Album Reviews

Third album “Rites of Gore” from the New Jersey-based death metal act Sentient Horror proves to be finely honed by Matt Moliti (vocals, lead guitars), Jon Lopez (rhythm guitars), Tyler Butkovsky (bass) and Evan Daniele (drums). After releasing the sophomore “Morbid Realms” in 2019, the quartet is back with nine massive tracks. While there is plenty of old-school quality on the band’s third studio album, the Stockholm influences show a continuation of the same sound. Right from the start of the album Sentient Horror unleash its entire force of aggression setting a brute style that would make bands like Entombed and Dismember proud.
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‘Distorted Chants’ is the brainchild of one Pia Isaksen. After being active with the Norwegian stoner doomheads of Superlynx for around a decade already, she has now penned her own solo debut proper under the moniker of Pia Isa.
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German thrash metal veterans DESTRUCTION celebrate their 40th anniversary by setting the world ablaze with a new, hard-hitting grenade in the form of their new album, Diabolical (out April 8, 2022 via Napalm Records). As one of the most legendary German thrash metal bands in existence, DESTRUCTION grace the wall of fame alongside giants like Kreator, Sodom and Tankard and a new album from them is always something to look forward to. So here we are with 'Diabolical', will they have changed things up a bit or simply stuck to their destructive guns?
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Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist V-Khaoz quickly earned his reputation for being one of the most active and creative composers of all time, with more than a dozen bands and side projects coursing his musical domains. His passion for black metal and ambient music made him explore deep sonic emotions and soundscapes via Druadan Forest. Formed back in 1998 with three demos and two albums to its name, this one man project's third full record, 'Portals' offers an awe-inspiring voyage to the dark universe of dungeon synth.
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Ever since discovering Author & Punisher while doing some research on the artists booked for Blowup vol. 4 in Helsinki back in 2018, discovering both his old work and 2018's 'Beastland', I've been a huge fan of what Tristan Shone does with this incredibly intriguing project. If you don't know by now, A&P is the perfect symbiosis of man and machine where Tristan produces inhuman machine-like sounds created through his manipulation of the impressive contraption he built. While many of the industrial music he makes could have been done through pressing some buttons, he opted to put his whole body to work by literally banging out the beats and draw out other weird sounds with the machine components surrounding him. I've been awaiting a new album ever since and now the time is finally here!
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Last time when I reviewed Aeon of Awareness’s first EP, I was sad it was over. Normally I’m not such a death metal fan, but the melodic parts in that EP and the beautiful instruments spoke to me in a way that attracted me to the album. This time the band send me their second EP. The last three songs of the first EP, ‘Dialoge With the Unconscious’, are also the last three songs on ‘Wairua’. Last time, the title of the EP got me onto the philosophic route. Lets see what ‘Wairua' has to say.
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French black metal avant-gardist Deathspell Omega has exhibited its unrivaled trademarks proving to be the most innovative and original band ever. Since their groundbreaking 2010 album “Paracletus” the trio had reinvented their work through a series of creative approaches to black metal. Each innovative far-flung studio albums like "Si Monvmentvm Reqvires", "Circvmspice", and "Fas-Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum" intertwined with complex guitar textures, superb technique, and dissonance. The meticulous architecture of the sonic creation has now reached its peak in the band’s eighth opus “The Long Defeat”.


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Since 2010 Swedish occult rock band Ghost began to achieve the worldwide success which ultimately put them at the forefront of contemporary rock bands. The quirky combination of classic Mercyful Fate, ABBA, and Black Sabbath worked as a potent concoction that would attract fans around the globe. Ghost stage shows are renown for their satanic theatrics and it’s probably best displayed by the frontman Tobias Forge aka “Papa Emeritus IV”. While the lyrical content carries subtle messages, Ghost’s music soars with sonic vibrancy and hymnal melodies joined by church organ and raucous guitar riffs and despite all the lush soundscapes, the thrilling vocals and songs are filled with catchiness and hooks.
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Scorpions are one of my favorite bands that I grew up listening to when I was in high school and the fact is that they have remained dear to my heart until this very day. I still recall the beautiful memories from the early 1990s when I first discovered bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and the list goes on…the German hard rock legends are still relevant in the realm of rock music. For over 50 years in business, Scorpions have been quite influential in their early and mid-career with their discography including a wide selection of great records such as “Fly to the Rainbow”, “In Trance”, and “Love Drive”, “ Blackout” etc…
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Booooom! Here it is.... the first new album from The Hellacopters since they released 'Head Off' in 2008 - which they called a temporary farewell record. If 14 years means temporary to this guys I do not want to know what happens when they talk about 'not temporary'. Was it worth waiting? Oh, hell(a) yeah, it was for sure. What a great comeback. Straight dirty rock, fast and loud.
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