Best Metal Albums of the Decade (2010-19)

We are nearing the end of 2019, and what we are experiencing together is a moment that will be remembered in the distant future as significant in music history. Why so? Because it brings to an end the decade of the 2010s, and what a glorious decade of hard rock and heavy metal it has been. Without further ado, here are the editor’s picks for the top 20 metal albums of the decade (2010-19).  Continue reading “Best Metal Albums of the Decade (2010-19)”

Album Review: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Infest The Rats’ Nest

There was a time when hard rock and heavy metal bands were prolific to the extent of releasing a new full-length album every year, a time when quantity matched quality and it was not one or the other. That time is long gone, as touring has become a necessity to drive sales, and for a majority of bands it takes anywhere between 2 and 4 years to come up with a new album, as most of them attempt to cope with the challenges of balancing the touring and creative cycles, striving to find the time, space and inspiration to create new music. And then there are some bands that take much longer than 4 years or do not bother writing new music at all, choosing to cash in on their legacy instead. Continue reading “Album Review: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Infest The Rats’ Nest”

Album Review: Kook – II

The best thing about the sophomore album by Kook, affectionately titled II, is the clear progression in quality all across the board. The first thing you’ll notice is how clean the production value is with II; the production work done by producer Billy Anderson creates a clear sound that allows the music to fully breathe which in turn allows all the little parts of the music to have a concise life of their own. The attention to little details creates a powerful foundation for the music to resonate all throughout the record. There’s a great importance in the quality of detail with II given its conceptual style and Kook really hit the mark on their production of this one. Continue reading “Album Review: Kook – II”

Playlist: Best Songs of 2018

Last week, we revealed the editor’s picks for the best albums of 2018, and now it’s time to go deeper into our year-end listathon. Some albums are meant to be listened to in their entirety, while others offer songs that stand out on their own. Then there were some EP releases that could not be considered for the best albums list but boast fantastic songs. This list spotlights the editor’s picks for the best songs of the year. Listen to it using the Spotify player below, and give Metal Assault a ‘Follow’ if you’re a Spotify user. Continue reading “Playlist: Best Songs of 2018”

A Modern Pinnacle of Live Concert Films: Opeth’s ‘Garden Of The Titans’ is Breathtakingly Brilliant

Swedish progressive metal group Opeth is without doubt one of the greatest bands, if not the single greatest band, over the period of the last two-and-a-half decades. Through 12 studio albums, the band has continuously explored new dimensions of their creative expression, and even though they always maintained an instantly recognizable Opeth flavor in all of their work, they never shied away from experimentation and change in musical direction. For better or for worse, the death-metal-Opeth versus clean-singing-Opeth debate and division will always exist, but all fans and critics agree in unison that Opeth still remains one of the finest live acts going around, still able to deliver material of all varieties with equal precision and power. To present this quality of their musicianship, the band released three concert films with corresponding live albums, in 2003, ’07 and 2010 respectively. On Friday November 2 2018, Opeth unveiled the fourth release of this kind, Garden Of The Titans: Live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, on DVD, Blu-Ray, CD and vinyl. A special, exclusive, one-off theatrical screening of the concert film was held at The Montalbán in Hollywood on the eve of the full release. One could not have imagined a more apt way to get the first taste of what is truly a brilliant offering by a brilliant band. Continue reading “A Modern Pinnacle of Live Concert Films: Opeth’s ‘Garden Of The Titans’ is Breathtakingly Brilliant”

Album Review: Alizarin – Cast Zenith

Alizarin is a brand new, fresh-faced band based out of Los Angeles, California, that has just released their debut album. One thing that brings such a fresh sheen to this band is their easy to understand, yet still in-depth approach to prog rock. Alizarin is composed of three members alongside a keyboardist who performed on the debut album, Cast Zenith. One thing that really pushes Alizarin’s prog approach to the forefront is the constant emotional payoff sown into each and every song across the album. Even with the extreme technical prowess there isn’t an overt focus on technical mastery, instead Alizarin allows the technical work to channel and express powerful emotional content. Continue reading “Album Review: Alizarin – Cast Zenith”