Blasts from the Past 2023: Fury and Nostalgia!

Blasts from the Past 2023: Anger and Nostalgia! - Angry vinyl cover.

Admitted. We don’t do those all that much anymore. I mean, RMR policy pretty much directs its unpaid and overstretched wordsmiths to focus on the current year and not lose time on smelly old items of different couleur. But sometimes we can’t resist and have a go at some dusty old record that quietly wastes away in a swampy corner somewhere. So, here’s to a short list of olde records that made us break the rules.

Cheeky shenanigans fueled by fury and nostalgia.


Xaon – The Lethean

Release year: 2022

Xaon - The Lethean - Album Cover

Hells bells! This one should have garnered its spot on … [...] Click to raid more!

Arch Enemy – Deceivers (2022) – Review

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Arch Enemy - Deceivers - Album Cover

Procrastination. Fueled by your fears of the consequences your actions could have. At least, that’s one of the definitions for this sometimes persistent lack of activity. And what does that have to do with the price of butter on a metal record? Well, read on – we’re getting there. Promised.

The RMR crew started on Arch Enemy with War Eternal. The debut album with Alissa White-Gluz after Angela Gossow left for bigger and better things. This record generated a mighty metal heap of enthusiasm over here. True oomph with a bobcat delivery of a new vocalist with an affinity … [...] Click to raid more!

Meadows End – Sojourn (2016 / 2018) – Review

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RockmusicRaider Review - Meadows End - Soujourn - Album Cover

Now, imagine you would marry the evil twin of Nightwish to Insomnium and give the female front of the former the boot first. You would in all probability beget a magic child called Meadows End.

Their style mixes the Scandinavian kind of Death Metal with not very subtle symphonic elements. And this gets us a sound that is pretty unique. Even if further influences like Omnium Gatherum, Amon Amarth and a tad of Wolfheart cannot be denied.

The Swedish Melodic and Symphonic Death Metal band Meadows End came into being way back by the end of the last century [...] Click to raid more!

Arch Enemy – Will To Power (2017) – Review

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RockmusicRaider Review - Arch Enemy - Will To Power - Album Cover

I confess. Sometimes I do look into the opinions other reviewers express. Not so much to gain specific word-by-word insight, but more to get a general drift of a record.

Usually, the sum of all parts gives you a pretty good idea of where an album resides. It is a bit like Trip Advisor, where you get the gist of things from the overall rating. But not from the detailed wording of endless badly written and subjective comments.

For any record you will always find the fanboys and girls schmoozing the audience in glowing, sugary colors on the beauty of [...] Click to raid more!