ALBUM REVIEWS
If you’re looking for aggregated album reviews from our seasoned music specialists, including our own score offering at a glance how the album fared, this is the right destination for you. Album reviews certainly still matter to artists, writers, and publicists, as they are the ones dealing with them every day, but does the average listener still pay attention? Well, we sincerely hope you do... Dive in!
NON EST DEUS — Legacy (Album Review)
Non Est Deus’ fourth album, “Legacy,” delivers modern black metal that is geared toward mainstream audiences. As such, it proves a fairly accessible offering to…
TONGUES – Formløse Stjerner (Album Review)
Check out this quirky effort.
PARADISE LOST — Icon (Album Review)
Thirty years later, Paradise Lost’s “Icon” has more than proved that it is indeed a timeless masterpiece. Thus, Paradise Lost chose to celebrate and reclaim…
ALTA REIGN – Upon The Horizon (Album Review)
New horizons abound. Coloring outside the lines has been something of a regular practice for drummer and Montour Falls, New York native Jeff Plate, having…
WINTERAGE – Nekyia (Album Review)
Winter has come again. Following in the grand symphonic tradition laid out by Rhapsody Of Fire, Dark Moor, Fairyland and several other prime movers of…
HIGH SPIRITS – Safe On The Other Side (Album Review)
Let the spirit take you higher. For about as long as the revival of traditional heavy metal has been raging, there have been a select…
MARCH TO DIE – Tears Of The Gorgon (Album Review)
Of all the nascent metal scenes to crop up in recent years in nations with historically sparse representation, the one that has been brewing in…
MYRKUR – Spine (Album Review)
By controversy, mystique arises. Black metal’s highly ideological underpinnings have, for right or wrong, made it one of the most parochial scenes within the metal…
RANDY McSTINE – Unintentional (Album Review)
Cliche or not, the phrase “Necessity is the mother of invention” is inevitable when describing Randy McStine’s new EP “Unintentional”. The original material herein was…
MOON SAFARI – Himlabacken Vol. 2 (Album Review)
Hailing from Sweden, Moon Safari have been wowing audiences for nearly 20 years, yet still feels like one of prog’s best-kept secrets. That’s partly due…
CYAN – Pictures From The Other Side (Album Review)
Call them Magenta of a slightly different hue. Cyan is Rob Reed’s earliest band, tracing back to his school days as he came of age…
TEMIC – Terror Management Theory (Album Review)
For those fortunate enough to bear witness to Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress band live, as they performed Dream Theater’s “Twelve-Step Suite” live, it was evident…
GABRIEL AGUDO – Tales & Thunders (Album Review)
Singer and multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Agudo releases his second solo album, the enigmatically titled “Tales & Thunders”. After his expansive and uplifting debut “New Life” a…
RED REIGN – Don’t Look Back (Album Review)
Red Reign, a band steeped in 80s rock influences, unleashes a high-energy musical journey with their latest album, “Don’t Look Back.” Bursting with infectious tunes…
DOKKEN – Heaven Comes Down (Album Review)
The wayward sage has come home. Some legends refuse to die, they just opt to become more reflective with age and find themselves sticking closer…
EARTHSIDE – Let The Truth Speak (Album Review)
After eight years, cinematic prog metallers Earthside are releasing their sophomore effort, “Let The Truth Speak.” Their groundbreaking debut, “A Dream in Static” garnered attention due…
SORCERER – Reign Of The Reaper (Album Review)
By his scythe, all shall bow. For every giant that emerges to set a new standard in the metal world, there are often several similar…
D’VIRGILIO, MORSE & JENNINGS – Sophomore (Album Review)
No Sophomore slump here. Unplug the guitars, lose the fancy effects, and get back to the basics. That was the approach of ’21’s “Troika” and…
DIRTY HONEY – Can’t Find The Brakes (Album Review)
In their latest album, “Can’t Find the Breaks,” Dirty Honey offers an exhilarating journey back to the golden era of classic rock, rekindling the spirits…
ANGELUS APATRIDA – Aftermath (Album Review)
Explosive, forward-thinking thrash arrives at ground zero. Being at the forefront of Spain’s now expansive thrash metal scene, and dating back far enough to stake…
LALU – The Fish Who Wanted To Be King (Album Review)
One of the very best prog releases of 2022 was Lalu’s unexpected and remarkable “Paint The Sky”. More than likely, not nearly enough people are…
DAVE KERZNER – Heart Land Mines Vol. 1 (Album Review)
When does a road trip become a soundtrack to one’s life? Usually when it’s driven by a musician. Though the events chronicled in “Heart Land…
AMORPHIS – Queen Of Time: Live At Tavastia 2021 (Album Review)
To state that Amorphis is one of metal’s finest acts is to state the obvious, and apart from a few rather tepid moments late in…
ADVENT HORIZON – A Cell To Call Home (Album Review)
Progressive rock has existed for over half a century, making it increasingly difficult for new artists to stand out with a unique and worthwhile sound.…
TIGER MOTH TALES – The Turning of the World (Album Review)
Tiger Moth Tales is a vehicle for Peter Jones’ musical output, usually melodic progressive rock with a focus on telling a good tale. While other…
JELUSICK – Follow The Blind Man (Album Review)
When placed alongside the juggernauts of rock and metal, multi-instrumentalist singer Dino Jelusick remains the new kid on the block. While he may have yet…
MICHAEL ABDOW – Séance in Black (Album Review)
In the realm of instrumental music, where storytelling relies solely on the language of instruments, Michael Abdow’s latest effort, a seven-track album, takes us on…
ASINHELL – Impii Hora (Album Review)
A brutal nod is given to the old school. For most that have been paying attention to what has been going on in metal and…
TREVOR RABIN – Rio (Album Review)
Yes, the rumors are true: Trevor Rabin has returned in 2023 with a full-on rock album for the first time in nearly 30 years. Primarily…
KK’s PRIEST – The Sinner Rides Again (Album Review)
The old ways are strong again. In the metal realm, it is quite common for the fracturing of old allegiances to forge new ones, though…
STEVEN WILSON – The Harmony Codex (Album Review)
As we approach the autumn of 2023, amazingly the phenomenon of “lockdown albums” still continues. Our newest case-in-point: “The Harmony Codex”, Steven Wilson’s 7th solo…
BRUCE SOORD – Luminescence (Album Review)
September is quite a month, featuring solo releases from The Pineapple Thief’s & Porcupine Tree’s front men within a week of each other. The careers…
RANDY GEORGE – Beyond Words (Album Review)
Multi-instrumentalists are blessed when it comes to solo albums – they have so much to work with. In Randy George’s case this is even more…
MAREK ARNOLD – Marek Arnold’s Artrock Project (Album Review)
By his own count, Marek Arnold has contributed to more than 60 albums, either as a member or hired hand, providing indelible sax and keyboard…
TESSERACT – War Of Being (Album Review)
In 2011, Tesseract exploded onto the metal scene with their debut release, “One.” The darlings of the djent underground blended the brutality of Meshuggah with…
BARONESS – Stone (Album Review)
Grammy-award nominated Baroness are back with a new album, “Stone”. Their sixth record overall and third released via Abraxan Hymns, “Stone”finds the Philadelphia-based quartet of…