(7/10) DiAmorte is the brainchild of Canadian singer and songwriter Drake Mefestta. After having revealed a first EP in 2015 the guy debut sharp before Christmas with 'The Red Opera'. The album is a ten chapter featuring longplayer that units symphonic arrangements, rock and metal. It's a dramatic storyline about time and betrayal that frames... Continue Reading →
CD review NAILED TO OBSCURITY ‘Black Frost’
(8/10) 'Black Frost' with all its blackness fits perfectly into the dark month of January. Nailed To Obscurity's debut for Nuclear Blast is a seven-track trip into melancholy and greyness,a journey you should joi. The quintet from Northern Germany adds with 'Black Frost' an album to their discography that shows the band on a next... Continue Reading →
CD review METAL INQUISITOR ‘Panopticon”
(8/10) Koblenz-basedMetal Inquisitor might not be the band with a high-frequent release pattern, but every album so far for sure provided quality. It takes between 4-5 years for the band to come with a next longplayer, beginning with the debut ‘The Apparition’ from 2002. Good things come to those who wait, seems to be the... Continue Reading →
Classics: ATROPHY ‘Socialized Hate’
And here comes another chapter of my little Classics-series and it features a band hailing from Tuscan, Arizona. It was in 1986 when a new quintet got into a work mode, a band that delivered a first demo in 1987. A second demo tape followed a bit later and last but not least it was... Continue Reading →
CD review DEVOUROR ‘Slay For Satan’ (EP)
(8/10) This EP comes from a band, based in Asia. Singapore, that's where Devouror has their home base and it's Malaysian Metal Zone Records that releases a first EP of this exotic powerhouse. Devouror plays blackened death metal that finds its roots in bands like Possessed, Death and partially Sodom. 'Slay For Satan' is a raw... Continue Reading →
Classics: LIEGE LORD ‘Master Control’
If you're a regular reader of Markus' Heavy Music Blog you probably read sometimes about a band called Liege Lord being a reference when it comes to power metal. This quintet started in 1982 (as Deceiver) and belongs to the pioneers of US Metal. The powerhouse, hailing from Stamford, CT, premiered in 1985 with an... Continue Reading →
CD review ALL GOOD THINGS ‘Machines’ (Deluxe Edition)
(8/10) All Good Things began is a studio project with longtime friends creating music based on their passion for good rock music. Maybe it was this approach that led to music that was well-received. All Good Things reached many rock fans via streaming platform such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. This success motivated the... Continue Reading →
CD review DAMIAN WILSON / ADAM WAKEMAN ‘Stripped’
(*/10) You could question why this album gets an review on MHMB. The release has nothing to do with metal and it's not even rock you get offered by this delivery. But hey, it's Damian Wilson and Adam Wakeman that worked together and already this is reasons enough for listening to 'Stripped' and writing about... Continue Reading →
Classics: QUEENSRŸCHE ‘Queensrÿche’
In my review for the new Flotsam And Jetsam album, I referred to Swiss radio station DRS 3 and their metal show that took place in the eighties. Next to Flotsam And Jetsam's debut the guys also played, next to a lot of good stuff, two Queensryche song from the first EP the Seattle-based band... Continue Reading →
MHMB – Top 20 longplayers 2018
The metallic year 2018 is coming closer to an end, giving space for a promising 2019. It's a good moment to look back and here are my favorite 20 longplayers of 2018. 1.Heir Apparent - The View from Below2.Fifth Angel - The Third Secret3.Metal Church - Damned If You Do4.Judas Priest - Firepower5.Ultha - The... Continue Reading →
Classics: STORMWITCH ‘Stronger Than Heaven’ – re-issue
I guess the artwork would qualify for being one of the 10 most embarrassing covers in metal in the '80s. However, the witches brew that's produced by the 'three witches' seems to have metallic firepower that can be transferred to musicians. According to the album title the brew makes you 'Stronger Than Heaven' and you... Continue Reading →
Classics: AGENT STEEL ‘Mad Locust Rising’
In the second half of the '80s, Agent Steel was one of the candidates for becoming a really big metal act. The debut 'Sceptics Apocalypse' was critically acclaimed and also the sophomore album 'Unstoppable Force' was very welcomed in the '80s metal scene. Furthermore, the band was part of the legendary Metal Hammer Road Show,... Continue Reading →
Live (Photo-) report HANK VON HELL, VIRGINIA HILL / TYLER LEADS, Melkweg, Amsterdam – 16.12.2018
Hans Erik Dyvik has many names and one of them is Hank Von Hell. The former frontman of legendary Turbonegro recently released a debut under the banner of Hank Von Hell, a hardrock comprising album with good hooks and an Alice Cooper-like sound. With this album in his back pocket, Hank Von Hell gathered a... Continue Reading →









