Metal Assault: Album Reviews

By Andrew Bansal

Hailing from New York City, Vajra is a female-fronted alternative/progressive rock group that began in 2011, exploring East Indian themes and the brainchild of vocalist Annamaria Pinna. They’ve been generating local interest with live performances in NYC over the last three years, and in an endeavor to reach out to greater pastures recently self-released a new single ‘Blind (Blood Mix)’, off of their debut full-length album ‘Pleroma’, featuring Blake Fleming (ex-The Mars Volta) on drums, the vocals co-produced and mixed by Sylvia Massy (Tool, System of A Down, Prince, Johnny Cash), and the album mastered by Tom Baker (NIN, Foo Fighters, Ministry, Prince). Progressive music knows no boundaries and when presented in a manner rock/metal fans can appreciate, I’m always all ears to check out upcoming artists pursuing this style, and after listening to this Vajra single, I can safely say I’m glad I did. Continue reading “Vajra – Blind (Blood Mix) [Single]”

By Andrew Bansal

To any regular visitor of this website, the name Dave Lombardo needs no introduction. Thrash metal has dominated the Los Angeles-based drummer’s life, but he has closed that chapter of his musical career and is now attempting to carve a new identity with complete commitment to Philm, a band he formed in early 2010 with two of his closest friends Gerry Nestler (guitar/vocals) and Pancho Tomaselli (bass). Philm started playing occasional shows in the LA area that year, did some small-scale touring in the US and internationally, and released their debut album ‘Harmonic’ in 2012, to a mixed response. Since then, they’ve had the next batch of material ready for release for a long time but were awaiting a record deal, and on September 16th, Philm’s second LP ‘Fire From The Evening Sun’ finally saw the light of day via UDR Music. Continue reading “Philm – Fire From The Evening Sun”

By Aniruddh ‘Andrew’ Bansal

Dying Embrace and Dusk, hailing from Bangalore (India) and Karachi (Pakistan) respectively, are undoubtedly two of South-East Asia’s oldest doom metal entities, and as a rare and special offering to fans of the genre, they have joined forces to contribute five tracks each for a split full-length release called ‘Through Corridors Of Dead Centuries’ which was released internationally via Indian record label Cyclopean Eye Productions in August. This collaborative release has been talked about by members of both bands for the past two years or so, and it’s exciting to finally see its release, to hear what these cult legends of the scene have to offer on their newest material. Continue reading “Dying Embrace / Dusk – ‘Through Corridors Of Dead Centuries’ Split”

By Andrew Bansal

Swedish classic metal band Wolf have enjoyed a respectable existence with a cult following for the past 18 years, and even though they remain a largely unknown entity in the United States mainly because of their lack of touring in these parts, they’ve established themselves in Europe and other territories around the world through a combination of six solid studio albums and great live shows on tours and festival appearances. Now, they are ready to release their seventh full-length ‘Devil Seed’, out August 25th in Europe and September 2nd in the US via Century Media Records, an album that will bring nothing but pure delight to the genuine metalhead, and might just be the one to architect Wolf’s global breakthrough. Continue reading “Wolf – Devil Seed”

By Andrew Bansal

Based out of Little Rock, Arkansas, doom metal quartet Pallbearer garnered widespread acclaim and recognition amongst fans and critics in the genre for their incredible 2012 debut full-length ‘Sorrow And Extinction’. Now, their much anticipated follow-up effort is releasing via Profound Lore Records, and while the debut was an unadulterated portrayal of the expression that is doom metal, this new album, recorded under the supervision of the legendary Billy Anderson, builds upon the foundation of its predecessor and ends up giving rise to a colossal sonic monument. Continue reading “Pallbearer – Foundations Of Burden”

By Andrew Bansal

Swedish progressive metal stalwarts Opeth have been an enigma of sorts in recent years, no doubt broadening their horizons with every album but at the same time polarizing fans with changes in musical direction, most prominently on their tenth album ‘Heritage’ (2011) wherein the much publicized and documented discarding of the death metal growls became a reality old-school Opeth fans would have to deal with. Now, the band is ready to release their eleventh full-length ‘Pale Communion’, an album that explores the Heritage sound a bit further.  Continue reading “Opeth – Pale Communion”