Album Of The Week

LEX LEGION burst onto the scene with their debut album. The album has plenty to like, and let’s face it, with a pedigree like this, how could it not?

FIRES IN THE DISTANCE have released an absolute cracker of an album. I’m very excited that it’s been released, so that you can listen and share my enthusiasm.

DIMMU BORGIR may take 8 years between albums these days but that doesn’t mean the albums don’t kick serious butt when they come out. The latest offering, ‘Grand Serpent Rising’, is a brutal slab of Metal that DIMMU BORGIR
specialise in.

Another cracker as you would expect, given the pedigree of this band. I mean, come on, how could it not be? It’s a fantastic album of polished hard rock.

Those Swedish masters of Gothic Doom/Death Metal, DRACONIAN, have unleashed another slab of goodness upon us. It’s entitled ‘In Somnolent Ruin’ and it is calling you to check it out now.

AT THE GATES, one of the pioneering bands of the Melodic Death Metal genre, have come out with a cracker of an album.

New METAL CHURCH album, ‘Dead To Rights’ , is out now. It has that legacy sound with the new line-up firing. Check it out.

Another cracker of an album from NERVOSA, a punishing band of thrashers who know how to take charge.
‘Slave Machine’ is out now.

LOVEBITES are a band of hard rocking ladies from Japan, who push the envelope of musicianship just that bit further than you would expect if you're not familiar with them.

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This is fine, in your face, death/thrash from Germany. The songs are hand crafted to smash your face and beat you into submission.

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This is another top release of what is labelled Atmospheric Black Metal. It's different from that norm, with the use of strings and piano, I would label it almost avant-garde. These tunes have a way of working into your soul. 

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This is good stuff. French band, progressive power metal, VERY well done. This is another one that came out of nowhere and yet I find myself putting it on again and again. Great, catchy, memorable songs performed well.

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Every now and then, one new album stands out above the rest. So it is with SKULL & CROSSBONES. Musicianship is TOP NOTCH, vocals are EXCELLENT. The album is full of bangers, the songs stick in your head. You’ll find yourself reaching for this album again and again.

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Seriously, what is in the water in Finland? So many top bands come out of there, it's just ridiculous. The latest top album to hit us is the latest from OMNIUM GATHERUM, 'May The Bridges We Burn Light The Way'. 

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Having seen the band from the very first gig, it was obvious something very special was coming our way, then once the first single hit the streets the anticipation built, leading to us being hit with a monstrous debut album.

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TESTAMENT have been around a fair while now. They know what they're doing. They're cooking with gas lately. Anybody who saw them on their Australian tour a couple of months back can testify to that.

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Some bands just have their own sound. AMORPHIS are like that. They don't sound 'samey', they just have their unmistakable style and sound.  Their latest album, 'Borderland', is fantastic from start to finish. If you're not familiar with them, give this album a go. I'm sure you'll be glad you did.

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This is so good! Swedish Metal Lords, AMBUSH, have smashed it out of the park with their latest album, 'Evil In All Dimensions'. This is a more traditional style of Metal, part Priest, part Accept, part Maiden, evoking memories of yesteryear whilst keeping it fresh and new.

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The latest album from PRIMAL FEAR is out now and it's a cracker. Chockers with anthemic Metal, the album is a tight-knit collection of bangers to get your ears around.

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From the first notes of the latest HELLOWEEN album to the last, it's obvious to me what the band was doing. Now they are 'united' and the first 'reunion' album is out of the way, it's time to settle in and really get it going. 

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From the North of Germany come MOB RULES, singing about a dystopian, Mad Max style future. The album is 'Rise Of The Ruler'. It's Melodic Metal done very well. 

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The latest album from WARKINGS is out now and it's pretty cool. It's full of anthemic Power Metal songs about epic battles and moments in history that you've heard about before. Songs like 'Hangman's Night', 'Kings of Ragnarök', 'Circle Of Witches' and 'Genghis Khan'. You get the picture, right?

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Today is the day. Scotland's KING WITCH have released their third album, creatively titled, 'III', and it is an absolute banger. From the first notes of 'Suffer In Life' to the last of 'Last Great Winderness' it is an epic journey in Metal.

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Okay, so this band of ladies from Sweden rock, and rock very, very hard. They're listed as Melodic Death Metal, but to me they err on the side of way more brutal. WAY MORE. An excellent, punishing album of delightful little ditties based on various female serial killers.

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HIDDEN INTENT launched their latest album, 'Terrorform', upon us at an album launch show last Friday. I 've had a while to listen to it and quite simply, I will label it as the best Aussie Thrash Metal album ever. There, I said it.

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This is REALLY good. Still has that trademark LACUNA COIL sound but seems a bit more attention grabbing, a bit more in your ear.

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As you would expect, the latest MAJESTICA album, 'Power Train', is a banger and should be listened to at the first available opportunity.

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DRAGONKNIGHT are a Finnish Power Metal band made up of veterans that have joined forces to create an epic album of hard-driving songs that will satisfy your Power Metal needs. The epic songs just keep coming. The whole band is on point. Horns, and swords, UP.

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After knowing how good the first album was, I was very keen to hear this one before interviewing Niclas a little while back. To say I was impressed is an understatement. 

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FLOTSAM AND JETSAM have GOT IT GOING ON. This album kicks serious butt. You need to hear this album. You need to crank this sucker up loud. You need to not give a damn about offending anyone. You will be doing a public service.

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I've been waiting for this album's release so I can sing it's praises. This takes me back to the classic mid-to-late 80s.  The songs are energetic and well paced, the vocals are great and understandable, the guitar work is on-point. 

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This is probably the most diverse Black Metal album I have ever heard. Not so fast blackness, screamed vocals, intertwined with haunting piano and acoustic passages that belies the blackness of most of the rest of the album. 
It is a trip.
It is a trip you should take.

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Okay, so this is full-on. NECHT are an Epic Black Metal band from Canada. Their album, 'The Prophecy Of Kamifor' is an excursion into a dark world by being pummelled repeatedly by epic tracks, all done with good sound quality, by the way.

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' Okay, so this is out there. I don't even know where to begin to describe this. Press release quote-
'The band’s music combines elements from 90’s death/black metal, 70’s prog rock and 90’s psychedelic rock. In one phrase, Octoploid has been described as “70’s death metal'.
You owe it to yourself to check it out.

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THE ETERNAL's latest album is 'Skinwalker'. It's an hour long soundscape into a dark metal world. Sure, watch the music videos, but do yourself a favour and sit yourself down and listen to the whole album. You WILL be rewarded.

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Sweden's WORMWOOD, purveyors of fine Melodic Black Metal have done it again. Their latest release, 'The Star' is 47 minutes of melancholic metal that'll take you places. All killer, no filler.  

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UNLEASH THE ARCHERS don't muck around. The new album is 'Phantoma'. They have upped the game from the previous album , 'Abyss' and decided to smash us and also present a few new cards in the deck.

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The latest RIOT V album, 'Mean Streets', is an absolute belter. Rhythm section is rock-solid, guitar work is top notch and the vocals are crazy, with the effortless power of Todd Michael Hall. Check this puppy out.

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ACCEPT are back with 'Humanoid', an album full of songs that flow along nicely with the sing-along-while-punching-the-air choruses we've come to know and love. Guitar work is excellent and tastefully executed, with a bit of wah-wah, as you would expect. There's something here for all fans of Traditional Metal.

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Australia's own WITCHGRINDER played here last weekend on the album launch tour for this album. The sheer quality of the show led me to check this album out and here we are. It's heavy, it's brutal, but there's more to it than that. I haven't heard something like this from an Australian band before.

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SONATA ARCTICA‘s new album, ‘Cold Clear Beyond’ is a  ripper. From the first notes of the album’s opener, ‘First In Line’, (the lead single) you know that the band are charging right ahead, and you are coming along, whether you want to or not. Great songs just keep coming. This album just wants to be listened to again and again. 

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Adelaide's own EMERGENCY RULE have just released an album, 'The King Of Ithaca'. Check it out.  You will realise you have missed this sort of sound.  All the band's great original songs that they've been playing for a while have been captured in the studio . The tracks are 'bottled lightning' as it were. They sound so good, they come across on the album so well. 

STRIKER's new album 'Ultrapower' seems to have taken up where the previous album left off. I think the band raised it a notch, a bit faster in places, a bit heavier, a bit of a nod to their thrashier roots while still maintaining that over-the-top fun edge. 

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Sweden's SORCERER return with 'Reign Of The Reaper', a worthy successor to 2020's 'Lamenting Of The Innocent'.

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WAYFARER are a band from Denver, Colorado, that play a unique brand of Metal. The new album is 'American Gothic'. It's full of cool, 'moody' riffing, with a 'Western American' ring to it, aggressive vocals, and great songs. Great music for the highway. It's on heavy rotation here.

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KK Downing's band, KK's PRIEST have released a second album, 'The Sinner Rides Again',  and the band has stepped it up from the last album in my opinion. The riffs keep coming, songwriting is better, 'multi layered' Ripper is in top form, and the album chugs along nicely. 

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Denmark's finest, MERCENARY, are back with a new album, 'Soundtrack For The End Times'. All the trademarks are there, crushing riffs,  melodic clean vocals, occasional brutal unclean vocals and the sublime guitar work of Martin Buus, reason enough to check it out right there.

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ELEINE are a ‘Dark Symphonic Metal’ band from Sweden. The last album, ‘Dancing In Hell’ was excellent and the follow-up, ‘We Shall Remain’, has cleared the high bar set and raised it a few notches. Songwriting is top class, the song groove along nicely. The vocal melodies are beautiful, there’s even a melody reminiscent of the late 60s on the title track. Not repeating anything, just something to take you back. See if you can pick it. This band stands out from the rest of the Symphonic Metal crowd. If you’re after something a bit different in that regard, check this album out.

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STRAY GODS are the band featuring Bob Katsionis, who you may recognise from seeing him in FIREWIND for many years. An amazingly talented man, putting his talents to good use here. A talented band surrounds him and they ROCK.

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