Category: Album Reviews

It is rare for the metal world to get excited about a new album by a band nearing the 50-year mark in their career. And the reason is simple, the law of averages suggests that the modern-day output from bands of this category is far from satisfying, and more often than not, fails to live up to the band’s own legacy. But, ever since they announced their 18th studio album ‘Firepower’, metal gods Judas Priest have generated unparalleled excitement among fans worldwide, so much so that it has taken me over a month from the album’s release date to absorb it and come to an objective review. After their mid-’90s period of obscurity, Priest undoubtedly sparked renewed interest among longtime fans with their 2005 reunion album ‘Angel Of Retribution’, a quintessentially stellar member of their discography. But since then, in 2008 they put out the double concept album ‘Nostradamus’ which was a giant damp squib, and the long-awaited 2014 follow-up ‘Redeemer Of Souls’ was a lackluster attempt at recreating past glory. Is ‘Firepower’ any better? Unfortunately not. Continue reading “Album Review: Judas Priest – Firepower”

The grunge legends known as The Melvins have added another strange one to their wacked out discography, this time with the record ‘Pinkus Abortion Technician’. Like all Melvins before it, this record is jam-packed with absurd pieces of music which takes mainstream grunge to the absolute edge of madness without dropping off the cliff. That’s always been the specialty of the Melvins, pushing their music past the limits of kind, decent music into an attractively off-putting world of dissonance and personal insanity. Continue reading “Album Review: The Melvins – Pinkus Abortion Technician”

Holy hell.

There are no other words to describe what I’ve just witnessed.

This might be the best debut album I’ve heard in a long time. High Reeper is one of those bands you have a hard time detailing without resorting to passionate expletives, but I’ll try my best anyway. Continue reading “Album Review: High Reeper – Self-Titled”

Denver based extreme-stoner metal band Green Druid just released their first full-length under Earache records, titled ‘Ashen Blood’. It is a seven-track journey through the realms of stoner metal traveled by bands such as Bongripper and Stoned Jesus. Green Druid is the next band to join that particular fray, and with their mastery of the atmospheric doom and decay they’ve realized themselves as one of Denver’s premier stoner metal. Continue reading “Album Review: Green Druid – Ashen Blood”

Earthless have released their latest studio album, ‘Black Heaven’, with a bit of a curveball grip. Whereas previous Earthless existed on a diet of instrumental space rock jams, now we see the band in an evolved form. The space-jam doom rock is still ever present, but it’s supplemented with something else. A fresh addition to the winning formula of Earthless. Continue reading “Album Review: Earthless – Black Heaven”

Longtime metal act The Sword, most notable for their pounding drone riffage and epic fuzz metal albums such as Age of Winters, Gods of the Earth, and Warp Riders look to add to their stoner metal majesty with their new release ‘Used Future’.

The only used future I’m looking at is The Sword’s. Continue reading “Album Review: The Sword – Used Future”

Canadian thrash outfit Black Wizard plays it hard and heavy with their music. Not just with songwriting and overall musicial formulation, but with themes and concepts that hit deeply. ‘Livin’ Oblivion’, the latest release from Black Wizard, focuses on themes of self-desecration and individual moral decay. On top of that, the darkly formulated thrash atmosphere paints the picture of the world slowly dripping off the canvas. Continue reading “Album Review: Black Wizard – Livin’ Oblivion”

Blackwulf is set to surpass the success of their last record, ‘Oblivion Cycle’, a Ripple Record release, with the explosive new release ‘Sinister Sides’. Coming out of Oakland, California, Blackwulf crafts a distinctly classic stoner metal landscape while offering a fresh take. Continue reading “Album Review: Blackwulf- Sinister Sides”

I still wonder at what point among my coming across this record did I realize ‘Amerikkkant’, the new release by industrial metal outfit Ministry, was oppressively terrible? Was it the hackneyed, edgy album title you’d see sketched in a 7th grader’s notebook among other, equally terrible album names? Was it the mediocre album cover featuring a boring, dystopian city backdropped over a face-palming Statue of Liberty? Was this album conceived by a 13-year old? Continue reading “Album Review: Ministry – AmeriKKKant”

Local Texas metal outfit Not My Master displays a strong sense of classic metal aggression while keeping a strong footing in the modern era with their brand new EP ‘Disobey’. A collection of seven tracks, including a Danzig cover, allows Not My Master to display their personal style of metal to much efficiency. Each track is powered by strong, mid-paced metal which uses moderate tempos to enhance the thickly laid, intensely driven guitar riffs. Continue reading “Review: Not My Master – Disobey EP”