Nuclear Blast

Avantasia – The Wicked Symphony Review

By Steel Druhm on April 26, 2010 in 2010, 4.0, Nuclear Blast, Power Metal, Reviews, 4 comments

So here we have The Wicked Symphony, one of two new albums released this week by Avantasia, the brainchild of one Tobias Sammet (Angel of Babylon being the companion album). Many of you likely know Mr. Sammet as the singer of German power metallers Edguy. Avantasia is his long running mega-sized side project where he collaborates with varied musicians across the metal/hard rock spectrum and experiments with moods and sounds that might not necessarily fit within the paradigm of the more straightforward Edguy. Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon complete the trilogy started by 2008’s Scarecrow album. For an easy point of reference, think of Avantasia as a more metalized and less (but still quite) self-indulgent version of Ayreon.

Cathedral – The Guessing Game Review

By Lord Doom on April 19, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, Doom Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, 2 comments

After five long years, doom metal fans everywhere are graced with a new record from Coventry occultists, Cathedral. At thirteen tracks on two discs, The Guessing Game seems a fitting followup to 2005’s doom epic, The Garden of Unearthly Delights, which this angry metal guy thinks was their finest offering since their first three albums. All the elements are here – the same line up since Carnival Bizarre; groovy riffs; trippy cover art by Dave Patchett; the usual mix of mythology, literature and occultism that makes Cathedral’s lyrics so much fun to listen to and read – but does that guarantee a stellar album.

Tarot – Gravity of Light Review

By Steel Druhm on April 19, 2010 in 2010, 3.0, Finnish Metal, Nuclear Blast, Power Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, 2 comments

Talk about a long-suffering, unheralded and unsung band! Tarot has been slogging through the metal trenches in relative obscurity outside of their native Finland since 1986. For many non-Finnish folk (myself included), Tarot was an unknown quantity until lead singer and founder Marco Hietala joined up with Nightwish in 2002 for their Century’s Child outing, thereby drawing much needed attention to his primary recording outfit. It has been nearly four years since 2006’s Crows Fly Black, but finally the metal underdogs of Tarot are back in action with their eighth album, Gravity of Light.

Rhapsody of Fire – The Frozen Tears of Angels Review

By Angry Metal Guy on April 16, 2010 in 2010, 5.0, Cock Rock, Nuclear Blast, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, 4 comments

It seems forever since Italian power metallers, and just generally over-the-top crafters of Symphonic Hollywood Metal (or as I called it in one of my very earliest reviews “Sword Swinging Elf Metal”) produced an album. And really, in terms of the modern music industry it has been a very long time. Rhapsody of Fire’s last album, Triumph or Agony, was released in 2006 to almost no fanfare. I didn’t see a single advertisement for the album, I never knew that it was being released and I had no idea that they had even been working on a new album at all. One day I just walked into my local record store and saw it on the shelf there. The total lack of build-up foreshadowed how I felt about the album, and frankly the record that had gone before it: it lacked what I was looking for in a Rhapsody of Fire album. The guitar orientation was gone, the songs were not as huge, the guitar not as bombastic and the feel was generally one that I just could never really get into. Both Symphony of Enchanted Lands pt. II and Triumph or Agony, while technically filling the standards set by the band, certainly didn’t live up to what I see as the band’s crowning jewel Power of the Dragonflame.

New Amorphis DVD Cover and Tracklisting Revealed

By Angry Metal Guy on April 9, 2010 in 2010, Blog Posts, Death Metal, MySpace, Nuclear Blast, 0 comments

Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes will be the title of the new Amorphis DVD which is set for release on the 25th of June via Nuclear Blast. The band revealed this today through a posting to their facebook page and a quick update on their website. Like most DVDs, this is also getting the double live album treatment. The track listing appears to be pretty heavy on the later material, but I don’t think that’s anything to complain about as the last three albums have been spectacular. It’s no secret that this Angry Metal Guy has been a really big fan of the later Amorphis stuff, so you can imagine that this is pretty exciting for me.

Rhapsody Announce Official Release Date of New Album!

By Angry Metal Guy on March 6, 2010 in 2010, Blog Posts, Nuclear Blast, 1 comment

So, much to my happiness, excitement and general satisfaction, Rhapsody [of Fire] has finally released more information about their new album! The record had previously been announced to be coming out on the 5th of March, but this obviously didn’t happen. Now let me say, first: the artwork is great! Sure, it’s not as colorful […]

Immolation – Majesty and Decay Review

By Angry Metal Guy on March 6, 2010 in 2010, 4.0, American Metal, Death Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Death Metal, 2 comments

Immolation are one of death metal’s best known bands, rooting in the NYDM scene of the 1990s, they have produced some of the most widely worshiped death metal records of all time. Oddly enough, they’re not a band that this Angry Metal Guy was particularly familiar with, as the path to death metal went through more melodic bands. But I have heard rumors of their greatness, technical prowess and their tendency to put out excellent records. Immolation’s 2010 release has seen them living up to this reputation as being one of death metal’s greats with their Nuclear Blast debut Majesty and Decay.

Eluveitie – Everything Remains (As It Never Was) Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 15, 2010 in 2.5, 2010, Death Metal, Folk Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 0 comments

While not the first folk metal band to take the world by storm, Eluveitie has always been a bit of a unique thing in the folk metal scene. Really, the band has tremendous success when compared to other bands in the genre. After being picked up by Nuclear Blast, they’ve had three albums, big American tours (something that has only started recently for the genre) and become very well known and well loved among folk metal enthusiasts and just regular metal enthusiasts alike. Everything Remains (As it Never Was) is the band’s big third record from Nuclear Blast (5th total) and it is set to make a big metal splash.

Arsis – Starve for the Devil Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 8, 2010 in 2010, 3.0, American Metal, Death Metal, Nuclear Blast, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, 1 comment

In the new wave of technical, fast, melodic death metal bands that have been coming out in the last few years Arsis has stood alone with its professional blending of melodic death, technical death and thrash. Basically an instant success story from their first CD A Celebration of Guilt, the band has gone through a lot of line-up changes and has been out there pretty much consistently since their break in 2004. Starve for the Devil follows on the heals of 2008’s We Are the Nightmare and there are a lot of expectations to be met and surpassed with this new album.

Rage – Strings to a Web Review

By Angry Metal Guy on February 3, 2010 in 2010, 4.5, Nuclear Blast, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Thrash Metal, Progressive Metal, Thrash Metal, 1 comment

When I was in my big power metal phase, which I guess would’ve probably been around 2000/2001, I stumbled upon a Rage CD in a great used CD store that I used to go into all the time (those were the days). I thought for sure it was going to be great just from looking at it. Turns out… not so much. I don’t recall hating a record more than that one. I thought it was a major pile of shit. I’m pretty sure it was the record XIII, but I can’t be sure as it was sold away a long time ago. Needless to say I wasn’t even a little bit excited when I received this record. I was fully expecting this record to be totally crap.