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
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Progressive metal from Hungary incorporating symphonic, gothic, and death metal notes with a heavy dose of cinematic flair! I stumbled upon Hungary’s Meteora back in November via an Instagram ad letting me know about their at the time recently released EP, “Broken Mind.” I liked the clip I heard, and after diving in for a
Meteora – Darkest Light – 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 »
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 »
HEAVY gothic symphonic metal with cinematic flair! I rarely review EPs, but this one smacked me so hard that I had to! Meteroa hails from Hungary and recently released this 4-song EP, “Broken Mind.” This is heavy symphonic gothic metal with wonderful orchestration and a heavy helping of death metal. Crushing guitars, intense drums, killer
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Dark symphonic gothic metal that is beautifully haunting! Beautifully haunting, mesmerizing, enchanting, enveloping…these are what come to mind when listening to the latest release from Dutch symphonic gothic metal band Blackbriar. “A Thousand Little Deaths” was released in August and has remained in my regular listening rotation since then. I fondly remember first discovering Blackbriar,
Blackbriar / A Thousand Little Deaths – Album Review Read More »
Haunting gothic death doom with blackened edges! My love for the recent Tribunal album has IG recommending more doom to me, helping discover Aeonian Sorrow, a collaboration between Greek and Finnish musicians (including members from Red Moon Architect). The band recently released a 4-song EP, “From the Shadows,” but at 31 minutes and only one
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Epic orchestral gothic death doom! Finding new bands can sometimes feel like a large coincidence. It was the week of Hyperspace Metal Festival in early April. Amidst various related posts, IG surfaces an album release show in mid-May for a band I was unfamiliar with, but I thought they sounded cool. Then, while waiting in
Tribunal / In Penitence and Ruin – Album Review Read More »
Atmospheric Gothic Death Doom that takes time to build! Finnish gothic death doom metal band Swallow the Sun released their latest album, “Shining,” in October 2024. The death and doom elements are less prevalent than “Moonflowers”, though still show up at opportune times. There is tons of atmosphere and dynamic contrast as with previous releases,
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