In progressive metal circles, the names of guitarist Jim Matheos and vocalist John Arch are spoken with due reverence. With the former having been a driving force in Fates Warning for thirty-five years, and the latter the original front-man of that band, they also have a single seminal work under the Arch / Matheos banner,... Continue Reading →
CD review BLOODBOUND ‘Rise of the Dragon Empire’
(7/10) Swedish Bloodbound releases new records on a regular base and here‘s the newest one. ‚Rise of the Dragon Empire‘ is their first longplayer that comes through AFM Records, while there isn't that much other new. It‘s melodic power metal in the typical fashion you get offered by the Swedish sextet. Hooks, big melodies and... 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 RITUAL ‘Trails of Torment’ reissue
(9/10) Cleveland based metallers Ritual might have been forgotten over time, or not even be noticed in the early ‘90s. The band faced many name changes after having started the band in 1985. Firedance, Rotterdam, Torment, Tormentor, Ritual Of Torment and Ritual, these aren’t monikers of different bands. It’s always the same band and it... Continue Reading →
CD review SPIRITS OF FIRE ‘Spirits of Fire’
(8/10) It happened already more than once in the past that Frontiers Music connected renowned musicians either to re-activate a spirit from the past or to create something new. This time the label went for the latter with starting a band called Spirits Of Fire. Tim Ownens, Chris Caffery, Steve DiGiorgio and Mark Zonder are... Continue Reading →
CD review SANHEDRIN ‘The Poisoner’
(8/10) Cruz Del Sur Music showed already more than once their great sense for bands, being located in the fields of traditional and epic metal. US-based Sanhedrin is one of the examples that shows how much good metal is out there, besides the well-trodden trails of mainstream. Sanhedrin is hailing from Brooklyn and their debut... Continue Reading →
CD review CHILDREN OF BODOM ‘Hexed’
(9/10) Is it Death Metal? Is it Power Metal? Does it matter? Children Of Bodom can’t be put in a certain labelled box. The five Finns create metal that bridges many metal styles. The only thing that counts is that their music is relevant and this can be clearly answered with a ‘Yes’. The fact... 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 ROCK GODDESS ‘This Time’
(8/10) This spring brings some new albums from all-girl bands that started way back in time. German Rosy Vista debuts after more than three decades and here comes the new album of Rock Goddess, a longplayer full of rock solid metal. Rock Goddess is rooted in the late 70's when the Turner sisters Jody and... Continue Reading →
CD review WRETCH ‘Man or Machine’
(7/10) Baseball fans know Cleveland since it’s the home of the Cleveland Indians. Non-baseball fans might know the baseball team due to the movie from the eighties and metal fans know the city, because of its vital metal scene. One metallic ambassador, hailing from there, is Wretch. The quintet has already two albums on their... Continue Reading →
Kendall Bechtel has left FIFTH ANGEL
In an official statement from Fifth Angel, this change was clarified: "Kendall is a brother and will always be a part of the FIFTH ANGEL legacy. However, if we are going to be honest, he has chosen a path that has left the band, the fans, our label Nuclear Blast, and our promoters in a very difficult... Continue Reading →
Watch FIFTH ANGEL’s new lyric video
Fifth Angel released their first album in nearly thirty years, 'The Third Secret', in autumn 2018. Before the quartet will perform at Germany's Metal Assault Festival (Würzburg) on February 16, they have launched a brand new lyric video for the track 'Stars Are Falling', the opening track of the aforementioned record.Watch now: https://youtu.be/1ssywrl5hgY "'Stars Are Falling' is a song that will probably... Continue Reading →
CD review AVANTASIA ‘Moonglow’
(10/10) The rise of Avantasia, happening during the last almost twenty years, is an impressive one. Mainman and founder Tobias Sammet started the project in 1999 with “The Metal Opera’ being the first longplayer that hit the record stores. What started rather small became one of the most remarkable metal opera projects in the here... Continue Reading →









