heavy metal

Album Review: Darkthrone — “It Beckons Us All”

ChrisLeave a comment

Okay, right up front there’s stuff we need to get out of the way: of course I love It Beckons Us All, the latest slab of unadulterated, 100% pure Grade-A metal from the legendary, the colossal, the towering behemoths that are individually Fenriz and Nocturno Culto (aka Ted), and collectively known as Darkthrone. This should not come as a surprise – I love every Darkthrone album. Okay, so right off the bat you’re now warned: there’s little to no objectivity to this review. But as I’ve said over and over again during the eight years I’ve been writing for the site, when do any of these reviews have any objectivity? With the air now clear, let’s dive in and see why I love this album so much. Deal?

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Album Review: Morgul Blade — “Heavy Metal Wraiths”

ChrisLeave a comment
morgul blade - heavy metal wraiths

Who holds aloft the torch for heavy metal, I ask? Who lights the fires for righteous, riff-tastic old school heavy metal, when we would dream of furious battle and will our bodies into the fantasy-driven album art, becoming one with the copious hooks? I lift my head from the beaten path made from the bones of false metal idols and let my gaze fall upon the wicked cover for Heavy Metal Wraiths, the sophomore full length from Philadelphia metal merchants Morgul Blade and my body tastes its first morsel of sonic redemption. The hooded knights approach, their blades shining with the light of the almighty riff. The Earth plunges into darkness, while in the distance a bell rings out the clarion call for some of the best blackened traditional metal this side of the world.

This album is great, is what I’m sayin’…

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Second Circle: Bruce Dickinson vs. Judas Priest

ChrisLeave a comment
bruce dickinson - the mandrake project
judas-priest-invincible-shield

In Dante’s Inferno, the second circle begins the proper punishment of Hell, a place where “no thing gleams.” It is reserved for those overcome with Lust, where carnal appetites hold sway over reason. In Nine Circles, it’s where we do shorter (USUALLY) reviews of new (ish) albums that share a common theme.

When two titans of the heavy metal world release long-awaited albums at roughly the same time, it’s inevitable that comparisons will be made. Gauntlets will thrown, favorites will be chosen, and and ultimately a winner will be crowned in whatever small circle of geeks care about this. Hell, one of my own favorite YouTube channels did just that with this matchup. And for a few weeks I wanted to do the same, match these giants of the genre and see who would reign supreme. But reality is a fickle thing, and as the weeks went by and I delayed writing and continued to listen I noticed chinks in armor I though was unassailable; instances of power and creativity where once was murk and indifference. In the end my journey with the latest from Bruce Dickinson and Judas Priest may not change any minds or even be all that surprising, but all the same it’s worth noting that after five decades of making some of the most influential music in heavy metal, there are things still left unsaid, and that’s maybe my favorite thing about this ridiculous music we all love.

Time to descend.

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Album Review: Cirkeln — “The Primitive Covenant”

ColinLeave a comment

Perhaps I haven’t been paying much attention until recently, but blackened heavy metal seems to be making its mark on extreme metal more and more; maybe Tribulation’s opus Children of the Night was the first strange gateway to beckon me towards this metal subgenre. Taking heavy metal instrumental techniques and throwing black metal vocals on top is all fine and good, but isn’t a lot more possible? Cirkeln takes up this challenge with sword in hand on third full-length The Primitive Covenant; trading in the epic atmosphere of past releases in favor of (as the album title might suggest) a more primordial take on black metal, this album transports the listener to an ancient realm where black, thrash, and heavy metal were one. Revel in its glory and prepare to bang your head to hell and back.

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Album Review: Howling Giant — “Glass Future”

Chris1 Comment

Three years. I’ve been waiting three years for something new from Howling Giant, the Nashville power trio trafficking in hard rock that stretches into desert, stoner, and progressive territories. For three years I’ve played their debut The Space Between Worlds and – even more – their split with Sergeant Thunderhoof until the grooves wore out (because of course I have them on vinyl). Three years I’ve waited, biding my time with their lockdown instrumental jams, but now my wait is over. The future is here: Glass Future to be precise, and it’s cut in just such a way to completely win me over.

Put on your hip waders – bias ahead.

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