A new Styx album in 2025 and I have zero expectations going in, but album number 18, Circling From Above, is a solid effort from this version of the band, incorporating a lot of what Styx has done well since they formed in 1972. We get some proggy bits, some great harmonized vocals, some really good playing, and some of their best songwriting in a while. You also get an old guy band sounding like an old guy band and a couple throw away tracks, but hey, seriously, a solid new Styx album in 2025 so we can deal with the minuses when there are some solid pluses.
You still get a bunch of the key members on Circling From Above, so it is still a Styx album for sure, unlike some other older bands with only one or two (or zero) original members. The opening three tracks brings proggy goodness with the harmonies mentioned and a very, very clean sound; an enjoyable start for sure. King Of Love is some nice modern classic rock with great vocals and nice guitar work from Tommy Shaw.
At certain points on Circling From Above Styx sounds like The Who. Sometimes it works, like my favorite track, the rocker We Lost The Wheel Again. It is uncanny. Sometimes not so much, on the sappy Forgive, which at points sounds like Roger Daltrey singing around some Beatles-esqe harmonies, which sounds better than it is. That one is a bit much.
Speaking of The Beatles, Everyone Raise A Glass is a fun little ditty that will remind you of the Fab Four. So will She Knows, but that one is not as memorable. The most Styx song on this Styx album is Ease Your Mind, and it is one of the better tracks of the 13 on the record.
My rating is relative to this being a new Styx album in 2025, not compared to other albums I have given 7s to, but Styx fans should find a bunch of stuff to enjoy on Circling From Above, a worthy effort from a band five decades plus in. 7/10
Temptress – Catch The Endless Dawn (Dying Victims Productions) [Spike]
Catch The Endless Dawn unfolds like a dusty fairytale sung under a blood-red moon. Italy’s Temptress demand patience. You settle in, and their dream-metal world unfolds gently, luxuriantly, almost hypnotically until you realise you’ve been riding the current for forty magical, melancholy minutes.
The album opens with the sweeping two‑parter Beneath The Waves Of Fantasia / Breathe The Dust Of Time, where ambient synth and echoing soundscape give way to graceful, galloping riffage that balances elegance with a slow build of tension. It’s a strong opening gesture, gentle but purposeful, pulling you into this dreamy realm without juggling obvious hooks.
From there, Dream Metal stretches across seven minutes in classic slow-to-mid tempo gallops. It’s melodic but never sugary; thoughtful without sacrificing scope. There’s restraint and emotion in the grooves, with vocals carrying a wistful weight, it’s nostalgia wrapped in steel. Woman Of The Dark sharpens the focus. More riff-driven, a bit darker, with that kind of melancholy riff that burrows into your brain. Yet it remains refined, the kind of melody that lingers without feeling forced.
The title track brings a shift: slower, yet stately, its chorus soaring and grand, the kind of bridge you’d want in a late‑night drive on a coastal road. It’s less sting, more expansive longing. Awake The Enchanter mixes chuggy majesty with whispered interludes mid‑song, injecting a bit of spectral drama. Fears Like Towers brings a proper banshee cry and guitarwork that cuts clean and delivers mid-tempo pulse and gothic swagger.
Catch The Endless Dawn unfolds like a dusty fairytale sung under a blood-red moon. Italy’s Temptress demand patience. You settle in, and their dream-metal world unfolds gently, luxuriantly, almost hypnotically until you realise you’ve been riding the current for forty magical, melancholy minutes.
The album opens with the sweeping two‑parter Beneath The Waves Of Fantasia / Breathe The Dust Of Time, where ambient synth and echoing soundscape give way to graceful, galloping riffage that balances elegance with a slow build of tension. It’s a strong opening gesture, gentle but purposeful, pulling you into this dreamy realm without juggling obvious hooks.
From there, Dream Metal stretches across seven minutes in classic slow-to-mid tempo gallops. It’s melodic but never sugary; thoughtful without sacrificing scope. There’s restraint and emotion in the grooves, with vocals carrying a wistful weight, it’s nostalgia wrapped in steel. Woman Of The Dark sharpens the focus. More riff-driven, a bit darker, with that kind of melancholy riff that burrows into your brain. Yet it remains refined, the kind of melody that lingers without feeling forced.
The title track brings a shift: slower, yet stately, its chorus soaring and grand, the kind of bridge you’d want in a late‑night drive on a coastal road. It’s less sting, more expansive longing. Awake The Enchanter mixes chuggy majesty with whispered interludes mid‑song, injecting a bit of spectral drama. Fears Like Towers brings a proper banshee cry and guitarwork that cuts clean and delivers mid-tempo pulse and gothic swagger.
Nightflight Over Dreamland is a highlight for pacing: a near-instrumental that rides locomotive basslines, mid-tempo rhythm, and rising tension toward a crescendo. It is beautifully placed as the penultimate piece. Finally, closer She’s Cold combines classic heavy riffs and melodic bridge sections, ending the album with subtle build and cinematic flair.
Production feels lush yet organic, the vocals are warm and expressive, drums punch softly but firmly, and guitars feel full-bodied without feeling plastic. It’s polished on purpose, but never clinical, just refined enough to let every melody and riff register. This one reveals itself with repeated listens. It’s not immediate violence or outright aggression and it doesn’t need to be. Temptress craft an emotional, evocative world where heaviness meets melancholy in slow-motion grace.
A cinematic metal dream for head-nodding twilight drives and late-night reflection. It doesn’t grab you instantly but once it does, it stays with you. 8/10
Cordyceps - Hell Inside (Unique Leader Records) [Mark Young]
So, in an effort to change things around from a review perspective I’m starting with my closing statement first. In essence if you love brutal death metal, and I mean that soul crushing style where it feels like your head has been placed in a mechanical press and its slowly being ratcheted up then I have no doubt that this should be one of your purchases this year. From satisfying a particular standpoint Cordyceps do that completely, it is 44 minutes of aggravated assault with intent to maim and it is the sort of release that could settle any death metal game of Top Trumps.
But…
From a personal view I’m not quite taken with it. On paper I should absolutely love Cordyceps, Its savage, nasty, full to brim with superhuman drumming and riffs and sounds fantastic at the same time. The drumming is just something else and probably does most of the heavy lifting here, providing the foundation and direction for the riffs to follow. The problem is that after one song they have boxed themselves into a corner and then provide variations on that theme for the remaining tracks that follow.
Production feels lush yet organic, the vocals are warm and expressive, drums punch softly but firmly, and guitars feel full-bodied without feeling plastic. It’s polished on purpose, but never clinical, just refined enough to let every melody and riff register. This one reveals itself with repeated listens. It’s not immediate violence or outright aggression and it doesn’t need to be. Temptress craft an emotional, evocative world where heaviness meets melancholy in slow-motion grace.
A cinematic metal dream for head-nodding twilight drives and late-night reflection. It doesn’t grab you instantly but once it does, it stays with you. 8/10
Cordyceps - Hell Inside (Unique Leader Records) [Mark Young]
So, in an effort to change things around from a review perspective I’m starting with my closing statement first. In essence if you love brutal death metal, and I mean that soul crushing style where it feels like your head has been placed in a mechanical press and its slowly being ratcheted up then I have no doubt that this should be one of your purchases this year. From satisfying a particular standpoint Cordyceps do that completely, it is 44 minutes of aggravated assault with intent to maim and it is the sort of release that could settle any death metal game of Top Trumps.
But…
From a personal view I’m not quite taken with it. On paper I should absolutely love Cordyceps, Its savage, nasty, full to brim with superhuman drumming and riffs and sounds fantastic at the same time. The drumming is just something else and probably does most of the heavy lifting here, providing the foundation and direction for the riffs to follow. The problem is that after one song they have boxed themselves into a corner and then provide variations on that theme for the remaining tracks that follow.
Once you get past that initial blast that is the opener Filth and make no mistake it is a blast. They ramp up and then don’t let go with primal riffing and that aforementioned drumming that is achieving God Tier status. My issue is that the following songs rumble past without sounding any different. It is likely that I am suffering from going beyond saturation point in terms of death metal and that lately there have been few releases that are saying anything new and are pretty content to recycle or rehash material that you recognise from the early 90’s.
Hell Inside doesn’t have that problem, it is unique in and amongst itself but doesn’t have the necessary variance from one song to another to make it stand out for me. One of the things about reviewing for this site is that we get new releases in a timely manner so that our reviews hit (for the most part) on release day. I failed in that I have been unable to find the right way of saying that it’s a bit boring. I couldn’t give you a standout track, but I will say right now that it has some of the most destructive drumming you will hear on any album this year. 6/10
Lowdown – Alpha Omega (Damage Records) [Matt Bladen]
With the pinched harmonic drive, heavy groove riffs of Black Label Society and Pantera, Hertfordshire band Lowdown deliver their debut slab of heavy as they look towards playing the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock Festival. Released via Damage Records, Alpha Omega is the culmination of a few years works as the band came together not long after the pandemic and it’s written with the idea that it’s humanity that defines its own legacy all beginnings and endings, start and return to us, from philosophical musings to the way people treat each other.
Lowdown – Alpha Omega (Damage Records) [Matt Bladen]
With the pinched harmonic drive, heavy groove riffs of Black Label Society and Pantera, Hertfordshire band Lowdown deliver their debut slab of heavy as they look towards playing the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock Festival. Released via Damage Records, Alpha Omega is the culmination of a few years works as the band came together not long after the pandemic and it’s written with the idea that it’s humanity that defines its own legacy all beginnings and endings, start and return to us, from philosophical musings to the way people treat each other.
Much of this album froths with bile about your fellow man, the vocals from bandleader Dave Runham, filled with Anselmo-like venom, though M.O.A.B gets a bit more of shout. The leads have that Dimebag/Zakk Wylde love of widdly bits and dirty grooves. Runham and Ant Pinnell handle the downtuned guitars for the record while the heavy hitting bottom end is rounded out by Kev Smart (bass) and Richard Emms (drums).
I’ll admit there’s not much variation to what Lowdown do, it’s very much Pantera or Black Label Society, though there’s also a few mentions of Alter Bridge but that’s really only on Wretched Town and Sleep. Bookened by an Intro and an Outro, Alpha Omega is a tower of aggression and groove riffs, it’s nothing new or nuanced but it’ll get your head banging, and I'm sure at Bloodstock it guaranteed to grab some punters into the tent. 6/10
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