CD Review: ‘Tango Umbrella’ by American Head Charge
Many folks born post 1993 are too young to remember the nu-metal era from 1996-2003. American Head Charge is one of the bands from that period that never enjoyed the success of bands like Korn or Slipknot. Tango Umbrella is the band's first studio LP in 1 ...
CD Review: ‘No One Can Save You From Yourself’ by Walls of Jericho
An eight year absence has not dulled Walls of Jericho's aggression. The stalwarts of American metalcore return with its fifth record, No One Can Save You From Yourself. Frontwoman Candace Kucsulain's guttural vocals grab your attention on the colossal “Il ...
CD Review: ‘Sunrise to Sundown’ by Spiritual Beggars
Spiritual Beggars keep the rock rolling on its ninth record, Sunrise to Sundown. The title track is a straight forward rocker with a tinge of psychedelia. The song is rather generic despite frontman Apollo Papathanasio's souful vocals. Things improve on “ ...
CD Review: ‘Dead Dawn’ by Entombed A.D.
Entombed AD return with a lethal dose of death n' roll on its sophomore effort, Dead Dawn. This record reminds me a lot of Entombed's 2003 record, Inferno, both in terms of production and songwriting. The band mixes elements of thrash, death, doom and pun ...
CD Review: ‘Stand in the Fire’ by Striker
Striker are one of numerous metal bands intent on revitalizing 80s metal. To clear things up, I greatly enjoy bands like Slayer, Megadeth, Motorhead and even Dokken. However, very few bands can capture the energy and excitement of that era without soundin ...
CD Review: ‘Akroasis’ by Obscura
Obscura's fourth record, Akroasis, is a metal mindtrip. The long awaited follow up to the critically acclaimed Omnivium, is a progressive musical journey of death metal, jazz and classical. The seven minute long “Sermon of the Seven Suns” is a metallic ro ...
CD Review: ‘Buried in Violence’ by Product of Hate
Product of Hate bring the brutal groove on its debut album Buried in Violence. The band's mix of death metal, thrash and hardcore will surely draw unfair comparisons to Lamb of God. However, the Wisconsin quintet has a sound completely distinct from its V ...
CD Review: ‘Codex Atlantis’ by Serenity
Serenity keeps its songs short and sweet on Codex Atlantis. One of my main grips with progressive and symphonic metal bands are the tedious song lengths. That is not the case on this record, as every track is under six minutes. Thus, the songs are fairly ...
CD Review: ‘X-No Absolutes’ by Prong
Prong keep the creative ball rolling on X-No Absolutes. The band's third studio LP in four years, (fourth if you include the group's 2015 covers album Songs From The Black Hole) X is a heavy, versatile record with the trio performing at its best. The open ...
Best Heavy Metal Albums of 2015
Well, a year winds down and a new year is before us. It is time to publish my list of the best heavy metal albums of 2015. It was not an easy selection, as bands both old and new released stellar albums this year. This list is not ranked, although albums ...