Welcome metalheads to another episode of The Great Metal Debate  podcast. Today I am here to tell you about the brand new album from Austrian blackend death metal tyrants Belphegor.

When I found out that the name of the new album was called "The Devils" I couldn't help but laugh because it sounds just so generic compared to what they usually do. Normally, Belphegor likes to make their album names sound more dark by saying something in Latin. The Devils to me sounds like the name of a sports team or a clan of villains in a Saturday morning cartoon. But don't let the name fool you for this record is full of surprises. Many of the songs have a major change in pace to what you are used to hearing from this group.

A few months ago when this band released their first 2 singles for the new record. First they released a re-record in of their 1997 song titled "Blackest Sabbath". I heard the original and the re-recording is far superior with better audio quality and sounds a lot more clear. The second single was a new track called "Virtus Asinaria - Prayer". When I first heard this I I couldn't help but think, did they go soft? The answer is yes but upon a second hearing of the song I realized that it was better than I remembered. According to the website metalshockfinland.com Helmuth stated the following.
"... It stands for what BELPHEGOR has always stood: liberty and the everlasting spiritual & bodily manisfestation of carnal sin upon this rotten world!”

The album opens with the title track and someone saying 'The wrath of Satan has no mercy. Repent!' Followed by a crushing blast beat from their drummer James Stewart along with heavily distorted guitars. Despite from generic "hail Satan" lyrics, this song still manages to keep you invested for the whole 5 minutes. I think it's hilarious how in the middle of the song you clearly hear Helmuth randomly say "Fuck".

"Totentanz - Dance Macabre" has an audio clip beginning with a possessed woman screaming the word 'deliver us from evil' but the rest of the song is very reminiscent of the song "Bondage Goat Zombie" which is a classic Belphegor song. Long time fans would enjoy this tune for sure.

"Glorifizierung des Teufels" is my favorite song on this new album due to all the acoustic guitar parts with the dead sounding voice of Helmuth overlapping it. The music fluctuates from calm too heavy. Something else that has a reoccurring theme on this new album is the chanting. There seems to be a lot of it but it never overstays it's welcome.

"Damnation - Hollensturz" is yet another fantastic song that is sure to get your head bobbing with that rhythmic groove.

This next song is the one I mentioned at the start of this review and its "Virtus Asinaria - Prayer". The song is about 90% chanting and its dark and truly haunting. Give it a chance if you like that slow and scary type of metal.
"Kingdom of Cold Flesh" picks up the pace again and it sounds like it could've easily been on the Conjuring The Dead album.

Here is that old school and fast classic sounding Belphegor with a Latin language song title. "Ritus Incendium Diabolus". There isn't a whole lot I can say about this one except this certainly has that mid-2000s feel about it with a touch of the new chanting. Its a near flawless mix that will leave you feeling satisfied once you've heard it.

There seems to be a brief little intermission track that is boring but short lived. Its another slow chant with moderate electric guitar strumming and a woman singing in the background. The track is called "Creature of Fire". Where not gonna spend a whole lot of time on this one. In fact, I don't need to talk about this last track because its that re-recording I mentioned earlier.

Overall I was impressed by this new release. There's nothing for me to complain about as it is yet another solid Belphegor album. It's not their best yet a ton of effort was put into this one. With all things considered, I'm going to give this one an 8.5 out of 10.

The Great Metal Debate

Metal Debate Album Review - The Devils (Belphegor)

Welcome back to The Great Metal Debate Podcast. Today we're looking at one of the most extreme bands - the Chinese slamming brutal death grind band The Dark Prison Massacre with their 3rd full-length studio record titled Triple Insanity.

Let's just say that if you're a fan of bands like Torsofuck and Gutalax, you'll enjoy the sickness of this band. The vocals are among the nastiest I've ever heard. That churning sink garbage disposal sound is exactly the type of disgusting gutturals you're looking for in this subgenre. Triple Insanity unfortunately does not begin that way due to the first track being very skippable. All you're missing is the intro album title track which is just an old recording of some guy speaking Mandarin. I obviously have no clue what he is saying but it doesn't matter.

"Stop Slut Humiliation" begins with a very long pig squeal followed by more pig squeals. There is a slow downtuned guitar chugging part accompanied by some very rhythmic gutturals. There is even a 3rd act of the song where the music has that stop and start djenty feel about it and you can clearly hear each drum beat. As for the song's conclusion it ends with some filthy yet groovy gurgling vocals over a slam riff which makes the perfect breakdown.

"Watch Your Life" starts with a washed out chug riff but fades in with a more crisp and polished sound. Of course there is more 'barfing in the shitter with a microphone next to the toilet bowl' vocals where that came from. If you're into this sort of thing then The Dark Prison Massacre will certainly be up your alley. If it seems like I'm insulting this band then I must tell you that I'm actually praising it. The grosser this type of music sounds, the better. At the 0:38 mark, there is a sound that the vocalist makes that sounds just like it was processed with a synthesizer.

"Ghost Island Dalitas" runs at a slower tempo musically but at least you still get the possessed crocodile type of vocals.

"True Metal Bastards" gives us some more of those beloved demonic pig squeals that will remind you a lot of Despised Icon. Imagine the perfect blend of quality deathcore with a slight cyber porno grind infusion like Sperm Swamp. "Dead Hand System" and "Scam Pioneer are other fantastic examples of both Zeyu and Dongda's impressive guttural capabilities.

"Ghost Island Dalits (Snow Sedim)" is a remix of the song you heard earlier that has a different sound mix instrumentally and some of the vocals are either rearranged or are recorded in a slightly different pitch. There's also an operatic backing track on this edition as well.

"No School Violence" is one of the more pig squeal infused tracks on this record and uses quite a bit more distortion is some areas. The final track on this album “Cerebral Failure Projection” is another banger, and I have not complaints about it. All I can really say about it is that it’s the same kind of stuff you’d expect from this band.

I do have some critiques. I’ve always disliked it when a band feels the need to put two versions of the same track on the same album, even if it is a slight remix. I personally believe that a band should choose one version of the song they like best to put on a new album, and then if they have a remix or another version of the song then they should release it later. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the previous record, or the album before it, but I’m still giving it a rating of 7 ½ out of 10.

This album is definitely not for everybody; this band is not for everyone. But if you are looking to scratch that itch as far as nasty vocals, gutterals, and pig squeals, then this is probably what you’re looking for. You can buy their digital albums on Bandcamp.com. And as for this newest release Triple Insanity, you can listen to it on Amazon Music. If you really want to support this band by buying their merch, be sure to check out Fat Tub Of Lard Records.

Album Review - Triple Insanity (The Dark Prison Massacre)

In this interview Xander talks with Decrepit Birth frontman Bill Robinson at the band's tour stop in Atlanta opening for Vader.

Excerpts from the Decrepit Birth track "Vortex of Infinity... Axis Mundi" (Axis Mundi, 2017) used with permission from the artist.

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Metal Debate Interview - Bill Robinson of Decrepit Birth (03-25-2023)

Welcome back metalheads to another episode of the great metal debate podcast. Today, I will be reviewing a new album from the one man dungeon synth project called Midnight Betrothed with his new album Death ... My Faithful Bride.

This just might be the first album we have ever reviewed on this channel that most other metalheads probably wouldn't even consider to be metal. There is some guitar work but no heavy riffs or solos. There are some drums but blast beats are completely absent. It is mostly piano but with black metal vocals.

The black metal style vocals just might be the most metal thing about this music. That could be the best explanation as to why this doesn't appear on metal-archives. But damn it, if it isn't some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard. I strongly feel the need to shine a spotlight on this music project because it has that impact on one's black soul.
I was first introduced to this music a few months back when the weather outside was just starting to get cold for the winter. Perfect timing if you ask me. Hearing this now in the spring still has a way of making me feel cold upon listening. To me, this is every bit as good as that demo I checked out titled Bewitched By Destiny's Gaze.

A musical release like this definitely raises way more questions than answers. The first obvious question, is it metal? In order to properly answer that question we should probably break it down. Imagine you are listening to a less famous symphony composed by either Beethoven or Bach. Now imagine that someone decided to layer their recorded black metal vocals over top of it. Would you consider that to be metal based on just vocals alone? What if you added in a modern drumbeat that is less than 50 BPM? What if you periodically had a couple of guitar riffs hidden in the mix?

Now that we have asked all the questions, it is time to finally give an answer. If you were to ask me if Midnight Betrothed would qualify as a metal sub-genre, I would have to answer with another question. Is dungeon synth related to symphonic black metal? To answer my own question, I would say that it strongly depends on the presence of metal elements.

Does Midnight Betrothed have enough black metal to fit in? I would say that it definitely passes the metal test by the skin of its teeth. It passes but I mean it barely passes. It's almost like receiving a D- on an exam. Anything above an F is considered a passing grade.

But because this is such a controversial take, Gomthog Metallicus thinks that it is a worthy topic for a future metal debate. Make sure you leave a comment down below, like and share this video if you want us to do that.

Due to the fact that many people would not agree that this music is considered metal, the most that I can do for this album is maybe give it an honorable mention during our annual end of the year list. I have decided that I am not going to list the six songs on this album and I'm also not going to give it a rating.

However, I will say that this album and all other previous releases are definitely worth checking out. Personally I think that everything this guy has ever done is fantastic. In fact, I would go as far as to say that he is a total genius for creating this type of music. I might even purchase a t-shirt from his bandcamp page and if he ever gets cassette tapes for his demos, I will be the first to buy them.

Album Review - Death My Final Bride (Midnight Betrothed)

In this interview recorded May 13, 2023, Xander talks with singer Chaney Crabb from deathcore tech-proggers Entheos during their tour stop in Nashville TN opening for Whitechapel!

Excerpts from the Entheos track "Absolute Zero" (Time Will Take Us All, 2023) used with permission from the artist.

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Metal Debate Interview - Chaney Crabb of Entheos (05-13-2023)

Today we’re reviewing the new album “We Shall Remain” from Swedish metal outfit Eleine, who describe themselves as “dark symphonic metal.” Overall description, this album is generally pleasant to listen to and has no obvious filler tracks. The songwriting is on balance competent and the overall effort is well produced and executed. The vocalists and instrumentalists are consistent in their effort and professional in their performance. Nothing to dislike here… but also nothing that stands out to me as remarkably different or unique from what dozens of other equally capable metal bands have done.

 “We Are Legion,” is an infectious song that features harsh vocals and then cleans from singer Madeliene Liljestam. I like the chorus on this one a lot primarily because the backing orchestration is distinct from the vocals, whereas elsewhere on the album you have some overlapping in the levels that doesn’t do favors for either. 

The album’s intro is “Never Forget”, I’m struck by the contrast between the furiously precise drumming and thick backing orchestrations. The power chords kicking in on the verses are great!  Guitarist Rikard Ekberg shows he is quite capable here and throughout the album in terms of songwriting and execution.

“Promise Of Apocalypse” is slower but with some fast guitar strumming.  One of those songs where the band is trying to create a sense of constant building and rising of the music. It’s a spicy number that boasts some pretty sweet guitar riffage. Drummer Jesper Sunnhagen sets a flawless pacing which makes it all work, especially by keeping things moving fast under the slower, soft vocals.

The album’s final and title track “We Shall Remain” attempts to be bigger and more bombastic than others. There’s some nice backing orchestrations again hinting at choirs. I do like the main riff a lot, but the pacing isn’t always to my preference and the chorus leaves me a little underwhelmed.

“Suffering” is a fairly linear song featuring some nice melodic guitarwork. I like the construction of the verses here more than the chorus, which seems a bit somber in delivery compared to the rest of the song. It also includes a tasty solo. Another track where the drummer displays his master of the kit while fitting within the overall structure of the song.

The initial bouncy guitar approach at the beginning and end of “Blood In Their Eyes” isn’t really my thing, but I do like the big, bombastic chorus and the effective lead break that appears mid-track. The symphonic elements worked as well here as anywhere on the album. A brief song at only 3 minutes and change – I appreciated the band said what it had to and got out.

“Through The Mist” presents itself as a straight up headbanger. It starts with some male spoken word lyrics, transitioning into harsh vocals, then finally sliding into Madeleine’s delivery. The chorus is more mid-paced with an outro crescendo of crunching guitar high in the mix, plus a bit of oriental feel. The track finishes with some big orchestration and faux choirs, then an abrupt conclusion.

Madaleine’s voice is solid throughout, if never quite rising to overwhelm. She uses mostly a standard clean rock style, that fits fine and contrasts with the harsh vocals regularly offered. Guitarist and harsh vocalist Rikard Ekberg does a fine job in his performance.

I’d want to call Eleine symphonic melodic metal with gothic elements. Perhaps the dark, symphonic metal label they use is helpful to some, but consider me agnostic. The music is certainly symphonic metal, but not especially dark either sonically or lyrically. I wouldn’t lump Eleine with symphonic metal acts like Fleshgod Apocalypse, Dimmu Borgir, or Carach Angren.

I give We Shall Remain an 8 out of 10. If you enjoy different brands of melodic heavy metal featuring excellent mostly clean singing I expect you’ll find Eleine to be a welcome addition to your roster of enjoyable bands.

Metal Debate Album Review - We Shall Remain (Eleine)

Welcome to another Metal Debate album review, checking out the debut full-length release from Indianapolis metallers Graveripper titled “Seasons Dreaming Death.” Graveripper fuse speed metal, thrash metal, and black metal elements into a consistent sound, such that fans of any of those genres will find their music familiar and welcome. Let’s go through track-by-track to give a full accounting of what we have…

The intro track “Into The Grave” is a phenomenal song that goes straight for the throat with razor sharp intensity. Here we find an intense musical experience propelled by high-speed, dynamic and dexterous drumming. Overtop are crunchy guitar riffs that mesh nicely with the clanking, rolling bass-lines that rattle through their paces. The gruff, shrieking vocal rasps aren’t far from the gravelly-voiced air of black metal yet still bring more of an enunciated feel reminiscent of thrash.

Graveripper keep the tempo at top speed on the album’s second sonic offering “Ripped And Torn Apart,” a song title that perfectly describes the track’s effect. I love hearing that bass kick in early on, adding the low end and filling out the aural assault spectrum. “Divine Incantations” is an economical track that still packs a punch per pound. Drummer Jacob Lett does a phenomenal job behind the kit here as he does throughout the album. This is pure mosh pit fodder.

The album title track “Seasons Dreaming Death” opens angry with blessed dissonance, then devolves into more linear pacing but retaining the same combative attitude.  It’s a well-structured song with a nice little interlude prior to the end that adds atmosphere and depth. The bass is again on full display.  There’s plenty of aggression but also a lot of color and welcome variation.  

Graveripper come back with blazing speed on the intro to the next track, “Premeditated,” though it settles into a more moderated tempo as we move further forward. The hammering drum attacks continue throughout, as aggressive as ever.  The graduated intro following the bellowed lyric “only my death can set me free” is apropos, although through the bulk of the song you will have been maniacally banging your skull.   I really enjoy the way the band deliver this one, just a splendid blend of full-throttle speed melded with the thrash aesthetic.

Coming in at under two minutes “Influx Of Fear” is an abbreviated tale to say the least, making the aforementioned “Divine Incantations” seem like an epic track.  It is constructed similar to the previous song, but with an even catchier riff and killer ending lead break. “Resist Against The Light” maintains the uncompromising pace, but with a little different feel and melodic nuance. This is one of my favorite songs in the mix, somewhat reminiscent of Hell Awaits era Slayer.

Track eight - “Red Skies” – has almost a power metal-esque feel to the intro and bridge, a change-up that I like a lot. Something like what I’d imagine I’d hear if one could arrange a Dragonforce – Toxic Holocaust collaboration. “And I Curse Reality” has a furious, well-written riff but also great melody - you can feel the guitarist’s fingers dancing across the fretboard.  This song builds an atmosphere of malice, as welcome harmonics transition into a brief lead and then more fury. 

The finale is dissonant and chill, matching its title - “Only Coldness.”  There’s some bone-snapping time changes thrown in that really add depth to the song and never allow the listener to grow comfortable with it.  I love the hesitation in the vocal delivery on the chorus: “Only coldness… Awaits!” Ending the album with fantastic effort.

Graveripper really rage throughout this one. There’s a lot of youthful energy on this record, which makes me excited to follow the band and see how they develop their sound in the coming years. For its genre this is a powerful album and one I think will be appreciated for many years. I’m giving “Seasons Dreaming Death” a 9 out of 10.

Metal Debate Album Review - Seasons Dreaming Death (Graveripper)

Welcome back metal heads to a new episode of the great metal debate podcast. Did you honestly believe that I, Xander wouldn't talk about the new Dying Fetus album Make Them Beg For Death? Of course I'm going to review the shit out of this one.

Those of you who don't know me personally, I am a humongous fan of Dying Fetus and have been since I was 16 years old. I'm 32 now so do the math. That's half of my life! The very first song I ever heard by them was "One Shot, One Kill" from their Stop At Nothing album. But the very first CD I ever bought by them was their 2007 record War Of Attrition. I still know every word to the song "Homicidal Retribution".

But my favorite release of theirs was their 2011 compilation CD Infatuation With Malevolence which included both of their early 1993-1994 demos Infatuation With Malevolence and Bathe In Entrails along with some live tracks. I had also purchased their remastered re-release of their debut Purification Through Violence which has one of my top favorite songs by them "Raped On The Altar".

5 years ago, I had pre-ordered their previous album Wrong One To Fuck With and received the CD + T-shirt bundle in the mail a whole week before the release date. In case you're wondering, I chose the Die With Integrity shirt which has the crossed bloody axes on it. It is just one of my 3 Dying Fetus shirts and you bet your ass I scored the Grotesque Impalement hoodie from the merch table last time I saw them live 2 years ago. I'm going to be seeing them live for the 7th time next month when they play with Despised Icon. I'm fucking stoked! You know what, I can gush about this band literally all day long but I've been stalling so let's get into this review.

A few months ago, I heard the singles put out for this album and the first one was "Compulsion For Cruelty" and then they put out "Unbridled Fury". Being completely honest here, when I first heard these songs I didn't care for them much. My theory as to why was because I was still working 2 full-time jobs and was running on less than 4 hours of sleep and I didn't listen to them on headphones to make the audio quality better. At the time, they were largely forgettable. In fact, I completely forgot about that song "Feast of Ashes". But listening to all 3 of those songs again in my brand new car that I just got last month on a great stereo system and clear speakers, it made me change my mind and now I think those songs kick serious ass!

Trey Williams is just as fast and precise with each drum he blasts away at, Sean Beasley continues to shred on that bass, John Gallagher still bashes your head in with groovy chug riffs and assaults your eardrum with those signature bullfrog croaking style vocals. In fact, John Gallagher is my favorite death metal vocalist. Everything fans love about Dying Fetus is all here on this fucking crushing album!

I have decided that I won't sit here and name off all the tracks like I usually do but I have 2 album reviews I'm recording today along with an additional busy day after this. But I will reveal my favorite song. It's called "Undulating Carnage". The whole song is peak Dying Fetus material and I will be just a little heartbroken they don't play this live next month.

Despite all my praise, I will say that it's a fucking phenomenal record but at the same time, not my favorite. I say that because I have no real favorite Dying Fetus album. It's true, I don't have a favorite Dying Fetus album. I think they're all great. Yeah, yeah I said earlier in this review that the Infatuation With Malevolence compilation CD had their best content but it wasn't part of their main discography. If we're talking about official full-lengths here, I think it's a perfect fit for everything this band has put out over the last 20 years through Relapse Records.

I'm going to rate this a spectacular 9.5/10. Definitely go support the hell out of this band, go see them live, buy their merch and crank their music as loud as you can!

Metal Debate Album Review - Make Them Beg For Death (Dying Fetus)

Welcome back to The Great Metal Debate podcast. Today we will be looking at the Finish black metal band Moonlight Sorcery. This is the band's first full length debut album titled Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle, released September 29th through Avant-garde Music.

Last year's EP titled Piercing Through the Frozen Eternity, we got some noticeable guitar riffs that didn't quite break through that obvious power metal sound yet. Another EP that came out last year titled Nightwind: Conqueror from the Stars was a small improvement on the overall song writing.

Earlier this year we got a single "In Coldest Embrace" which opened the door to much better studio production quality. They also did an amazing job on that Deep Purple cover for the song "Burn". 

For this debut we kick things off with "To Withhold The Day". Instantly we get an epic audible pummeling followed by the lower strings on the guitar fret making the listener close their eyes to take it all in. These sounds eventually lead you into an infectious melodic hook. Surprisingly there's even a wonderful guitar solo in this song as well which is much appreciated. Solos aren't the first thing you think of when you're talking about black metal so even if they're not reinventing the wheel, it's so refreshing.

Next up is that aforementioned single from earlier this year. It's good but we're not going to dwell on it for too long. In fact, we'll skip ahead to "The Secret of Steaming Blood". Love that title by the way. That opening chug riff before vocalist Ruttomieli screams the name of the song "THE SECRET OF STEAMING BLOOD" before the rest of the lyrics definitely got my blood steaming. Maybe the secret is to play this song. Let me tell you, despite its intentionally raw sound, the riffs are still groovy! It's all thanks to the 2 guitarists. One of them who is labeled as the rhythm player goes by the name Haaska and the other who is the lead, also credited as the bassist.

Speaking of not being able to pronounce things, we have the next track which starts with the letter Y. It looks like it says "Yonsilma". Those dots above the O and the A indicated that I did not say that correctly. But one thing I will say is that despite them being in the background behind the vocals, the shredding guitar work is face melting! "Vihan Verhon Takka" continues the trend of the guitar work knocking your socks off with those pinch harmonic style riffs. I didn't think I was going to be treated to such an imposing power metal presence in the overall tone but boy am I glad it's here to stay.

Throughout the album we get so many symphonic elements sprinkled into the songs. There's so much variety here and I doubt that any fan of black metal would get bored. To further prove my point, we have "The Moonlit Dance of the Twisted Jester's Blood-soaked Rituals". It has a winding guitar riff and a few crazy yet maniacal laughs and there's no vocals. That's right, this one is a jaw dropping instrumental track. Most interludes like this are calm, but not this one. This one is relentless!

"Fire Burns The Horizon" takes you straight back to the blistering cold black metal experience and casts a spell on you after its second half which causes the listener to become even more entranced. The echoey sounding voice that you hear feels like it's coming from deep within a dark cave.

"Into the Silvery Shadows of Night" is a relaxing tune with haunting screeches. Dor the concluding song, "Suden Tie (Wolven Hour pt. 2)," "Wolven Hour" was a song title on the Piercing Through the Frozen Eternity - EP so it's cool that there's a follow-up to it. It's an amazing way to end a solid debut album.

When I say that Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle is a solid debut, I genuinely mean that! This is hands down one of my favorite black metal albums of the year and gets a 9.5 out of 10 from me.

Metal Debate Album Review - Horned Lord Of The Thorned Castle (Moonlight Sorcery)

War Curse are releasing a new album “Confession” via Metal Blade Records. I’m going to briefly touch on each of the album’s 10 tracks, and then give a longer exposition of my thoughts.
 
First up is “The Nothing (That Is Me)”, which begins with some light acoustic guitar transitioning into electric and then riffs generated at a stomping pace. It’s not very thrashy at all, just seeming to awkwardly build but not exactly going anywhere. Track 2, “Fortress Of Agony”, has an unwieldy bridge that transitions into a somewhat dull verse. The solo here is decent if brief. I’m not sure what they’re trying to accomplish with this song.  Frankly it’s not very metal to my ears.
 
Next is the title track, “Confession”. There’s some decent crunching guitars at the beginning, but then the lackluster verse transitions into a chorus that is absolutely horrific. Just terrible execution – this is a full-scale failure on every level. That abortion is followed by “Miracle Broker.” This song is kind of groove metal-ish and perhaps a little proggy at points. The lead break isn’t bad, either.  Not great, but not terrible and probably my favorite track on the album. Next is “Power of the Powerless” which is upbeat in the versing but slows and devolves into an unenergetic chorus. There’s a nice interlude and I appreciate some of what of they do with the drumming. But those points aren’t enough to make up for the overall shortcomings.
 
“The Convoy” starts with some interesting guitarwork and vocal melody. I was hoping those would continue and we’d get some full-blown black or folk metal elements introduced, but alas forthcoming was just mid-paced guitars, vocals with a pretense of anger, and another shit-show chorus. The seventh song is “Return To Dust.” We have an initial quasi-thrashy intro and a touch of a melodic riff before the song turns away from promise to an unappealing shouty sing-song. The sad thing is that I think there’s a decent set of riffs there, but the song construction is so poor that they aren’t allowed to breathe. “Return To Dust” is followed by “Sowing Division” which evinces more of the same poor songwriting featuring faux angst vocals comically assembled. There’s a few nice flourishes by the guitarists here, but putting a scoop of ice cream in a bucket of turds still doesn’t make it taste good.
 
The penultimate track is a cover of a Grip, Inc. song, and finally we end with the upbeat “Illusion Of Choice” which does have a nice kinda proggy intro… and then back to another boring set of verses and a lame chorus.
 
As I listened to this I just kept thinking to myself: what on earth were War Curse trying to accomplish with this album? This doesn’t seem to incorporate any appealing elements of metal music.  Again, I’m not a huge thrash fan, but I think there are some outstanding thrash acts today doing some truly interesting things.  I’m thinking about artists like Vektor, Havok, and Revocation.  Not only has War Curse not moved in the direction of those bands, nor brought in engaging influences from other metal sub-genres like death, power, black, folk, symphonic, tech, etc., they seem to have eliminated what thrashy goodness they previously had.  What metal band sounds like this?  I can’t think of a single one, at least that I’m familiar with.
  
In summary the musical aesthetic on “Confession” is unappealing and devoid of anything memorable or interesting.  I’m shocked at how bad this is because War Curse’s previous two full-lengths were decent and I had no reason to think they couldn’t at least create another adequate album.  Perhaps the most damning critique I can give – and one I don’t give lightly – is that musically this sounds as much or more hard rock than metal.

Album Review - Confession (War Curse)

Today we’re looking at the new release from US power metallers Immortal Guardian entitled Unite And Conquer. I’ll begin with the album’s first track, “Ozona.” This one is very representative of Immortal Guardian’s approach generally, and would be at home on any of their other releases, as it displays what the band does so well.  The flurry of melded guitar and keys at the beginning is classic Gabriel Guardian! There are some good riffs to be found here, albeit not super hooky. The versing is kinda so-so, to be honest, but when the chorus hits you there’s some great syncopation and unity of sound and direction. And the time-change accompanying Zima’s plaintive “whoa-oahs” at the end is just icing on the cake – really drawing the listener in to the magic of this song. Like so many of their tracks, I can find imperfections when I break them down into their components, but the sum of the performance is typically greater than the parts.
 
Jumping ahead to song three in the listing we find the energetic yet evocative “Roots Run Deep.” This one features guest vocals from the mighty Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear.  I love Scheepers as a singer, and think his is a nice contribution, but honestly Zima’s voice is the star here. The baritone intro he gives at the beginning is absolute gold – you won’t hear many genuinely metal songs that include that brand of vocal delivery, much less in a way that fits so seamlessly with the feel of this song.  Uptempo with great kitwork by drummer Justin Piedimonte, I really can’t get enough of this one!
 
Further in we find “Lost In The Darkness,” another track with guest vox, this time from the amazing Vicky Psarakis, formerly of The Agonist. Much like in the previously discussed song, Psarakis’ assist is solid but serves best as a foil to launch Zima’s own stellar crooning. I just love the trade off lead vocals, with each singer trying to out do the other. And Guardian’s solo is fire – the perfect length and tone.
 
My final song to highlight is “Divided We Fall”, and if I had to choose one track on the album it would likely be this. The thing I most love about “Divided” is that, in a number of respects, the band kinda keeps it right on the edge musically. The bridge in particular is a very haphazard sonic skittering where I feel like the band is at any point about to take the song off the rails… but somehow they pull it off and transition into that moderate paced but beautiful verse. Zima really pushed himself to his limits on this one to great effect exuding killer voice control.
 
Those are my favs, but the other six tracks each have something to offer as well. 
 
I’ll admit I’ve not given Carlos Zima his proper due as a singer, initially in my own mind lumping him in with a subgroup of singers having surface vocal similarities. But Zima is a hell of a singer, and he definitely proves it on this album with some of his best performances to date. We haven’t touched on “Un Dia A La Vez,” a song where he opens himself to some ranges he hasn’t on any previous Immortal Guardian track, so very beautiful and in some parts almost feminine in his delivery. And the album finale “Rise Of The Phoenix” has him able to convey emotional subtleties before exploding into a scream machine.
 
Gabriel Guardian is truly remarkable in his approach utilizing both the guitars and keys as true twin lead instruments. Guardian has the keys in the foreground bringing loud, tight notes and driving that lead melody. There’s a lot of work Guardian puts into building these compositions such that the instruments complement and don’t clash. 
 
I’m giving Unite And Conquer a 8 ½ out of ten rating.  It’s absolutely worth your time to check out. Support Immortal Guardian by purchasing Unite And Conquer from M-Theory Audio.

Album Review - Unite And Conquer (Immortal Guardian)

Welcome back metalheads to a brand new metal album review on The Great Metal Debate podcast. Originally I had planned to review the new album from the Netherlands black metal band Asagraum, but I found something at the last second that completely blew that away.

Thanks to the website Angry Metal Guy, I spotted an album cover that intrigued me enough to check it out; especially since the artwork depicts a very weird moment in history. In 897AD, Pope Stephen VI dug up the 9 month old corpse of his predecessor Pope Formosus, dressed him up and brought him to a court trial.

You can't always judge a CD by its album cover but to my delightful surprise, the band in question is a wonderful cross between melodic death metal and folk metal. Hey Gomthog, I am 100% certain that you would fall in love with this Denmark based band called Sylvatica and their new album titled Cadaver Synod.

This amazing release was dropped on October 20th through Target Records. This is my introduction to the band but they have apparently been around since 2009 and I'm just now hearing of them.

The opening track "Strife" starts off with a church sounding organ that sounds ominous in an upbeat sort of way. The guitars coming in behind it with those groovy melodies pretty much tell you exactly what you're getting into. While the vocal style isn't really my type, the music definitely makes up for it.

The harsh vocals of the lead guitarist Jarden sounds like he would be in the dwarf themed folk metal band Windrose and the backing shout vocals of bassist Thomas Haxen give off that extra folky feel.

Next we have the song "Papa Poltergeist" which has the higher ping notes on a keyboard and strange synths behind the riffs make it the perfect music for any Halloween party. Especially the beginning of the song "Scapegoat" which has the perfect spooky vibe and it reminds me of Scooby-Doo and the gang walking through a graveyard. I love how it has an almost 80s power metal guitar riff in it which sounds larger than life. My only critique is that the word "Scapegoat" gets shouted a little too much making it the most repetitious song on the album, but not enough to annoy me. It's still an easy listen that never really feels like a drag.

I skipped over a few tracks to make that point but let's go back to the song "Pope Innocent VIII" as I believe it to be another highlight of this album. The very audible keyboards used throughout this album isn't credited by the metal-archives (my main source of information) so I don't know exactly who to praise. However I will say that it's my favorite part of this gorgeous album.

Then we have a track titled "Song of the Leper" which is a beautiful folk metal song complete with a full choir. The first lyric of the song is "Spare a coin for your leper ..." which should remind most people of that viral song from the Netflix show The Witcher. If you don't immediately think of "Toss a coin to your witcher" when you hear it, then maybe you're not keeping up on modern pop culture references. The album concludes with an acoustic version of the song and I can't decide which one I enjoy more.

But let's not forget the song before the bonus track. "In The Eyes Of God" has a lot of power metal influence musically but the vocals have more of the melodic death metal tone that I more than approve of. That acoustic part before the final guitar solo was very pleasing to my ears.

Again, this band was a very pleasant surprise and I'm glad I stumbled upon them. I will be listening to their previous 2 records Evil Seeds and Ash And Snow for sure after recording this review because I might be missing out of some great material that I should be catching up on.

I give this one a 8.5 out of 10. Make sure you buy this record on Bandcamp and show your support for these guys. They are a hidden gem that unfortunately many people might end up skipping over. If you're listening to this review, I can't recommend enough that you give these guys a chance.

Album Review - Cadaver Synod (Sylvatica)

Xander and Gomthog are back to count down their top metal albums of 2023!

Intro music by CONTRA; all tracks used with permission from the artist.

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Episode 77

Metal Debate Episode 77

Welcome to Metal Debate podcast. In March 2024 Canadian metal clan Lutharo returns with their sophomore full-length album “Chasing Euphoria.” Lutharo kick things off with “Reaper’s Call,” an agreeable track that keeps it pretty close-to-the-vest musically. Lutharo are excellent at creating an aesthetic of anger and aggression but also positivity and hope. This one sets a high bar for my expectations for the rest of the album. 

The next track is “Ruthless Bloodline,” a song front loaded with extreme and fast paced riff-craft and screams, but also with a choral melody that is incredibly catchy. I love the aggression displayed by vocalist Krista Shipperbottom. It’s a killer track and one that was a true headbanger when I saw them play live last year.

“Time To Rise” is one of my favorite songs from the album and a true gem. Here Shipperbottom flips her standard gameplan with soft, melodic versing transitioning into a harsher – yet still pleasingly melodic – chorus. This one just flows wonderfully with each musical element fitting snuggly alongside the other. Next is “Born To Ride.” This is such a fun track, and one which has also been released as a tongue-in-cheek concept video. Musically, this is another uptempo melodic winner with great riffs, solid singing, and some 80s metal feels.

Things go in a more classic heavy/thrash direction instrumentally on “Bonded To The Blade.” I’m not sure the vocal mix on the pre-break bridge exactly worked, but I do appreciate they did something different there and made the effort. Toward the end of the track I enjoyed the whispered lyrics and symphonic elements which further differentiated this one. More great melody and plenty of aggression on the chorus. 

#6 in the listing is the title track “Chasing Euphoria.” I like the overall song structure and especially the tasteful solo from Bucur makes it worth the cost of admission. Somewhat different than any other song they’ve released before, again representing that the band are continuing to evolve and push the boundaries of their sound.

“Creating A King” sounds a bit like contemporary Flotsam And Jetsam to my ears in how it melds the thrash and power metal feel. It’s another example of some outstanding song construction by this band taking the listener through a number of tempos and colorations while still successfully maintaining tight song cohesion.

The next song, “Strong Enough To Fall,” does a fine job delivering a divine guitar melody and one of Shipperbottom’s best vocal expressions on the album. The guitar, bass and drum work together at a groovy pace crafting a captivating energy. Super catchy and upbeat; there’s nothing not to like here. The tenth track “Paradise or Parasite” gives us another excellent lead break augmented by a helping of superb orchestral backing that really solidifies the overall sound. I love what Shippenbottom does toward the end giving kind of a falsetto prior to her more agonized screaming. The song’s orchestral outro is glorious!

“Chasing Euphoria” closes out the tracklisting with “Freedom Of The Night” which starts softly and then evinces a grand feel. Coming in at 7 minutes it’s the longest song on the album. There’s plenty of time changes throughout and some gentle parts here and there, though still more than enough of aggression. There’s also more orchestral flourishes. Not a bad track, but not one of my favs.

I’m giving this album a rating of 9 ½ out of ten. "Chasing Euphoria" is released March 15th through Atomic Fire Records. Preorder it now – it’ll put a smile on your face and then will proceed to rip your face off!

Metal Debate Album Review - Chasing Euphoria (Lutharo)

Welcome back to The Great Metal Debate podcast. Today we’re reviewing the new album Ultrapower from Canadian trad metal crew Striker.

Packed into the 41 minute runtime comes an album that very much reminisces the 80s, albeit with a completely modern musicianship and production. The riffs are plentiful, the vocals high-pitched wailing, the drumming fast and clear, the bass guitar strong and snakelike, and the production puts everything right in the front where it should be. There are no ballads and no filler.  Striker doesn’t deviate from the retro sensibility with any modern silliness like operatic vocals, massive orchestrations, or prog stylings. This comes straight from the era of metal's old days when Maiden and Priest were extreme metal. Ultrapower is loud, proud and completely fucking hair metal through-and-through, and the band exploit that nostalgia in every possible way.

So, how good are the actual songs here? Well, to be honest, and as we would say back in the 80s - they all rule! To give a more detailed breakdown, let me have you close your eyes and picture yourself circa 1985 the standing in the hair metal arena as the house lights dim. As the pyro goes off Striker hits the stage with the blazing, straightforward "Circle Of Evil," which rips forth with killer Motley Crue-esque leads and riffs, and outstanding melody. Striker channels Y&T on "Best Of The Best,” an uptempo, hooky as hell track which capitalizes on a strong driving riff and furious drumming to create a sense of urgency. “Give It All” features guest instrumentalist Kenny G… okay, not really, but… really Striker? I love wind instruments in my folk metal, but this is a bit much and I have a playlist reputation to uphold. 

The next track "Blood Magic" is a high-octane blazer with so many different things going on at once that your head will spin. “Sucks To Suck” is a party-rocker with some killer vocal melodies and heavy guitars that sear and chill with a furious intimacy. "Ready For Anything" has great, trilling guitar-work and a catchy chorus that rivals anything Ratt or Dokken put out back in the day. "City Calling" is a jaunty power-disco anthem with a cool, commercial atmosphere that I’m uncomfortable with how much I enjoyed. Maybe my pick for best song on this thing. “Turn The Lights Out” and "Thunderdome" are more full-speed-ahead AOR, with the former giving hints of Riot V, and then as if straight off the Top Gun soundtrack we get "Live To Fight Another Day." The show and album closes on a high note with the aggressive and hilarious "Brawl At The Pub," leaving the listener at this point exhausted yet still wanting more.

The band moves at a forceful rate throughout Ultrapower, pulsating with energy as a unit and just ripping forth walls of sound and having a damn good time while doing so. Dan Cleary’s soaring hard rock vocals are brilliant in every track, and he often dips into his bag of tricks to do something unexpected. The twin axe attack of Tim Brown and John Simon Fallon make no pretenses about showing off their skills, preferring to make the songs the thing and any display of their technique secondary.  Striker exudes innocence here in the way that they seem to want nothing more than to create this music, have fun and make old school metal fans happy.

I enjoyed Ultrapower, but for those like me who can be lactose intolerant of 80s metal cheese, this album can be a difficult one to digest. I mean, we’ve come a long way since the 80s with so many new metal subgenres and bands doing things that put that bygone era to shame. But I get there are many who will find Ultrapower to be written exactly to their musical tastes, whether they be grey hairs who recall the actual 80s or younger metal fans who just love the aesthetic. My own suggestion: sample this album in moderation to see whether it works for you, but proceed carefully if you feel any bloating.

Ultrapower is released on February 2nd from Record Breaking Records.

Album Review - Ultrapower (Striker)

Welcome back to The Great Metal Debate podcast with a new album review, talking about the Nashville based black metal act Obsidian Shrine. This is the band's 3rd full-length studio album titled Dereliction of Divinity.

For some reason, my mind went to that Incantation song "A Once Holy Throne" when I saw the song title "A Vacant Throne" but the two tracks sound nothing alike. Obsidian Shrine is a band who is heavily influenced by Marduk. Marduk was never a stand out to me personally as I feel like other talents in the Norwegian trve kvlt black metal scene have overshadowed them in terms of quality song writing. However, Murmur and Nazgul seem to have a way of making their guitar riffs pop as if they just know exactly how to harness the best elements from 2nd wave black metal like Gorgoroth and Dark Throne but give it a clean studio mix. 

Since I just blabbed on and on for filler sake, I'll remind you that this first track is called "A Vacant Throne" and if the former album is anything to go by, this one is loud, aggressive and in your face with the screeching banshees for vocals. They keep the raspy screams coming throughout the duration of not just this nearly 6 minute opening but the remaining 5 tracks as well.

"A Vacant Throne" begins with the sound of howling wind before the early era Naglfar-esq riff and opening scream rips your face off. The drum work is speedy and unrelenting and the vocals are angry. Not to mention there is a brief but very sweet face melting guitar solo loaded with sweep picking.

Next we have the song "Licentious Procession" which brings more vocals that sound even more venomous and you can really feel the seething hatred within the very few words you can actually pick out on the first handful of listens. The main rhythm guitar has a more memorable riff this time around but it's here where I must point out my first critique. I don't hear the bass at all in this music. I'm unsure if the Inquisition approach was intentional but this music could certainly benefit from having the 4 string turned up a little. 

"Obsolete Ideology" is the third track where this issue continued and in all honesty, it's not a track that I particularly remembered after my first listen but it later grew on me just a little. Still not my favorite track on this new record but it's still a blistering banger nonetheless.

"Evil Has Its Day" is my favorite song on this album. As someone who thoroughly enjoys the melodic subgenre the most, it was refreshing to finally hear an undistorted guitar moment where the blast beats finally take a break. The blissfully sinister part comes with the nasally ghoul-like vocal break. Key components like this are what makes me pay the most attention. I wish there were more breaks on this album where different vocal styles or musical compositions come into play. I love the calming guitar riff just after the goblin vocals finish rolling its R's. It's short lived but still a great moment.

The 5th track serves as a simple instrumental with long notes and a metronome drumbeat. Its meant to be an intermission or rather a prelude to the final song. Throughout we hear a loud mouthed TVangelist preacher fear mongering to all of his gullible followers. It leads nicely into the final song which happens to be the album title track.

"Dereliction of Divinity" kicks off with black metal sound but after the first minute, we get a tempo change that slows to a grinding riff but the vocals stay the same. I'm glad the riff stays like this before the very Kerry King style guitar solo shreds in a quick and chaotic way. It's unfortunate that seconds later, this short album concludes very abruptly. There's no winding down or fading out. It just kinda ... stops.

Dereliction of Divinity is an album I strongly recommend to fans of bands like: 1349, Taake, Watain or Sargeist. I'll give my boys a fair score of 6.66/10 rating.

Metal Debate Album Review - Dereliction Of Divinity (Obsidian Shrine)

Welcome back metalheads to another episode of The Great Metal Debate podcast. Its Xander back with a new album review. Today we will be briefly talking about my thoughts on the new album from Hulder titled Verses In Oath. Those of you not in the loop, Hulder is a one woman black metal band from Washington State.

I had heard the name Hulder muttered a few times on the internet over the past few years and I mistakenly thought it was an old school black metal band. But sometime last spring, I decided to give her a listen and discovered that Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry was the one and only album released by her on Iron Bonehead Productions back in 2020.

I remember thinking the album was okay but before I began listening to Verses In Oath, I figured it would be a good idea to revisit the debut. In the past week, I have listened to the debut twice in a row because I ended up being kinda impressed when I really paid a lot more attention.

For Verses In Oath, we see that she has now signed with 20 Buck Spin. And 3 weeks ago, black metal promotion uploaded the first new music video for "Hearken The End". I had listened to the single only a couple times before I got my hands on the promo and even after listening to Verses In Oath front to back 3 times, I can confidently say that ... Godslastering is better. Sorry.

Don't get me wrong, Versus In Oath is a decent record but its a small step down.

It all begins with the obligatory intro track where all you hear is the sound of crows cawing followed by some thunder. Its very generic and cliche compared to the first song on the debut which was "Upon Frigid Winds". That was a great way to kick off a first album, not some build-up to a forgettable track like "Boughs Ablaze".

Going back to that single "Hearken The End". It don't mind the hypnotic chanting/choir esq clean vocals she does but it seems like the guitar throughout the majority of these songs are washed out in the mix with the other instruments. Its certainty a far cry from a song like "Creature of Demonic Majesty".

The album title track didn't really do much for me either but one thing about this record that I thought was silly was the two interlude tracks. Why couldn't the operatic sirens of "Lamentation" just be combined into the same track as "An Offering"?

"Cast Into The Well Of Remembrance" was a song that stood out to me because of the synth work and the acoustic guitar moment. Too bad it was faded out in the studio mix and was overpowered by the drum cymbals being too loud. Plus there was that mild tempo change where the electric guitar and the vocals both sped up together.

The remaining three songs didn't stand out much to me as they all kinda sounded too similar. This type of black metal definitely appeals to a certain crowd being both avant-garde and a little on the raw side. Again, I must clarify that both of Hulder's records are decent but are not what I would rank as top tier.

I applaud anyone who is a one person band because it shows both musicianship and dedication. I can also appreciate how her lyrics are more focused on medieval folklore instead of the tired satanic theme we're all used to seeing. So if you think you'd be into this, I'm sure you'll be able to buy her digital files and merchandise on her Bandcamp page. But in conclusion, I'll rate Versus In Oath with a 5/10.

Metal Debate Album Review - Verses In Oath (Hulder)

Welcome back metalheads to a new episode of The Great Metal Debate podcast! In early 2020, I recorded my first album review for the previous album titled The Coven by this criminally underrated band from Finland - Torchia. 4 years later we are treated to yet another Torchia album titled Arcane Magicae. Torchia is still signed with Rockshot Records and I was unable to find the name of their sound engineer or producer. Whoever it was, they once again did a phenomenal job on the mix and mastering. Every instrument is audible without a single washed out note and is crystal clear.

The first song is "There's a Witch Among Us" and it is a bop! A few weeks ago after I first heard it, I was at work with the chorus stuck in my head. One of my co-workers thought I was possessed because I kept screeching "There's A Witch, A Witch Among Us!" Hats off to Edward for improving his vocal range during lockdown.

"My Dearest Fiend" is a groovy head bobber with some guitar riffs played by Ville Riitamaa. The particular style reminds me of Torchia's neighbors in Children of Bodom. I can really hear the windy harmonies that closely resemble what Alexi Liaho use to pull off. The influence is definitely there and it's certainly welcomed.

"La Magra" is another track to get your foot tapping along to the beat. The drums sound very crisp in this recording just like with every song on the album. Ville Virtanen's precise skills do not go unnoticed. The fact that he keeps it up for the duration of the longer tracks is an impressive feat alone. His tribal moment opens the next song titled "Rat Shaman" which is another all out rager.

Eetu Tingander, who is the new bass player, shines in the beginning of the track "Serpent Icon" with his 30 second riff. I love how both the guitarists never seem to drown out his bass with their continuous shredding all over the frets. Henri Heikkinen serves up the chuggy guitar moments that are guaranteed to get your head nodding.

"The Messenger" kicks things off with a symphony before smacking you in the face with a tasty guitar solo and then sucking you right back into another calm moment before the vocals come in. This one is slightly unpredictable when it comes to the fluctuation of the myriad of tempo changes.

And then we come to "Red Luna Ceremony" which unleashes a very old school, I'm talking Lunar Strain era In Flames sounding dual guitar riff. Don't get me started on the very techy sounding solo that is sure to melt your face off when you hear it. It's almost as if Torchia took my 10/10 rating for The Coven and said "Hold my beer" because they have really dialed this one up to 11. It undoubtedly surpasses the former record especially with a song like "Silver Horns" which is among one of my favorites.

Lastly we have the title track "Arcane Magicae". When I say that this band runs like a well oiled machine, the engine purrs. Many people refer to Sweden as the melodic death metal capital of the world but Finland has been making waves in recent years with bands like Mors Principium Est and Omnium Gatherum. Arcane Magicae proves to be a formidable example of the Finnish scene being a sleeping giant. Not to mention, I have always been a fan of stopping the music in the middle of the song to make a specific lyric stand out. In this case we hear Edward shout "To make the world burn!" Which if you ask me is cool as fuck!

I knew back 4 years ago that this band was special and deserve every bit of the praise. Finding a band like this in your YouTube recommendations will make you feel like Sisu who just struck a gold mine. However, we still have 10 more months of 2024 so maybe I'll hold back just a hair this time around. My final score for Arcane Magicae is an easy 8.5 out of 10. I strongly recommend checking out this album and you can show your support for them by buying their music and merch from their Bandcamp page.

Metal Debate Album Review - Arcane Magicae (Torchia)

Welcome back to The Great Metal Debate podcast. Its Xander with another underground metal release. Today we will be looking at the Louisville based melodic black metal band Volcandra. This is their 2nd full-length studio album titled The Way of Ancients which comes out on March 1st through Prosthetic Records. For this review, I decided to go back and re-listen to their 2020 debut Into The Azure as a way to compare the band’s previous work with the current release. Is it a step up or step down? My answer is that The Way of Ancients is leagues superior than the debut.

The opening track "Birth of the Nephalem" eases us in with a calming guitar riff for the first minute and 20 seconds before knocking us down with the sudden blast of heavy music. The winding guitar riff that follows is an earworm that will have you playing air guitar. Not to mention the noticeable fluctuations in the Dave Palenske's vocal pitch

"Fouled Sanctity" is a fast very groovy head bobber that has a mellow riff in the middle of the song that reminds me of some older bands in the scene. This is because guitarists River Jordan and Jamie DeMar work very well together when it comes to sounding very lively. I love the creepy piano intro for the next track which is titled "Nemesis Confession". Once we hear the old bell, this song becomes a furious, straight forward black metal song. It is certainly one of, if not the fastest song on the album musically. Not the fastest vocally but we'll get to that one later, believe that!

Drummer Mark Hargrave continues the heavy rain of blast beats in "Maiden of Anguish". He provides this only in moderation for an enjoyable black metal listening experience. Mark has the proper hand eye coordination to use each and every drum and cymbal on his kit for just the right amount of change up. "Seven Tombs" is another song with a soft and calming beginning but if you have been following the pattern so far, you know that won't last long. There's a lot of lyrics that are thrown at you at full speed followed by some group vocals. There was a part where a guitar solo would be in full swing but was interrupted by the vocals coming back too quickly.

"The Blackened Temple" is the fastest and blackest black metal song on this album and also my favorite. It’s an unrelenting banger. The whole song is fast and even the slow down halfway through all the chaos is still every bit as amazing. Dave spits out entire paragraphs worth of lyrics with a hyper speed delivery. There is so much to say about the musical structure of the track "Not Even Death" as it can be all over the place in the best possible way. Its unpredictable with a lot of twists and turns in the guitar riffs. I believe its best not to spoil this one, as it should simply just be listened to. I can describe it but I'd rather you just hear it for yourself.

Last we get the album title track "The Way of Ancients". Definitely the longest track but its among the best this fantastic album has to offer. And because I haven't credited him yet, Andrew Casciato has done a terrific job of tying the music together with his bass playing abilities throughout this entire record.

My final thoughts about this kick ass underground metal band is that I hope they play a show in Nashville sometime soon. If not, I'll host a show with them this summer with plenty of supporting local black metal bands in the Tennessee scene. Believe it or not, Tennessee has a lot of underground black metal bands, many of which would welcome Volcandra and another great Kentucky band like Bihargam.

I can't recommend this one enough. Mark your calendars for the 1st of March because you're going to want to purchase both the digital copy and CD. I believe they are currently accepting pre-orders for The Way Of Ancients on their Bandcamp page. These guys deserve your attention and I'm going to give them a score of 7.5/10.

Album Review - The Way Of Ancients (Volcandra)

Welcome back to the Metal Debate podcast. Today we’re reviewing the new album Myths Of Fate from powerhouse Leaves’ Eyes. I’ll touch briefly on each track in the listing, and then on some individual performances and notable elements of the sound.

“Forged By Fire” is Myths Of Fate’s opening song, and the album’s first single. This one is dark and dramatic, with a dynamic vocal performance from Siirala and contrasting growled lyrics from Krull. A track like “Realm Of Dark Waves” is more straightforward while still giving heroic vibes with a very singable chorus. “Who Wants To Live Forever” has a slower tempo with well-crafted riffs and colorful keys, while “Hammer Of The Gods,” is a classic Leaves’ Eyes anthem along the lines of ”King Of Kings” or “Fires In The North” in terms pacing, energy, and execution. One of the more intriguing songs on the album is “Into Eternity,” an incredibly emotive track - a potent mix of grit and gloss. “Fear The Serpent” feels massive and epic without losing any personality its the delivery.

The second half of Myths Of Fate doesn’t lose any momentum. “Goddess Of The Night” gives a folksy mood before moving to more vainglorious territory. “Sons of Triglav” brings power metal melodies and gothic metal atmosphere with brilliant juxtaposition of harsh and clean vocals. “Elder Spirit” is raucous and groovy, driven by potent riffs, and “Einherjar” (En-har-yar) has a pleasant, plucky sound along with some moments of intense metallic heaviness. The closer “Sail With The Dead” brings even more aggressive yet theatrical flavor, building to a dramatic peak in a superb finale. On Myths Of Fate each track seems painstakingly arranged with plenty of thought put in to creating dynamism and variety.

Instrumentally, Myths Of Fate displays a lot of the hallmarks of past Leaves’ Eyes albums. I’d describe Guitarists Mikki Richter and Luc Gebhardt as restrained in their approach, but always competent when featured. I particularly like the way the guitars come out of hiding toward the end of “Goddess Of The Night” with an evocative lead break beneath the final chorus and then bringing the track to an epic close with crunching riffs. On “Hammer Of The Gods” the guitars nimbly jump between melody and crunch, making a song work that otherwise might have fallen apart under the care of less skilled instrumentalists.

Composer Jonah Weingarten – who some might know from Pyramaze – has provided a killer score. He is great here in splicing ambient melodies and atmospheric tendrils together into a tight sonic expressions. The orchestrations don’t batter you over the head Nightwish-style, but are organic and fit seamlessly with the other musical elements.

Elina Siirala has truly stepped up her game vocally on this one. Not that she didn’t hold her own before, but this is on another level from her previous efforts. The first time I heard the intro track “Forged By Fire” I wasn’t even sure it was Siirala singing. She evinces some real Tarja Turunen vibes on the verse here before moving back into her more accustomed timbre on the chorus. Another example of this change is “Into Eternity.” While I wouldn’t say the song itself is overtly commercial, she does give almost a pop sensibility with the texture of the delivery, crooning and oohing her way through the track. And all along the way Krull gives the perfect growling counterpoint… exactly as much as needed, when its needed, and never overstaying his welcome.

While I have enjoyed Leaves’ Eyes last few albums, I have felt at times the band had bogged down with certain stylistic elements that deviated from the core of what they do best musically. Hats off to producer and mastermind Alexander Krull for delivering one of his best efforts. I’m giving Myths Of Fate a rating of 9/10. Myths Of Fate is released on March 22nd by AFM Records. You can purchase the new album plus other music and merchandise from the band via their official website and many other online outlets.

Album Review - Myths Of Fate (Leaves' Eyes)

Welcome back to The Great Metal Debate podcast. Today I’ll be exploring the twelfth full-length release from of Finland’s folk metal powerhouse Korpiklaani, titled Ramkarumpu. Despite not having a massed a whole assemblage of performers Eluveitie-style, Korpiklanni manage to split the metalwork evenly among the instrumentalists such that you’re never sure what sound will be leading the break.

We’ll start with the accordion-work of Sammi Perttula. He’s classically trained and definitely knows what to do to derive the most out of his instrument. On “Tapa sen kun kerkeet” the accordion provides a heavy backing atmosphere in parts, and a smooth transition break between choruses, playing an effective foil between the guitar and violin. Similarly on “Nouse” Pertulla expertly sets the tempo and foundation for what the other instruments do. “Mettään” is a song where the guitar is in the driver’s seat, but the accordion is the glue that makes everything come together, and especially in the outro break briefly dueling with both violin and guitar. 

Working alongside Perttula as partner-in-crime is new violinist Olli Vänskä who also performs with bombastic symphonic Finnish metallers Turisas. Vänskä is amazingly adept with his instrument, able to create heavy passages that’ll have you banging your head as well as instigating blissful melodies that’ll leave your heart in your throat. The violin takes the lead on track number 11, “Oraakkelit,” splattering seething, writhing folky-flavored notes overtop as the accordion and guitar chug beneath in lock-step. I love the atmosphere the band builds with this song; that said, I didn’t think the chorus quite lived up to the rest of the composition, and the ending was a bit too abrupt for my liking.  With “Viikatelintu” Perttula lays a brilliant foundation providing a beautiful intro melody and, later in the song giving a signature break counterbalancing Jonne’s singing to create a crescendious ending. Another highlight – and one of my favs from this recording – is “Kalmisto.” This is heavy violin – as aggressive as any metal guitar you’ll encounter.

As expert as they are individually Vänskä and Perttula are at their best when they are working together. On “Saunaan” and “Mettään” the two split the main lead break, with accordion following the violin on each. The order is reversed on the break for “No perkele,” which has a primary melody that’s absolute fire. In a competition of which instrument is most dominant, Perttula and Vänskä are lock in a game that has gone into multiple overtimes.

I have yet to discuss the title track, “Rankarumpu.” This is a brilliant composition and my favorite song on the album, sadly tucked right in the middle of the track listing which, in my opinion, is a mistake not to have featured it at the beginning or end. You’ve got a great building guitar riff, and killer swinging violin melody. I don’t know whether I like the versing or chorus better – both are equally awesome. High energy and some of the best vocal-work by singer Jonne Järvelä on the record, with the backing vocals kicking in a just the perfect time.

Speaking of the vocals, Jonne’s unique vocal style is superbly consistent throughout. For the most part he does a great job of mixing up his approach, and it is very emotive. That said, on a few songs is his singing approach could sound a touch repetitive, although admittedly my total unfamiliarity with Finnish doesn’t allow me to do any lyrical analysis to truly understand the context.

If you have enjoyed some number of Korpiklaani’s previous albums from their discography you likely won't be disappointed with Rankarumpu. I’m giving Rankarumpu an 8 ½ out of ten rating. Rankarumpu is released on April 5th from Nuclear Blast records. You can pre-order the album via the band’s website, and be sure to check out plenty of opportunities to catch the band live in 2024 both in North America and Europe.

Metal Debate Album Review - Rankarumpu (Korpiklaani)

Welcome back metal heads to a new episode of The Great Metal Debate podcast. Today will be looking at the third full-length studio release from the Tuscan, Arizona based thrash metal band known as Atrophy. The album Asylum has been long awaited by fans.

Thanks to a side link on YouTube, the first song I heard was titled "High Anxiety" and it honestly blew me away with the same type of grooviness as Mezzrow. Not quite what you would call melodic thrash metal, but definitely had its standout riffs which ultimately made me want to review this. After finding out that it's another three decade long hiatus type of band, I thought, there's no way in hell I'm not reviewing this.

Allow me to state that there are absolutely no skipable tracks on this album and "Punishment For All" is a punishing opening track to the album. I mean that in the way that it's every bit as badass as the album cover. When you see the giant skeleton like jester towering over the old abandoned asylum a with a graveyard out front, you know you can expect the headbang inducing thrash riffs. When you begin head banging, you'll suddenly want to shotgun a tall beer and dive straight into a mosh pit.

Lets jump on over to the song "Seeds of Sorrow". The drums on this record sound amazing but the band didn't have a drummer who is in the band during the recording last year. Instead they had a personal friend of theirs by the name of Jonas Schultz who was hired for the recording gig. Either way, Jonas did an incredible job.

On March 22nd, Atrophy announced the winner of their drumming auditions. So congratulations to Mr. Alex Bosson for winning your rightful place in the band.

Mark Coglan and Nathan Montalvo continue to deliver those tasty guitar riffs which can be further analyzed in the entire runtime but for now we'll focus on them being the reason "Distortion" is among one of my favorites.

Thrash metal has never been one of my go-to genres but I have a huge respect for it. As I've mentioned before in a previous review, I have my favorites, but I can always appreciate them taking traditional heavy metal and then making it 100x heavier. Most thrash metal doesn't even rely on as many blast beats as other bands because the main focus comes from the riffs. The song "American Dream" features Kragen Lum who is the guitarist of Heathen.

"Close My Eyes" is a track that begins with a bit of a rock ballad that doesn't overstay its welcome. In fact, it reminds me of something you would've heard on the Allison Hell album by Annihilator but with a slight mimic of Milli's voice from Kreator. Despite its slow start, it quickly kicks into gear for yet another thrash metal banger.

When I looked up the bass player for this record, I was happy to learn that it was none other than Josh Gibbs. He has previously worked with notable bands like Solstice and Malevolent Creation as well as many others. He showcases his talent on every song but in particular he's one of the reasons why a song like "The Apostle" is such a ripper.

"Five Minutes 'Til Suicide" is an epic closing track which is the longest song on the album, surpassing the length of "Close My Eyes" by only 4 seconds.

So how do I feel about a thrash metal record that is just under 2 weeks shy of 34 years apart from their previous record? I'd say its a whole hell of a lot better than a lot of bands who wait over a decade to finally drop new music.This is an outstanding thrash metal release for 2024 and I'm going to rate Asylum by Atrophy a solid 7.5/10.

Metal Debate Album Review - Asylum (Atrophy)

Welcome back to the Metal Debate podcast, breaking down the new release from British metallers Ingested titled The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams.

The album begins with “Paragon Of Purity.” This song is exceptionally tight and focused, with the band unleashing a healthy helping of slam riffs, but also an outstanding reoccurring melodic guitar lead which, two-thirds of the way through, morphs into an intense solo. The song closes in violent fashion with a rolling breakdown and vocalist Evans exploding in a cascade of demonic spit-growling. Track two, “Endless Machine,” is a mid-tempo number in the classic slam vein, although it wanders toward tech death territory as it progresses. 

“Where No Light Shines” has an eerie synth overlay that creates a simple but effective basis for the song’s melody, with the guitar later replicating the synth. It’s a great example of how to seamlessly integrate the death and slam approach. I absolutely love the atmosphere that’s created - just smart, considered songwriting. Probably my fav track on the album. Next up we hear the brutal harmonization of “Starve The Fire.” Evans pulls out nearly every vocal tool in his arsenal, with growls, screams, vocal fry, pig squeals, and rock singing. Guitarist Sean Hynes stays in a support role on this one laying a heavy foundation on guitar with mostly slam riffs and eschewing any lead break. Unfortunately, and despite some memorable lyrics and melody, “Starve The Fire” didn’t seem to be building to anything as an overall composition, and then it just kind of ended awkwardly. On “Expect To Fail” we have plenty of brutality but also the addition of clean vocals performed by Josh Middleton of Sylosis. It’s another mid-paced track, with Jeffs occasionally revving the engine, but mostly the band taking a moderate, meandering approach throughout.

Mid-way through this ten-track album comes a twist with an instrumental number called “Numinous.”  This one is splendid with gorgeous melodic lead and outstanding backing orchestration. When I first heard this, I thought I had inadvertently started playing some Insomnium, because you get a lot of the same ambience here. In truth, there are hints of that melodic death vibe – albeit with different riffing style – throughout The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams. Track seven is “In Nothingness,” a fairly straight-ahead composition, mid-paced, with another guest vocal appearance, this time from Mark Hunter of northern Ohio groove-core act Chimaira. The pairing is an interesting one – not what I would have anticipated – and while there is some appeal to the versing structure, the differential created between singers didn't quite work for me.

The energy gets kicked up a notch on “Pantheon” with more slam riffs and pig squeals if you are in the mood for ‘em, as well as classic breakdowns toward the end. Yet still, if you listen carefully, there’s some melodic elements below the surface, and even a bit of catchiness in the versing. Nothing commercial in any sense, but definitely catchy.

Equal in brutality to any other track on the album, but also with a quasi-epic metal feel to it - is “Kingdoms Of Sand.” Somewhat tech-deathy in its precision, at this point you’ll have to have come to appreciate the sophistication of Hynes as a guitarist and composer. The album’s closer “A Path Once Lost” spends its first few stanzas with undistorted guitar and emotive, melancholic singing from Evans. Further in we get some overlapping cleans and growls. The contrast in sound was great, but the lyrical pacing seemed off. A decent track overall, but not among the strongest in my opinion.

This album is excellent, although admittedly there were a few tracks that didn’t quite resonate for me. I’m giving The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams a strong 8 out of ten rating. You can purchase the album digitally and in a variety of physical formats through metalblade.com or wherever you buy music.

Metal Debate Album Review - The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams (Ingested)

Welcome back to The Great Metal Debate podcast, today looking at the new release from Italian symphonic metal act Nocturna, back with their sophomore album Of Sorcery And Darkness.

Nocturna is fronted by the insanely talented vocal duo of Grace Darkling and Ren Stillnight. You can listen to my Metal Debate review of Nocturna’s 2022 debut to hear my explication for how these brilliant singers work so well together. The other band go by pseudonyms, but for our purposes we can dispense with the legerdemain - Nocturna is another in a line of projects associated with Italian guitar mastermind Federico Mondelli. Overall my take on this album is largely positive with a few criticisms. To see what I mean, let’s dig into the tracks individually…

The band start in a blaze with the first song "Burn The Witch.” It’s a very nice offering including a solid guitar solo; one that has grown on my ear with successive listens. Track two is “Sapphire,” demonstrating all the things they do best – the choral vocal melody is amazing, and the riffing is smart and efficient. Darkling’s voice is like a fine red wine – with just the right mix of dark aroma and deliciously bitterness. The choral harmony is exquisite and at the end where the instrumentation drops out and you hear just to the two melded voices we find perfection. “Noctis Avern” brings a barrage of guitar and percussion, and a smart structure that keeps you guessing where the song is going next. I really like the bridge portion with its soft approach that sets up the cacophonous chorus.

“Creatures Of Darkness” is similarly fast paced with Darkling coming in first on vocals followed by Stillnight, and then the two harmonizing on the chorus. I didn’t think the chorus quite lived up to the rest of the song – not bad at all but just failing to kick things up a notch as one might want. “Midnight Sun” begins with a beautifully harmony. I like the tasteful, harmonic-heavy solo by Mondelli, followed by some impassioned singing by Darkling, and then concluding with he same harmonizing of the singers from the beginning.

Midway through finds an eerie if brief piece “First Disobedience.”  We have the sound of crows in the background, whispered male vocals, and orchestral atmosphere. This is basically just an intro into the next track “Seven Sins,” and it works fairly well in that capacity. “Seven Sins” has a bouncy cadence to it overtop the pounding double bass drums. Mondelli’s solo incorporates a nice bit of the track’s melody.

“Through The Maze” features gorgeous operatic highs by Stillnight. There’s a lot going on here with good variation in tempo and contrasting undistorted guitar followed by more aggressive ax-work. The melody throughout is one of the best on the album. Next up is “Strangers” which is up tempo and features an octave-change from our singers mid-chorus. The final track “Last Day On Earth” ends the album on a high note, with a good mix of softness and aggression, and another great through-melody. I’m often critical of abrupt song endings, but this one is done to perfection leaving a feeling of completion yet still wanting more.

As a whole I’m impressed with the captivating melodies, uplifting symphonic scoring, strong guitarwork, and mostly the stellar singing of Stillnight and Darkling. I can’t sing the praises of these two enough. Overall, Of Sorcery And Darkness has an elegant, sometimes mysterious vibe which shows off the brilliance and charisma of the band. If I have an overarching criticism of this album, it is that Mondelli doesn’t fully unleash the potential he has at his hands with Darkling and Stillnight. Perhaps I’m just greedy, but I’m not sure the potential of their coupling has been reached yet.

Of Sorcery And Darkness is a great amalgam of symphonic/gothic metal songs which features two of the strongest singers in the current metal scene. I’m giving it a rating of 9 out of 10. Of Sorcery And Darkness is released April 19th from Scarlet Records.

Metal Debate Album Review - Of Sorcery And Darkness (Nocturna)

In this interview recorded April 17, 2024, Vicious Rumors guitarist Geoff Thorpe talks about the band's current tour with Raven, duct tape and tour frustration, and future plans!

Excerpts from the Vicious Rumors track "Soldiers Of The Night" (Shrapnel Records, 1985) used with permission from the artist.

Metal Debate Interview - Geoff Thorpe of Vicious Rumors (04-17-2024)

Welcome back to The Great Metal Debate podcast. It’s Xander, and today I'm bringing you a review for the international brutal death metal band Maimed with their crushing debut titled Propagate Onslaught released on April 19th through Sewer Rot Records.

Much like the newest Aborted record, nearly every song has either a special guest providing either additional vocals or a guitar solo. Speaking of the vocals, Kyle Messick is a ferocious monster on the microphone. His wet tunnel throat capabilities are absolutely disgusting sounding and I mean that in the best possible way. If you're into brutal death metal you'd love these type of low gutturals.

The harsh growls are accompanied by the main guitarist Tom Hughes and bassist Ian Dygulski. But we also gotta mention the staple in very high octane adrenaline pumping type of music. What would brutal death metal even be with out a drummer who can provide machine gun fire esq gravity blast beats. Justin Wallisch does an incredible job behind the kit pounding the skins into oblivion.

Apparently this record was mixed by Clinton Appelhanz who is also the bass player of Origin and Unmerciful.

Before diving into this album track by track, I feel like its also worth mentioning the Torrential Gore (EP) is a great place to start when getting into the full-length. It serves as a brutal appetizer for the chaos that this album brings.

Kicking things off, we have "Herald of the Maelstrom" which features the guitarist of Gridlink, Takafumi Matsubara who provides a solo. It's an all out in your face rager of a song much like the following track "The Slaughter of Lambs". This one features yet another guest who provides another solo. This time, it's Dan Ozcanli from the band Nucleus.

Sometimes it takes a few listens before I can tell the difference in brutal death songs but I've heard the next track "Death that Obviates the Appellation of Graves" enough times to be able to tell when Eston Browne from Vulnificus steps in to lay down vocals. During my first couple of listens I didn't notice the slight shift vocal pitch. But after tuning my ears just right, I finally knew when Eston was on the mic.

"Sewage Madness Folly" and "Armament & Brigandine" are the two back to back tracks that don't have guest features but "Arbalestier" has Andrew Lee, the guitarist of Ripped To Shreds shredding out two solos on this track.

"Oppugnation" is the next track which features not just one but three guests vocalists. The first of them is Mike DiSalvo from Akurion and former Cryptopsy. The next vocalist is Batu Çetin of Cenotaph, particularly Cenotaph from Turkey. Not to be confused with the the other Cenotaph death metal band from Mexico. Batu was also formerly in the band Molested Divinity. Last but not least, we have Jake Shuker from Maysaloon.
The album title track "Propagate Onslaught" has two guest guitar solos from Cody Knarr from Ascended Master. It also features guest vocalist Mallika from Emasculator. Most of you probably remember her being the vocalist for the band Abnormality.

"Forging Providence (The Futility of the Cosmos)" is the last track on the album but does not feature any guests.

What are my thoughts about this record as a whole? It has all the right ingredients to make a great brutal death metal album. Plenty of down tuned guitar chugs, bass drops, blast beats and gutturals. What more could you possibly add when it comes to this genre. The reason I don't typically rate brutal death metal records so high is because of the bare bones structure to this type of music. It's a simple recipe to get the mosh pits going and people's heads banging.

The highest rating I ever give brutal death metal albums is 7/10. So if I give it that high of a rating, then it is what I would call high quality for that particular style. I love this Maimed record and I'm sure most extreme metalheads will. You can support these guys by following their social media and purchasing their music on their Bandcamp page.

Metal Debate Album Review - Propagate Onslaught (Maimed)

Welcome back metalheads to The Great Metal Debate podcast. It's Xander back with another album review. Today we will be looking at the latest release from the French death metal band Scolopendra with their third album Citadel of Torment. This is the French death metal band and is not to be confused with the Italian death metal band of the same name.

Some of you might go to Metal-Archives and point out that Citadel of Torment is actually an EP rather than a full-length album. Here is a quote from the Bandcamp page:
"Citadel of Torment is about psychic suffering and a futuristic dystopian universe in which there is no hope. The frontman Thomas made this entire album after the band split in early 2023. The band starts with a new lineup in 2024."

Citadel of Torment opens with the song "Panic Epidemic" which is a solid death metal song but has a little something extra that initially caught my attention. The use of sound effects. Within the first 30 seconds we hear industrial-like noises that sound like a rapid clicking as if someone is turning cogs in a machine. There's also the dissonant sound of a hammer hitting an anvil as if we are in some sort of steel fabricating foundry. These sounds continue throughout the remainder of this guitar chug fest and the next song "Neuro Dissection". "Neuro Dissection" has an almost djent style rhythm to both the guitars and drums while the bass and vocals work nicely to fit right into the groovy beat.

A lot of bands have had songs in the past titled "Event Horizon" which is named after the 1997 science fiction horror flick. Scolopendra have taken their musical prowess to new heights by sticking to the simplistic head bobbing riffs provided by Maxime and Yves Pens. A skilled drummer like Leo Godart has impressed me with using every drum on his kit instead of being another one trick pony like most other death metal drummers who only do blast beats. Leo knows how to be both fast but precise with his patterns.
An ominous choir-like backtrack haunts the intro for the following track "Foreign Soul". It definitely gives off those eerie vibes before going into electronic infused winding guitar sounds. Leo of course pounding away at the drums and abusing the multitude of cymbals with short machine gun-esq bursts of occasional gravy blasts.

The cymbals are of course the perfect way to ease into "Mental Torture pt. 2" which is a sequel song to "Mental Torture" from the 2016 debut Cycles. I love the way this song concludes during its last minute with those whaaa sounds. I don't know what word to use to describe it so I'm sorry you had to hear me make irritating mouth noises.

Finally we come to the album closer "Black Fortress" which almost kinda has a death-n-roll sound to the main riff. It'll make the listeners go into a slow nodding before the instruments collectively pick up speed for that thrash metal type of fast guitar chugging. This 7 minute long song fluctuates its pace from slow to fast so it'll keep you on your toes and it's like the band saved the best for last because this is one of my favorite songs of 2024 so far. It's a bone crushing tank of a death metal track.

Over the past 2 weeks that I have been cranking this album up in my car, I have come to thoroughly enjoy this short album front to back. It's highly enjoyable, although I will say that the riffs are simple. It's not what I would consider a masterpiece but it's still great nonetheless. I'm going to give it a 7.5/10 rating.

You can support these guys by purchasing their music and merch through their Bandcamp page and you can stream their music on all music streaming platforms.

Album Review - Citadel Of Torment (Scolopendra)

James and Andrew from Canadian power metallers Lycanthro join the show from Madison WI following their first US performance the previous evening at Legions Of Metal Fest in Chicago IL!

Excerpts from the Lycanthro track "Enchantress" (Mark Of The Wolf, 2021) used with permission from the artist.

Metal Debate Interview - Lycanthro (05-04-2024)

In this interview recorded in Nashville TN on July 10, 2015, we talk with L. Ben Falgoust from the American blackened death metal band Goatwhore.  Ben gives insight into what the band has been up to since the 2014 release of 'Constricting Rage Of The Merciless', their current tour with Ringworm, Black Breath, and Theories, as well as their plans for the future.  Credits: Excerpts from the song 'In Deathless Tradition'(Blood For The Master, 2012) from fan-filmed footage performed live by Goatwhore.

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Have a question for the podcast, or a suggestion for an artist you’d like us to interview? Give us your feedback at: thegreatmetaldebate@gmail.com


Ben Falgoust of Goatwhore (07-10-2015) Interview

The warrior longboats are coming back ashore with Leaves’ Eyes 7th full-length studio album, "Sign Of The Dragonhead."  Produced through Germany’s Mastersound Entertainment by Leaves’ Eyes’ own Alex Krull and Thorsten Bauer, this is the band’s first full release featuring new singer Elina Siirala.  Fans got a taste of her work via the 2016 EP Fires In The North, but this album gives a much fuller sampling of her skills and a better sense of what fans can expect from this new incarnation of Leaves’ Eyes.

In brief: if you are an admirer of Leaves’ Eyes previous catalogue, you’ll relish "Sign Of The Dragonhead."  The album picks up musically where 2015's “King Of Kings” left off, with a similar production style and lyrical themes.  The mixture of styles and pacing from track to track makes this an eminently listenable album, with haunting ballads such as “Fairer Than The Sun” seguing seamlessly into headbanging anthems like “Shadows In The Night."  Clocking in at just over 45 minutes, it’s a balanced and well-conceived album from beginning to end.

As a big fan of symphonic metal, I am aware of the potential pitfalls this genre holds.  Bands who are able to avoid recreating Nightwish's sound still can move so far into melodic territory that the music becomes indistinguishable from commercial hard rock.  No worries here on either front.  With their new album, Leaves’ Eyes maintains their own distinct sound, navigating the treacherous shoals of “beauty vs. beast” vocals, folkish elements, Viking lyrical imagery, and big orchestrations.  The band utilizes all these tools effectively, in ways that never come off as derivative.

Vocalist Elina Siirala’s singing is quite impressive throughout "Sign Of The Dragonhead," her voice expressed with variety and heart.  Elina’s delivery is distinct from predecessor Liv Kristine, but not so much that fans will see her addition as a radical retooling of the band’s sound.  Her voice gives extra punch to the Celtic-inspired pace of standout tracks “Across The Sea” and “Völva." As usual with Leaves’ Eyes, Alex Krull’s harsh vocals are used judiciously and in just the right places to give extra aggression and “oomph."

Like previous Leaves' Eyes releases, folk sounds play a key role, but the band wisely meters them out, with fiddles, pipes, choirs and acoustic guitar nurturing rather than overwhelming the songs on which they appear. “Riders On The Wind” is a great example of this balance, providing the perfect meshing of sonic metal and folk kick.  Krull and Bauer did an impressive job in producing this album: the mix is clean and lively, making the music that much more exciting.

This is a solid metal album, and one I won’t forget when considering the best for 2018 at the end of the year.  This album is very consistent, and the only negative I might mention is that there’s not any single track that leaps out as a ‘must-hear’ classic like the songs “My Destiny” or “Hell To The Heavens” from previous albums.  However, with zero filler – no weak submissions here – and so much good material, Leaves’ Eyes will have a tough time determining which songs will represent this album on setlists.  With "Sign of the Dragonhead," Leaves’ Eyes further solidify their niche as one of the strongest symphonic metal bands going.

Album Review - Sign Of The Dragonhead (Leaves' Eyes)

Russian symphonic metal troupe Imperial Age is back in January 2018 with a new album – The Legacy Of Atlantis.  The current incarnation of Imperial Age boasts an impressive line-up of gifted musicians with a solid metal look.  This, their third full-length release, was quickly followed by the band embarking on an extensive tour of Europe with metal legends Therion.

The album The Legacy Of Atlantis is devised as a metal opera.  The story set in an alternative history of planet earth - somewhat akin to Jon Schaffer’s ‘Something Wicked’ mythos - featuring ancient advanced civilizations, hyper-evolved superhuman biologies, and global cataclysms.  The cover art depicts the protagonist in all his glory with the fantasy world setting framed behind.  This is great metal fare, especially for fans of concept albums!

The album opens with “The Awakening” followed by the title track “The Legacy of Atlantis” – two of the strongest tracks on the album.  “The Awakening” is a solid march that a barrels over the listener with a display of power and poise.  The song “The Legacy Of Atlantis” employs a deft, engaging countermelody on the guitar, gives a killer catchy verse, and great melody throughout.  Another album highlight, the track “Domini Canes” is a lofty anthem that features guest vocals from Therion’s Thomas Vikstrom.  While the album meanders a little toward the end, there are no bad tracks on this release, and the fantastic story carries the listener through any rough patches.  Imperial Age may be at their best with mid-tempo rockers such as “Island’s Of Time”, a song featuring solid riffing that allows space for their triple-vocal attack to do its damage.  

And the singers on this album are impressive, with Alexander "Aor" Osipov giving the male operatic vocals with power befitting a warrior race.  Anna Moiseeva’s classic highs are inspiring, aided by Jane Odintsova’s mezzo soprano, providing a range of emotion and color to the lyrics.  The vocal mix is superb here – even in the chorus and choral portions, you can still hear each distinct voice lending itself to the total sound.

Those looking for virtuoso metal guitar might be disappointed with The Legacy Of Atlantis, as the musicians in Imperial Age keep it simple, with tasteful solos that do their work and then get out of the way.  The music as a whole – never a single instrumentalist – is always the focus.  Imperial Age are able to create a big, epic sound without the orchestral/symphonic elements ever overwhelming the listener.  Indeed, while this is a must-have for symphonic metal enthusiasts, certainly fans of more straightforward European power metal will find much to like here as well.

I give this album a rating of 8 ½ out of ten.  The Legacy Of Atlantis is solid, modern metal – heavy and melodic with capable musicianship, talented singers, and excellent composition.

Album Review - The Legacy Of Atlantis (Imperial Age)

Podcast where Brian and Gomthog engage in a lively debate of heavy metal music as well as interviewing artists and talking to fans.  Occasional explicit language.

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