HEAVY METAL ALBUM REVIEWS ROUND-UP: Maule, Eliminator, Ashes of Ares, and Planeswalker


Maule – Maule (Gates of Hell)

What you see is certainly what you get when it comes to Maule‘s self-titled debut. The Vancouver quartet secures themselves in the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal style, echoing the twin guitars, clanky bass, and street aesthetic of groups like White Wizzard, Traveler, and Pounder. The playing is tight, the pacing is energetic, and one can even detect hints of heavier influence with the vocals’ more thrash-leaning demeanor.Continue reading


Various Artists – British Steel: The Rising Force Of British Heavy Metal


In those glorious/hideous (delete as applicable) years before the inexorable rise of the internet, compilation albums used to be the staple of many record buyers collections. Those of a certain age might remember such collections as Masters of Metal (K-Tel), the superb (and newly reinvigorated) Speed Kills (Music For Nations) series, the Metal Killers Kollection (Castle Communications) series, Axe Attack (K-Tel), Time To Rock (WEA), and the magnificently titled Metal Treasures and Vinyl Heavies (Action Replay).Continue reading