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, […]
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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
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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
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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
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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 »
Seattle-based speed metal to kick off 2026! Seattle speed metal band Sölicitör headlined Friday, January 2, 2026, at The Kraken Bar & Lounge in Seattle. I literally had not even heard of the band until a couple weeks prior when metal show buddies Sara and Rob asked me if I wanted to go. I am
Sölicitör at The Kraken Bar & Lounge in Seattle, Jan 2, 2026 – Concert Review Read More »
Demon Hunter’s best since “The Triptych,” maybe their best period! American metal band Demon Hunter released their twelfth album last month, “There Was a Light Here.” I have been a Demon Hunter fan since the beginning, having seen their first tour well over 20 years ago and many many shows since, including their 20 year
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Wolven power metal with killer hooks and thrash sensibility! Lycanthropy: the supernatural transformation of a person into a wolf Lycanthro: An amalgam of lycantrophilia and various flavors of smoking hot metal that will tantalize your ears. Ottawa-based purveyors of wolven metal Lycanthro just released their sophomore album, “Remnants of Rapture,” and for this metalhead who
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