Heavy Metal

2020 Albums

Album Review: Ironflame – Blood Red Victory 8 (Heavy Metal)

December 31, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Ironflame is one of those projects where it’s very difficult to tell that this is a solo studio project with a live band due to how insanely well rounded it is. I’ve always had a sort of glee in covering solo projects and have a tendency to romanticise the idea of the lone creator but it is not undeserved when talking about the legendary Andrew D’Cagna of Icarus Witch. As with many lone creatives one project just isn’t enough, he’s in loads of projects not just as a musician but also as a sound engineer. […]

2020 Albums

Album Review: Doomraiser – “The Dark Side of Old Europa” 8.5/10 (Doom Metal)

December 25, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Epic and thoughtful doom metal from Rome, Italy. This is Doomraiser’s 5th LP in their career which is approaching the end of its second decade and it’s very much the level of quality you’d expect from such an experienced band. The Dark Side of Old Europa will have a wide release on January 24th 2020 and there will be an accompanying live performance of the entire album at Orion Club on the 17th (For the Rome locals). […]

2019 Albums

Album Review: Elvenking – “Reader Of The Runes” 7.3/10 (Folk/Power)

December 4, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Well risen from their grave and way past their mid-and-late-2000’s nadir, the Italian power folk metal sextet is back with what seems to be the first in a series of several concept albums to come. Reader of the Runes – Divination is intended to follow its two preceding albums, Pagan Manifesto (2014) and Secrets of the Magick Grimoire (2017) which were able to redeem the band’s tarnished reputation; but is it the next step on the road to grandeur or is it just an album to announce they are still there and working? […]

2019 Albums

Album Review: Hell Yeah – Welcome Home 7 (Groove/Southern)

October 28, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

It was back in 2012 or so that the American super-band HELLYEAH (consisting of such members as Vinnie Paul of Pantera and Damageplan, Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett of Mudvayne and Tom Maxwell of Nothingface) came into my attention with Band of Brothers. Way before that, they had released Alcohaulin’ Ass, a southern-rock-sounding track, which I had heard on some occasions. But it was Blood for Blood (2014) that established them as a groove metal act I would call qualified. Their 2016’s Undeniable, being not on par with its antecedent, tossed the band back to normalcy again, only having a few highlights here and there. But with the founding member Vinnie Paul’s untimely demise in June 2018, the band has had so much to prove whether they are able to pick up where they left off or they are just another run-of-the-meal metal band with a couple of commendable songs and quite a handful of fillers per album. […]

2019 Albums

Album Review: Spirit Adrift – Divided By Darkness 7.9 (Heavy Metal)

May 31, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

I discovered this one on bandcamp because of the album cover. It’s pretty awesome and something I noticed is that there’s the artist signature at the bottom, there’s a good idea for you cover artists frustrated by bands or labels not giving credit on promo and bandcamp. This one is done by Joe Petagno. He’s done other Spirit Adrift records but I haven’t heard them. You can visit Joe’s site here and his impressive discog here. I like how he’s filled wherever space would be with some kind of dangerous creature or symbol. There’s a lot going. […]

2018 albums

Album Review: Nekrogoblikon – Welcome To Bonkers 8.5 (Heavy Metal)

October 3, 2018 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Nekrogoblikon are obviously about having fun with music and they still have done alright with reviews in the past, mostly getting through with high scores. I dig their approach, it’s a classic heavy metal sound with a lot of modern techniques and ideas thrown in. It borders on avant-garde in the vein of UneXpect but is just tight enough to be a serious composition. They have some good song writing that takes them above the meme they embody in their public personas and music videos. There’s some real poppy hooks like you’d expect from British rockers The Darkness. […]