Artist: In Vain Album Title: Solemn Label: Indie Recordings Date of Release: 19 April 2024 After a wait of six years, Norwegian progressive extreme metal band In Vain finally return with their latest album, ‘Solemn’. Never the most prolific of entities having only released four albums until now since their 2003 inception, it has still felt like a long time coming for album number five. Partly, this is due to the fact that 2018’s ‘Currents’ was utterly immense and, as such, there have been many of us impatiently awaiting the follow-up. It also hasn’t helped that we’ve been starved a little of ..read more

Artist: Words Of Farewell Album Title: Stories To Forget EP Label: Seek And Strike Date of Release: 29 March 2024 Masters of the EP, Words Of Farewell return with yet another truncated release for us all to wrap our ears around. Formed around 2006 and releasing three full-length albums to date, we’ve not been treated to an album from the German outfit since 2016, although ‘Stories To Forget’ represents the third EP since then. The cynic in me might cheekily wonder whether the sextet have it in them to write a consistent set of eight to ten tracks for an album these days, but I fully suspect ..read more

Artist: Volcandra Album Title: The Way Of Ancients Label: Prosthetic Records Date of Release: 1 March 2024 When someone on social media suggests an album to listen to if you like melodic black and death metal, I’m going to dive right in. You all know me by now – give me some heaviness and then lace it with melody and I’ll be happier than a pig in muck. It was inevitable that I’d immediately take the recommendation about Volcandra, then, with this, their second album, ‘The Way Of Ancients’. One look at the cover only further enhanced the likelihood of listening too, as it screams ‘I’ll like t ..read more

Artist: Before The Dawn Album Title: Archaic Flame EP Label: Napalm Records Date of Release: 8 March 2024 I’ve been aware of Before The Dawn since their debut album was released back in 2003, some twenty-one years ago now. The album sits on my shelf along with others from the band but, if I’m being truly honest, they have never been an absolute go-to for me over the years. Created by Tuomas Saukkonen as a ‘solo’ project away from his work with other bands, such as Dawn Of Solace, Black Sun Aeon, and more latterly Wolfheart, the melodic death metal band released an impressive seven records ov ..read more

Artist: Hand Of Kalliach Album Title: Corryvrekan Label: Prosthetic Records Date of Release: 23 February 2024 There’s something in the water right now in Scotland. The land to the North has never been the most prolific in terms of heavy metal exports, with only a small handful of names coming to mind when I try to think of examples. And yet, following on from Sgàile, Hand Of Kalliach are the second Scottish entity to turn my head this month. It’s a small world, too, because it transpires that I could actually wave to Hand Of Kalliach once every couple of months, as I travel by train over the ..read more

Artist: Torchia Album Title: Arcane Magicae Label: Independent Release Date of Release: 9 February 2024 I knew I recognised the name when I saw it. I reviewed Torchia’s previous album, ‘The Coven’ back in 2020 but, aside from a faint recognition of the band’s name, I could remember precious little else. It turns out that the Finn’s sophomore album was OK, but not particularly groundbreaking, resulting in a review to match. Still, I’m all about second chances and that means I decided to check out Torchia’s third full-length studio release, ‘Arcane Magicae’ when news of its existence filtered ..read more

Artist: Dwarrowdelf Album Title: The Fallen Leaves Label: Northern Silence Productions Date of Release: 2 February 2024 My increased presence on social media since the turn of the year has been hugely positive on the whole, not just for the fun interaction I am experiencing with old friends and new acquaintances alike, but because of the sudden influx of recommendations from all directions. The latest is ‘The Fallen Leaves’ by Dwarrowdelf. I’d never heard the name before and now that I have, I can’t shake the feeling that the name was born through overhearing a three-year-old trying to take ..read more

Artist: Hiraes Album Title: Dormant Label: Napalm Records Date of Release: 26 January 2024 It never ceases to intrigue me how, as humans, we have such different subjective opinions about things. Our favourite foods, our favourite colour, and most importantly I might argue, our favourite music. And then, even when we have a favourite type of music, there will be bands or artists that fit into that niche genre that we don’t like as much as others. Or that we don’t like at all. I could explore this topic all day, but I have a review to write. Mind you, as will become clear in a moment or two, i ..read more

Artist: Upon Stone Album Title: Dead Mother Moon Label: Century Media Records Date of Release: 19 January 2024 I’m late to this particular party, for which I apologise. However, had it not been for a sudden influx of social media posts referencing this album, I’d probably still be none the wiser. Despite being released on one of the biggest labels in the world of metal, it completely slipped past me unnoticed. And that, as it turns out, would have been a huge shame, for this is an album that’s worthy of a little exploration. First though, some background. Based upon the music that assaults y ..read more

Artist: Ryujin Album Title: Ryujin Label: Napalm Records Date of Release: 12 January 2024 Like all good New Year’s resolutions, I’ve broken another before we’re two weeks into 2024. I said to myself that I’d not review any album that is only available as a stream, because it’s so difficult to give it the time and attention that it deserves, as I’m severely hindered by a hectic life. A full-time job, children, a dog, family, friends, and the never-ending search for my ‘Mrs Of Much Metal’ (don’t ask!) means that I have precious little time to be chained to my WiFi listening to a streamed promo ..read more