Uriah Heep

Tarot – Glimpse of the Dawn Review

By El Cuervo on April 8, 2024 in Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, 27 comments

“Eight years between a debut and sophomore album is a lifetime for a band. Members can leave, personalities can change, influences can shift. Australia’s Tarot unveiled its first full-length release in 2016, drawing inspiration from the likes of Uriah Heep and Rainbow. Now they’re primed for Glimpse of the Dawn, a sophomore release nearly a decade in the making. But 50 years between a scene’s heyday and bands now imitating the style? That’s a literal lifetime for many humans. As much as this may wound my parents, the 70s were a long time ago. So what do I make of Tarot’s anachronous sound?” Old hand, big gamble.

Lugnet – Tales from the Great Beyond Review

By Huck N Roll on September 7, 2022 in Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, 11 comments

“Look who’s back! Our favorite crazy uncle band from 2019, Lugnet. The Stockholm boys have made it through the last few years relatively unscathed (perhaps without a haircut) and have put together a follow-up to 2019’s surprisingly strong Nightwalker album. I’ve waxed on in the past about how tiresome it can be to have bands aping the salad days of the 70s or 80s hard rock and metal scenes, but the songwriting is always the key to success – not just in this genre, but music in general.” Lug nuts.

Exit…Hall Left: The Weenie Metal Round-Up [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

By Dr. Wvrm on December 27, 2018 in 2018, Alt-Metal, American Metal, Black Metal, British Metal, Chinese Metal, Doom Metal, Dutch Metal, Epic Metal, German Metal, Hard Rock, Israeli Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Non-Metal Metal Things, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, Synthwave, Things You Might Have Missed 2018, Alternative Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal, Doom Metal, Epic Metal, Hard Rock, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Non-metal Metal Things, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, Synthwave, 68 comments

“Not everyone can be BRUTAL ENOUGH!!! Some of us are hobbits; diminutive, folksy, averse to Camo™ and Camo™-derived accouterments. Maybe you just want to smell the flowers, despite your allergies. That’s ok. We’re here for you.” Hello, weenies.

Ashbury – Eye of the Stygian Witches

By El Cuervo on October 1, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Hard Rock, High Roller Records, Progressive Rock, Proto-Metal, Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, 51 comments

“Ashbury, of Tuscon, Arizona, are olde. Their debut called Endless Skies dates back to 1983 but evidently flew under the mainstream radar, while 2018’s Eye of the Stygian Witches is only their third full-length release in these past 35 years. Olde; Tuscon-dwellers; under-appreciated; unreliable; these are all characteristics of our very own Dr. A. N. Grier. Older than dirt and sky.

Dunbarrow – II Review

By GardensTale on September 23, 2018 in 2018, British Metal, Doom Metal, Proto-Metal, Reviews, RidingEasy Records, Doom Metal, 37 comments

“Distortion and metal are so closely connected it’s difficult to see them separated at all. Yes, there are some bands who don’t utilize distortion, primarily in the power metal section of the mall, and yes, there are artists that use distortion without being primarily metal. However, by and large, metal means distorted guitars. There’s a reason many agree that metal was invented when Black Sabbath introduced that evil guitar tone to the world. Dunbarrow, however, see it as a challenge to be heavy like Sabbath without layering on the distortion, and to this end they look toward the forebears of our genre, evident in the luxurious lapping at the puddles of the 70s with their sophomore album, inspirationally titled II.” But this goes to 11.

Hällas – Excerpts from a Future Past Review

By El Cuervo on October 6, 2017 in 2017, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Reviews, The Sign Records, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, 69 comments

“The illustrious Huck N Roll wrote recently that he spent his summer looking for the next great retro album. I write today that he needn’t have bothered; that album is to arrive after the summer and it’s called Excerpts from a Future Past. Wolverine blues.

Blues Funeral – Awakening Review

By Grymm on September 1, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Doom Metal, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, Reviews, Self-released, Doom Metal, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, 10 comments

“Our reviewers diligently convince our readers to give a listen to promising bands in hopes of them making a bit of money via their Bandcamp page or even drawing enough attention to get them signed to a big label. Sometimes, though, one or two will slip by our radar. Texas’ Blues Funeral is such a case. Having formed in 2014, they self-released their debut, The Search, last year with some notable buzz. Now they’ve returned with their second album in as many years in the form of Awakening.” Blues clues and brews.

Death Alley – Black Magick Boogieland Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on June 1, 2015 in 2015, Dutch Metal, Heavy Metal, Reviews, Tee Pee Records, Heavy Metal, 13 comments

“Being of the ‘80s thrash generation, I was born a few years too late to experience the actual birth of metal first hand. As a result, I have had to seek out that old-school sound and those pioneers of what we now know as “metal.”” And seek out he did.