(7/10) Martyrdöd's smashing seventh album is mainly built on two pillars. One of them are the hysteric sound vocals by Mikael Kjellman and the other one are the rather melodic guitar lines. Now, using the work 'melodic' might lead to a wrong impression since Martyrdöd has nothing to do with melodic metal or similar. The... Continue Reading →
CD review AVATAR ‘The King Live in Paris’
(8/10) When the King holds court in Paris it needs an announcer to prepare everybody for the royal appearance. And since the King is in France, at Download festival to be precise, the announcement is done in French, directly followed by the start of the show. His Royal Highness entertains folks for around an hour... Continue Reading →
Live report BACKYARD BABIES / THUNDERMOTHER, De Helling, Utrecht 04.05.2019
Swedish rockers Backyard Babies are on the road with 'The Nordic Noir Tour 2019' and the final stop on this road trip is in Utrecht. De Helling hosts the quartet on May 4th - a day that includes National Dodenherdenking at 20:00, when Holland stands still in two minutes of silence to commemorate the victims... Continue Reading →
CD review ICED EARTH ‘Enter the Realm’ (EP) – Re-issue
(*/10) This release brings back some nice memories. It was in 1989 when metal powerhouse Iced Earth released a first demo entitles 'Enter the Realm'. It was the only demo of Iced Earth and the moment I started to listen to the tape I was excited about what got out of the speakers. Basically it's... Continue Reading →
CD review TRONOS ‘Celestial Mechanics’
(8/10) Is Tronos another supergroup? No idea, since I don't like this inflationary used term. What I do know is that Napalm Death's Shane Embury and producer Russ Russell teamed-up and started Tronos. Drums are handled by no less than Dirk Verbeuren and if you read these names you don't need to look into the... Continue Reading →
CD review WITHERFALL ‘Vintage’ – EP
(8/10) Right before embarking on an acoustic tour with Finnish metallers Sonata Arctica, Witherfall unleashes a new EP entitled ‘Vintage’. Witherfall is the brainchild of the creative duo featuring Joseph Michael and Jake Dreyer. The first one’s known from Sanctuary while the latter is a part of Iced Earth. The two guys added Anthony Crawford,... Continue Reading →
CD review BUCKCHERRY ‘Warpaint’
(8/10) Buckcherry premiered in 1999 with the self-titled first album and is since then a regular deliverer of great hard rocking music. Their latest studio album was even entitled ‘Rock’n’Roll’ and it’s four years later the guys attack with ‘Warpaint’. The new album was produced by Mike Plotnikoff (Halestorm, All That Remains), something that ensures... Continue Reading →
CD review BACKYARD BABIES ‘Sliver & Gold’
(9/10) Backyard Babies was never a band that was known for quick deliveries. The quartet from Stockholm instead is known for excellent records that see the light of day in an unsteady pattern. The common denominator of each of the seven albums up to date is the terrific interpretation of hard rocking music, which the... Continue Reading →
CD review QUEENSRYCHE ‘The Verdict’
(8/10) The announcement of a new Queensryche album leads to anticipation, esp. since the band step by step returns to being a powerful metal band that leaves all the legal fights behind. ‘Queensryche’ and ‘Condition Human’ where the first records with Todd La Torre. His voice added and still add so much to Queensryche’s sound... Continue Reading →
CD review HEXVESSEL ‘All Tree’
(8/10) Hexvessel is the brainchild of Mat 'Kvohst' McNerney. The musician, that was born and raised in the UK, played in various metal bands before he moved to Finland, his new home. Inspired by the Finnish heritage and pagan past, McNerney founded Hexvessel, a folk rock outfit that premiered in 2011 with 'Dawnbearer'. Eight years... Continue Reading →
CD review DESERTED FEAR ‘Drowned By Humanity’
(9/10) German metalers Deserted Fear come up with their fourth longplayer and it’s certainly the best to date. Originally hailing from Eisenberg (Translated into English it means Iron Mountain), Manuel Glatter (g/v) and Fabian Hildebrandt (g) moved to Jena during the last years, which added a new dynamic to Desert Fear’s music. ‘Drowned by Humanity’... Continue Reading →
AVATAR kicks-off European tour
AVATAR 2019 EUROPE HEADLINE TOUR25-Jan Nantes (FR) Le Stereolux - SOLD OUT 26-Jan Bochum (DE) Matrix 27-Jan Strasbourg (FR) La Laiterie29-Jan Zurich (CH) Dynamo Saal31-Jan Vienna (AT) Szene - SOLD OUT01-Feb Zlin (CZ) Hala Euronics02-Feb Warsaw (PL) Open Stage at Stodola - SOLD OUT03-Feb Graz (AT) Explosiv04-Feb Budapest (HU) A38 - SOLD OUT05-Feb Munich (DE) Backstage Werk... Continue Reading →
CD review SWALLOW THE SUN ‘When the Shadow is Forced Into the Light’
(9/10) Exactly four years ago, I had the chance to visit Jyvaskyla in Finland, which is a smaller city North of Helsinki. Every time a new Swallow The Sun album is on its way, I'm reminded of walking through the wintery streets of Jyvaskyla, which, on a grey day, feels like someone seriously swallowed the... Continue Reading →
CD review MALEVOLENT CREATION ‘The 13th Beast’
(9/10) Malevolent Creation's 13th beast is a hungry one. The new longplayer of Florida-based riff grinder Malevolent Creation is a strong statement that oldschool death metal is livelier than ever. The quartet released their latest album 'Dead Man's Path' in 2015 and a lot of things happened between then and now. What had the biggest... Continue Reading →
CD review SWALLOW THE SUN ‘Lumina Aurea’
(9/10) Swallow The Sun is a band that’s off the beaten tracks when it comes to their music. It was in 2015 when they published with ‘Songs From the North I, II & III’ a three discs comprising release that showed beautiful varity of doom, melancholy, grief and darkness. Sharp before Christmas the band unveiled... Continue Reading →




