El Colosso – Forgotten Ancestors
Metal Obsession
by Rod Whitfield
3y ago
Another heavily underrated local act, this Melbourne band has been around for quite some time, and this is their second full-length album. Forgotten Ancestors finds them progressing strongly from their debut, 2017’s Pathways (which itself was excellent), winding out and really exploring their sound, and producing a highly cohesive work of bluesy-arse art that will appeal strongly to anyone who likes anything from Black Sabbath to Kyuss to Helm to Celtic Frost. And just about everything in between. This album is seven tracks, although 40-odd minutes’ worth, of pure ballsy stomp, with riffs apl ..read more
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Markus Saastamoinen – Puzzle Pieces
Metal Obsession
by Rod Whitfield
3y ago
A little background on Markus Saastomoinen: he is a Melbourne-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and currently frontman for extremely promising progressive heavy rock outfit Cirrus Crown. This is his debut solo record. And it’s an interesting ride, with a broad musical palette and good depth of songwriting. Opening with the short, evocative voice and piano piece A Strange Silence, the album proper kicks off in a style you might imagine, coming from a member of an Australian prog rock act, with its longest and most progressive track, Puzzle Piece. However, if you thought it was g ..read more
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Malcura – Malcura II
Metal Obsession
by Rod Whitfield
3y ago
Wow, talk about coining a sub-genre. Or at least getting as close to doing that as you can these days. This Aussie band features members of Annihilist, Orsome Welles and Kettlespider, and have created a sound that can only really be described, or categorised, as ‘instrumental flamenco prog rock’. As left of centre as that sounds. To further define it, since it may be a little hard to envision for the uninitiated, these guys create lengthy compositions with sprawling arrangements and high-level musicianship almost exclusively with flamenco guitars, bass and drums. And they do it without the ai ..read more
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Plini – Impulse Voices
Metal Obsession
by Rod Whitfield
3y ago
The new album from Sydney instrumental guitar prodigy Plini far from outstays its welcome. At eight tracks, only two of which stretch out to longer than five minutes, and under fourty minutes of music all up, it redefines the word ‘tasteful’. But, man oh man, does it pack a shitload into its running length. It’s difficult to nail down, or keep track of, all of the myriad musical styles Plini brings to the table here. He covers rock, pop, metal, prog, jazz, jazz fusion, smooth jazz (check out Pan, which at times resembles Kenny G on steroids, jazz-pop with thundering drums), blues, moments of ..read more
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HJELVIK – Welcome to Hel
Metal Obsession
by Matthew Hansen
3y ago
Ex-Kevelertak frontman Erlend Hjelvik is about to open the gates of Hel with his new solo project, a blackened viking heavy metal outfit in HJELVIK, who are due to release ‘Welcome to Hel’ on the 20th of November. Taking all that we love from a range of heavy genres, this record consists of a broad number of influences and inspirations but falls hard into its Nordic themes. Welcome to Hel is comprised of 10 tracks, all of which have their somewhat simplistic base – a fast tempo, heavy rhythmic sections, high pitch tweaking melodies scattered throughout and of course the harsh vocals that you ..read more
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AC/DC – Power Up
Metal Obsession
by Andrew McKaysmith
3y ago
Due to the long arc of their career, can anything AC/DC release at this point contribute to their legacy? Stick around because I’ve had a thorough listen to their new album, Power Up, and I’ve got an answer. On their 19th studio album (18 if both editions of High Voltage count as a single album), little, to absolutely nothing has changed. AC/DC are still the kings of the same bar-room bruisers they perfected on their debut, High Voltage (‘75). So even though Power Up sounds like every other Brian Johnson fronted album, it’s still the group’s most significant release in a generation due to the ..read more
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Scour – Black
Metal Obsession
by Chris Reid
3y ago
SCOUR are an extreme metal super group featuring Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down), John Jarvis (Agoraphobic Nosebleed), Derek Engemann (Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals), Mark Kloeppel (Misery Index), and Adam Jarvis (Pig Destroyer, Lock Up). The group play an intense brand of black metal which has strong foundations in grind and other extreme styles.  Scour have been around since 2015 and have released a reasonable amount of music in relatively short period of time, namely The Grey EP (2016) & The Red EP (2017). Their 3rd EP, The Black EP,  is due for release on November 27th ..read more
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Depravity – Grand Malevolence
Metal Obsession
by Aleksi Fraser
3y ago
The sophomore album in a band’s career usually ends up being a definitive statement in crafting their own sound. The likes of Ride the Lightning by Metallica, Hell Awaits by Slayer and Morbid Angel’s Blessed are the Sick are all fine examples of this. A band such as Depravity hailing from the most isolated city in the world in Perth, Australia can draw up it’s own connotations especially in the world of brutal death metal. Featuring members who have previously played for such local acts as Malignant Monster, The Furor, Entrails Eradicated and Inanimacy gives you an idea they weren’t messing a ..read more
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Pioneering Aussie metal drummer Matt ‘Skitz’ announces 2021 national tour.
Metal Obsession
by Metal Obsession
3y ago
One of Australia’s pioneering metal drummers, Matt ‘Skitz’ Sanders (Damaged, Blood Duster, King Parrot) will be blasting your ears and your minds with the announcement of a 2021 national tour across Australia. Your Mate Bookings and Blast Abyss will spearhead the national tour alongside Pearl Drums and Zildjian Cymbals. For the first time in his 33 years – “Skitz” will step up with a hand-picked crew of players and perform music originally recorded by a selection of peer-influencing bands in Australia’s metal scene – including Damaged, Manticore, Misery, Terrorust, and Hobbs Angel of Death. Sk ..read more
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Be’lakor tease new album studio updates.
Metal Obsession
by Metal Obsession
3y ago
Photo by: Mark Hoffmann Melbourne’s Progressive Death Metal masters, Be’lakor has recently dropped new updates from the studio regarding the release of their as of yet, forthcoming new album. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of Melbourne residents have been locked away for sometime and only recently have able to go outside and experience life once again due to changes in restrictions. With the easing of restrictions, Be’lakor is now back on track to complete their fifth studio album and follow up to the 2016 masterpiece Vessels. The news comes directly from the band’s social ..read more
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