I‘m always listening to Metal and new releases so, here are my reviews of recently released albums that I think you should know about. Forget about these in-depth reviews, I’m bringing you quick reviews on multiple releases to help you guide your way through the METAL world today!
BASICALLY, THIS IS JUST MY OPINION, LIKE IT OR NOT…
Ratings: [0(sucks) to 5(awesome)]
{Format: Band – album title = rating |label |style of metal. review}
ASHES OF ARES – Emperors and Fools = 4/5 |Rock of Angels |PROGRESSIVE/POWER METAL
When their debut self-titled album came out, I was not that impressed, then the sophomore album turned things in the right direction as I enjoyed about a third of that album. Now, 4 years later, the third album Emperors and Fools is here… and if have you missed, I mean, really missed old school ICED EARTH? Emperors and Fools is f’n incredible! This is the album that should’ve came out after Horrow Show. Matt Barlow has always been one of my favorite PM vocalists and it’s awesome to hear him on such a great album again! Emperors and Fools is heavier and more hard-hitting thrashy style PM, but they also include elements of Euro style PM and classic heavy metal to keep this album sounding interesting and entertaining. Overall, a heavier, mid-tempo-ed album with a few good ballads too. Best album yet! Emperors and Fools will be in my top albums of 2022! 12 tracks, 1 instrumental, 5 are killer and 5 are good.
ffo: ICED EARTH, PYRAMAZE, CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, STEEL PROPHET, JAG PANZER
VOIVOD – Synchro Anarchy = 4/5 |Century Media |PROGRESSIVE METAL
OK, right off the back, I’m not your “go to guy” for a VOIVOD review. I’m a fan of the first 4 albums and the Target Earth album, the rest is so-so or blah/nope. I’m a huge fan of MARYTR so when Daniel Mongrain joined the band in Piggy’s place, I was excited, and they delivered on Target Earth but the next album The Wake was a flop IMO. Now, Synchro Anarchy is here and it’s fucking incredible! This is what I like to hear from VOIVOD, it has a perfect blend of the past to their progression into the future. Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain has done a fantastic job recapturing the magic of the old albums yet bringing enough of something new to this album. Yet again creating a prog thrash album of complex difficulty while being very accessible and easy to listen to, VOIVOD hasn’t missed a step and is still at the top of their game! At 15 album releases and creating something this good: Hail to the legends, even if they’re not one of my favorite bands! Surprisingly this might be in my top albums of 2022! 9 tracks, 4 are killer and 4 are good!
ffo: WATCHTOWER, ANACRUSIS, MEKONG DELTA, OBLIVEON, MARTYR, DBC
HORDE CASKET – Plague Supremacy = 3.5/5 |Unsigned |BRUTAL DEATH METAL
HORDE CASKET is one of those bands that is good enough but just hasn’t got the recognition they deserve. With 5 albums out in their 15-year existence, they return with a new EP and it’s the best thing they’ve ever done! This is top notch brutal DM you’d expect coming out of the mid-west. Mixing that DM sound, you would hear from the mid-west and the California brutal bands, HORDE CASKET has proven over and over they are a force to be reckoned with, but this new EP just shatters their previous material. Enlisting the help of Marco Pitruzzella on drums has definitely kept this EP tight sounding. Plague Supremacy is a whirlwind of blasting brutality with a few instrumentals to catch your breath really quick. This EP will be in my top EP for 2022! A must for Brutal DM fans! 7 tracks, 3 instrumentals, 3 are killer and 1 is good.
ffo: DEEDS OF FLESH, FLESH CONSUMED, NECROTIC DISGORGEMENT, REGURGITATION
WIEGEDOOD – There’s Always Blood at the End of the Road = 4/5 |Century Media |BLACK METAL
WOW! WIEGEDOOD is back with their 4th album and it’s f’n incredible! ‘Wiegedood’ is the Dutch word for ‘sudden infant death syndrome’, which kind of gives a glimpse of what the band is about all the emotions that could “bring forth” during that situation. They’re labeled has BM but there are strong influences of atmospheric BM and dissonant DM vibes too. The first song is just a boot to your front door then blitzkriegs your house and destroys everything in its path! WIEGEDOOD has left the trilogy albums behind and sprinted forth with this new batch of craziness that is very much in the direction I like. There’s Always Blood at the End of the Road is not following any trend but just delivering cold, frigid BM! It really has everything from blasting/chaotic to atmospheric/moody parts to progressive/pushing the boundaries of what BM is. This is WIEGEDOOD‘s most hostile album yet and it’s in my top albums of 2022! 9 tracks, 4 are killer and 2 are good!
ffo: ANAAL NATHRAHK, DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT, UADA, DODSRIT, TAAKE, GORGUTS
ABYSMAL DAWN – Nightmare Frontier = 2.5/5 |Season of Mist |DEATH METAL
Brand new EP featuring 1 new track, 1 re-recorded track and 2 covers. ABYSMAL DAWN came out a bit heavier on this new song, definitely headed down more the brutal DM path. If they deliver a new album featuring more of this, then more DM fans will take notice. Overall, I’m not that big a fan of the band, I wasn’t fully on board until Obsolescence (which is my fav) and the follow-up Phylogenesis was very good too. So, the band seems to be moving in the right direction for my taste. The new song has gotten me excited for a new album. Also, there are good covers of IN FLAMES and the CANDLEMASS. 4 Tracks, 2 covers, 1 is killer and 1 is good.
ffo: DECAPITATED, SUFFOCATION, ANATA, ARSIS, NEURAXIS, NECROPHAGIST
DAWN OF SOLACE – Flames of Perdition = 2.25/5 |Noble Demon |MELODIC DEATH/DOOM METAL
The first new release for 2022! Tuomas Saukkonen is a genius when it comes to melodic metal in any sub-genre. Pumping out multiple melodic albums under a hand full of band names, Tuomas Saukkonen has proven he’s one of the best. In 2014 he disbanded all his band to focus only on WOLFHEART, but it seems his creativity couldn’t be locked down as 14 years after the debut album DAWN OF SOLACE was resurrected! Now with an addition of a clean vocalist the sophomore album, Waves was a solid emotional doomy experience. Two years later the third album Flames of Perdition is here and it’s more on the doom side. A very heavy focus on the emotional atmosphere for this album that just emits despair, darkness and gloom. Solid release but I prefer more of his upbeat style melodic DM. I do like the Waves album better. 8 tracks, 2 are killer and 3 are good.
ffo: KATATONIA, INSOMNIUM, BEFORE THE DAWN, DAYLIGHT DIES, IN MOURNING
NAPALM DEATH – Resentment is Always Seismic… = 3/5 |Century Media |GRIND
New 30-minute EP from the legends with some leftover vibes of the last full-length Throes of Joy in The Jaws of Defeatism. About half the EP is normal, old school blasting grind you’d expect then a little bit of the weirdness like the last album and two cover songs. If you’re a huge NAPALM DEATH fan than 3 of these songs make it worth tracking down and buying the EP as it shows, they are still as good as always! 8 tracks, 3 are killer and 1 is OK.
ffo: TERRORIZER, CARCASS, LOCK UP, BRUTAL TRUTH, INSECT WARFARE
THE MIST FROM THE MOUNTAINS – Monumental-The Temple of Twilight = 3.25/5 |Primitive Reaction |BLACK METAL
A new band from Finland bring us their version of melodic BM. Monumental – The Temple of Twilight is something different with a similar sound to the 90’s of a good mix of raw, melodic, folk, doomy, and blasting BM; it delivers a very entertaining and catchy album. If you’re yearning for that 90’s BM sound then this is the album for you, but unfortunately with such a short album it might be too straightforward to grasp that full old school magic sound. Personally, I enjoyed this very much, it’s old school with a modern production and I’m looking forward to more. A very professional album from veterans of the Finnish scene that offers something good, but does it have enough to stick with the listeners? Definitely worth checking out! 6 tracks, 3 are killer and 2 are good.
ffo: OLD MAN’S CHILD, ALGHAZANTH, RAPTURE, BORKNAGAR, WINDIR, …AND OCEANS, MGLA
LASTERA – From the Ashes = 2/5 |Unsigned |PROGRESSIVE/POWER METAL
I am very hesitant when checking out new bands in the POWER METAL genre. My reasoning is I’ve lost a lot of respect for this genre mainly newer bands are either some gimmicky crap/image is more important than the music or it’s the same ole thing I’ve heard a hundred times before. I honestly think the whole entire genre needs to get more creative and experiment as other genres have left PM way behind. From the Ashes, the debut album from this Danish band, I heard a song online and it sounded good enough for me to check it out. The first song is incredible, PM with touch of prog and some modern touches with a few blast beats and an up-tempo pace. LASTERA has that Euro symphonic PM mixed some progressive elements and with a touch of extreme metal. Overall, a decent debut, a good amount I liked on here and some I didn’t, but a lot of promise for this band. I’d like to see them stay more aggressive and up-tempo-ed for the next album. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a PM fan. 9 tracks, 3 are killer and 3 are OK.
ffo: HELLOWEEN, SONATA ARCTICA, FATES WARNING, KAMELOT, MAJESTICA
PERSEFONE – Metanoia = 2/5 |Napalm |PROGRESSIVE/MELODIC DEATH METAL
About decade or more back I was introduced to this band, and it also blew my mind that there was a country between France and Spain called Andorra which sounds like it should be a planet name in a Sci-Fi flick. PERSEFONE delivers progressive metal with a modern melodic DM vibe. I’m not the biggest fan of the band but each album offers a few tracks that I very much enjoy. Metanoia is a different animal this time around, the band has incorporated more of the djent style and a good chunk (half of the tracks) of the album being instrumental tracks. I guess you can say the band is pushing the boundaries and experimenting with their sound with Metanoia. It feels like the band is trying too hard to offer this mysterious atmosphere through the instrumental tracks then delivers their heavier aspect of what they are, but something is missing for me. I have a feeling that prog heads will absolutely love this while average fans will be OK with it. This is one of those bands I like but they never fully deliver a solid album that I enjoy (my personal opinion), it’s one of those albums I pull out to listen to 2 or 4 songs then put it back in my storage rack. If you’re a progressive metal fan, this is a band to check out! 10 tracks, 5 instrumentals, 3 are killer and 2 are OK.
ffo: IN VAIN, NE OBLIVISCARIS, OBSCURA, IHSAHN, DEVIN TOWNSEND, WINTERSUN
NIGHT HAG – Phantasmal Scourge = 2.25/5 |Rotted Life |DEATH/DOOM METAL
Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of the Death/Doom genre of metal, I like a very, very few bands, but these are friends of mine, so I’ll get their debut album a review! So, like I stated with the VOIVOD review above, I’m not your “go to guy” for an honest review of this genre, their friends and I’m showing some love. Their last EP was very solid while giving enough DM with the doom. Phantasmal Scourge is definitely more doom laden. This album is heavy, sludgy and grimy sounding feeling like a journey of wading through waist deep gore and sewage for miles and miles. Me, personally, I’d like to hear more of what track 5 and 7 sound like, a little bit more DM oriented and a touch of a quicker pace. If you’re a fan of crushing death/doom similar to the bands that originated the genre, then NIGHT HAG will be your band to drag you through the muck while slowly pummeling you in submission. So, Death/doom fans give it a listen! Also includes two good covers of MORTICIAN and NECROPHAGIA. 9 tracks, 2 covers, 2 are killer and 3 are good.
ffo: AUTOPSY, MORTICIAN, INCANTATION, DIVINE EVE, COFFINS, THE CHASM, CIANIDE, WINTER
COFFIN FEEDER – Stereo Homicide = 2/5 |Unsigned |BRUTAL DEATH METAL/DEATHCORE
Sven (from ABORTED) new band that teeters between DM and DEATHCORE. Overall, sounds like a groovier, breakdown version of ABORTED with a touch of creepy atmosphere. Stereo Homicide is hard hitting, technical and breakdowns that bludgeons the listener with this EP. If you’re not a fan of DEATHCORE, then this is not for you because certain moments are definitely brutal DEATHCORE. It’s a decent debut but I’d like to see it separate it’s self-more from that ABORTED sound. 6 tracks, 1 intro, 2 are good and 2 is OK.
ffo: ABORTED, IN-QUEST, BENIGHTED, INGESTED, ACRANIUS, CEREBRAL BORE
