Azaab – Summoning The Cataclysm Review
Surprises are relatively rare in this age of hyper-publicity. Yet every once in a while something like Azaab’s Summoning the Cataclysm falls from the sky to clock you in the noggin before landing at your …
Heltekvad – Morgenrødens Helvedesherre Review
[Artwork: João de Sá from a 16th century anonymous Flemish painting, The King’s Fountain] With Heltekvad, Ole Pedersen Luk of Afsky sacrifices little aggression in adopting a medieval theme. And though I am still not …
Vampirska – Vermilion Apparitions Frozen in Chimera Twilight Review
I had only heard of — but not actually heard — Vampirska before listening to Vermilion Apparitions Frozen in Chimera Twilight. From the little I had read, I expected something more chaotic and orthodox than …
Sabaton – The War To End All Wars Review
There’s something strangely exotic about a band as committed to its aesthetic as Sabaton. Appreciating the differences from one album to the next is less about stylistic shifts than about pace and tone. Not that …
Star One – Revel In Time Review
If nothing else, Star One’s Revel in Time – like many, if not all of Arjen Lucassen’s artistic endeavors – is an event. That someone who commits himself only to music that appears to reflect …
Achelous – The Icewind Chronicles Review
Knowing nothing about R.A. Salvatore’s Icewind Dale trilogy, I am not the absolute, dead-on target demographic for Achelous’s The Icewind Chronicles. With song titles like “Mithril Hall” and “Halfling’s Gem,” the album has a fairly …
The Mist From The Mountains – Monumental – The Temple Of Twilight Review
With a nifty logo, nature-based cover art, and winter timeliness on their side, Finland’s The Mist From The Mountains release their first full-length of melodic black metal, Monumental – The Temple of Twilight. Monumental – …
Gore Brigade – Gore Brigade Review
Gore Brigade hides nothing. From the decomposed, hanging, and skin-stretched body on the cover art to song titles such as “Show Me the Gore” and “The Rot Becomes You,” the band’s first, self-titled EP keeps …