Category Archives: PURE METAL (All posts)

Album review: DEVIN TOWNSEND – Empath

Posted on March 21, 2019 by jason

Hevy Devy/Inside Out [Release date 29.03.19] Devin Townsend has rested his Project and with ‘Empath’ we have his first solo album since ‘Ziltoid’. Guests include regular contributor Anneke van Giersbergen, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, Frank Zappa alumni Mike Keneally as music … Continue reading →

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Album review: AVANTASIA – Moonglow

Posted on February 17, 2019 by jason

Nuclear Blast [Release date 15.02.19] ‘Moonglow’ is the eighth full-length album by Tobias Sammet’s metal opera project Avantasia. As with previous Avantasia’s albums he calls upon an impressive list of guest vocalists including returns for Magnum’s Bob Catley, former Queensryche and … Continue reading →

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Album review: FLOTSAM AND JETSAM – The End Of Chaos

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Yiannis

AFM Records [Release date 19.1.19] My infatuation with Flotsam And Jetsam and their unique brand of Metal began sometime in the late fall of 1988 – that is when, while watching a late-night episode of the now legendary, Baily Brothers … Continue reading →

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Album review: THRASHIST REGIME – Carnival Of Monsters

Posted on January 29, 2019 by Yiannis

Fat Hippy [Release date 28.4.18] You return home from work tired, you had people yelling at you all day, your kids are crying because you didn’t bring them the new Lego with the millennium falcon expansion, the wife is giving … Continue reading →

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Album review: BEAST IN BLACK – From Hell With Love

Posted on January 27, 2019 by jason

Nuclear Blast [Release date 08.02.19] Beast In Black hail from Finland and were formed in 2015 when guitarist and songwriter Anton Kabanen left his previous band Battle Beast. They released their debut album ‘Berserker’ in 2017 and now they are … Continue reading →

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Album review: RHAPSODY OF FIRE – The Eighth Mountain

Posted on January 23, 2019 by jason

AFM Records [Release date 22.02.19] Italian power metal band return with their latest album, cementing the new/current line-up. Formed in the mid 90 as Rhapsody, RoF made the genre of symphonic power metal their own. Founder members keyboard player Alex … Continue reading →

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Album review: CULTURAL WARFARE – Warmageddon

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Yiannis

M-Theory Audio [Release date 14.9.18] Stop the press. There is a new player in Metal City that deserves your immediate and utmost attention. Hailing from Oakland US, this four-piece outfit takes a shot at making a Thrash Metal record and … Continue reading →

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Album review: METAL CHURCH – Damned If You Do

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Yiannis

Nuclear Blast [Release date 7.12.18] Metal Church rank up among the founders of the early US thrash metal scene. Although never quite breaking into first tier territory, they remain a worthy outfit to this day with a series of classic … Continue reading →

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Album review: RAVEN – Screaming Murder Death From Above – Live In Aalborg

Posted on January 1, 2019 by jason

SPV/Steamhammer [Release date 18.01.19] Most often associated with the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Raven formed in the mid 70′s and had some notoriety in the early 80′s. Playing their brand of Athletic Rock, they were a big influence … Continue reading →

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Album review: SOEN – Lotus

Posted on December 30, 2018 by jason

Silver Lining Music [Release date 01.02.19] Swedish based progressive metal band Soen were formed in the mid 00′s, and are an extreme metal supergroup of sorts, with their founder members having a collective CV of Opeth, Testament, Death, Willowtree and … Continue reading →

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Album review: EVERGREY – The Atlantic

Posted on December 6, 2018 by jason

AFM Records [Release date 25.01.19] ‘The Atlantic’ is the eleventh album from Evergrey, the masters of dark and atmospheric metal. Tom S Englund and the band have really worked on every detail of the album, be it the sea theme … Continue reading →

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Gig review: THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA – Biebob, Vosselaar, 27 November 2018

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Yiannis

THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA – Biebob, Vosselaar – 27th November 2018

Had you asked me twenty or so years ago whether I would ever consider attending a show featuring a band whose singer is sporting a shiny purple suit the answer would be a resounding ‘no’. Funnily enough, that is exactly … Continue reading →

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Album review: ROINE STOLT’S THE FLOWER KING – Manifesto Of An Alchemist

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Yiannis

Inside Out [Release date 23.11.18] The last time Uppsala-born guitar maestro Roine Stolt released a solo record was eight years ago, when “Supernal Endgame – Touch The Sky” was first brought into this world. Accusing the sixty-two-year-old musician of tardiness, … Continue reading →

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Album review: ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN – Symphonized

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Yiannis

Inside Out [Release date 16.11.18] In the summer of 1992 a good friend came to mine for a visit carrying with him “Always…”, the debut release of an atmospheric Death Metal outfit named The Gathering. My attraction to the work … Continue reading →

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Gig review: RIVERSIDE – De Casino, Sint Niklaas, 11 November 2018

Posted on November 17, 2018 by Yiannis

RIVERSIDE – De Casino, Sint Niklaas – 11th November 2018

The first time I attended a Riverside gig was back in April 2014 and those of you who read my review of the said show will remember that the overall experience involved a very long drive from London to Liverpool, … Continue reading →

Posted in GIG REVIEWS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Gig reviews | Tagged 11 November 2018, Belgium, De Casino, gig, Mariusz Duda, prog, Progressive Rock, review, RIVERSIDE, Sint Niklaas | Leave a comment

Gig review: POWERWOLF – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, 28 October 2018

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Yiannis

It is immensely gratifying to have a band, whose career you have been closely following since day one, reach such great levels of success – case in point here being the German Heavy/Power Metallers Powerwolf. Not many people were supportive … Continue reading →

Posted in GIG REVIEWS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Gig reviews | Tagged 8 October 2018, Amaranthe, Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, gig, heavy metal, Kissin’ Dynamite, melodic metal, power metal, powerwolf, review | Leave a comment

Gig review: PRIMAL FEAR – Biebob, Vosselaar, 12 October 2018

Posted on October 25, 2018 by Yiannis

Ask me to compose a list with the best Metal albums for 2018 and you are almost certainly guaranteed to find Primal Fear’s latest studio effort “Apocalypse” somewhere near the very top. It may be a good two decades since … Continue reading →

Posted in GIG REVIEWS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Gig reviews | Tagged 12 October 2018, Belgium, Biebob, gig, heavy metal, metal, Primal Fear, Ralph Scheepers, review, Riot V, Vosselaar | Leave a comment

Gig review: VOIVOD – Magasin 4, Brussels, 9 October 2018

Posted on October 24, 2018 by Yiannis

Voivod – Magasin 4, Brussels, 9th October 2018

There was a time in my young adult life where the prospect of attending a Voivod show felt less of a possibility to manning a mission for the purpose of exploring the environs of planet Mars, so it is indeed … Continue reading →

Posted in GIG REVIEWS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Gig reviews | Tagged 9 October 2018, Bio Cancer, gig, Magasin 4 in Brussel, progressive metal, review, thrash metal, Voivod | Leave a comment

Album review: SAXON – The Eagle Has Landed

Posted on October 21, 2018 by jason

BMG [Release date 19.10.18] To coincide nicely with their latest opus Thunderbolt, we get this reissue of Saxon’s classic 1982 live album. This rounds off the BMG reissues of the Carrere and Phonogram catalogue. Originally a single LP, this comes … Continue reading →

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Quick plays: THEM, SODOM, BROTHERS OF METAL

Posted on October 20, 2018 by jason

THEM Manor of the Se7en Gables SPV/Steamhammer [Release date 26.10.18] US/German thrash/power metal band return with their second album, a horror story featuring witchcraft, murder and they use a series of spoken word parts to keep the story moving along. … Continue reading →