ambient
The second Caelestis record is a transitional one, as it is the missing link between the early ambient lounge sound, and the breezy alternative pop/rock they would adopt for the “Heliocardio” EP. It is the first to feature actual lyrics and vocals (both male and female) in each of
Dallas Toler-Wade
With their reputation established, a more or less stable line-up and the praise of the international metal press South Carolina band Nile had become comfortable within the little niche they had carved out for themselves over the years. With fans starting to salivate uncontrollably at the mere mention of
ambient
The first Caelestis album is vastly different from what the band would become just a few years down the line. It was started in 2009 as a solo project of Italian multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Cataldo Cappiello. Caelestis is an alternative way of writing ‘celestial’ which means in, or of
Adrian Erlandsson
At the Gates’ ascent into the popular mainstream metal conscious, and its subsequent descent into 90s crowd-pandering inanity and irrelevance is only offset by the band’s emotionally raw, atmospherically rich and utterly pummeling early catalogue that came before. The band’s posthumous elevation into the metal pantheon as
Aantar Lee Coates
Seven years after the last Diabolic record the Tampa, Florida blast unit returned with what should have been the second Unholy Ghost album. With three quarters of the original Unholy Ghost line-up accounted for on “Excisions Of Exorcisms” it is a question of why this album sounds more generic
Andrei Bouzikov
One of the more exciting additions of the retro-thrash metal pantheon must be Brazilian all-female power trio Nervosa. Coming to the world at large via Austrian label Napalm Records (a label that mostly specializes in gothic – and symfo metal) the trio combines several schools of American - and European
Bob Rock
After having set the world afire with its brash NWOBHM inspired debut, two records of cleverly written thrash metal, and a brief exercise into more technical realms San Francisco metal act Metallica decided to go into the exact opposite direction. It’s one of the most about face turns in
James Hetfield
…And then Cliff Burton died. With the untimely passing of its bass guitarist San Francisco thrashers Metallica lost its most valuable member. Burton was the band’s most technically accomplished member, and its most musically gifted – with his passing the band went through a difficult transition period, and “…And Justice
breezy
Polaris Rose is a relatively young pop/rock duo from Los Angeles. Emerging from the local indie scene, there’s definite appeal for mainstream stardom. The band plays an alternative rock tinged pop variant, redolent of Colby Caillat’s beach-pop, The Cardigans and more typical American bands in the
Cliff Burton
The third Metallica record “Master Of Puppets” is revered and held up to an almost god-like status. It is named as a pinnacle of thrash metal almost as much as Slayer’s venerable “Reign In Blood” record (although I personally prefer the album before and after, “Hell Awaits” and
Andreas Marschall
On its second record Florida tornado Hate Eternal settled into its own, and with the recruitment of South Carolina native Derek Roddy the unit found its most recognizable skinsman. Having cut his teeth in Malevolent Creation, Aurora Borealis and Divine Empire prior to his appearance on this album, noted mercenary
Cliff Burton
On its second album San Francisco thrash upstarts Metallica show what they were truly capable of. It was the first of two albums that the band would record at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark with famed producer Flemming Rasmussen. Interestingly, it was the last album to feature writing contributions