Metal Assault: Album Reviews

By Jaide Alicia

Death metal band Gruesome pays homage to ‘Human’ era Death with their latest release ‘Fragments of Psyche’. Released by Relapse Records, this EP features a cover of Death’s ‘Choke On It’- originally released on their 1988 album ‘Leprosy’. Gruesome adds influence from Death’s fourth full-length album ‘Human’ to add their own twist to the track without drawing attention away from the classic Death sound. Recruited for the recording of this track is former Death drummer Sean Reinert who adds another touch of ‘Human’ influence.  Alongside the cover of ‘Choke On It’, the EP opens with a brand new song, the title track itself, which also features Reinert’s masterful drumming. Continue reading “Review: Gruesome – Fragments of Psyche EP”

By Ryan Falla

Hailing from Liverpool, Coltsblood looks to take extreme doom metal and drag it even further into an abyss not yet explored. However, is this abyss worth exploring? Continue reading “Album Review: Coltsblood – Ascending”

By Andrew Bansal

Based out of Atlanta, Georgia, Royal Thunder has been a band that has captivated listeners with every release of theirs, and in their relatively young 12-year career thus far, have only gone from strength to strength, all the while broadening their creative horizons. Their 2010 self-titled debut EP came across as straight-up doom metal with bluesy tendencies, the first LP ‘CVI’ (2012) was decidedly more classic hard rock inspired, and the 2014 follow-up ‘Crooked Doors’ explored the band’s melodic elements. In 2017, they have released ‘Wick’, a blend of all the above and much more. Continue reading “Album Review: Royal Thunder – Wick”

By Ryan Falla

Asheville, North Carolina band All Hell is moving fast, as they’re already releasing a follow-up to their acclaimed LP ‘The Red Sect’ which released last year. Now, All Hell is dropping an entirely new record for the whole world to hear; the speed at which they are working is indicative of their desire to be heard. ‘The Grave Alchemist’ features a fantastic concoction of thrash/punk magic with a strong flavoring of early black metal for good measure. At heart they are a punk band, yet the flavors they mix with their base sound raises them to something much greater than a simple punk band. Continue reading “Album Review: All Hell – The Grave Alchemist”

By Rosie Walker

Conceived by brothers Ryan and Don Clark in 2000, Demon Hunter is a force to be reckoned in the American metal scene. 17 years ago the brothers emerged from the grunge capital of Seattle, to beget a band the combined hardcore, metalcore, and deathcore. They triggered a lot of interest in their early years and continue to do so today. They manage to mould music in new, inventive ways and have a fascinating, dedicated fan base. Demon Hunter’s devotees rejoiced when the band announced their eighth studio album, ‘Outlive’. After being relatively quite for a couple of years, the band is back and is making waves with their new release. Continue reading “Album Review: Demon Hunter – Outlive”

By Ryan Falla

Power metal band Trial explodes out of Sweden with their third record ‘Motherless’ after finding a home at Metal Blade Records. The journey to metal stardom has not been an easy road for Trial. Forming in 2007, Trial came together in tentative form as they struggled to find strong footing before Linus Johanssan come into the fold in 2009 to bring unity and a voice to the band. After putting together a strong discography to start their career, Trial were snatched up by Metal Blade in preparation for their career defining record ‘Motherless’. Continue reading “Album Review: Trial – Motherless”