HAWKWIND – Onwards And Upwards Anthony Morgan April 2012 Hawkwind (l-r): Tim Blake, Niall Hone, Dave Brock, Mr. Dibs and Richard Chadwick Pic: Melvyn Vincent English space rock outfit Hawkwind cut April 2012 studio full-length Onward at the group’s own Earth Studios, its issue handled by Eastworld Recordings. The outing features soundtracks for internet warfare, […]
BANGALORE CHOIR – Civilized Good Anthony Morgan April 2012 David Reece Fired from German heavy metal outfit Accept in late 1989, vocalist David Reece travelled to Los Angeles in a bid to track down potential musicians to work with. He discovered bassist Danny Greenberg and guitarist John Kirk through the Guitar Institute Of Technology in […]
MOONSPELLAlpha Noir Napalm (2012)Rating: 8/10 Portuguese metallers Moonspell return with Alpha Noir, an album that reinforces the idea that they are still, in fact, one of metal’s premier acts. Over the last decade, the band have increasingly pursued the gothic side of their sound to the point that many metal fans simply walked away thinking […]
CRYSTAL VIPERCrimen Excepta AFM (2012)Rating: 8.5/10 Crystal Viper was born in 2003 and has since released four albums and appeared on numerous tribute albums and compilations. The Polish band’s latest album, Crimen Excepta, is a concept album built around the themes of holy inquisition as well as black magic and witches, mixing historical facts with […]
ODIUMBurning The Bridges To Nowhere Year Of The Sun (2012)Rating: 7/10 Every time I start to believe that the metalcore “fad” is dead (killed by shopping malls worldwide nonetheless), a band rears their ugly head that is good enough to make me believe again. This year, it’s Odium’s Burning The Bridges To Nowhere that reminds […]
UNLEASHED – Gathering The Battalions Anthony Morgan April 2012 Unleashed (l-r): Fredrik Folkare, Johnny Hedlund, Tomas Måsgard and Anders Schultz A post-doomsday story, a trio of compositions (‘Courage Today, Victory Tomorrow!’, ‘So It Begins’, and ‘As Yggdrasil Trembles’) on March 2010 outing As Yggdrasil Trembles inaugurated the tale which April 2012’s Odalheim features. Penned by […]
RUNNING WILD – Locomotive Anthony Morgan April 2012 Rolf Kasparek On July 30th, 2009, German power metallers Running Wild performed what was billed as its ‘farewell’ show at the 2009 edition of Wacken Open Air. Filmed and recorded for CD and DVD purposes, the performance was issued as The Final Jolly Roger in June 2011 […]
PRONGCarved Into Stone Long Branch (2012)Rating: 9/10 In an ideal world, Prong would be huge. After being snapped up by Epic for Beg To Differ in 1990, the trio would ride the cusp of commercial success with the immense Cleansing (1994), a record that still wipes the floor with most releases today. But metal was […]
PRONG – Eternal Heat Anthony Morgan April 2012 Tommy Victor New York, United States-based heavy metal outfit Prong issued seventh studio full-length Power Of The Damager in October 2007 through 13th Planet Records, their last studio outing proper of the noughties. Five years would separate that album and its successor, mainman Tommy Victor remaining musically […]
PARADISE LOSTTragic Idol Century Media (2012)Rating: 8/10 It’s hard to believe that back in 1995 Yorkshire gothic doomsters Paradise Lost were riding a wave of success following the release of Draconian Times, that culminated in a headline slot at the infamous Dynamo Festival in Holland in front of 120,000 people. Some sections of the music […]
