Icy cold melancholic melodeath from Finland! Finnish band As the Sun Falls has been around for a few years and released a 4-song EP earlier this year in May called “Pohjoisen Sydän.” This is atmospheric, melancholic, and crushing melodic death metal, icy and cold in the Finnish tradition. All lyrics are in Finnish, so I […]
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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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Epic symphonic extreme folk metal from Australia! I love folk metal when it is done well. If you have figured me out at this point, you know that any metal that appeals to me most does its core elements exceptionally while adding in good variety, technicality, and some uniqueness. I was introduced to Australia’s Valhalore
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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
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Symphonic classic mastery collides beautifully with brutal death metal! I was a band kid for half of my school life, an accomplished clarinet player who sadly didn’t do much beyond high school. During this time, my appreciation for classical and baroque music grew. There isn’t anything quite like it, with the complex arrangements, various movements,
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Technical, melodic, & atmospheric sci-fi influenced progressive death metal! I love science fiction, having read many novels by greats such as Asimov, Bradbury, and Herbert, and though I don’t read as much as I used to, I always enjoy diving into modern sci-fi as well as revisiting the classics. Sci-fi and metal go so well
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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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Proggy blackened melodeath with Middle Eastern flair! I love discovering new music, especially bands that are not as big or well known, and extra special when they are practically in my backyard! I don’t exactly remember how I discovered Bellingham’s Inpathos, but I found them right after they released their latest full length, “Apparitions,” last month.
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Power metal meets melodeath in the Wild West! I was first introduced to Celestial Wizard in 2024, seeing them perform at Mad with Power and Mile High Power Fests, causing me to check out their 2022 release “Winds of the Cosmos”. I enjoyed their blend of power metal and melodeath and was curious to see
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Ludicrous speed power metal marries melodeath in expert fashion! Imagine an alternate timeline where Dragonforce grew up in Gothenburg and decided to emphasize extreme vocals while still maintaining some cleans, particularly on the choruses, while reveling (and even amping up) the long drawn out guitar virtuoso solos, but then ultimately decided to move to Canada.
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