Vincent Crowley - Anthology Of Horror

Just discovered this last night and everything about it caught my attention. Awesome mix of death metal, epic doom and trad. Great riffs and lead work, cool horror lyrics and deathly vocals, everything's balanced nicely to make an album of totally engaging songs that make me want to hit the repeat button.

Again. On second listen, it's clear that they can't be confused with the bands mentioned above. Algos are just a bit more diverse with many faster parts and keyboards in a supporting role. What strikes me most is the individuality of the guitar work featuring some chaotic Slayeresque or free jazzy solos that only benefit the dark, unhinged atmosphere. Great stuff, and maybe they even have a doom milestone in them.

Since Benedict had to bring them up....

Ratt - Out of the Cellar

Nice guitars, both tone and playing. Yeah its glam but this makes the metal cut for me. Good songwriting and Pearcy has charisma.

Blaze Bayley - Circle of Stone

Solid 8/10 album. Not very original, but the stuff is good. There are some real winners, like the title track. Interested to go through his earlier albums.

So many riffs!!!

Had been a few years since I spun the whole thing and you are right. Some great riffs and just cool guitar parts.

Stargate – Escaping the Illusion

Dodgy band name aside, this is solid neoclassical metal with a good, powerful vocalist. Not too complex, more like a metal version of Rainbow than Malmsteen. Nothing special but very nice to listen to.

Stygian Crown – Funeral for a King

Gloomy epic doom like Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass, the kind of doom people played at royal funerals in ancient times. Middle Eastern references galore. The female vocalist… let's say she gets the job done but she's not a virtuoso / Messiah Marcolin / Cammie Gilbert (Oceans of Slumber). Sometimes her vibrato clashes with the tempo and dynamics of the music around her. Doom fans who can condone imperfect vocals should check this one out.

Deftones - Around the Fur

Took a long time for me to accept these vocals. But this is clicking pretty hard with me lately. Heavy riffs and crunchy guitars.

Gatecreeper - The Black Curtain

They continue the more melodic approach like the previous song.

Noor - Mother's Guilty Pleasure Pt 1

Really intense... lots of great fucking riffs. Maybe not a lot of dynamic and the production is kinda loud in the annoying way. But there's really something here.

Judas Priest - Escape From Reality

This new Judas Priest album is quite fun. It's impressive that Rob can still sing like that at 72.


It almost reminded me of "Only for the Weak" by In Flames.

Thorns - Thorns. Industrial black metal is awesome when done like this. Wish there was more of it.

That's the most remarkable thing about it: how great Rob still sounds.

Arckanum - Þórhati

Excellent stuff from Arckanum!

Abyssic Hate - Suicidal Emotions

I wanted to listen to it a long time ago but I forgot the name, and after finally listening to it for the first time I was a bit disappointed, power chording to the core with very little emotion that manages to get to something very occasionally. Then I found out that the guy is a nazi so I rather prefer that I didn't like it.

All of Kanonenfieber’s singles since Menschenmühle.

Great stuff, I hope it all gets combined into a single disc at some point. Or maybe it gets added to the upcoming second album. The standout track among these is Sturm und Kampf.

Elettra Storm - Sacrifice of Angels

Color me surprised, but this album's pretty darn good for a buncha no-names. It's not exactly gonna set the world on fire, but it scratches the itch.

Brodequin - Festival of Death

Enmity - Illuminations of Vile Engorgement

There comes a time in the life of a metalhead that makes you ask yourself why are you listening to this stuff? Is my music taste totally fucked up to the point that listening to regurgitating concrete drills with burping voices sounds ok to me? Is it time to maybe listen to something else?

I don't know the answers to those questions, all I know is that my definition of music is probably very different from my friends and family to the point that is difficult to explain why I like this stuff in the first place.

Escape while you can, and enjoy some pop music, it is probably healthier to the mind than this stuff.

Gamma Ray - Land of the Free

Been ages since I've last listened to that one. It reminds me of my college years some 24 years ago. It still sounds fresh and it remains of one of the best power metal album ever.

Sonata Arctica - Teardrops

This album's not amazing or anything, but it's far and away the best thing they've released since Pariah's Child.

Marko Hietala - Life on Mars (ft. Tarja Turunen)

Has a nice swagger to it. If you're expecting something akin to early 00s Nightwish, it doesn't sound like that... but it's nice to hear them singing together again for the first time in 20 years. Makes me feel all like... warm and fuzzy and nostalgic, lol.

Odious- Halo Slave

Ayy these guys are back, and its kickass. These melodies are infectious.

Acid Bath - Venus Blue

Quite possibly the most deranged and psychotic anthem ever written.

Narnia - Awakening

Finally listening to this band, sorry Bronze Age for ignoring your recomendations but I felt like listening since the start. I wasn't expecting such a neo-classical style in the vein of Yngwie Malmsteen while leaning on melodic leanings close to AOR, I'm enjoying it.

Morbid Angel Fall From Grace


I remember when the drums literally drove many people crazy for just an odd signature of era

Iron Man - Shadows Of Darkness

Super fuckin cool song off the rather awesome Generation Void album. I'm a total sucker for riffs like this.

Unaussprechlichen Kulten - Haxan Sabaoth

Best I've heard from them yet - only have a few more to get to. This new one has the most fully realized songs and interesting, strange vibes. Great leads. It all feels like some old evil ritual spell, like a lot of the best extreme metal.

Ponte del Diavolo - Fire Blades from the Tomb

Really curious to keep digging into this. Exactly the kind of haunted sounding, unique stuff I enjoy. Guitar tone's a kind of dry, ancient-sounding thing like cut from the walls of an old city. Vocals are cool - she does a lot of weird chant-style lines. Strong drumming too, lays down a good rocking feel.

Was at the bench last night so spun some records...

Suffocation - Pierced From Within - Pure technical brutality. Riffs and riffs. 90%

At The Gates - The Red In The Sky is Ours
Honestly, this album is not bad but not great by any stretch. I am not a fan of the vocal delivery. The sound is a bit thin. Some cool guitar parts in there but overall I'd probably give this album a 60-65%. Slightly above average. A very occasional spin. I know its derided by many here, but SotS blows this away.

Samael - Worship Him - Okay this fucking crushes. Slower, more doomy in places, with just excellent music. Hard not to headbang to this one. Black metal that isn't all fast tremolo riffing. 90% rating.

Not being a BDM/slam person, I'd never heard of this album before. It's a good point of reference to have. While it's pretty unlistenable and comes off as a complete piss-take, there is admittedly something interesting about its utterly single-minded nature. The sense of sinking beneath the pretense of musicality into a more unadulterated experience of mindless pain has a certain artistic value, whether intentional or not.

Noor - Mother's Guilty Pleasure Pt 1
Yeah I've listened to this 2.5 times in the last 24 hours. It's really good, as mentioned above though the production is indeed annoyingly loud... the riffs make it worth it though.
I was listening to it last night while lifting in the garage and my son came out and looked at me and said "what is THIS" after about 30 seconds of listening. It's that good.

Gojira - Backbone

Break the unbreakable!!!

Still shocked and spinning it. Can't take the AI conversation out of my head either! Do you also get the feeling that some transitions sound chaotic, I suddenly lose the drum sound, things get mixed and not very clear. There are also some AMAZING riffs played two times never to be heard again, so many transitions, it's such a chaotic, weird, fantastic album I can't really make sense of it.

They were booked the same day the album was posted online for Up the Hammers 2025. And now people are discussing if this is going to be one of the biggest trainwrecks in UtH history. There was this reel posted you see: https://www.facebook.com/reel/2488847667924527
...and the singer certainly doesn't sound like on the record. So, yeah, this is a very interesting case for sure.

I'll try to pay more attention to some of the transitions, unfortunately I get very little time to listen to stuff without being distracted by other things. There is definitely some general chaos happening (in a good way) though.

Interesting stuff about the singer...

There was something really weird about that album in general. I've been pretty busy but it struck me odd. Then I went back to listening to regular stuff later and started to feel more normal about it - definitely a curious case, I can see the suspicions.

Suspicions with the singer specifically?

Seeing that reel makes me wonder for sure.

There was just something weird in the execution, something a little unnatural. Too jagged, very mechanical in a way that seemed just off balance.

Demolition Hammer - Tortured Existence

Filthy fucking nightmare of an album. So fun.

Judas Priest- Gates Of Hell

Sweet Jesus, this song is heavenly.

Judas Priest- Escape From Reality

Whoever said Ozzy has a hidden cameo here needs their ears cleaned out. Rob's just using a vocal cadence similar to his.

Incidentally, Escape From Reality is a better album title than Invincible Shield.

David Bowie Five Years

Ziggy Stardust is one of best thing that blessed our universe

Usurper - Diabolosis

Fuck I love them. They seem to be a bit underrated in the way a lot of 90s and '00s bands are now. Massive guitars. A real sense for the riff.