Say hello to one of the albums of the year. Sometimes, a statement like this occurs once an album has bedded in with you after repeated listens. In this case, it is almost immediate. That moment is like the aural equivalent of a ‘lightbulb’ above your head when you hear it, and it happens at the 48th second of Hell Is A Part Of Me, the opening track from Entheos’ new release. You have the vocals running one way and the guitar line behind it goes the other, and it is just beautiful.
Now, I appreciate that A, I am making a lot out of what anyone might suggest is nothing really magical and B, I’m not doing it justice either, but once you hear it you will get exactly what I mean. It’s the hook that vocalist Chaney Crabb throws out that does the damage. We know that Chaney can do the coarse, harsh singing, but here cleans are embraced and employed to devastating effect.
Let’s not forget that at their heart is high-calibre technical metal, refined here to within an inch of its life. Of course, it possesses that new-era tech sound, and you either like it or loathe it. Personally, it’s dependent on the song and here I’ll forgive it because, had it sounded any other way, I don’t think it would have landed the way it does and ultimately wormed its way into your brain.
As soon as this wraps, they pull Empty On The Inside next, which changes direction, going for that NIN-infused industrial vibe with one eye firmly fixed on getting you up and moving. The change, the growth, is there now, along with the confidence displayed in having the cleans in place where previously they would have depended on the extreme side to carry the song along. That is not to say that it’s all cleans, good lord no, it’s just that it’s a measured approach within the context of the song. When it goes full bore, Chaney unleashes full blast.
With Hollow now providing that slow third track, one that moves achingly along with a vocal performance that seems torn from the depths, Entheos have decided to show just what they can do with a three-song barrage that is as good as anything else released this year.
It can’t get any clearer that they have gone for broke in putting everything they can into this album, all the tricks, and the result falls in their favour. I’ve seen some comments online that, of the songs released ahead of the album, it’s not what people expected. I guess that there is an element of not wanting your bands to move too far from where you think they should be, but I prefer this.
Elsewhere, the technical side isn’t shy in coming forward, it’s just that it’s now tempered with a soul. Call My Name and Golden Crown are examples of this, where they still have that on show, it’s just that their song-building skills have grown to allow them to move beyond pure reliance on that side of them. It’s still there, some of the arrangements are dizzying, but there is a conscious effort to make sure that the song is as strong as the one that preceded it, even if its style differs.
Pale Faith is a latter-stage blaster from them, complete with a tech solo that burns brightly and quickly. They haven’t forgotten the blasts, nor have they forgotten the rule about making the songs interesting. This is the thing: they could have done 10 songs of brutal tech metal and been met with hurrahs. Instead, they have allowed themselves to expand, to allow their music to breathe.
The Earth Will Move closes out in exactly this manner. After a melancholic Never Let Me Go, which threatened to suck a little air out of the room, they could have been forgiven for going all out. Instead, the use of discord comes first, supported by introspection and then full-throated roars. I appreciate that, as a musical approach, this isn’t new, but when a band does it right it’s still royal.
It’s what they don’t do on here that makes the album as good as it is because I guess it would have been easy to stay in a particular lane. Instead, they have made a concerted effort to leap to the next level and make that landing. 10/10
Goat Major - Death Comes Twice (Ripple Music) [Matt Bladen]
Having bene on the ride with Goat Major since almost their inception, to see them releasing a second album through the mighty Ripple Music fills my heart with joy. Something that their debut Ritual did with it's fuzzy, evil sounding doom that owes as much to Mötorhead as it does Electric Wizard.
If Black Sabbath wrote music for Steppenwolf then you'd get this Pembrokeshire trio. After their debut record they took to the road to where they're at their best, slinging their sinister riffs all across the UK including appearances at Stoomfest and Desertfest.
Between the touring they were still writing and with a break in the schedule they hit a studio in their native Pembrokeshire with Tom Chaloner to record a studio follow up, returning to Ripple Music with Death Comes Twice a record that offers up no huge shifts in what they did with the debut.
Except perhaps a more pronounced sense of melody than on the debut, the menacing heaviness still at the forefront of the Goat Major sound but now leaning more towards psychedelic flourishes and claustrophobic atmospheres where the themes of belief and tradition are explored.
Strings and acoustics build a bonfire of occult worship on Voyage Of Cetus, an intro that sets the tone for this record, leading into Firewalk which is the ideal begining for a Goat Major record, Jammie Arnold (guitar) and Tom Shortt (bass), locked into thick fuzzing grooves, then separating out into their own noise of open chord basslines and anguished guitar leads,
Simon Bonwick's drumming a consistent source of power as he introduces some interesting percussion on the tribal Wheels Of Gold which adds sneer and sleaze to the record as Tom's vocals casting spells against the Sabbath worship before the synth driven interlude Sirens, shifts then toward the ethreal before The Sin Eater dials up the riffs again.
Death Comes Twice, is Goat Major enhancing their occult doom stylings with nuanced additions, such as the Title Track giving some phaser pedal and sludge, shifting towards the punkier tones of Under The Moonlight, while they close this second chapter with Detached a rumbling, malevolent track which exhibits that the darkness is still front and center despite the shifts towrad more melody.
Goat Major lumber back with more riffs and wickedness, hail the goat! 9/10
Godzilla In The Kitchen – Termination Sequence (Tonzonen Records) [Keith Boswell]
The Termination Sequence is the third studio album from the Leipzig based Germany band Godzilla In The Kitchen, due for release on the 23rd October 2026.
This contribution to the world of metal has seen the band progress from its previous creations as an instrumental entity to the introduction of vocals to its music, a first for Godzilla In The Kitchen.
As a result the Termination Sequence album, on the Tonzonen Record label, has immediately piqued my interest as I load the album up. Having listened to the album quite extensively it is clear that Godzilla In The Kitchen has lost none of its psychedelic metal groove with nu metal excerpts.
The crunching groove of the baseline is still very evident with melodic sections interspersed, but what is new is that there is a much heavier intensity to the album. This linked with the addition of the varied vocal delivery from a soft eloquence to a gritty guttural type and indeed everything in between makes a potentially average album into a great one. With the addition of Simon Ulm’s vocals and the newer rawer edge Godzilla In The Kitchen have raised the bar from their previous albums quite extensively.
Favourites from the album, for me, include Nothing For None with its melodic opening and funky grooves throughout and the title track Termination Sequence with its heavy overtones and guttural vocals which enable the listener to still understand the words and the gist of the song.
One of the favourite things that I like about the album is the enhanced use of the bass guitar. In my experience, the bass is very much treated as just part of the rhythm section. Godzilla In The Kitchen has given the bass a new lease of life and has brought its contribution to the fore of this record to their credit.
A really good album and well worth a listen. 8/10
Savage Grace - Underworld (Back On Black) [Jordan Griffiths]
My musical education continues! We are stepping into another artist whose music I have not had the pleasure of listening to before! Savage Grace and their Underworld album!
Right out of the gate, with White Trash White Heat, the opening sequence left me with the thought process of, What the hell is this. But then it hits you with that classic 80s Power and Speed Metal, really taking you back to the glory days of the genre with its electrifying guitar riffs and melodies.
Underworld, as a whole, is very much a love letter to the classic sound of the 80s power and speed metal, fully embracing the signature fast-paced riffs, soaring vocals and the unapologetically old-school aesthetic.
Elsewhere, the technical side isn’t shy in coming forward, it’s just that it’s now tempered with a soul. Call My Name and Golden Crown are examples of this, where they still have that on show, it’s just that their song-building skills have grown to allow them to move beyond pure reliance on that side of them. It’s still there, some of the arrangements are dizzying, but there is a conscious effort to make sure that the song is as strong as the one that preceded it, even if its style differs.
Pale Faith is a latter-stage blaster from them, complete with a tech solo that burns brightly and quickly. They haven’t forgotten the blasts, nor have they forgotten the rule about making the songs interesting. This is the thing: they could have done 10 songs of brutal tech metal and been met with hurrahs. Instead, they have allowed themselves to expand, to allow their music to breathe.
The Earth Will Move closes out in exactly this manner. After a melancholic Never Let Me Go, which threatened to suck a little air out of the room, they could have been forgiven for going all out. Instead, the use of discord comes first, supported by introspection and then full-throated roars. I appreciate that, as a musical approach, this isn’t new, but when a band does it right it’s still royal.
It’s what they don’t do on here that makes the album as good as it is because I guess it would have been easy to stay in a particular lane. Instead, they have made a concerted effort to leap to the next level and make that landing. 10/10
Goat Major - Death Comes Twice (Ripple Music) [Matt Bladen]
Having bene on the ride with Goat Major since almost their inception, to see them releasing a second album through the mighty Ripple Music fills my heart with joy. Something that their debut Ritual did with it's fuzzy, evil sounding doom that owes as much to Mötorhead as it does Electric Wizard.
If Black Sabbath wrote music for Steppenwolf then you'd get this Pembrokeshire trio. After their debut record they took to the road to where they're at their best, slinging their sinister riffs all across the UK including appearances at Stoomfest and Desertfest.
Between the touring they were still writing and with a break in the schedule they hit a studio in their native Pembrokeshire with Tom Chaloner to record a studio follow up, returning to Ripple Music with Death Comes Twice a record that offers up no huge shifts in what they did with the debut.
Except perhaps a more pronounced sense of melody than on the debut, the menacing heaviness still at the forefront of the Goat Major sound but now leaning more towards psychedelic flourishes and claustrophobic atmospheres where the themes of belief and tradition are explored.
Strings and acoustics build a bonfire of occult worship on Voyage Of Cetus, an intro that sets the tone for this record, leading into Firewalk which is the ideal begining for a Goat Major record, Jammie Arnold (guitar) and Tom Shortt (bass), locked into thick fuzzing grooves, then separating out into their own noise of open chord basslines and anguished guitar leads,
Simon Bonwick's drumming a consistent source of power as he introduces some interesting percussion on the tribal Wheels Of Gold which adds sneer and sleaze to the record as Tom's vocals casting spells against the Sabbath worship before the synth driven interlude Sirens, shifts then toward the ethreal before The Sin Eater dials up the riffs again.
Death Comes Twice, is Goat Major enhancing their occult doom stylings with nuanced additions, such as the Title Track giving some phaser pedal and sludge, shifting towards the punkier tones of Under The Moonlight, while they close this second chapter with Detached a rumbling, malevolent track which exhibits that the darkness is still front and center despite the shifts towrad more melody.
Goat Major lumber back with more riffs and wickedness, hail the goat! 9/10
Godzilla In The Kitchen – Termination Sequence (Tonzonen Records) [Keith Boswell]
The Termination Sequence is the third studio album from the Leipzig based Germany band Godzilla In The Kitchen, due for release on the 23rd October 2026.
This contribution to the world of metal has seen the band progress from its previous creations as an instrumental entity to the introduction of vocals to its music, a first for Godzilla In The Kitchen.
As a result the Termination Sequence album, on the Tonzonen Record label, has immediately piqued my interest as I load the album up. Having listened to the album quite extensively it is clear that Godzilla In The Kitchen has lost none of its psychedelic metal groove with nu metal excerpts.
The crunching groove of the baseline is still very evident with melodic sections interspersed, but what is new is that there is a much heavier intensity to the album. This linked with the addition of the varied vocal delivery from a soft eloquence to a gritty guttural type and indeed everything in between makes a potentially average album into a great one. With the addition of Simon Ulm’s vocals and the newer rawer edge Godzilla In The Kitchen have raised the bar from their previous albums quite extensively.
Favourites from the album, for me, include Nothing For None with its melodic opening and funky grooves throughout and the title track Termination Sequence with its heavy overtones and guttural vocals which enable the listener to still understand the words and the gist of the song.
One of the favourite things that I like about the album is the enhanced use of the bass guitar. In my experience, the bass is very much treated as just part of the rhythm section. Godzilla In The Kitchen has given the bass a new lease of life and has brought its contribution to the fore of this record to their credit.
A really good album and well worth a listen. 8/10
Savage Grace - Underworld (Back On Black) [Jordan Griffiths]
My musical education continues! We are stepping into another artist whose music I have not had the pleasure of listening to before! Savage Grace and their Underworld album!
Right out of the gate, with White Trash White Heat, the opening sequence left me with the thought process of, What the hell is this. But then it hits you with that classic 80s Power and Speed Metal, really taking you back to the glory days of the genre with its electrifying guitar riffs and melodies.
Underworld, as a whole, is very much a love letter to the classic sound of the 80s power and speed metal, fully embracing the signature fast-paced riffs, soaring vocals and the unapologetically old-school aesthetic.
However, I will say that there is very little in the way of experimentation in this album. There are a few sound effects here and there, like the horn in the first track. What you hear is exactly what you would expect from a traditional power and speed metal album/record.
While the commitment to the genre's roots would definitely be appealing to listeners looking for that authentic 80s sound, those hoping for something more adventurous or distinctive may find themselves wanting a little more variety.
At the end of the day, Underworld, in my honest opinion, delivers exactly what it wants itself to be. Delivering a familiar dose of 80s-inspired power and speed metal without straying too far from the formula that defined and still defines the genre as a whole.
It is definitely worth a listen if you enjoy your authentic Speed and Power Metal of the 80s, but if you’re looking for something more experimental, this may leave little to be desired. 7/10.
It is definitely worth a listen if you enjoy your authentic Speed and Power Metal of the 80s, but if you’re looking for something more experimental, this may leave little to be desired. 7/10.
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