Trading Boundaries is a special place in Sussex, England. It is a retail destination for furniture and handcrafted items, as well as a café/bar and boutique hotel. A place like this isn't exactly what you think of when you think of rock music. However, Trading Boundaries regularly hosts live events, and one of the artists... Continue Reading →
Review SARCATOR “Swarming Angels & Flies”
The most popular representatives of heavy metal from Trollhättan, Sweden are The Crown, and the next generation of metal bands is on its way. Sarcator is also from Trollhättan, and after starting out as Metal Militia in 2014, the guys changed their band name to Sarcator in 2018. The self-titled debut hit the shelves in... Continue Reading →
Review TREMONTI “The End Will Show Us How”
Detroit-born Mark Tremonti is best known as a member of Creed and Alter Bridge. Since 2011, the guitarist and singer also has his own band. The 2012 release "All I Was" was Tremonti's first album as a solo artist, and since then he has been releasing albums on a regular basis. Four years after the... Continue Reading →
Review DARK FORTRESS “Anthems From Beyond The Grave – Live In Europe 2023”
German black metal powerhouse Dark Fortress, founded in 1994, released "Spectres from the Old World" in 2020, which seems to be their last studio album. In 2023 Dark Fortress started the "Cosmic End Tour" with shows in Germany, but also at the legendary Baroeg, Rotterdam. The show there and the show at Matrix, Bochum one... Continue Reading →
Review TUMENGGUNG “Back on the Streets”
"Back on the Streets" is an album that radiates something exotic. It's not because of the title, which is very much in line with the principles of traditional heavy metal, and it's not because of the music itself. It is rather the fact that Tumenggung hail from Indonesia and "Back on the Streets" is their... Continue Reading →
Review EX DEO “Year of the Four Emperors” – EP
Ex Deo was founded as a project initiated by Maurizio Iacono together with Jonathan Leduc. With "Romulus" a first longplayer hit the shelves in 2009 and after a hiatus in 2014 Ex Deo returned in 2017 with their third album "The Immortal Wars". Now the new metal year will start with another release from the... Continue Reading →
Review MAGNUM “Live at KK’s Steel Mill”
It's almost a kind of tradition that the new year begins with a new release from England's finest melodic rockers. Since 2014, Magnum have always presented their previous records in January with the expectation of "Sacred Blood Divine Lies", which hit the shelves in early February 2016. So it is a familiar feeling to welcome... Continue Reading →
Review THE OLD DEAD TREE “Second Thoughts”
French dark rockers The Old Dead Tree have released "Second Thoughts," a 13-song album that marks the band's first full-length record in 17 years. The band issued three longplayers in the early 2000s before going on hiatus in 2009. Ten years later, the French band returned with an EP called "The End", which was the... Continue Reading →
Review SACRAMENTUM “The Coming of Chaos” (re-issue)
Sacramentum belong to the first wave of Swedish melodic death metal bands. Formed in 1990 as Tumulus, the band changed its name to Sacramentum in 1992. With roots in Falköping, the band is the brainchild of Nisse Karlén, who was joined by Anders Brolycke, and after drummer Nicklas Rudolfsson completed the band, the time was... Continue Reading →
Review ATHENA XIX “Everflow Part 1: Frames Of Humanity”
Athena XIX might be a band name that some of you still remember. The progressive metal outfit was formed in Pisa, Italy in 1991 and released three full length albums before disbanding in 2002 after the band's 'Twilight of Days' longplayer. More than two decades later, Athena XIX return with "Everflow Part 1: Frame of... Continue Reading →
Review NECKBREAKKER “Within The Viscera”
Wohoo. This album doesn't allow you to slowly slide into the songs and sounds, because it's a brutal blast that starts "Within the Viscera". But let's start from the very beginning. Neckbreakker is the band releasing their debut album "Within the Viscera". The guys started in 2020 as Nakkeknaekker, which is the Danish equivalent of... Continue Reading →
Review TAK MATSUMOTO GROUP “TMG II”
The Tak Matsumoto Group released a debut album called "TMG I" in 2004. The project was a collaboration between Japanese guitar wizard Tak Matsumoto, Eric Martin and Jack Blades. The result of this teamwork was a stunning melodic rock release, but things ended rather quickly after the release of the debut and a few live... Continue Reading →
Review HELLOWEEN “Live at Budokan”
German metal heavyweights Helloween played a show in Japan in September 2023 as part of their "United Forces 2022-2023" tour. The show at the legendary Budokan in Tokyo was recorded and will be the basis for the new live album of the metal kings. The album, "Live at Budokan", will be released in different formats,... Continue Reading →
Review TARJA “Rocking Heels – Live at Hellfest”
Finnish singer Tarja played a show at Hellfest 2016, a concert that was recorded and now is released as a live album. Tarja played 10 songs and with the exception of "Shameless" all songs are on the new record. As expected, the chosen songs reflect the harder and heavier aspect of a singer who can... Continue Reading →
Review THE GATES OF SLUMBER “The Gates of Slumber”
The Gates of Slumber might be a band that not everyone has on their metal radar. Formed in 1998, the trio has released some really good albums, starting in 2004 with their debut, "…the Awakening". "The Wedge" marked the end of the first era of this doom behemoth from Indianapolis, Indiana, and the band disbanded... Continue Reading →








