High Spirits is a band which you simply must hear, regardless of what type of metal is your favorite sub-genre. This band is the musical vison of multi-instrumentalist Chris Black, who has created some fantastic pieces of melodic heavy metal since 2009. There’s always light and shade in High Spirits’ albums, but the pure joy..
Blood Lightning – Blood Lightning (Ripple Music)
Formed in December 2020, Blood Lightning brings together the talents of vocalist Jim Healey (We’re All Gonna Die), guitarist Doug Sherman (GOZU), bassist Bob Maloney (Worshipper) and drummer J.R. Roach (Sam Black Church). Their style is heavily influenced by early Sabbath, with equal doses of classic Eighties heavy metal and some southern rock added over...
Spirit Adrift – Ghost At The Gallows (Century Media)
Started as a solo project by multi-instrumentalist Nate Garrett (ex-Gatecreeper) back in 2015, eight years later, Spirit Adrift is the closest they’ve ever been to a full-fledged band. The fifth album Ghost At The Gallows is coming out on August 18th via Century Media, following the longest, almost three-year gap between full-lengths. Garrett’s band has..
OWLBEAR – CHAOS TO THE REALM (Alone Records)
Now, it’s a well-known fact that a significant part of metal fans are also gamers (including board games nerds) and here’s a band that boldly embraces this fact. Actually, Owlbear is the name of one of the monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons game and you know, with just a glance at the cover artwork,..
Tailgunner – Guns For Hire (Fireflash Records)
It seems the NWOTHM revivalist wave that started more than fifteen years ago is still as vital as in the beginning. Just a glance at these guys’ band name and logo screams classic heavy metal and this is what you get, when hitting “play” for Guns For Hire, released last Friday. Featuring two ex-Midnight Prophecy..
The Night Eternal – Fatale (Ván Records)
I’ve been following these guys ever since their debut self-titled EP in 2019 and each of their releases has so far managed to exceed my high expectations. The debut full length Moonlit Cross easily topped my annual top-albums list with its fantastic take on classic heavy metal with a sinister and ominous mood. Fortunately, we..
Crossed Hearts – Forced Perspective (Church Recordings)
Look at that Velio Josto cover artwork – it just screams “old school”! And first impression didn’t lie, as Atlanta’s Crossed Hearts is another female-fronted classic metal band, which reminds me a lot of Blood Star and Lady Beast. Forced Perspective is released today, June 13th, through the label of Haunt mastermind Trevor William Church,..
Skinher – Heartstruck (Aural Music)
Greece has been a home for so many talented bands in all metal genres, that it becomes hard to follow the up and coming new albums. What caught my attention in this case was the totally old school cover artwork of Heartstruck, which happens to be the debut album of Skinher, a melodic heavy metal..
Haunt – Golden Arm (Iron Grip Records)
Our favorite workaholic Trevor William Church is back yet again with the seventh full-length Haunt album in less than six years. Golden Arm is coming out less than a year after Windows Of Your Heart and continues the path taken by Trevor back in 2017 – classic heavy metal, devoid of any modernisms, harkening to..
CENTURY – THE CONQUEST OF TIME (ELECTRIC ASSAULT RECORDS/ NO REMORSE RECORDS)
Back in December of 2020, the Swedish duo of Staffan Tengnér and Leo Ekström appeared out of nowhere with the cult cassette Demo MMXX, which boasted four songs of pure, classic, meat-and-potatoes heavy metal, of the right kind. Reissued and sold-out several times since, it proved the power of songcraft in metal, when a riff..