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!
About a year ago, I reviewed the initial chapter of Vanden Plas’ “The Ghost Xperiment,” and after revisiting what I wrote then about that recording,…
Anthems sung to a faltering legacy. The story of The Unguided is, if nothing else, and ongoing one when one considers not only the conceptual…
The bygone era now stands reborn. There are many doubled edged swords lain before veteran artists seeking to continue their ongoing journey, but the most…
With the release of 2016’s “Handmade Cities,” Aussie guitarist, Plini, was considered a rising star in the instrumental guitar ranks. With high praise from legend…
What remains after the end? The post-apocalyptic setting is a fitting one for airing one’s discontent about the state of the world; hence it’s frequent…
Clutch’s mission has always been a tough one to accomplish, since their inception: how can a band keep their sound fresh, inspired and forward looking,…
Where there’s smoke, there’s Blackfire! When it comes to the most vicious end of the thrash metal spectrum, few can claim to have blazed the…
It seems like just yesterday that the critics and fans were calling Kenny Wayne Shepherd a “prodigy.” He was just a kid with a big…
Did you hear about the new guys on the melodic block? They call themselves East Temple Avenue and come with a fantastic AOR debut album…
Once more unto the enigmatic breach. Being the new kid on the scene does not preclude one from being fast-tracked to veteran status, even when…
Dinner theater held for the moribund. Adversity can often bring out the best in any artist, but this truism would be seem to apply even…
Having first emerged from Brooklyn’s underbelly in the midst of 2007, Tombs has since blossomed beyond the shadows of the underground for a place at…
A sequestered treasure now revealed. Like a fine wine, some projects just take time to reach their ultimate potential, and the case of one of…
We all knew this wasn’t going to be just another live release by Dream Theater. Fans of the progressive metal giants have been eagerly waiting…
In this moment, coldness prevails. Often viewed as a contradiction by many in the broader death metal fan base, melodic death metal has proven a…
Reinvention is the essence of evolution, leading to a seemingly endless array of subgenres that continue to shift in spirit and grow in scope as…
When an artist mentions “Special thanks to 2020 for being finally over” in the album credit acknowledgements, you know it’s been a tough year. Obviously…
Faithlessness begets cynicism. The Latvian-based Sliptrick Records has been fairly active in scooping up unconventional acts from both sides of the Atlantic of late, and…
The undead pharaoh lays his worldwide claim. Despite his auspicious tenure with Manowar having ended more than 30 years ago, metal veteran and shred-machine Ross…
Keep your eyes and ears opened, and you will find a million ways to transform your life. In the case of Phil Campbell, that saying…
New band discoveries are always a welcome treat for any dedicated music fan. In recent years there have been no shortage of fresh sounds emanating…
We live in times where we can discover new music and artists on a daily (or even hourly) basis, with new bands coming up every…
A memorial statement begets a legacy. The willow tree is a fascinating specimen that is arguably analogous to the very concept of death and rebirth.…
The riffs belong to them. It is said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but some of the growing crop of recently formed…
Richard Earl Beach, better known as “REB” to friends and fans alike, continues to be one of the scariest and most underrated talents in the…
Now entering the final phase of the strangest, most difficult, and different year humanity has lived in a very long time, it is consoling to…
Estranged from all binding limitations. Progression does not necessarily consist in discovering something wholly unknown, and more often than not great feats in progressive metal…
Unrest begets high-grade thrash. Though considered something of a fringe player in the later part of thrash metal’s heyday, Evildead made an impressive showing in…
The veil obscures a sorrowful estate. Perhaps the only way to truly market the ugliness of death metal to a wider audience without robbing it…
I got into Fates Warning a little late in the day, but considering that I’m a child of the alternative era, I think I can…
Death’s draining grasp upon the world endures. If there was one distinctive feature of Finland’s millennial answer to the Gothenburg question, apart from a greater…
Having first emerged in the jaws of thrash and steeped in death, Mr. Bungle fell silent in 1999 after three full-length albums. Their debut was…
It is overwhelming the number of interesting concepts that human beings can get attracted to in order to learn about them. From the infinity of…
November is a great month for new releases if you enjoy progressive guitar instrumentals. Two of the brightest stars in the genre are releasing new…
The troops return to their morbid past. With the Cavalera brothers continuing to conspire for a modernized take on their craft and the remnant of…
This is how you cut it in the metal industry. It is said that a tiger never changes its stripes, but in extreme metal circles…
