SPEEDKILLERInferno Helldprod (2024)Rating: 8/10 The band’s moniker pretty much tells you what you’re going to get here; blasphemous Brazilian black thrash. Inferno is an organic debut full-length opus from Speedkiller who formed in 2018 and after just one listen you’ll find yourself dragged into the depths of the South American extreme metal underground. The echo […]
THE END MACHINEThe Quantum Phase Frontiers (2024)Rating: 8.5/10 Armed with a new singer in Girish Pradhan (Girish And The Chronicles), who replaces Robert Mason, hard rock supergroup The End Machine – consisting of guitarist George Lynch (ex-Dokken), bassist Jeff Pilson (Foreigner / ex-Dokken) and drummer Steve Brown (son of ex-Dokken skinsman Mick Brown) – releases […]
SENTINELSParanormal EP Self-released (2024)Rating: 6.5/10 This is the third EP from a Chilean band that formed as Sentinel in 2017 before deciding to add the “s” on the end of their moniker two years later. In 2020 the Santiago-based thrashers released a debut full-length album entitled Trasciende. This Paranormal EP is an enjoyable experience and […]
DEFECT DESIGNERChitin Transcending Obscurity (2024)Rating: 8.5/10 And Norway does it again! After being blown away but Sovereign’s debut album Altered Realities, along come Defect Designer with their third full-length outing. This act – who were originally created in Russia during 2007 before relocating to Oslo in 2012 – seem to have slipped under the radars […]
DUNGEON SHAKER Demo I (2024) Roll up, roll up for the oddest demo of the year from English / Finnish metal four-piece Dungeon Shaker. As someone who has collected demo cassettes for decades I can guarantee that there are a few 80s bands within the stacks that sound like this. Some bands from that era, […]
BLACK DUSTKatorga On A Distant Planet Self-released (2024)Rating: 7.5/10 There are two men behind this cosmically aligned death metal creation from Tbilisi in Georgia, Giorgi Talikadze (vocals, guitar and bass) and Giorgi Kartvelishvili (drums). Together they have produced a somewhat eerie and definitely otherworldly soundscape that requires the listener to don thermal underwear to face […]
JUDAS PRIESTInvincible Shield Columbia (2024)Rating: 8.5/10 To last ten years in the music business is an incredible achievement and so for Judas Priest to have reached five decades is quite some feat, especially when you consider how consistent the metal gods have been with their output. The term “legends” is handed out all too easily […]
SPEED HELLSpeed Violent Attack EP Self-released (2024)Rating: 6.5/10 Damn, the cover artwork of this EP looks like a rip of 80s Belgian band Warhead and their 1984 opus Speedway. Anyway, this Argentine act does exactly what it says on the tin and provides zipping black speed metal, nothing more and nothing less. It’s difficult to […]
SUFFERING RITESEternal War EP Macho (2024)Rating: 7.5/10 Featuring members of Circle Of Tyrants, BrainBath and Aeffect, Suffering Rites is another Scottish death metal act releasing quality material. Eternal War is the debut EP from this Glasgow-based quintet and it offers something a bit different from the usual gore-drenched stuff. What you get here is a […]
SENTRYSentry High Roller (2024)Rating: 8/10 Featuring former members of Manilla Road, Savage Grace, and many more, Sentry is an American / German band that demands your attention with 55 minutes of colossal metal. As one would expect from ex-Manilla Road members, Sentry drifts towards the darker side of traditional heavy metal, providing both a Gothic […]
