“Last year in our EP edition of TYMHM, I waxed eloquent about a great little proto-thrash demo from some Wellington, NZ upstarts, Stälker. Their Satanic Panic cassette was such a nasty bit of early speed metal that it garnered the attention of Napalm Records, and this power trio was set to record their full-length debut this year. Enter Shadow of the Sword.” Only a big sword casts a shadow you can enter.
“Accept has been around so long, churning out the same kind of old school Germanic metal that they’ve essentially become a younger, heavier version of AC/DC. This isn’t a bad thing really, as AC/DC is known for consistency and sticking to their (big) guns. Accept has charted a similar course, delivering album after album of rocking 80s style metal with just enough melody and quasi-pop-acumen.” Give in to the rising.
“Nils Patrik Johansson is a busy guy. Over the last two decades, the man’s cashed checks with the on-again, off-again Lion’s Share, the on-hiatus Wuthering Heights, and Civil War, who he recently bailed on because he didn’t have the time (go figure). His work arguably peaked with the momentous output of Astral Doors.” When one war closes, an Astral Door opens.
“Screamer, a group of jovial Norwegian retro-rock revivalists, are putting out their third Hell Machine soon, and there’s a very particular standard by which it ought to be judged. The standard I’m referring to is Audrey Horne’s masterful Pure Heavy, far and away the best record of the retro-rock revival movement.” Mess with Audrey, you get the Horne.
“It’s a brand new year – a fresh beginning for all of our personal stories and a clean, blank slate for metal music. Now is the time to take risks, to be daring, to innovate. Just kidding, it’s actually time for the 17th goddamn album of monochromatic meat n’ taters metal from the unstoppable Germanic horde called Grave Digger.” Well, that de-escalated quickly.
“Following Accept’s 2014 Blind Rage release, on and off guitarist Herman Frank once again cut ties with the long-running and influential Germanic metallers to pursue other musical endeavors, most notably his eponymous solo project. The Devil Rides Out is the third outing from Frank, and like its predecessors, it’s a burly hybrid of vintage Accept and rocking 80s hair metal acts like Dokken and Krokus.” The Devil rocks out.
“Retro is the most marketable term for old junk we’ve ever come up with. The nostalgia driven desire to reproduce the splendor of 20 years ago, regardless of what year it is, pretty much started as soon as ’20 years ago’ no longer meant World War II, and it has only increased in magnitude and ubiquity since then.” We never step on a great line.
“Those looking for great prose don’t turn to a dictionary. Instead, a writer opens up the ol’ Merriam-Webster tome to get himself a clinical definition of whatever word he happens to be unsure about. With that step out of the way, our writer can hopefully make something great using the technical knowledge he gained. While he’ll remember the dictionary definition, it will never be inspiring to him; it will just be a reminder about what the word means and how to use it correctly in context. When listening to Gloryful’s third record, End of the Night, I kept coming back to dictionaries. It sounds like heavy metal and I suppose it technically is.” Glory is for winners.
“Paragon has been nothing but consistent over their 22 year career, releasing album after album of raging Germanic power metal in the same vein as Grave Digger and Iron Savior. Though they’ve had plenty of fun moments, 2012’s Forces of Destruction took a big leap forward in terms of song writing, heaviness and staying power. Coming off their best album to date obviously puts more pressure on the band and perhaps that’s the reason for the 4 year wait for Hell Beyond Hell.” Roll out the Cheese wheel!
“Germanic power metal has really become its own little thing over the years, making it a reliably punchy alternative to the overly pompous, fancy-pantsy, chaos wizardy sounds of traditional Euro-power. One of the better purveyors of this muscular brand of Teutonic terror is Sinbreed.” Manly power metal for manly men (and women).
