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Tools for Discovery: Turbo Albums Ranked
Along with Kat and TSA, Turbo was among the first heavy metal bands to come out of Poland around 1980, though one could argue that Turbo’s early work has as much in common with seventies hard rock as it has with heavy metal. As with many veteran bands, their history…
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Interview Javier Valdi: Trying to Create Something Different
Modern instrumental metal often is a vehicle for virtuosity. But while Spanish guitarist Javier Valdi is a highly skilled player – and not afraid to show it – the main focus on his five-song EP ‘Serendipia’ is on memorable riffs and strong melodies. “You have to keep it interesting”, Valdi…
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Album of the Week 47-2025: Ningen Isu – Mahoroba
Like clockwork, Ningen Isu releases another album just over two years after their last one. For many bands, a release schedule like that would inevitably lead to running on auto-pilot after a while. But even though Ningen Isu has a sound that is immediately identifiable, the Japanese power trio somehow…
Latest Interviews
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Interview Laurens Houvast (Cryptosis): “We Wanted to Create Our Own Blend of Styles”
With their fantastic 2021 debut ‘Bionic Swarm’, Cryptosis presented itself as a surprisingly accomplished progressive thrash metal band. On the recently released ‘Celestial Death’, the Dutch trio explores the boundaries of their sound a little more, openly flirting with black metal influences. Vocalist and guitarist Laurens Houvast evaluates the evolution…
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Interview Simon McBride: “I Want to Give People Something Different”
Joining hard rock legends Deep Purple introduced Northern Irish guitarist Simon McBride to a significantly larger audience than ever before. The release of ‘Recordings 2020-2025’ gives his new audience a chance to get familiar with McBride’s own material and the way he handles cover songs. McBride sheds some light on…
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Interview Mark Morton: “This Is How I Play at Home”
Mark Morton’s lead guitar style in Lamb of God has been displaying a looseness that betrays a more varied musical background throughout the band’s history. On his second solo album ‘Without the Pain’, Morton fully immerses himself in southern rock and country music. His joy of playing this kind of…
Latest Reviews
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Album of the Week 07-2025: Ereb Altor – Hälsingemörker
Most bands strongly influenced by Bathory circa ‘Hammerheart’ or ‘Twilight of the Gods’ don’t get around to developing their own style. Some might tweak things a bit – better vocals, either more or fewer extreme metal passages – but very few manage to actually turn the influence into something completely…
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Album of the Week 06-2025: Obscura – A Sonication
Allegations of plagiarism, as well as the fact that it is the fourth Obscura album – and the second consecutively – to feature a completely different line-up around vocalist and guitarist Steffen Kummerer, caused many people to have an opinion on ‘A Sonication’ before even having heard any of the…
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Album of the Week 05-2024: Jinjer – Duél
Jinjer is the best live band I have seen in recent years. The way the Ukrainian quartet manages to play their demanding music without sacrificing even the tiniest bit of their unbridled energy is something the contemporary metal scene could use a lot more of. Their studio albums generally don’t…
Kevy Metal 