ALBUM REVIEW: Sevendust – Truth Killer


Closing in on 30 years into their career, you couldn’t blame Sevendust if they took their foot off the gas at this stage. They have indicated as much that they are looking to tour less intensely as they have been, as the bands have families and are thinking of their futures. The band has slogged it out for decades on countless tours, metal festivals worldwide, and at times, more intimate unplugged gigs as well. While there are surely not a lot of new mountains to climb, it’s refreshing to see that the band is still hungry, and challenging themselves to create quality new songs on their 14th album Truth Killer. Following a successful run at Rise Records, the band has found a new home in Napalm Records, home to many of their peers and touring partners. The vibe at Napalm fits better than Rise did, as they head into this next phase of their career.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Trespass – Wolf At The Door


 

When an album opens with nothing but high hat and then adds the guitars, you know you have a banger. Trespass’ Wolf At The Door (From the Vaults) is quintessential NWOBHM. Even in this digital age, Wolf At The Door still has the tonality of analog seventies metal albums. There is a grounding, brownness to the sound. The pacing and mixing give it a throwback, classic feel. The songs come complete with velvety guitar solos over hard-driving drums. ‘Wolf At The Door’ would sound awesome on vinyl as it has the tones and feeling that support analog listening.

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EP REVIEW: Atreyu – The Hope Of A Spark


 

Having approached their twentieth year of being a staple in the metalcore scene, the prodigies of Atreyu still haven’t lost their spark (no pun intended) with the new EP The Hope Of A Spark (Spinefarm Records). Drawing from the commonalities of the quintet’s personal lives, each song is truly a shared effort among the five of them – not only musically, but conceptually.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Hellripper – Warlocks Grim and Withered Hags


 

Hellripper is the one-man retro Blackened Thrash metal project from Scotland’s James McBain, who has been purveying his retro sounds since 2014, releasing a number of EPs including debut The Manifestation Of Evil (2015) and Complete And Total Fucking Mayhem (2016) before dropping the full-length Coagulating Darkness in 2017.

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Riven – Peace and Conflict


I’ve always pictured the Stockholm-bound The Riven as the Swedish version of Thulsa Doom – similar vibes, similar undertones, and similar upbeat resonances. The RIven, as far as I observe, has always been influenced by the sounds from the golden age of classic rock; the 1970s and 1980s. Their sounds are genuinely hard-hitting, sharp-shooting, and they appear to be the kind of sounds that would make you want to headbang as the exciting memories in your head replay themselves in retrospect whilst you listen to them. In terms of genre classification, they might pass as heavy blues rock with progressive, psychedelic, and classical influences and a strong emphasis on menacing riffs as well as vigorous vocals.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Tuk Smith and The Restless Hearts – Ballad of a Misspent Youth


 

The opening strains of Ballad of a Misspent Youth (MRG Records) by Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts reminds me of old KISS. It’s the sound of the guitars. There is a bit of The Black Crowes thrown in for good measure. It’s hard driving and pop-ish with a punk tinge. The guitars are simple yet sonically pleasing. The album continues this stylistic choice with savage awesomeness. Be prepared, Ballad of a Misspent Youth is solid from start to finish with plenty of songs that will get stuck on constant rotation.

 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Crobot – Feel This


Throwback Thursday can now be every day if you believe hard enough. With Crobot’s latest release Feel This (Mascot Label Group), you can headbang and air guitar like it was the 1990s, early aught’s all over again.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Audrey Horne – Devil’s Bell


In the new “post-covid” era I have been hearing some awesome cuts coming from all kinds of artists. It makes me wonder how many took advantage of the downtime to hone skills and really dig into some songwriting.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Jess And The Ancient Ones – Vertigo


For the most part, the fourth album from Jess And The Ancient Ones continues down the low-key approach to Occult Rock that was established on 2017’s The Horse And Other Weird Tales. Just about every song on Vertigo (Svart Records) is driven by a short length, an upbeat structure, and extensive layers of psychedelic instrumentation. Aside from the eleven minutes of the closing ‘Strange Earth Illusion,’ the first two albums’ more drawn-out runtimes seem to be a thing of the past.

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Watch Deftones Perform Live in 1996 on Tour with Pantera and White Zombie


Deftones’ fan video archive channel Deftones Live on YouTub has shared a long-lost concert performance of the band from their 1996 opening slot on the now legendary Pantera/White Zombie Tour. Deftones were promoting their debut album Adrenaline (Maverick Records) and the concert was shot for a promo that was never released. Watch the video now!

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