DARK TRANQUILLITYConstruct Century Media (2013)Rating: 9/10 One of the original handful of bands that changed metal forever with their “Gothenburg sound”, Dark Tranquillity return with their tenth studio album, Construct. Since the addition of a full-time keyboardist in 2000 on the Haven album, Dark Tranquillity has relied more and more heavily on the atmosphere of […]

CHURCH OF MISERYThy Kingdom Scum Rise Above (2013)Rating: 8/10 There may have been several incarnations of Japanese doomsters Church Of Misery, but when the music is this wonderfully perverse and heavy, who cares? I’ve been a fan of Church Of Misery since their 2001 full-length debut offering Master Of Brutality; always drawn into their seedy […]

UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATSMind Control Rise Above (2013)Rating: 7/10 And so the Cambridgeshire folk return with their third opus, still high on blood after the master stroke that was Bloodlust (2011). With Cathedral hanging up their velvet gloves, it may be down to Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats to take over the reins, as […]

SKELETAL SPECTREVoodoo Dawn Pulverised (2013)Rating: 8/10 Is it just me, or are there a lot of Swedish bands – or at least Swedish-sounding bands – around at the moment? The ghoulishly named Skeletal Spectre is a part-Swedish / part-American band who have that typical Swedish guitar sound. However, this isn’t your rather bog standard display […]

DARK TRANQUILLITY Release Tenth Studio Album ‘Construct’ May 27th, 2013 Gothenburg, Sweden-based melodic death metal group Dark Tranquillity issued tenth full-length studio album Construct on May 27th, 2013 in Europe through Century Media Records. The label scheduled North American release for the 28th. The outing was mixed by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street studios in […]

EL CAMÍNOGold Of The Great Deceiver Night Tripper (2013)Rating: 8/10 When the ominous tones of el Camíno’s title track heave themselves out of the speakers I’m finding myself reaching for the black candles, so soaked am I by the dark, ancient atmospherics of this record. The opening black riffs literally smoulder with that oh so […]

U.D.O.Steelhammer AFM (2013)Rating: 8/10 Well, as expected U.D.O. come racing out of the blocks with another batch of face-melting metal anthems. Steelhammer is the band’s 14th full-length studio opus, and as usual is another tour de force of a platter. These German metalheads have rarely let up the pace since their 1987 debut Animal House, […]

ANVILHope In Hell Steamhammer (2013)Rating: 4/10 The Anvil machine marches on. Hope In Hell is the 15th studio album by these Canadian headbangers; the band is seemingly on a revival trip after the success of the 2008 documentary Anvil: The Story Of Anvil, although record sales would suggest that the interest is waning rapidly. Hard […]

SUIDAKRAEternal Defiance AFM (2013)Rating: 9.5/10 Germany’s SuidAkrA return with Eternal Defiance, their 11th full-length studio album. The band is known for bringing folk flavours (banjo, bagpipes etc) into their extreme metal sound and the new album prominently features a number of these elements, only losing its heavy touch here and there. This is my first […]

BURIAL VAULTIncendium Apostasy (2013)Rating: 7/10 Burial Vault is a German quintet and Incendium is their second full-length opus, coming pretty much very hot on the heels of 2012’s Ekpyrosis (Periodic Destruction) work. Originally formed in 2004 as Carbacan, these guys have been around since 2006 as Burial Vault, and feature founding members Tobias Schaub and […]