That Sweden has a vibrant hard/retro rock scene is nothing new and the fact of The Hellacopters, who recently released a new album, belong to the trailblazers is well known too. Another band, being in business since many years are Märvel. The trio started in 2002 and celebrates a 20-year anniversary as we speak. What... Continue Reading →
Review WATAIN ‘The Agony and Ecstasy of Watain’
Heavy metal stands, amongst other things, for a rebellious spirit and provocation. A band that lives up to these attributes in excellent fashion is Watain. The Swedish black metal powerhouse has started their diabolic journey in 1997 in the greater Stockholm area and has a fanbase all around the globe. As often, the third album... Continue Reading →
Review JAZZ SABBATH ‘Vol. 2’
A few days too late for a relaxed Easter brunch comes the newest album from Jazz Sabbath. The trio that was created by Adam Wakeman and has its roots back in 2013. Wakeman, on tour with Black Sabbath, was challenged if could play the Black Sabbath set on piano. Challenge accepted and what started as... Continue Reading →
Review SENTIENT HORROR ‘Rites of Gore’
When Sentient Horror launched their second album ‘Morbid Realms’ in 2019 it was apparent that these guys inhale pure heavy metal with every breath they take. Sentient Horror is a New Jersey-based death metal band that started in 2014 and has with ‘Rites of Gore’ their third longplayer in the starting blocks. Connected to a... Continue Reading →
Review CALIBAN ‘Dystopia’
German metalcore veterans Caliban delivered their latest full-length studio album ‘Elements’ in 2018 and has four years later a new record in the starting blocks. ‘Dystopia’ waits for its release on April 22nd, a new musical wrecking ball with eleven hard-hitting smashers. ‘Dystopia’ is Caliban’s thirteenth longplayer and in this case, ‘13’ isn’t a number... Continue Reading →
Review DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER ‘Wilde Kinder’
Die Apokalyptischen Reiter released their ‘The Divine Horsemen’ album in 2021 and follow it up with a next longplayer. With their latest effort being a improvised recording, the German four-piece returns to a more regular record with ‘Wilde Kinder’ (German for ‘wild children’) The band, that started as a furious grindcore band developed their music... Continue Reading →
Review FER DE LANCE ‘The Hyperborean’
‘The Hyperborean’ is the name of Fer De Lance’s debut album that hits the shelves these days. The band, in contrary to the French-sounding name, hails from Chicago, Illinois and unleashed a first EP called Colossus’ in 2020 via Cruz Del Sur Music. The label, being known for their exquisite epic metal portfolio, discovered the... Continue Reading →
Review SPECKMANN PROJECT ‘Fiends of Emptiness’
To understand ‘Fiends of Emptiness’ one needs to go back all the way to 1983 when Master started and worked on their debut album. There was a bit of a back and forth between Master and the label at the time about the quality of the recording which led to a recording session in legendary... Continue Reading →
Review MIRROR ‘The Day Bastard Leaders Die’
‘The Day Bastard Leaders Die’ is a multi-national band which premiered in 2015 with a self-titled album. The name of the band: Mirror. The band is the brainchild of Tas (former Electric Wizard, Satan’s Host) who started an outlet for his passion for classic heavy metal. A line-up was put together rather quickly although a... Continue Reading →
Review UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER ‘My Way’
One week after Ronnie Romero released an album, full of cover songs, German metal pioneer Udo Dirkschneider presents his newest effort. No doubt, there can be a discussion about sense and nonsense of such an album although I have to say that Dirkschneider’s roaring voice adds a special touch to most of the songs. Dirkschneider... Continue Reading →
Review SKULL FIST ‘Paid in Full’
The month of April provides a lot of interesting stuff for folks in Toronto, Ontario. The Raptors clinched a playoff berth, the Blue Jays have their opening weekend at Rogers Center and next to the sports scene also the Toronto metal community can enjoy good news. Metal maniacs Skull Fist unleash their fourth album ‘Paid... Continue Reading →
Review RONNIE ROMERO ‘Raised on Radio’
Ronnie Romero is certainly one of the most gifted singers in heavy metal these days. Lords Of Black was the springboard for the singer and it’s his voice, often compared with legendary Ronnie James Dio, that made him stand out from many other of his singing colleagues. Furthermore, Romero joined no less than Richie Blackmore... Continue Reading →
Review AUDREY HORNE ‘Devil’s Bell’
Bergen-based rock’n’roll outfit Audrey Horne belongs to the top of the European hard rock bands and six albums speak the clear language of rock’n’roll. High energy and an unbound passion for their music is what makes the band stand out. Four years after having unveiled their latest album to date, ‘Blackout’, the agenda of everybody... Continue Reading →
Review FREJA ‘Tides’
Freja is the idea of C. (Witte Wieven) and W. (Laster, Verval). The duo recorded their debut album ‘Tides’ which will be released Mid-April and comes through Babylon Doom Cult Records. Freja has a passion for atmospheric black metal and the six songs on ‘Tides’ echo this musical hunger. The starting point for Freja is... Continue Reading →
Review NAZARETH ‘Surviving the Law’
British hard rock pioneers Nazareth do have a long track record and influence(d) a lot of bands along the way. The band from Scotland was founded in 1968 and the first album, the self-titled debut, enriched the rock scene in 1971. One of the iconic factors that made Nazareth special was the raspy voice of... Continue Reading →



