We’ve got a double dose of Swedish sludge from Caregah with their brand new album Osmium and an additional 4 track EP titled Forsaken. 12 tracks in total of some groovy chugging riffs and other sludgy fun. In this review, I’ll take you through the good and the bad, and to avoid sounding repetitious, I’ll be skipping any in-depth analysis of the tracks. After all, it’s sludge metal. So nothing too technical.
Let’s first talk about the album, Osmium. I’m not gonna lie, the first 3 tracks of this album are pretty forgettable. Nothing special, just your typical sludgy tracks. For me, the album really gets going with track 4, Tombstone. This one has a nice change of pace after hearing 3 songs in a row that all sound a bit too similar. Although it’s the softest track on the album, it has some really nice moments and as a whole, it stands out from the rest.
Terrorized is definitely headbang friendly, and I found it difficult to keep my head still throughout most of the track. It’s followed up by a true stoner metal track, Smoke Of Doom. This one has some nice chilled sections sprinkled throughout, but also speeds up in the bridge and for the outro, with the outro gradually getting faster. Into The Grave is the shortest track on the album, but it is also the heaviest. This one is a bit more thrash compared to the rest.
The final track, Floods Of No Return, is another great track, and a great album closer. The main riff is quite bouncy and fun. There’s a mean growling bass riff in the bridge which leads into a proper sludgy breakdown. The track ends with more of a psychedelic rock sound with some acoustic guitars and a nice clean lead which plays until it fades out.
Unfortunately, the Forsaken EP suffers the same problem as the album. The first 2 tracks are quite forgettable. But, with that being said, the band more than make up for it with the songs Tomahawk and Gravedigger. These 2 tracks are absolutely killer!
It’s unfortunate that 5 of the 12 tracks on offer here just aren’t very entertaining to listen to. I think maybe the band were a little bit too ambitious with releasing an album and an EP at the same time. It might have been better to replace the first 3 track of the album with the last 2 tracks from the EP.
Unfortunately, the Forsaken EP suffers the same problem as the album. The first 2 tracks are quite forgettable. But, with that being said, the band more than make up for it with the songs Tomahawk and Gravedigger. These 2 tracks are absolutely killer!
It’s unfortunate that 5 of the 12 tracks on offer here just aren’t very entertaining to listen to. I think maybe the band were a little bit too ambitious with releasing an album and an EP at the same time. It might have been better to replace the first 3 track of the album with the last 2 tracks from the EP.
And then maybe put those 5 tracks in at different places on the album, or just add them on at the end as bonus tracks. It could have been a solid album without those 5 tracks. By the time I got to 3rd track of the album, I was filled with a sense of impending dread, thinking that the whole thing would sound just like those first 3.
But, as I said, the second halves of both the album and the EP are really good. Some solid riffs, nice solos, great drums and bass, great vocal harmonies and solid song writing. If it wasn’t for the 5 lackluster tracks, I would have given them full marks. But with nearly half of the songs on offer not really exciting me too much, I’m going to have to knock a couple of points off. But otherwise, great work! 8/10
Veljessurma - Haltioissaan (Naturmacht Productions) [Spike]
Some albums hit you instantly. Veljessurma’s debut Haltioissaan didn’t just hit, it wrapped itself around me like mist in a pine forest and refused to let go. I gave it three full spins in 24 hours: first through headphones on a flight home from Germany, then cranked up in the car, and finally with a quiet morning listen at home. Each time revealed more. Each time felt necessary.
This is seriously good stuff.
Veljessurma crafts a richly atmospheric sound that’s less about genre boundaries and more about immersion. There’s a deep, multilayered texture running through Haltioissaan with guitars, synths, and vocals all woven into something that feels ancient and otherworldly, yet completely vital. It’s blackened and brooding at times, but also strangely uplifting, like stepping into an old forest and feeling both awed and unnerved.
The album is packed with moments that pull you under without warning. Songs evolve, shift, and breathe. Nothing is static. Perfect example being my favourite track on the album, Karhun Voimal. It’s one of those rare records where you stop trying to pin it down and just let it take you. And it rewards that surrender with depth.
There’s a confidence here too. For a debut, Haltioissaan sounds remarkably assured it's like they knew exactly what they wanted to do and how to deliver it. They’ve built something haunting, beautiful, and entirely their own.
This is my first review for Musipedia Of Metal, and what a starting point. A band this good deserves your full attention and they absolutely command it. 9/10
But, as I said, the second halves of both the album and the EP are really good. Some solid riffs, nice solos, great drums and bass, great vocal harmonies and solid song writing. If it wasn’t for the 5 lackluster tracks, I would have given them full marks. But with nearly half of the songs on offer not really exciting me too much, I’m going to have to knock a couple of points off. But otherwise, great work! 8/10
Veljessurma - Haltioissaan (Naturmacht Productions) [Spike]
Some albums hit you instantly. Veljessurma’s debut Haltioissaan didn’t just hit, it wrapped itself around me like mist in a pine forest and refused to let go. I gave it three full spins in 24 hours: first through headphones on a flight home from Germany, then cranked up in the car, and finally with a quiet morning listen at home. Each time revealed more. Each time felt necessary.
This is seriously good stuff.
Veljessurma crafts a richly atmospheric sound that’s less about genre boundaries and more about immersion. There’s a deep, multilayered texture running through Haltioissaan with guitars, synths, and vocals all woven into something that feels ancient and otherworldly, yet completely vital. It’s blackened and brooding at times, but also strangely uplifting, like stepping into an old forest and feeling both awed and unnerved.
The album is packed with moments that pull you under without warning. Songs evolve, shift, and breathe. Nothing is static. Perfect example being my favourite track on the album, Karhun Voimal. It’s one of those rare records where you stop trying to pin it down and just let it take you. And it rewards that surrender with depth.
There’s a confidence here too. For a debut, Haltioissaan sounds remarkably assured it's like they knew exactly what they wanted to do and how to deliver it. They’ve built something haunting, beautiful, and entirely their own.
This is my first review for Musipedia Of Metal, and what a starting point. A band this good deserves your full attention and they absolutely command it. 9/10
The Dead Daisies - Lookin’ For Trouble (The Dead Daisies Pty Ltd / SPV) [Matt Bladen]
The band with more of revolving door policy of members than Yes return with their new album, Lookin' For Trouble. Now my favourite era of The Dead Daisies is when they had 'The Voice Of Rock' Glenn Hughes up front, but this album sees John Corabi back behind the mic.
Did I mention it's a covers record? Did I mention it's covers record of blues songs? Ah maybe a I should have as this is blues covers record, all given the 'amped up' treatment of this stadium rock band but do we need another cover of Crossroads, Boom Boom, Black Betty, Born Under A Bad Sign, Sweet Home Chicago or Little Red Rooster?
No we don't, nearly of these songs have been covered elsewhere, much better, by much bigger artists and even they don't match up to the emotional force they carry when the original artists perform them. Therein lies the issue, having a millionaire crank out blues tracks with his pet rock project, on album when they've been playing their own material for years just feel hollow and a bit of a slap in the face.
I don't think the super rich son of the founder of Westfield Group (you know the shopping malls? Them) has anywhere near the same kind of background as Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker and Albert King when they recorded these songs, artists who had to face racism, economic hardship, real true poverty and used their music as their escape.
So while these songs are performed well by the veteran rock stars in his band, once again the it's another case of all cash and no heart. Seek the originals they've got the real soul to them. This is a shameless cash in. 4/10
Lord Vigo - Walk The Shadows (High Roller Records) [Rich Piva]
I was a big fan of Lord Vigo’s 2020 album Danse De Noir. Not so much of their last one, 2022’s We Shall Overcome, which leaned towards being a bit over bloated. I am landing somewhere in the middle for the Kaiserslautern, Germany’s band latest record, Walk The Shadows, which is like a combination of Unto Others and the Sisters Of Mercy when it is good and something not as dynamic when it is not so much.
The sound of Lord Vigo has gotten bigger and bigger as the years have gone on, while getting less doomy and metal as well. For example, my favourite track on Walk The Shadows sounds like Duran Duran. Seriously. Check out Through A Glass Darkly and tell me you don’t hear it, especially with the synths. So does The Triumph Of The Killing Heart. This band has become more and more danceable too, which is not a bad thing at all, with We Shall Not being an example.
The band with more of revolving door policy of members than Yes return with their new album, Lookin' For Trouble. Now my favourite era of The Dead Daisies is when they had 'The Voice Of Rock' Glenn Hughes up front, but this album sees John Corabi back behind the mic.
Did I mention it's a covers record? Did I mention it's covers record of blues songs? Ah maybe a I should have as this is blues covers record, all given the 'amped up' treatment of this stadium rock band but do we need another cover of Crossroads, Boom Boom, Black Betty, Born Under A Bad Sign, Sweet Home Chicago or Little Red Rooster?
No we don't, nearly of these songs have been covered elsewhere, much better, by much bigger artists and even they don't match up to the emotional force they carry when the original artists perform them. Therein lies the issue, having a millionaire crank out blues tracks with his pet rock project, on album when they've been playing their own material for years just feel hollow and a bit of a slap in the face.
I don't think the super rich son of the founder of Westfield Group (you know the shopping malls? Them) has anywhere near the same kind of background as Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker and Albert King when they recorded these songs, artists who had to face racism, economic hardship, real true poverty and used their music as their escape.
So while these songs are performed well by the veteran rock stars in his band, once again the it's another case of all cash and no heart. Seek the originals they've got the real soul to them. This is a shameless cash in. 4/10
Lord Vigo - Walk The Shadows (High Roller Records) [Rich Piva]
I was a big fan of Lord Vigo’s 2020 album Danse De Noir. Not so much of their last one, 2022’s We Shall Overcome, which leaned towards being a bit over bloated. I am landing somewhere in the middle for the Kaiserslautern, Germany’s band latest record, Walk The Shadows, which is like a combination of Unto Others and the Sisters Of Mercy when it is good and something not as dynamic when it is not so much.
The sound of Lord Vigo has gotten bigger and bigger as the years have gone on, while getting less doomy and metal as well. For example, my favourite track on Walk The Shadows sounds like Duran Duran. Seriously. Check out Through A Glass Darkly and tell me you don’t hear it, especially with the synths. So does The Triumph Of The Killing Heart. This band has become more and more danceable too, which is not a bad thing at all, with We Shall Not being an example.
The title track is the most “metal” or “doom” song on the album, and where I also get the most Unto Others vibes. The band is in full goth mode with tracks like Killing Hearts And Endless Nights and Servant Of The Dark, and they do it well. The record is a bit bloated, however. Every song could have been a minute to 90 seconds shorter, and the twelve minutes-plus closer, El Hakim, is a lot.
Though the band describes themselves and “Epic Metal”, I may have changed it to “Epic Heavy Goth Rock That You Can Dance To”, and that is fine by me, as when Lord Vigo is good they are very good. If this album was 8-10 minutes shorter it would be even better that the fine outing that Walk The Shadows is in its current form. 7/10
Though the band describes themselves and “Epic Metal”, I may have changed it to “Epic Heavy Goth Rock That You Can Dance To”, and that is fine by me, as when Lord Vigo is good they are very good. If this album was 8-10 minutes shorter it would be even better that the fine outing that Walk The Shadows is in its current form. 7/10
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