Metal Assault: Album Reviews

By Andrew Bansal

Brooklyn-based band Primitive Weapons have released their debut album on Prosthetic Records, a very concise 7-song effort with a total duration of merely 25 minutes. Honestly, I had previously never heard of this band, but the fact that they recently signed to Prosthetic Records initially drew me towards them, and the couple of tracks they made available for streaming pre-release caught my attention. So I decided to check out the full album as soon as the opportunity presented itself, and I must say, I’m intrigued by it. The music is so eclectic that it’s nearly impossible to classify this band under one single sub-genre. Continue reading “Album Review: Primitive Weapons – The Shadow Gallery [8 out of 10]”

By Andrew Bansal

German blackened thrash metal band Desaster are back with a new length studio album. Throughout their career that has now spanned more than two decades, these cult heroes have worked with great passion and determination, sticking to their guns even through line-up changes and other problems. They have a multitude of demo tapes, singles, EPs, split releases and vinyl-only releases to their name, along with seven full-length albums. Their newest effort, titled “The Arts Of Destruction”, was released on February 28th via Metal Blade Records, and is now available everywhere. Their first full length release since “Satan’s Soldiers Syndicate”, which came out in 2007, this new album is definitely worth the wait. Continue reading “Album Review: Desaster – The Arts Of Destruction [9 out of 10]”

By Andrew Bansal

German guitar maestro Axel Rudi Pell has undoubtedly had a tremendous career so far. He started out in the band Steeler, contributing his axemanship to the four albums they released in a very prolific 4-year period from 1984 to 1988. After Steeler split up, Axel went on to create a successful solo stint for himself. He has released thirteen studio albums under his own name thus far, each of them presenting the various facets of his musicianship. Now, he is ready to deliver his fourteenth studio album “Circle Of The Oath” in an effort to please his loyal fan base, as well as gain new fans.

Continue reading “Album Review: Axel Rudi Pell – Circle Of The Oath [8 out of 10]”

By Andrew Bansal

Canadian heavy metal warriors 3 Inches Of Blood have given me some great memories over the past couple of years. I’ve seen them perform in all kinds of settings, as a headliner at Anaheim’s tiny Chain Reaction club, as opening act on the second stage at Mayhem Festival, and at a mid-sized club venue as main support to Eluveitie. Besides their high-octane live performances at these shows, I’ve enjoyed the four studio albums they’ve released over the course of their decade-long career, and the announcement of a new 3IOB album was very exciting for me. As soon as I was allowed the chance to listen to it, a sense of nervous anticipation took over me.

Continue reading “Album Review: 3 Inches Of Blood – Long Live Heavy Metal [10 out of 10]”

By Andrew Bansal

After the Magrudergrind, Enslaved, Wormrot and Immolation releases, the Scion A/V label is adding further to their impressive metal catalog with the latest offering, the Melvins EP titled “The Bulls & The Bees”. Just like previous Scion releases, this one is also available for free download, and the 23-minute EP presents five original tracks, the first since the 2010 full-length release “The Bride Screamed Murder”. The Melvins incorporated some weird experimentation into that album, and proved to be a departure from albums like “(A) Senile Animal” and “Nude With Boots”. But this new EP sees the Melvins return to more familiar territory, and will go down well with most fans, if not all. Continue reading “Review: Melvins – The Bulls & The Bees EP [9 out of 10]”

By Andrew Bansal

Two years back, thrash legends Overkill put out “Ironbound”, one of the best metal albums released in recent times, and if anyone needed proof of the fact that the band is as strong as ever, Ironbound was it. On the back of that tremendously successful album and an absolutely fantastic world tour which swept all attendees off their feet, Overkill are back with their sixteenth studio album “The Electric Age”, an album I’ve been anticipating with baited breath. After such an incredible album, it must have been a hard task to follow it up, and now it’s time for me to find out whether the band has successfully done so. Continue reading “Album Review: Overkill – The Electric Age [10 out of 10]”