ALBUM REVIEW: Misery Index – Complete Control


Death Metal can be presented in various iterations: grimy and old school; melodic, and technical; symphonic and gothic. Each offshoot augments further exploration and daring.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Visions of Atlantis – Pirates


If you’re looking for a metal album about pirates this summer that you can listen to guilt free (what? I meant now that we’re all mature enough to not worry about calling things like this a guilty pleasure… honest guv!), you need look no further than Visions of Atlantis’ eighth full-length album, the rather bluntly and descriptively titled Pirates (Napalm Records).

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ALBUM REVIEW: Fozzy – Boombox


Whether it is due to the day-job of Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho, or their weird roots and route, stumbling into being a “proper band” by evolving from a high-profile covers act formed by former Stuck Mojo six-stringer Rich Ward, rightly or wrongly (and the answer is wrongly, by the way), it took 2017’s breakout anthem ‘Judas’ (from the album of the same name), a bona-fide fists-in-the-air voices-to-the-sky classic anthem, to put a stamp of credibility on the twenty-year labour of musical love of Ward and Jericho and push them headfirst through the glass ceiling and into the next level of mainstream consciousness.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Bowling For Soup – Pop Drunk Snot Bread


Two things remain certain when it comes to Texas pop-punk veterans Bowling For Soup: the band is wonderfully self-aware, and they remain the undisputed champions when it comes to bridges.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Dorothy – Gifts From The Holy Ghost


Whether you fully believe the story of the inspiration for the third album from Dorothy, the band fronted by vocal powerhouse Dorothy Martin, that a member of the band’s crew came back to life as she prayed over his lifeless body for his recovery from an overdose, or not, the uplifting country blues soft rocker that serves as the title-track and final song leaves an overriding tone for act’s third album Gifts From The Holy Ghost (Spinefarm Records / Roc Nation) in the mind: “leaving all your fear behind… we’ve been lost, we are gifts from the holy ghost”.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Alunah – Strange Machine



The UK doom scene continues to pump out solid releases and the latest from Alunah is no different. Strange Machine (Heavy Psych Sounds) kicks right off with the album track and does not let up on the psychedelic rock/doom metal mixture. A lot of fans of the scene tend to just say things like “Oh it’s just more Sabbath worship”, but rest assure, these Birmingham natives are not here to hit copy and paste.Continue reading


CONCERT REVIEW: Killswitch Engage – August Burns Red – Light the Torch – Live at Terminal 5


It’s always a special occasion when Killswitch Engage comes to town. This time, however, fans got an extra special treat as the band brought along supporting acts August Burns Red and Light The Torch.

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EP REVIEW: Asking Alexandra – Never Gonna Learn


Having nailed Asking Alexandria 3.0, with last year’s vibrant See What’s On The Inside (Better Noise), the UK metalcore-turned-rock beasts are keen to capitalise on the critical and commercial success of their seventh album with a four-track EP, featuring two exclusive tracks.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Liquid Tension Experiment – LT3



It’s been twenty-two years since Liquid Tension Experiment, the Progressive Metal supergroup formed by Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic, The Winery Dogs) John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), and Tony Levin (King Crimson), released a record after their critically acclaimed album Liquid Tension 2 (Magna Carta). In this new album entitled LT3 (InsideOut Music) these musicians prove once again why they are part of the biggest bands in the genre and why they are considered to be among the best in their respective instruments and their craft.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Sonic Flower – Rides Again


Japan’s Sonic Flower began in the early 2000s as an offshoot of Church of Misery. They released one self-titled album in 2003 and then broke up in 2005 following some aborted recording sessions. Reforming briefly in 2007, only to break up again the same year, Sonic Flower lay dormant for 14 years until they finally reformed again in 2019. A full-length album with a new lineup including a vocalist is scheduled for later in 2021. To whet their fans’ appetite in the meantime, the band are first releasing Rides Again (Heavy Psych Sounds Records), which consists entirely of tracks recorded in 2005 from the aforementioned aborted sessions.

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