Category Archives: Pure Metal/Album reviews

Metal album reviews

Album review: METAL CHURCH – The Elektra Years 1984-1989

Posted on February 22, 2020 by jason

Cherry Red Records [Release date 28.02.20] Before Kurdt Vanderhoof went off to invent a new genre with his band, Hall Aflame, in 1991, he released 3 albums with his startup venture, Metal Church. Cherry Red Records have bundled these into … Continue reading →

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Album review: ROSS THE BOSS – Born Of Fire

Posted on February 18, 2020 by jason

AFM Records [Release date 06.03.20] Just when you thought that there was no band more ‘metal’ than Manowar or Judas Priest, along comes Ross ‘the Boss’ Friedman and his crew to combine elements of both and more to provide an … Continue reading →

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Album review: SONS OF APOLLO – MMXX

Posted on January 29, 2020 by jason

Inside Out [Release date 17.01.20] Second studio outing from the prog metal supergroup Sons Of Apollo who consist of vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, bassist Billy Sheenan, guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, drummer Mike Portnoy and on keyboards Derek Sherinian. Sons Of … Continue reading →

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Album review: SERENITY – The Last Knight

Posted on January 13, 2020 by jason

Napalm Records [Release date 31.01.20] Austrian symphonic metal band Serenity are back and I seemed to have missed 2017′s ‘Lionheart’, having enjoyed the previous year’s ‘Codex Atlanticus’. That’s the trouble sometimes with so many bands around it is hard to … Continue reading →

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Album review: KOBURG – Position Of Power

Posted on January 10, 2020 by jason

Bandcamp [Release date 01.01.20] It sounds like a fairy tale but, at the stroke of midnight, as the old year passed into the next decade, a new Queen was crowned. Now, America has Amy Lee, Holland has Floor Jansen, Sweden … Continue reading →

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Album review: MOB RULES – Beast Over Europe

Posted on December 30, 2019 by jason

SPV/Steamhammer [Release date 13.09.19] Germany has long been a hotbed for rock and metal, with the Scorpions, Accept, Doro and Bonfire leading the way and the huge Waken Open Air festival bringing Teutonic thunder to the world. Celebrating their 25th … Continue reading →

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Album review: ANVIL – Legal At Last

Posted on December 23, 2019 by jason

AFM Records [Release date 14.02.20] It’s impossible not to love Anvil. Sure, prior to the 2008 ‘Anvil! The Story of Anvil’ documentary they were just scratching a living, playing anywhere and everywhere that would have them but that film was … Continue reading →

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Album review: POSSESSED – Revelations of Oblivion

Posted on October 14, 2019 by jason

Nuclear Blast Records [Release date 10.05.19] If you were told to imagine how a Possessed album would sound given the circumstances, no matter how vivid of imagination one may have, there is now way that this outcome could have been … Continue reading →

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Album review: XENTRIX – Bury The Pain

Posted on October 14, 2019 by jason

Listenable Records [Release date 07.06.19] To me, Xentrix has always been the leading UK thrash metal band back in the day. When it comes to having the whole package meaning musicianship, compositions, ferocity, melodic lines they came up on top … Continue reading →

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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: 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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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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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 →

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Quick plays: DREAM CHILD, THE UNITY, PLASTIC TEARS

Posted on September 22, 2018 by jason

DREAM CHILD Until Death Do We Meet Again Frontiers [Release date 14.09.18] Dream Child is formed around former Dio guitarist Craig Goldy, who is joined by fellow Dio member drummer Simon Wright, former Ozzy/Whitesnake bassist Rudy Sarzo, Wayne Findlay (ex-MSG) … Continue reading →

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Album review: DORO – Forever Warriors, Forever United

Posted on September 6, 2018 by jason

Nuclear Blast [Release date 17.08.18] Doro Pesch celebrates thirty five years in metal with the release of her twentieth album and to mark this special occasion it is a double album called Forever Warriors, Forever United. Her band remains that of guitarists … Continue reading →