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!
Hideous Divinity – Simulacrum (Album Review)
Removing the decrepit, fleshy mask. The fine art of death metal has come a long way since its early days as a more vile offshoot…
Crystal Viper – Tales Of Fire And Ice (Album Review)
Polish metal act Crystal Viper has returned with the follow up to the band’s 2017’s return album “Queen of the Witches,” the first to follow…
Red Death – Sickness Divine (Album Review)
When faced with the term “hardcore” in 2019, there is a cringe level that can only be topped by the term “metalcore.” However, if you…
Denner’s Inferno – In Amber (Album Review)
Retro is definitely the way to go. For those well versed in the mythos of early 80s heavy metal, the name Michael Denner will be…
Stick Men with David Cross – Panamerica (Live In Latin America) [Box Set Review]
As they cross the globe celebrating their 50th Anniversary, the mighty King Crimson continue to leave their mark on progressive rock in more ways than…
Crusade Of Bards – Tales Of Bards & Beasts (Album Review)
Touches of the symphonic have been making their way across all genres of metal, appearing on albums drenched by the brutality of death metal, or…
Quiet Riot – Hollywood Cowboys (Album Review)
Have you ever wondered what a band sounds like with no original members? Wonder no more; may it please the court, we present Exhibit A,…
Abigail Williams – Walk Beyond The Dark (Album Review)
In a world brimming with chaos that fills the senses in a never-ending assault, it seems counter-intuitive that even more noise could create the illusion…
Agnostic Front – Get Loud! (Album Review)
NYC hardcore/crossover pioneers Agnostic Front were at the forefront of a movement back just before your author was introduced to heavy metal. The band’s second…
Deaf Rat – Ban the Light (Album Review)
As a child, did you ever dream of what it would have been like had Venom sounded like early Dokken, but kept the same lyrical…
Eloy – The Vision, The Sword and The Pyre – Part II (Album Review)
What a testament to the genre of progressive rock that several bands are actually starting to reach their 50th Anniversaries. Getting their start in 1969…
Rings Of Saturn – Gidim (Album Review)
Destroying the galaxy with mathematical precision. If there was a single title that could sum up the mad roller-coaster ride that has been the 2010s,…
Nile – Vile Nilotic Rites (Album Review)
Pharaoh of the American South. Some bands stick to what they know, others will seemingly reinvent themselves with each new studio effort, but South Carolina’s…
Tygers Of Pan Tang – Ritual (Album Review)
As an avid old school metal fan, nothing brings greater joy than to see classic bands releasing consistently brilliant and still relevant material. The term…
Iapetus – The Body Cosmic (Album Review)
Driven by seemingly ceaseless innovation, death metal has entered a spectacular golden age. This is due, in part, to the brave pioneers that have strived…
Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra: Legacy of the Dark Lands (Album Review)
At long last, an ambitious project that began over 20 years ago finally will be released. Originating in the period of time just before the…
The Flower Kings – Waiting for Miracles (Album Review)
Miracle of miracles, The Flower Kings are back! Yes, Roine Stolt has rejoined forces with Hasse Fröberg and Jonas Reingold to jump back into their…
Hellyeah – Welcome Home (Album Review)
The challenge of supergroups tends to come down to members proving that their new creation is more than the sum of its parts, and for…
Vision Divine – When All The Heroes Are Dead (Album Review)
The stories of one of Italy’s most renowned progressive power metal bands in Labyrinth and that of Vision Divine are inexorably linked, to the point…
Novembers Doom – Nephilim Grove (Album Review)
Dripping with their trademark melancholy, Novembers Doom continue to spread sorrow with their eleventh studio album, titled “Nephilim Grove.” 30 years of experience in the…
Wilderun – Veil Of Imagination (Album Review)
Painting the sky with vibrant colors and an air of wonder, symphonic-progressive metal band Wilderun returns with their latest gem, “Veil of Imagination.” A roaring…
Phil Campbell – Old Lions Still Roar (Album Review)
Time and Death are cruel bitches both. Alumni of Motörhead have seen both, in spades. Pun intended. Phil “Wizzo” Campbell, the constant North Star of…
IQ – Resistance (Album Review)
I always thought of IQ’s monumental debut album “Tales from the Lush Attic” as the album Genesis would have made if they had reunited with…
Noveria – Aequilibrium (Album Review)
“Aequilibrium,” or “equilibrium,” has a double meaning for Italy’s Noveria. On one hand, it is the basis of the conceptual album’s plot about achieving balance…
Cirith Ungol – I’m Alive (Album Review)
Two phenomena are growing increasingly rare in today’s music scene; the release of double albums, and the release of live albums. With a title more…
Fister – Decade of Depression (Album Review)
In giving their take on songs from artists across numerous subgenres of metal, St. Louis-based doom/sludge metal act Fister has the chance to show listeners…
Edenbridge – Dynamind (Album Review)
A grand chalice enlightens the olden corridors. With the recent ascendancy of a new generation of female-fronted symphonic upstarts such as Beyond The Black, Midnight…
Bruce Soord – All This Will Be Yours (Album Review)
The Pineapple Thief has been on the rise during their past couple of albums, buoyed by the addition of drummer extraordinaire Gavin Harrison and a…
Angel Witch – Angel Of Light (Album Review)
U.K. New Wave of British Heavy Metal act Angel Witch has always been a cult favorite of fans of the genre, and its easy to…
Renegade Cartel – Dear World (Album Review)
As sure as the day follows the night, local up-and-coming bands will put out rock albums inspired by the music of decades gone by, hoping…
Bad Wolves – N.A.T.I.O.N. (Album Review)
One of the newest names to the scene, Bad Wolves returns this year as supporting act for titans Five Finger Death Punch on their fall…
Pretty Maids – Undress Your Madness (Album Review)
For nearly 40 years, Denmark’s Pretty Maids have been one of the most consistent hard rock bands on the planet. Sure, not every album is…
Ray Alder – What The Water Wants (Album Review)
It’s worth repeating that one needn’t unearth one’s own internal anguish in order to effectively express the complexity of human existence. Though many (validly) argue…
The Tea Club – If/When (Album Review)
It’s not everyday that one discovers a band for the first time, only to find out they’re already five albums into the game. Even rarer…
The Scourge – Warrant for Execution (Album Review)
Born in 2012, The Scourge – featuring Helstar members Andrew Atwood (vocals/guitars) and Garrick Smith (bass) – released the debut EP “First Comes Destruction” in 2014.…
Alter Bridge – Walk The Sky (Album Review)
Triumphant hymns tread the distant skyline. There is a common sentiment these days that hard rock has become a passé mode of expression, having been…