Aeternus was formed by Ares (vocals, guitars) in 1993 in Bergen, Norway, since when the band have combined Black and Death Metal in the genre known as Dark Metal, which also bring in elements of classical and folk music. They have had multiple different line-ups over...

Even though I am seemingly incapable of remembering the names of people I see every day, I do have this weird ability to look at a band name and know if I have ever reviewed them in the past. So when I was offered this release, the bells went off, and a quick trawl...

Speech Act Theory is a project by New Zealand producer and musician Pete Hickman which allows him to explore his vulnerable side, putting his insecurities out there for all to see. Musically this brings together elements of Alternative, Shoegaze, Electronica and pop,...

Although Finnish quartet Sigir were only formed in 2019, three of the four had previously been in Ritual of Terror together so already knew how they played so consequently this feels like a far more polished outfit than one might expect. Paavo Luttinen (bass), Eetu...

On this album Russ Spiegel (electric and acoustic guitars), Jim Gasior (organ), and Lucas Apostoleris (drums) are joined on some tracks by multi-Grammy Award winning trumpeter Brian Lynch and Grammy nominated saxophonist Tim Armacost along with trombonist Javier Nero,...

This sludge/doom trio hail from Strasbourg, and comprise of Thibault Bru on drums, Benjamin Simon on bass/vocals, and Renaud Deschamps on guitars/vocals. The three were founder members of The Pledge of Cain back in 2005, although Bru left a few years before their...

Over the last few years I have been fortunate enough to have been able to hear Gramsci’s two most recent albums, ‘Inheritance’ and ‘The Hinterlands’, so I was quite surprised to hear that Paul McLaney had decided to release a solo album. I was even more taken aback...

DiRubbo is back with his tenth album as band leader, this time with a new quartet featuring organist Brian Charette, drummer Jongkuk Kim, and guitarist Andrew Renfroe while of course he gives us alto sax. There is an obvious and important bassline throughout, but I am...

Here we have the eighth album from Lynch Mob, the first since 2017’s 'The Brotherhood', and apparently is the last one as George Lynch has decided to call time on the band after 35 years. Mind you, there is an 18-month long tour to get through first so anything could...

Left To Rot (LTR) is an Austin, Texas-based death metal band formed in 2021 by guitarist/vocalist Jason Dahlke and drummer Justin Olejnik who soon brought in bassist Aryan Nawim. They released a four-track demo that year, following it up with a single in 2022 before...

Here we have the debut album from guitarist Joe Wittman, who has been accompanied by bassist Daniel Duke and drummer Keith Balla, who together have played hundreds of gigs together since Wittman arrived in New York. Recorded in a live room, one thing I immediately...

Everything about this release screams old school atmospheric black metal from the logo through the album art and the obligatory black and white promo photo taken in a forest. The only thing really missing is snow, but these guys are from Hungary and not Scandinavia,...

One-man Black Metal bands can be quite hit and miss, as for each one that works there are many that totally miss the mark, but this debut never comes across as the work of just one guy plus a session drummer. What we have here is a side-project from Swiss musician...

Here we find guitarist Dave Stryker with Jared Gold (organ) and McClenty Hunter (drums) along with guest Bob Mintzer (saxophone). The trio plus Mintzer have been undertaking tours together with Mintzer as a special guest and now they have gone into the studio to...

This is not really an album I would ever have expected from Carsten, and indeed his name is in rather small print at the bottom of the cover showing he provided the music and lyrics. He graduated from The Royal Danish Academy of Music as a classical saxophonist and is...

Over the last decade or so I have reviewed Carsten’s solo albums, having first come across him when he was working with Robin Taylor, and I have always enjoyed his wonderful sax playing combined in multiple different styles. Here we find him moving into instrumental...

I was somewhat surprised to see this album is from 2017, as the thought process behind it make me think very much of some of the projects which came out during the pandemic. The concept was simple, provide 26 graphic artworks to musicians who were then asked to...

Like many others, I first became aware of Jimmy when he joined Spock’s Beard as their live drummer so Nick could concentrate on vocals when he took over from Neal, and then after Nick’s own departure he stayed in the seat. I had seen the Beard a few times with Neal,...