Savage Lands – Army of the Trees (2025) – Review

Savage Lands - Army of the Trees - Album Cover

Let me tell you what made us pick this record up in the first place. Black Rock Heart, the first track on Savage Lands‘ debut album Army of the Trees, wildly reminded us of Slap Betty‘s piece of work that aired some years ago. A record containing a lot of progression, some limited emotion, but little substance otherwise.1 Apart from loads of red-hot, well-chiseled Heavy Rock, that is. A feature that rarely garnishes this zine’s review pipe.

So, here we got ourselves a record featuring a limited core band created by Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth) and Sylvain [...] Click to raid more!

Moonlight Haze – Beyond (2025) – Review

Moonlight Haze - Beyond - Album Cover

Moonlight Haze‘s 2022 piece Animus was one of the Power Metal highlights of that very same year. Founded in 2018 by two Temperance survivors – Chiara Tricarico and Giulio Capone1 – they went on to create what today is a well-known band in the Italian PM sub-section of metal.

The 2022 piece took it away with new-found oomph and a pretty healthy swagger. You know, traits that make you win over fans and sell a ton more records than before. So, what’s it gonna be this time beyond those old records? Let the Metal o’ the Light illuminate … [...] Click to raid more!

Ominous Ruin – Requiem (2025) – Review

Ominous Ruin - Requiem - Album Cover

Ha! 2025 didn’t yield its usual crop of brutal Death Metal pieces yet and we’re behind on quota. Management is fuming and will be cutting benefits if the review desk won’t get a move on.

So, luckily, our scouts found an obscure Extreme Metal band from the Bay Area that stubbornly stuck to the smelly underbelly of the alloy-laced underground. Meaning, despite endlessly riffing about stages and soundscapes, they didn’t quite get to that breakthrough yet. The famed metal nirvana many a band attempted to reach but few ever did.

So, let’s explore. Ominous Ruin state that they did something … [...] Click to raid more!

Tribunal – In Penitence and Ruin (2025) – Review

Tribunal - Of Penitence and Ruin - Album Cover

The last time, the guardian of the review pipe screwed up and the RMR crew finally covered Tribunal‘s 2023 debut with some delay the following year. A ‘faux pas’ that won’t bear repeating yet again. The RMR crew found the Quality ov Doom to be pretty outstanding and compelling for a simple starter package. Material that would have landed on the top 10 with a fair degree of certainty.

So, luckily, the band’s somewhat unwieldily named new piece In Penitence and Ruin reaches our dark shores somewhat early in 2025. Time enough to let its desperate deliberations sink in … [...] Click to raid more!