Heavy Metal

Throne of Iron – Adventure One Review

By Steel Druhm on February 21, 2020 in 2020, Ambient Metal, Heavy Metal, No Remorse Records, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 23 comments

“The inspiration for the Bloomington, Indiana based Throne of Iron came to founder Tucker Thomasson when he heard Mark Shelton, the legendary frontman of cult act Manilla Road, had passed away. The band was created as a way to pay homage to the man and his music as well as Thomasson’s love for Dungeons & Dragons. For a time Throne of Iron functioned as a one-man project, but eventually Thomasson drew supporters to the cause and the debut, Adventure One features a full time raiding party/band/nerd herd.” Chaotic-neutral.

Runescarred – The Distant Infinite Review

By Kenstrosity on February 18, 2020 in 2020, Ambient Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Self-released, Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, Thrash Metal, 20 comments

“Runescarred blend thrash, heavy and progressive metal together into an amalgam that is simultaneously all of those things and its own thing entirely. Immediately upon completing a preliminary spin of The Distant Infinite, bands which first came to mind included The Offering, Nevermore, and Havok.” Prog may be closer than it appears.

TerrifianT – Terrifiant Review

By Huck N Roll on February 17, 2020 in 2020, Belgian Metal, Gates of Hell Records, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Speed Metal, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 27 comments

“Nothing lasts forever. Despite having a very sweet opening run to 2020, I knew that I’d come back down to earth. Three ‘very good’ albums in a row, featuring strong songwriting, production, and vocals, was honestly more than I could have hoped for. Eventually, the system will reset itself, and something mundane will drip down the basement pipes to my desk. Enter TerrifianT, who, yes, capitalize that last ‘T.'” Terror with a capital T.

Vision of Choice – Mistress of the Gods Review

By Holdeneye on February 14, 2020 in 2020, German Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Reviews, ZOUNDR/Fencesound Music, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 47 comments

“And then a record comes along that takes me right back to that storied past and refills my magic bar to 100%. Mistress of the Gods, the debut album from Germany’s Vision of Choice is one of those records. After close to thirty spins of this 57-minute monster, I’m still trying to come up with the best way to describe what it sounds like. Here’s the best I got: take the masculine riffs and baritone bellows of a band like Omen, mix it with some German speed a la Helloween or Blind Guardian, add some eccentric Savatage flair, and round it out with Mötley Crüe and Van Halen, and you might get close.” Hot pocket o’ metal.

Anvil – Legal at Last Review

By GardensTale on February 12, 2020 in 2020, AFM Records, Canadian Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Speed Metal, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, 38 comments

“Not to say Anvil has no semi-classic records to their names, but those were over a dozen albums ago. By now they’ve recorded more than AC/DC, in a shorter time span, yet their sound also shows as much growth as their Australian counterparts. Is the new pro-weed romp another carbon copy or have the fumes brought some inspiration to the geezers?” Anvil is Anvil.

Dead Kosmonaut – Gravitas Review

By Huck N Roll on February 9, 2020 in 2020, Heavy Metal, High Roller Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, 13 comments

“January has been kind to me, and while I haven’t been the overrating bastard that Holdeneye has, I also haven’t had anything bad come my way. Am I just in a good mood? Likely not, since I hate winter. Even this blind dip into the promo bin, Dead Kosmonaut’s second album, Gravitas, has been more than a pleasant surprise, helping pull me out of the winter doldrums with a wholly unexpected sound and style.” Crushed by an anchor.

Yer Metal Is Olde: Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden

By Huck N Roll on February 7, 2020 in 2020, British Metal, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, Yer Metal Is Olde, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, 58 comments

“From my perspective, this is a big year for Yer Metal Is Olde pieces, and it starts off with this piece of work. Iron Maiden wasn’t my first purchase by these legends: that would be The Number of the Beast, when it came out back in 1982. But after being blown away by that album as a twelve-year-old, I quickly gobbled up whatever else I could find – which wasn’t much. A few months later I grabbed my cassette copy of Killers, then the Maiden Japan EP, and finally their debut. So by the time I’d worked my way to this album, well, it confused me a bit. Why?” Eddie is olde.

Sepultura – Quadra Review

By Huck N Roll on February 4, 2020 in 2020, Brazilian Metal, Heavy Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, 63 comments

“Boy, are you all in for a treat today. Our resident Sepultura reviewer, Dr. Fisting, has gone into hiding, conveniently around the time the Quadra promo became available. With nobody else raising their hand, and me having some time on mine, I said “If you want some Canadian idiot to take a stab at it, here I am.” There’s a caveat, though: the number of minutes I’ve spent listening to Sepultura over the past thirty-four years can be counted on one finger. So you’re not getting a review today from some lifelong fan who hates the fact that certain people aren’t in the band anymore.” Tabla rasa.

Lordi – Killection (A Fictional Compilation Album) Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on February 3, 2020 in 2020, AFM Records, Finnish Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, 23 comments

“The rubber costumes, Halloween-themed perversions, and Rob Zombie-meets-’80s hair metal ditties aren’t on the list of ‘Things Metalheads Need.’ Yet, their Gwar-ish concepts spring up every couple of years as the Metal Monster Squad’s own songs (?) summon them via radio shows hosted by either Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider or Rockin’ Ralph Ruiz. And they don’t seem to care if you want what they have to offer or not—even if they’ve done it some ten times in twice as many years. And, only God/Satan knows, but there’s a handful of you sick sonsabitches out there that enjoy this crap. So, this review of Killection (A Fictional Compilation Album) is for you. Be ashamed of yourself.” Monster, Inc.

Ironflame – Blood Red Victory Review

By Holdeneye on February 3, 2020 in 2020, American Metal, Divebomb Records, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 34 comments

“Born in America’s literal heart of steel, Ironflame makes music that lives and breathes those heroic values. The brainchild of one Andrew D’Cagna (Nechochwen, ex-Obsequiae), the band specializes in true heavy metal, championing the styles of their musical forbears in Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Dio.” Blood for the power gods!