ACCEPT announces ‘Symphonic Terror’ tour dates for 2019
ALMANAC tour dates for 2019
ALMANAC recently completed their 2018 festival season and seemingly can't get enough of playing live to their fans. So today they’re pleased to announce a headline tour, that will start early in 2019. Victor comments: “ After our tour at the beginning of this year and the amazing summer festivals we played at, ‘Werner-Das Rennen’ for example,... Continue Reading →
Live (photo-) report THRESHOLD/ SILENT WEDDING / MAXXWELL, Cultuurpodium Boerderij, Zoetermeer – 13.10.2018
UK prog rockers Threshold played a show at Cultuurpodium Boerderij mid October this year. It was the recent release 'Legends of the Shires' that got special attention on this tour with Threshold playing the album in its entirety. The only songs from other releases have been 'Pressure' and 'Slipstream', both being the encore for a... Continue Reading →
Metal Blade to release Picture Discs of CANNIBAL CORPSE and VISIGOTH records
On November 23rd Metal Blade Records will release two limited Picture Discs of recent Metal Blade classics! Cannibal Corpse' 'Red Before Black' and Visigoth's 'Conqueror's Oath' will come in this special format, being more than just a decoration for your record player.
VENOM announces new album
Black metal pioneers Venom announces a new album entitled 'Storm the Gates'. The release date for Venom's 15th longplayer is December 14th and the record comes via Spinefarm. Stay tuned for more.
Live (Photo-) report URIAH HEEP / THE ZOMBIES, Patronaat, Haarlem – 31.10.2018
Hallows' Eve in Haarlem and the first band that enters the stage comes with the moniker of The Zombies - what a match. Now, if you're a bit deeper into rock music and 50+, you know that The Zombies has nothing to to with Helloween and scary sounds (spoiler alarm: those came later). The Zombies... Continue Reading →
CD review BURNING WITCHES ‘Hexenhammer’
(8/10) Swiss-based metal hopefuls Burning Witches debuted in May last year with a self-titled album. The release received great feedback from fans was critically acclaimed too. With this positive response in mind, the five girls from Switzerland started to work on the sophomore release. 'Hexenhammer' is the name of this new metal strike, being Burning Witches'... Continue Reading →
CD review ASHES OF ARES ‘Well of Souls’
(8/10) 2018 seems to be a busy year for former Iced Earth frontman Matt Barlow. The singer teamed up with composer Jonah Weingarten and the duo released a self-titled album a few months ago. After such a cinematic and soundtrack-like release Barlow returns with Ashes To Ares. Next to Barlow, it was Freddie Vidales and... Continue Reading →
Tom G. Warrior returns to ROADBURN to perform CELTIC FROST/TRIPTYKON Requiem in full
Triptykon will return to Roadburn Festival in 2019 to perform the complete Celtic Frost/ Triptykon three part Requiem, complete with orchestral accompaniment. Having previously performed at the festival in 2010 and 2014 with Triptykon, and taken on curatorship duties for the former (selecting bands such as Sarke and Thorr's Hammer to perform); it's our pleasure to welcome... Continue Reading →
PICTURE releases ‘Warhorse’ on vinyl
A few weeks after having released a live album, Dutch metal pioneers Picture releases the 2012 album 'Warhorse' on vinyl. The album features singer Pete Lovell, in his second era of being a Picture member. 14 songs, spread over 2 vinyl discs, stand for strong heavy metal in the spirit of the NWoBHM. The extra... Continue Reading →
CD review ARION ‘Life is Not Beautiful’
(7/10) Arion is a Finnish symphonic metal band, hailing from Helsinki. The guys debuted in 2014 with an album entitled ‘Last of Us’, followed by a few single releases. Four years after the debut seeing the light of day it’s ‘Life is Not Beautiful’ being the sophomore release of the quintet. I have to say... Continue Reading →
CD review WITHERFALL ‘A Prelude to Sorrow’
(9/10) It was in 2017 when Witherfall debuted with 'Nocturnes and Requiems', an album that created a big wow amongst metalheads. Looking at the background of the musicians involved explains the quality of the debut. Iced Earth, Ross the Boss, Fortress and Sanctuary are just some of the bands Witherfall members have been or are still... Continue Reading →
CD review IMPELLITTERI ‘The Nature of the Beast’
(8/10) Three years, that was the waiting time of Impellitteri fans for a new longplayer of the guitar wizard from the US. On October 12th, the wait is offer. It's the day when the eleventh album of the six-stringer arrives at the record stores. Named 'The Nature of the Beast' the album comes with 12... Continue Reading →
CD review NECRONOMICON ‘Unleashed Bastards’
(7/10) A few days ago German thrashers Necronomicon unveiled their newest album. 'Unleashed Bastards' is already album number nine in the band's discography. Things took its course in 1986 when the debut 'Necronomicon' has been released, followed by two additional records. Things slowed down in the 90's before Necronomicon gained speed again in the first decade of... Continue Reading →
CD review FIFTH ANGEL ‘The Third Secret’
(9/10) 2018 is the year of two glorious comebacks of Seattle-based bands that released milestone records in metal during the 80’s. Prog masters Heir Apparent is one of them and Fifth Angel is the other one. The latter released a terrific debut in 1986. Songs like ‘In the Fallout’ and ‘Fifth Angel’ belong to the... Continue Reading →
CD review BONFIRE ‘Legends’
(*/10) German hardrocker Bonfire entered a rather successful new era a few years ago. The last three studio records showed a good development of a band that scored bigger achievements in the second half of the 80's when they toured with bands like Judas Priest. This time Bonfire unleashes a double CD with cover versions.... Continue Reading →
CD review PICTURE ‘Live – 40 Years Heavy Metal Ears – 1978-2018’
(*/10) Picture are real pioneers in heavy metal. The band, hailing from The Netherlands, was one of the first metal bands in Holland with a foundation date in 1978. In the meantime we are four decades further in time and Picture is still around. Already this fact is impressive since it demands a lot of... Continue Reading →
Live report SAXON / FM / RAVEN, TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht – 16.10.2018
Three live reports of the same band in one year doesn't happen that often. It's British metal pioneers Saxon that scored such a record on Markus' Heavy Music Blog. It was in February this year when Saxon played a show at 013 in Tilburg, followed by a headliner show at this years Rock Hard Festival.... Continue Reading →
CD review THE WIZARDS ‘Rise of the Serpent’
(8/10) Sometimes you never know what you have to expect when you receive an album of a band that isn’t familiar to you. Sometimes chicken, sometimes feathers. Now, this time it’s for sure chicken. The Wizards are a band I wasn’t really very familiar with. So let’s start from the beginning. It was in 2013... Continue Reading →
CD review OUTLAW ‘Marauders’
(7/10) The fact that Finland is the home base for many interesting metal bands is well known. One of these bands is Outlaw, hailing from a city with a rather difficult name: Lappeenranta. Singer Lee Anvel and bassist John Kaiser started the band which grew to a five-piece. Guitars are handled by Jimmy Slashburner and... Continue Reading →
CD review SHELTON/CHASTAIN ‘Edge of Sanity – ’88 Demo Session’
(10/10) There are releases that are beyond any score or rating. The value of these kinds of releases is far more than what can be summed up to a rate. ‘Edge of Sanity – 88’ Demo Session’ is such an album. The true value of ‘Edge of Sanity – ’88 Demo Session’ is the fact... Continue Reading →
CD review VULCAIN ‘Vinyle’
(7/10) It was in 1981 when the Puzio brothers founded a band they named Vulcain. Already one year later the band premiered with 'Rock'n'Roll Secours' and became one of the most constant outfits in French metal and hard rock. Also an eleven years time-out couldn't kill the rock'n'roll spirit. After a split-up in 1998 the... Continue Reading →
HEIR APPARENT’s Terry Gorle & Will Shaw talk about ‘The View From Below’
October 15th is the day when prog metal veterans Heir Apparent will release their highly anticipated third studio album, 'The View from Below'. Fans of excellent US metal and acclaimed progressive metal were hungry for this release and what was a dream for decades became real. MHMB contacted Terry Gorle and Will Shaw to get... Continue Reading →
CD review DARKNESS ‘First Class Violence’
(8/10) German thrashers Darkness belong to the second wave of German thrash metal bands. The band debuted in 1987 with the ‘Death Squad’ album, which was rough piece of work. Two more records followed before the Darkness called it an end, with musicians parting ways. It was in 2004, when some members of the Darkness... Continue Reading →
New METAL CHURCH album in December
West coast metal veterans Metal Church will release their 12th full length studio album ’Damned If You Do’ via Rat Pak Records on December 7, 2018 and will also be available in Europe via Nuclear Blast and Japan via KING Records. The latest release is the follow up to their highly successful 2016 album ‘XI’,... Continue Reading →
CD review DC4 ‘Atomic Highway’
(8/10) In an almost clandestine way, DC4 released their fourth full-length album ‘Atomic Highway’. DC4, that's almost family business if you will. It’s the three Duncan brothers, Jeff, Matt and Shawn, together with former Dio guitarist Rowan Robertson. The successor of the 2011 album ‘Electric Ministry’ sneaked into the stores mid-September and is available in... Continue Reading →
CD review HEIR APPARENT ‘The View From Below’
(10/10) Seldomly it happens that what you wish to happen also becomes real. It seems to stay a dream that never unfolds its beauty. One of these things is a new album of no less than Seattle-based prog metal legends of Heir Apparent. The quintet from the Amercian West Coast had two awesome releases during... Continue Reading →
Classics: RUFFIANS ‘Ruffians’
With this classic, we go back in time even further than with the latest 'Classics' posts. The Delorean brings us back to 1985. In a phase when metal gained momentum and many bands pushed into the market, it was Ruffians from San Francisco that unveiled a brilliant six-track album. Simply entitled 'Ruffians' the debut EP of... Continue Reading →
Classics: MORTAL SIN ‘Mayhemic Destruction’
Who can remember Mortal Sin? The quintet from Sydney, Australia isn't top of mind of everybody, but the ones of you that started their metallic journey in the 80's are familiar with this five-piece powerhouse from down under. Mortal Sin started in 1985 and was described as the 'Australian Metallica'. This gave already a clear idea... Continue Reading →
CD review BRAINSTORM “Midnight Ghost’
(8/10) September 2018 is an important month when it comes to heavy metal music, hailing from the greater Heidenheim area. The German city in the south of Germany is the hometown of two metal acts that are well-known in metal. Undertow will release their new album “Reap the Storm’ on September 21st and it’s know... Continue Reading →
CD review HAMMER KING ‘Poseidon Will Carry Us Home’
(8/10) Even though Kaiserslautern, Germany has no geographical connection to the sea, it’s Hammer King that got inspired by the ocean. The band, consisting out some Ivory Night members, is fronted by former Ross The Boss singer Titan Fox V. In contrary to the assumption of a Manowar copycat and in contrary to the debut, Joey... Continue Reading →
CD review MAYAN ‘Dhyana”
(9/10) Dutch powerhouse MaYan is back with a new longplayer. It’s not that the band released many records over the last years, but it’s the quality of each of the albums that’s stunning. After having debuted in 2011 with ‘Quaterpast’ the band unveiled their next strike with ‘Antagonise’ in 2014. Both records were critically acclaimed... Continue Reading →
CD review STRATOVARIUS ‘ENIGMA: Intermission 2’
(8/10) I guess that most of you are familiar with Stratovarius' 'Intermission' album from 2001. The record was a compilation that mainly featured live recordings, B-sides and bonus tracks of the Finnish powerhouse. 17 years later, Stratovarius reveals a new album and it's called 'Enigma: Intermission 2'. As with part one, also volume 2 comprises... Continue Reading →
CD review ACE MAFIA ‘Ace Mafia’
(8/10) Ace Mafia is a hard rock band, hailing from the UK. The band was founded by Geos Letona and it was now less the current Judas Priest axeman Richie Faulkner that played with Ace Mafia for several years. In March 2010 the band’s debut ‘Vicious Circle’ was released, supported by some live shows. Faulkner... Continue Reading →
CD review IRON LAMB ‘Blue Haze’
(7/10) Swedish Iron Lamb will release their newest longplayer end of October. ‘Blue Haze’ is the crucial album number three in the bands history and follows ‘Fool’s Gold’, which saw the light of day in 2015. The new record isn’t an album that’s extremely overloaded with songs. Actually it’ a rather limited amount of music... Continue Reading →
