Avantasia – Moonglow Review
Heavy metal is not, nor has it ever particularly been, a single thing. Those in search of some mythical heavy metal purity, some Ur-text that forms a blueprint from which all deviations are heretical, are …
Diamonds & Rust: Cradle Of Filth – The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh
No, really, I’m not here to make you care about Cradle of Filth. If you’ve wandered the dusty hallways of heavy metal for even a relatively scanty amount of time, Cradle of Filth has been …
The Forest Whispers My Name – A Nordvis Produktion Spotlight
Of the many elements of a successful record label, perhaps one of the most difficult to achieve is a unified aesthetic. While it’s not a prerequisite for success – and certainly, the larger the label, …
Yerûšelem – The Sublime Review
For a band that was originally shrouded in a fair bit of mystery and anonymity, Blut Aus Nord has come perilously close to oversaturating its own relatively niche market. Although Vindsval and company have slowed …
Best Of 2018 – Dan Obstkrieg: Hi, Hello, How Are You? Here Is Some Music.
I am skeptical of certainty. I suppose that’s a strange lead-in to an article in which I share my ostensibly well-reasoned opinions as to which albums released this year are the best. But yes, the …
Vouna – Vouna Review
The self-titled debut album from the Washington State-based project Vouna is a relatively simple, immersive album, yet it draws elements from a number of styles. The tempo and ragged synths are funeral doom, the melancholy …
Madder Mortem – Marrow Review
Album titles are usually a crapshoot, an afterthought, a nothing. Do you think Necro Zombie Pus Slurper spent more than ten seconds debating whether to call their latest album Dawn of the Dead Necro-Morts or …
Dire Peril – The Extraterrestrial Compendium Review
Dire Peril’s long-gestating debut full-length The Extraterrestrial Compendium is something of an unexpected gift in a year that has already seen new albums from guitarist Jason Ashcraft’s other band Helion Prime and vocalist John Yelland’s …