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By Andrew Bansal

Exactly 30 years ago, on November 1st 1982, British heavy metal legends Venom released their massively influential second studio album “Black Metal”. They inspired the first generation of thrash metal, black metal and various other forms of extreme metal to such an extent that the Venom touch can be felt in the music of countless number of bands today. The title song of this album itself, for example, has been one of the most popular choices for a metal cover tune over these past 30 years. I don’t think I’ve come across any other song being covered by nearly as many different bands. Having said that, the Venom sound of 1982 was something extremely raw, various aspects of it were completely original, and it was entirely different from what the Venom-inspired bands have morphed it into, from those days leading up to the present day. So, at least once in a while, it feels good to reminisce the early Venom albums like Black Metal and see where it all came from. Today is the perfect day to do just that. Continue reading “Retrospective: 30 Years Of Venom’s ‘Black Metal’”

By Andrew Bansal

Based out of Austin, Texas, heavy metal quartet The Sword have been in existence since 2003, and in just nine years since their inception, they have gone through a rapid growth in stature amongst fans and critics alike, thanks to their previous three studio albums “Age Of Winters”, “Gods Of The Earth” and “Warp Riders”, and a worldwide tour supporting Metallica in 2008-09. The latest studio effort “Warp Riders” was a concept album with an original science fiction story written by guitarist/vocalist JD Cronise, and turned out to be a massive creative undertaking. Now, they are ready to unleash their fourth studio album “Apocryphon”, which releases today, October 22nd 2012, via Razor & Tie. I must say, this was one of the easiest reviews I’ve had to do this year, having seen the band live on multiple occasions both as opening act and as headliner, and being very familiar with their back catalog. Very little ‘homework’ was required on my part. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I’ve always looked forward to a new Sword album with great anticipation. Continue reading “The Sword – Apocryphon [9.5 out of 10]”

By Riju Dasgupta [bassist & lyricist, Albatross]

By Andrew Bansal

Swedish classic metal band Sister Sin have been around since 2002, and have developed a reputation for their hard-rocking tunes and energetic live performances. Their catchy, lively 80s metal-style music sits well with fans of bands such as Judas Priest, Motley Crue, The Scorpions, Warlock and the likes, and besides playing their own headline shows, Sister Sin have selective in choosing the bands they open for, and in the process they’ve shared the stage with Alice Cooper, Doro, Udo, Motorhead, Michael Schenker Group, etc. Now, they are ready to release their new studio album “Now And Forever”, which releases on October 22nd via Victory Records. Continue reading “Sister Sin – Now And Forever [8 out of 10]”

By Andrew Bansal

Finnish epic metal band Wintersun’s second studio album ‘Time I’ has been in the making for several years now, and much to the delight of the band’s fans worldwide, it’s now ready for release on October 19th in Europe and October 23rd in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. Vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist and principal songwriter Jari Mäenpää had the vision of this enormous concept album, and he kept adding musical layers to it. The production process was very gradual, but the band was able to make it a reality in the end. The set of tunes originally written for this album exceeded the limits of a single album in their total duration, so the album was split into two parts, with ‘Time I’ about to be released now, and ‘Time II’ scheduled for a 2013 release. I got hold of the 40-minute first album, and was extremely curious to find out for myself just how huge this production is, and what it encompasses musically. Continue reading “Wintersun – Time I [8.5 out of 10]”

By Andrew Bansal

Chicago-based avant-garde metal band Yakuza have been known to experiment with their musicianship over the course of their 13-year career thus far, and as a result, each of their five albums presented something fresh and diverse. That being said, it’s all well and good employing various instruments, incorporating numerous styles and employing musicians from other genre, but for me such a band still needs to pull it off in a live setting, for it to be completely meaningful. And I’m glad to say that’s the case with Yakuza, as I found out when I saw them open for co-headliners Triptykon and 1349 at the El Rey Theatre in LA two years back. Led by Bruce Lamont, they put on an incredible show that matched up to the intricacy of their studio albums. I’ve been an admirer and a keen listener of their music ever since that night, and today I’m psyched to review their sixth studio album ‘Beyul’, which was released just yesterday on October 16th 2012 via Profound Lore Records. Continue reading “Yakuza – Beyul [8 out of 10]”