Reviews: Masterplan, Stonecast, Vorax, Doomherre/Ordos/Hexjakt/Kaiser (Matt Bladen & Mark Young)

Masterplan - Metalmorphosis (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]

With their first new music since 2013, power metal legends Masterplan return on Frontiers Music with Metalmorphosis, their sixth studio album of originals and the culmination of this bands journey so far as they fully step away from their label as a Helloween offshoot.

Now Roland Grapow (guitars) didn't do himself or the band any favours with 2017's PumpKings covers record but after and extended hiatus it seems Masterplan return revitalised and infused with a new creative energy that is all over this new album.

Since their emergence in 2001, they've been through a number of line up changes most notably vocalist Rick Altzi replacing Jorn Lande, but the current line up of Grapow, Altzi, keyboardist Axel Mackenrott (since 2003), bassist Jari Kainulainen (since 2012) and drummer Kevin Kott (since 2017), have all been a part of the band long enough to understand their roles in Masterplan and bring what fans expect.

So what do they expect? Well power metal melodies, prog metal technicality and theatrical diversity that makes for epic songwriting, anchored on this record by the Title Track which displays the heavier sound Masterplan have returned with on this album. 

Tracks such as Through The Storm have their foot to the floor with full pelt European power metal while The Call goes deeper into the prog realms across 8 minutes.

This Masterplan's Metalmorphosis, shedding their hiatus to return with sharper songwriting and heavy hitting music. Veterans of the game it's great to have them back! 8/10

(P.S. I can't wait to see them at Quest Fest 2026 this year)

Stonecast - Expand Crimson Chaos (Pitch Black Records) [Matt Bladen]

I said in my review of French band Stonecasts last album. I, Earther that they "bristle with heavy metal glory" well with Expand Crimson Chaos they continue to just that. 

Creating heavy metal that merges the British and American styles, one moment they're Manowar, the next they're Judas Priest, but for most of Expand Crimson Chaos they stick with Iced Earth.

The seven year gap between the records taking into heavier paths and while Jon Schaffer's band is now a fractured mess of split members, insurrectionism and libertarian insanity, Stonecast can easily slip into that gap due to their thrashy power metal, which is the cornerstone of the American style.

The riffs come from guitarist Seb Casula (leads from Thomas Tiberi), bassist Lionel Antonorsi and the huge vocal prowess of Frank Ghirardi. 

Their IE credentials boosted by Brent Smedley behind the kit, with a track such as King Of Hell blasting like something off Burnt Offerings, switching between a stomping groove and more occult elements of theatre where they can flex their prog prowess as they transition into the blistering gallops of early Manowar.

They even drop a classic metal song in their native French, which is then given a piano version on CD bonus track, so Stonecast aren't afraid to take risks but they make their mark with some more muscular heavy metal. Play loud, raise your first and bang your head to Expand Crimson Chaos. 9/10

Vorax - Volcano Shock (Independent) [Mark Young]

Occupying the different side of the extreme metal coin is Vorax, and their full-length release Volcano Shock. 

Its surprising that no one thought to combine old school death metal and Dinosaurs, well at the least the apocalyptic part of that particular past. The band themselves are wholeheartedly onboard with this and treat this as a deadly serious exercise in music.

And let me tell you, it sounds serious from the off, they have nailed that 90s Swe-death guitar tone to a tee and basically run rampant with it. Magma Ocean is first, and well if you park any opinions on the song titles and just concentrate on the music this is a well-wrought opening salvo of nastiness. 

It just sounds like it stepped out of 1994, and the way that the songs are put together is that they are basically put in gear and are let loose, percussive and propulsive death metal that only moves in one direction. 

The vocals are gnarly, completely suited to the material on hand. Devouring Raw Flesh, with its slower tempo is no less immediate, as is the title track Volcano Shock which possesses that classic death metal super-strum to it. The question is whether you can stay the course with them, and wholly dependent upon your appreciation of OSDM, especially one that tips its hat towards Scandinavia. 

Fans of that era and that location should be able to get onboard with this with no trouble. The songs are good songs, lead breaks are broken out in all the right spots and they never miss with their riffs, which is always massive for me. The other thing is their approach; this is not meant to be a joke or something half-arsed, at least from as far as I can tell.

Yes, the subject matter could be considered to sit on the humorous side of things, but when you look at metal in general there are some sub-genres that raise an eyebrow or two. At least Vorax are bringing a relative a-game to proceedings. I keep going back to its sound, its something akin to stripping the enamel from your teeth. 

Add in that they don’t take a backwards step at any point on here and you have an album that succeeds in terms of offering you 8 songs that place great emphasis on craft. You can’t fault them for that. 7/10

Doomherre, Odos, Hexjakt, Kaiser - Four Altars Of Sin (Majestic Mountain Records) [Mark Young]

Well, this is certainly the treat!!

Four Altars Of Sin gives us a 4 way split of some top class Nordic doom/stoner via Majestic Mountain Records who somehow have combined some of the frostiest metal to be released during an extreme heat event in the UK.

Doomherre – Blood Relics Of Old

Ordos – Inferno

Hexjakt - Svartkonst

Kaiser – Sonic Satan

Putting improbable coincidence to one side, It’s a monumental slab of noise that is a dense as their names suggest. This feels as though Majestic Mountain have carefully curated this split, with each band offering the listener something that is different from the other without sounding out of place. 

The key is that each one delights in being unfathomably heavy whilst imbuing a sense of movement in each of their tracks. Some of the riffs are massive, just as you would expect and there is no way you will come away from this disappointed if this is your bag. 

Doomherre kick things off with Blood Relics Of Old, dropping a bass that is so low its likely to cause waters to break in the pregnant and a riff build that elicits a ‘Fuck yeah’ in right minded individuals everywhere. 

This is a quality start and positions the bar high for Ordos to follow with Inferno. This looks inwardly with a restrained sound that just builds along with one of ‘those arrangements’ that has that itch to it no matter how distorted it is. 

When it does kick in, it’s the vocals that do the heavy lifting, switching from cleans into the harsh. Like Doomherre, they are here to move you and I defy anyone not to get behind this.

Hexjakt start side 2 and just dive in with Svartkonst. This one rides that traditional doom train, again with a focused but fuzzed out mania.

Its central riff is like a monster, simple but massive and when you think about it, they don’t need it to be anything else. Its simplicity is devastating, punctured by a lead break that has that emotional lift to it. Again, at the core is a simple truth which doesn’t mean that this is without merit. It is pure, unspoiled doom. 

Bringing this to a close is Kaiser, with Sonic Satan. Its extended opening sirens and voice over grating until the guitars drop in. I did say that they all shared a similar sound, and this is true in that each band bring massive riffology. 

Kaiser do things differently in the vocal sense due to their lean into stoner territory rather than doom. They still have engage in immense tones, with a fabulous lead break that dominates their entry and ultimately wraps their entry to a close.

For fans of Doom/Stoner, and of Majestic Mountain Records in general, this will surely scratch an itch and introduce new followers to their flock. Hats off to Majestic Mountain with this, brilliant release 8/10