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Category Archives: Pure Metal/Album reviews
Album review: BOREALIS – Illusions
AFM Records [Release date: 07.10.22] Four years after The Offering, underrated and often overlooked Canadian metal soundscape supremos, Borealis, step up a gear with new album, Illusion. This is a metal band impossible to categorise. Anyone who thought they were … Continue reading
Album review: IMPELLITTERI – Wake The Beast (3 CD anthology)
Global Rock Records [Release date: 30.09.22] New kids on the block, Global Rock Records have recently licensed Impellitteri’s total back catalogue. That is quite a coup for a non-major label. This 3 CD anthology, Wake The Beast, curated by Chris … Continue reading
Album review: IRON SAVIOR – Reforged Ironbound Volume 2
AFM Records [release date: 26.08.22] You could argue that Piet Sielck and Kai (Gamma Ray) Hansen kick started the entire Power Metal genre in Europe when the former Helloween bandmates formed Iron Savior in 1996. That was then. More recently, … Continue reading
Album review: DYNAZTY – Final Advent
AFM Records [Release date: 26.08.22] Guided by Love Magnusson and Nils Molin, the band’s influential guitarist and vocalist respectively, Dynazty successfully transitioned from melodic rock to symphonic rock several albums ago, with 2018′s Firesign getting the target “formula” just right. … Continue reading
Album review: SOIL – Play It Forward
Cleopatra Records [Release date 26.08.22] A covers album from Soil whose last studio album was released back in 2013, so this covers album should keep their fans happy, even if it contains no new original songs. ‘Playing It Forward’ is … Continue reading
Album review: JOHN STEEL – Distorted Reality
Global Rock [Release date: 15.07.22] This 3 album/double CD set from Ivan Stalev (John Steel) is quite a coup for SFM’s new metal/rock spinoff label, Global Rock. Effectively, the package backs up the release of Steel’s new album, Distorted Reality, … Continue reading
Album review: PAUL DI’ANNO’s BATTLEZONE – Killers in The Battlezone (3CD Boxset)
Cherry Red [release date: 24.06.22] The career of the currently wheelchair bound singer, Paul Di’Anno has been a journey of detours, dead ends, drug addiction and detainment. His public profile as a musician began with heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. … Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
