Updates - reviews
Reviews
Cradle Of Filth - Cryptoriana: The Seductiveness Of Decay
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We go way back, Dani and I. When I first heard The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh in 1995, I was put off by the vocals, but I thought the music was too good to let the shrieking spaz spoil it for me. Once I heard Vempire the following year, I was hooked. Years later I was sad to see that after Midian Cradle Of Filth began to tumble into mediocrity. 2015's Hammer of the Witches was surprisingly good, but it had me wondering whether it was a one-off, or the band was really back in top-notch form. I'm very happy to report that the increase in quality seems to hold. Or even rise. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Alice Cooper - Paranormal
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After the cavalcade of risks and fresh sounds that populated Welcome 2 My Nightmare, Alice Cooper decided to circle back around to regular, ol' rock'n'roll of the type that everyone can grasp immediately. I'll admit to some disappointment that Paranormal doesn't quite see Alice reinveinting himself for the umpteenth time, but with that said, this is a 27th album that is enjoyable and doesn't drag, so I'll take it. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Paradise Lost - Medusa
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I have been following Paradise Lost since the Frozen Illusion demo back when there was no internet and we had to rely on scarce metal radio shows and MTV's "Headbangers Ball" for our fix of new music. The band has tried its hand at death, doom, gothic and even electronic styles, but since In Requiem they have been gradually returning to their roots with every release. Medusa is another sample of greatness in a nearly thirty-year-old, more-than-remarkable career. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Eluveitie - Evocation II - Pantheon
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The follow-up to 2009's Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion seemed like a far-off mirage in the wake of Eluveitie's drastic restructuring in 2016 - not the first shake-up the band has undergone, but the first that felt like a true splintering of the group. Not one to entertain setbacks, however, bandleader Chrigel Glanzmann assembled another substantial cast of musicians and finished Evocation II - Pantheon with only a slight delay. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Sun Of The Sleepless - To The Elements
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Sun Of The Sleepless is the one-man band of Ulf Theodor Schwadorf (real name: Markus Stock), best known from Empyrium and The Vision Bleak. Even though the project was formed almost 20 years back, only a couple of EPs and a split with Nachtmar were released in the early days, making To The Elements the band's debut full-length and the first piece of new music after no fewer than 13 years. Its creator described it as "a fist in the face of a shallow world!" and indeed it is. It was also more than worth the wait. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Orden Ogan - Gunmen
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Orden Ogan have followed up Ravenhead, their shortest and most accessible album to date, with Gunmen, an album that feels more like the band's earlier works with its density and weight. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Accept - The Rise Of Chaos
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The Rise Of Chaos struggles at first to get off the ground. I won't hesitate to say that "The Rise Of Chaos" and "Koolaid" are the weakest singles Accept has put out in the last decade - certainly no "Teutonic Terror" or "Stampede" - and wading through those inertia dampers only to break through to an even less dynamic midsection takes the wind out of your first listen. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Decapitated - Anticult
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The awful tragedy that hit Decapitated ten years ago brought important changes to the band, with new members joining and with the guitarist and main songwriter, Vogg, deciding to switch to a new style. Most of the early tech-death era fans hate this change, but it is a reality and they either have to accept it and appreciate Decapitated's new music for what it is or just listen to something else. Anticult is bound to get the Polish extreme metallers some new admirers, but it will almost surely send away forever many of the old ones that were still following the band. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Rage - Seasons Of The Black
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Huh? Didn't Rage release an album just last year? Good for you Peavy; shaking things up with a new line-up apparently got your creative juices flowing again. Read more ›› |