BUS THE UNKNOWN SECRETARYWe Are The Night Sound Effect (2024)Rating: 8/10 Also known as BUS, this unusual gang of metalheads have been ploughing through the Greek metal scene with little praise, which is bizarre considering how good the quartet is. With album number three BUS must surely get the recognition they deserve outside of Greece […]
SPYDORSpydor German Democratic Recordings (2024)Rating: 7/10 Forget the new Kerry King album (From Hell I Rise), if you want fully charged speeding Slayer-style thrash then latch onto this debut full-length blast from German band Spydor. Arguably one of the most intense thrash albums I’ve heard for a while, this ten-track platter rams its songs home […]
CELESTIAL SANCTUARYVisions Of Stagnant Blood EP Self-released (2024)Rating: 8/10 Following last year’s rather disappointing sophomore full-length outing, Insatiable Thirst For Torment, British death metallers Celestial Sanctuary are back with a new three-song EP. I prefer the look of this new release; the art work is zany and demented, and thankfully the sounds within are pretty […]
GOLF CORPSEGolf Corpse EP Non Anonymous (2024)Rating: 6.5/10 Well, who would have thought that a golf obsessed death metal band would exist, and be so forward in their sporting fascination! ‘Open The Gates’, ‘Tee Time To Die’, ‘Southern Hills’, ‘Roaming The North Course’ and ‘Murder On The Back Nine’ aren’t quite as silly as they […]
LIVING FASTWall Breaker EP Self-released (2024)Rating: 7/10 There’s plenty of 80s metal worship here as Florida foursome Living Fast embarks on its journey into the rock n’ roll realm. The cover art reminds of various 80s metal demo cassettes, particularly the way the guitar is bursting out the brickwork. The music is somewhat intriguing too, […]
MORDIDITYMalignant Necropsy EP Self-released (2024)Rating: 7/10 Jacob Atut (vocals and guitar), Hector Santos (guitar), Esteban Tevenal (bass) and Jack Newton (drums) are the four men behind the mask of Morbidity, a Chicago, Illinois-based death metal combo that has just issued their debut six-song EP, Malignant Necropsy. Don’t expect a genre-altering release but instead enjoy it […]
NIGHTMAREEncrypted AFM (2024)Rating: 6/10 Having existed in some form since the late 70s, French combo Nightmare returns with a new album, Encrypted. This is the 12th full-length studio outing from the band which contains only one original member in the form of bassist Yves Campion. Numerous line-up changes have affected the group since their inception, […]
INTRANCEDMuerte y Metal High Roller (2024)Rating: 8.5/10 Having formed two years ago and releasing two EPs – Intranced (2022) and Rogue Warrior (2023) – Los Angeles, Californis-based rockers Intranced now issues a debut full-length album, Muerte y Metal. The band features former Holy Grail and White Wizzard frontman James-Paul Luna who had seemingly slipped under […]
SHRINE OF MAGGOTSSpiritual Feces Rat Covenant (2024)Rating: 7/10 When I saw the band name I expected one of those Portland or Pennsylvanian grisly death metal acts, so imagine my surprise when this mysterious one-man project from Germany revealed itself as something akin to blackened punk metal musically but with a hardcore / sludgy vocal bark. […]
HOLYCIDETowards Idiocracy Xtreem Music (2024)Rating: 8/10 Madrid marauders Holycide have wiped away the COVID-19 pandemic cobwebs and returned with a third full-length studio album, Towards Idiocracy. There’s been some changes in personnel since the band’s 2020 album Fist To Face, with original vocalist Dave Rotten and guitarist Salva Esteban (who was recruited in 2014) being […]
