Unending Creation starts on that positive, moving forward style and then bang – it happens again. 

Same as track one; the extreme vocals are just locked in with this music, the cleans are not. In a lot of ways, this shares a similar build as track one, and its just as frustrating.

Moving through the songs, as I’ve said you cannot take anything away from the music that is on display here. They show great control of how things should be put together, knowing just when to ease back on the heavy side and when to step it up. 

The extreme side flies along and is as good as anything in that blackened style you might have heard this year. They marry the melodic to the brutal really well, and when it’s the harsh vocals things move. As good as this music is, its hamstrung by a reliance on the cleans and by having one or two songs too many on here. 

What I would say is this: if you lean into your extreme music with a healthy respect for clean singing sharing the stage with the harsh, then give this a go. There are some stunning moments on here, of heaviness and of gentle refrain. 

For me, the die was cast on the first song and I never recovered, no matter how hard I tried. 6/10

Reviews: August Burns Red, Guilt Trip, Child, Okay You Win (Spike & Rich Piva)

August Burns Red  – Season Of Surrender (Fearless Records) [Spike]

You pretty much know what you’re getting with August Burns Red at this point. This is their tenth album, and they aren't trying to reinvent the wheel. Honestly, they shouldn't. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. 

This record delivers exactly what we've come to expect over the last two decades: massive breakdowns, complex guitar leads, and a lot of energy. For a band that has been doing this for so long, the consistency is actually pretty impressive.

Opening with Legions, featuring Mike Hranica from The Devil Wears Prada, the album starts with a lot of momentum. It’s heavy, fast, and has that classic mid-2000s metalcore feel. Jake Luhrs' vocals are front and centre, sounding as powerful as ever. 

It’s followed by The Nameless and Behemoth, which keep the pace moving without giving you much time to catch your breath. JB Brubaker’s lead guitar work on Behemoth is particularly sharp, showing that they can still write technical parts that don't feel like they're just showing off.

One thing I really liked on this release was the guest features. Jamie Hails from Polaris shows up on Sonic Salvation, adding some great contrast to the vocal delivery. Later on, Make Them Suffer bring a different flavour to Cerebral Malfunction. 

It’s a good way to shake things up on a ten-album-deep discography without losing the core identity of the band. It keeps the middle of the album from feeling like a repeat of what came before.

Even the shorter moments work well here. Tear Of The Clouds is a brief, atmospheric breather that clocks in at under a minute, but it sets up Whispers Like Splinters perfectly. 

That track, along with S.O.S., keeps the intensity high as the album heads toward the finish line. Dustie Waring’s rhythm guitars sound massive throughout this entire stretch, giving the breakdowns a lot of physical weight.

The standout track for me is the closer, Forged By Failure. It’s nearly seven minutes long and shows how the band can still build a great, atmospheric build-up before hitting you with a massive breakdown. 

It’s a great way to close out the record and feels like it’ll go down incredibly well live. You can already picture the crowd reaction when that final section kicks in.

At the end of the day, Season Of Surrender doesn’t rewrite the metalcore rulebook, but it doesn’t need to. It’s a solid, reliable, and incredibly heavy record from a band that still knows exactly how to write a great riff. If you've liked them before, you'll like this. 8/10

Guilt Trip – Armour Of Angels (Roadrunner Records) [Spike]

Manchester has a way of producing bands that just know how to graft. But while the Gallagher brothers made a career out of sneering in parkas.

Guilt Trip have spent the last decade building something infinitely heavier. This is their third full-length record, Armour Of Angels, and it is a massive, metallic hardcore steamroller.

You might have seen the headlines about their recent Adidas collaboration. Oasis did the three-stripes thing too, but you can bet Guilt Trip’s version of it comes with a lot more bruises. 

This is a band that has stayed entirely true to the heavy, metal-worshipping strain of hardcore that got them out of sweaty basements and onto massive festival stages.

The album kicks off with One By One and immediately sets a bruising pace. This isn't just standard hardcore; it's a massive, riff-heavy blend that feels like the tough-guy stomp of 90s New York metalcore mixed with the razor-sharp guitar tone of classic Pantera. When vocalist Jay Valentine yells "Go!" on the opener, you know exactly what kind of ride you’re in for.

The guitar work from Jak Maden and Sam Baker is the real star of the show here. Tracks like Cut From God and Burn are absolutely festooned with squealing harmonics, chugging breakdowns, and solos that actually feel like they belong there rather than just showing off. 

The second half of Burn is a total fretboard workout that is going to test the chops of a lot of bedroom players.

They also aren't afraid to stretch their legs a bit. On Dirt, they introduce some clean vocals that actually work without robbing the track of its grit. Veins is another standout, a sprawling, multi-layered highlight that builds into a massive, heavy-handed wall of sound.

And then you’ve got Resurrected, which features Sonny Sandoval from P.O.D. on guest vocals. It’s a wild, late-90s crossover that has absolutely no right to work as well as it does, but the contrast between the vocals is brilliant and it absolutely rips.

There’s an intermission in the middle to let you catch your breath, but otherwise, this is a relentless, front-to-back beating. It’s the kind of record that makes you want to throw a pint across a crowded room.

Guilt Trip have delivered a massive step forward from their last record, Severance. It’s heavy, honest, and proudly Northern. If you’re into big riffs, massive pits, and zero compromise, this is going to be on your turntable for a very long time. 9/10

Child - Rebirth (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]

I am not sure there could be a better name for the fourth album from the band Child. Rebirth sees the Australian band get a bit more down and dirty in the blues and get even deeper lyrically then before, creating one of the blues rock records of the year so far.

Heavy Psych Sounds did us all a favor by repressing the previous releases from Child, that are all excellent, with Rebirth being a perfect addition to their already amazing discography. 

Woman Like You is pure blues rock beauty, both vocally and with that filthy guitar tone, and of course a woman who left and left him very, very damaged. 

The pace picks up on Forgot How To Love with a riff that leans into the stoner rock territory but those vocals and the melody is some vintage Child blues goodness. Heavy Load has a Southern Harmony Black Crowes mixed with Skynyrd thing going on, which is obviously awesome. 

Damned Heart’s riff lets you know you are in for some heartbreak which is confirmed when the vocals kick in. Rebirth has a very clear production value to it that in some spots if you turned up the clean more it would be a bit too much, but they never do go over the edge. 

I mentioned “Child blues goodness” earlier, and here we are again with I Tried, which fits right in that slowed down Skynyrd territory. The most blues of the blues is on the closer, Cold Shoulder, which wraps up this, what I am hearing at least, bluesy concept record on love and loss and filthy riffs.

Actually, that is how I will describe Rebirth in one line. A record filled with love, loss, and filthy riffs. More killer blues rock from Child, a band that has perfected it, all the way from Down Under. 9/10

Okay You Win - End Of Days (Blues Funeral Recordings) [Rich Piva]

The guys in UK’s Okay You Win have been kicking around London’s underground rock scene for years now, honing their craft in various bands, waiting for the right time and combination in a band for them to really make their mark and take all their hard work to the next level. 

This is what you hear from their debut record, End Of Days, brought to us by Blues Funeral. End Of Days doesn’t sound like your ordinary debut album. What it sounds like is four guys who totally get it, and gelling to make an excellently executed and brilliantly written banger with zero skips, killer riffs, and next level lyrics.

Just take the opener, Smoke. There is this grunge meets stoner thing that on paper may sound like you have heard it before, but between the guitar tone, the vocals, and how expertly recording it is, Smoke stands out as one of the killer tracks of the year. 

I love the way the guitar chugs on The Greatest Lie, and how the band expertly changes speed and vibes on Beat Me Down. This Damned Place has this smokey stoner blues thing with some of my favorite lyrics on the record, while the title track is here to simply rip up the place via that riff and my favorite vocal performance by Dave Kirk on the record. 

Speaking of ripping it up, Red Flag does just that, kind of reminding me of Soundgarden’s Kickstand. Ryan O'Hare’s guitar work here is next level stuff and both floats and punches you in the face. The grungiest track is Ten Year Trip, where the band is on full display, with the rhythm section of Rodrigo Barradas and Antonio Peci absolutely locked in. 

The seven minute closer, Own It, ends the debut perfectly, hitting on all the high notes mentioned, with Kirk’s vocals and lyrics once again standing out.

If you didn’t know any better you would not think this could be a band’s debut, but End Of Days skips the part about the promise of a new band or a good start. Okay You Win are here right from day one in the big leagues, fitting in perfectly and leaving us all wanting more. 9/10

A View From Around The Room: Sammy Hagar (Debby Myatt & Tony Gaskin)

Sammy Hagar - The Best Of All Worlds, The Halls, Wolverhampton, 06.07.26

 

Can you believe it’s been 30 odd years since the Red Rocker performed some headline dates in the UK? At 78 this is probably going to be his last tour over here as well, so we were excited to see what he would bring to this show, which was being billed as a career spanning show.

Unfortunately we missed local lads Jayler who continue on their upward spiral with this latest guest slot. Hopefully we’ll catch them soon to see how they’ve progressed.

Hagar has recruited some big hitters to bring this tour to the UK, on bass is his long time collaborator Michael Anthony (Van Halen, Chickenfoot), drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Fogarty, John Mellancamp), keyboard player Nathan Mercado and the guitar maestro Joe Satriani. 

Following the bands residency in Las Vegas, a live album “Sammy Hagar & The Best Of All Worlds Band - The Residency” was released, 18 tracks from Hagar's 50 year career. It was going to be interesting to see what we got tonight as he did say he would be mixing the sets up throughout the short run of dates.

Unfortunately there was no pit access for the photographers tonight so Tony headed off to try and get a vantage point from the crowd and it was pretty much bang on 9pm when the band came out and straight off the bat he hit us with his anthem There’s Only One Way To Rock and we knew instantly we were in for a great night. 

Hagar sounded bang on form, the band were tight, which given the talent on show, was to be expected. This was quickly followed by Top Of The World then the first really big sing-a-long Runaround. By now, the room was packed, everyone was singing the band were having fun. Satriani literally glowed like some heavenly being with his full on bling Ibanez, you can see why he wears those shades! But seriously the guy is a guitar god. 

On the other wing, Anthony was just as equally having a great time, often the “forgotten” member of VH, he is revelling in the spotlight tonight, his bass tone was pure and clean and drove the pace along. And what a pace it was. Hagar showed no signs of his nearly 8 decades as he covered every inch of the stage, never missing a beat or a note. 

A few songs in and we get Bad Motor Scooter shockingly the only Montrose song tonight. It was heavy, fast and loud. Chickenfoot was also only represented by one track, Big Foot. So yeah, the bulk of the set was VH, no surprise really, they even snuck in an David Lee Roth era track with Anthony singing on Somebody Get Me A Doctor.

Big surprise was Joe Satriani performing his masterpiece Surfing With The Alien a particular favourite of mine and we’ll forgive them not playing Space Station No 5!

A nice touch was on during the song Mas Tequila, Hagar handed out tequila shots to fans at the front, I hope he checked their ID!

We wondered if there would be any ref to EVH tonight, and last but one track, the big video screen showed an old clip of him walking away with his signature guitar and the band played Hagar’s latest song Encore- Thank You, Goodnight 

Which he said he wrote after EVH came to him in a dream.

Well, how do you follow that show up? You invite a local lad up to play drums on a cover of Led Zeppelin’s Rock And Roll, that local lad being Jason Bonham! Hagar also invited young James Bartholomew of Jayler up onto stage to share vocal duties, a wow moment for the young lad no doubt.

An amazing night and one we were glad we got to see. Will he be back again? Who knows, he looked fit and the voice was strong, so fingers crossed, and maybe next time he’ll slip in Space Station No 5! 10/10

Reviews: The Western Front, Ealdor Bealu, Sojourner, Solarus (Matt Bladen)

The Western Front - Eureka (Music Theories Recordings)

There are many 'lost' albums in the rocksphere, be it Smile, Lifehouse, The Ties That Bind or First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, many often have their songs put on other records, some get wiped totally like Cradle Of Filth's Goetia, but some stay lost seemingly forever, but so long as the original recordings are there there's always chance.

This is the story that surrounds Eureka, the debut album from rock supergroup The Western Front, recorded in it's entirety in the middle 80's it was supposed to be released by Atlantic Records, but the label was in flux and it got ignored without a release schedule and the members all went back to their other endeavours.

However this was lost, not in storage guarded by 'top men' ala Indiana Jones, and in 2023 a Swedish record exec heard some songs from The Western Front, asked about the full album and then they were shopping for a record label whenr Steve Lukather of Toto suggested Mascot Label Group and here it is 40 years after it was first recorded, the world gets introduced to Eureka by The Western Front.

Like Toto The Western Front is the story of hot shot sessions players coming together to form their own band, guitarist Marty Walsh (Supertramp), keyboard player Derek Bergmann (Yvonne Elliman) and guitarist/executive Dennis O'Donnell bringing in vocalist Richard “Moon” Calhoun (Chaka Khan), drummer Darrell Verdusco (Mark Knopfler) and Scott Gorham who had just finished touring with Thin Lizzy.

So a collective of musical journeymen, spending the next two years writing this record ready for a 1985 release, and after 40 years what you get is an album that leaps out of 1985 with some keyboard driven, chorus dense melodic rock/AOR, which blends the best of Toto (Just Go), Foreigner (Chain Of Light), Heartland (If I'm The One) and Don Henley (This Is War), as they really lock into that radio friendly, poppy style of AOR where the skill is at one with the catchiness.

Had it not been for the quality of mixes from Walsh and Bergmann back in the day, Eureka may not be in the great shape it is 40 years later. While The Western Front are not a "new" band and Eureka is not a "new" album, this debut is lost no more and great melodic rock record. 8/10

Ealdor Bealu - Graves Of The Silent Plain (Ripple Music)

A band that certainly brings an edge of the strange to the Ripple Music roster Ponderay from Idaho band Ealdor Bealu opens with some fuzzy, proto-psych riffs but then throat shredding back metal sqwarks are used for the vocals in the first instance before it shifts into Nick Cave hollering.

However this is all part of what this band brings to the table, formed in the high desert, they're the audio version of a peyote trip as the musical spirit of Morricone is smashed together with heavy psych and Opeth inspired progressive metal, Elder on Mescaline, crossing death valley, or Mastodon if they swapped mountains for dunes, if you'll indulge the idea of that.

Taking from Sabbath, Hawkwind, Yob, Kyuss and Opeth as I've mentioned, they've been playing their experimental desert metal since 2015, releasing two albums before this as they refined their atmospheric multi-dimensional sound that features a trio of defined vocalists, that bring dynamics to these already layered soundscapes.

Signing to Ripple Music, Graves Of The Silent Plain is their first for the label, but you can hear why Todd would pick up this band, even with the death vocals as they fit into a few of the categories Ripple is associated with, from the windscreen desert rock, through the proto-fuzz, dark Americana and yes even progressive metal. It's all infused with each other on this third album, that may only feature five tracks but has well over an hour of music

The quartet of Carson Russell (guitar/vocals), Rylie Collingwood (bass/vocals), Travis Abbott (guitar/vocals) and Cameron Elgart (drums/guitar), investigate the outermost fragments of their genre confines, transcending into a vision quest with the middle section of Erosion and Gold Mountains, haunting vocals, ambient moments, phased guitars and those Western influenced motifs that come from the acoustics.

Ealdor Bealu emerge from their desert crypt with a vast psychadelic prog metal record that will excite long time fans and introduce them to new ones through Ripple. 8/10

Sojourner - Gateways (Avantgarde Music)

Since releasing Premonitions in 2020 Swedish/New Zealand band Sojourner have taken some time to rest and recover, they have had some notable line up changes (which I'll get to).

Mainly they've signed back to Avantgarde Music after being in Napalm for that one record and you feel that they are back to making music in the way they want with a record label that lets them take their time and record how they see fit.

This extra time, allowance to be humans as well as musicians has resulted in Gateways and new record that has everything you'd want from the band founded and led by Mike Lamb (guitar/keys/piano) and Emilio Crespo (vocals), it's their songwriting that is still at the heart of this album.

On Gateways they showcase the experience of a band that is now over a decade old and still coming up with new ways to wow with their folk driven epic black metal.

Joining them as a new member is Lamb's partner, Heike Langhan's who is not only a member of Remina with Lamb but also of course is the former voice of Draconian.

A perfect voice for the atmospheric pieces Sojourner create as a haunting vocal foil to Crespo's blackened screams as the songs such as And The Paintings Fall, snake their way between the folk dreamscapes and nightmarish extreme blasts.

There's moments where Sojourner do something a bit different, like the de-rezzed parts of Occulation or the industrial beats of Vvardenfell but with tracks like Epitaphs, they hammer home the type of epic, gothic, blackened, death, doom thing that has always made my black heart all fuzzy. 9/10

Solarus - Of Sin And Ruin (Self Released)

Always great to hear from a band you've been following since album number one and much like their fellow Canadians and buddies Borealis, we here at Musipedia Of Metal have been with Solarus pretty much since their inception drawn in by their prog/power metal that's inspired by Evergrey, Circus Maximus and Symphony X.

Combining technically proficient music that falls on the heavier side, in the muscular riffage, joined by some dark gothic keys for track such as The Isolate, there's a real sense of heaviness on this record, especially on Angel Afire which features Tom Emmans adding growled vocals against the soaring voice of Sarah Dee.

Dee's vocals are what keeps me coming back to Solarus as a band as they're so versatile from operatic highs to theatrical mids, both used on the orchestral My Reckoning brilliantly, but to just concentrate here would be to sell the band short, as they are all virtuoso performers who can switch from chugging power prog such as Close My Eyes to emotional balladry on epic Lights.

Christopher Demelo's drumming is powerful and precise guiding the proggy changes in pace with Daniel Gebczynski's bass locking down the start stop, palm-muted grooves of modern prog metal on Of Sin And Ruin. The guitars of Lucas McArthur and Troy Longe are distorted, thick with a hearty chug of Symphony X and the modern prog sound, as the solos interweave with fleet fingered skill.

Solarus keep making music that speaks to exactly the sort of power/prog thing that I like and as such I'm always going to score them highly. Check out Of Sin And Ruin if progressive power metal that sits on the heavier side is up your street. 9/10

A View From The Castle: Bowling For Soup Vs Frank Turner (Alex Tobias)

Bowling For Soup Vs Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls + American Hi-Fi, Depot Live At Cardiff Castle, 04.07.26



There are few better settings for a summer gig than Cardiff Castle. Even beneath gloomy skies and with the threat of rain hanging in the air, thousands of fans packed into the historic grounds for a night celebrating three generations of pop-punk and alternative rock. With Boston veterans American Hi-Fi opening proceedings, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls bringing their trademark chaos, and pop-punk icons Bowling for Soup closing the evening, this had all the ingredients for a memorable night.

Opening a show of this size is never easy, but American Hi-Fi (7) looked completely at home from the moment they walked on stage. For many, the Boston quartet were one of the defining pop-punk bands of the early 2000s, and while they've now been together for well over 25 years, there wasn't a hint of rust on display. Having never managed to catch them live before, despite regularly revisiting their music over the years, I was excited to finally see what they could bring to such a large crowd.

The answer came immediately. Launching into Surround from their 2001 self-titled debut, the band wasted no time reminding everyone why they became such a staple of the era. Their trademark blend of crunchy guitars, huge melodies and infectious energy echoed around the castle walls as the early arrivals sang along from the very first chorus.

There was no drop in momentum as the set rolled on. The Breakup Song from 2003's The Art Of Losing was another crowd favourite, and one thing quickly became clear: audience participation was going to define the entire evening. From the front barrier to the back of the field, voices were already ringing out in unison. 

What impressed me most was how effortless everything felt. American Hi-Fi have the confidence that only comes from decades of touring, yet there was never a sense of simply going through the motions. They genuinely looked like they were enjoying every second on stage, and that enthusiasm spread throughout the crowd.

The closing one-two punch of The Art Of Losing and their biggest hit, Flavor Of TheWeak ensured the set finished on a real high. The latter transformed the castle into one giant singalong, with thousands dancing and shouting every word back at the band.

A fantastic opening performance from a group who have lost none of the spark that made them one of the standout acts of the 2000s.

As the skies darkened and a brief shower passed overhead, anticipation began building for the night's second act. I'll admit something straight away: before finding out I was covering this show, I knew very little about Frank Turner. By the time his set ended, I couldn't believe I'd overlooked him for so long. 

The reaction as Frank And The Sleeping Souls (8) walked on stage was deafening. From the opening notes of I Still Believe from England Keep My Bones, it was obvious this wasn't just another co-headline slot—it was an event. 

Over the course of an incredible 18-song set, Turner delivered one of the most enjoyable live performances I've seen in a long time. There were walls of hugs, circle pits, crowd surfing, constant audience interaction and barely a pause between songs. The energy simply never dipped.

Musically, the set was just as impressive. Every song carried clever, thoughtful lyrics wrapped inside huge folk-punk anthems, and even as someone unfamiliar with much of his catalogue, I found myself completely drawn in.

Highlights came thick and fast. 1933 landed with real power, while Wessex Boy offered a heartfelt reflection on the place that shaped him. Then came one of the biggest surprises of the evening as Bowling For Soup frontman Jaret Reddick joined Turner on stage for a brilliant rendition of I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous. The crowd, already in full voice, somehow managed to raise the volume even further. 

Perhaps my personal highlight was Recovery. It's one of those songs that feels deeply personal while remaining universally relatable, and hearing thousands of people sing every lyric back created a genuinely special moment. Turner is an exceptional songwriter—equal parts storyteller, poet and performer—and backed by The Sleeping Souls, every song hit with incredible power. 

The set closed in spectacular fashion with Four Simple Words" as the entire castle erupted into chants of "I Want To dance!" Thousands of people happily obliged, turning the closing minutes into one giant celebration. This was one of those performances that creates new fans, and I was certainly one of them.

After a short break, it was time for the night's headliners. Bowling For Soup (8) have always understood that entertainment starts before the first note is played, and the pre-show video featuring backstage antics and live crowd shots immediately had everyone laughing before the band even stepped on stage. 

They exploded into Almost, instantly sending the audience bouncing before following it with Emily. It didn't take long for the band's trademark humour to take centre stage either. After bassist Erik Chandler pointed out the enormous birds circling above Cardiff Castle, frontman Jaret Reddick attempted to work out exactly what they were. Suggestions from the crowd were quickly dismissed before Jaret confidently concluded, "They're dragons," earning one of the loudest laughs of the night from the Welsh audience.

The fun never stopped. The Phineas And Ferb theme song brought a huge nostalgic cheer before Reddick joked, "What other band do you know plays their biggest hit this early?"—launching straight into Punk Rock 101. The crowd absolutely erupted.

Midway through the song, the band paused to welcome an enormous dragon onto the stage for photos and laughs—a wonderfully ridiculous moment that perfectly captured Bowling For Soup's personality. Without warning, they crashed straight back into the song, sending the audience into another frenzy. 

One of the evening's biggest singalongs followed with Stacy's Mom. As the music briefly dropped out, the crowd carried the chorus on their own, creating one of those unforgettable live moments where the audience becomes part of the performance. Another lovely touch came with the band's ongoing guitar giveaway.

Watching the young winner brought onto the stage to receive the instrument was a genuinely heart-warming moment and one they'll no doubt remember forever. After The Bitch Song, the band took time to thank the touring crew, everyone involved with the event, and the Cardiff crowd before heading into Star Song.

There was only one way the evening could end. As the opening notes of 1985 rang out, the castle became one giant party. Thousands sang every lyric, bounced in unison and celebrated one of the defining pop-punk songs of its generation.

It was the perfect ending to a night built on nostalgia, humour and fantastic live music. Bowling for Soup remain one of the most entertaining bands on the touring circuit, proving once again that after more than three decades, they still know exactly how to put smiles on people's faces.

Three bands. Three completely different styles. One unforgettable evening.

American Hi-Fi reminded everyone why they were one of the standout bands of the early-2000s pop-punk explosion. Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls delivered an electrifying performance that converted newcomers into lifelong fans. Bowling for Soup closed the night with exactly what they've built their reputation on—infectious songs, relentless humour and a show that never takes itself too seriously.

Even with threatening skies overhead, Cardiff Castle provided the perfect backdrop for a celebration of live music that was packed with singalongs, circle pits, laughter and unforgettable moments.

Sometimes that's exactly what a summer concert should be.

A View From The Stadium: Metallica (Alex Swift & Matt Bladen)

Metallica, Gojira & Knocked Loose – Principality Stadium, Cardiff, 28.06.2026

Alex: Metallica have performed in Cardiff three times in their over 40-year history. First, in 1986 on the tour for the genre-defining Master of Puppets, when they played the Great Hall. Then, in 1996 they performed to about seven thousand people at Cardiff International Arena.

Now, its 2026 and Caerdydd has set itself apart by defining itself as a Music City – No, not by protecting the kind of spaces that gave artists like our headliners their start, but by having multi-platinum selling artists play the city at every conceivable opportunity. And, as far as metal is concerned, you can’t get much more successful than ‘Tallica!

The atmosphere in Cardiff is electrifying. Metal songs blast from every bar, there’s a feeling of excitement among the fans who crowd the streets. Even me, who gets overwhelmed by crowds and finds stadiums daunting, was not going to turn down this opportunity.

Metallica are one of the most eminent metal acts still performing, and today they are playing in Wales! “This must have been how Oasis fans felt last summer” I think to myself as I push my way through the revellers to Gate Seven of the Principality.

Matt: I was already in my seat at this point watching Knocked Loose (7) navigate their way around the 'in the round' staging which did inhibit their performance quite a lot. They stomped around the stage though but for a lot of the show they had their back to the audience which limited their engagement with them and each other.

The half empty (not their fault in hasten to add) Principality was receptive to their style of punishing, breakdown heavy hardcore punk but they are a band better experienced in a more up close environment, still if a couple of 100 people came away from the show wanting to seek out more Knocked Loose who hadn't before then surely this obvious discomfort with the staging was worth it right?

Alex: I’m seated high in the rafters, looking down at the stage which sits gloriously in the centre, surrounded on all sides by towers which mount screens, aimed at “bringing the show closer” to those, like me, in the upper echelons of the arena.

That being said, the enormous sound reaches all levels with Gojira (10) proving that they can make their intense compositions resonate even among a crowd of over 70,000 spectators!

With the roof remaining closed throughout the show, the sound of pieces like Flying Whales/Wales and Stranded fill every crevice of the auditorium, surrounding crowd members on all sides and daring them to pay attention!

I have seen Gojira three times. First, in a peculiar support slot for Alter Bridge, second during their tour for Fortitude, and now supporting Metallica. On each occasion they have triumphed, and left me reeling from how effortlessly they command their craft!

Pointedly however, they feel completely at home on a platform of this size. After this support slot and their opening performance at the Olympics, they feel like natural heirs to the throne of longstanding metal institutions.

Opening with Creeping Death, Metallica (10) do not seem like an act on the verge of giving up, their performance is incredibly powerful.

These musicians obviously command a powerful legacy, which comes through in the audience members reactions to hearing these songs live, many for the first time.

I’d never seen Metallica before, and yet from the opening notes of For Whom The Bell Tolls, I was immediately reminded of my experiences discovering the genre of metal.

It’s songs like these that gave me appreciation for music as an art form. And so, getting to see them live, felt like a rite of passage.

Certainly, part of my appreciation for James Hettfield and co. came from their early ability to write long, detailed, and emotionally affecting compositions, a number of which are performed tonight.

The Unforgiven is as moving in a live setting as I had hoped, the transition from the sombre to the enraged sections, being executed perfectly.

Later, The Day That Never Comes and Cyanide provide the perfect combination of subtlety and intensity needed to keep the audience enthralled. Just to add a footnote to this point though, Lars Ulrich gets a lot of criticism for restructuring his drum parts in a live setting.

Indeed, while this is evident, he hits all the correct beats needed to either make these songs feel gigantic, or keep them subdued, and brooding.

Of course, any concert of this enormity demands a few theatrics, and Metallica have them in spades! Fuel features a dazzling display of pyrotechnics, as you’d expect in a song that so prominently features the motif of “FIRE!”.

Elsewhere, One begins with the sound of gun fire, and soaring planes, reverberating, and echoing around the stadium. Sparks and flashes of fire appear, before sizzling out, all serving to create anticipation before the opening riff sets in.

During Nothing Else Matters, the audience lend their own theatrical quality, as every corner is illuminated by the glare of phone torches, lending a beautiful intimacy to the song.

These might be tried and true tricks to those who have seen this band live before, but to me, they’re exciting parts of my experience. Indeed, what fans won’t have been expecting is a rendition of Tom Jones’ Delilah by Kirk Hammet and Rob Truijo, serving as a kind of interlude, while James and Lars presumably pass out for five minutes.

Sure, it’s silly, but is not without its charm, bringing a unique quality to the show! After thirty years, its feels good to know that Metallica still care about Cardiff!

As the show approaches its end, a camera pans in on Lars Ulrich who beckons it to come closer and closer. Again, the initiated know what this moment means. To find out that it heralded the moment I’d been waiting for was a delight.

Master Of Puppets was one of the first albums that I owned. To say that my reaction to the performance of the tilte track was excitable, would be to damn the experience with faint praise (I can’t underestimate the extent to which I felt like a child during the entirety of this show).

As Enter Sandman plays out, everyone in my section stands up, slowly at first and then all at once, the iconic riff ringing out like a victory cry! The Principality Stadim had been missing Metallica’s presence up until now – they have one of the most impressive, and unique shows of any metal act.

For many years it felt these four musicians would never return to our city, and yet they couldn’t not come back, could they? For them to finally grace Wales with their presence, as they reach legacy status, was an honour.

While I certainly wouldn’t refuse an opportunity to see Metallica again, I don’t expect that to happen, and I don’t think I even need to! There are some concerts that leave you begging for more, and others that embed themselves in your conscious, immovable and without regret!

The experience might be over, never to be recaptured but in spite of the longness of life, “the memory remains”

Reviews: Moonspell, Witchsorrow, The Pretty Reckless, Red Dwarf Star (Matt Bladen)

Moonspell - Far From God (Napalm Records)

It's probably not controversial to say that without Moonspell the Portuguese metal scene wouldn't have the popularity it has today.

Much like Rotting Christ in Greece, they're a band with 36 years of music behind them and have down a lot to define what the Portuguese metal scene is today. Their frontman Fernando Ribeiro even runs a label that promotes the future generation of bands, so they're an act who are always forward looking and their new album is just the same.

On their fourteenth studio release you may think there would be a tendency to rest on their laurels but Moonspell don't do that and with producer Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Lost, Sólstafir, Ghost) at the helm they have release an album is already being compared to their 1996 opus Irreligious, a mighty strong comparison as songs from their record still form major parts of their live show to this day.

Is this comparison warranted though? Let's dive in and find out, and we're off to a good start with Cross Your Heart which carries that flame of pioneering gothic rock that Moonspell are so associated with but it does feel like a throwback that 90's gothic rock explosion where metal bands wanted to make moody, broody music, case in point Paradise Lost's Draconian Times/Icon or Type Of Negative's Bloody Kisses/October Rust.

This dark romantic sound has been the result of five years of soul searching, rediscovering who they were back then and joining it with the band they are now, this means more keys, more throbbing bass and less of a metallic heaviness, that they don't get rid of completely though as Our Freedom To Fall is a distorted, fret sliding crush that borrows from Gojira's power while the last track Reconquista keeps the metal style as a powerful end.

Far From God is an album of dark passion and emotional substance, which features Fernando singing often with a close up whisper into the mic as the guitars jangle in the background while the synths creates atmospheres and bass/drums march ever forward on tracks such as Your Promise Of Light and Biblical.

The whole record is inspired by the tragic but intensely sexual figure of the vampire who Fernando had fallen out of love with due to recent Hollywood depictions, but his attraction to this tragic and mysterious figure was rekindled by Robert Eggers Nosferatu.

Bringing back the vampire as the major inspiration behind this record and for longtime fans it's a pioneering band in the genre, defining what gothic metal can be with the title track the most direct to that film and those early vampire stories of Stoker.

Using vampires, werewolves and resurrection as metaphors for existentialism, romance, passion and obsession, there's a divine opulence to this record, Moonspell taking back goth metal from the countless bands inspired by them, crossing oceans of time to define themselves as one of the planets premiere goth metal exports! 9/10

Witchsorrow - The Devil And All His Works (Church Road Records)

To paraphrase Super Hans' Big Beat Manifesto "Big Riffs Are The Best, Get High All The Time", this is pretty much the manifesto of Witchsorrow, although they'd add "Hail Satan" at the end as the Hampshire doom trio pledged their souls to rock n roll, over 20 years ago and are still paying homage to The Dark Lord to this day.

I mean everyone knows Lucifer has all the best tunes right? Witchsorrow certainly do as they play the sort of occult doom that was pioneered by Black Sabbath on this first four albums, when metal was still evil, still ominous and was for the outsiders and the discontents.

For me doom has never strayed from this path, the best doom metal bands are the ones that totally shun modernism and the ever changing music scene, they just want low end fuzzy riffs, lyrics about demons and witchcraft and psychedelia that is driven by a love of controlled substances.

Bands such as Cathedral, Electric Wizard, Saint Vitus and Candlemass are all in this category and as well as kneeling at the altar of Iommi, Butler, Osbourne and Ward, Witchsorrow have been lighting a candle for these other bands since 2006.

Formed by Necroskull (vocals/guitar) and Emily Witch (bass) aka Nick and Emily Ruskell, Witchsorrow is a living embodiment of their die hard attitude to heavy metal, drummers have come and gone but those ominous, cavernous, name your adjective, guitar riffs and evil, foreboding atmosphere never goes away.

This is music for metalheads who wear it on this skin and who like loud as humanly possible. There must be call as Witchsorrow have played Bloodstock numerous times, as well as Download, Arctangent and Desertfest (of course), so there's a following, one I wouldn't even call cult as I'm part of that group where heavy metal is part of life and things without it seems pointless, it's probably why doom and stoner have always been my major loves as they're honest.

No ego, no posturing, just heavy riffs for the people. What can you expect on Witchsorrow's fifth album? Well doom metal, unbound and ear bleedingly heavy, doom metal, as always but crafted by a band who are now veterans so can manipulate these well worn auditory terrors in their own way to make sermons that would easily fit into the catalogue of Sabbath, Wizard or Cathedral but are also wholly their own devices of evil.

David Wilbraham plays drums on the record, creating the percussive punishment but going forward Scott 'Doom' Taylor will be behind the kit bringing his experience from bands such as Vnder and Garganjua, as Nick and Emily still have things low, slow and fuzzy, Nicks vocals drenched in reverb as the prophets dictate.

They welcome a guest into their church, as Sammy Urwin of Employed To Secret gives a guest solo to closer A Quintessence Of Dust, however the rest of songs are the close knit team of heavy metal lovers bringing more doom metal to the mass hordes that live for it.

That's the basis of it Witchsorrow play the music they want to, inspired by Iommi and in league with Satan, prepare yourself for The Devil And All His Works. 9/10

The Pretty Reckless - Dear God (Fearless Records)

It's safe to say the rise of The Pretty Reckless has maybe taken a lot of the rock crowd by surprise, immediately written off due to Taylor Momsen's previous life as a child and teen actor. They've grown into one of the most authentic hard rock bands in the USA, due to their mix of punchy alt rock, blues, punk and classic hard rock driven by the rockstar attitude and gritty vocals of Momsen.

From their 2010 debut the signs were there that The Pretty Reckless were more than vanity project, having developed into great hard rock band with their previous album Death By Rock N Roll cementing them as true arena headliners, so where do they go from there? Well with Dear God they bring us their most emotionally raw record yet, inspired by chaos and moving into an outer body state between heaven and hell.

With themes that include "mortality, self-discovery, chaos, and redemption" as track such as Love Me shouts loudly with a lament to trying to find someone to love you, even if it's just a deity. Produced by Jonathan Wyman, Taylor Momsen, and guitarist Ben Phillips, all the songs were written by Momsen and Phillips and they go further genre-wise than they have before.

Dragonfire comes from country/bluegrass, the title track has some bluesy Fender Rhodes, When I Wake Up bristles with punk rock, while Spell On You is a big swaggering rocker for all the bad witches listening, Eye Of The Storm takes a step into politicised balladry as the final track Dark Days broods and ruminates on the divine and the mortal.

With the three part, Life Evermore acting as an intro, intermission and outro, I perceive Dear God as a musical, tracks linked with the themes I've discussed above but sequenced in a way that they provide individual stories that work just as well as a whole. Dear God is an opus from The Pretty Reckless, rock n roll with the grandest vision. 8/10

Red Dwarf Star - Red Dwarf Star (Pelagic Records)

Coley Dennis is perhaps best known for his work with krautrockers Mazerarti as the guitarist for the electronic rock collective. Red Dwarf Star is his solo project which takes influence from elsewhere, mind altering dream pop wrapped in a bubble of Midwestern post hardcore, 90's alternative rock and those psychedelic tendencies from Mazerarti.

Inspired by a feeling of loss and uncertainty, stemming from a move from the USA to Switzerland in 2015, it's a record that's introspective and personal, emotionally and musically, songs written for Maserati but didn't fit the vibe, more akin to "90's, Creation Records/Post-Hardcore" written/recorded with a D.I.Y ethos and very little outside help, it's almost the antithesis to the collaborative nature of Maserati, a solitary figure creating music that is just for them.

What's interesting for me are the vocals which sound heavily distorted with a vocoder and effect layered against Allen Epley and Jenna Fournier to bring a textured interplay that brings a sense of inhumanity that works well with separation and loss aspect of the writing, while invoking those Krautrock and 90's styles simultaneously.

Although it started out as fully solo Red Dwarf Star is now a band with one or two outside collaborators helping the full realisation, Mathias Poese of Jeffk joins on guitar for plenty of jangling melodies that blend with Dennis' for these expansive soundscapes while Blaise Brechbühl locks down the undulating grooves joined in the backroom by the urgent drumming of Alessandro Pascolo.

In the press pack it suggests Red Dwarf Star is for fans of Failure, Quicksand & Hum, but I'd also add some Steven Wilson and Fear Factory in their as well due to effect-laden vocals here, a continuation, a new beginning, a reason for being all in one record, it'll be interesting to see where Red Dwarf Star goes from here. 7/10

Reviews: Vision Divine, Dominum, Amberian Dawn, Prime Creation (Matt Bladen)

Vision Divine - A Clockwork Reverie (Scarlet Records)

A reverie that serves as a reinvention, as Vision Divine reintroduce returning members Michele Luppi (vocals) and Oleg Smirnoff (keys) who both left the band in the late 2000's but fit back into things seamlessly on this new record that features four new tracks and three covers.

Alongside Labyrinth and Rhapsody, Vision Divine are one of the premier prog/power metal acts form Italy and it's safe to say that with Luppi and Smirnoff (not his real name), they established the first classic line up of the band.

While Vision Divine went on to be fronted by Fabio Lione, he's now too busy trying to recreate Rhapsody with keyboardist Alessio Lucatti. so this is the perfect time bring back Luppi, and Smirnoff, as it all goes full circle.

This isn't nostalgia though, far from it, Vision Divine are a band who can manage their past and their present, so these songs sound like the band they are today, performed by veteran musicians. Luppi's vocals soar, while Smirnoff's keys are the ideal foil for Olaf Thorsen's guitar, it does feel like they've been missing as the integration here has that classic Euro power metal sound.

Produced by Thorsen and Luppi, mixed by Simone Mularoni, it's definitely in the modern era with it's huge production meaning that the 2026 versions of their older songs all get an audio refresh and show how they will sound when the band head out on tour with this line up.

A Clockwork Reverie sets the tone for this new/old version of Vision Divine, don't call it a comeback, it's a rediscovery. 8/10

Dominum - Night Is Calling (Napalm Records)

The third album from Undead Power Metalheads Dominum, comes after the last record The Dead Don't Die was something of a chart smash in their native Germany. It's sort of a given as the theatrical style of metal that mastermind/vocalist Felix Heldt aka Dr Dead, creates is aimed at the masses.

The masks, stage show and sing along choruses are all for the metal fans at large taking the ball from Lordi, Ghost and others and moving it into the schlock horror realms of Alice Cooper, it's made for stages and the albums are just ways of adding more songs and extra storyline to the live show at this rate.

However this is doing them a disservice as they carry a complexity that is offset by their anthemic qualities, European power metal with modern metal heaviness, that has massive choruses and that theatricality or a twisted carnival that is directed by Dr. Dead.

From the heavy beginning The Circus Is In Town, through the electronic punch of Doctor Doctor, the bounce of Nosferatu or the duet with Battle Beast on the Title Track, heck there's even a metal cover of Thriller which is very entertaining.

Dominum are the epitome of modern power metal, made to sound big on record and bigger on stage, Night Is Calling, but will you answer? 7/10

Amberian Dawn - Temptation's Gates (Napalm Records)

Any band that plays symphonic metal and comes from the frozen north of Finland will probably do it well.

It is the defacto birthplace of the genre with some of the biggest bands in the scene come from there, so here's the newest record from Amberian Dawn who not only have a legacy to live up to from their forbears but also have to get away from being that band that covered ABBA on their previous album.

To do that they have had a line up shake up with founder/guitarist Tuomas Seppälä and co now joined by new singer Nicole Willerton who has a voice that belongs more to musical theatre than classical. She adds diversity to the record similarly to Sharon Den Adel or Amy Lee with a vocal that can soar but is rooted more in the rock sound, even adding screams to the mix as Amberian Dawn embark on their new era.

This new vocal presence is reflected with a different writing style that is informed by the catchy pop of ABBA, but also moves away from these associations, with modern metal, some Disney-like melodies on Life Is Art, 80's synthpop on Undying Colours and even sprightly neo-classical metal.

Finnish symphonic metal that has moved more towards the keyboard-driven, synth heavy version that is so popular, Temptation's Gates brings Amberian  Dawn into what the genre is today, national legacy and Swedish pop superstars be dammed! 7/10

Prime Creation - Souls Of The Fallen (ROAR)

Some Swedish melodic metal now that has one potential fatal flaw, as the fourth record from Prime Creation features music I can get on board with but a vocalist I can't.

Formed in 2015 and with three albums behind them, it's really guitarist Robin Arnell and vocalist Esa Englund who are left from those foundations so, perhaps I'm wrong but to me England's vocals are all over the place one minute he sounds like Joakim Broden, the next Mr Lordi, then a snarling punk singer.

It did confuse me for the first couple of listens, as he sounds like a few different people but I did get used to it, especially as Prime Creation play a blast beat heavy style of power metal with dark lyrics and down tuned guitars, it's well produced and will definitely appeal to lovers of the US style of power metal.

While they won't change the world, if you like the vocals you'll enjoy Souls Of The Fallen from Prime Creation. 6/10

Reviews: Inscape, Struggler, Mould, Verletzen (Matt Bladen)

INSCAPE - C.I.T.R.U.S (Self Released)

Released one day prior to them winning the South Wales Metal To The Masses final 2026 at Day Of Wreckoning, Electronic/Alternative rockers INSCAPE have booted up their A.I inspired concept EP ready for it to take over the world.

C.I.T.R.U.S is the story of a renegade A.I that corrupts the minds of androids forcing them to kill their human overlords, inspired by the 2004 film I, Robot which has loose connections to the Asimov book of the same name. Essentially this EP is a dystopian story that has some parallels to the very quick integration of A.I we face today.

Science Fiction is a the perfect themeing for the music of INSCAPE as fans of Enter Shikari and Don Broco will find a lot to like here as INSCAPE are an act on the cutting edge of what modern rock/metal can be, musical virtuosity wrapped up in energetic, involved music that makes you want to move, balancing the lighter moments with heavier ones brilliantly.

Distinctive vocals that soar to high cleans and dive down into guttural screams, while the guitars and rhythm section bring groovy riffs and breakdowns. Everything though is shaped around the pulsating synths and electronics that sit omnipresent like the titular A.I, a synthetic backbone to the organic expression.

Formed over 14 years ago, it seems that now is the time for Ethan Shields, Joel Williams, Luke Morgan, Alex Murley and Liam Hawkes, to show the world who they are. Watch INSCAPE storm the New Blood Stage, but delve into the world of C.I.T.R.U.S beforehand. 8/10

Struggler - We Must All Fade To Black (Self Released)

South Wales melodic metalcore heroes Struggler have released their debut album after a long time coming. Since the last time I saw them they have had a change from frontman and a few health issues, that really allowed them to record these tracks, but these hardships have only seemed to have bolstered their position on the South Wales scene gaining them some high profile supports and countless headline shows in their own right.

With the likes of Killswitch Engage, All That Remains or any band that brings together breakdown heavy metalcore, melodeath-like guitar prowess and vocals that are distorted screams, there's plenty to like about We Must All Fade To Black and if any of those things appeal then you'll be drawn in from the slow build intro of Omen.

I'm not sure if this is needed, as the title track which opens the album properly has its own atmospheric intro so Omen feels jarring but the title track definitely establishes who Struggler are, start-stop moments made for pits, an anthemic chorus and shifting rhythms that are backed by some synth/string things.

The influence of groove metal acts such as Lamb Of God (The Abyss) and even the more extreme deathcore which comes on Do You Walk With Me, the pace quickening for Invisible String Theory while Gone By Not Forgotten is probably the most emotive song on the record, adding clean vocals into the mix for the first time.

Politically charged, emotionally resonant modern metalcore, Struggler show their strength and resilience on We Must All Fade To Black. 8/10

Mould - Bayou Dweller (Hyrbid Dwellers)

I'm not sure if there's a Bayou in Swansea but Mould are a band you could definitely call Bayou Dwellers. Their sludgy, down-tuned and rage filled style of heavy doom is exactly the sort of music anyone who loves Eyehategod, Iron Monkey and Acid Bath will play at full volume while they imbibe substances for enhanced relaxation.

Locked into massive basslines from Tom George, I Am The Mould brings the volume and is a kick in the nether regions as the fuzz of Elliott Rees is overdriven to ridiculous lengths and the throat shredding vocals of Amos Davies are screamed at the loudest they can be.

This is a band who like their music with as much volume and bile as they can, taking sludge to the extreme end of the genre though Self Preservation has a riff that does some Sabbath worship.

They never scrimp on the aggression with Bayou Dweller, every track, even the ones that have a bit more clarity and groove such as Damnation Under The Sun (we've all been feeling that lately) the vocals will need a lozenge.

It's not all long form, slow death either as Psilocybin Suicide gains speed though this is followed by Crippling Cold/Pompeii a massive sludge/doom machine driven by Henry Frend's drumming.

The spirit of NOLA is alive near Neath as that Bayou scene bleeds through this debut record from the Mouldiest band in town. 8/10

Verletzen - Usurping The Throne Under The Crown Of Blasphemy (Wulfhere Productions)

Welsh band, German name, West Wales black metal trio Verletzen emerge from the rugged and windswept vistas if their homeland with their sophomore album Usurping The Throne Under The Crown Of Blasphemy.

Released through Wulfhere Productions, on tape (of course), on CD and digitally Verletzen are a band who bring black metal back to the roots of the genre. Unstoppable blast beats from Dementae, furious tremolo picking and squawking vocals from Nazgul all come from a general feeling of frustration helped by the rawness that comes from the very limited production values.

Now usually I would be critical of this, as I've been a fan of something that sounds like it was recorded in a toilet however Verletzen have done this as deliberate homage to the bands that inspired them, because of that you can pick out the individual instruments, the bass playing of Azog especially, rather than it all folding into one treble heavy mess.

Verletzen play nihilistic black metal, so it's not music for a sunny day, unless of course you hate the heat, rather they're a band whose music creates images of rain soaked mountains and ruinous castles with spectral visitors and ancient legends that will scare the local children, this blackened trio packing in a lot across just 31 minutes.

Usurping The Throne Under The Crown Of Blasphemy is an intense, raw, visceral record from Verletzen, fans of trve cvlt pay worship. 8/10