I had to take a break from metal and dig into something different. This album certainly provides a respite from angry power chords, as it's a catchy, quirky take on electro-pop. This is the project's second album. There is more of a bouncy cold-wave feel to "Complacent" that finds vocalist Niabi uttering a simultaneously urgent and detached plea. There is a more mechanical and starker take on what they do with the song "Controlled Burn". They lay down a more dance floor-moving groove with the dense synth bass of "It's Cold In Here." Comparisons could be drawn to Boy Harsher, though she does not employ the same low breathy whisper here.
The synths sound a bit lo-fi, but not trying to overtly pay tribute to the 80s. "Quiet' does remind me of early Depeche Mode, so almost leaning in a new wave direction, but some darker synths serving as an undercurrent. The vocals are a little more emotive here. Things begin to turn towards a more modern electronic sound, while still using organic synths with "Compromised " and the second part of "Controlled Burn." Things get a little darker for "Bloom" though the synths bring other sonic colors, leaving her moaning vocal to occupy the shadow.
Things get a little more experimental when it comes to " Incapacitated." Her vocals are drab and indifferent. But it works for what they are going for. The last song is a little more upbeat but is not as catchy as the previous song. I like where they take on you this album, it's interesting, and while it holds some similarites to other indie dark electronic artists, nothing is redundant in that regard. I will give this one a 9 and see how it grows on me.
If it were not for the fact that I am dedicating this month to more traditional metal, I might have let Gus's new solo album fly under my radar. But that would have been a shame because he is obviously metal as fuck, having played with Ozzy and Firewind. He brings in some guest vocalists like Doro Pesch, who is a legend, but they have only added more grit to her pipes. Unlike one of my favorite metal singers who lends his pipes to the track 'Dancing With Death", the motherfucking incredible Matt Barlow. Who sounds awesome, and this is going to be a tough song for them to beat. It sounds like he just stepped out to the goddamn "Darksaga" sessions to lay these vocals down, unbelievable.
Then it's back to the instrumentals. I braced myself for the shredding, which is not normally my thing, but he used a manner of restraint on "Advent." His playing is pretty melodic here. If you are a guitarist under 40, chances are you are going to be all up in this. "What If" moves a more synth-wave-like groove before succumbing to the need for shredding. He brings on Ronnie Romero for "Frenemy". Which works well enough, it has a rock shuffle to it, and Romero's voice sounds rooted more deeply in the 80s.
Dino Jelusick from Whitesnake tackles the vocals on "No One Has to Know." It is easy to understand why he is doing backing vocals for Whitesnake, as he sounds just like Coverdale. I imagine he sounds better than Coverdale does these days. 'Confession" is the obligatory blues instrumental, which is very tasteful and works well. It does build up into a more metallic solo, but remains pretty melodic. "My Premonition" finds Ronnie back to tackle a more Tony Martin-era Sabbath power ballad. "Closure is the kind of instrumental you expect from him, but very well done and not as over the top as I feared. I will give this album a 9.5, as when it comes to shredding metal, he does a great job of it.
The band's fourth album and first with drummer Nicko McBrain, finds the band getting into even more melodic and progressive territory. It also features some of the most popular anthems from the band, "The Trooper" being the most obvious. On "Number of the Beast," it was conceivable that Paul DiAnno could have at least attempted to sing them; on this album, Bruce's soaring tenor belts them out with operatic power, further widening the divide. The first song, "Where Eagles Dare," is the only one I can imagine Paul even attempting. There is great guitar phrashing and harmony on the song.
"Revelations" is one of the few songs that is not about a movie or book, but more of a lyrical tapestry teasing some of Bruce's spiritual beliefs, with Thelema being the most glaring. Musically listening to it now, it brings to mind early Rush. "Flight of Icarus" is one of the album's more anthemic tracks, with a big hooky chorus. The verses give Bruce a great deal of room to sing and just enough gallop to remind you who this is. Bruce hits a rare falsetto when he lets his voice break on the climactic b flat 5, but belts out a5's on the chorus.
It has always felt to me like "Die With Your Boots On" belonged on "Powerslave," but no, it was just foreshadowing that album. As previously mentioned, "The Trooper" is their calling card. If you don't know this song why are you even reading this review? It's the anthem of anthems for this band. Their gallop might be best epitomized here. "Still Life" is likely my favorite song on this album, as it's the darkest and most melodic. Compared to the other high-energy songs on this album, it's almost a power ballad.
"Quest For Fire" is early power metal; there is some cool interplay with the drums, but it's pretty much a straightforward Maiden song, not filler. The chorus to "Sun & Steel" is hookier than the chorus to the previous song, making it more memorable. For the sake of this review, I am just reviewing the album songs and not the bonus tracks. Despite there being a great Jethro Tull cover out there, they should jsut release all the B-sides that are not album tracks on an album. The Dune tribute 'To Tame a Land" was originally supposed to be called "Dune," but when they asked for permission, Herbert sent them a letter to them saying he did not like heavy rock bands like Iron Maiden. Weird way to come out of the closet, dude, but ok. Anyways, the song's pretty damn good, besides being nerdy prog metal. It's safe for me to go ahead and round this one up to a rare 11 as well.
Dave Matrise is the sole original member from this 90s death metal act. He has put together a denser, more modern-sounding band that still gets what he was doing in the band's earlier days. His growl still carries heft and resonance. He also benefits from excellent production, with effects and layering that fall in all the right places. The opening track carries the right kind of energy that you want from these guys, so can the rest of the album hold up? Well, the title track has a more manic, thrashing feel. Lyrical, he seems to be barking out your typical metal mish-mash. But they are snarled in a manner articulated well enough to cut through the din of distortion around them.
"Maniacal" is stomped with enough purpose to create catchy headbanging vibes before the vocals even come in, and back off to give them room when they do. "Suffer in Silence" has a strong enough chorus to balance out the more speed-obsessed riffs that race by your ears. "Radicalized" has more groove in its weighty accents that pound with a more syncopated refinement. "Blade of Betrayal" is more typical in its rapid-fire death metal approach, which will appeal to fans of that era of the genre, but does not benefit as much from their songwriting skills as the previous songs.
The verse of "When the Elders Rise" is empowered by the album's most commanding, not as effective when they pour the speed into the double bass, but overall, the song works. Dave Ingram of Benediction joins them for "Horrors Vile" that takes off in a faster direction that finds them pressing further to the gas once the vocals come in. They find a better balance of tempo and intensity with " Legacy of the Damned." At under two minutes," Rot Riffs." does not try to cram too much into that time frame, mainly working off the one riff. "Hollow Husk" is pretty punishing, though pretty straight-up death metal. The vocals just roar along, though on my second listen, I put on headphones, and it became clear how powerful this guitar tone is, excellent production. I will give this album a 9.5, it delivers 90s death metal in a more meaningful way than even the new Six Feet Under.Dropping on Unique Leader Records May 15th
The 16th album in the career of this project, which now counts Cronos as the sole original member. Things have not changed a great deal thanks to Cronos's voice that finds him belting it out with the same throaty zeal that drove their earlier. In fact, this album is more metal and less punk than what people would call Venom's most classic work. There is more of a thrashing feel to "Lay Down Your Soul". They hammer at you with the intensity of a Motorhead song. It's catchy enough even at this amped up speed. There is more of a gallop to "Nevermore" which works well; in fact, it's the best of the first three songs.
There is a more overt metal sense to the riffing that was not in the band's classic work, but it's pretty effective and sounds relevant in 2026. "Man & Beast" should please most headbangers, but the punk rock side of their older fan base is not going to be into this, but oh well, it sounds fucking good to me. Though "Death the Leveller" is closer to their more punk side, as a whole, this album reclaims their place in the classic metal hall of fame.
"As Bove So Below" gallops into darker regions draped in their pseudo Satanic musings whih are entertaining but not something I am going to stake a seriously as I did as a teenager. There is a faster thrashing to "Kicked out of Hell" that is not as effective as what they did on the previous song. "Legend" is darker and more epic, with a more deliberate stomp that brings Celtic Frost to mind. "Live Loud" works of a similar but more driving chug. The drummer proves himself to me on this song. You can't ignore the palm-muted chug to "Metal Bloody Metal" at the very least carries echoes of White Zombie. But it still works. The drumming on "Dogs of War" helps to seal the deal.
"Deathwitch" is pretty powerful and heavy enough to punch above its weight class. These guys were once considered to be on the heavier side of the genre when they came on the scne but now, as times have changed, their earlier albums are more middle of the road, so this album shows where they stand in today's metal world. There is a creepier atmosphere, thanks to the subtle use of synths on the last song, which helps to create a more sinister mood. I will round this album up to a 10 as it makes me a fan again, and Cronos is bringing the legacy of this band back to where it needs to be. Fans of metal should give this album a shot, it's impressive. and exceeding my expectations. Dropping on Noise Records.
The big change happened here, and listening back to the album time and time again, it's clear what Bruce brings to solidify their sound. Bruce came on strong with an in-your-face ripper, and an underrated Miaden song, as this song does not get as much love as the other live staples from this album. It's one of my favorite songs from this album. The dark power ballad "Children of the Damned" finds a new snese of melody and dynamic being embraced in a way that only Bruce could have made possible, despite the band having already ventured in this direction with Paul. Beuce brought the intensity we now know as being metal into the song.
I have always loved the syncopation of the drums leading into "The Prisoner," it's one of the album's best grooves. This song also shines a spotlight on the fact that when it comes to metal guitar solos, Miaden does it right by not just wanking off with shredding but using it to build on the melodic themes of their songs. Part 2 of the Charlotte saga continues on "22 Arcaia Ave ". This is darker than what they did on the "Killers." Then there is the title track, which is one of the best songs of all time, and has some tricky timing in the verses.
What do I need to say about "Run to the Hills" aside from the fact that it's an iconic metal anthem? If you have heard any Maiden song, it has to have been that one. "Gangland" is my least favorite song on this album, but it still holds its own against their legacy. "Hallowed By Thy Name" closes the album in the most perfect manner possible. They took the epic songwriting formula they had been fine-tuning on the previous albums and made it bigger and darker. This is beyond being just a perfect album and hit a place that changed the shape of metal. I will give it the rare 11, setting it alongside the best albums ever made.
This band from France is, in some ways, like a more high-speed Kamelot. The vocals are the kind of dramatic yodelling that some times allwos it's over the top delivery to sacrfice the hooks in favor of vibrato and power, which might be why I do not give new musicc like this much of a chance and tend to stick to the classics who were not influenced by other metal bands but rock or prog bands so they jsut added the metal to the equation rather than trying to emmulaqte it. I guess Helloween is the first band that I noticed was trying to be like another metal band in this regard. The Iron Maiden influence was obvious, though now listening back, I can hear some Scorpions. With these, Queensryche and Iron Maiden are the big ones, but their gallop needs to be dialed up to fully capture the epic quality.
These guys are releasing this album themselves so there are some budget constraints in the production, though the layers of vocals were given some love as they still manage a very larger-than-life sound until it gets to things like guitar solos that are sometimes sitting back in the mix rather than stepping into the spotlight. 'Walls of Past" is the first song where it feels like the barrage gets chaotic until the layers of guitars settle in. Less is more when it comes to this sort of thing, and when they give the vocals room to not have to yodel over things, it works best. Maybe 10 bpms slower would have benefited them and made it have more purpose. It feels like they are all over the place here.
"Tell Me Why" has a similar energy as the previous song, but a little more purpose, and the vocals benefit from this. Though another problem is revealed in the chorus, as it sounds too bright and is not dark enough for me. The lyrics are not that great either. If you want a band that will dedicate a section of a song to a guitar solo, these guys are for you. There is a more Iron Maiden-like sound to "Rise Again," but it brings that Helloween feel to mind. Sure, this guy can hit high notes, but I would be more impressed by hearing some low ones as well; it's not range if that is all you do.
"As Darkness Falls" should certainly feel darker, but will it ?" Well marginally. The vocals are grandiose but not catchy like something Maiden would do that gets stuck in your head, though this is an improvement, and perhaps the best song so far. A beefier guitar tone would also benefit these guys, though I know they like this one for the shredding. 'The End of the Road" finds them slowing it down enough to gain more purpose. This makes it another one of the album's strongest songs, as they are approaching things with more wisdom as the slower build creates the dynamic Overall they did a good job of making the album they wanted to make on the budget they had, so for that I will give this album an 8 as they are formidible musicians. .
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