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 »
My 2024 metal album of the year. Absolutely stunning symphonic metal that cannot be confined! I have been anticipating the new release from Boston area symphonic metal band Seven Spires for quite some time. “A Fortress Called Home” dropped this past Friday, and I wasn’t sure what to expect, even after reviewing the first 2
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Samurai symphonic death metal from Finland! I love finding new bands, particularly when they push genre boundaries and aren’t afraid of bombast and complexity. Such is the case with “Perdition,” the brand new release from Finland’s Karu. The most basic description would be symphonic death metal, but this is so much more, an orchestral cinematic
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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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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,
Aephanemer / Utopie – Album Review Read More »
Brilliant symphonic progressive metal that is cinematic and full of bombast! Festivals and Instagram friends are both great ways to discover new bands and albums. Israeli progressive metal band Scardust was announced in September that they would have their first US appearance at ProgPower in September 2026. I knew the name but wasn’t super familiar
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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,
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Cinematic theatrical symphonic metal that is melodic and heavy! It has been a pretty great year for symphonic metal so far. Legends Epica released a killer new album, Moonlight Haze’s latest is awesome, newcomers Tales of Time blew me away with their debut EP, and Crown Solace’s latest single has me excited for their new
Deep Sun / Storyteller – Album Review Read More »
Fun and inspiring symphonic power metal from Italy! Italian symphonic power metal band Moonlight Haze recently released their 4th album, “Beyond.” I have been following them for a bit but admittedly was only somewhat familiar with their earlier material, honestly moreso with Chiara Tricarico’s earlier work when she was with Temperance. I was excited to
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Cool symphonic metal debut with a progressive twist! UK symphonic metal newcomers, Tales of Time, just released their debut EP, “The Journey.” This is symphonic metal at its core, with operatic cleans and gutteral growls, great orchestration, and crushing guitars and drums. The keyboards are fantastic and complement the guitars well, and the bass guitar
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