Warmen – Band Of Brothers (Reaper Entertainment) [Spike]
Let’s get straight to it Band Of Brothers isn’t redecorating the melodic death-metal living room; it’s bulldozing its way in and coming out swinging. Across eleven tracks and about 40 minutes, Warmen , now a full-fledged band, not just Janne “Warman” Wirman’s solo showcase shove melodic flair and raw aggression so close together they practically spark.
It kicks off with the title track: warpath drums, guitar-and-keyboard duel, and Petri Lindroos roaring “we are one for all ‘til the end.” It’s a no-nonsense rally cry, checking the attention span box instantly.
Tracks like One More Year and Nine Lives follow, tighter, more vicious. You can feel the Children Of Bodom DNA, but here it's sharpened. Nine Lives, especially, is a full-speed sprint with keyboard melodies dancing over thrash grooves that make your knuckles clench.
They even sneak in a ballad edge: When Doves Cry Blood is a breath of warped air before the next assault. It’s still aggressive, but the tempo and vibe shift enough to make the entire album's impact heavier when the next track hits. Out For Blood, March Or Die, and Untouched grind into heavier terrain while keeping hooks that refuse to sit quietly. Then there’s Kingdom Of Rust where guitars mimic a sputtering engine, melody cloaked in humour and melancholy. It’s a minor break in tempo, but it sticks.
Coup de Grâce and Dethroned pace the finale with sharp riffing and keyboard lines that flirt with elegance before the drop. And they close with The Kiss Of Judas, a Stratovarius cover they spin into their own, covering it with venom and respect.
Throughout, Petri’s vocals bring a raw edge, leaning rough where it counts. Janne’s keys feel more integrated duelling with Antti’s guitar rather than dominating. It’s cohesive, lean, and built for impact. Listening to this? It’s perfect for that sweaty car ride when you need something cathartic. Doesn’t wait to earn respect, expects it by the second riff.
Bold, direct, and soaked in flame. Warmen may not be reinventing anything, but they’re damn good at what they’re doing. 8/10
It kicks off with the title track: warpath drums, guitar-and-keyboard duel, and Petri Lindroos roaring “we are one for all ‘til the end.” It’s a no-nonsense rally cry, checking the attention span box instantly.
Tracks like One More Year and Nine Lives follow, tighter, more vicious. You can feel the Children Of Bodom DNA, but here it's sharpened. Nine Lives, especially, is a full-speed sprint with keyboard melodies dancing over thrash grooves that make your knuckles clench.
They even sneak in a ballad edge: When Doves Cry Blood is a breath of warped air before the next assault. It’s still aggressive, but the tempo and vibe shift enough to make the entire album's impact heavier when the next track hits. Out For Blood, March Or Die, and Untouched grind into heavier terrain while keeping hooks that refuse to sit quietly. Then there’s Kingdom Of Rust where guitars mimic a sputtering engine, melody cloaked in humour and melancholy. It’s a minor break in tempo, but it sticks.
Coup de Grâce and Dethroned pace the finale with sharp riffing and keyboard lines that flirt with elegance before the drop. And they close with The Kiss Of Judas, a Stratovarius cover they spin into their own, covering it with venom and respect.
Throughout, Petri’s vocals bring a raw edge, leaning rough where it counts. Janne’s keys feel more integrated duelling with Antti’s guitar rather than dominating. It’s cohesive, lean, and built for impact. Listening to this? It’s perfect for that sweaty car ride when you need something cathartic. Doesn’t wait to earn respect, expects it by the second riff.
Bold, direct, and soaked in flame. Warmen may not be reinventing anything, but they’re damn good at what they’re doing. 8/10
Blackbriar - A Thousand Little Deaths (Nuclear Blast Records) [Matt Bladen]
Blackbriar have been setting the symphonic metal world alight since 2012, over that time there been significant changes to their line up especially with founding bassist Frank Akkerman leaving in 2022 but vocalist Zora Cock, drummer René Boxem and guitarist Bart Winters still remain from the early days with the Blackbriar of 2025 featuring Robin Koezen on rhythm guitar, Ruben Wijga on keys and Siebe Sol Sijpkens on bass.
Hailing from The Netherlands they have a very rich set of influences to draw from as I'd say along with Finland, The Netherlands has a very strong history in the symphonic metal scene as bands such as Epica, After Forever, The Gathering, Within Temptation and Delain all come from here. Blackbriar then have a burden to shoulder but with the popularity of their previous releases, they take on their roll as the newest members of the Dutch symphonic scene with ease.
Much of their appeal, quite rightly is due to Zora's majestic vocals, with a full theatrical range, she's the vessel for the gothic storytelling, weaving magic through the lyrics as the band play broad strokes of cinematic, symphonic metal. A Thousand Little Deaths is their third full length and the band again worked with Joost van den Broek (Ayreon/After Forever) who sprinkles his magic over the bombastic orchestrations and anthemic riffs of Blackbriar.
Their third album doesn't change what has comes before too much but Blackbriar do seem to have embraced darker, more gothic realms with this latest record for Dutch symphonic metal. 7/10
Hailing from The Netherlands they have a very rich set of influences to draw from as I'd say along with Finland, The Netherlands has a very strong history in the symphonic metal scene as bands such as Epica, After Forever, The Gathering, Within Temptation and Delain all come from here. Blackbriar then have a burden to shoulder but with the popularity of their previous releases, they take on their roll as the newest members of the Dutch symphonic scene with ease.
Much of their appeal, quite rightly is due to Zora's majestic vocals, with a full theatrical range, she's the vessel for the gothic storytelling, weaving magic through the lyrics as the band play broad strokes of cinematic, symphonic metal. A Thousand Little Deaths is their third full length and the band again worked with Joost van den Broek (Ayreon/After Forever) who sprinkles his magic over the bombastic orchestrations and anthemic riffs of Blackbriar.
Their third album doesn't change what has comes before too much but Blackbriar do seem to have embraced darker, more gothic realms with this latest record for Dutch symphonic metal. 7/10
Zatokrev - Bring Mirrors To The Surface (Pelagic Records) [Joe Guatieri]
Zatokrev are a long-running Sludge Metal band from Switzerland. They bring us their fifth studio album after a seven year wait since their last project which was split with the band Minsk called, Bigod. Their patient fans have waited long enough for their latest release, Bring Mirrors To The Surface. With an ominous name like that, I was excited to listen to this record.
The album opens up with Red Storm, a track of eye watering length at almost ten minutes long and despite doubts based on that, I was blown away right away. The beginning feels like your classic horror movie, strained instruments and synths sound like opening an old rickety door to a castle. Drums then begin to stomp as then you are introduced to a beast of a riff at an off pace, exactly what you want from sludge. That later proceeds into deep dark fuzz bass rumblings, with unsettling chants and blood curdling screams of a dangerous cult.
Not even attempting to lead you into a false sense of security later on, they immediately capture you. The band is already firing in all directions, sounding comparable to British metal bands like Bossk, Wren and Torpor. What they all have in common is that there is something else up all of their sleeves. Zatokrev entered the room with maximum ability as they had already presented me with my favourite song on the album.
Next up we have track three, with The Only Voice, which hits me right in the head with the sweet sounds of Blackened Death Metal. I find that the guitars take a turn though, as if by magic the playing begins to form a new shape and inherits a Post Metal sophistication, sounding more victorious. A little dash of Godspeed never hurt anyone but we don’t slow down here, neither take a breather. The drums then attack the scene from a different angle transferring from blast beats to a more open handed catchy delivery. The instrumental then goes off-roading with some good old fuzz with a Southern tinged psychedelic solo to boot.
Never too far off from surprises as later on with Faint, out of all things in the world we shake hands with Metalcore. I would be the first to say that isn’t my bag but you know what, Zatokrev wowed me in their performance here. It’s so bouncy and with the sort of enveloping nature that this album contains, this moment of fun feels so welcome here. I could really see a crowd at a sweaty gig moshing to this one, it feels like a completely different band from before, a real achievement.
Zatokrev has really impressed me with Bring Mirrors To The Surface, bringing so many different ideas together, making for a record that feels forever changing. Sludge, Death, Post Metal and even Shoegaze, there are no limits in what could come next. All of the songs present an intriguing atmosphere, you could get lost in it as it can feel like a comfortable blanket but that doesn’t ever lessen the impact of the musicianship which is always knocking at the door.
Overall, this is one of those rare cases where I would introduce this record to people who want to get into metal as a whole as it contains so much range on it. I genuinely think that so many people would listen to this album and find something that they enjoy about it. Zatokrev has made a new fan out of me and I am very excited to see what they do next! 8/10
DËRRO - Halcyon (Self Released) [Rich Piva]
In my opinion, the band that has influence the stoner/doom/desert/whatever genre the most since Kyuss is Alice In Chains. I hear more AIC in newer bands today that just about any of the giant influences. The debut EP from Ashville, NC band DËRRO is a perfect example. You get some AIC, some tool, and some other 90s goodness all over the six tracks on Halcyon.
The Cantrell-ness of this EP hits you right in the face on opening title track, both vocally and with the riff, and I am certainly here for it. There is a classic doom aspect to this track too, which makes it a nice combo of two things I love. Echo Mountain is musically pure Tool worship with some cool, layered in parts vocals that rips the place up. Good stuff. It is as if Tool decided to write more rock radio friendly songs after Undertow rather than 15-minute proggy jams. Minotaur is a cool mid-tempo, chunky stoner rocker that almost leans a little too radio friendly from a sound standpoint, until it kicks in and rocks your face off.
In my opinion, the band that has influence the stoner/doom/desert/whatever genre the most since Kyuss is Alice In Chains. I hear more AIC in newer bands today that just about any of the giant influences. The debut EP from Ashville, NC band DËRRO is a perfect example. You get some AIC, some tool, and some other 90s goodness all over the six tracks on Halcyon.
The Cantrell-ness of this EP hits you right in the face on opening title track, both vocally and with the riff, and I am certainly here for it. There is a classic doom aspect to this track too, which makes it a nice combo of two things I love. Echo Mountain is musically pure Tool worship with some cool, layered in parts vocals that rips the place up. Good stuff. It is as if Tool decided to write more rock radio friendly songs after Undertow rather than 15-minute proggy jams. Minotaur is a cool mid-tempo, chunky stoner rocker that almost leans a little too radio friendly from a sound standpoint, until it kicks in and rocks your face off.
That 90s vibe continues on Brain Worm which adds some keys and is probably my favourite on the EP, mostly because it rocks and is gigantic. Alone is great too. It sounds like a track off of the self-titled AIC record. I had to look up to see if it was a cover of an outtake from those sessions (compliment). The closer, Wild, straddles the line between Tool and Chevelle, or maybe AIC and Shinedown, but leans more towards the good side than the not so good of those comparisons. More organ too, so that helps.
Halcyon is a great debut for a band that shows a ton of promise. I am really looking forward to what DËRRO does next and what direction they go in. North Carolina is killing it right now. 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment