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Album review: ALBERT BOUCHARD – Imaginos IV: Rhyme of the Star Clock
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Category Archives: Pure Metal/Album reviews
Metal album reviews
Album review: MY SOLILOQUY – FU3ION

Rare Artist Music [Release date 11.07.22] Third album from My Soliloquy, which is the brainchild of former Threshold guitarist Pete Morten. On this album he is joined by Threshold’s drummer Johanne James – Morten plays all the other instruments on … Continue reading →
Album review: SEVENTH WONDER – The Testament

Frontiers [Release date: 10.06.22] Sixth album from Swedish Prog Metal band Seventh Wonder, for whom life began at the turn of the century. The band is full of virtuoso musicians. Guitarist Johan Liefvendal and bassist, Andreas Blomqvist are the driving … Continue reading →
Album review: RAVEN – Rock Until You Drop (the 4CD Over The Top Edition)

Cherry Red/Sanctuary [release date : 27.05.22] Raven, the legendary heavy metal band from England’s industrial North East, have the perfect resume. They have recorded for six different labels (and never been without one) including major and major-ish imprints like Atlantic, … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged 4 CDs, albums, Atlantic Records, boxset, Brute Force, John Gallagher, John Tucker, Lead Weight, Mark Gallagher, Megadeath, Megaforce, Metallica, Motorhead, Neat Records, NWOBHM, Proto Thrash, Sasso Marconi, SPV
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Album review: STARCHASER – Starchaser

Frontiers Music [Release date: 06.05.22] If you have an insatiable appetite for the genre, this meat and 2 veg power metal album from new band, Starchaser might provide reasonable, short term sustenance. It began life as a Kenneth (Tad Morose) … Continue reading →
Album review: LILLIAN AXE – Psalms For Eternity (3 CD set)

Global Rock [Release date 6.04.22] This month, Lillian Axe release a 3 CD retrospective on Global Rock, SFM’s brand spanking new Rock and Metal label, grandly called Psalms For Eternity. It’s been curated by mainman, guitarist and songwriter, Steve Blaze, … Continue reading →
Album review: ICON – Icon (Remaster)
Rock Candy Records [release date: 18.03.22] Icon’s debut album from 1984 has recently been remastered by leading UK Reissue label, Rock Candy Records. The fact that the band’s set list in those early days included material by Deep Purple and … Continue reading →
Album review – SEMBLANT – Vermillion Eclipse

Frontiers [release date: 15.04.22] Semblant’s second album on the Frontiers label sees this Brazilian Melodic (Death) Metal band confidently cement its leading position in the “one to watch” category. The “Death” description is misleading, and only gets used in the … Continue reading →
Album review: RIOT ACT – Closer To The Flame

Global Rock Records [Release date 01.04.22] This is the debut album from Riot Act, the band initially formed by former ‘classic era’ Riot members Rick Ventura and Lou Kouvaris and it is a must listen to for any classic hard … Continue reading →
Album review: SHINING BLACK – BOALS and THORSEN – Postcards From The End Of The World

Frontiers [Release date: 18.03.22] Shining Black’s 2020 self titled album collaboration was tuned into Hard Rock as much as it was to Melodic Metal. Guitarist, Olaf (Labyrinth, Vision Divine) Thorsen and singer, Mark (Malmsteen, Royal Hunt) Boals’ first musical marriage … Continue reading →
Album review: SHEWOLF – SheWolf

Frontiers [Release date: 18.03.22] Aiming to climb the Power Metal mountain, SheWolf release their self titled debut album this month. Led by stunning Greek vocalist, Angel Wolf-Black, the band, The Hunter (guitars), The Predator (bass) and Alpha (drummer) might sound … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, Angel Wolf-Black, folk, Greek mythology, lockdown, Nightwish, pandemic, power metal, prog, review, Selene, Within Temptation, Wolf
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Album review: NEW HORIZON – Gate Of The Gods

Frontiers [Release date: 11.02.22] New Horizon is a H.E.A.T. splinter group, or splinter duo, to be precise. Being almost famous gives you room to try other things, and so Jonah Tee and Erik Gronwall have been given the opportunity to … Continue reading →
Album review: GHOST – Impera

Loma Vista Recordings [Release date 11.03.22] Papa and the Nameless Ghouls are back with album number 5. The last album, Prequelle, took us back to the time of the Plague, but here we join Ghost in more modern times. The concept … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews, The Best of 2022
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Tagged album, Bon Jovi, Call Me Little Sunshine, Ghost, heavy metal, Hunters Moon, IMPERA, Loma Vista Recordings, Meloria, nameless ghouls, Papa, review, rock, Runaway, Tobias Forge
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Album review: SERIOUS BLACK – Vengeance Is Mine

AFM Records [Release date: 25.02.22] Sixth album from Power Metal band, Serious Black. Their reputation for international membership has continued throughout a 7 years and counting career. German founding member, Roland (Helloween) Grapow bailed early on. US vocalist Urban (Tad … Continue reading →
EP review: THE CRUX – Time and Space

Facebook [Release date 22.04.22] The Crux were founded in 2009 by heavy metal loving brothers James Boyd & Neil Ward. Having released a self-titled EP in 2009 under the name Warcrux, they played multiple shows in Northern Ireland & Ireland … Continue reading →
Posted in ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews, Single and EP reviews
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Tagged album, metal, modern metal, review, the Crux, Time and Space
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Album review: THE RODS – Metal Will Never Die (The Official Bootleg Boxset)

Cherry Red/HNE [Release date: 25.02.22] Metal Will Never Die is an understandable assertion from The Rods, a band who’ve survived multiple assaults on their place in the genre’s popularity over the last 40 years. The band, a trio, consisted of … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album, Bootleg, boxset, David Feinstein, Iron Maiden, live, review, the Rods
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Album review: TRICK OR TREAT – Creepy Symphonies

Scarlet Records [Release date 01.04.22] ‘Creepy Symphonies’ is the seventh studio album from Trick Or Treat, who always entertain with their music. Like Freedom Call, Trick Or Treat like to think of their music as happy metal. Vocalist Alle Conti … Continue reading →
Album review: BATTLE BEAST – Circus of Doom

Nuclear Blast [Release date 21.01.22] Album number six from Battle Beast, after a bit of a gap since 2019’s highly enjoyable ‘No More Hollywood Endings’. Their line-up remains the same, namely Eero Sipilä (bass), Pyry Vikki (drums), Janne Björkroth (keytar), … Continue reading →
Album review: SAXON – Carpe Diem

Silver Lining [Release date 04.02.22] Saxon, one of the world’s most consistent and reliable classic metal bands, a name synonymous with the New Wave Of British Heavy (NWoBHM); there were there at the start in the late 70s. Hits such … Continue reading →
Album review: SONATA ARTICA – Acoustic Adventures: Volume One

Atomic Fire Records [Release date 21.01.22] After Sonata Artica toured in 2016 with an acoustic set and then again in 2019. From these two successful tours the idea was born to capture these versions on two acoustic albums, the second … Continue reading →
Quick plays: BLACKLITE DISTRICT, NORTHTALE

BLACKLITE DISTRICT – 1990 AK19 Entertainment, LLC [Release date 31.12.21] Kyle Pfeiffer is better known by the name Blacklite District and has been releasing music since 2011. The album title gives a little clue to the sounds contained within, as the … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews, Quick Plays
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Tagged 1990, album, Blacklite District, Helloween, Kyle Pfeiffer, metal, modern rock, NorthTale, nu-metal, Nuclear Blast, power metal, review, symphonic metal
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Album review: MINISTRY – Bad Blood, The Mayan Albums, 2002-2005 (4 CDs)

Cherry Red [release date: 17.12.21] There are Industrial Metal bands and there is Ministry. After the breakthrough in 1983, Al Jourgensen’s minimalist metal-in-extremis became the benchmark for the genre pretty rapidly. You could argue that this 4 CD snapshot, originally … Continue reading →
Album review : STAHLMANN – Quarz

AFM Records [release date: 10.12.21] 7th album from German band, Stahlmann. When Rammstein released their first album, in 1995, the German music press coined a new phrase, Neue Deutsch Harte. NDH became a cutting edge calling card for other bands … Continue reading →
Album review: MANIMAL – Armageddon

AFM Records [Release date 3.12.21] Armageddon is Swedish Power Metal band, Manimal’s 6th release. What it lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in bravado and sheer power, with the rough edges sanded down by a bunch of resilient, tough … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged AFM Records, album, Armageddon, Henrik Stenroos, Manimal, power metal, review, Samuel Nyman, Sweden
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Album review: RHAPSODY OF FIRE – Glory For Salvation

AFM Records [Release date 26.11.21] Italian symphonic metal legends Rhapsody (for that is what they were originally called) return with their 13th studio album and is the second in the The Nephilim’s Empire Saga concept series, and follows on from … Continue reading →
Album review : CORROSION OF CONFORMITY – Sleeping Martyr: 2000-2005 (3 CD digipack)

Cherry Red [Release date 26.11.21] The Sleeping Martyr digipak is a cleverly selected three album package from one of the world’s coolest metal bands, Corrosion Of Conformity. All three – America’s Volume Dealer (2000), Live Volume (2001) and In The … Continue reading →
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALL POSTS, PURE METAL (All posts), Pure Metal/Album reviews
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Tagged album. boxset, Cherry Red, COC, heavy metal, John Custer, Metallica, Pepper Keenan, Reed Mullin, Soundgarden, southern rock
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