Metal Assault: Album Reviews

By Andrew Bansal

Hailing from Houston, Texas, stoner metal quartet Venomous Maximus announced their arrival with in 2012 with the release of their debut full-length album ‘Beg Upon The Light’. Traveling a path on which they’ve gained recognition from mainstream Texas-based press outlets and underground metal fanatics alike, Venomous Maximus put a great amount of work and thought into the follow-up album. Their sophomore effort ‘Firewalker’ is now ready for release on May 19 via Shadow Kingdom Records, and should stand to serve as a representation of the group’s metamorphosis. Continue reading “Venomous Maximus – Firewalker”

By Andrew Bansal

London-based symphonic metal quintet CalatrilloZ have honed their individual and collective personalities both sonically and visually since their 2009 inception, and with much investment of thought and deliberation put behind it, they are ready to release their debut full-length album ‘Pslams Of Zahyin’ in June 2015. In an era that is witnessing most so-called symphonic metal bands overstepping the fine line and lose the right to be truly labeled as metal, CalatrilloZ bring forth a fresh, intelligent approach that simultaneously obeys and disobeys the rules and stereotypes. Continue reading “CalatrilloZ – Psalms Of Zahyin”

By Andrew Bansal

Lafayette, Louisiana based six-piece Secondborn are ready to announce their arrival with the imminent release of their 6-song EP ‘Symbols’. The upbeat, melody-driven, progressive set of tunes presents the band in a largely positive light and seems poised to create a solid first impression. Continue reading “Secondborn – Symbols (EP)”

By Andrew Bansal

Based out of Spain but hailing from geographically all-encompassing regions, prog/experimental/fusion group The Great Game clearly know no rules or boundaries when it comes to musical style, and compose music in a manner that potentially appeals to a wide range of listeners. Their 2015 self-titled full-length effort is a shining example of this very trait, engulfing a multitude of sonic landscapes within itself. Continue reading “The Great Game – Self-Titled”

By Andrew Bansal

Atlanta, Georgia’s Royal Thunder released their debut full-length ‘CVI’ in 2012, an album that can be truly hailed as one of the most beautiful efforts in psychedelic hard rock to have surfaced in recent history. In the three years that followed, the band toured endlessly to present these tunes on stages worldwide, but somewhere during that period, found the time and inclination for further creativity which has resulted in a new album called ‘Crooked Doors’, released in April 2015 via Relapse Records. For listeners that found themselves captivated by ‘CVI’, it was hard to detach from that album and give ‘Crooked Doors’ a fair chance, but Royal Thunder’s newest creation has finally sinked in. Continue reading “Royal Thunder – Crooked Doors”

By Andrew Bansal

Los Angeles heavy metal quartet Desecrate have been toiling hard in local circles for what seems like an eternity. They’ve remained consistently prolific in terms of live performances at any and every club around town and occasionally elsewhere, but when it comes to releasing new music, there has always much deliberation, thought and planning behind it. Three years after they put out their sophomore full-length ‘At The Edge Of Sanity’, they self-released their third LP ‘Of Death And Damnation’ in March 2015. It’s an album that does not limit itself to any sub-genre definitions but one that succeeds in defining the musical personality of this band better than any of their past studio efforts and firmly puts them on a map that extends beyond the city of Los Angeles. Continue reading “Desecrate – Of Death And Damnation”