Category Archives: Reviews and News

Lacuna Coil – Sleepless Empire (2025) – Review

Posted on by — Leave a reply
RockmusicRaider - Spotify Logo

Nobody over here needs to be reminded who Lacuna Coil is. The band has been a staple of this zine for all its existence. At first, the RMR crew covered the somewhat conflicted mid-tens offerings such as Dark Adrenaline or – again – Broken Crown Halo.

Things started to improve by 2016 when the disturbing yet pretty excellent Delirium appeared out of nowhere. That one clearly marked a change in energy levels, posture, and attitude of a band finally capitalizing on their many talents. And this trend continued with the succulent Black Anima of 2019 that made it onto … [...] Click to raid more!

Magnadur – Beautiful Nightmare (2025) – Review

Posted on by — Leave a reply
RockmusicRaider - Spotify Logo
Magnadur - Beautiful Nightmare - Album Cover

This is what happens when you select your records to review based on the smart looks of the album cover only. And it is indeed a sublime piece of art glaring back at you from Magnadur‘s latest concoction.1

Other considerations surfaced as well, of course. Such as this band hitting the metal underground out of nowhere in 2024. And with two full-length records under their belt that same year, they concocted a third one – Beautiful Nightmare – this early 2025. The RMR crew saw similar action before, and it wasn’t pretty. So, what’s the deal here? … [...] Click to raid more!

Maceration – Serpent Devourment (2025) – Review

Posted on by — Leave a reply
RockmusicRaider - Spotify Logo
Maceration - Serpent Devourment - Album Cover

Rogga Johannson anybody? The RMR crew feared for a moment that the geek-in-chief of Swedeath is on the prowl again. But not so. Instead, we’re faced with an archaic and primordial version of Death Metal brutality. With some – Cthulhu-esque thing from the deep watching you from the cover with evil, hungry, and alien eyes.

And yes, we’re talking about Maceration. An age-old band torturing our eardrums since 1990. A band offering fake Swedish fare because they actually hail from – Denmark? Correct, geographically speaking, but not so fast. Thus, let’s take a step back. After 1995, the band … [...] Click to raid more!

Marko Hietala – Roses From The Deep (2025) – Review

Posted on by — Leave a reply
RockmusicRaider - Spotify Logo
Marko Hietala - Roses From the Deep - Album Cover

Marko Hietala, one of the only artists out there holding the RMR crew’s unwavering respect. He – of course – will remain forever famous as one of Nightwish‘s main pillars. Until he chose to retire from the band back in early 2021, that is, done with a statement that made for somewhat grim reading.

Now, in the meantime, Hietala popped up here and there in a variety of venues and roles. Raskasta Joulua’s 2022 x-mas piece was – surprisingly – the first time he reappeared on our radar already. And this told us that he definitely would stay … [...] Click to raid more!