Exodus - The Atrocity Exhibition - Exhibit A (2007)

Thrash Metal legends Exodus have released their new album The Atrocity Exhibition - Exhibit A. The band has come out smashing on all fronts and the album packs a lot of punch despite the band being around for quite a while and releasing several duds previously.




All in all, this album ranks better than Megadeth's recent release, and this year has been a great one for Thrash Metal - this is another fine addition to the list of strong releases.

Check out the great artwork on the album cover - brings back memories of a certain Slayer cover.

Check out The Atrocity Exhibition here and here.

Moonspell - The Great Silver Eye (2007) (Century Media)

Portugese Gothic and Doom Metallers Moonspell have released another album (their 15th in 10 years) - The Great Silver Eye. It is an epic masterpiece which surprisingly has much variety and depth. You not only get the requisite metal classics in the making, but also songs that include touches from other genres. The electronically-tinged Magdalene best illustrates this.

There are sweeping doom epics here, with a total of 16 tracks, this album should be a massive satisfaction for any Moonspell and doom metal fans. Melodic and often lifting at times despite their musical genre, Moonspell have produced yet another classic which will stand the test of time in years to come.

Find out more here.

Soilwork - Sworn To A Great Divide (2007) (Nuclear Blast)

The Swedish Death/Thrash Metal band Soilwork has released their new album Sworn To A Great Divide. It has been a long time coming and for one, I am really pleased with this album. The songs are fabulous and showcases even a wider repertoire and maturity in sound.

Soilwork is known for not following trends and establishing their beautifully textured sound in a scene which is filled with copycat bands. The hard aggressive nature is still present, but there is a higher melodic quotient with the clean vocals being featured more, without diluting the diamond-hard nature of the genre.

You may find out more here.

Metal CDs for Cheap!

Hi everyone, I have put up 3 CDs for sale on Ebay. If you wish to get these great titles for really cheap prices and in excellent condition (they are used, but I treat my CDs with loving care), do check them out and put up your bid fast:

Deicide - Scars Of The Crucifix Digipak with Bonus DVD
Entombed - Morning Star
Nightwish - Angels Fall First (with bonus track)

Thanks for looking and I appreciate all the support you have shown! It's been tough maintaining this blog and I would appreciate any support you can show me by purchasing my CDs (if you wish to).

Metal fans Unite!

Hammerfall - Steel Meets Steel (2007) (Nuclear Blast)

That enduring German Power Metal band, Hammerfall, has released a massive 2-CD compilation of all their best tracks. Containing 30 tracks, this album marks another milestone in the band's career. If you are a fan, you will love an album that will add to your collection. If you aren't a fan, you will appreciate this one-stop jukebox to find out if the band suits your tastes!

Find out more here, here, here and here.

Dragonland - Astronomy (Jap Release) (2006) (Century Media)

This is Power Metal at its grandest, most powerful and majestically melodic best! Astronomy was released last year and this Japanese release comes with a few extras. Sweden's Dragonland presents an orgasmic concept album that reveals their maturity in musicianship and there is not one dud contained within!

Listen to Astronomy here.

Bury My Sins - King Of All Fears (2007) (Guideline Records)

Bury My Sins release their new album King of All Fears on Guideline Records this month. While the album presents nothing new in terms of Metalcore records that has been piling up the past couple of years, there are enough hooks in the record to keep your head nodding and feet tapping. Nothing more I can say really - it's not a bad album, but it isn't an excellent one either.

Listen to it here and be the judge!

Amon Amarth - With Oden On Our Side (2007) (Metal Blade)

Everyone knows Amon Amarth. If you don't, you obviously do not know heavy metal! This album With Oden On Our Side came out earlier this year, and Alex from Metal Observer sums it up well:

"Basically we get all trademarks of the AMON AMARTH sound, the majestic, but still heavy riffs and leads of Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, the powerful drumming of Fredrik Andersson together with Ted Lundström’s pumping bass and, of course, Johan Hegg’s roar, everything packed into altogether faster compositions again, which still do not drift off into one-dimensionality and should satisfy every AMON AMARTH fan!"

Find out more here.

All Out War - Assassins In The House Of God (2007) (Victory Records)

Coming across more like a Slayer on extreme aggro instead of a metalcore act, All Out War released this album earlier in the year and took the metal world by storm. The thrash metal crunch is still alive, and kick-ass bass heavy riffs fill the album.

Sample theatrics open the album and the first riff bulldozes its way out of your speakers, instantly pummelling you into submission. There is plenty of healthy double-bass action peppered all over the release and like I mentioned, this puts a lot of Slayer's recent work to shame.

Find out more about Assassins In The House Of God here.

Violent Work of Art - Automated Species (2007) (Swedmetal)

They used to be a metalcore band, but now they have mixed it up with Industrial, Drum & Bass, Death, Metal - just about anything heavy that would crush your balls. A more streamlined version of Atari Teenage Riot with greater (traditional) structure and melody, they have now put out their first album and certainly worth a listen.

Listen to more of Automated Species here.

Steve Grimmett Band - Personal Crisis (2007) (Metal Heaven)

Grim Reaper vocalist Steve Grimmett has released an album of his own, from the Steve Grimmett Band (what else?). This will be out on Oct 24 and is pretty much a good effort in the hard rock vein with a slight nod towards Power Metal.

The tracks are relatively enjoyable but honestly, nothing memorable. Grimmett and band keep it pretty simple and melodies abound - most would sit down well with an arena rock crowd but somehow there just isn't a strong enough hook to hold this up as something a must-listen.

Still, if you are a hard rock fan, this certainly would not disappoint.

Listen to the album here.

Novembre - The Blue (2007) (Peaceville Records)

Italian Doom Metal practictioners Novembre will be releasing their new album The Blue on Peaceville Records on November 5. Produced by Mikko Karmila (Nightwish), this album has all the aspects of a great listen for me. Beautiful melodies and accoustical passages, wrapped by powerful and majestic heavy riffs. The 12 songs are all intertwined smoothly in a strange way, and somehow end up very memorable.

I have just started listening to the promo for a while so the review is short. If you are into melodic doom with a nice dash of death thrown into for good measure, be sure to check out Novembre's new album The Blue!

Sample the promo here and here.

Suicide Silence - The Cleansing (2007) (Century Media)

Suicide Silence produces a powerful mix of death metal, grindcore and hardcore in this new release The Cleansing. The band's sound features a pummelling force of chaos that crushes your eardrums (if tuned all the way up of course) - the production is crystal clear and provides a heavy low end that sits well with the bass heavy riffs.

There is a good mix of the extreme fast and ploddingly slow from 'The Price of Beauty' to 'Hands of a Killer'. And never one to crank up the speedometer just for the sake of showing how extreme they could go on the racetracks, Suicide Silence has released a very mature and killer death metal album that could possibly go down as one of the highlights of 2007.

Check it out here.

Behold... The Arctopus - Skullgrid (2007) (Black Market Activities)

Behold... The Arctopus will be releasing their new album Skullgrid this month. Widely lauded for their progressive sound, the album showcases more of their eclectic abilities with 7 new songs. While definitely technically excellent, I would be able to appreciate this more 10 years back when I was still attempting to be a guitar god or musical genius. Now, I prefer melody in my music - don't get me wrong, there are pretty flashes throughout this album, but not enough for me.

Still, fans would adore this, and there is less noodling compared to their other efforts available. Highly anticipated and certainly would go down well.

Find out more here.