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Category Archives: Pure Metal/Album reviews
Album review: GHOST – Skeleta
Loma Vista Recordings [Release date 25.04.25] Album number six from Ghost, produced by Gene Walker, who is actually Ghost main man Tobias Forge, as said Gene Walker name is a pun on the Swedish word gengångare i.e ghost, zombie. Interesting variety … Continue reading
Album review : TOKYO BLADE – Beware The Blade – Classic, Rare and Unreleased, 4 CD Boxset
Cherry Red [Release date : 21.11.25] A 4CD boxset of the best of Tokyo Blade’s 14 albums (and more). It’s not called a “Best Of”, but that’s what it is. CD1 : selections from Midnight Rendezvous (1984) and Night Of … Continue reading
Album review : WRATHCHILD AMERICA – Climbing the Walls / 3-D (2 CD remasters w/bonus tracks)
Cherry Red [Release date : 24.10.25] Back in 1984, founding member, vocalist and bass man, Brad Divens gave up a career in the straight world to “make it” with his Thrash Metal band, Wrathchild America. It was a high risk … Continue reading
Album review : RISEN ATLANTIS feat: FRANK BECK – Power To The Past
Frontiers Music [Release Date : 26.09.25] Singer, Frank Beck, touring sideman with Kai Hansen’s Gamma Ray for many years, now gets his solo opportunity. Risen Atlantis is the brainchild of Alessandro Del Vecchio, writer, producer, musician, commonly associated with Frontiers … Continue reading
Album review: PEACE OF MIND – Blood Is the Price
Bandcamp [Release date 05.09.25] In my mind, when I think of underground metal, I think of Germany. Many great bands have hailed from Germany, Kreator, Sodom, Destruction and the mighty Rammstein to name a few. And I believe Peace of Mind … Continue reading
Album review : RISING STEEL – Legion Of The Grave
Frontiers Music [Release date : 29.08.25] Third full studio album on the Frontiers’ label from French metallers, Rising Steel, who remain a solid line up. Steel Zard – drums, Tony Steel – guitar, Steff Leadmaster – lead guitar , Stone … Continue reading
Album review : HELLOWEEN – Giants And Monsters
Reigning Phoenix Music [Release date 29.08.25] The Magnificent Seven : Daniel Löble (drums), Markus Grosskopf (bass), Sascha Gerstner (guitars), Kai Hansen (guitars, vocals) Michael Weikath (guitars), Michael Kiske (vocals), Andi Deris (vocals). The longer gap between Helloween albums again seems … Continue reading
Album review : KIX – Kool Atomic Kix (8 CD Boxset)
Cherry Red [Release date : 25.07.25] Something of a pop metal institution, KIX, the band, the brand, retired gracefully from the musicbiz in 2023, more than forty long years after the self titled debut album hit the streets. CD1 : … Continue reading
Album review : VENOM – Blackened Priests (3 CD Boxset)
Dissonance [Release date 27.06.25] CD1: Prime Evil 1989 CD2: Temple Of Ice 1991 (plus EP Tear Your Soul) CD3: Waste Land 1992 Formed in England’s industrial North East in 1979, there was none heavier, none more extreme and indeed none … Continue reading
Album review : SIGNUM REGIS – Eyes Of Power (2025 remix/remaster)
Beyond The Storm Productions [07.06.25] Eyes Of Power is a 2010 album recorded by the Slovak Power Metal band, Signum Regis, recently remixed and remastered. It’s the third from a 13 album back catalogue to undergo a retooling job. Again, … Continue reading
Album review: CALVA LOUISE – Edge Of The Abyss
Mascot Records [Release date 11.07.25] Calva Louise are a multi-national, genre-blending band that consists of Jess Allanic (Vocals/Guitar/Keyboards), Alizon Taho (Bass/Backing Vocals) and Ben Parker (Drums/Backing Vocals). This is the band’s fourth album and first for Mascot Records, who they … Continue reading
Album review : GORGUTS – Considered Dead / Erosion Of Sanity (2CDs w/bonus tracks)
Cherry Red [Release date : 13.06.25] Got to hand it to Cherry Red. Few labels are resurrecting the past glories of Metal like they are. Most who do aim for mainstream stuff, bands in the public eye, in the media. But … Continue reading
Album review : RAVEN – Screamin’ Down The House (4 CD set)
Cherry Red [Release date : 25.04.25] Formed in the north of England by brothers John and Mark Gallagher, during a time of social upheaval in the UK, Raven forged their own reflective version of NWOBHM, a proto-thrash metal that found … Continue reading
Album review : SICK’N'BEAUTIFUL – Horror Vacui
BLKIIBLK/Frontiers [Release date 18.04.25] Sick’n’Beautiful’s fourth album and their first release on Frontiers’ debut “heavy music imprint”, BLKIIBLK. Horror Vacui is an artistic concept, roughly translated from Latin as fear of empty spaces. Fronted by the sexually alluring Herma Sick … Continue reading
Album review : CRIMSON GLORY – The Roadrunner Years (3 CD)
Cherry Red [Release date 21/03/25] The Cherry Red label is currently on a run of highly compelling Heavy Metal reissues. We’ve had Wrath, Tigertailz, Barren Cross in only the last month, and very recently, the superb Vision Of Disorder. This … Continue reading
Album review : ENBOUND – Set It Free (w/bonus CD)
Embrace The Fear [Release date : 21.02.25] 2025’s Set it Free is Enbound’s third album, a follow up to Blackened, if an album 9 years later can be described as a “follow up”. Nice (if expensive) piece of marketing here… … Continue reading
Album review : VISION OF DISORDER – Vision of Disorder / Imprint (2 CD Deluxe Digipak)
Cherry Red [Release date : 28.02.25] The early nineties was a strange time for Heavy Metal. US band, Vision Of Disorder emerged from a morass of subgenres and splinter groups, all following different paths, all pursuing different objectives, mostly with … Continue reading
Album review : BARREN CROSS – Atomic Arena/State Of Control (2 CD Deluxe Digipak)
Cherry Red [Release date 21.02.25] The second and third albums released by Christian Metal heroes, Barren Cross, are now together for the first time, remastered and reissued by Cherry Red, with ‘2 bonus tracks’ added. Atomic Arena (1988) State Of … Continue reading
Album review: DREAM THEATER – Parasomnia
InsideOut [Release date 07.02.25] Dream Theater’s sixteenth studio album marks the return of drummer Mike Portnoy after a 15 year hiatus. While the album ambitiously explores themes of sleep disturbances it does lack the innovative spark that once defined the … Continue reading
Album review : WRATH – Children Of The Wicked (3 CD set)
Cherry Red [Release date 31/01/25] You’d need a degree in modern sciences to play with Chicago USA band, Wrath. Such is the technically demanding nature of their thrash metal sound. The cover depicts a fresh face bunch of lads who, … Continue reading
Album review: JULIET’S NOT DEAD – This World Is Ours
TMR Records [Release date 07.02.25] Hailing from the North East, Juliet’s Not Dead are an adrenaline fuelled, driven band with the sole intention of thrilling their audiences at every show. Having just finished recording the follow up to the highly … Continue reading
Album review : THE FERRYMEN – Iron Will
Frontiers Music [Release date : 24.1.25] This new Ferrymen album should make some solid advance sales on the basis of Stan W Decker’s front cover artwork alone. Take a look. Classy. Ronnie Romero, Magnus Karlson and Mike Terrana are back … Continue reading
Album review : AVATARIUM – Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead
AFM Records [Release date : 24.01.25] If anyone is going to have the inside information on the darkside of metal, it’s a psychosocial counsellor. And if anyone’s able to bring the genre’s competing emotions to life, it’s Avatarium’s vocalist / … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
Tagged Avatarium, Between You, Candlemass, Doom Metal, Evergrey, God, Hard Rock. Our Lady peace, Jennie-Ann Smith, Marcus Jidell, Psychosocial, review, Stockholm, The Devil and The Dead
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Album review : TOKYO BLADE – Time Is The Fire
Cherry Red [Release date : 17.01.25] The Cherry Red reach has increased dramatically in recent years, and Tokyo Blades’ latest album, Time Is The Fire will be getting a considerable PR push around the 17/1/25 release date. True heavy metal … Continue reading
Album review: WITHIN SILENCE – The Eclipse Of Worlds
Ulterium Records [Release date : 06.12.24] On their third album now, Slovakian Power Metal band, Within Silence have reached the point where their grasp is the equal of an ambitious reach. From the moment the opening track, ‘Land Of Light’ … Continue reading
