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, […]
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
Gritty progressive metal with passion, heft, and a few wrinkles! Humanity struggles with change, and metalheads are at the forefront. Your favorite band puts out a new album, and it is a stark difference from previous output, and suddenly you are decrying their integrity. It happens in all genres, but it seems to result in
Soen / Reliance – Album Review Read More »
Guitars and keys for the win as traditional and power metal collide! I always enjoy discovering new bands, particularly ones that are not on my radar. I listen to a lot of music but can’t review everything, whether due to lack of time or simply following my rule of not reviewing things I dislike. Sadly,
Unchosen Ones – Divine Power Flowing – Album Review Read More »
Melody, power, and speed collide to tell an epic hero’s story! Greek power / speed metal band Valiant Sentinel was a new band to me, and though they have been around since 2018, they just recently released their second album, “Neverealm.” The themes are mythical and medieval, transporting you to a fantasy world where heroes
Valiant Sentinel / Neverealm – Album Review Read More »
Melodic and catchy symphonic metal with pop and hard rock sensibility! I felt like 2025 delivered a number of great symphonic metal releases, and 2026 appears to be promising with quite a few on the horizon already. Germany’s Beyond the Black has the honor of kicking off this trend with their 6th full length album,
Beyond the Black / Break the Silence – Album Review Read More »
Power and traditional metal collide with soaring melodies and a lot of speed and heft! Let’s face it, vocalist changes can easily be the hardest for a band to weather. A good vocalist generally functions as the face and identity of a band, and a change almost certainly means a different sound and dynamic. Seattle
Greyhawk / Warriors of Greyhawk – Album Review Read More »
Escape reality with Italian prog power goodness! Italy is synonomous with a lot of things, and one of those is power and progressive metal. It never ceases to amaze me the sheer number of quality bands and releases that have their roots in Italy. Such is the case with Italian progressive/power metal band Walls of
Walls of Babylon / Aeons Apart – Album Review Read More »
Symphonic power metal with amazing melodies and plenty of shred! Back in July (2024), I got an early preview of Florida power metallers Seven Kingdoms new EP “The Square,” which officially dropped a couple of weeks ago. I wrote an immediate response mini-review then, but here is an update now that I have both had
Seven Kingdoms / The Square – EP 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 »
