Battle Beast – Steel (2011) – Review

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I never quite knew that the space cowboys of Gloryhammer already got bested before they even existed. And by a Heavy Metal band to boot, not from the folks of the Power Metal realm.

In other words, I stumbled across a band that indulges in a screamy, old, and often somewhat stubbornly conformist style. A genre that seems to be on a downward slide since NWoBHM left the stage. It’s gone, they said. Never to come back, they said.

Yet, Battle Beast‘s Steel really proves them all wrong and tramples right over everything it encounters. And this with an … [...] Click to raid more!

Marianas Rest – Ruins (2019) – Review

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“I had a dream, which was not all a dream”!

Ruins of Marianas Rest starts with a monologue that moves you out into space. One that Carach Angren could not have done better. And – truly – the tune and story also keep you hostage to all sorts of horrors.

Only here, we have troubles of the mind that are at stake. Internalized terrors that somehow surface, when you least expect them. And not miscellaneous war crimes, or other horrifying dark urges.

But first and foremost, my question was: Where in Hel’s name do these solemnly marching metal sounds [...] Click to raid more!

Aephanemer – Prokopton (2019) – Review

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Prokopton. The path of the stoic. I kinda like that in context with Aephanemer. Already their 2016 piece Memento Mori showed the advanced skills of this band and – for sure – of lead guitarist Martin Hamiche. The latter record indeed was already a pretty good album in itself, but it did have its moments. And certainly, a lot of air still to fill.

Now, here I find these French metallers stoically walking down that path of their own making with their newest record. And in truth, Prokopton really and powerfully reaffirms the status quo. You won’t find … [...] Click to raid more!

Carach Angren – Where the Corpses Sink Forever (2012) – Review

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Epic. This denomination sometimes comes to mind for records in genres like Symphonic Metal. But very often with a pretty negative connotation attached to it. 

Because time and again, many of those bands really go way overboard with whatever it is they try to achieve. To the point of an identity crisis full of molten cheese, where these outfits cannot decide if they want to be an opera or not.

Now, to project such a prodigious award on an Extreme Metal or Black Metal band is relatively rare. The epic label is not unheard of either. But you’d often find [...] Click to raid more!