Doomy atmospheric post black and neo folk collide in trance-like beauty and brutality! I posted yesterday that I have been listening to more post metal, and lo and behold, here is two days in a row of reviews representing the genre. I also mentioned how broad the genre can be, and case in point, this […]
De l’Abîme Naît l’Aube – Rituel: Initiation – Album Review Read More »
Moody and at times unsettling atmospheric post black metal! I am definitely listening to more post metal these days, and it never ceases to amaze me just how broad the genre can be. I guess this is true of any subgenre of metal, but even the bands I have reviewed in the genre this year
Nullingroots – Fourth Dimensional Dreamscape – Album Review Read More »
Various flavors of heavy metal collide in Uster, Switzerland, for a fantastic early year Festival! Elements of Rock Festival took place March 13 – 15 at Stadthofsaal in Uster, Switzerland. It started in 2004 and has run annually since, with exception of a few years during COVID. I have only been once before, in 2007,
A great return after 13 years, hook-laden progressive rock/metal with great melodies and heft from Australia! I feel like there has been a theme the past couple of years, where a number of metal bands have exceptionally long breaks between releases. I have reviewed several already this year, including progressive metal band Textures releasing their
Karnivool – In Verses – Album Review Read More »
Tribunal headlines a night of myriad doom flavors! Vancouver orchestral death doom masters Tribunal are a band I absolutely love, having traveled to Vancouver from Seattle multiple times in 2025 to see them perform, including what ended up being my last show of 2025 in mid December. They just played a handful of shows in
An epic night of bombastic heavy symphonic metal! On my recent European trip, I scheduled a couple stops outside my main destination of Switzerland to take the opportunity to see some bands that seem unlikely for me to see in the US. I am thankful for my local scene in Seattle and the international bands
Fantastic symphonic metal debut from Sweden with hard rock sensibility! February was a good month for symphonic metal, with releases from both Flowerleaf and Epinikion impressive, the former becoming a personal obsession, even moreso after experiencing them live in mid March, and the latter an album I just get lost in. The debut full length
Shatterheart – Infernal Symphony – Album Review Read More »
Amazing theatrical and epic symphonic metal from The Netherlands! Dutch symphonic metal band Epinikion is a newer band on the scene, forming in 2020 and releasing their debut album, “Inquisition,” in 2022. The band started as the vision of two people, keyboardist Renate de Boer and guitarist Robert Tangerman, and the debut album was written
Epinikion – The Force of Nature – Album Review Read More »
Five albums from January 2026 that deserve your listening attention! I am a little late posting this (something about launching my website and getting things ramped up), but here are my top 5 releases from January 2026. The reality is, January kicked off the year in splendid fashion. I reviewed 19 albums released during the
My Top 5 Albums for January 2026 Read More »
A mesmerizing live progressive metal experience that was melodic and heavy! Finnish progressive metal band Wheel is currently wrapping up The Dark Side Tour 2026, a headlining tour across North America with support from progressive hard rock band Sound&Shape. What is cool about this tour is that, in addition to playing fan favorites, they are
