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 …
Power Paladin – With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel Review
Icelandic power metal with heavy leanings is the kind of thing that immediately piques my interest. And the heavy part is not something I’d particularly expect looking at the richly textured, very much fantasy-based, (and …
Eternal Evil – The Warriors Awakening Brings The Unholy Slaughter Review
Fast Rites: because sometimes brevity is fundamental. Whatever the band’s conscious influences may be, Eternal Evil’s The Warriors Awakening Brings the Unholy Slaughter sounds Teutonic in aesthetic. From the unrelentingly guitar-forward POV to the frantic …
Best of 2021 – Chris C: It’s Been A Year
This has been a strange year in music. Blood Incantation announced their hour-long, ambient Century Media debut. Andi Deris proved the best bobbing head on the new and remarkable Helloween hydra. Melodic black metal not …