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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Brilliant extreme progressive metal with killer melodies and genius incorporation of saxophone! Progressive mixed with extreme has become one of my favorite forms of metal (along with various flavors of power and symphonic), and the quality of many releases in this subgenre has been sky high as of late. One band that had been on
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HEAVY progressive metal with great melodies and insane technical prowess! I was first introduced to Charlotte, NC, progressive metal band Nospūn at ProgPower last year, and I was blown away by their live performance and their incredible debut album, “Opus.” Rewind 11 years, and they were going by the name Ozai and recorded 5 songs with
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