CADAVERIAHorror Metal Bakerteam (2012)Rating: 8/10 Underground extreme metal favourites Cadaveria return with the appropriately titled Horror Metal. The Italian band’s first outing since In Your Blood (May 2007), finds them exploring more musical strains of heavy metal than on previous releases to the point of almost becoming accessible to the mainstream in a Marilyn Manson […]
PILGRIMMisery Wizard Metal Blade (2012)Rating: 5/10 What is it with these doom bands being obsessed with the word “wizard”? Even before I’ve lent an ear to this American doom trio I’m finding myself looking out for more Black Sabbath word association games. One glances at the band members and finds that their names are laughable. […]
METALLICABeyond Magnetic Vertigo (2012)Rating: 6/10 The mighty Metallica return with a release full of songs that didn’t make the cut on their “comeback” album, Death Magnetic. This collection was originally made available to their fan club members and then released to the rest of us digitally. Finally, it has been made available as a physical […]
LIBERTEERBetter To Die On Your Feet Than Live On Your Knees Relapse (2012)Rating: 6.5/10 When I first heard the stirring, trumpet-led intro I didn’t know what to expect from this one-man band, but 30 seconds in and Liberteer presents itself as a horrendous racket akin to Napalm Death, combining a political grindcore stance with heavy, […]
RAMDeath Metal Blade (2012)Rating: 6.5/10 Oh come on guys, it just sounds like a doomier Iron Maiden / Judas Priest hybrid at every gallop. ‘Defiant’ marches on that same melody that has made Maiden so huge, and at times so bloody dull. If this album had been released back in the 80s I may have […]
BATTLE BEAST – Die-Hard Warriors Anthony Morgan January 2012 Battle Beast (l-r): Eero Sipilä, Juuso Soinio, Pyry Vikki, Nitte Valo (bottom row), Anton Kabanen and Janne Björkroth Pic: Thomas Adorff Hailing from Helsinki, Finland, Battle Beast consist of guitarist and vocalist Anton Kabanen, vocalist Nitte Valo, guitarist Juuso Soinio, bassist and backing vocalist Eero Sipilä, […]
OPERA IX – An Eternal Malediction Anthony Morgan January 2012 Opera IX (l-r): Vlad, Marco DeRosa (bottom row), Ossian and Dalamar Italian black metal outfit Opera IX inked an album contract with Displeased Records, a deal announced on September 27th, 2010. The group had last issued a studio full-length in November 2004 through Avantgarde Music, […]
CIRITH UNGOL – Kings Of The Dead Anthony Morgan January 2012 Cirith Ungol 1984 (l-r): Tim Baker, Robert Garven, Michael “Flint” Vujea and Jerry Fogle Roughly translating as ‘pass of the spider’ from the fictional language Sindarin, the name of Californian heavy metal group Cirith Ungol was lifted from the Lord Of The Rings series, […]
Michael “Flint” Vujea (1983) Bassist Michael ‘Flint’ Vujea nor guitarist Jerry Fogle performed on Paradise Lost, having parted ways with Cirith Ungol by that time. “Flint was kind of getting disillusioned with the whole thing,” Tim affirms. “Like Rob has said, it was always a struggle to get things done, to get records. It just […]
Cirith Ungol 1984 (l-r): Michael “Flint” Vujea, Robert Garven, Jerry Fogle and Tim Baker Bass parts on Frost And Fire were actually handled by Greg as well. “It was kind of a weird situation because we had already laid down the tracks if I remember right, and at the same time we recruited Flint (Michael […]
