Holdeneye

When you wield the 4hammer, every album looks like a nail.

Sins of the Damned – Striking the Bell of Death Review

By Holdeneye on May 2, 2019 in 2019, Chilean Metal, Reviews, Shadow Kingdom Records, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, 59 comments

“Where exactly does speed metal stop and thrash begin? It’s a question that pops into my head nearly every time I listen to a speed metal album, but I’ve never come up with an answer that satisfies me. I’ve searched online and found different explanations: “thrash has punk in it, speed doesn’t” or “thrash has harsh vocals, speed doesn’t” or “speed metal is essentially sped-up traditional metal while thrash is extreme metal” or “thrash uses the low E-string to build riffs” or “blah, blah, blah.” There’s some truth to all of these, but I still have no idea how to describe the difference in a definitive way.” Fine and fast lines.

Sinnrs – Profound Review

By Holdeneye on April 30, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Danish Metal, Death Metal, Extreme Metal Music, Reviews, Symphonic Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Symphonic Metal, 37 comments

“I still remember the first time that I heard King by Fleshgod Apocalypse. The mixture of over-the-top symphonic arrangements with death metal hit me hard, and it remains one of my favorite albums of the last five years (or more). I had heard the style before, but King was the first album that showed me what can truly be accomplished when a band nails the perfect ratio of these ingredients. I eagerly await the follow-up to that great album with hype and trembling, but I thought I’d distract myself by picking up Profound, the debut from Danish duo Sinnrs, in the meantime.” Fleshgod for filthy sinnrs.

Inculter – Fatal Visions Review

By Holdeneye on April 12, 2019 in 2019, Edged Circle Productions, Norwegian Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 128 comments

“What is an Inculter? Is it the person sitting behind the registration table at your local religious cult convention? You know, the one who greets you, helps you select the appropriate cult, provides the correct forms for you to fill out, and introduces you to the last family you’ll ever have? Or could it be that all-important person involved in the metal production process who is directly responsible for injecting the proper amount of cvltness into the music?” The cult of fatality.

Parallel Minds – Every Hour Wounds… The Last One Kills Review

By Holdeneye on April 2, 2019 in 2019, French Metal, Groove Metal, Pitch Black Records, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Groove Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, 86 comments

A quick glance at my bio will reveal that besides large helpings of bourbon, red meat, and snuggling, the quickest way to the Hol where my heart should reside is groove and thrash infused heavy/power metal. If asked to pack my metal suitcase for an involuntary extended stay upon a remote desert island, I would probably just quickly raid the discographies of Nevermore, Iced Earth, Theocracy, and Symphony X and call it good. So, anytime a band gets compared to any of these genre heavyweights I must take notice. Needless to say, such comparisons mandated that I pick up Every Hour Wounds… The Last One Kills, the sophomore album from French band Parallel Minds.” The mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Hell Fire – Mania Review

By Holdeneye on March 31, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, RidingEasy Records, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, 32 comments

For today’s lesson, we’ll have to travel back in time to the years 1-4 BTH (Before the Hol) or what is more commonly known as ’80-’84. I recently confessed my love for olde things and today we’ll expand upon that theme. I often find myself thinking that all of the cool music was either written shortly before or shortly after I was born, and the olde timers among you will probably agree with this sentiment. As my musical tastes expand, there’s still something about early ’80s metal that has me tethered like the umbilical cord that I sported back then. Mania is the third album from San Francisco’s Hell Fire, and it firmly plants its flag in the aforementioned chronological sweet zone.” Golden age and ageism.

Bloodthirst – I Am Part of That Power Which Eternally Wills Evil and Eternally Works Wrong Review

By Holdeneye on March 24, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Pagan Records, Polish Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, 49 comments

“Nietzsche and metal. It’s a match made in Hell! A hasty glance at either by the uninitiated (or sometimes even the intimately familiar) will reveal themes of nihilism, misanthropy, power, and hatred of religion. Most people familiar with metal know that while these themes are indeed to be found in our favorite music. There is an entire world of nuance and diversity of thought to be found by those willing to take the time to dive down below the surface. Much the same with Nietzsche, I suppose.” Hidden supermen.

Ashen Horde – Fallen Cathedrals Review

By Holdeneye on March 21, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Extreme Metal Music, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Rockshots Records, Black Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 151 comments

“2018 saw my tastes begin to shift. The power metal that brought me to the dance — while still producing some gems for the year — had to watch as blackened death metal swept me off my feet and took me home once the music had stopped. A full half of my top ten for the year — and all of my top four — could have been tagged (arguably) with both “black” and “death.” While I enjoy albums of each genre on their own, there’s something about the two being combined in interesting ways that really gets my juices flowing (this is your cue to don eye protection). Hence, my interest in Los Angeles’ Ashen Horde, the proggy black/death project of multi-instrumentalist Trevor Portz and Inferi / Equipoise vocalist Steve Boiser.” Ash Hoarders unite!

Athanasia – The Order of the Silver Compass Review

By Holdeneye on March 21, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Hard Rock, Metalcore, Nu-metal, Reviews, Rock of Angels Records, Hard Rock, Metalcore, Nu Metal, 60 comments

“Our eventual overlords may be capable of incredible feats of logic and science, but they are still in their infancy when it comes to matters pertaining to the human heart. There’s something about how humans process emotional cues and meaning that the machines haven’t mastered and it shows when they’re tasked with creative work. Now, this is a metal blog, so you can probably guess where I’m going with this. What would it sound like if AI were to create a metal album to be marketed to the masses?” By the numbers.

Omicida – Defrauded Reign Review

By Holdeneye on March 18, 2019 in 2019, British Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 44 comments

“Why fight such labels? It’s far easier to lean in and double down! With this in mind, I’ve been champing at the bit to issue my first 5.0 rating because I’ve found that dismemberment is best handled like ripping off a Band-aid. Why wait? Naturally, I picked up the sophomore album from London (via Los Angeles) band Omicida, as two of its members have spent time in AMG darling White Wizzard, with one of them (drummer Giovanni Durst) even attaining Happy Metalperfection.” You were told not to speak of them.

Forged in Black – Descent of the Serpent Review

By Holdeneye on March 15, 2019 in 2019, British Metal, Fighter Records, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, 44 comments

“My foray into the world of metal music proceeded with a two-pronged approach. Killswitch Engage ushered me in through the metalcore gate by which many of my generation have found their metal calling. It didn’t take long for this path to lead me into the rich territory of modern extreme metal, and I surveyed the land and found it to be good. But around the time that I was first hearing “The End of Heartache” on the radio, a friend of mine showed me a band that he had seen on VH1’s 40 Most Awesomely Bad Metal Songs. The band was Manowar, and what my friend meant for laughs struck a very serious chord within me.” Heart of steel and serpents.