Everfrost – Winterider (Album Review)
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…
Author Jonathan Smith
Jonathan Smith
Jonathan is a long time contributor to The Encyclopaedia Metallum website under the pseudonym hells_unicorn and has written for The Metal Observer on and off for the past 10 years. He was previously a lead guitarist in the Philadelphia-based folk metal band Frost Giant and played Dave Murray’s parts for the Philly-based Iron Maiden tribute band Tailgunner. He is currently the guitarist and principal songwriter for the nascent symphonic power metal project Ominous Glory.
Sonata Arctica – Talviyö (Album Review)
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…
Sinner – Santa Muerte (Album Review)
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…
DEMONS & WIZARDS North America Tour Recap: “A Tale of Two Metal Kingdoms Becoming One”
Demons & Wizards, the band featuring Iced Earth front-man Jon Schaffer and Blind Guardian singer Hansi Kürsch, are currently working on their first new record…
Entombed A.D. – Bowels Of Earth (Album Review)
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…
Elvenking – Reader of the Runes – Divination (Album Review)
Where the runes of power metal speak While most of the early adherents of the folk metal craze were either obsessed with the exploits of…
Freedom Call – M.E.T.A.L. (Album Review)
Metal never dies: the musical. It’s impossible to have a conversation about the power metal revival of the early millennial era without Freedom Call receiving…
Killswitch Engage – Atonement (Album Review)
Forgiveness favors the ambitious. The U.S. metalcore scene has seen some rough times since the end of the previous decade. Whether it was due to…
Inferi – The End Of A Era: Rebirth (Album Review)
Revamped and often revitalized. Though generally regarded as an afterthought when compared to the pioneering figures of the Gothenburg scene, the American melodic death metal…
JINJER To Release “Macro” Album In October; Watch Video for Single ‘Judgement (& Punishment)’
Ukrainian modern metal front runners JINJER will release their new album, Macro, on October 25 via Napalm Records. Punishing riffs, aggressively blended vocals and astonishingly deep lyrics…
