(8/10) Is there anybody out there that expects major adjustments to Axxis’ sound? Probably not. ‘Monster Hero’ is Axxis 15th studio album and bandleaders Bernhard Weiss and Harry Öllers continue with what the band is best in – catchy melodic rock songs that are built on Weiss unique vocals and Öllers’ catchy keyboard sound. ‘Monster... Continue Reading →
DVD review RAY WILSON ‘Ray Wilson ZDF@Bauhaus’
(8/10) Ray Wilson became well-known by a wider audience during the 90's when he, together with Stiltskin, had with 'Inside' a real hit. Unfortunately, things cooled down for Stiltskin as a band, but their frontman Ray Wilson started into an impressive career in rock music. Wilson joined legendary Genesis and it is his voice that enriches... Continue Reading →
CD review ONKEL TOM ‘Bier Ernst’
(8/10) Next to his thrash powerhouse Sodom, Tom Angelripper also spends quite some time with Onkel Tom. Tom Angelripper's solo outlet differs a lot from Sodom, but still fits perfectly into the musical spectrum of the German metal legend. Songs are kept in German and also 'Bier Ernst' doesn't change things. The newest album is... Continue Reading →
CD review DC4 ‘Atomic Highway’
(8/10) In an almost clandestine way, DC4 released their fourth full-length album ‘Atomic Highway’. DC4, that's almost family business if you will. It’s the three Duncan brothers, Jeff, Matt and Shawn, together with former Dio guitarist Rowan Robertson. The successor of the 2011 album ‘Electric Ministry’ sneaked into the stores mid-September and is available in... Continue Reading →
CD review THE OSIRIS CLUB ‘Island of Stone’
(7/10) To bridge the waiting time to the next album, London-based The Osiris Club worked on an EP, entitled ‘Island of Stone’. Three songs made it on this release and it’s the title track that opens this 15 minutes minidisc. The songs, telling the strange and surreal story on a fictional Greek island. The song,... Continue Reading →
CD review DEAD EXPRESS ‘The Noble Art of Self-Destruction’
(8/10) Dead Express from Sweden has their second album right in the starting blocks. One year after the debut hit the shelves it is ‘The Noble Art of Self-Destruction’ that offers ten new dirty rockers. The amount of bands from Tre Kronor Country is amazing. In this context Dead Express is just one out of... Continue Reading →
CD review ULTHA ‘The Inextricable Wandering’
(9/10) Dark and greyish clouds introduce the Northern hemisphere fall and winter. The musical soundtrack for these dark seasons comes from Cologne, Germany, which is the homebase of black metallers Ultha. The band is rather new and debuted in 2015. ‘Converging Sins’ was the sophomore album, released in 2016, and two years later it is... Continue Reading →
CD review HEIR APPARENT ‘The View From Below’
(10/10) Seldomly it happens that what you wish to happen also becomes real. It seems to stay a dream that never unfolds its beauty. One of these things is a new album of no less than Seattle-based prog metal legends of Heir Apparent. The quintet from the Amercian West Coast had two awesome releases during... Continue Reading →
Classics: Rainbow ‘Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow’
The latest albums I mentioned in my little 'Classics' series addressed power metal and US metal highlights from the mid 80's and now it's another time leap we take. The display on our rock'n'roll time machine shows 1975. 1975 is the release year of 'Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow', an album that paved the way for Rainbow as... Continue Reading →
CD review TERROR ‘Total Retaliation’
(8/10) A hardcore album never reaches epic length and also Terror‘s new longplayer is no exception. The quintet from Los Angels, CA started in 2002 and grew over time to one of the most impactful bands in American hardcore. Over the last 15 years it feels like Terror not losing any strength or power. The... Continue Reading →
CD review BLACKFIELD ‘Open Mind – The Best of Blackfield’
(*/10) Blackfield is the moniker of a musical collaboration of two highly creative minds. Aviv Geffen and Steven Wilson began their cooperation in the early 2000th with a debut that was revealed in 2004. The latest studio release dates back to 2017 when Blackfield launched the 'Blackfield V' album, which was, how should it be... Continue Reading →
CD review RIVERSIDE ‘Wasteland’
(9/10) Polish prog rockers Riverside is a well-known and well-respected prog metal outfit that launched six longplayers before a stroke of fate hit the band. It was in February 2016 when guitarist and founding member Piotr Grudziński died of a sudden cardiac arrest. From one moment to another things haven’t been anymore like they were... Continue Reading →
CD review CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX ‘Great Escape’
(8/10) Crippled Black Phoenix is a rock outfit, hailing from Bristol, UK. The band has its beginning in 2004 when Justin Greaves started to outline some first musical ideas which have been the base for Crippled Black Phoenix. The start was more with a project thinking but things evolved and six studio albums saw the... Continue Reading →
Classics: RUFFIANS ‘Ruffians’
With this classic, we go back in time even further than with the latest 'Classics' posts. The Delorean brings us back to 1985. In a phase when metal gained momentum and many bands pushed into the market, it was Ruffians from San Francisco that unveiled a brilliant six-track album. Simply entitled 'Ruffians' the debut EP of... Continue Reading →
METAL DAYZ 2019 – dates announced
On September 21st and 22nd, the cult venue in northern Germany, the Markthalle in Hamburg, was again the location for the 7th Hamburg Metal Dayz. Battle vests and band shirts, music experts, entertainment industry people, metal lovers and happy faces: Those were the impressions at the hardest event during this year’s Reeperbahn Festival. “We’re again... Continue Reading →









