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!
Familiar sounds under a new moniker. A sort of musical mitosis has been running rampant in power metal circles over the past decade or so,…
An iconic voice of the past reemerges. Whenever a veteran of the rock or metal world makes a long awaited comeback to the studio, this…
Mors Principium Est guitarist/master musician Andy Gillion has always been such a brilliant musician and songwriter, so when the announcement came for his solo release…
Approaching a milestone twentieth anniversary as a band, Eclipse is commemorating the occasion with the release of a very solid new album, entitled “Paradigm.” The…
To truly appreciate the splendor of Exmortus’ latest EP, one must abandon any prior conceptions of what it means to shred and surrender themselves fully…
Its been just over three years since French blackened shoegaze act Alcest presented its fans with the stellar (and throw back) album “Kodama.” Though the…
Withering flowers meet a pummeling colossus. As one of the early Gothic metal bands to emerge out of the early aftermath of the mid-90s death/doom…
From the rafters of Dracula’s castle descends “For The Dead Travel Fast,” the latest installment in the growing discography of doom rock band Kadavar, a…
Onward to the misty mountains cold! The background regarding Italy’s latest purveyor of Folksy power metal exploits set to a Tolkien lyrical gloss Wind Rose…
The first time I heard of the German Progressive Metal band Vanden Plas, I remember being perplexed by the name. What’s a Vanden Plas? It…
New is old and old is new. As the next decade approaches and the 10 year mark of Ronnie Dio’s untimely passing has come and…
Heaviness is next to godliness. Michael Sweet, often referred to as the Dennis DeYoung of heavy metal, and front man of the iconic purveyors of…
Bent Knee is a band without boundaries. Their sound is hard to pin down. Eccentric pop? Art rock? Avant-garde prog? No matter how you categorize…
Isn’t it refreshing when a progressive rock band is truly…progressive? Meaning that they progress their sound forward instead of repeating their same formula, perhaps to…
The spitfire power-thrashers that delivered “Decennium” to the world finally return with their latest work, an 80s- inspired EP that showcases their successful efforts to…
The woman’s blade cuts deepest. The past couple decades has seen a lot of change in the melodic death metal landscape, as every pioneering outfit…
Way, way back, in a bygone era forgotten by some (intentionally by many of us) there was a decade known as “The Nineties.” In this…
Third time’s a charm? Considering Flying Colors’ short career, there’s been plenty of charm already with two celebrated albums under their belt which have touched…
Making heavy metal rock again. Heavy metal has long been pinned as a male-only art form, perhaps owing to the gender ratio exemplified in both…
Where the extreme becomes commonplace. Despite being one of the more popular and arguably iconic figures to come out of the millennial power metal revival,…
It seems that Halloween has come early this year, with accomplished horror artist Wednesday 13 drawing his newest album out into the light. In a…
Straight out of Joensuu, Finland, Insomnium have been together since 1997. Their most successful lineup consisted of Markus Hirvonen (drums), Ville Friman (guitars and vocals),…
The quality of a guitar driven instrumental album should be based on the merits of the songs, not the speed or flashiness of the playing.…
It’s remarkable that while legendary bands like Iron Maiden and Dream Theater have both released their fair share of dud albums, Norway’s Borknagar are eleven…
A fire-themed album is most appropriate for a band trying to rise from the ashes after more than half a decade in limbo. However, it…
Peggy and Billie Harris had been married just six weeks when he was called to the WWII front in the summer of 1944. That was…
Ride with the winter’s rage. Though it may seem counter-intuitive, there is a certain novelty and freshness to be had from the most familiar of…
There are some names so pervasive in the hard rock scene that they have become a foundational component of the genre’s historic identity, inseparable from…
Even the most devoted hard rock fan would be forgiven for not being up to date with The Darkness. They rose to fame in 2003,…
The war of seasons gets convoluted. It goes without saying that the name Sonata Arctica is an iconic brand within the power metal realm. They…
Old school heavy metal never dies. Few nations have more proudly carried the banner of heavy metal than that of Germany, having been heavily steeped…
Considering that Opeth was originally formed to become “the most evil band in the world”, it seems fitting that one of their strongest albums would…
Even if you have never heard of Sascha Paeth, you have heard his work. From Angra to Avantasia, Edguy to Epica, and a dozen other…
With an absolute deluge of talent and proficiency in all corners of the metal scene, many young bands find themselves in a predicament that was…
It’s no secret Alice Cooper has entered the twilight years of his career, but he’s not riding into the sunset quietly – and that’s a…
Bubbling up to the decrepit surface. In even the most unceremonious of splits, eventually calmer heads will tend to prevail, though this will usually occur…