English Metal

Reign of Fury – Exorcise Reality [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]

By Dr. A.N. Grier on December 6, 2019 in 2019, English Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Things You Might Have Missed 2019, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 12 comments

“I can’t believe it’s been four years since I first listened to Reign of Fury. For those of you that don’t remember, or weren’t alive during that time, Reign of Fury’s 2015 release, Death Be Thy Shepherd, was so good it landed atop my year-end list. As I read over the words I wrote long ago, three things are clear. First, I’m still a shitty writer. Second, boy, a lot has changed in what seemed like a perfect life for ole Grier. Third, Exorcise Reality is no Death Be Thy Shepherd, Part Deux.” Reality bites.

Fen – The Dead Light Review

By Doom_et_Al on December 4, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, English Metal, Post-metal, Prophecy Productions, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 56 comments

“The bleak and harsh Canadian Winter has drawn us into her icy bosom. Days are short, temperatures are lower than the last run of scores I’ve given, and rain and snow abound. It’s the perfect weather for the frosty kiss of good atmospheric black metal, and yet there has been a relative dearth recently. The English trio of Fen aim to change all that with their sixth release, The Dead Light.” Fen is coming.

Aggressive Perfector – Havoc at the Midnight Hour Review

By Steel Druhm on November 21, 2019 in 2019, Dying Victims Productions, English Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 16 comments

“It’s clearly throwback week in the House ov Steel. No sooner do I crash land after high speed sledding through the 80s with Warsenal than I find myself prematurely buried in the creepy graveyard of 80s metal curated by England’s Aggressive Perfector. With a sound stuck in the mire between Mercyful Fate and Venom, and at times digging in the same graves that Deceased made a career out of defiling, their debut drags the unsuspecting listener through a horror revival of all the charmingly slimy metal hits of the 80s.” Havoc panic.

Angel Witch – Angel of Light Review

By Steel Druhm on November 1, 2019 in 2019, English Metal, Heavy Metal, Metal Blade, NWOBHM, Reviews, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, 42 comments

“Angel Witch is a name most of you have heard before even if you never actually heard their music. They were one of the earliest of NWoBHM acts, and along with Iron Maiden, Saxon, Diamond Head and others, they helped create a new style of music, launching heavy metal’s popularity to new heights and paving the way for the glorious 80s metal renaissance. Their debut was a quasi-classic in the genre and a fine example of the NWoBHM style, sounding like a a cross between early Def Leppard and Witchfinder General. Followups were more stripped down and rock ready, but the band was quickly overshadowed by several of their contemporaries, and though their output was solid, by 1986 it was all but over for the English rockers.” Old wave in the new age.

Dawn Ray’d – Behold Sedition Plainsong Review

By Roquentin on October 25, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, British Metal, English Metal, Prosthetic Records, Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 86 comments

“Pyres become beacons as flames rise with a dangerously bright burn, lick the sky, and drape the green banks of the Sava river in a majestic red glow. It’s a transporting and defiant occasion: the roaring fires ignite our inner blaze and unite us in remembrance of Partisans like my grandfather that on May 8th, 1945 freed Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, from occupying Nazi (and collaborationist) forces. These memories of the Trnje bonfires flicker in my mind while I listen to Behold Sedition Plainsong, the second full-length of Liverpool black metal trio Dawn Ray’d. Because this is a music of awakening that sweeps away the waters of Lethe meant to make us forget what the liberation from occupation and similar historic moments stood for then and today.” Music with a cause.

Ark Ascent – Downfall Review

By Twelve on September 26, 2019 in 2019, Ascent Records, English Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, 12 comments

Debut releases are weird; you never can know what you’re going to get. Sometimes debut means one-man black metal who just discovered GarageBand. Debut can mean hidden talent of Lethbridge, Alberta unmasking themselves for a world unprepared. Or it can mean a group of already-established musicians getting together and deciding to try something new. So […]

Deadwood Lake – Immortalised in Death Review

By Emya on August 14, 2019 in 2019, English Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, UKEM Records, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 15 comments

“Sparkling cool water gently thrums against a piece of driftwood. A tiny squirrel scurries through the underbrush. I sit atop a picnic bench beside the rock strewn shore of Diamond Lake in southern Oregon mulling over how to articulate my heavy thoughts regarding an album by a band with a similar name to the very lake I overlook. When asked how they got their name, melodic atmospheric black metal band Deadwood Lake’s response is simply “we just thought it sounded cool.” It turns out that there is in fact a body of water in northern Wisconsin with the same sinister name as this relatively new yet prolific addition to the UK’s atmoblack scene.” Death at the lake.

Dream Tröll – “I Will Not Die Today” Video Premiere and Second to None Review

By Eldritch Elitist on July 3, 2019 in 2019, English Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 56 comments

“Dream Tröll. It’s a weird-ass pairing of words even in the realm of metal bands, yet one that glides off the tongue, despite every synapse in my brain screaming “That’s not right!” Sonically speaking, Dream Tröll is beholden to convention, but their splicing of genres is handled so ingeniously as to make such an unclassifiable name somehow fitting. It’s easy to draw correlations between traditional metal, power metal, and good ol’ fashioned rock ‘n roll, yet Dream Tröll plays with these tropes in delightfully unexpected ways, resulting in a distinct sound displaced from any defined era of metal music.” Trölling with the oldies.

Gorilla -Treecreeper Review

By Steel Druhm on June 20, 2019 in 2019, English Metal, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Reviews, Stoner Metal, Stoner Metal, 29 comments

“The AMG promo sump is stuffed to the rafters with glowing PR spin about how this band redefines genre X and that band takes sub-genre Y into realms hitherto unheard. Most of it is utter crap and as accurate as your average public access channel psychic reading. Not so with the debut full-length by U.K.’s Gorilla however, who describe their sound as “F*ck the safety net heavy rock n’ roll.”” Ape cake for all.

Savage Messiah – Demons Review

By Holdeneye on May 27, 2019 in 2019, Century Media, English Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, 85 comments

“During high school, I loved our local hard rock station, Funky Monkey, and it was integral in the development of my bad musical taste. The best feature was the tough guy voice that gave you the name of the band and the song title after each track had played, allowing me to quickly categorize which bands I did and didn’t like. But when I got my first iPod, all of that changed. Sure, I had a giant book of CDs that I had kept hidden in my car for when the radio wasn’t cutting it, but being able to load a tiny device with tons of songs was a game changer. Before long, I’d left most mainstream rock and metal behind and was listening to all things cheesy and trve.” The more things change….