At the time of writing a look out of the window reveals overcast and grey skies, whilst as quick a glance at the news is equally as bleak and miserable. It is hard to pay attention to the discourse in the world right now and not feel some combination of anger and hopelessness.
In the battle for memorable metal, style or substance often battle for dominance. While Germany’s Crom may seem to lean more towards “style” in their sturdy and reliable brand of Trad/Power hybrid metal, the songs on the new release The Era Of Darkness (From The Vaults) also contain a strong measure of strength in the sword arm and fire in the heart.
Often reserved for debut releases, eponymously titled albums usually tend to herald a band’s emergence into a more public consciousness. A proud declaration of intent that relies solely on a name. However, a title-free album released further down the line can just as easily foreshadow a lack of creativity or imagination. This isn’t always the case, of course, and thankfully, the latest full-length from German symphonic act Beyond the Black stands as one of their strongest records to date. Confident and enthralling, Beyond the Black (Nuclear Blast) sees the Mannheim metallers acting as a quartet for the first time, the band choosing to use session musicians since the departure of bass player Stefan Herkenhoff last year.
Flash Forward’s fifth full-length album, Endings = Beginnings (Uncle M Music), is filled with rock-lover diversity. From heartfelt emotion, angsty guitar riffs, eighties-synths, to catchy singalong anthems, danceable beats, instrumental tracks, and heavy rock drums, Flash Forward does not shy away from genre blending.
A lot has changed in metal over the last thirty years but you wouldn’t know that by listening to the latest release from German thrash veterans Paradox. A sequel to their 1989 classic, Heresy (Roadrunner Records), Heresy II – End of a Legend (AFM Records) continues the story of the Cathars and the 13th century Albigensian Crusade, an ambitious conceptual endeavour that actually pays off.
If you were on the lookout for quality thrash metal in the 1980s, your next stop after the USA would most likely have been Germany. With Kreator, Destruction, and Sodom leading the way, the so-called “Teutonic Trio” eventually expanded to include legendary beer bastards Tankard, but the country also produced a host of other quality acts. Bands like Deathrow, Paradox, Assassin, Vendetta, and Living Death all flew the flag with pride along with many other deserving names, one of those being underrated Siegen based act Accu§er.Continue reading
German psych-rockers Black Space Riders released their amazing new album Amoretum Vol. 1 on their own Black Space Records earlier in the year. Ripple Music has announced that they have entered into an exclusive arrangement to distribute Amoretum Vol. 1, with Amoretum Vol. 2 marked for release later this year, through North America. Continue reading
There’s a good chance you’ve never of heard of Thuringia’s Motorowl, but their first recorded effort is an impressive cauldron of retro rock and doom given a new lease of life.