(8/10) It took a while until fans of Timo Tolkki's Avalon can welcome the newest album. 'The Land of new Hope' was unveiled in 2013 and already one year later it was 'Angels of the Apocalypse' that marked a second step. Part three of the Metal Opera took a bit longer though. Unfortunately things didn't... Continue Reading →
Live report ROCK HARD FESTIVAL 2019 – Day 2
Tyler Leads is around since a few years and the first time I saw them was in December last year when the guys opened for Hank Von Hell. Being impressed by their show it is a ‘must’ to be in time at Rock Hard Festival day 2. The benefit of being a local act is... Continue Reading →
Live report ROCK HARD FESTIVAL 2019 – Day 1
Whit weekend means Rock Hard Festival since 2004. The open air festival at Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen has kept its family spirit with many fans of Metal and Rock returning to Gelsenkirchen every year. Also Markus‘ Heavy Music Blog is present and here‘s the report of the great 2019 edition. It is with Vulture a local act... Continue Reading →
CD review VULTURE ‘Ghastly Waves & Battered Graves’
(8/10) What is it that German highways and Vulture have in common? Indeed, no speed limits. Vulture is still a rather new powerhouse in Metal. The band was founded in 2015 and released a first demo in 2016. A full-length debut followed one year later and after having inked a deal with Metal Blade it's... Continue Reading →
MICHEAL SCHENKER FEST reveals first details about the new album
Following on from the release of their successful debut album 'Resurrection', Michael Schenker Fest have completed the recordings for their second studio album, which is now scheduled to be released on September 20th this year worldwide through Nuclear Blast. Today Michael Schenker Fest reveal the cover artwork for 'Revelation',which was created by Zsofia Dankova (Powerwolf a.o.).“It is a fantastic artwork and a great cover. A picture... Continue Reading →
CD review THE RODS ‘Brotherhood of Metal’
(8/10) 'Brotherhood of Metal' is the pathetic title of The Rods newest delivery. The band of Ronnie James Dio cousin David Feinstein debuted in 1980 with 'Rock Hard' and released some more longplayers during the first half of the '80s. Radio silence took over in 1986 and it took more than 20 years until some... Continue Reading →
CD review LUNAR SHADOW ‘The Smokeless Fires’
(8/10) Two years after having uncovered the first full-length album ‘Far From Light’ it’s ‘The Smokeless Fires’ being the direction-giving second longplayer of the German quintet. The album is again done in cooperation with Cruz Del Sur and features seven new songs. The three years between the two records brought some roughness for Lunar Shadow.... Continue Reading →
SAXON will release ‘The Eagle has Landed 40 (live)’ in August
NWoBHM legends Saxon announced the release of 'The Eagle has Landed 40 (Live). The 3-CD package includes 40 songs, celebrating 40 years in Heavy Metal. The album contains live recordings from the last 12 years and covers songs like '20.000 ft', 'Machine Gun' and 'State of Grace'. It goes without saying that this release also... Continue Reading →
CD review BONFIRE ‘Live on Holy Ground – Wacken 2018’
(*/10) German melodic metallers Bonfire have a next live album right in the starting blocks. It’s certainly not the first live album the guys from Bavaria releases and it might not be the last one either. However, it’s the first one that captures a show the band played at the legendary Wacken festival. Bonfire performed... Continue Reading →
CD review DARKTHRONE ‘Old Star’
(9/10) Darkthrone, that's Fenriz and Nocturno Culto, both a well attuned duo in harsh Black Metal. Seventeen longplayer over the period o more than 30 years speak volumes and in contrary to the title of their newest release these guys are for sure no 'old stars'. As if there would be no tomorrow that duo... Continue Reading →
Live photo report JAG PANZER & IDLE HANDS, Musicon, Den Haag – 22.05.2019
It's not that often that US Metal legend Jag Panzer comes to Europe for live shows. So you better take a chance to see them live when they are in town, like this spring. As a part of their European tour, the Metal veterans played a show at Musicon in The Hague, a small venue... Continue Reading →
CD review INDIAN NIGHTMARE ‘ By Ancient Force’
(7/10) Indian Nightmare is an illustrious outfit, which is truly global with countries like Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey and Italy, band members call their home. It's often mentioned that Heavy Metal units and this quintet is an example for the saying being spot-on. 'By Ancient Force' is the sophomore album of this furious outfit. The longplayer... Continue Reading →
CD review LEATHÜRBITCH ‘Into the Night’
(8/10) Leathürbitch, already this moniker creates a certain level of attention, with the 'ü' being definitely more of an unusual letter in English language. Next is the artwork that reflects a certain '80s vibe but besides all this it's the music that needs to do the job. While I was spinning this longplayer for the... Continue Reading →









