The first time my attention was directed towards Anchillotti was when the band performed at the Heavy Metal Maniacs festival 2015 in The Netherlands. With their traditional heavy metal the four Italians knew how to impress the audience. At that time the guys had just released their debut 'The Chain Goes On' and everything still... Continue Reading →
CD review DARK ARENA ‘Alien Factor’ – re-issue
Dark Arena is a band that isn't on the radar of many metal fans which doesn't mean that the guys from Cleveland, Ohio play bad music. Not at all and the the contrary is reality. The band premiered in 2006 with an album called 'Alien Factor'. Pure Steel Records is now re-releasing the longplayer that... Continue Reading →
CD review CLOVEN HOOF ‘Age of Steel’
Three years after 'Who Mourns for the Morning Star?' it is 'Age of Steel' that provides again hard-hitting Heavy Metal, music with an oldschool spirit and a modern production. Two thumbs up.
CD review PICTURE ‘Wings’
(8/10) Hollands Metal veterans Picture is a band many kids don't know. The band premiered in 1980 and is for more than 40 years in business, but never had the big breakthrough. After some changes in the line-up over the last years it was three years ago when 4/5 of the original band joined forces... Continue Reading →
CD review RUTHLESS ‘Evil Within’
(7/10) Underground legends Ruthless evoked the 'Discipline of Steel' back in 1986 when the band premiered with a ten track comprising longplayer. Although the album wasn't a bad one, competition was quite strong at the time and an upcoming grunge vibe didn't make things easy either. As a result Ruthless parted ways in 1990. 25... Continue Reading →
CD review ATTIKA ‘When Heroes Fall’ – re-issue
(7/10) A few days ago I posted a review of Ritual’s “Trails of Torment’ album, which is re-released by Pure Steel Records. Now it’s another band from the ‘90s that benefits from a re-issue of one of their albums. Attika is the name of the band, a quartet that released their ‘When Heroes Fall’ album... 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 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 →
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 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 →
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 →
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 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 NECRYTIS ‘ Dread en Ruin’
(6/10) After having released the debut in 2017 US metal band Necrytis worked on a next album. The work’s accomplished and ‘Dread en Ruin’ is ready to be shipped to the record stores. Some of the tracks on this album are done quite well. One of them is the eight minutes long ‘Call Us Insanity’.... Continue Reading →