ALBUM REVIEW: Infected Rain – Time


Breaking away from the pack of Modern Metal bands, Infected Rain is fulfilling their promise as one of the the best underground buzz bands of the new millennium. Their new album Time (Napalm Records) goes super hard, but more importantly, showcases their maturity as writers, riff dealers, and how to make every song stand on its own. It’s rare to get to see a label trust a band to follow their muse and really grow and change from album to album. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Temic – Terror Management Theory


With an expansive sound and members whose past jobs include Devin Townsend, Haken, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress and The Neal Morse Band amongst others is Temic. The idea for this project was first suggested back in 2017, but various touring commitments and a pesky pandemic meant it came to naught until now.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Source – Emergence


 

As album titles go, Emergence (Self-Released) is a powerful and meaningful moniker for Progressive Metallers Source at this point in their careers. Firstly, it references the album’s inspiration and, in part, narrative of new realisation and “transformation” of vocalist/guitarist Ben Gleason’s worldview following global pandemic-forced lockdowns and the following readjustment.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Soen – Memorial


 

“Niiiiiice”, says Louis Balfour – you know, the jazz critic in The Fast Show comedy sketches. Well, Soen’s Memorial (Silver Lining Music) is niiiiiice – a decidedly serious sandwich full of delights, earworms, and all-around expertise.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Black Orchid Empire – Tempus Veritas


 

Prog metal trio Black Orchid Empire crank up the technical complexity and again display their playing chops on Tempus Veritas (Season Of Mist). While there is a certain schizophrenia at play here, a clash of styles, if not intent, it has to be said that when these London-based boys (Paul Visser – vocals/guitars, Dave Ferguson – bass/vocals, and Billy Freedom – drums) are good, they are very good.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Enslaved – Heimdal


 

At this point some thirty years into their illustrious career, Enslaved have truly transcended into their own musical entity. Creating a genre in their own image with a highly unique sound that still stays true to their extreme metal roots, but also blends the darkness with the light of progressive rock, and providing two distinct and opposing vocal styles in a way that no other band does.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Crooked Royals – Quarter Life Daydream


 

There is still a ton left to be done in Metal and Rock music. If you’re one of those people who assumes rock is dead simply because it’s not as mainstream as it once was, I am truly sorry for all the amazing new bands you’re missing out on. Among many others, New Zealand quintet Crooked Royals are opening eyes to the many ways the genre is evolving and raising questions of where else it could go from here.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Coheed & Cambria – Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind


After a brief hiatus from the overarching conceptual narrative that their previous catalogue followed, 2018’s Vaxis- Act 1: Unheavenly Creatures saw Coheed & Cambria make a welcome return to The Armory Wars saga, commencing a new tale within the narrative, one to be told across a five-album span. A span that follows the titular and, currently, little-known character Vaxis, who at the point of Act 1 is unborn but an almost guiding hand to his parents Nia (Sister Spider) and Nostrand (Creature) in their escape. A welcome return with glorious results which means anticipation is rife again for the follow-up as the narrative continues on Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind (Roadrunner). Where Act 1 largely comprised of deceptively sprawling songs and hit a near eighty-minute mark, Vaxis II’s repertoire is generally more succinct with songs around the three-to-four-minute mark. Arguably a more commercial-friendly effort, that thought belies the still present depth within even shorter songs and the areas of innovation throughout which still feels unmistakably in character for the band, despite clear differences to its predecessor.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Black Crown Initiate – Violent Portraits Of Doomed Escape – Century Media


After a four year absence (a handful of single releases aside), Pennsylvania-based Black Crown Initiate return with their third full-length release, Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape (Century Media). From black metal to progressive rock via blasts of technical death metal, BCI effortlessly combine a whole range of differing styles resulting in their most captivating and assured record to date.

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