Blind Guardian – The God Machine (2022) – Review

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Well, I take it back. In the past, the RMR crew often moaned about those Power Metal outfits being too cheesy or just too overboard with – well – anything. Some sweetishly rosy concoction that overdosed on too much sugar and colorful popsicles of undefined origins.

But Blind Guardian‘s newest record The God Machine made us raise our mutual heads quickly. Their brand is indeed powerful PM without the usual fondue. So, we stand corrected, this genre can actually be fun AND tough like a spiked metal fist. And – they are part of that vile mainstream that the … [...] Click to raid more!

Faun – Pagan (2022) – Review

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It’s a pity, in a geeky kind of way. Faun now is a different animal than it was once Von den Elben hit the fan crowd. 2013 was a time of change, a refreshing reminder that Medieval Folk can be fun and games without the burden of having to recreate history. True, some of that fare was a tad light-minded, but the RMR crew here did enjoy that new refreshing wind blowing down from the German heartland. By the time Midgard released, a motley selection of style directions appeared. A somewhat uneasy mix of old-time ethereal tracks and the lighter … [...] Click to raid more!

Science of Disorder – Apoptose (2022) – Review

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Science of Disorder is one of those bands. The ones that lurch into action with some promise, and then take their sweet time to produce more material. They actually started activities back in 1989 as Soulless and then changed identities in 2011 to the current moniker. Heart, Blood & Tears followed that same year with mixed reviews. In 2018, some seven years later, the more thoughtful Private Hell finally found a market spot.1

Now, in the unholy year of the Dark Lord 2022, Apoptose2 reached the swampy depths of our review pipe. In other words, SoD ain’t in … [...] Click to raid more!

Vermilia – Ruska (2022) – Review

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The Pagan World of Metallics is vast. You get all sorts of street performers with scant knowledge of the good ol’ times when Gaia’s forces were – supposedly – in charge. Often they wear strange rags, holler incomprehensive screechy monologues, and stomp weirdly around the stage.

In their defense, there’s little scientific wisdom available to back things up. And even that is often clouded by the mists of time to boot. Modern-day sages just don’t have enough data to go by, even if considerable progress has been made over the last few years. So, much is open to sometimes wild … [...] Click to raid more!