Ravenspell – Obsidian King (2026) – Review

Ravenspell - Obsidian King - Album Cover

2026, the year of Heavy Metal? Perhaps. It is still kinda young, and time will tell, right? But there seems to be an awful lot of bands jostling to reach the heights of these anointed few manning the peak of this metal pyramid. You know, those currently basking in the darkly sparkling light of some highly polished blackened stone.

The year’s first few months already yielded Heavy Metal bands that weren’t all that impressive, whereas others truly excelled. Yet, Obsidian King here darkly insists it wants to attach its scrawny behind to either end of the spectrum, whatever … [...] Click to raid more!

Red Cain, where art thou? A Tribute.

Red Cain 2026

Red Cain has been with us off and on for some time. The RMR crew first got wind of this Calgary-based outfit back in 2016, some 10 years ago, when their self-titled EP aired. It was a funky piece and somewhat new territory for a still young-ish zine. But, truly, the power prog fueled flamboyance and outstanding musical prowess started to impress us back then already. A trend that continued over the years and to this day.

RockmusicRaider - Red Cain - Kindred: Act I - Album Cover

But then, some three years later, in 2019, the outfit hit our roster with Kindred: Act I, a record that still plays … [...] Click to raid more!

Aealo Rerecorded. Shock and Awe by Rotting Christ!

Rotting Christ - Aealo Rerecorded - Album Cover

The 2010 release Aealo, arguably one of the most prominent pieces in Rotting Christ‘s extensive discography, just got a revamp. The RMR crew will never understand why they did not cover stellar pieces such as Sanctus Diavolos, but here we are. Yet, it is also true that this olde record may fit best in RC’s current narrative, which they tried to push since Rituals hit our turntables.

So, here, in 2026, the RMR crew went on a rampage, comparing the original record with this rerecorded one. And we have two main takeaways. The first is that Aealo

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Rioghan – Kept (2025) – Review

Rioghan - Kept - Album Cover

I never thought we would cover Leprous ever again. After all, Einar Solberg took his almost picture-perfect prog act down a windy road of whiny, high-pitched, and soft-balled tunes. Suddenly, the progressive cojones went missing and the outcome wasn’t something we could stomach for more than five minutes at a time. But wait, what? This ain’t Solberg?

Right.

Meet Rioghan, a very talented Finnish artist with a pig-headed, out-of-the-box approach to her music. And that landed her with an inordinate amount of attention on this zine to this day. The last time the RMR crew had her seriously on … [...] Click to raid more!