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 HELLHAMMER ‘Apocalyptic Raids’ – reissue
The range of music, penned by Tom G. Warrior, couldn't be summed up better that with two releases in 2020. In May this year Triptykon, with the Metropole Orkest Reqiuem, will release a live recording, done at Roadburn 2019. A few weeks prior to this release it is another great album, that will take Metal... 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 LIK ‘Mass Funeral Evocation’ – re-issue
(8/10) Swedish death metal squad LIK have two two records registered in their track record up till now. The sophomore release 'Carnage' left the tomb in 2018 and was a successful strike with even entering the German charts. The album though that paved the way for LIK was the acclaimed debut 'Mass Funeral Evocation', which... 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 BURNING WITCHES ‘Burning Witches + Burning Alive’ – re-issue
(8/10) Swiss-based Burning Witches debuted in 2017 via BW Records. The self-titled album was a wow moment. Eleven songs showed that there is the next generation of metal bands in Switzerland, following the legendary Krokus. Destruction's Schmier as well as VO Pulver, known from e.g. Gurd, were already involved in the production of the powerful premier,... Continue Reading →
SABATON re-releases ‘Carolus Rex’ as Platinum Edition
'Carolus Rex' was the most successful album of Swedish powerhouse Sabaton to date. The album addresses the rise and fall of Swedish king Karl XII and reached a multi-platinum level in the band's home country Sweden. The award for 4x platinum will be handed over this year, which is, by coincident or not, 300 years... Continue Reading →
CD review THE QUIREBOYS ‘Homewreckers & Heartbreakers’ -re-issue
(*/10) Ten years after ‘Homewreckers & Heartbreakers’ has been revealed it’s a re-release of the album that will be available on September 3rd. The special edition features the original album tracks and is enriched by some live songs. These five tunes come with a good sound and can be seen as a nice extra for... Continue Reading →
CD review PARADISE LOST ‘Believe in Nothing’ – re-issue
(8/10) A few months ago, Nuclear Blast re-issued Paradise Lost's 'Host' album. The next re-worked album that hits the shelves for a second time is 'Believe in Nothing', originally released in 2001. As with the predecessor, the album reflects the band's flirt with gothic rock and metal, which also includes electronica. It's a continuation of... Continue Reading →
CD review CORONER ‘Mental Vortex’ & ‘Grin’ – re-issues
Not only due to the ‚Noise lebt!‘ campaign, but supported by it, Swiss thrash icons Coroner gain momentum again these days. I could witness the trio at this years Rock Hard Festival when the band performed an exquisite gig. Coroner began in 1984 and debut in 1987 with ‚R.I.P‘. What made the band to something... Continue Reading →
CD review SAXON ‘Denim and Leather’, ‘Power and the Glory’, ‘Crusader’ – re-issues
It's a lot of Saxon on Markus' Heavy Music Blog recently. The only reason for it is the fact that there's a lot of activity in the NWoBHM-legend camp. 'Thunderbolt', the newest longplayer, has seen the light of day early this year and the band's on tour, promoting the new release. This led to two... Continue Reading →