Reviews

After their 2004 debut "Retroactive Abortion", Venomous Concept are back with a new album, "Posioned Apple". This seriously interesting four-piece is built from members of Napalm Death, Brutal Truth and Nuclear Assault. Even the…

Expedition Delta is a new project from ambitious Serbian guitarist Srdjan Branković, best known as a member of the Serbian prog metal band Alogia. Following the style of his acquaintance and role model, the Dutchman Arjen Lucasse

Johnossi is a Swedish duo that stormed onto the world music scene in 2006 with their self-titled album. These days it's downright odd to find acts made up of just two members. It wouldn't be so odd if they were two multi-instrumentalists,…

»The Electric Light Orchestra« was the debut from the legendary British art rockers Electric Light Orchestra. In America it came out as »No Answer«, the result of a telephone mix-up after their

Anyone who still remembers the theme song from the movie The Flinstones probably also has enough brain processing power left to keep the name The B-52’s stashed away in the attic (and not just as that famous American bomber). After 16…

Michael Borman, the German multi-instrumentalist, has been flourishing ever since he left his home band Jaded Heart. Two years ago his second studio album "Conspiracy" (2006) came out, in this period

"Masque," released while its predecessor "Song For America" (1975) was still hot off the press, was the third album from cult American prog rockers Kansas. The album was the result of pressure from their label, which

The late eighties and early nineties in the US belonged to a movement called grunge. The genre found its capital in rainy Seattle, in Washington state.

After the release of their excellent second album "Pride" (1996), Arena finally earned themselves the status of a band with a vision all their own, even among the wider prog rock crowd. No longer were they seen as some obscure side project

Ghost Circus is an international duo made up of two talented multi-instrumentalists: American singer/guitarist/bassist Chris Brown and Dutch drummer/guitarist/keyboardist Ronald Wahle. Their collaboration started

Very few metal bands switch their orientation from power metal to black / death metal. One of them is the American Satan's Host, a side project founded in 1977 by Tyrant, the vocalist of Jag Panzer. The band kept at it

The Vines, the new garage rockers (or, put bluntly, out-of-tune The Beatles dunked in Nirvana), still deserve better than being treated as a cash cow, which is how Capitol Records sees them. This compilation is &

Unbelievable! I never thought that in 2008 I'd be getting a fresh debut from some band that's an identical clone of power metal riffs sifted through a billion times already. The Cypriots in Winter's Verge are showing up with their offering…

BHC, novomeški nadebudni klini, gojijo svoj glasbeni izraz na izhodiščnih zasnovah funka, rocka, soula, bluesa in ne boste verjeli. Točkovnim vključevanjem težjih zmetaliziranih riffov, zlasti v jedra refrenov na eni stra

Fires Of Babylon is the project of guitarist Lou St. Paul, who also runs Winter's Bane, the band fronted by Tim "Ripper" Owens, that eternal legionnaire of metal frontmen, who has just been hired by none other than the most illustrious…

The Swedish sextet Incrave is a band that renamed itself from Evergrace a year ago. As Evergrace they put out a self-titled debut in 2006, which came out again under the Incrave name last year with the title "The Escape".

Game Over from Jesenice, a band now considered legendary in the local metal scene (and so is their cult demo tape Tilt, released in 1990), called it quits far too soon in the early nineties because of misunderstandings within the group. Now…

On July 21, 1987, a heavy earthquake hit downtown Los Angeles. Nothing unusual, you'd say, since quakes are fairly common in that city, but on that very same day another "quake" rattled the foundations of Los Angeles - "Appetite For Destr

Strana Officina are arguably the most important name in Italian heavy metal pioneering, roaming the Apennine peninsula way back in the eighties alongside bands of similar heritage like Vanadium, Sabotage and Elektradrive. The band

If you're into Primal Fear, and Judas Priest too, this album is worth a spin. Skanners deliver polished, compact songs, and the solos are nicely woven into the structure, but as mentioned, thanks to the strong stylistic resemblance to the…

We finally get a chance to hear an album that isn't meant to be background noise, but one you have to sit down with and give real time to, because of the musical composition packed into the record called "Hazing Through Shadows". The new a

Over the course of fourteen years, the Kranj-based band Obduction has gone through a few lineup changes and tried out several musical styles along the way. You could hear Obduction in thrash and heavy metal waters, all the way to…

Skanners, a band from Bolzano in the Italian Dolomites, are putting out their 5th studio album, "The Serial Healer". They've been around since 1982, so clearly this one was a slow burn. Sadly, I can't tell you what they sounded like in the…

Pavel came together at the initiative of frontman Aljoša Šerić, who is also a member of the somewhat better-established band Ramirez. Over his years in Ramirez, Šerić also wrote plenty of songs that he didn't feel fit the parent band, which

Kansas band Manilla Road are without a doubt one of the legendary metal acts, one that actually helped shape the whole metal movement. Founded back in 1977, the band is sadly also one of metal's most overlooked giants, since it

The comeback of Van Der Graaf Generator, legends of innovation and pioneers of the darker side of progressive rock, kicked off a few years ago with a new tour, their first in over 25 years, and the release of the excellent album "Prese

What do you get if you cross Hendrix with Albert King? Stevie Ray Vaughan. The new blues messiah from Texas introduced himself to the world in 1982 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, then conquered it a year later with the album "Texas Flood",…

Berserker are Sicilians! Frontman Alessandro Alioto (guitar, vocals) founded the band back in 1989, but the debut only came out at the end of 2007. I'll say right off the bat that you won't be wasting your time reading, expecting that it's

Simon Says are yet another relatively new (neo) prog rock band from the Swedish prog rock scene, which is known for its heavy use of the Mellotron. They put out their debut "Ceinwen" back in 1995 and then let seven years pass before the…

Italy's Florence-based heavy metal quintet is back with its fourth straight studio album, "Nights Of Violence." The material proves these guys are excellent musicians, a tight, well-oiled, compact crew with great working chemistry in the…

"The Grand Wazoo" was, true to its name, a grand album, if not one of the most majestic pearls of Frank's entire career, which, given how varied that career is, is no small feat. Just like its no less excellent

Miusow Quartet are a relatively new lineup, but they're no greenhorns. Most of them already have plenty of experience as studio musicians, working with more popular acts. But musicians of this caliber need

M83 is a French act that has been around the music scene for years and made a name for itself right from the start of its career. The band is known for its catchy songs as well as its harder techno cuts. It wasn't that long ago that

Devendra Banhart is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who was born in Texas and later spent a long stretch of his life in Venezuela. He's brought his life in Latin America into his music too, which is full of all kinds…

Cult German space rockers Eloy were in a temporary creative lull at the turn of the eighties. After four years of rest, though, their boss, guitarist/vocalist Frank Bornemann, decided to resurrect his band with a

It was 1976. Calm all around, everybody dutifully did their civic labor and sat in front of the TV in the evenings, waiting for the rousing speeches from the days of self-contribution levies and old-newspaper drives. Nobody asked about…

The debut from Brooklyn's Boss Tweet definitely belongs in the badly short-changed catalog of the more exciting releases of the last few years. The album, predictably self-titled Boss Tweet, is a thoroughly ear-friendly, musically…

Since 1998, Denmark's Mercenary have treated us to a new release every two years, and what's commendable is that each record is an evolutionary step forward, with Mercenary a band that isn't afraid to try new things and explore new corners…

The cow Lulubelle III, who graces the cover of "Atom Heart Mother", the fifth studio album from legendary prog rock heavyweights Pink Floyd, is surely the most famous cow in the world, right up there with the purple one on the Milka…

Label: EMI RecordsRelease date: October 2, 1970Produced by: Pink FloydAlbum length: 51.54 minGenre: Psychadelic Rock / Progressive RockRating: 9.0/10 Lulubelle III, the cow on the sleeve of "Atom Heart Mother", the fifth studio album…

At a time when Old School Black metal seems to have faded into oblivion, a lesser-known band that stays loyal to primal Black metal surprises us every now and then. One of the real ''Underground'' acts is Norwegian outfit Mord, the No

cardboard amandA are undoubtedly something special. Just take one look at their album cover and you can tell this is going to be something completely crazy and out of the ordinary. And the cover doesn't lie! Inside the nicely designed digip

It hadn't been all that long since the legendary Yardbirds formed when their longtime manager Giorgio Gomelsky suddenly hatched the idea of teaming up with blues icon Sonny Boy Williamson. During the so-called blues revival, num

Greek power metal outfit Firewind has a pretty colorful history behind it. The band was founded in 1998 by Greek guitarist Kostas Karamitroudis (Kostas goes by the nickname Gus G., so nobody has to twist their tongue), primarily just so he…

Piece of Mind finally crowned Iron Maiden as music legends and the greatest heavy metal band of all time. With Piece of Mind, Iron Maiden stepped into their golden years, which lasted almost until the start of the nineties, while at the…

"We Will Fight!", the trio Alltheniko's debut, is an album that looks deep into the eighties. It digs through the music written by classic heavy metal bands like Accept or Judas Priest, then adds the speed and thrash of some early

The first years after the departure of "crazy diamond" Syd Barrett were undoubtedly an extremely turbulent period for Pink Floyd, full of constant, sprawling experimentation in the studio and on stage, including the search for a suitable…

Every so often the wind scatters Matilda's seeds over the sunny side of the Alps too, and they reach the sunniest part of Slovenia, the Pomurje plains, home of the local black metal outfit Dark Sphere, whose music creates eerie symphonies…

Label: EMI RecordsRelease date: 7. 11. 1969Production: Pink Floyd & Norman SmithAlbum length: 86.11 minGenre: Psychadelic Rock/Progressive Rock/AvantgardeRating: 8.5/10 The first years after the departure of the "crazy diamond"…

Label: EMI RecordsProduction: Martin BirchRelease date: September 3, 1984Album length: 51.12 minGenre: Heavy MetalRating: 10/10 Piece of Mind finally crowned Iron Maiden as legends and the biggest heavy metal band of all time. With…

Radio Moscow is a provocative project from two young guys out of the USA (the state of Iowa). Provocative because these days young guys tackle just about anything in music before they'd touch the blues. It's as if, instead of climbing onto…

At last, something for the lovers of pastoral music again. Straight out of Tuzla, the tireless master of verbal masochism Damir Avdić a.k.a. Diplomatz is storming the gates once more! Mrtvi su mrtvi follows the controversial debut …od trnja…

Public Enemy are a legendary American rap/hip hop crew that has been around since the early eighties. The key players in the group were brought together by a love of hip hop and politics, especially injustice

Thrash metal is enjoying a boom the likes of which it hasn't seen since the golden eighties, and a whole pack of legends back in action proves it. Exodus just dropped a solid record, Megadeth did too, Metallica with their new rec

Steve Hackett, one of the greatest guitar innovators and composers in the history of rock music (long before Eddie Van Halen popularized tapping in the '80s, it was already a staple guitar technique for Steve on some of the best Genesi

Some more interesting guys from Italy, this time taking on the great art metallers Queensryche. It takes guts to do something like that. There's no need to waste words on the technical chops, let alone the money you have to sink in so that…

Finnish melodic death/power metal outfit Norther has never exactly been known for its originality. Ever since their first released album Dream of Endless War (2002), they've been copying, with more or less success, the sound of their

english version: Elixir, the legendary metal act, from times when New Wave of British of Heavy Metal was young, alive and kicking, is back again! Some truly legendary names from that era are back in the saddle as well. Cloven Hoof, Diamond…

Powerful from Italy are trying to bring metal crowds a fresh take on a blend of classic heavy metal elements crossed with the old school thrash/speed metal that grew up in sunny California in the mid-eighties. Nothing new, then.

Hot Chip are four musicians (mostly multi-instrumentalists) who worked as DJs before forming this band. Then they joined forces and put together a supergroup dominated by electronic dance rhythms, which is hardly surprising, given that they…

Blood Thirsty Demons are Italian metalheads from Varese who are behind a trademark they call “horror metal”. The whole thing kind of reeks of the influence of Death SS, also Italians, who formed back in

With "Time Honoured Ghosts," Barclay James Harvest stuck to their tried-and-tested and, until then, successful recipe: crafting their own vision of melodic symphonic progressive rock, built on plenty of pastoral and orchestral elements

1993 was a watershed year in rock music. "Hair" metal had been stomped into the deepest oblivion for good, even Metallica got their hair cut, "grunge" took over ("little did they know"), and the only truly relevant survivor of the eighties…

At long last, the idea of raw, uncompromising Black metal has awakened in the Pomurje region back home, an area where until now Thrash metal and Grind core have mostly been the only kings. Constructive cooperation between the musically…

Against The Grain, with ten stellar tracks, catches Rory in fantastic form. The plain-spoken Irishman, who so shyly picked himself back up after Taste fell apart with his self-titled debut, after almost five years of lone wandering, the…

Tarchon Fist are a freshly hatched Italian heavy metal band from Bologna. They're textbook representatives of the Italian, modern-day take on heavy metal. If you're looking for over-the-top pomp and melody technically fused with high-speed…

Ever since their beginnings in 1993, Psycho-path have been considered one of the most unique bands in Slovenia. They have their own take on alternative rock, where the mighty guitar riffs, the incredibly powerful &#

Another rock legend has checked out. Kevin DuBrow went the classic way, with a cocaine overdose, unlike the fairly violent trends of late (e.g. Dimebag). So quietly and almost unnoticed, he joined Randy Rhoads in heaven (or hell, as the…

With "Song For America," Kansas built on the symphonic prog rock direction they'd laid out on their excellent self-titled debut. Even though after the release of "Kansas" (1974) they'd won a respectable and loyal following back home, they…

The Italian prog scene is one of the best in the world. That was especially true in the seventies, when our neighbors could boast a whole heap of terrific bands. At the top of that heap, for me personally, is Banco del Mutuo Soccorso. The…

While progressive rock in Britain was enjoying its golden age and commercial peak in the early 70s, and our western neighbors were churning out a pretty impressive pile of cult prog bands, the same could hardly be said for the traditional…

Can a parody of classic late-'80s metal sound damn good and innovative? Canada's ZIMMER'S HOLE answered that question by recording their third album, When you were shouting at the devil…we

Slovenians, watch out! A new pop/rock band with a cute female vocalist is heading for the scene. Where have I seen that before? Oh, right. In more than one place. Billysi, for example, or Lunapark. And much like Billysi (I'll make an…

One of the pioneering bands in rock history shocked everyone with the follow-up to 'The Yes Album' (1971), since many expected an equally hard or even harder record, because all the bands were competing back then over who would

In your teenage years every guy has certain dreams and desires... to dunk it wherever he possibly can. Not everyone pulls it off, and virgin frustrations can lead to all kinds of results. The extreme outcome can be

In August 1984, Iron Maiden set off on their most ambitious and longest tour to date. In just under a year, the World Slavery tour racked up 193 shows in a hundred different cities. In total, Iron Maiden played to over a mil

Label: EMI RecordsRelease date: 4. 2. 2008Length: 188.09 minGenre: Heavy MetalRating: 10/10 In August 1984, Iron Maiden set off on their most ambitious and longest tour to date. In just under a year, the World Slavery tour racked up…

What I'm holding in my hands is the 1996 reissue of the album "Vjeran pas". It's an anthology, or compilation, of all the material by Termiti that was sitting on recording tapes and cassettes, drawn from studio sessions and two live…

"Ferrum Gravis", or "heavy iron", the second album from German metallers Viron, is a needle in a haystack these days. Where on earth did these guys come from? They play "heavy metal" in its primordial form, the developmental variety from…

My heart hasn't skipped a beat like this in a long time listening to an AOR album. Especially one from a freshly baked band. AOR is a spoiled child. It demands extreme hair-splitting in the studio. There are loads of details that call for a…

Magma had already returned to the stage in the nineties, but there was still no sign they'd put out anything new. Then, just when fans figured Magma was done for good, the band came back. And with a single, their first and, so far, only…

Leverage! The Finns! They stick to their tried-and-true template, which is damn hard to pin down. Roughly speaking, you'd call it symphonic hard rock. But with the occasional eruption of double bass drum pedals, the scales like to tip

The Poodles, hugely popular back home in Sweden (commercially, too), are back with a new album after barely a year, their second. "Metal Will Stand Tall" (2006) was a top-notch debut that set the bar high for the

After "Double X" (2006), a seriously lovely comeback album compared to "Free" (2003), the guys decided it was time for something completely new. What pulled them in was the theater from their

A reissue of a legendary masterpiece, 20 years after it first came out! The double CD features a fresh remaster and a live set from the Montreux Jazz Festival that's never been released before. A must-have for every Satriani fan and every…

With Double Trouble, Gillan's little sparrows take their first step into the so-called post-classic era of the band, which after Bernie Tormeja's departure first pinned its hopes, temporarily, on a greenhorn most of you now know well by the…

It doesn't get much more retro than this! Old-school AOR with tangible nods to the foundations laid by Boston (in places the vocals sit in the mid-range) and the way the basic riffs are built (the songs Destiny, Someday, Is It Love, Heaven…

"Black Market", the sixth studio album by jazz fusion legends Weather Report, was the most important and, in my opinion, also the best album of their rich career. Today this masterpiece is recognized for several cult compositions

Slovenia has had a rich singer-songwriter tradition for quite a while now. Just think of legends like Jani Kovačič, Iztok Mlakar, Tomaž Domicelj, Marko Brecelj, Vlado Kreslin and Andrej Šifrer (small &

After a two-year hiatus, German melodic/black metallers Dark Fortress have woken up again and served us a new, (this time) conceptual and somewhat more melodic and harmonic album titled ''Eidolon'' The last two years were in

The Codex is a project made up of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Magnus Karlsson, Mind's Eye (Swedish progressive metallers) drummer Daniel Flores, singer Marc Boals (ex-Y.J. Malmsteen, Ring Of Fire) and bassist Linus Abrahamson…

Metalsteel! The youngest (not anymore) Slovenian heavy metal band is back after almost exactly two years with a new record, their third, titled "Bad In Bed" A noticeable change in "image", which

»Epitaph« is a double live album of huge historical importance for every King Crimson devotee, featuring some of their earliest recordings and snapshots from the live shows of the legendary original lineup of the band

The Jesenice/Bled band Brutart got people's attention with their very first official recording, the Arab Dream demo (2003), which shot these Gorenjska lads straight into the ranks of the most unique metal bands on our turf. After a few…

The Croatian crew of alternative rock healers known as Grad, after a good two decades of making merry, finally delivers proof of their live power in 2005. Palach uživo is their first such

1987 was a heroic year for America. Ronald Reagan stood in Berlin and publicly challenged Gorbachev to tear down that wall, the Lakers, led by Magic and Worthy, beat the reigning NBA champs the Boston Celtics in six epic games, and cinemas…

"Different World", as the follow-up to »Raging Silence« (1989), has a very fitting title, since Heep ran into a patch of unexpected turbulence in this period, and had to fight their way through it while recording the album.

Pipschips&Videoclips have been pretty popular in Croatia for quite a while now. Judging by how hard they get pushed, you'd think these guys are tightly connected to the top men in the Croatian

Heaven Shall Burn are in the most productive stretch of their career right now, and just a year and 4 months after "Deaf To Our Prayers" (2006), they're already hitting us with a new record, "Iconoclast (Part 1. The Final Resistan

Gray skyscrapers rising into the sky, a heavily contaminated atmosphere that forces people to wear special breathing masks, stinking fumes, traffic so dense that cars can barely move around each other, mutated new