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, […]
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 »
An epic comeback resulting in seriously epic death doom! It seems like there has been a trend for a number of bands to release something new after a very long wait. Two notables last year were Ancient Bards and Crimson Shadows, and then Coroner beat them all with their first new album in 32 years.
Sad Whisperings – The Hermit – Album Review Read More »
Exploring the grief of loss with gothic death doom melancholy! Losing someone you love sucks. It can weigh on you like a ton of bricks, suffocating in its pressure, some of the deepest and darkest melancholy one can feel. Many albums across genres have explored these themes, and one of my favorite metal albums from
Marianas Rest – The Bereaved – Album Review Read More »
Black, death, doom, and more! One of my favorite things about going to shows is discovering new bands. I have never gone to a metal show fully blind (though this one was close!), but there have been plenty of shows I have attended where I was only really familiar with 1 or 2 out of
Ulthar & Nightfell at Baba Yaga in Seattle, WA, February 7, 2026 – Concert Review Read More »
Impressive power doom that is crushing and bombastic! I don’t often consume doom, but when I do, I prefer…. Wait, this isn’t a beer commercial, and “the most interesting man in the world” doesn’t strike me as a doom connoisseur. However, it is true that I don’t gravitate toward doom as much as other genres,
Exxûl – Sealed into None – Album Review Read More »
Frosty post metal from the frozen tundra of…Rochester, NY! Pâro hails from Rochester, New York, but I would have thought they were from the frozen lands of Scandinavia after an initial listen. Post metal is a genre that always intrigues me but, like many genres these days, isn’t necessarily prescriptive enough on what to actually
Pâro – Sketches of an Unseen Realm – Album Review Read More »
Notable metal albums from 2025 that are required listening I love seeing end of year lists and am always fascinated to see how different they are from person to person, molded by what they gravitate to and what resonates. I have definitely broadened the genres and bands I listen to, but I still bias toward
My Top Metal albums for 2025: Top 25 full lengths, Top 2 EPs, 16 more to check out Read More »
Incredible doomy progressive death / thrash metal! US Progressive thrash / death band Sacrament is criminally unknown, subject to the fate that many bands on smaller labels, particularly those in the early Christian market, faced. They released 2 outstanding full lengths, but their best, in my opinion, was their 1989 debut, “Testimony of Apocalypse.” Fast
Testimony of Apocalypse / Agony in the Garden – Album Review Read More »
Dungeons & Dragons themed epic melodic doom infused with power! Behölder just released a new single today (which also includes an amazing ode to a Savatage classic), and I realize I am WAY overdue reviewing their debut album released back in April of this year. Have you ever had the experience where you discover a
Behölder / In the Temple of the Tyrant – Album Review Read More »
