A View From The Back Of The Room: Virtue In Vain (Cherie Curtis)

Virtue In Vain, Contrasts, Lunar & Paradox To Stay, The Pit at McCann's Rock Bar, Newport 31.010.25

From Freddy Kruger to Captain Jack Sparrow, Every horror cryptid gathered in Newport to hear Virtue In Vain’s new single release Blood Eyes. Newport can at times look cold and dreary but the music community itself is vibrant. Every band who played at McCanns put on a great show and made the hangover I had the next day worth it.

First on was Paradox To Stay and they were stellar, I've seen them play a few times and though it was their new lead singer’s debut; their sound, style and professionalism is consistent. They can all play very well and each track had intricate and creative solos to act as a bridge between blisteringly heavy breakdowns.

Their new vocalist offers a more abrasive flair with his metal vocals and manages to deliver the signature dark metalcore choruses they’ve established previously. It’s worth noting that Paradox’s latest tracks Serenity and Astray were well received, these new ones are raw and with muscular riffs with a good level of versatility throughout. They had great stage presence and they clearly enjoyed themselves which was contagious so the crowd was lively throughout.

To follow was Lunar who were punchy, cool and very catchy. They gave us some 90s indie vibes with a punky atmosphere that was really fun. The vocals were stunning with some Welsh lyrics which is always a bonus. Lunar played skilfully with originality. My personal favourite from their set was Scandalous which was loud and rhythmic and definitely made me dance. They did a great cover of I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry which was a floor filler.

Contrasts were on next, who I have to mention we’re wearing excellent Ghostbusters costumes. These guys were strong; they have some excellent metal vocals with a range suiting Dani Filth with some contrasting melodic harmonies and hooks. Their track False Idol was a fan favourite that revived some of the energy with some faultless crowd interaction followed by Otherside, which had some stunning soft vocals that brought to the table an extra level of depth and sincerity to the evening.

Ultimately to headline the evening, Virtue In Vain. 

Again, some excellent costumes – the vocalist in a smart pinstripe suit and the lead guitarist in a mascot elephant costume which was some fantastic commitment. They very wisely took them off later to avoid dying of heatstroke. Their single Marionette was clean and technical with some expert instrumentals and The Whispers Of Sleep swings between harsh and hurried to pristine and controlled which shows instinctive aptitude. Their newest EP Blood Eyes is due to come out in the new year but their single made it’s debut that night and it’s a definite neck-breaker that feels like one big never ending breakdown. Even when a string broke, they still sounded solid.

Overall, everyone who played that night deserved a much bigger crowd. It was a great night with a variety of genres and everyone played impressively. And what doesn’t surprise me at all is that they all put the crowd at the heart of their set and it felt as though everyone would have played just as good for one person than they would a million. They all played authentically and gave 100%.

10/10

Reviews: Memories Of Old, Glasya, Elettra Storm, Reveal (Matt Bladen)

Memories Of Old - Never Stop Believing (Limb Music)

Billy Jeffs is a bit of genius, he's the multi-instrumentalist and creative force behind Memories Of Old and his mind and talent seems to always create unbelievably impressive and epic power metal. They release their debut The Zeramin Game in 2020 and it showcased the talent of Jeffs but with album number two he goes bigger. The melodic guitars, rampaging drums, twinkling keyboards, sweeping orchestration and backing vocals, all come Jeffs, who is a master of them all creating the bulk of the sounds here.

However on Never Stop Believing there's been a few changes as Noah Simmons comes in on vocals adding the theatrical, soaring cleans power metal always needs. Rhys Morgan joins on bass, giving the rapid gallops to the faster numbers and then the grooves to the fist in the air middle pace anthems. There's also some additional keys from Anthony Thompson and guitars by Wayne Dorman who add their virtuosity to the record. The scope is massive here, a conceptual piece there's a storyline that bonds the tracks together the reoccurring motifs that come through across the record to link the concept.

You can hear the influence of the likes of Twilight Force, Rhapsody, Fragony and Power Quest, writing large over this record. In fact Alessio Garavello of Power Quest co-produces, mixes and mastered the album so that's probably why it has a similar bombast. It would be easy to start pick out tracks on this record but it needs to be heard in it's entirety like all good concepts. Cinematic scope and boisterous power metal in glorious harmony, these Memories Of Old will live long in the heart of any self respecting power metal fan. 9/10

Glasya - Fear (Scarlet Records)

A 14 track concept record, Fear is the third album from Portuguese symphonic storytellers Glasya. The album is about a woman overcoming her fears, we are brought inside the mind of the protagonist as she embarks on her empowering odyssey through the operatic vocals of Eduarda Soeiro.

With the strong storytelling vein and that soaring soprano there's influences from Epica, Beyond The Black and fellow Portuguese band Moonspell whom Eduarda is also a live member of and whose Fernando Ribeiro provides some guest growls on two songs.

Concept albums are built on guest performances and this one is no exception, along with Ribeiro there's also some from Michele Guaitoli (Vision Of Atlantis), Sara Leitão (Dark Oath) and classical tenor Filipe de Moura, all of them adding extra characters to the narrative. Fear weaves a dark tale of self discovery and does it with some great symphonic metal. 7/10

Elettra Storm - Evertale (Scarlet Records)

Delivering their debut album only a year ago Elettra Storm are one of the newest members of the Italian power/symphonic metal scene. They return with their sophomore release Evertale which according to the band is "more defined and cohesive." Lyrically inspired by fantasy journeys, stories of war heroes and ancient beings, Evertale has a mix and master from DGM man Simone Mularoni, who gives every performance the chance to shine.

Be it excellent vocals of Crystal Emiliani who soars above these symphonic, sometimes progressive, flurries of European power metal which draw from Stratovarius and Battle Beast, the breakneck pace driven by Matteo Norbedo's drumming (Master Of Fairytales). The melodic highs of Crystal joined by the rougher/lower croons of Francis D. Mary who also provides the guitar along with Matteo Antoni, the rest of instruments coming from Davide Sportiello who plays all of the keys and also the bass, giving this record it's rhythm but also the cinematic tones too.

There's plenty of bluster for power metal fans, they get the lead out like Sonata Arctica did in the early days, with galloping drums and light speed riffs, but there's maturity too, a few proggy mid-pace tracks and a big ballad, One Last Ray Of Light which fully shows off those vocals. Evertale brings bit more substance to Elettra Storm, the talent has always been evident but on their second album they're more comfortable to flaunt it. 8/10

Reveal - The Age Of Knowledge (FC Metal)

Spanish power metal band Reveal follow up their 2023 album Still Alive with new EP The Age Of Knowledge. A five track blast through guitar driven heavy metal, the inspiration of Angra and Rage can be heard on the album.

It's tough but melodic the riffs of Tino Hevia showing why he's a bit of a legend in the Spanish metal scene while Swedish vocalist Rob Lundgren lets loose with the lungs that have gained him over 200k subscribers on YouTube.

The Age Of Heavy Metal gains a lot of it's energy from the classic heavy metal genre but there's enough melodic moments and even some synths to keep power metal fans happy too. There's experience on offer here and while they aren't breaking any new ground, Reveal play heavy metal they way they want and you cannot fault them for that. 7/10

Reviews: Instigators, Casket Rats, Dysentery, Zebulon (Tony Gaskin, Rich Piva, Spike & Matt Bladen)

Instigators - Full Circle (Self Released) [Tony Gaskin]

Full Circle. The phrase suggests a beginning and an end, we’ve come full circle, back to where we started. In some ways this is true of this new release from punk agitators Instigators. They were part of the new wave of punk in the mid to late ‘80s that were very vocal, very angry and very passionate. This was an era of Thatcherism, poll tax riots and the threat of right wing extremism. Full Circle hey?

This revamp of their 1987 EP sees the two original tracks - Full Circle/The Sleeper alongside 2025 versions. If you weren’t told which were which, it’s not difficult to tell tbh. The originals sound like they were recorded in someone's bedroom or basement, tinny, rough, DIY. That was how it was then for the myriad of punk bands that were fighting to be heard.

Both songs reflect the times they were recorded. Bleak, angry. Full Circle, fast paced, vitriolic. The Sleeper starts off with an almost John Lydon/PiL sneer and snarl feel to it before exploding into a typical punk anthem. I never understood why they never moved on from this release, for me it was a cut above most of the dross that was being put out by DIY labels at the time. Turner’s vocals were powerful but poetic, reminded me of Kirk Brandon in many ways, whilst Mooney’s guitars had that jangly sound much more akin to the post punk guitar driven bands.

The updated versions are simply more polished, cleaner - digitised. Do I prefer that? Actually I’m on the fence, the originals need to be listened to on vinyl, cranked up through the speakers as they would have been, whilst the 2025 versions sound great through my Bose headphones. As for the new track, Suicide Investigation Team, they’ve simply taken up where they left off, but more refined. Overall an interesting retrospective look and re-imagining of their punk roots and ethos.

So, Full Circle, a beginning and an end? Or history on its never ending cycle of repeating itself? Instigators certainly show no signs of ending it just yet with live shows coming up and they’re showing us that they still have something to say and that message is has relevant today as it was back in 1987. 8/10

Casket Rats - Rat City Rockers (Tee Pee Records) [Rich Piva]

Tee Pee Records is bringing the straight up sleazy, dirty, leather and denim clad rock and roll with Rat City Rockers, the debut record from Boston’s Casket Rats. You know what I mean here…think bands like AC/DC, Hanoi Rocks, early Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, early L.A. Guns…if you like stuff like that, and wish Buckcherry was what they think they are, Casket Rats will be for you. The guys put their own spin on this classic genre, so no posing or copying exists here across these nine tracks.

Some of my favorites are Looking For Some, with its killer guitar work and heavy 80s-but-the-cool-stuff vibes. The dual guitar work on Watch It Burn is where I feel the Thin Lizzy coming from, while the opening two tracks set the filthy rock scene, with the killer rippers Blood In The Water and Whiskey Queen. There are no skips on Rat City Rockers; only nine tracks that prove rock is still alive and well.

No gimmicks here, just pure rock and roll that will rock your socks and other undergarments right off. Rat City Rockers is here for your Friday night party. Go until the morning light, and beyond with Casket Rats. 8/10

Dysentery – Dejection Chrysalis (Comatose Music) [Spike]

Let’s not mince words: this is Brutal Death Metal. If you came here looking for ambient passages or emotional ballads, you took a wrong turn at the morgue. Dysentery’s Dejection Chrysalis is a furious, uncompromising slab of Slam that feels less like music and more like receiving blunt force trauma in a rapidly accelerating tunnel. After almost a decade of silence, this record is the sound of the band returning to the scene with a very specific, punishing agenda.

The production here is essential to the attack. The drums, particularly the snare, spring through the mix like an antipersonnel mine, a crude, crass mechanism of pure butchery. The bass carries the fleshy, suffocating weight of a fresh mass grave, each low end rumble a corpulent thud that compacts the mix into a singular, impenetrable wall of filth. This is a primordial sound, the sonic equivalent of one ape slamming the skull of another into a smear on the jungle floor.

The record opens with the brief instrumental Transference, which, despite its length, perfectly encapsulates the entire album’s manifesto: dense, slamming riff structures delivered with maximum aggression. It's the moment of tension before the release of violence. The ensuing tracks, like Enslavement For The Obedient, Agony For The Wayward, and Indignation Unravels, prove that Dysentery is not concerned with subtlety. They operate with blast beats like gunfire pinning the listener in place while low-pitched, guttural vocals gurgle and splash the entire sonic environment.

The album is a relentless, half-hour exercise in velocity and brutal groove. While a simpler band might just ride one breakdown into the sunset, Dysentery finds intrigue in the shifts. There are moments of technical flair, like the sudden pinch-harmonic ice picks jammed through your eye sockets in Indignation Unravels, but those are fleeting. The core focus is the chug. This band understands that sometimes, the most effective brutality is the least inventive. They ride a chromatic slam pattern that is utterly typical, yet delivered with such conviction that it becomes irresistible.

The guest appearances further spikes of violence. The duo of screamers on Exhausted Bliss Of Self Loathing (featuring Josh Welshman of Defeated Sanity) and the double-team vocal savagery on Fratricidium (with JT Knight) are highlights, showcasing a commitment to elevating the gratuitous barbarism beyond mere one-man output.

The later tracks, such as Obsidian Womb and the closer Ascend This Harrowing Dream, hammer home the unadventurous, yet punishing spirit. They ride serviceable, heavy riffs for what feels like years, daring you to get bored before the next crushing breakdown arrives. Dejection Chrysalis may not rewrite the genre rulebook, but it reinforces the foundations with sheer determination and uncompromising noise. It's a testament to the visceral power of the slam riff. 7/10

Zebulon - Come Day Of Reckoning (Apollon Records) [Matt Bladen]

Bloodstock Metal To The Masses Norway winners Zebulon deliver Come Day Of Reckoning, full of the glacial doom that you'd want from a Scandinavian band. Their music explodes judgement and faith and musically they're inspired by the legends of the genre. Day Of Wrath comes from the histrionic sound of Candlemass (in the vocals) via Black Sabbath (riffs). It's got twin guitars driving the slow heavy riffs and the vocals evoke Johan Lanquist. 

They open themselves up to some other types of doom with Headstone which goes more into Type O Negative gothics while Break Bread With The Dead has more of the classic melodic metal influence of Atlantean Kodex. On the evidence of this album I can see why they won M2TM in Norway, Come Day Of Reckoning is a melodic doom record that relies just a heavily on the light as it does the dark. A great debut from Zebulon. 7/10

Reviews: Bogwife, Beatswars, Murmur, Predeceased (Rich Piva & Spike)

Bogwife - From Ashes (Majestic Mountain Records) [Rich Piva]

I have been a fan of Aalborg, Denmark’s Bogwife since their first album, Halls Of Rebirth, from back in 2020, and am now happy to report the four piece is back with their third record, From Ashes, which is all about their desert/stoner with elements of heavy psych and blues splashed in stylings across the new eight tracks. From Ashes will make fans of the band very happy and bring new recruits to the Bogwife camp with their great riffs, stoner/psych fuzz, heavy blues infused grunge, and attention to songcraft and melody.

The title track kicks of off with a great riff and some straight-ahead psych drenched stoner rock with really great vocals. This continues with Shivers, which slows it down a bit and brings a bit of 90s to the show. I love the tempo change in this one and how it builds to the solo. A song like Light Of Day is straight up killer stoner rock and will certainly scratch that itch. Bogwife excels when the blues side of the band gets turned up, which is what you get with No Church. 

Did I mention the blues side of Bogwife? Well, if that’s what you are here for you will also love Heavy Burden Blues. Ages is a quick little under three-minute ripper that picks the vibe and tempo back up while the bass lick on Agony gets all grungy on us. The closer, Chrysalis, is the highlight on an already great record. This one is seven-plus minutes of the band slowing it down, stripping it all away, and bringing the emotion, reminding me more of something from their A Passage Divine record. Love the vocals and guitar work and how the quiet loud quiet flows so nicely.

Another excellent outing from Bogwife. Can I say it is better than 2021’s A Passage Divine that had longer songs and were a bit more of a journey that the eight tracks on From Ashes? I am not sure, but what I will say is that Bogwife is a great band that can pretty much do what they want and sound great, with From Ashes standing as a perfect example. 8/10

Beastwars - The Ship & The Sea (Destroy Records) [Rich Piva]

New Zealand’s Beastwars is back with some more heavy and sludgy goodness in the form of their new record, The Ship // The Sea. Mastodon vibes are what you automatically go to, but these guys are more than just another sludge band, as The Ship // The Sea is complex, extremely well written and played, and goes the extra (nautical) mile to make this record their best so far.

I am sure the subject matter is making me lean that way, but this record reminds me of a combination of the aforementioned Mastodon and the amazing record from Solace, The Brink. So many riffs come at you, like a unrelating sea during a hurricane. The one-two punch of We Don't Say Fear and Guardian Of Fire is so heavy, but in a way that still invites you in to the story from the opening riff. Levitate has this post hardcore vibe to it, and shows that even a band named Beastwars can understand melody while still being heavy. I love the little breakdown during The Storm, where the vocals get a bit snotty. Great stuff. 

Rust has the doomiest riff on the whole record, and while slowing the pace down a bit, it is still full sails on the heaviness. Blood Will Flow is more sludgy metal goodness while the chunky The Howling sounds like a sludge version of Jawbox, which, of course, is awesome. The most (early) Mastodon vibes emit from You Know They're Burning The Land, and they nail it. The Devil somehow reminds me of Jesus Lizard with way louder guitars, and that sure works for me. Light Leads The Way is the closer, and shows me that these guys definitely have a great hardcore/post hardcore record collection to go along with all the metal.

Sludgy metal post punk/hardcore storytelling is how I would sum up Beastwars work on The Ship // The Sea. There is a lot of good stuff going on, and if you listen closely, you will hear way more than just a straight up sludge record or Mastodon worship. A grower, but once you are on the boat, it is full speed ahead. 8/10

Murmur – Red Hill (Independent) [Spike]

This is not an album designed for casual consumption. Murmur’s Red Hill EP, consisting of three sprawling, experimental tracks, functions less like music and more like architectural nihilism. This isn't the forest-worship or traditional violence of standard Black Metal; this is an intellectual, dissonant obliteration. They come from Spain and, like a lot of bands from that city, they know how to make something beautiful, complex, and utterly unforgiving.

The sound is built on progressive foundations that have been systematically eroded by corrosive noise. The guitar work is frantic and strangely free-form, feeling like jazz written by a paranoid mathematician. There are blast beats, yes, but they are often used as rhythmic punctuation rather than constant anchors, dropping in like artillery fire before fading back into the chaotic structure. The key is the unsettling groove that constantly bubbles beneath the noise, keeping the whole 27-minute trip tethered to a destructive purpose.

The journey starts with Red Hill I - The Dead. It opens with a slow, creeping tension that quickly detonates into pure, experimental frenzy. The riffs are relentless, but deliberately unmelodic, slicing through the air with a razor edge. This track establishes the EP’s core conflict: the constant friction between highly skilled technicality and the chaotic atmosphere of raw, unfiltered noise. It drags you into the concept immediately, feeling like the frantic search for a flaw in a perfect, cold equation.

The central piece, Red Hill II - The Execution, sharpens the focus. Here, the percussion steps forward, showcasing the drummer’s ability to treat the kit not just as timekeeping device, but as an orchestral instrument of chaos. This is where the band leans hardest into their experimental side, using dissonance to create actual physical discomfort. It’s dense, punishing, and utterly brilliant in its refusal to offer any traditional payoff. It forces the listener to find structure in the inevitable collapse, finding groove in the moments where the instruments almost, but never quite, fall apart.

Finally, the crushing, 11-minute closer Red Hill III - The Calling brings the concept to a terrifying, long-form resolution. It is a slow, methodical burn that finally grants moments of space, but only to emphasize the overwhelming weight of the ambient sound. The vocals are harsh, buried deep beneath the mix, sounding less like a frontman and more like the voice of the hill itself, calling for total ruin. 

Red Hill is a challenging, rewarding dive into the philosophical extreme of the genre. It's not easy listening, but it is necessary listening if you want to know what Black Metal sounds like when it ditches the corpse paint and buys a textbook of advanced mathematics. 8/10

Predeceased – Weirdo Riffers (EEASY Records) [Spike]

Let's not waste any time with politeness. Predeceased named their album Weirdo Riffers because it’s the only label that accurately captures the noise they create. This trio crawled out of the UK hardcore gutter and immediately started smashing the rulebook, and this record is the sound of them happily living in the wreckage. If you were looking for standard, safe Metalcore breakdown patterns, you’re reading the wrong review.

This collection, drawn from a string of singles and unreleased chaos, is defined by its snotty, loud, and unapologetic energy. They draw from everything Black Flag ever taught about punk snarl and everything At The Drive In taught about dizzying, angular guitar work, then they slather the whole thing in a garage-rock fuzz so thick it smells like stale beer.

The core problem is that the raw punk aesthetic sometimes feels too familiar, relying on established genre approaches. While tracks like The News and Sun Reader showcase the band’s frantic, locked-in groove, for the most part, the riffs land in that territory where every aggressive, noisy punk band has set up camp for the last decade. It’s tight, yes, but the monochromatic sonic palette allows too many moments to bleed together into a loud blur.

However, the track-list is saved by a deliberate exercise in chaos and confrontation. You get the pure, aggressive Plague Trains smashing headfirst into covers that nobody asked for but absolutely needed. Their take on Heroes By David Bowie is not a respectful tribute; it's a glorious desecration, a noisy, abrasive punk rock war cry that completely obliterates the original without sacrificing its core power. Similarly, the Killing Joke cover, Blood On Your Hands, is an instant pit-starter, proving that their influences are purely rooted in aggression, not nostalgia. These moments of brazen sonic theft are the album’s genuine standouts.

But the sheer balls of the closer, Andre 3000 The Giant, is the final proof. It’s an insane, noisy salute that summarizes the band’s aesthetic: ridiculous name, serious musical chops, and a total commitment to being the loud, bouncy thing that doesn't fit anywhere. Predeceased isn't interested in your approval; they are too busy kicking down the door to your local venue and starting a chaotic sing-along. This is mandatory listening for the perpetually disaffected, provided you skip the filler and go straight for the covers. 7/10

Reviews: Softsun, Gazpacho, Glorious Depravity, Oromet (Spike, Matt Bladen, GC & Cherie Curtis)

Softsun – Eternal Sunrise (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Spike]

Let's just state the facts upfront: Eternal Sunrise is not a record designed for high-velocity consumption. This is the sound of Gary Arce's Californian desert vision colliding with Pia Isaksen's cold Norwegian solitude. If you hit play expecting simple, immediate gratification, you are going to be disappointed. 

This album demands commitment. It asks you to sit still, shut up, and let the sheer atmospheric weight sink you into the floor. It is/was also one of the albums I was super keen to review having been introduced to the band by another Musipedia Of Metal writer, Rich Piva. The previous album, Daylight In The Dark remains a firm favourite.

This record lives in a genre that should technically not exist: doomgaze. It's heavy, patient, and dreamy, like watching a glacier drag across the desert floor. Pia Isaksen’s bass is the slow, rumbling heart of the operation, a fuzzed-out tectonic pulse that provides the necessary friction. 

Then you get Arce’s guitar work, which isn’t played so much as willed into existence through a vast array of effects. His clean melodies are layered with reverb and delay, creating these shimmering, trippy sonic arcs that float above the sludge. It's beautiful, but menacing.

The true conflict and the album’s essential brilliance lies in the vocals. The delivery is airy, clean, and haunting, with a mood that definitely recalls the detached serenity of Mazzy Star and for the record Hope Sandoval has one of the most beautiful voices in music in my opinion. 

That sound sitting right on top of a crushing, distorted groove creates an undeniable sonic tension. It’s the sound of finding absolute, cold peace right in the centre of a sonic tornado. You get tracks like Sacred Heart where the clean voice asks existential questions while the instrumentation patiently builds towards the noise ceiling, refusing to rush the inevitable crash.

The tracks are expansive and structurally defiant. They are meditations that explore themes of escape, longing, and existential emptiness. A Hundred And Sixteen and Sleep The Day Away are exercises in slow immersion; they don't shift pace because they don't need to. They are meant to wrap around you, suffocating you slowly with atmosphere until you are fully submerged in the band's dual reality.

By the time you reach the second half, the album becomes palpably moody. Abandoned Lands uses the immense space between the notes to enhance the sense of desolation, proving that sometimes the quiet parts hit harder than the distortion. 

Finally, Cremation Sunlight closes the journey, providing a hazy, uplifting march that sounds exactly like what happens when a nightmare ends with a false sense of peace. Softsun has perfected the sound of beautiful, cold surrender. If you have the patience, this album is a necessary fix. I adore this. It is probably a contender for album of the year. 10/10

Gazpacho - Magic 8-Ball (Kscope) [Matt Bladen]

Prog. Art rock. Call it what you want Norwegian band Gazpacho are masters of it. Meeting almost universal acclaim in the progressive music scene for their non-linear musical experimentation and their fearless incorporation of styles that you may not expect. 

Much of the Gazpacho discography is driven by stories, thematic journeys through created worlds often inspired by philosophy or societal issues, they tell these tales with atmospheric, interesting and wonderfully executed songs that carry emotional weight.

There aren't too many brands that can conjure genuine emotions with what they do but Gazpacho have been making folks blame with something in their eye for a long time now. 

Five years since their last album they have returned with Magic 8-Ball, an album that revolves around fate and the Ship Of Theseus, if a person slowly looses parts of themselves and replaces them automatically are they still the same person? Or is it that time in the end will change all of us for better or worse?

Each track on this record deals with a change, most cataclysmic, something that would alter your perspective on things, while also showing that these changes are not always a one off the can return in various forms. So each song is it's own entity but they are all linked by the same theme. One carrying with it the emotion of the last of not the musical approach.

From the piano and strings of the opener, We Are Strangers goes down the anthemic prog route, while the title track has a carnival atmosphere and Immerwahr is dreamy, earnest, using melodies that matches Muse with former tour mates Marillion. 

Gazpacho delve further into the notions of change and chance but the odds are forever in their favour, clever, emotive art rock for prog community, without all the self indulgence. 9/10

Glorious Depravity - Death Never Sleeps (Transcending Obscurity Records) [GC]

The minute you look at the cover for Death Never Sleeps by Glorious Depravity you know what your getting, spiky unreadable logo, dark demon themed artwork, its death metal and there no way around it! 

It’s also a dead giveaway as it on Transcending Obscurity! As its now edging towards the end of the year and I am feeling a slight case of DMOL (death metal over-load) will this re-invigorate me or will it just meld in with the countless albums that have fallen by the wayside!?

Slaughter Of The Gerontocrats certainly gets the blood pumping and is an exciting way to start the record, its got an unmistakable old school sound that has been beefed up and given a modern twist, its like a mid-90’s Deicide jamming with Lamb Of God and that will do just fine for me, we even get a little pig squealy bit at the end that also sounds great! 

Stripmined Flesh Extractor ramps up the thrash element to the fullest and is invigorating and raging in every sense, there is no re-inventing of any wheels here they play brutally heavy death metal and sprinkle generous doses of equally heavy thrash metal into it to make it super-fast and ultra-modern death metal, and so far its sounding wonderful to me. 

Freshkills Poltergeist takes a more measured approach to begin with and slows down the pace dramatically and it doesn’t actually hinder or hold the song back because of it, sometimes when a band dials it back you lose some of the ferocity but not here they manage to just keep everything crisp and on point, when we do get the faster bits they mix in expertly. 

Sulphrous Winds (Howling Through Christendom) feels like it should be a Nile title, and musically its not far off either, brutally savage and groove heavy death metal mixed perfectly to make sure not a single note or drum kick is missed, it’s a short, heavy full-on bludgeon of a song that’s all over and done in 2:25 of wonderfulness! 

Scourged By The Wings Of The Fell Destroyer has the more thrashy sound pushed to the fore, and usually I’m not a massive fan of thrash but when its done with such conviction and is as heavy as this is I really can t have any complaints, it mixes into the death metal and just creates something that is so savage you cant help but enjoy it. 

The Devouring Dust focusses fully on full force death metal, no messing about its chock full of thundering blast beats, big grooving riffs, and all done with such a commitment to be heavy at all cost but also still keep it sounding and it sounds vital and life affirming like only the best death metal can.

Carnage At The Margins has a Napalm Death tinge to the sound, its got all the usual savageness but also seems to have just a little bit more grind-ness to it, but when they do turn on the death metal is just so full on and relentless in its nature but also has such an engaging groove it just gets hold of you and never lets up. 

Necrobotic Enslavement is another track that begins slowly and builds towards something huge but here for some reason it just sounds a bit robotic and repetitive and on this listen doesn’t really catch on as well as everting else has, Death Never Sleeps follows on with the slower pace and sort of feels like a slight let down as a closing track, it has all the elements needed to make it a good track but it doesn’t stand out and takes far too long for it to kick into life and really feels like the wrong track to end on.

Barring a couple of slight grumbles at the very end, I loved this album! It had old school, meeting new school, it made thrash actually sound enjoyable for a change and also had enough modern sounding elements so as not sound dated and cliched, Death Never Sleeps makes an impression that will stay with you for a very long time and keep you coming back for repeated listens. 9/10

Oromet – The Sinking Isle (Hypaethral Records) [Cherie Curtis]

The Sinking Isle is interesting; it consists of three tracks - Forsaken Tarn, Marathon and Hollow Dominion. This album is a commitment as tracks range from 11 – 20 minutes long which is what makes this album unique. 

Oromet brings us long luxurious soundscapes with a melancholy atmosphere. It’s cinematic in style each track is it’s own entity. The Sinking Isle is deep and foreboding and slowly builds tension and resolves beautifully at the end.

It’s would be a great score for a gothic fantasy film, the vocals are interesting, deep and pronounced like Peter Steele but soaked with distortion and bass which are carried by a sharp lead guitar. 

The Sinking Isle is very refreshing, I enjoyed listening to it but it’s not going to make my rotation, however if i were to write a gothic novel I will definitely have this on in the background for inspiration.

Overall, the album is very creative and centres around emotion to a point where the composition feels poetic, and the sheer amount of dedication is evident throughout. 7/10.

A View From The Back Of The Room: Feeder (Nat Sabbath & Mike Chew)

Feeder, O2 Academy Birmingham, 11.10.25




I was introduced to Feeder by Kerrang Magazine, one of the free CDs featured “My Perfect Day”. Of course, I loved it so much I immediately recorded it onto a ‘mix tape’ and played it on constant repeat whilst cycling to and from college – their sound and lyricism blew me away and I’ve been following them ever since. A good 20-years later and Feeder are playing a sold-out show at the O2 Academy and Birmingham welcomed Feeder with the kind of devotion that can only be earned over decades. The O2 Academy felt less like a venue and more like a reunion of people who have carried these songs through the hardest and brightest moments of their lives. That shared history shaped every second of this show.

Performing Comfort In Sound in full gave the night a strong emotional architecture. Just The Way I’m Feeling and Come Back Around hit immediately, reminding us how expertly this album balances vulnerability with uplift. The set moved with purpose: the intimate rise of Child In You, the grit of Godzilla, the reflective warmth of Find The Colour. The songs didn’t feel like nostalgia pieces, they felt lived-in, still healing, still relevant.

Moonshine delivered a stunning close to the main set. The extended outro wasn’t just musical indulgence; it was a space for acknowledgement. A moment that allowed fans to feel the enduring presence of Jon Lee, whose energy remains woven into every beat of Feeder’s story, a collective breath of respect and gratitude. It was deeply felt.

The encore turned emotion into celebration. High, Feeling A Moment, and Pushing The Senses lit up the room with joy and volume. The surprises of Kyoto and Insomnia sent a ripple of excitement through the die-hard fans, and Opaque kept that energy sharp. Then the finale that Birmingham was waiting for: Buck Rogers erupting in pure catharsis, and Just A Day finishing the night with fists-in-the-air euphoria; the crowd moving, breathing, singing as one.

Throughout it all, the band’s musicianship was impeccable. Grant Nicholas delivered vocals with clarity and genuine feeling; Taka Hirose’s bass saturated the room with groove. Geoff Holroyde's drumming drove everything forward with precision, power, and a real feel for dynamics; he lifted every chorus and sharpened every drop. 

Tommy Gleeson on rhythm guitar and backing vocals added depth and texture throughout, reinforcing the melodic foundations while broadening the sound with effortless style. For all that can be said of Feeder’s technical prowess, the most striking quality wasn’t precision, it was connection. Every smile traded onstage, every chorus chanted by the crowd, every moment where it felt like the barrier between band and audience simply dissolved.

Feeder have never chased spectacle for its own sake. What they create is something rarer: trust. Their fans give them their full voice because Feeder have earned it, song by song, year by year. The love in that room wasn’t a reflection. It was a living force filling every corner of the room.

This show didn’t just celebrate Comfort In Sound. It reaffirmed its purpose. Feeder offered the music back to the people who needed it, and Birmingham answered with everything it had.

A powerful, human night. One that lingers. 10/10

Reviews: Omnium Gatherum, Waldgeflüster, Insidius, Denial Of Life (Rick Eaglestone, Spike, Martin Brown & Simon Black)

Omnium Gatherum– May The Bridges We Burn Light Our Way (Century Media) [Rick Eaglestone]

Finland's melodic death metal stalwarts Omnium Gatherum have returned with what might be their most ambitious statement yet in the form of May The Bridges We Burn Light Our Way.

From the moment the opening salvos tear through your speakers, it's abundantly clear that they haven't come to mess about. The production is absolutely thunderous – crisp, powerful, and honestly sublime. Those twin-guitar harmonies soar like eagles over landscapes of blast beats and crushing riffs, managing to be both technically impressive and emotionally resonant.

Jukka Pelkonen's vocals are on top form – his harsh barks cut through the mix like a chainsaw through butter, whilst the occasional clean vocal passages add layers of depth with the rhythm, bass work and the drumming patterns from blistering to atmospherically restrained with the kind of dynamic awareness that really compliments every aspect of this and honestly by the time The Darkest City has finished its cycle I feel like I have picked myself off the ground is a puddle of adoration as for me this absolutely without a doubt encapsulates everything I adore about this album and lays to rest any slight reservations I had this release beforehand.

The songwriting strikes that perfect balance between immediate accessibility and long-term staying power. These are not tracks you will tire of after a few spins. There is enough complexity layered within to reward repeated listens, but it never becomes homework. It's that rare beast – an album that both the casual listener and the beard-stroking prog-obsessive can appreciate.

Although there isn’t a Megadrive in sight Streets Of Rage feels like a future live highlight but the crowning glory comes in the final captivating Road Closed Ahead as even is a mostly instrumental outpouring the band demonstrate the collective well of talent that really translates and resonates throughout.

Quite simply May The Bridges We Burn Light Our Way is a triumph. It is clearly an album that understands the past, lives in the present, and confidently strides toward the future. Omnium Gatherum have proven once again why they are at the top of the melodic death metal heap, and they've done it with style and substance throughout.

Vocalist Jukka Pelkonen adds: “The lyrics are about someone obsessed with being a hero—no matter the cost. Ego, blindness, dragging others down in the name of a personal crusade. We’ve all known—or been—that person.”

Essential listening for fans of the genre, and a perfect entry point for anyone curious about what modern melo-death can achieve when done by absolute masters of the craft. 9/10

Waldgeflüster – Knochengesänge / Knochengesänge II (AOP Records) [Spike]

Some albums arrive as moments in time; others feel like monuments. Knochengesänge and its companion Knochengesänge II, the new double opus from Waldgeflüster, are very much the latter. Four years in the making, this is a meditation on mortality, memory, and what it means to leave something behind. It’s music built from the earth itself: rooted, ancient, yet defiantly alive.

The first half (Knochengesänge) opens with Krähenpsalme, featuring Austin Lunn of Panopticon, and it instantly sets the tone, raw emotion threaded through intricate melodies, shifting between defiance and sorrow. Bamberg, 20. Juni follows with a folk-tinged melancholy that feels deeply personal, its layered guitars washing like sunlight through a forest canopy. There’s a tangible sense of space in the mix; it breathes, even in its heaviest moments.

Tracks like Der Kleinste König Und Sein Architekt and Von Hypnos Und Thanatos feel like companions, exploring the line between creation and decay. The guitars wind and climb, not so much leading as conversing, a theme that runs through the entire record. When Lethe – Der Fluch Des Schaffenden, featuring Alboin Of Eïs, arrives, it feels like the emotional centrepiece: an artist’s lament and triumph intertwined. The title track, Knochengesang, and the traditional closer The Parting Glass, round out the first chapter with quiet devastation.

Then comes the reflection, Knochengesänge II. Not a sequel in the conventional sense, but a mirror held at a different angle. The structure is echoed, yet the atmosphere changes, more subdued, introspective, as though you’ve crossed the veil and now see the same shapes refracted through memory. Das Klagelied Der Krähen and Frankfurt, 19. März open with a heavier sense of gravity, before The Little King And His Architect reinterprets its earlier counterpart, this time with Austin Lunn on drums. It’s a perfect example of how Waldgeflüster use variation to deepen meaning, revisiting the same story from another life.

Crusade In The Dark and In Lethes Fluten blur the line between black metal fury and post-rock contemplation. There’s beauty in how the band use contrast: distorted riffs crash like waves before receding into passages of quiet reflection. By the time Singing Of Bones and the closing The Parting Glass return, it feels like you’ve journeyed through loss, remembrance, and acceptance. 

Listening to both records together feels less like consuming an album and more like wandering through a shared dream. Waldgeflüster have crafted something extraordinary, deeply human and completely immersive. There’s no posturing here, no forced grandeur, just a band at full maturity turning grief and reflection into something transcendent. 9/10

Insidius – Vulgus Illustrata (Black Lion Records) [Martin Brown]

Vulgus Illustrata is not just another death metal record—it’s a statement of intellect antagonised into rage. Insidius approach philosophy, corruption, and self-destruction with precision, transforming ideas that could have become pretentious into something visceral and immediate. From the opening track The Perfect Slave, the album aligns immediately in the lineage of thinking man’s death metal—heavy, articulate, and unflinching.

The production is immaculate. Every note has definition, every strike of the kick drum feels engineered to hit without clutter. The guitars are tight and rhythmically sophisticated. They're never sterile, and ride balance between aggression and control that Poland’s scene has made its trademark. The bass punches through rather than sitting behind, anchoring the mix with the kind of weight early Hate Eternal or Decapitated built their reputations on. Vocals are raw but enunciated, snarled manifestos delivered with conviction rather than theatre.

Musically, the album is grounded in the tradition of precise, philosophical death metal—Vader’s focus, Morbid Angel’s turn of phrasing, Death’s structural intelligence—but Insidius make it their own through constant motion. Orgiastic twists between syncopated riffs and sudden rhythmic pivots; Censure builds tension through restraint before snapping into acceleration. Even the slower passages, like the brooding Abyssful Of Echoes, carry that same feeling of pressure ready to detonate.

What sets the record apart is its conceptual depth. Each song explores a facet of ignorance, control, and the decay of reason without collapsing into narrative excess. Doom Accelerator in particular stands out as a piece of social critique masquerading as war anthem. Its riffing mechanical, relentless, and disturbingly suffocating.

The pacing is deliberate. No wasted interludes, no filler. Insidius write like a precision engineer, with a philosopher’s disdain for comfort. The result is an album unified by tone and intent rather than gimmick.

Vulgus Illustrata is dense, commanding, and deeply satisfying. It captures what technical death metal should be—intelligent, punishing, and exacting in execution. 8 out of 10 feels right not because it lacks anything, but because it leaves you with the sense there’s more yet to come of even higher quality. 8/10

Denial Of Life - Witness The Power (Creator-Destructor Records) [Simon Black]

Starting life as more of a Crossover Thrash outfit, Washington State’s Denial Of Life have been around since 2019, with only one full studio album to their name to date back in 2022. This EP takes a slightly different turn however and feel more solid and meaty metal in tone from its predecessor, but that’s no bad thing.

These six tracks are brutally energetic and in your face - particularly vocally, with singer Brenna sounding like she may quite literally be screaming her guts out here, and that energy absolutely grabs you by the throat despite the lightness elsewhere in the mix. And these songs are really well crafted, not following s predictable arrangement and weaving, jumping and slamming you in unexpected, but in ear-worm like ways that you cannot help but nod along to. It’s really rather technically good, without actually sounding like that and it really forces you to keep your eye on their ball lest it smack you hard in the face.

This feel like the material is going to be hard, heavy and dirty live, but it’s let down by slightly from the production values that are more akin to a demo than a full studio product, but then this is an underground band and these things cost a shit tonne of money to do well, and what it does do is capture the raw edge of this band to a tee. Raw, energetic and thoroughly enjoyable. 7/10

Reviews: Flames, Astarte, Night Resident, Absinthe Green (Matt Bladen)

Flames - Frequency Of Illusion (SleaszyRider Records)

Greece's oldest thrash band, formed in 1984, don't you know? Bring back the old school thrashing with their eighth album Frequency Of Illusion. Their 2022 album Resurgence brought Flames back from an extended hiatus and reminded many that the band has just as much potency and importance to their own scene as the 'Big Fours' of the Bay Area and German scenes.

Flames musically owe more to the German sound of thrash, maybe even the UK scene too, it's a bit nastier, a bit darker, with Kreator, Sodom and Onslaught all present in their sound over the years, though with album eight they add the alcohol fuelled madness of Tankard on Thrashin' Beer, but for the majority of the album it's rapid start-stop blasts from the guitars of Thomas Trampouras and Chris "RB" Lee which move from chuggy thrash riffage into dive bombs and solos.

Some guest solos coming from Manos Triantafyllou on Thrashin' Beer and Dressed In Black Suede. Nick "Yngve" Samios drumming goes non stop on Lightbringer and The Great Deciever and pretty much every song. The vocals from Thomas just as nasty, often snarling along to the melody rather than trying to do anything too radical, Andy Kirk's bass adds a crossover touch by being nice and high in the mix on the sludgy Ornea.

Production this time comes from David Prudent at Made In Hell Studios giving Frequency Of Illusion an retro thrash sound, especially through headphones. They divulge into theatrics on The Arsonist and Drag You Down gives a mid pace groove. Flames do all the things you'd want a thrash band formed in the 80's to do, these Flames are still red hot. 8/10

Astarte - Blackdemonium (SleaszyRider Records)

Formed under the name Lloth in 1995 by Tristessa (bass/guitar/composer), Kinthia (vocals/guitar) and Nemesis (guitar), they renamed to Astarte after a demo, but the Athens still have the distinction of being the first all-female black metal band. Under the Astarte moniker, they released five studio albums, splitting in 2004, they reformed in 2013 with just Tristessa and Melanomorfos in the band. 

They we're planning a sixth album when Tristessa sadly passed away due to leukaemia in 2014, causing the band to split up fully. Melanomorfos (aka Nicholas Maiis), reformed Lloth, paying special attention to the T in memory of his wife and they have been playing and recording since 2014, shifting into a melodic black metal sound.

But Tristessa's work with Astarte wasn't finished, that sixth album already had a title, Blackdemonium, and here 11 years later it comes to fruition. Spearheaded by Maiis, the bare bones recordings were crafted into this nine track tribute, with Maiis finishing the production alongside mix and master by Steve Lado. 

Blackdemonium is a throat ripping tribute to the work of Tristessa, the vocals are savage, a black metal empress imposing her rule over these deliberately more aggressive style of songs. The focus on this record was to make things shorter and angrier, bringing in death metal to add some Melanomorfos growled counterpoint to her black metal screams.

An in your face tribute to Astarte's founder, the voice, music and passion of Tristessa lives on though these songs. 8/10

Night Resident - Total Obscurity (Self-Released)

Coming back from the grave with their first collection of new music since 2021, Greek occult rockers Night Resident, get darker and more gothic on their third record Total Obscurity. Leaning into what Unto Others, Tribulation and others have been doing over the last few years, Night Resident embrace dark wave, post-punk and manage to make their music a bit darker and stranger with album three.

The dual harmonies in the jangling guitars and the vocals are still very much on point, as they channel isolation, existential dread and a general downbeat atmosphere, but they do so with songs that move a little bit faster than their earlier records. Fat basslines get the pace of Like Trees In The Fall going, putting some technical moments behind the simple riffs, then with Summer Night Tale, they rely more on open chords as those goth touches get stronger.

This is also one of the songs that uses the double vocal approach best. The whole experience is enlivened by the warm analogue production, giving clarity to everything but also a retro authenticity to some of the originators of this occult rocking, though the spirit of NWOBHM is retained by a track like Echoes Of Eternity and Ghosts Of The Future.

Occult rock that spreads scores a few influences, this Night Resident looks set to stay in the spooky and mysterious. 8/10

Absinthe Green - Of Love And Pain (SleaszyRider Records)

Many of may have seen the recent press about the band Dogma, it was a harrowing insight into the scummy practices that still take place in the music industry. It especially showed how women are so often still treated as second class citizens in the industry. The catalyst for this expose was Eirini Papadopoulou aka Absinthe Green, who had applied to join the band but refused and took a stand to expose what was actually happening behind the scenes.

Hailed as hero for women as representation in the music scene, this pro-women agenda has always been at the heart of what Absinthe Green does in her music. Of Love And Pain is her debut album, recorded in 2021 with everything written by Erini and produced by her and Hiili Hiilesmaa who also mixes and masters the album. The songs are personal, drawn from

"love, grief, defiance, and redemption" a place where "joy and sorrow coexist".

Beginning as solo project, it's expanded into a full band, the skill of the other musicians interpreting Erini's ideas, into some avant garde alternative rock that comes from the 90's, tracks such as Dead Before My Eyes delivering attitude filled rock n roll with sneering vocals and big guitars. From the bluesy swagger of Give The Devil His Due, through the anthemic War Inside My Head, metallic chugs such as Same Old Fire and Spineless (which has a snippet of Orwell's 1984 at the beginning).

With influences from artists such as Alanis Morissette, 4 Non Blondes, Garbage and Skunk Anansie, Of Love And Pain is Absinthe Green's manifesto as an artist and as a woman in the music industry, it deserves your attention. 8/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Cardinal Black (Matt Bladen)

Cardinal Black & Nathan O'Regan, The Great Hall, Cardiff Students Union, 01.11.25



Occasionally you get to do something that doesn't involve, growl, widdly guitars solos and dude wearing all black. Despite being a metal blog we've never exclusively featured one genre and will happily give any band that fits into the rock/blues/etc. Maybe I should change the name but after 14 years that will lead to confusion.

I'm rambling.

What in trying to say is that we do get to go to nights that full of joy and light and plenty of soul too. This was one of those nights. After spending the previous evening at an eclectic selection of metal bands with a Halloween theme, heading into Cardiff Student Union felt a bit more civilised a bit more grown up.

However how wrong I was as no matter how good the performers were the crowd were abysmal, genuinely one of the worst behaved crowd I've ever been a part of. Talking really loudly over the quiet bits, of which there were few as it's all quite dynamic and emotive. There drinking to massive excess and even one next to sarcastically saying aww when a band member was talking about his father passing away.

He was swiftly told where to get off with the acronym G.F.Y by me but he wasn't the only one as it seemed this was a crowd, at least round near the back using the night as an excuse to just get pissed up with some live music in the background, which is disrespectful, not only to the fans that wanted to watch the band but also to the performers themselves. I will also say that it was those in the 45+ category who were the worst culprits.

Back to the music and the night began with the brilliant Nathan O'Regan (8) a man who according to Tom from the headliners, they found in a bar in Northern Ireland, this of course was said with tongue firmly in his cheek, but Nathan took to the stage with his acoustic guitar and light up name box to a warm applause.

Originally from Cork but now living in Belfast, which gives him an accent he said "makes his dad cry." His songs are intimate tales drawn from his life, each one explained to the crowd to tell the story behind them. Be it about becoming a dad or losing a friend, he plays with conviction and sings brilliantly, a voice full of emotion that soars through the venue.

Nathan is a special performer, visibly nervous from playing to the biggest crowd he has ever had, there was a bit of distance from the crowd at first but following a cover of Thunderstruck (which was brilliant) most were on side.

A perfect beginning to the night, setting the vibe just right for what was to come, Nathan O'Regan was hand chosen as the tour opener for these UK dates and gained a lot of new fans in the process.

It was time for the headliners though and Cardinal Black (10) took to the stage like conquering heroes, a rapturous applause but no show boating just the band walking on stage to a home country crowd. Hailing from all over South Wales, the roots of the band were planted in the Tom Hollister Trio many years ago but since then guitarist Chris Buck has been lifting stages with Buck & Evans and showcasing why he may be one of the finest guitarists around today.

In the pandemic years Tom and Chris reconnected musically and this is where Cardinal Black has stemmed from, soulful, rock n roll that takes from gospel music, Americana and the blues, blurring the lines between the USA and their own Welsh heritage. 

Having just been on a month long American tour, this Cardiff show was the culmination of their UK run of dates, giving them some time at home. They said they were there to have fun and the banter between Tom and the other members of the band, especially Chris was warm and light hearted even going as far as embarrassing his wife in front of everyone, which I'm sure he received a tongue lashing for. 

Splitting their set between their debut January Came Close and their new record Midnight At The Valencia, they played with dynamics throughout loading the pacier numbers such as Ride Home, Keep On Running and Terra Firma at the at the beginning of the set so they can have and emotional in the middle, creating those peaks and troughs of build and release. 

Many of these songs also run longer live than they do on record, which I always expected as there's plenty of call and response in the choruses, making the Welsh crowd work for it while Chris Buck gets multiple chances to show off his dexterous guitar playing that comes from his very soul, he plays with the same sort of style as say David Gilmour, making one note do the emotional leg work of twenty.

It's not just him though as drummer Adam Roberts gets a chance to shine with his pitch perfect drum solo section that again works on skill over power, while the Hammond organs also get a few sections to shine too. On top of this glorious euphoria are the brilliant vocals of Tom Hollister, engrained with a soul far beyond his years, he has voice that is sonorous and soulful, dragging up every emotion for Adeline, Your Spark (Blows Me To Pieces) and Push/Pull. 

I was captivated lost in the music, many others were too, embracing the band for what they are rather than what they perhaps expected. The addition of Nathan O'Regan to Morning Light a welcome treat, as if we'd been welcomed into a studio jam between the players.

Cardinal Black have the ability to make a stage of any size feel intimate, creating a familial atmosphere that was at it's strongest on home turf. Watching them is an experience, rather than a concert, while some didn't feel the same way, most of the sold out crowd in Cardiff were lost in this bands incredible music. "The oldest new band" made magic on a storm ridden night in Cardiff.

A View From The Back Of The Room: Adfeilion (Matt Bladen)

Adfeilion, Pyrogaric, Root Zero & Grindhorse 83, Elysium Swansea, 31.10.25

On the night where the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest, all manner of creatures assembled at the doors of Elysium for a ritual of music and mirth.

Wizards, Druids, Priestesses, Valkyries, Gremlins and even a multitude of Blues Brothers descended on Swansea for a bill featuring a high level of talent and four bands more than capable of welcoming in high spirits, it was guaranteed to be a Samhain to remember.

It was a show that featured two Bloodstock Metal To The Masses South Wales Winners, Tarantino Splattercore, Satanic doom conjuring and gothic/macabre storytelling abound. So a quick tipple from their extensive 0% alcohol selection and on the first band.

There was plenty of noise and a big crowd early on for the reverb-tastic, K-Billy Super Swinging Sounds of surfsploitation rockers Grindhorse 83 (9). Essentially created by playing black metal through clean guitars, Grindhorse 83, is a photofit of musical reprobates cranking out a twisted B-Movie inspired version of The Surfaris or Dick Dale.

Featuring dual harmony guitars, grooving bass, the all important crashing drums, some keys which just brighten and broaden their style as down the front Mia let's loose with the widest range in the West. The great Quentin himself once called surf rock "rock 'n' roll spaghetti Western music" and that vibe is exactly what Grindhorse 83 are all about.

Next up things went more down the gothic path with Root Zero (8), vocalists Giac and Sasha looked as if they had crossed oceans of time just to find us while Llyr and Wren each positioned themselves each side of the stage keeping the goth aesthetic, in fact it was only their rhythm section that stopped you believing this was a dank Berlin club as Rob especially stuck out dressed in full clown gear.

Anyway away from the aesthetics and to the music and yet again Root Zero bewitched with their progressive gothic metal the harmonious union of the dual vocals fusing with the swathes of keys, riffs that shift between doom, black and everything in between. They drew most of the set from their most recent effort but did dog back to their earlier releases as well seamless blending the two.

Root Zero seem to get slicker and better on each viewing, so catch them soon if you can.

Up next it was Pyrogaric (7) and this being Halloween there were bound to be few goblins, and it was with the stoner doom trio they decided to strike, taking out the head of guitarist Keelan during the first song so only bass, drums and vocals were heard. Vocalist/drummer Jamey-Leigh tried to keep the spirits high but there was some definite frustration.

A quick restart but still problems persisted and there was a break for some repairs, a replacement head then things kicked back in for just a short 15 minute blast of witchy, stoner doom which was perfect for the Samhain rituals, packed with thumping grooves, now increased by bassist Jim, it's hard to take your eyes of Jamey Leigh as she sings with wide-eyed intensity and drums with a similar power.

Just this short blast alone showed how good Pyrogaric are, another band I've been following since their early days and get better every time, when the gremlins are at bay.

The mists descended across the venue, the sounds of the forest, the glade, the birds filled the room as our headliners, Matt Cooke (keys), Scott New (Nylon guitar) and Thom Lyon (bass) made their way to the stage guided by lantern and took their positions amongst drummer Kevin Arbuckle and electric guitarist Ben Baljak (playing his second set of the day) to once again tell their stories from Rhyfelwyr and the Hallowed Glade, a curse but beautiful place that twists the mind and metamorphoses those who experience it.

The post-folk metal band and Bloodstock Metal To The Masses 2025 winners, play music that eats into your very soul, you can 'feel' their music, it's all instrumental but calls to you, wrapping you songs that draw from folk metal, ambient music, electronic music and plenty of Celtic styles too. It's complex and enthralling, the keys of Matt adding texture as it swells and embellishes the songs with plenty of atmosphere. He also tells the tales between the songs with the relish and delivery of a theater actor, the fantasy elements brought to life by his regailing.

These keys weave into the fluid electric melodies of Ben who showcases his skills as both a lead and rhythm player locking into the thundering grooves with Thom who drives the main thrust of the heaviness, then shifts into the lead role alongside the brilliant nylon string acoustics of Scott, this addition to their sound is vital to their overall impact as a band. Still telling their current tale across the UK into next year, I knew Adfeilion (10) were good but they absolutely stunned in the mists of Elysium.