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Reviews

Goliath: Exodus Return With Album Number 12!

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The whopping 12th studio album from the godfathers of thrash metal (and first under Napalm Records), this has been an album we’ve been excited for for a while! We absolutely LOVED their last album, and the fact that it has been nearly five years since then is insane. And, most long term readers here by now should know that I’m a big fan of thrash, so I have been eagerly waiting to dive into this since I got the email. Without further ado, let’s dive in!

Starting off with a menacing, heavy riff, ‘3111’ builds perfectly through the solid drums and multi-layered guitars. After well over a minute, it all fades out to a thrash riff that just screams Garry Holt. And just like that, we’re balls-to-the-wall, right into an explosive first verse. I have to admit, for a second I’d forgotten that Zetro had been let go from the band last year, so Rob Dukes’ vocals were almost a jumpscare. However, as much as I love Zetro’s vocal sound, there’s just something about the heaviness that Dukes brings to the table that is hard not to enjoy! It fits the instrumentation perfectly here, and the verse leads quickly to an awesome, surprisingly catchy chorus where Dukes really gets to shine. With the almost call-and-response vibe, it’s going to be a firm fan favourite, that’s for sure. It’s giving off a mixture of Tempo of the Damned and Exhibit B, and I am very much here for it! Then to my shock, we head into an extended solo, the playing almost reminding me of Kerry King. And the riff acts as an outro, some more great vocals coming in at the end to take us home. Honestly, I loved this, and it felt like it was over far too fast. It certainly left me wanting more!

The brutal pace continues perfectly through ‘Hostis Humani Generis’. After a big intro, it explodes right into the thrash the band is so very well known for, giving us at least three incredible riffs in quick succession. It’s another track with a solid minute before we get to the vocals, but that’s completely fine when the instrumentation is so dam good! The verse is fun and the energy stays high through the chorus, full of venom and attitude. It’s nothing if a lot of fun, and a track that I desperately want to be in a pit to live! And, not only that, but we get an absolutely incredible guitar solo tucked away in the middle of this! And, the fact that it’s broken up by awesome riffing, ‘Hangar 18’ style, just makes it even better! It’s another great, heavy thrash metal song, and feels equal parts both old school and modern Exodus rolled into one!

The riff that opens ‘The Changing Me’ is really interesting, alternating between an isolated, higher guitar and an all-out assault from all instruments. It soon once again builds perfectly, adding in more and more elements and epicness until we get a fantastic main riff. It’s the closest thing to classic Exodus we’ve had so far; simple yet heavy and incredibly effective. From the verse to the pre to the MASSIVE chorus, it’s all so good! The chorus in particular is surprisingly awesome, with the multi-layered vocals adding plenty of catchiness to it. It almost has an extreme metal feel to it, which I loved! And, of course, we get another technical masterclass of a solo from Mr Holt! And not just in the usual bridge section either, as we get an epic outro solo added in for good measure, Dukes’ amazing screams ringing in over the top. It’s an incredible song, and one that easily makes our playlist!

The high energy continues fantastically through ‘Promise You This’, ‘Beyond the Event Horizon’ and ‘2 Minutes Hate’. While all are fantastic thrash songs in their own right, they all had a pretty similar vibe and pace to them, so it’s hard to say much without repeating myself over and over. I did, however, enjoy them slowing things down in the middle of ‘Beyond…’, it somehow making the track even heavier! All are good songs in their own right and well worth a listen, with ‘Beyond…’ itself being a firm album highlight. But I can’t say much more without coming across as a Holt and Dukes fangirl!

The album’s title track slows things down a little, perfectly placed to do so in the middle! From the steady drums and droning bass intro to the guitar coming in over the top of it perfectly to Rob’s vocals soon adding yet another level, it’s all excellent! It almost has a doom metal edge to it, a great change of pace to the balls-to-the-wall thrash so far. It may piss off a select few of their audience, but I love them changing up the pace here, and they do this style just as well as the faster stuff! I love that it stays at the plodding pace throughout too, and it results in maybe my favourite guitar solo on the album, to boot. And, on top of that, we get some strings behind the solo, as if it wasn’t already epic enough! It’s another big highlight of the release!

The final three tracks are more of the classic Exodus stuff. ‘Summoner of the God Unknown’ starts a touch slower than each track either side of it, but is also an epic, eight-minute journey through the very best the band have to offer. It’s a downright evil track packed full of some of the best riffs on the album, and gives off big Seasons in the Abyss vibes. Because of this, as good as the other two songs are, they do pale just a touch in comparison. They are good songs I’m their own right, and ‘Dirtiest of the Dozen’ is a fitting, very Exodus closing track, the lyrics being the best on the album. However, ‘Summoner…’ is something special, honestly. It’s a definite album highlight, and maybe a career one too. And, while ‘Violence Works’ maybe the most “album track” song of the bunch, ‘Dirtiest of the Dozen’ is also a banger well worth checking out!

Overall: I had a great time with this! It’s a damn good, heavy metal album chocked full of plenty of thrashing riffs and drums and some amazing vocals. There are some great tracks on here too, ones that I will happily be revisiting again plenty in the coming weeks and months. If you are into the band you will absolutely have a good time with it! However, something about this felt ever so slightly off for me, though I have no idea why. Maybe it will occur to me or even grow on me with more listens, but it didn’t quite feel up there alongside the likes of Testament or even Saxon and Priest in terms of memorable new stuff. It’s good for ‘new’ music from Exodus, but doesn’t feel like it will quite hold up in a few years. Still, I had a good time listening, and it’s certainly not bad!

The Score: 8/10

Reviews

Into Oblivion: Lamb of God’s Best Album in Years?

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The whopping 10th studio album from the NWOAHM titans is arriving to a lot of hype this coming Friday. Being a fan of the band for well over a decade at this point, and having heard a couple of the singles, I have to say I have been DAMN excitedly waiting to hear it. After a couple of surprisingly mixed-received albums (among the fans, critics love them), they return after four years with what seems to be a sound a bit closer to their 2000s work. We got the chance to check this out a little early, and of course jumped at the chance! So, without further ado, let’s dive right in!

The title track is one we are very familiar here at Overtone already. I’ve gushed about it plenty already in my reaction video, and have listened to it plenty since. It’s the perfect way to introduce the album, and as I mentioned in said video, does feel like an immediate return to form for the band. And I’m saying that who was a fan of their last couple of releases, too. However, this has a real old-school LoG vibe to it, from the riffing to Randy’s vocals to the amazing drumming, it’s all fantastic! It’s like I was transported back to when I first discovered and got into them properly with Sacrament (I’m old, I know!) and I loved every second. They never lost it, but feel like they’ve found it again anyway, just adding it on top of the rest! It’s an amazing song, and a huge early-album highlight!

‘Parasocial Christ’ explodes in with heavy riffing and screaming immediately, keeping the energy flowing excellently. The balls-to-the-wall opening opens out a little for the second half of the verse, giving it more of a groove metal feel. It’s a perfectly chaotic song that all feels like it builds up more and more into its eventual chorus, coming nearly halfway into the track! And, it’s a damn good chorus, to boot, and followed up by an amazing (if all too short) guitar solo! It’s just a damn good heavy song, and Randy’s growls towards the end are FANTASTIC, really drawing the track together perfectly. Two for two on excellent songs, so far!

Single ‘Sepsis’ opens on a dirty, heavy bassline, backed amazingly by the steady drums. We get some ever-great spoken word stuff over the top from Randy to build it up even more. The guitars come in and the vocals turn to screams, but it still stays at the same steady pace and level, feeling ominous and still building, and soon drops back again. I love the steady, plodding pace of the first half of the track, especially after two thrashier ones. However, it still feels damn heavy, and so very Lamb of God. And it still grows more and gets to more of their core sound in the second half. And, it’s all seems to be a buildup to that awesome drop-out to Randy’s scream into that HUGE breakdown, it hitting so hard and being really masterful writing. Said breakdown runs for the rest of the track too, acting as the perfect closer. It does one of my pet peeves of fading out, but even then it’s that amazing I don’t have too much of an issue with it. It was an interesting choice for a single, but it’s a damn good track in its own right, and definitely another highlight!

A low, menacing riff introduces ‘The Killing Floor’ before it goes right back into their breakneck, heavy pace! It’s classic Lamb of God in the best way. The same could be said for recent single ‘Blunt Force Blues’ and ‘Bully’. All are fantastic tracks in their own right and fit the tone and flow of the album perfectly. They are well worth checking out, and are only grouped together here to make the article more manageable as otherwise I’d be repeating myself a much and coming across as even more of a fangirl than I already am!

‘El Vacío’ slows things down perfectly at the halfway mark of the album. A clean, almost Tool-like riff kicks things off, with some low, clean vocals, something Randy has incorporated masterfully in recent years. Even when it explodes in with the distortion and heaviness for the chorus, it still stays at a slower pace. It kinda feels like the ballad of the album, and placed arguably perfectly within it. It’s a style that few can pull off as successfully as LoG, with the only that immediately springs to mind being Malevolence. However, I’d put this up there with any track they’ve put out in this vein, that’s for sure! It’s a really interesting song, and honestly one that pretty easily makes our playlist!

‘St Catherine’s Wheel’ is another interesting track. It’s insanely fast, but also has an arrangement more like a Gojira song than anything else. The dynamics throughout are wild, starting with distant drums and guitar, going hard for seconds, before dropping out to the high riffing, awesome drumming and vocals. Don’t get me wrong, it builds up to some CHUNKY LoG style stuff pretty quick, but changing it up is always highly appreciated. The chorus is awesome too, heavy and catchy in equal measure, and one of my favourite on the album! And the riffing behind it… *chefs kiss*. I mean, the riffing through the whole track is amazing, as the breakdown/bridge is also excellent. To I’m sure no shock at all, I loved this song, and it’ yet another that I’d urge anyone reading this to check out!

The final two songs, ‘A Thousand Years’ and ‘Devise/Destroy’ are both once again bangers in their own right. The former is a more plodding, groove metal number that has some of Randy’s best ever clean vocals, as well as some absolutely phenomenal screams. Then you have the closer that is just as balls-to-the-wall as the opening couple of numbers, bringing the album full-circle excellently. It’s heavy, full of attitude and once again has some incredible riffing and a great chorus. Both are two more huge highlight tracks on an album honestly full of them!

Overall: Going into this expecting big things after a couple of the singles, this somehow blew me away even more than I’d hoped for! It has plenty of old-school Lamb of God moments, but also has some stuff that is more akin to their more modern sound, though done in such a way that it feels heavy, dark and more like them than ever. The change of their logo wasn’t just done because it had been a while; it feels like a bold new chapter of the band, and I am all for it! It feels like a culmination of everything that has come before it, with a sprinkling of modern, new sounds added on top to fantastic results. If you have ever at all been a fan of the band or the style, this is an absolute must-listen!

The Score: 9/10

Reviews

The Genghis Khan EP to End All Genghis Khan EPs: Nanowar Return as Silly and as Amazing as Ever!

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The Italian power parody metal band have gained a lot of momentum and a cult following over the last few years, including us here at Overtone! Not only did we love their last album, but had the pleasure of seeing a lot of it live, too. So, to say expectations around this EP are pretty high would be a bit of an understatement. Still, I have no doubt the band will deliver, and am excited to dive in and check it out!

The (I guess) title track opens things up in pretty epic, Nanowar fashion. Some great vocals, backed by some ambient sounds, builds rather perfectly, especially when the guitars and drums come in. The band immediately infuse the comedy too, fitting in far too many words and syllables and getting a chuckle out of me. Still, the lyrics are fantastic though, and it instantly gives Iron Maiden history teacher vibes! It all builds to an awesome Egyptian-style, heavy riff, and we even get a return of some screams from them for the first time in a while, sounding awesome. A typically massive chorus is another high point of the song, firmly routing the band in their power metal roots, still. And of course, we get some awesome soloing in the middle, showing off why Mohammed is one of the most underrated players around today. It’s silly, epic and fantastic in a way that really only Nanowar can!

To my shock, ‘Feet & Greet’ immediately changes the tone, leaning more into an electronic-based intro, giving off not just industrial metal vibes, but clearly very much inspired by Rammstein. It also features some fantastic screams from the incredible Mikael Sehlin of Amaranthe. He fits the band and sound like a glove, and I love the alternating between them and the cleaner, robotic vocals. And, of course, it’s got another infectiously catchy chorus, one that I immediately want to see live! The lyrics are as silly as you’d expect from the band, and honestly that bridge had me laughing out loud. It’s another absolutely incredible song, and one that easily makes this years playlist!

‘IRIDE’ changes pace a little again, fully leaning into the cheesy power metal stuff. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still some heavy Priest in there, but it’s much more Dragonforce. Not that any of that is a bad thing! It’s the closest to their older music, I’d say, but it’s still a damn good song. If you like a more straight-forward sound, this is definitely a song for you! Then the closing track, ‘Kotlin’, stays power metal, but a lot more Sabaton in its tone. It’s another fun track, but isn’t quite as quirky as the first two. They’re just different, and it’s great that Nanowar can do both so well! They’re also both so damn catchy!

Overall: This is an awesome little release! All four songs are awesome, with the first two being up there with anything they’ve put out recently. I’m impatiently waiting another full-length release from them, but this is very much a great way to fill the time before that happens. If you are at all into the band power metal in general, check this out, as they are far more than just a comedic band at this point! And truly, we now cannot get another Genghis Khan EP.

The Score: 8/10

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Lord of the Lost, Zero 9:36 and More!

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Week two of the Overtone year is a heavy one, with plenty of awesome metal (and one electro) to check out. Let’s dive in!

Lord of the Lost: OPVS NOIR Vol. 2

The follow-up to August’s part 1, this release follows that up pretty perfectly. They very much feel like the same project, having a similar tone and vibe, and once again it’s one hell of a LotR record! The heaviness and epicness continues, especially with the Lena Scissorhands-featuring ‘Would you Walk with Me Through Hell?’. Between Lena, Käärijä, IAMX and League of Distortion, there are a good few features on the album, all as good as the last! However, the other songs are just as good too, with ‘The Last Star’ and ‘Scarlight’ also being massive highlights. The whole album is great though, and doesn’t feel like 45-minutes at all, going by in a flash. I never quite got into the band aside for a few songs here and there, but this release has really won me over to them, and proved that actually, taking some time to write some good music instead of feeling the need to pump out an original studio work yearly has upped the quality of their output. Who’d have thought it, ey? It’s a very easy 8.5/10 from us, and my plan after this weekend is to listen to both volumes one after another, I have a feeling it’ll be a great time!

Zero 9:36: They Were Always Here

This is a really interesting release! Alt-metal in the broadest sense, this covers all manor of bases under that sphere. The closest thing I’ve managed to compare it to is ‘Animals’-era Architects, with some occasional Hyro the Hero or even Eminem thrown in for good measure! It makes for an incredibly interesting listen and, at only 22-minutes, it’s hard-to-stop ride from start to finish. Whether it’s heavy riffing and aggressive vocals or more of a slower, radio-friendly sound, it really has a bit of everything, packed right into a concise release. ‘System’ is a huge early highlight, as are tracks like ‘Here to Bleed’ and the Ekoh-featuring ‘Withdrawals’. It’s not going to be for everyone as it is a very modern sound, but I loved it! Continuing to blend hip-hop and electronic elements into metal and hard rock is making things so interesting and unique, and Zero has that here in spades. He’s already created a big name for himself across his back catalogue, and adds to it perfectly with this addition. It’s another very easy 8.5/10, check this out if you are at all interested!

Zkeletonz: Marmalade

The first album from the disco-style electro artist isn’t normally the sort of stuff we cover, but this was a damn fun listen and has me a little obsessed with them! It’s impossible not to have a good time listening to this, and surprisingly gave me big Basement Jaxx vibes throughout, which certainly isn’t a bad thing! And, at less than half-an-hour, it’s another incredibly easy listen. From the opener to ‘Out!’ to ‘Wild for the Weekend’, there are plenty of highlights here. My only issue is that it does get a touch samey after a while, though with this sort of music I’m not sure how to solve that. And still, I didn’t have a bad time listening to any of it! A damn solid 7/10 from us, and certainly an album I’ll be revisiting in the future.

Volumes: Mirror Touch

The first new album from the metalcore quartet in over four years, and this thing goes hard. The band very much didn’t lose their heaviness or technical prowess in the time between releases, this thing being dialled up to 11 on both! Right from the offset, ‘Sidewinder’ is awesome, and is followed up perfectly by ‘Bottom Dollar’. The crazy low guitar riffs and solid drumming is an awesome combo, especially with the synth in the back too, the great screams just adding to them even more! Then you have tracks like ‘S.O.A.P.’ and ‘em’ that are definite highlights too. Sadly, it does drop off a touch in the middle, going down more of a slower, lighter modern metalcore route, but very much brings itself back on track towards the end! It’s still a damn solid album overall, and one I’d definitely recommend to anyone into a modern metal sound. A very easy 8/10 from me!

Dragon Throne: Tale of the Two: Dawn

The power metallers didn’t hesitate to drop part two of their collection, did they? This dropped barely a month after Dusk, and continues on perfectly from said release! And you’ve already seen how much I enjoyed that album, so to have this continue on that great path is awesome. ‘Dragon Empire’ is one of the best opening tracks of the year, while the rest of the album follows it with a similar level of energy and quality. There truly isn’t a bad track on this album and, combined with the other part, makes for practically the perfect power-infused heavy metal release! Somehow I only gave the last one 7.5/10, but this one and as a whole piece between the two, I can’t give it any less than 9/10! If you are at all a metal fan, check this out ASAP, you’ll surely love it as much as I do!

Black Pig Meat: Symbiotic Dream

This is an absolutely incredible instrumental release! It’s always harder to shoehorn instrumental stuff into a specific genre, but it definitely feels prog/djenty for the most part, the odd bit of shoegaze thrown in for good measure. It’s chaotic but somehow all fits perfectly, ebbing and flowing incredibly well. Much is the case it seems this week, it will be a divisive release, with a lot understandably not getting into instrumental stuff. Heck, I struggle at times, but found this one so packed full of talented playing and composition I couldn’t stop listening! ‘Sizo’ was a big highlight, as was ‘Sóbole’. And while the closer, as great as it is, does go on a fair bit, it’s still a fun listen. It’s a great album to get high and listen to on your own in the dark, or if you’re a musician (interchangeable, clearly). Not something I’d revisit often but a damn good release, and a solid 7/10!

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A New World Rising: Rage Return with an Incredible New Album!

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The German heavy metallers return with album number 27, just one year removed from their gargantuan double release, Afterlifelines. As you can see, we loved that album, so when this came across our desk we were of course going to be checking it out too! I love the European style of thrash and heavy metal, and cannot wait to hear another, slightly shorter release from the band this time around!

The title track is a short intro track, building up perfectly into the explosion of ‘Innovation’. A thrash riff bursts in, soon backed up by the lightening fast drums. Peavy’s powerful vocals soon come in over the top, fitting the energy of the track perfectly. Immediately has modern Testament vibes in the best ways. It also all builds up into a surprisingly massive, catch chorus. It maintains its heavy thrash roots but that chorus almost gives it a power metal edge. And of course, we get a blistering, awesome guitar solo, complete with even some phenomenal harmonised sections, and the breakdown riff in the middle of it all is incredible! It’s everything great about this sort of style of metal, and it’s an absolutely perfect way to start the album off!

‘Against the Machine’ keeps the energy high with a huge thrash riff right out of the gate. It follows a similar framework to the previous track, going hard but dropping back a little for an arena-filling chorus, the band doing the style so well. I like that it also drops down for the bridge, building up again in a pretty modern metalcore way. It leads to a fantastic breakdown, almost djent in its guitar work, and then an equally awesome guitar solo! It’s yet another awesome track, and one that easily makes it onto our playlist!

‘Freedom’ has a bit more of a groove metal feel to it, and the lyrics are fantastic, fitting the current world climate perfectly and putting a great message out there. The same could be said for ‘Next Generation’ and the awesome ‘Paradigm Change’. All are groove-filled, metal greatness, and all have some good emotion and meaning behind the tracks. The latter in particular is another huge album highlight, and up there among some of my favourite songs from the band, honestly. All of them are great tracks and worth checking out if you are into the more Prong style of metal!

Meanwhile, tracks like ‘We’ll Find a Way’, ‘Cross the Line’, ‘Leave Behind’ go for more of a metalcore sound to them, metallic, memorable riffing, some Parkway-esque guitars in the latter and even some screams and breakdowns in the other two! It’s another three awesome tracks that once again give a little more variety to an album that so far has done a fantastic job of holding my attention throughout. ‘Cross the Line’ is probably my favourite of the three, probably because it’s the heaviest, but they are all good songs and once again worth checking out. All of them are the exact sound that is right up my street, growing up in the metalcore boom, so of course I love them!

‘Fire in your eyes’ is the slower, ballad track of the album. It still has some heaviness and distortion to it, but is notably subdued, and filled of some amazing clean and acoustic guitaring. It also has a now-expected epic, infectiously catchy chorus, and some more amazing lead guitaring throughout for good measure! My only slight gripe is the fade-out, though it even kinda fits with the track so it’s hard to complain about really. And, this song is perfectly nestled between the previous few tracks I’ve mentioned, breaking apart the pacing and energy perfectly, making this album incredibly easy to listen to in one sitting. Great stuff!

There’s a bit more of an industrial/nu/early 2000s metal with ‘Fear Out of Time’. Having said that, it also has slight elements of Trivium to it, which I LOVE. Once again, an excellent change of pace and yet another sound that the band do so well! It still has the bands typical heaviness to it too, it still being distinguishable as Rage despite the slight change in tone. Honestly, it’s an easy highlight of the album, being maybe my favourite song on it and up there alongside my favourite from the band’s catalogue. They are so insanely talented at songwriting and playing, and that is so evident here and throughout this release!

‘Beyond the Shield of Misery’ brings back the bands typical European thrash sound, while the closer recreates maybe the bands biggest hit for the modern year, being a surprisingly excellent addition to the album as it’s still very relevant today! Both are awesome songs and bring the album back to their signature sound to close things out perfectly. Two more well worth checking out, even if you’re familiar with the latter already!

Overall: This is an amazing album! As much as I enjoyed their previous release, this one felt more concise yet more varied, and made for a far easier listen. There isn’t a bad song throughout, and some are true standout tracks! It’s insane that after four decades the band are still going this hard, but it’s a true testament to the talent for Peavy and co. If you are at all into the band or genres, I cannot recommend this enough!

The Score: 9/10

Reviews

Fangslinger, Silk Spinster and Sam Barber: EPs Galore!

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Another week and some more awesome EPs for us to check out! The perfect blend of country and metal, let’s check it out! 

Fangslinger: We Are the Night

The gothic, vampire cowboys have been gathering a lot of momentum over the last nearly year since they started, and it has all culminated in this awesome five-track EP! We’re very familiar with the band at this point, and have been eagerly anticipating this release since its announcement. Heck, I have the pre-order special edition with a signed note and personal video message.

So, thank god it’s a bit good, right?! Opening on the fantastic new single before taking us on a dark-Western trip through their previous four, there certainly isn’t a bad track amongst them! Every song is as good as the last. It’s an awesome combination of Hellyeah, Avenged Sevenfold and Brantley Gilbert, and all three band members work their ass off throughout, having plenty of time to shine individually and together. It’s 21-minutes that is a must to check out for anyone into rock, country, metal, or heck, just music in general! What an incredible debut, and highlights everything that the band do so well. It feels fresh and new and innovative, yet familiar enough to get anyone doubtful into it. There’s a reason they are gathering some steam already, and this release will only push them up another level again. I can’t give it anything less than 10/10!

Sam Barber: Music for the Soul

The new EP from the breakout country star, and follow-up to 2024’s Restless Mind, is honestly a bit of a banger! It’s very current in its sound, giving off that indie/Americana edge to country music in the same vein as Wyatt Flores, Evan Honer and Zach Bryan. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty samey like the album was, but when it’s a quarter of the length it makes it a lot easier to digest. It meant that, while each song was slower, each felt like the very best of the best Sam had to offer; being packed full of epicness and emotion. Particular highlights for me are the opener/title track, ‘Same Sad Shit’ and ‘Home Tonight’. Some of the rasp in his vocal delivery at times honestly gave me goosebumps, and some of his lyrics are incredible.

It won’t be for everyone, don’t get me wrong, but I had a far better time with this than I did his album. If you’re into the general style he plays, this is well worth checking out! A solid 8/10!

Silk Spinster: Self-Titled

The UK heavy metal revivalists are another one with a debut EP this week, and another one that knocked it out of the park with their release! It’s exactly what you’d expect from the genre, a fun romp through awesome riffing, great soloing and some catchy melodies. Tracks like the title one, ‘White Lines’ and ‘Rockstar’ are all personal highlights, but there really isn’t a bad track on the EP! The band are all incredibly talented and will go insanely far if they can break into the still-booming NWOCR scene. It’s infectiously fun metal with a slight sleaze edge to it, and I’d recommend to anyone even slightly curious! Another very easy 8/10 from us!

Features, Reviews

Trowsholm, LN and Reliquia Rock Scruffy Murphys!

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A day after our trip to Download (not reviewing it, it feels weird to review one day of a three day festival) we headed up to Birmingham for a night of folky, dark metal goodness. Three awesome bands packing out a small, hot venue that’s been recently refurbished and reopened; it was set to be a good night! Let’s dive into all three and let y’all know just how awesome they were!

Kicking off the night were the gothic metallers Reliquia. They were the only band I hadn’t checked out beforehand, but they came away with a big new fan in me! They’re a sort of style I love; the epic, dark, gothy-doom sound, and reminded me a lot of bands like My Dying Bride. It had all the best elements of doom and black metal, but also sounded pretty unique. And for a venue as small as it was to get a sound as massive as the band produced was amazing, so big props to the sound guy as well as the band for producing a great show. The band are all hugely talented, playing perfectly along with their organ-and-bass backing track as well as writing some awesome songs. And they really grew into their performance, too. They seemed a touch nervous at first, but as the packed room got more into it so did the band, with Gregg in particular being a great frontman by the end. He also had some of the best live vocals I’ve heard in a while; from low singing to awesome screams they were all great. As I said, they won me round pretty quickly into a new fan, and I’d recommend checking them out if you haven’t already!

Next up were the reason we were there, the incredible LN. After seeing them at Winters End back in February and falling in love, we knew we had to see them again ASAP. To the shock of I’m sure no one, we once again were blow away by the band! They’re one of the most interesting bands in the UK underground scene today, as well as being one of the best live bands around. Their studio work is phenomenal and translates perfectly live, especially in such an intimate setting. There was no denying the crowd were there for them, and they played off it perfectly. Heck, they even got a pit going, which I was not expecting at all! LN is such an engaging and magnetic frontwoman, having the crowd in the palm of her hand throughout. Everyone else also put on a great show though, as well! From their popular older stuff to new preview songs and latest single ‘Hellfire’, it was a fantastic set, too. They band are clearly going to go far fast, and it’s so cool seeing them in these small venues before they blow up! 

Headlining the night were Scotlands own Trowsholm. Right off the bat it was an interesting collection of people; a viking, a wizard, someone in a matching short, shirt and bucket-hat combo and a thrasher… seems like the start of a bad joke! However, it made for one hell of a party mood right from the offset, and the band kept said mood high through the whole set. They were potentially the heaviest band of the night, and at very least the highest energy and paced, and it made for an awesome headline set! It felt almost like a heavier Alestorm, so impossible not to love! They travelled far to be at the gig and made sure it was worth it as they put on a show from beginning to end. They were the least ‘my thing’ of the night but I still had a blast, as did the still-packed-out crowd around me! They were polished and professional while still feeling fun and more light-hearted, and I can’t recommend them enough!

Overall, it’s was an absolutely amazing night of live music! All three bands knocked it out of the park and fit so well on the same bill together. I cannot recommend seeing all three of them enough if they come close to where you are, and I already want to see all of them live again already! And plus, shoutout to the venue, which was awesome, and is helping keep rock and metal alive in one of the most important cities for it!

Reviews

The Dead Don’t Die: Do Dominum Top Their Epic Debut?

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I’m gonna start this off by saying that I LOVE this band. Between reviewing their last album, seeing them live and even chatting to the man himself, we’ve done a lot of coverage of them over the last year, and there was no way I wasn’t reviewing this album too. I’ll try to keep it reigned in, but if the singles are anything to go by, this is going to be another incredible power metal album!

Opening on their most recent single, ‘We Are Forelorn’ kicks things off with a bang! The epic, sinister vibe builds up throughout the intro and verse, definitely demonstrating the grittier tone Dr Dead mentioned in the interview. It all builds to a typically massive, catchy chorus, too. The gang vocals add so much and make it so easy to sing along to. Also, some of Dead’s high notes, not just here but on the whole album, are insanely impressive! We also get an awesome guitar solo tucked in the middle of the track, making me feel like the band as a whole are criminally underrated players. Again, what an amazing way to open the album!

Next up is a one-two-punch of the other two singles ‘One of Us’ and the Feurschwanz-featuring title track. Both are absolutely amazing songs and classic-feeling Dominum tracks. I’ve covered both already over on our YouTube channel, I’ll drop the video below. However, I can’t pass up the chance to gush over them even more. The choruses for both are up there with some of their best and the instrumetation overall is incredible. It’s songs like this why I fell in love with not just the band, but the genre in general, and I cannot recommend either enough!

A folkier vibe runs through ‘Killed by Life’, which tracks given that it was penned by guitarist Tommy Kemp, also of Winterstorm fame. Spoiler; it’s another awesome song! It also feels a little more polished than the previous few tracks, more radio-written, not that that is a bad thing! The chorus is huge and massively catchy and the structure is pretty simple. However, the riffing is still amazing, and the overall production is incredible on it! While not my favourite track on the album, it is still awesome and definitely enjoyable!

Honestly, I got the same sort of feelings from ‘Die for the Devil’, outside of the folk element. It reminded me the most of their debut album the most of any song so far. From the steady, low verses building into the HUGE radio-choruses, it’s standard Dominum in the best of ways! It’s simple but awesome and another fantastic power metal offering!

‘Don’t get Bitten by the Wrong Ones’ is a bit steadier, feeling almost ballad-like. It also gives off vibes of Motionless in White’s ‘Werewolf’, which I also love. The synth-led verse is incredible, fitting behind Dead’s vocals perfectly, and the chorus is going to be stuck in my head for days to come at this point! It’s another huge highlight on an album packed full of them, and is another track that easily makes it onto our playlist! It’s another track that I’d definitely recommend!

Pretty much everything I said above also applies to ‘Happy Deadly Ending’. What an absolutely BANGING chorus, goddamn. And don’t get me wrong, the rest of the song is also amazing, but that chorus is truly on another level. I’m going to assume this is the newly single to be released with the album, as it could be an absolutely massive song given the chance. The basic Dominum formula is there again but done to absolute perfection, and is another HUGE album highlight. This is modern power metal at its best!

The other three original tracks on the album are more standard Dominum affairs in the best ways possible. ‘Can’t Kill a Dead Man’, ‘This is not a Game’ and ‘The Gardians of the Night’ are a trio of great power metal tracks that fit so perfectly with thus album and the Dominum sound in general. Dr Dead’s impressive vocals and huge choruses are of course highlights, but all the instrumentation is top notch, too. The only reason they are clumped together here is so I don’t keep repeating myself and coming across as even more of a fangirl! All are fantastic tracks that I’ll certainly be listening to again!

Closing out the main album is the band’s cover of the Scorpions classic ‘Rock you Like a Hurricane’. I love their rendition, heavying up the track and managing to make it sound almost like one of their own. Additionally, for those getting/listening to the special edition, you also get a second disc, this one featuring a recording of their set at Graspop earlier this year. While I haven’t heard the actual recordings yet, having been there to see it in person I can assure you it’ll be awesome!

Overall: I absolutely loved this! I knew I would, but I think it even defied my lofty expectations. Every track is fantastic, while there are some that are easily going to be among their greatest hits in however many years’ time. I can’t recommend this enough, not just to fans of the band or genre, but to any music fan in general; it really is that good. It has mass appeal as well as the heaviness and it is certainly a development on their previous release. Check this out immediately!

The Score: 9.5/10

Features, Interviews & Features

Dominum: ‘Hey Living People is like Dominum in primary school, and now we’re going to college!’

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We had the pleasure of chatting to Dr Dead himself of the amazing Dominum about their upcoming album, touring plans and plenty of zombie talk! Check it out below!

How did you come up with the whole zombie concept of the band?

So I was doing a production with Visions of Atlantis, and I had the glasses of a pirate on and having the mindset of a pirate. I drove home as a pirate and sat at home like a pirate. I was watching The Walking Dead and thought, ‘there’s pirate bands and Viking bands, why the hell is there no zombie bands!’ Or at least zombie power metal bands. So that was where the idea was born to do that kind of thing!

What’s the kind of writing process like for you? Is it mainly you bringing stuff to the band or are they involved a lot too?

Mainly the songwriting is done in my studio, and ideas from all sides are warmly welcome! For example on this record the song ‘Killed by Life’ is a song by Tommy, our guitar player. We’ve done a lot of collaborations with other songwriters too, like Ben from Feuerschwanz, he was involved in two songs. Whenever something matches, whenever you feel like a collaboration could be a cool thing to do, it mostly is a cool thing. When two people come together and have a vibe, it’s worth so much, and it always gets better if you have someone who you have a good relation with!

How would you compare this upcoming album with your first?

The first record was mainly written in COVID so we couldn’t try out too much because we were trapped inside. Now we’ve played over 60 shows, which is insane to say out loud. But a show is not one direction. When you play a show for people it’s in both directions, we get stuff back from the fans. It’s like being in therapy. You go to therapy and he or she asks one question and then you talk for 50/60 minutes, like playing a show, and in the end you know better who you are.

So after playing 60 shows, I think the new album is more mature, maybe a bit less polished. You could say Hey Living People is like Dominum in primary school, and now we’re going to college!

For the pre-order of the album, you’ve got a recording of the Graspop set. What made you pick that one?

Graspop is a very special festival, it’s so huge and there were over 60,000 people. We couldn’t see the horizon, there were people everywhere. This was one of the shows where everything was right; the interaction with the audience was perfect, we played kinda well, the mood was good. After the show we found out someone recorded it and sent us the tracks. We were able to remix them so everything fell into place, which was a very cool thing! We asked for permission of course and the Graspop people were so cool with it so we thought it might be a nice thing for the fans to have an extra portion of live Dominum in their CD player!

We reviewed their set at Graspop, find it here!

We’ve got the Scorpions cover on this new album, are you wanting to continue with a couple of covers moving forward?

Covers are always a nice way to get to better know yourself. The song is already composed. ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’ is 40 years old now, it was kind of a birthday song that we wanted to give to the Scorpions. A birthday present that they probably never heard. But the song was written already and we didn’t put too much thought on the composition because it was there so we could just think how can we do it that’s Dominum-style. This is also something that you just have to think of, because what makes Dominum Dominum? When you have a song like this that you can fool around with you can try a lot of things and get to know yourself better in the process.

You seem to be touring almost constantly recently, right?

It seems it, yes! I’m having this feeling as well!

Will this upcoming tour be your first time in the UK?

No, we played one show in February this year with Petyon Parrish, we played O2 Shepherds Bush in London. That was a really cool show! We played ‘Dead or Alive’ there and all you British people just went nuts for the song. That was the first tour date of that tour, so that was special. But yes, our second time in the UK!

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be part of?

A dream lineup that came to mind straight away would be maybe Ghost, Slipknot and Dominum.

That’s be cool, a very theatrical show!

Absolutely! Theatric, crazy and wild.

And you’ve just finished shooting a music video, is it out in time for the album?

Yes, the very new one is gonna be out on the 27th.

Does it continue the theme of zombifying more people?

You’d think that, but this time to be honest it’s special. You’ve got the formula already; Dr Dead comes in with his people and someone gets zombified and then everyone’s happy in the end. This video’s a bit different. In this video we also had a very nice guest and Dr Dead obviously wanted her to join but she wasn’t too into being a zombie so she got away. Maybe there was also more emotions involved. Dr Dead maybe… you will see, but this is another dimension of emotional involvement from Dr Dead that’s maybe never been seen before. It’s going to be a big different! We thought now we’ve zombiefied a few people, now we’ve got Jesus, we need something else!

Check out our review of their debut album here!

Are you building more of a semi-continuous story with it all, then?

Yeah, of course! But it’s maybe not as a concept band. So if you want to dive into the story you can, but you don’t have to to get the music and get the songs. It’s just another layer that you can get!

And given that you’ve now converted Jesus, what instrument do you imagine he’s bring to the band?

That’s a very good question! For sure it would be a guitar in the shape of a cross!

I feel like we’ve somehow not seen that before, that would be cool!

It would be cool! I think maybe people are scared of going to hell, but we’re from there anyway so we can do it!

Features, Interviews & Features

KingCrown: ‘It’s a trap because we don’t know how to stop!’

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We had the pleasure of sitting down with Ced Legger, guitarist of the amazing KingCrown, the other day to chat about their latest album, the European metal scene and their plans for the future. Check it out below!

Firstly, how would you describe your sound? I kept going between heavy metal and power metal, personally! 

To answer your question, I would say that you are absolutely right! The style is a clever mix between Heavy, all that is most conventional and Power with in a Helloween / GammaRay / Hammerfall sauce to name a few.

How does it feel to have the album out? It seems to have been received well! 

It was really a surprise for us because we did something different compared to our previous album ‘Wake Up Call’, although it was just a continuation of it… The difference is that at the time, we had only had a few weeks to release ‘Wake Up Call’, we – Bob, Seb and I – had just joined the band, while with ‘Nova Atlantis’ we took the time to polish it properly, think about it and have a fairly objective perspective on its direction and composition. The album was clearly a success where most of the reviews all around the world, if not the majority, were more than complimentary and the feedback from our fans is just as much, very excited to discover the album live, so yes, we are very happy about it!

Is there a particular story or theme the album is based around? The tracks all certainly feel linked! 

The songs are certainly linked but this is not a concept album. The themes addressed come together in the sense that they touch a sensitivity and a very special attraction for the mysteries that have marked and continue to mark humanity, such as the theme of the New Atlantis or the Bermuda Triangle. Mysticism and its singularity is a flagship theme at KingCrown and we agree on it, especially in the fact of making the listener enter a universe that is our own, filled with mysteries and questions of all kinds.

Check out our review of the album here!

It’s your third album now, how would you say your sound and band have changed in that time? 

I wouldn’t say that it has changed but that it has evolved, logically of course with the new current line-up which dates from June 2021… From there and at the dawn of ‘Wake Up Call’, the die was cast and we knew very quickly where to go. I think it’s due to the fact that today we have a very rare and envied cohesion between all of us, it helps to come together to build something together and communicate it in concerts. We get along as much personally, in private as on stage, for example, my alter-ego Bob became my daughter’s godfather (laughs). It is obvious that with this kind of bond, the sauce can only take and has, I am sure, other surprises in store for us!

What is the songwriting process like for you? 

The process is very simple, everyone brings their ideas, their compositions. We are lucky to each have a home studio thanks to which we have the possibility of recording the different ideas or songs that we have. We send them to each other and then we discuss them, refine them, perfect them etc…. Then we get together for a weekend where we listen to them and discuss them. 

That’s where everything comes to life where all the ideas generally flow! But it’s a trap because we don’t know how to stop!

Have you got a busy 2025 planned in support of the album? See you guys are typically quite busy with shows! 

We do have a few dates booked and confirmed for 2025 including a huge surprise that we will reveal in due time! I’m not going to lie, most of the dates will be German and/or European, although a few are in France. It is a sad reality that French festivals, even the most famous and publicized ones, are not interested in us…. I think it is due to the fact that Heavy Metal is not very successful, except for the biggest names, in our country… but these festivals do not give their chances, or on very rare occasions, to bands like us to hit their stages, and it’s a shame. 

However, we would love to play more often at home, unfortunately for reasons I don’t know, Heavy Metal in France is not as valued as in Germany, Belgium or Scandinavia…. Or even in Spain and Italy !!!

What would you say the scene in Europe is like currently? From what I’ve seen it seems to be thriving!

This question goes straight to what I was saying lol flourishing? Yes, certainly in Germany or even other Slavic or Germanic countries but not in France unfortunately…. It is sad to see that small modest French festivals are shunned by metalheads in France because they do not welcome, for budgetary reasons obviously, the cream of Metal like giants like Hellfest or Motocultor… 

These more modest festivals nevertheless welcome equally excellent bands, with whom we have shared the stage and who have absolutely nothing to envy the giants of the genre, just because no one goes there to know them, support them, except for the fact of resting on their laurels and spending large sums of money to attend huge events that welcome groups that no longer need advertising. 

These small festivals have in their ranks passionate people, who give a chance to bands that are just as deserving, we sometimes played in venues where we had barely twenty people in front of us… It’s sad and discouraging… While in countries like Germany, full houses, every night of the week, known band or not! 

This is the big difference in mentality between French and European Metal. 

It’s sad but it’s real.

Any plans/hopes to come over to the UK? 

For the moment, unfortunately no, but know that we would be extremely happy and flattered to be invited to the United Kingdom, if the opportunity were given to us! So if any promoters of any UK festivals like Bloodstock, or Hard Rock Hell are reading this interview, please get in touch!!

Any dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? Any big band you want to support or friends you want to bring on the road with you?

I would dream of being able to open for a Iron Maiden tour, or, more modestly Helloween, Symphony X, Blind Guardian, GammaRay…. lol it would really be a great accomplishment and I would of course bring my wife and daughters lol! It’s nice to dream! But…. you never know!