Iron Maiden

Receiver – Whispers of Lore Review

Receiver – Whispers of Lore Review

By GardensTale on November 14, 2023 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 45 comments

“Despite Iron Maiden being my entry point into metal, NWoBHM has never really been a mainstay in my catalog. Maybe it’s because so few bands could live up to my first flame. Maybe it’s because after my Maiden voyage, I dropped right into the rapids of melodic death metal and it took a while before I rediscovered the appeal of not having harsh vocals. Whatever the case, traditional metal frequently languished on my personal side-line, and it doesn’t deserve that. Perhaps I can make some amends shining a little spotlight on Receiver, a new band with an old sound, hailing from the ever-contested island of Cyprus.” Defend the Isle of Olde!

Angra – Cycles of Pain Review

Angra – Cycles of Pain Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on November 2, 2023 in Reviews, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, 60 comments

“Ten albums down. This landmark tests a band in many ways—not everyone’s destined to land on Defenders of the Faith after all. That vital quality, consistency, remains part of that longevity. And as Angra Metal Guy has stated before “Consistency has been hard to come by for Angra.” At least that was until Secret Garden fell upon the world and took with it those words.” Angra management.

By Fire and Sword – Glory Review

By Fire and Sword – Glory Review

By Steel Druhm on September 18, 2023 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 63 comments

“When Steel sees a band calling themselves By Fire and Sword with an album bearing the simple title of Glory, grand visions of an armored titan hacking his way through demon hordes on a burning, blood-drenched battlefield come to me. Thusly brimming with barbaric bloodlust, your Beloved Lord of Viking Primates seized the full-length debut by these mysterious men from Boise, Idaho. But a funny thing happened as I girded my hairy loins and sharpened my remorseless war grinder. You see, By Fire and Sword aren’t about the kinds of glory attained by disdaining fortune and splitting skulls.” No one expects the Boise Inquisition!

Gridlink – Coronet Juniper Review

Gridlink – Coronet Juniper Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on September 15, 2023 in Reviews, Grind, 87 comments

“Have you ever heard Gridlink’s 2014 opus Longhena? If you haven’t, then you wouldn’t quite understand why your local anime pfp’d grind addict can be found twitching about shouting the pleasures of that modern grind classic, especially in anticipation of this new chapter in the New Jersey grind outfit’s story.” Not the final fantasy!

Stray Gods – Olympus Review

Stray Gods – Olympus Review

By Steel Druhm on June 27, 2023 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 40 comments

“The line between a homage act and a band heavily influenced by a more established outfit is a fine one. Greek metal warriors Stray Gods are located about 500 miles to the former side of that line. Beginning with their 2022 debut Storm the Walls, they showed that they loved one band above all others and that band was… Iron Maiden. The album was like an obsessive love letter to those elder warriors of NWoBHM and it worked well despite being Maiden fanfic. Just over a year later we get the follow-up, Olympus, and little has changed with Stray Gods’s predilections.” Re-up the Irons.

Speedwhore – Visions of a Parallel World Review

Speedwhore – Visions of a Parallel World Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on May 9, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, 31 comments

“The band’s 2015 debut record, The Future Is Now, is a predictable platter of one-dimensional black/thrash riffs with gravelly vocals and the occasional Slayer pig squeal. That album flowed like one thirty-eight-minute track, barely allowing you to process a song before throwing you into the next. In general, the album is standard-fare black/thrash. Eight years later, the band returns with a new outing in the form of Visions of a Parallel World. But, this time, the production is far superior to its predecessor. The rawness is still there, the vocals are lower in the mix, the guitars rule the roost, and the dynamics are pleasing to the ear. The only thing that remains is the songwriting.” Speed kills ladies of the evening.

Lunar – The Illusionist Review

Lunar – The Illusionist Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on March 18, 2023 in Reviews, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 24 comments

“I hold concept albums dearly as a style that occupies many of my most treasured proggy excursions. Cautiously, though, many a lesser outing bloat the barrel of this contentious niche. Confidently Lunarߵs third full-length, The Illusionist, inhabits this realm—a dramatic telling of a magician’s struggle with what his work has made of his own life. We all ask this question to ourselves of a great many things in this world. Was it worth it? Was it worth it to park between the lines when the lifted F-150 went and snagged three spots? Was it worth it to pen 700 or so words when the tags read deathcore?” Deathcore and the Moon.