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Katatonia - Brave Murder Day

“Swedes second album including Anders `Blakkheim` Nystrom (Opeth, Diabolical Masquerade, Bewitched) is often considered the band`s best, though I`ve as yet only heard this one, reissued with `Sounds of Decay` as bonus (an EP`s worth of material released shortly after `Brave...` in the same vein, thou” read more

“Quel ramo della musica soul che volge all’ascolto più rilassato, e in definitiva più facile, imprime le proprie caratteristiche sul sesto lavoro in studio di Angie Stone. Siamo perciò in territorio Motown con un disco di grande classe che, scintillante negli arrangiamenti e interpretato magnifi” read more

Judas Priest - Painkiller

“`Painkiller` is a milestone album for a seminal band, albeit one that has endured recurring criticism in the 20+ years since it`s release, much of it warranted. Firstly, this is a frequently cheesy album, one scan of the liner notes showing that it's not above shooting for the lowest common denomina” read more

“Innanzitutto, bisogna mettersi d’accordo sui termini. Benché possa servire per introdurre il folk alle masse (o ai fanciulli, visto che il disco lo ha comprato mia figlia adolescente), questo non è un disco folk, in generale e tantomeno nella sua declinazione più britannica, visto che che il br” read more

Watchtower - Control & Resistance

“Though never top tier, these Texans tech-thrash debut `Energetic Disassembly` was an enjoyable mix of Slayer-meets-Rush aesthetics, hysterical vocals and memorable songs which, while far fetched, covered themes having resonance in the current state of world affairs (war, oppression, nuclear meltdown” read more

Alchemyst - Nekromanteion

“Sounding like the musical account of an estranged voice stranded in Hell with the devil`s own choir, this album eschews conventional song structures and follows it`s own left hand path, the shouted vocals relaying themes of fire, blood, snakes and the underworld atop some very infernal sounding blac” read more

Obtained Enslavement - Witchcraft

“This is a well played and atmospheric symphonic release with each of the 7 tracks having enough drive and fury to stop them sounding trite. It may lack the lyrical flair of Emperor (the most obvious comparison) and the Gollum-like vocals are definitely not to my taste, but the excellent musicianship” read more

Absu - Tara

“Perhaps the biggest challenge the Texans had to face on this - their fourth album - is that `Pillars of Mercy`is such a brilliant opener it was always going to be a tall order to fulfil the promise of that first track - an `Angel of Death` for black metal. To the band`s credit, they are relentless i” read more

A Childhood Memory in Vinyl

“I must have expressed an interest in music at a very young age for my mother to go and purchase the half-dozen albums from a Walgreen's ” read more

Vorum - Poisoned Void

“While the packaging for `Poisoned Void` is crappy (a monochrome digipak bereft of lyrics, photos or liner notes), thankfully the music contained within is not. As well as being tight as a nun`s chuff, the album is a deft mix of impetuous and crawling, baleful passages, venomous vocals and a lo-fi pr” read more

“Mi sono avvicinato a questo disco nella condizione migliore, cioè al buio più completo e ben predisposto dall’aver ascoltato alcuni giudizi positivi. Il primo incontro con la musica del siciliano Lorenzo Urciullo (al lavoro d’esordio sulla lunga distanza come Colapesce dopo un ep e un avvio di” read more

Krypts - Unending Degradation

“Finnish death metal debut which wisely avoids falling into the trap of making their songs too long, a weakness such bands with a doom-y slant are often guilty of. The vocals are generic but serviceable, and the ancient atmosphere nicely complements the lyrical content.

The result is a sati” read more

Necrowretch - Putrid Death Sorcery

“It`s satisfying to hear a band that is not ashamed to plunder it's genre's roots without coming across as contrived or calculated, and possibly the biggest strength of this French band`s debut is how authentically `old school` it is - even my jaded death metal ears could`ve been fooled into thinking” read more

Darkthrone - The Underground Resistance

“Like all the best bands, Darkthrone have long had a deep well of musical inspiration to draw from and they wear their 80s metal influences on their sleeves again here, much of the joy in this album (their 15th) lay in picking them out, be it vocally, lyrically or even, for example, in the introducti” read more

Kratos - Iron Beast

“This EP has a rough `n` ready `Kill Em All` quality which keeps it mildly engaging for the duration, but the material lacks imagination and is too rudimentary to warrant much replay value.

Far from the decade`s worst releases, `Iron Beast` is nevertheless redundant and forgettable in the” read more