'Spectres From the Old World' is a statement for stellar Black Metal. It shows the variety of possibilities the genre offers if you're committed to leave standards and conformity behind you. Dark Fortress delivers with their eighth full-length longplayer a genre highlight that lifts the bar. 'Spectres From the Old World', a pitch-black beauty to fall in love with.
CD review WISHBONE ASH ‘Coat of Arms’
Old lions still roar, although they might roar a bit more gentle than in the days of youth. UK rockers Wishbone Ash belong to the category, a band that has their roots in the late 60's in Devon, England. More than 50 years after having left the starting blocks Wishful Ash belongs the the pioneers... Continue Reading →
CD review OZZY OSBOURNE ‘Ordinary Man’
'Ordinary Man' more than just a longplayer that carries music. It is a record that features a lot of feel. There are moments when the emotional intensity reminded me of Johnny Cash's legendary version of 'Hurt'. 'Ordinary Man' of course carries the heavier songs but it's the emotional moments that makes this longplayer so special. Throughout the eleven songs featuring tracklist an underlying feeling of 'goodbye' is what touches you as a listener. This album feels like the final delivery to a musical legacy of one of the greatest and multifaceted singers in Heavy Metal, a pioneer and an idol for generations of musicians. Thank you Ozzy Osbourne for giving the Metal world this longplayer and thank you for all the earlier releases that made this music genre to what it is.
CD review HARDLINE ‘Life Live’
This review could become a rather short one. Why? Since Frontiers Music's live releases are following a similar pattern. The label established a yearly returning festivals with bands taken from their portfolio. Many, or all, of these shows are recorded and later published as live releases. This time it's Hardline, that performed a show at... Continue Reading →
CD review RUSS BALLARD ‘It’s Good to be Here’
I guess that most of you have heard of Russ Ballard, at least you heard one of his songs. 'Since You've Been Gone' is one of his biggest hits, covered by several bands of which Rainbow's interpretation is probably the most known one. Next to the timeless classic Ballard also wrote for band like Roger... Continue Reading →
CD review CB3 ‘Aeons’
CB3, or in other word Charlotta's Burning Trio, is hailing from Malmö, Sweden and their music was compared already with the mighty King Crimson. Media described them as "The King Crimson of Malmö" and some parallels can't be dednied. CB3 has with 'Aeons' a new album in the starting blocks and it's as great as... Continue Reading →
CD review SUICIDE SILENCE ‘Become the Hunter’
Life of the five musicians of Suicide Silence left quite some scars in the individual vitas with the loss of their frontman Mitch Lucker in 2012, due to a motorcycle accident, being seriously a deep one. It took a while to process this situation and a year later it was clear that the band will... Continue Reading →
CD review SHAKRA ‘Mad World’
It really feels like a mad world we are living in these days, one of the reasons why Swiss rockers Shakra entitled their new longplayer simply 'Mad World'. Now, what sounds like a depressive view on the current state of the blue planet is actually the opposite. 'Mad World' features 12 new songs that carries... Continue Reading →
CD review TUNDRA ‘Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari’
'Das Geheimnis des Dr. Caligari' is a step out of Toundra's comfort zone, an experiment with a successful ending. The four guys, hailing from Madrid, captured the vibe and mood of the movie and by that created a real soundtrack that bridges many decades of art. Well done Toundra.
CD review H.E.A.T. ‘II’
Since more than a decade Swedish H.E.A.T. became to a deliverer of excellent Melodic Metal albums, all being a treat for your ears. Two years after ‘Into the Great Unknown” has been revealed it’s the next musical strike that stands in line for being released and it's a next melodic highlight they quintet adds to... Continue Reading →
CD review BLAZE OF PERDITION ‘The Harrowing of Hearts’
'The Harrowing of Hearts' as a Black Metal album that stresses genre boundaries by adding elements to the mix that enrich music and expression. This release could be interesting for fans too that usually don't care much about Black Metal.
CD review BLIND EGO ‘Preaching to the Choir’
'Preaching to the Choir' is about just doing things and by that challenging your comfort zone in order to develop. Songs like the heavy opener 'Massive' reflect the approach very well. Bling Ego's new longplayer is a mixture of Prog, Rock and Metal, a fusion that spreads fascination.
CD review DISBELIEF ‘The Ground Collapses’
Serious things must happen to make the ground collapse and one of the forces that can make this happen is Disbelief's new album. 'The Ground Collapses' is the title of Disbelief's eleventh album and two years after the earthshaking 'The Symbol of Death' was unveiled, it's the new longplayer being the next smashing release that... Continue Reading →
DVD review KREATOR ‘London Apocalypticon – Live at the Roundhouse’
Thrash Metal veterans has been on the 'Apocalypse tour' two years ago, playing over 150 shows. One stop on the European leg of this tour was at 013 in Tilburg, The Netherlands, while the last gig of this long journey took place at Roundhouse in London.The final concert was recorded and captured on video, being... Continue Reading →
CD review BLACK SWAN ‘Shake the World’
Black Swan, that's vocalist Robin McAuley (McAuley Schenker Group), guitarist Reb Beach (Winger, Whitesnake), bassist Jeff Pilson (Foreigner, The End Machine, ex-Dokken), and drummer Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Mr. Big). These well-known guys found together and started a colleboration under the banner of Black Swan. The fruitful work now leads to a first album of... Continue Reading →









