Velarium, special shade by Ashen Sun!

Ashen Sun - Velarium - Album Cover

Does anybody remember Johnny Hagel? You know, the bassist who kept popping up here and there on this zine. Most notably on records sponsored by an ancient incarnation of Tiamat and – yes – more recent Sorcerer, too. But since then, he seemed to have taken a deep dive. Like them anal nuclear subs that disappear into nowhere.

Thus, the RMR crew was mighty surprised to see him emerging astride a Gothic Rock gig called Ashen Sun. One that wallows darkly in echoes of dystopian melancholy, electronica-driven Darkwave without the bodices, and soft-spoken messages of fire and … [...] Click to raid more!

Total Maniac – Love Overdrive (2026) – Review

Total Maniac - Love Overdrive - Album Cover

We said it before, a long time ago. Never judge anything by its appearance. When the old geezers at the RMR Review Desk saw the album cover, this went as follows: ‘By the almighty Gawds ov Heavy Metal, do we really want to descend into glam’s very special hellscape?’ But little did they know that the series of somewhat somnambulant Heavy Metal pieces and other malfunctions were about to end.

2026 already features a pretty sturdy Heavy Metal diet to date. But a lot of the fare the pipe caught was kinda mediocre. Not embarrassingly bad, but more of … [...] Click to raid more!

Evermore – Mournbraid (2026) – Review

The Tyrant King got us a sturdy sample of what the three weirdos of Evermore were capable of. Not yet at top 10 levels (yet), true, but they left a mark on our chalkboard after all. In Memoriam artfully circumvented that black reef lurking just beyond sophomore’s reach by doing some improved more of the same. That was back in 2023. Since then, not a peep from the feisty Swedish trio hit our mighty detection radars over at the RMR Review Desk.

But now, they’re back with some scarlet mourning piece full of ravens and wild metal screams. Mournbraid really … [...] Click to raid more!

Decipher – ΘΕΛΗΜΑ (Thelema) (2026) – Review

Decipher - (ΘΕΛΗΜΑ) Thelema - Album Cover

The RMR crew and the Greek Black Metal community are pretty sturdy acquaintances. Rotting Christ, Dødsferd, Isolert, or – again – Dark Portrait, all appeared on this zine. In fact, you get a fair number of the ritual folks roaming about the Southern reaches of Europe. This, and the sturdy French section, got ourselves a pretty virulent base to judge newcomers against.

So, will the sophomore record of a still obscure Greek Black Metal band be able to invoke the lightbringer, or will boredom set in after a while? Grab that spell book. That should already … [...] Click to raid more!