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Tag Royal Hunt

Pyramaze – Epitaph (AFM)

I always find it a bit ominous when a band calls their new album “Epitaph”. And when they also invite back their previous two vocalists to guest on the final track of said album, then it feels like the tolling… Continue Reading →

Halcyon Way – Bloody But Unbowed (Agonia)

American Metal band Halcyon Way have been defying categorization and side-stepping musical labels for over 10 years now and this 4th full-length offering continues to challenge critic’s carefully laid out boundaries. If Metal genres were neat wooden fences, Halcyon Way… Continue Reading →

Almanac – Kingslayer (Nuclear Blast)

Like a ruthless assassin pursuing it’s royal folly (it’s a relevant analogy, you’ll see…), Viktor Smolski’s Almanac release “Kingslayer” just one year after 2016’s highly regarded debut “Tsar”. Last year’s album was a good tsarting point (it just had to… Continue Reading →

Pyramaze – Contingent (Inner Wound)

I’ve followed Pyramaze since their debut album back in 2004 and I must admit I feared the worst a few years back, but with this album (their second in three years) it looks like they are back to top form… Continue Reading →

Eden’s Curse – Cardinal (AFM)

Cards on the table – I’ve never really been a particular fan of Eden’s Curse. There’s just so many albums to hear every year that I was of the opinion I’d investigated their first two but the just weren’t my… Continue Reading →

Avatarium – The Girl With The Raven Mask (Nuclear Blast)

It’s the second full-length outing for Swedish Dark/Doom/Heavy Metallers Avatarium, the band that features guitarist Marcus Jidell (ex-Evergrey, ex-Royal Hunt, The Ring etc.), his missus Jennie-Ann Smith doing a sterling job on Vocals, bassist Lief Edling (Mr. Candlemass etc.), Carl… Continue Reading →

Crossnail – Sands Of Time (Nightmare Records)

It’s not easy reviewing a two track, especially when one of those two tracks is a cover and the other features a guest vocalist! But that’s what I got, and that’s what I gotta do. Crossnail used to be known… Continue Reading →

Knight Area – Hyperdrive (Lasers Edge)

The strangely named Knight Area (makes me think of a seedy Chess Piece only Night Club, with designated regions – Bishops huddled together in one corner, Rooks in another plotting their downfall, and in a dimly lit area that’s just… Continue Reading →

Ring Of Fire – Battle Of Leningrad (Frontiers)

Whatever genre tag you want to give them (Neo-classical Symphonic Melodic Progressive Power Metal was one I particularly liked…), you can’t argue with the talent in the ranks of Ring Of Fire; Tony MacAlpine – Guitars – Planet X, Seven… Continue Reading →

Iron Mask – Fifth Son Of Winterdoom (AFM)

The Press Release states Iron Mask are a Neo-Classical Power Metal band. If said press release hadn’t claimed this, then I wouldn’t have spent the whole of the first track thinking that someone had played a cruel trick and substituted… Continue Reading →

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