(*/10) An album that doesn't entirely fit into the context of Markus' Heavy Music Blog is the newest release of guitar legend Al Di Meola. Therefor I will not write a regular review for the album, but I still want to mention it. The passionate and talented musician from New Jersy is one of the... Continue Reading →
CD review JUNGLE ROT ‘Jungle Rot’
(8/10) Jungle Rot's start in the first half of the nineties wasn't the easiest time for a metal band to enter the scene. Traditional metal faced a hard time during these years, a time when nu metal and grunge grew rapidly. However, the band from Wisconsin showed a lot of willpower and premiered in 1997... Continue Reading →
CD review RIOT GRRRLS ‘ The Riot Grrrl Sessions’
(8/10) You haven't heard of Riot Grrrls before? Could be. Therefor I would like to start with a short introduction of the project and its background. Rock Grrrls Sessions is a music project that began in September 2017. Various punk and rock musicians joined forces for one weekend to write, rehearse and record this pretty... Continue Reading →
CD review MICHAEL ROMEO ‘War of the Worlds // Pt. 1’
(9/10) There's some radio silence when it comes to New Jesey-based prog metal band Symphony X that released their latest album 'Underworld' in 2015. Between then and now some of the band members focussed on other bands and projects, like singer Russell Allen that released 'We the People' with Adrenaline Mob. Bass player Mike LePond... Continue Reading →
CD review BLACK SPACE RIDERS ‘Amoretum Vol. 2’
(9/10) Not only that Muenster-based alternative metal band Black Space Riders delivers exquisite records; they also do it in a fast fashion. Six months after having published the terrific ‘Amoretum Vol. 1’ album the next record waits in the starting blocks. ‘Amoretum Vol. 2’ will be unveiled end of July and by this the band... Continue Reading →
CD review OBSCURA ‘Diluvium’
(8/10) Obsurca is mainly the brainchild of guitarist and vocalist Steffen Kummerer who founded the band in 2002. Next to the founder, Obscura today is Rafael Trujillo (g), Linus Klausenitzer (b) and Sebastian Lanser (d). This quartet recorded Obscura's fifth longplayer. 'Diluvium' is the final chapter of a four-album conceptual journey and includes eleven new... Continue Reading →
CD review CRYSTAL VIPER ‘At the Edge of Time’ – EP
(7/10) Crystal Viper is the brainchild of Polish singer Marta Gabriel who started the band back in 2003. After some first studio albums it was some health issues that stopped Gabriel from working with Crystal Viper for some time. The singer returned with her traditional metal outfit in 2017, releasing with 'Queen of the Witches'... Continue Reading →
DVD/CD review ‘Live at WACKEN 2017 – 28 Years Louder Than Hell’
(*/10) To warm-up for the 2018 edition of the legendary Wacken festival Silver Lining Music launches a DVD/CD package entitled 'Live at Wacken 2017 - 28 Years Louder Than Hell'. The comprehensive DVD version features 45 songs of the 2017 Wacken festival, mixed by Cameron Webb (Motörhead, Megadeth, NOFX) and mastered by Andrew Alekej (Motörhead,... Continue Reading →
CD review BURY TOMORROW ‘Black Flame’
(8/10) British metalcore-ians of Bury Tomorrow launched their latest studio output 'Earthbound' in 2016. Two years later album number five will step out of the darkness into the light. The 'Black Flame' starts burning mid July, featuring ten new songs of the metalcore quintet and will be the debut for Bury Tomorrow's new label Music... Continue Reading →
CD review ARMORY ‘The Search’
(7/10) Gothenburg-based Armory is a metal powerhouse that grew out of the ashes of a band called Resurrector. The guys debut with an album entitled ‘World Peace … Cosmic War’ and now it’s time for second strike of Swedish speed metal. ‘The Search’, that’s the title of Armory’s sophomore record, features an eleven songs-comprising tracklist,... Continue Reading →
CD review MR. BIG ‘Live in Milan’
(9/10) Some cameras and additional microphones have been placed for Mr.Big‘s live show in Milan last autumn. Following the release of the bands latest studio album ‚Defying Gravity‘ the band embarked on a tour with a setlist, comprising of an comprehensive overview of the band's creative work. 23 songs reflect all moments of Mr. Big,... Continue Reading →
CD review DESTINIA ‘Metal Souls’
(8/10) Destinia is the brainchild of Japanese guitarist Nozomu Wakai. Two albums have seen the light already earlier and number three is on its way. ‚Metal Souls‘ will be in the shops on July 13th and comes via Frontiers Music. What makes this eleven songs comprising album special is the contribution of Ronnie Romero. Furthermore... Continue Reading →
PRIMAL FEAR announces new album and tour dates for Europe
German metal veterans Primal Fear announced a new album entitled 'Apocalypse'. The longplayer will be released on August 10th and is album number eleven of Ralf Scheepers, Mat Sinner and Co. . Two songs have been unveiled already. HERE you can listen to 'King of Madness' and HERE comes 'Hounds of Justice'. Tracklist: Apocalypse New... Continue Reading →
CD review GIOELI-CASTRONOVO ‘Set the World on Fire’
(8/10) Johnny Gioeli and Deen Castronovo are 2/5th of Hardline's legendary line-up that released with 'Double Eclipse' a superb melodic hardrock album. Against the trend of an rising grunge- and alternative rock hype, the quintet crafted timeless hardrock songs that are as good today as they were in 1992. 25 years later Gioeli and Castronovo... Continue Reading →
CD review MOTOROWL ‘Atlas’
(8/10) Almost to date two years ago, German based rock outfit Motorowl unleased with ‚Om Genetator‘ an album that wowed. Very well-crafted hard rock- / classic rock songs have been a delight for listeners and 23 month later it‘s ‚Atlas‘ that comes with the same ambition. Motorowl doesn‘t reinvent the wheel with their sophomore album,... Continue Reading →









