heavy metal

Album Review: Grand Magus - Triumph And Power

Submitted by Chris C on Tuesday, Feb 4th 2014

When I reviewed Grand Magus' previous album, “The Hunt”, I remarked how unusual it was to experience a metal album that was actually fun to listen to. In the time since then, I have come to realize that “The Hunt” was not as well-received with most fans as it was with me, and metal being fun is a trend that has yet to catch on. For whatever reason, metal bands continue to work under the assumption that everything has to be angry, in a minor key, and put you in a terrible mood. Anything less, they think, shows weakness.

Album Review: Nashville Pussy - "Up The Dosage"

Submitted by wizard on Monday, Feb 3rd 2014

Do you like dirty, filthy, skanky rock and roll? Do you like it with a taste of Southern rock marinated in sex, drugs, drinking and debauchery? Then I think you're going to like "Up The Dosage", the latest album from Grammy nominated rockers Nashville Pussy.

Album Review: Hammercult - "Steelcrusher"

Submitted by M. Drew on Thursday, Jan 30th 2014

Before we get too far down the rabbit hole with Hammercult’s “Steelcrusher,” let’s take a minute to appreciate the art in front of us. Take a look at that album cover. If you click on it, it’ll show full size. Have you ever seen something so masterful? That album cover, which like a certain rug tying the room together is made whole by the prominent middle finger in the middle of the image, is among the greatest iconography in heavy metal. No joke.

Album Review: Sister - Disguised Vultures

Submitted by Chris C on Tuesday, Jan 28th 2014

Music can be described using any number of words, but most of them aren't especially adept at painting a picture to represent the sound. When we call music beautiful, for instance, it can mean wildly different things, depending on who is doing the talking. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. Good and bad, heavy and light, none of these descriptions are able to convey the essence of a type of music to someone who has yet to hear it.

Album Review: The Reverend Horton Heat - "Rev"

Submitted by wizard on Monday, Jan 27th 2014

Yeehaw! Rockabilly is alive and well and now available on Victory Records. I was thrilled to find the latest release from The Reverend Horton Heat in my inbox for this week's review. In full disclosure I am, and have been, a big fan of the Reverend and his take on the rockabilly genre. The man has been at it since 1985 and his newest release "Rev" is proof positive that he's still going strong.

Album Review: Iced Earth - "Plagues of Babylon"

Submitted by M. Drew on Wednesday, Jan 22nd 2014

For more than twenty-five years now, Iced Earth has represented both the undying spirit of heavy metal and its penchant for rhythmic technical flair. So it is that the metal world pauses for at least a brief moment to bear witness to the birth of a new Iced Earth record, this time called “Plagues of Babylon.”

Album Review: Red Dragon Cartel - Red Dragon Cartel

Submitted by Chris C on Wednesday, Jan 22nd 2014

There was a time when Jake E. Lee was on top of the world. He was a huge star while playing in Ozzy Osbourne's band, and then when he started the cult favorite Badlands. I must admit that while Jake is one of the biggest names in guitar to have emerged from the 80s, I am not familiar with most of his career. Not being a fan of Ozzy in the slightest, I couldn't tell you anything about Jake's time in that revolving door, and I have probably only heard two Badlands songs in all the time I have known of their existence.

Album Review: Sacrificial Blood - "SoulS for Sale"

Submitted by M. Drew on Tuesday, Jan 21st 2014

Sacrificial Bloods’s new record “SoulS for Sale” is a deliciously straightforward affair, unapologetic in its directness. I shall try to honor that by being equally direct in the discussion of it.

With all the image and promotion and jockeying for position and gamesmanship and preening that vies for our musical attention, it’s devilishly easy for artists to get drowned out by big voices and flashy showpieces. If you listen carefully, you can hear Sacrificial Blood calling all of that noise what it is; bullshit.

Shelf Space: "Demons" Blu-ray Review

Submitted by JakeD on Sunday, Jan 19th 2014

The audience at the Metropol Theatre in Berlin settle into their seats, crack open a Coca Cola, and prepare themselves for a little horror film. What they didn't prepare for, is to have the theatre become their own personal hell on earth-- run rampant with obscene, ultra-violent DEMONS. They must do their best to survive this blood bath and pray they don't become one of Satan's spawn. This movie pretty much describes my feelings on the movie theatre "experience." I feel old.

Album Review: Chrome Division - "Infernal Rock Eternal"

Submitted by wizard on Saturday, Jan 18th 2014

I like all sorts of music, from jazz to early rock and roll to standards to metal. And, when it comes to metal, I particularly enjoy metal with a groove. For our purposes we'll call it "bop-metal" (yet another sub-genre?). I like to bang my head with the best of them but metal you can also bounce to really turns me on. That leads me to this week's review.