(8/10) The Spirit is a new powerhouse from Germany. The quartet hails from Saarbrücken, Saarland and consists out of MS (d), AK (g), MT (V/g) and AT (b), with the latter being the newest band member. These four guys recorded with 'Sounds from the Vortex' a smashing debut that was unveiled as autonomously release in... Continue Reading →
CD review PRIMAL FEAR ‘Apocalypse’
(8/10) Mat Sinner is a restless mind. Things started many years ago in Stuttgart, Germany and it was Sinner, one of his main bands that kicked off a tremendous amount of releases, tours and projects. It’s almost impossible to count all the activities Mat Sinner was and is involved in. However, next to Sinner it... Continue Reading →
CD review ULTRAPHONIX ‘Original Human Music’
(8/10) How could it sound if boundaries pushing rock a la Living Colour meets filigree metal riff power performed by George Lynch? This question is answered. It’s ‘Original Human Music’. This is at least the title of an album that was done by Living Colour frontman Corey Glover and guitar heroGeorge Lynch, known from Dokken,... Continue Reading →
LP review CHASTAIN ‘The 7th of Never – 30 Years Heavy’ – re-release
(8/10) A bit more than 30 years ago Chastain released with 'The 7th of Never' an excellent US metal record that's built on Chastain's exquisite guitar play. The album followed the brilliant 'Ruler of the Wasteland' release from a year earlier and includes furious US metal. Roaring riffs and filigree solos are a substantial element... Continue Reading →
CD review BEACH RATS ‘Wasted Time’ – EP
(7/10) Beach Rats is a new band, entering the fields of punk and hardcore. Even though the band is new, band members are veterans when it comes to this style of music. Minor Thread/Bad Religion guitarist Brian Baker is part of this all-star cast as well as Lifetime’s Ari Katz. The band releases with ‘Wasted... Continue Reading →
CD review ENUFF Z’NUFF ‘Diamond Boy’
(7/10) It was in 2016 when glam rockers Enuff Z’nuff went through a bigger line-up change with new players coming on board. Today the quartet is represented by one founding member only. Chip Z’Nuff, being singer and bass player, is the only remaining member that was already a part of the band in 1984, the... Continue Reading →
CD review SINSAENUM ‘Repulsion for Humanity’
(9/10) ‘Repulsion for Humanity’ is the second strike of supergroup Sinsaenum. The band started in 2016 and is a collaboration of musicians, known from other pretty successful extreme metal bands. Drummer Joey Jordison is known from his days with Slipknot. Next to the drummer the band consist of two growlers/shouters. Attila Csihar (Mayhem) is one... Continue Reading →
CD review MANTICORA ‘To Kill To Live To Kill’
(6/10) Manticora's lead singer Lars F. Larsen isn't only a vocalist, he's also a writer who took care about the storyline that builds the base for the band's new album 'To Kill To Live To Kill'. It's a horror story he wrote and it's spread over two albums of which the first one will be... Continue Reading →
CD review SKELETONWITCH ‘Devouring Radiant Light’
(8/10) Athens, Ohio based Skeletonwitch released their sixth album end of July this year. 'Devouring Radiant Light' is the band's first release in five years and it shows a shift that happened over during this time. The first thing that's new is the singer. Adam Clemans joined Skeletonwitch in 2016 and the new album is... Continue Reading →
CD review MAD MAX ’35’
(8/10) I have to admit that I'm always looking forward to a new Mad Max album with full excitement. It was their fourth album, ‘Night of Passion’, that put a spell on me and since then new longplayers by Michael Voss’ melodic metal outfit always have been a delight. Nothing changed when I heard about... Continue Reading →
CD review ARTIZAN ‘Demon Rider’
(8/10) Jacksonville, Florida is the homebase of Artizan, a US metal powerhouse that has its fourth longplayer in the pipeline. 'Demon Rider' follows the 2015 release 'The Furthest Reaches' and features, in the standard version, 5 songs. A limited version includes, next to the 5 songs, the title track with no less than Jag Panzer's... Continue Reading →
CD review GRAHAM BONNETT BAND ‘Meanwhile, Back in the Garage’
(8/10) British vocalist Graham Bonnett, well known from his days with Rainbow, Alcatrazz and Impellitteri, always had solo releases too with 'The Book' being the latest one to date. Two years after 'The Book' was unveiled it is 'Meanwhile, Back in the Garage' that opens a new chapter of Bonnett's solo journey and it's an... Continue Reading →
CD review MARILLION ‘All One Tonight (Live at the Royal Albert Hall)’
(9/10) Rock pioneers Marillion have a long track record in music. The band, that debut with 'Script for a Jester's Tear', has unveiled many brilliant rock albums from then till now. Most Marillion longplayers went right into the charts, some of those even achieving gold status. The latest studio release of Steve Rothery and bandmates... Continue Reading →
AL DI MEOLA releases ‘Elegant Gypsy & More Live’
(*/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 →









