Aug20

Night Laser – Power to Power Review

Night Laser – Power to Power Review

By Steel Druhm on August 26, 2020 in Reviews, Glam Metal, Hair Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 24 comments

“Allow me to be upfront with you all. I only took this promo to stop Holdeneye from getting his grubby, overly generous meat mittens on it and awarding it a Skelatorian 4.0 regardless of intrinsic goodism. Such selfless promo blocks are required of the one who bears the title of Lord Protector of AMG’s Metal Cred, and I’m just doing what other mighty heroes from history would do in my stead. It takes a toll though, as Night Laser burns brightly with cheese-tastic awfulness on third album Power to Power.” POWERS outage.

Vanishing Point – Dead Elysium Review

Vanishing Point – Dead Elysium Review

By Steel Druhm on August 26, 2020 in Reviews, Progressive Metal, 12 comments

“It looks like Olde Man Huck and I are carrying the entire prog-power burden on our creaky, arthritic shoulders these days. With Awake by Design and Assignment already offloaded, I’m lugging the new Vanishing Point opus to the finish line all by my aged lonesome. This long-running Aussie prog act has been silent since releasing Distant is the Sun way back in 2014 and I’d given them up for dead, but here they are with their sixth album Dead Elysium and a new drummer and bassist in tow.” Unvanished.

Wills Dissolve – Echoes Review and Album Premiere

Wills Dissolve – Echoes Review and Album Premiere

By GardensTale on August 25, 2020 in Reviews, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, 3 comments

“The single-song album is an art unto itself. I am not a musician, but I can imagine the entire flow of writing changes. How do you balance unity and variety? How often do you bring back certain motifs? Is it even possible to have something resembling a chorus? Questions that undoubtedly plagued Wills Dissolve during the writing and recording of their sophomore album Echoes, a cosmically-themed slab of progressive metal that doesn’t stop until it’s done.” Space madness.

The Projectionist – Under the Cruel Glow of Terror Review

The Projectionist – Under the Cruel Glow of Terror Review

By Dear Hollow on August 24, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Noise, Thrash Metal, 24 comments

“Every year is the same. I write reviews all summer long, getting into a rhythm in the hopes that I’ll be able to continue these habits into the school year, but every year – nope. I need to take a week, sometimes two, to adjust to kids, staff, and district breathing down my neck before I can hit the ground running with a new batch of fall promos. So with all this going on, a new learning management system, and COVID looming at our doors, I pray to the Metal Gods above that they bless me with something good as I shuffle through perpetual exhaustion for two weeks. Will The Projectionist shed some light into my gloom?” Be cruel to your school (teacher).

The Devil’s Trade – The Call of the Iron Peak

The Devil’s Trade – The Call of the Iron Peak

By Kenstrosity on August 24, 2020 in Reviews, Folk, 37 comments

“This album couldn’t have come at a better time, nor could it have come at a worse time. As dark and defeated as any piece of music I sampled these two years writing for this blog, The Devil’s Trade’s Season of Mist debut The Call of the Iron Peak simultaneously captures the disillusioned despair and troubled spirit of our world and drags me down below that threshold towards a core of utter emptiness sourced from the very soul of sole songwriter Dávid Makó.” Iron sharpens despair.

Silver Knife – Unyielding/Unseeing Review

Silver Knife – Unyielding/Unseeing Review

By Akerblogger on August 23, 2020 in Reviews, Black Metal, 21 comments

“Silver Knife’s sound is driven by an “aggressive melancholy.” The scathing edge to their knife is laced with poison, ready to slice through the next layer, ready to inflict greater pain. A reinvigorating dose of melancholic black metal has been missing from 2020. This year needs a realistic soundtrack. The depressive duo of Silver Knife met before the world collapsed in 2008. Dutch multi-instrumentalist N. (most known for being one of the three masterminds behind weird black trio Laster) and Belgian S. (most known for wielding the axe for Hypothermia, Trancelike Void and Monads) have painted a collaborative picture of melancholic dread with Unyielding/Unseeing, their first release.” Knife life.

Volcanova – Radical Waves Review

Volcanova – Radical Waves Review

By Steel Druhm on August 22, 2020 in Reviews, 14 comments

“When you see the word “Iceland” floating on the oily surface of the promo sump, your thoughts turn immediately to black metal. That’s been Iceland’s chief metal export for some time now and the scene is well regarded and expanding. You certainly wouldn’t think of that exotic locale as the home of desert stoner rock, but Volcanova is out to change that with their fuzzed out debut Radical Waves.” Smoke on the ice.

Sound of Origin – The All Seeing Eye Review

Sound of Origin – The All Seeing Eye Review

By Doom_et_Al on August 22, 2020 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 19 comments

“The All Seeing Eye is a dense, heavy slab of bluesy, stoner doom, mixed with some sludge, which pays clear homage to its influences (Black Sabbath, Kyuss), without being an obvious rip-off. Where it differs from its EP predecessor is the delightfully nasty edge that Bulsara’s vocals provide.” Angry stoners.