Latest Reviews
 | Anvil - San Francisco, The Fillmore Steve “Lips” Kudlow (“SK”) plays and wears what he desires with a carefree dismissal of whether he is hip or fashionable. Any doubt about SK’s disinterest in musical trends is laid to rest by comparing Anvil’s first two records, Hard ‘N’ Heavy and Metal on Metal, with Anvil’s latest record, This is Thirteen... [Read] |
| Styx - San Francisco, The Regency Ballroom The hazing by my high school friends for attending a Styx concert was inevitable. One friend stated, “Boy, Arash, I’m sorry. I feel for you. That must have been a brutal, awful night.” It was shocking to my friends that I would see Styx because even as early as age 14 I literally developed whiplash from head banging and carpal tunnel from overuse of the devil horns... [Read] |
 | Fear Factory - Mechanize On "Mechanize," Fear Factory goes back to their roots, playing the influential industrialized metal that people grew to love on "Soul Of A New Machine" and "Demanufacture." Fans will not be disappointed with "Mechanize," and they’ll be reminded of why Fear Factory were one of the most important bands of extreme music at one time... [Read] |
 | Hazy Hamlet - Forging Metal If you are a fan of cheesy over the top Manowar styled metal albums (like myself) then you will enjoy this album. It is good fun it wastes an hour and makes you want to head bang. It’s not a classic by any stretch of the imagination but I will raise my goblet of metal on high and salute Hazy Hamlet for a very enjoyable debut effort and one of the strangest names in metal... [Read] |
 | Dioramic - Technicolor Technicolor’s press release is riddled with the sorts of hyperbole best described as inextricably pretentious. Language like “Art-core” (not hardcore), “opposing acoustic concepts”, and “scientific law”, already say much about a band with a lot to say, but in the completely wrong way... [Read] |
 | At The Soundawn – Shifting Each track presented is memorable and distinct, to where it is going, and where it wants to take you. Every ingredient heard has had the breadth and scope of experienced and talented artists. Shifting is At The Soundawn’s defining record, so far in their otherwise short-spanning career... [Read] |
 | Order of Ennead – Order of Ennead Short and straight to the point. This embodies Order of Ennead as if it were their own design philosophy when it came to piecing the music together. Many will be wondering about Steve Asheim’s (Deicide) influence on the production, and one can easily respond; this isn’t another Deicide reiteration, just dangerously close... [Read] |
 | Ephel Duath – Through My Dog's Eyes Don’t be fooled, though the title may suggest otherwise, this is as deep and complex an experience as their previous black metal instalments. It’s also quite a departure from there documented style. Anything else worth a note? Other than “Through My Dog’s Eyes” being the dogs bollocks, not really... [Read] |
 | Charred Walls of the Damned - Charred Walls of the Damned CWOTD is the brainchild of former Iced Earth and Death drummer Richard Christy. Joining him is bass extraordinaire Steve Digiorgio (Sadus/Death/Control Denied) and guitarist Jason Suecof, who is perhaps better know for his producing skills, working with bands such as Trivium, The Black Dahlia Murder and God Forbid to name but a few... [Read] |
 | Blaze Bayley - Promise and Terror On Blaze Bayley's fifth studio album, "Promise and Terror," the second album released by the band since they changed their name from Blaze, we are treated with 11 songs of traditional heavy metal. "Promise and Terror" introduces different elements as varied as NWOBHM, progressive sounds and some slight Swedish melodic twin guitar harmonies. The album as a whole is more catchier and accessible... [Read] |
 | Dark Tranquillity - We Are The Void "We Are The Void" continues the consistent sound of Dark Tranquillity and will keep them in the forefront of the melodic death metal genre. They aren't exploring any new boundaries, but the band stays true to the Gothenburg style and the formula of creating good Swedish melodic death metal, and that's all you can ask for in a Dark Tranquillity album... [Read] |
 | Borknagar - Universal Established Norwegian act, Borknagar has fulfilled its contract with Century Media—a contract that spanned over a decade. Borknagar has helped break some of Norway’s most prolific black metal vocals of a dual tongue such as Ulvers’s Garm and I.C.S. Vortex. After nearly a decade of fronting this black metal/folk/prog outfit, Vintersorg once again steps to the mic for “Universal”... [Read] |
 | Headhunter DC - Gods Spreading Cancer Headhunter D.C. first laid down the death metal goods 1987—a time when death metal still sought to rub away the velvet from its newly formed devil horns. Here we are twenty years later and Headhunter lives on in the shadows, but still gets out its message of blasphemy in the form of “Gods Spreading Cancer,” which proves they must be doing something right... [Read] |
| Gwar - San Francisco, The Regency Ballroom On November 24, 2009, Gwar decimated, desecrated, and devirginized the once pristine Regency Ballroom. Gwarmania began at 9:50 when the band showed a spoof Gwar documentary on the large projection screen behind the drum set that gave a history of the band. While the movie was playing, I quickly put on a one piece coverall under the mistaken belief it would protect me from Gwar slime... [Read] |
 | Astra - From Within "From Within" will take you by surprise, even if you're not a prog or power metal fan, the music is so infectious and memorable. Fans of anything Dream Theater has ever done, or prog rock in general, will absolutely dig this slab of grooviness. Pick it up... [Read] |
 | Fashion Bomb - Visions Of the Lifted Veil The only downside to "Visions Of the Lifted Veil" is that some songs sound too familiar, as if the band's influences start to invade their own sound. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Fans of Tool, Ministry, Marilyn Manson, Disturbed, Fear Factory and NIN will find something very likeable about "Visions Of the Lifted Veil."... [Read] |
 | Devin Townsend Project - Addicted It’s an obvious ploy made by Townsend, to not least further his career but to keep us (and himself) guessing on the eventual output. Ki was a success. It spanned of everything deep within the Townsend vein and some. Following on from Ki was sure to be deflating... [Read] |
 | Primordial - A Journey's End “A Journey’s End” is a classic album of pagan black metal recorded during a defining time, not only in the band’s career but also for this style in general. Too bad this album just missed the new millennium because it would have been included in this scribes top list of the decade... [Read] |
| UFO - San Francisco, The Independent On November 1, 2009, UFO landed at the cesspool known as The Independent (“TI”), a grungy club in a fairly scruffy neighborhood. This marks the second consecutive concert UFO has played at TI, the last time also being on a Sunday, July 25, 2005. TI is a 375 seat club built approximately 50 years ago that previously operated under names such as The Kennel Club and Viz... [Read] |
 | Revengine - Plan Your Escape There's nothing groundbreaking or unique on "Plan Your Escape," however, there's something about the music within that is promising. On the other hand, they sometimes have a formula of everything that I hate about generic rock bands like Creed and the aforementioned Hinder and Theory Of A Deadman... [Read] |
 | Andreas Kisser - Hubris I & II There's no doubt that Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser knows how to shred, but on his new double CD "Hubris I & II," the Brazilian displays a different side to his playing and songwriting. He mixes rock, blues, classical, flamenco and Brazilian folk music to create an eclectic blend of harmonious moods and melodies, yet remains close to his metal roots... [Read] |
 | Nostradameus - Illusion's Parade Nostradameus should finally get the recognition they deserve, as they are proving to the metal community that they are not just another run of the mill power metal band. They step outside the norm and weave great melodies, combined with a heaviness that most bands of this genre would not feel comfortable in doing... [Read] |
 | Steven Wilson - Insurgentes The massive degree in mood swings, create a dark and sombre undercurrent that is touching and felt with unease. The 55 minutes are so rich in detail, that when Wilson decides to throw a curve-ball (and he throws many) the impact might not be as greatly felt. However, in a sea of superlatives these kinds of criticisms have never felt smaller... [Read] |
| Alice Cooper - San Francisco, Warfield Theater Non stop, jack rabbit virgin sex is the best phrase I can use to describe the pace of Alice Cooper’s set. AC’s band, that includes Keri Kelli and Damon Johnson on guitar, Chuck Garric on bass, and Jimmy DeGrasso on drums, bulldozed through 26 songs in one hour and 25 minutes before the encore break. No pause between songs, not even the ubiquitous utterance of “How ya’ doin’ San Francisco?!”... [Read] |
 | Lääz Rockit - Nothing$ $acred There are some great tunes on "Nothing$ $acred," such as "In The Name Of The Father And The Gun" and "Greed Machine," which has classic thrash riffs mixed with 80s aggression. This re-release features three bonus tracks, I don't know where they originated from, but all three kick major ass, with "Ten Eyes" and "Plague" being standouts... [Read] |
 | Future Is Tomorrow - Fit To Die (Part I) This is a great achievement from an unsigned and mostly unknown band that possesses great musicianship, interesting ideas and a desire to create something magical. I hope that Future Is Tomorrow don't get labeled as just another power metal band, because they deserve much more and I expect bigger things from this band in the future... [Read] |
 | Hellcircles - Stillness Power metal newbies from Cremona, Italy create aggressive-yet-melodic arrangements on its self-released five-song demo "Stillness." Formed just a year ago, Hellcircles are a tight and cohesive unit. A great sign of the times to come from Hellcircles. Keep an ear out for these guys... [Read] |
 | Green Jelly - Musick to Insult Your Intelligence By “Musick to Insult Your Intelligence by” yields mixed results. The humour doesn’t stand up to older tracks such as “Cereal Killer” and “The Three Little Pigs,” and much of the lyrical content doesn’t make any sense. Because the album elicits an ambivalent response, Green Jelly is much like their mentors Gwar in that these songs should translate much better in a live setting... [Read] |
 | Vendetta - Heretic Nation UK-based Vendetta has a style that is deeply rooted in '80s traditional metal, with crunchy riffs and melodic hooks. Traces of Maiden, Priest, Scorpions, Triumph and Saxon, among others, are eloquently placed throughout their 2nd album "Heretic Nation." The band mix melody with aggression, combined with great harmonies... [Read] |
 | Extreme O.D. - This Is The End Extreme O.D. are not happy, not happy at all. In fact, you could say the UK band are downright angry. Brutality meets groove is what Extreme O.D. serve up on their three-song EP "This is the End". They haven't created anything new, but "This is the End" is a pretty brutal slab of pulsating groove metal... [Read] |
 | Mob Rules - Radical Peace Although not as popular as Helloween or Gamma Ray, Mob Rules create dynamic power metal. Their sound is more along the lines of Edguy and Ivory Tower when compared with German bands of this genre. A hint of Savatage, Rhapsody of Fire and Stratovarius come to mind as well... [Read] |
| Foreigner - San Francisco, The Fillmore As the years progressed and the Bay Area thrash movement blossomed like a maggot-covered carcass in a fog laced graveyard, my tastes began to lean to harder edged music, Slayer, Exodus, Celtic Frost, Metallica, and Anthrax. For this reason, I initially wavered on attending the show... [Read] |
 | Uneven - Vrzino Kolo Heavy metal is truly global. Take Serbia's Uneven, who is proving that a band from a little country in central/southeastern Europe, which is not usually known for its abundance of metal music, can be a noticeable force in the genre... [Read] |
| Motorhead - San Francisco, Warfield Theater Having secured the final spot along the barricade, I had the dubious distinction of being within three feet of the amplifiers stacked stage right. Normally this would not be of great concern. However, my last Motorhead experience and the warning of a Steamhammer Records representative during two recent phone conversations raised concern that was cemented when the show started... [Read] |