Cirith Ungol

Argus – Beyond the Martyrs Review

By Steel Druhm on September 10, 2013 in 2013, American Metal, Cruz Del Sur, Doom Metal, Epic Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Epic Metal, Heavy Metal, 6 comments

“Argus is one of the leaders in the “trve,” “cvlt” metal wave ov late. They specialize in the kind of muscular battle metal that makes you long for the days of swords, sandals and institutionally approved beer wenching and you can almost feel the hair on your back growing as you spin their odes to brotherhood and bravado. Long have they toiled to perfect their blend of Iron Maiden riffs, the doom-based power of Candlemass, Grand Magus and Doomsword and the oiled pectoral charm of Manowar.” Ready for some no nonsense, old school metal from the days of High Adventure? You better be because Argus is back to kick ass and chew bubble gum and they’re ALL outta bubble gum.

Church of Void – Dead Rising Review

By Steel Druhm on August 19, 2013 in 2.5, 2013, Doom Metal, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Doom Metal, 0 comments

“Church of Void is a young upstart Finnish doom band, but they like to bill themselves as the spearhead of the “new wave of traditional heavy doom metal.” While that might be putting the cart before the dead horse quite a bit for an obscure band, I admire their hyperbole and moxie. Featuring former members of Battlelore and Horna, they play a slightly amorphous style of doom that skips between 70s Sabbath worshipping acts like Orchid and Hour of 13, modern doom like Katatonia and even stoner rock like Monster Magnet.” Can a young band lead the way in a style so old and gnarly? Steel Druhm is also old and gnarly so we asked him.

Sinister Realm – World of Evil Review

By Steel Druhm on July 20, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, American Metal, Doom Metal, Epic Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Shadow Kingdom Records, Doom Metal, Epic Metal, Heavy Metal, 8 comments

“If there’s one type of retro metal I never tire of, it’s the kind that goes for the old school, traditional, “trve metal” sound from the early 80s like Cirith Ungol and Manilla Road. Of the few bands out there using this style as a main influence, my favorite is Sinister Realm (though Argus comes really close). I really enjoyed their debut, but they raised their game bigtime for 2011s The Crystal Eye opus and it ended up one of my favorite albums of the year. Utilizing a stripped down, zero-bullshit approach with a slight epic feel and incorporating doom, NWoBHM and early America metal influences, they found a winning formula and crafted some really memorable tunes.” Steel Druhm is old so it should come as no surprise he likes stuff that sounds old. Sinister Realm is old school, cvlt, trve and any other V instead of U word. So is this a match worthy of eHarmony?

Mortillery – Origin of Extinction Review

By Steel Druhm on February 25, 2013 in 2013, 3.5, Canadian Metal, Napalm Records, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Thrash Metal, 3 comments

“In the sea of mediocre re-thrash that was 2012, the unheralded debut by Canadian upstarts Mortillery was one of the few life rafts of quality. Murder, Death, Kill was tongue-in-cheek fun and had all the flavor of the second wave of ’80s thrash while incorporating just enough traditional metal and punk elements to keep things interesting. You could feel the youthful exuberance and hunger in the band’s music and they greatly benefited from the exception vocals of Cara McCutchen and the axe slinging acumen of Alex Scott and Alex Guitierrez.” Steel Druhm happily trotted out the skull tank of rethrash for 2012s Mortillery debut, and now they’re back with a follow-up! Will that tank start up again after sitting all year?

Hellwell – Beyond the Boundaries of Sin

By Steel Druhm on September 29, 2012 in 2012, 4.5, American Metal, Epic Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Shadow Kingdom Records, Heavy Metal, 5 comments

Manilla Road is an institution in the metal world and deserve many accolades. However, their last album bummed Steel Druhm out bigtime. Now, Hellwell, the Manilla-fueled side project of Mark Shelton is here to right the wrongs and kill with songs. Steel Druhm is happy again and back in the Cthulhu cult where he belongs. Join him…

Dawnbringer – Into the Lair of the Sun God Review

By Steel Druhm on June 7, 2012 in 2012, 4.5, American Metal, Heavy Metal, Profound Lore Records, Reviews, Heavy Metal, 14 comments

Chris Black has this little act called Dawnbringer….they kinda rule.

Sinister Realm – The Crystal Eye Review

By Steel Druhm on August 17, 2011 in 2011, 4.5, American Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Shadow Kingdom Records, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, 6 comments

I think we’re finally approaching the tipping point for 80’s retro metal. By that I mean if these 80’s worship albums keep coming, the space-time continuum will shift and we’ll all get dumped back in the 80’s for reals. That would pose problems for me since I no longer own parachute pants and high tops. Despite the obvious perils we all face, if the retro releases sound as good as Sinister Realm, I’ll take my chances. These stalwart retro rockers from Pennsylvania released a killer self titled debut in 2009 and it was one of the best albums that year that no one knew about or heard. Undeterred, they rise again with The Crystal Eye and its more quality, righteous metal for the masses. Sounding like a mash up of Argus, Manowar, Cirith Ungol and Heaven and Hell era Black Sabbath, Sinister Realm excels at stripped down but classy traditional metal with a doom influence. Its straight forward, no nonsense, rocked out metal and I have to say, I love it. There’s more balls on display over the course of this album than a lot of bands show over a career. Simple at times, heavy all the time and exceptionally catchy, this may finally get these sinister ones some well deserved attention.

The Living Fields – Running Out of Daylight Review

By Steel Druhm on August 10, 2011 in 2.5, 2011, American Metal, Avante Garde, Candlelight, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, 3 comments

Now this was a tough album to review. I had a devil of a time trying to get through the music and honestly couldn’t even figure out what genre, sub-genre or sub-sub-genre these Chicago progressive metallers belonged in. You see, The Living Fields are so all over the place with their sound on their sophomore release Running Out of Daylight, they utterly defy conventional pigeonholing. At various times during the album’s playtime, they touch on ambient, darkwave, post rock, black metal, death metal, doom metal, folk and power metal. Yes, they cover their bases fully. In some ways these chaps could be called a more linear and rational version of Therion. They have all the same orchestration, pomp and variety and sport multiple vocalists of varying styles. However, they lack Therion’s lunatic charm, off the rails approach and overall entertainment factor. Although far more restrained in their songwriting, their compositions have a cold feeling and lack of cohesion that made it very difficult to get into. While I can’t dispute their creativity and musical ability, this is a strangely distant album that has resisted all my efforts to enjoy it in a meaningful way. It’s also a very challenging album to describe so stick with Steel Druhm and he will do his bestest.

Manilla Road – Playground of the Damned Review

By Steel Druhm on July 29, 2011 in 2.5, 2011, American Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Shadow Kingdom Records, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, 9 comments

Manilla Road, thy name is cult! These aged metallers from Kansas have been keeping it “true” since before the 80’s. Over their long existence they released no less than fourteen albums of old school, vintage metal to the acclaim of a small but loyal niche following. Led by guitarist/singer Mark “The Shark” Shelton, they’ve plumbed the depths of 70’s and early 80’s metal, some albums sounding like old Cirith Ungol, some moving closer to Manowar, Doomsword and Slough Feg. They’ve always lived in that realm between classic metal and doom and their discography has its great moments (and a few missteps as well). In some circles these guys have attained legendary status and while they clearly deserve it for dedication, I never thought their material was all that consistent. However, I always find myself rooting for them to succeed. I did so again with their fifteenth album Playground of the Damned, but I’m not too thrilled with the end product. Like some prior albums, there are great moments but some cringy ones as well. Definitely an acquired taste and not for everyone, this is one of those bands you really have to hear for yourself. However, I will endeavor to do my humble best to describe what lies within as only the Lord High Protector Steel Druhm can.

Steel Druhm’s Best Heavy Metal Songs of All Time 40-31

By Steel Druhm on April 7, 2011 in Blog Posts, 12 comments

You know, I’ve had some quiet, introspective time to think about this whole “best songs list” thing. Maybe we’re wasting our time preaching about our metal cred. Maybe Gibson’s list is just as valid as Angry Metal Guy’s (50-41, 40-31) list or my list (50-41). I’m sure many of you out there have your own lists and they’re great too. As I mulled this over and over, I more I was forced to finally accept that my list is the one true list and superior to all others (except mine, of course – AMG). Now that we cleared that up, here’s more of THE List (that is right below Angry Metal Guy’s list on the pecking order – AMG).