Disfuneral – Blood Red Tentacle Review
Once known as, ahem, Herpes, the buzzsaw devotees in Disfuneral distinguish themselves not in aesthetics, necessarily, but where it counts—quality songwriting. Though the Frenchmen’s debut, Blood Red Tentacle, borrows liberally from the Entombed, Grave, and …
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 – …