Just like the recently covered Blade Killer, Chicago’s own Crusader is a relatively new heavy metal-band that has been given the chance to spread their music in physical format through one of the most hyperactive labels out there, Stormspell Records. While Blade Killer just put out their first EP, Crusader released theirs a couple of years ago. Right now, they’re ready to unleash their debut full length on the heavy metal audience. Continue reading
The first part of this feature consists of an interview I conducted with main man Christian Horton in September 2011. I decided to include it for a couple of reasons. It has never been published online before, it covers many aspects of the time around and between the releases of the band’s self titled debut and the follow up “Dawn Of Infinity” and it’s also a damn good read, due to Christians interesting and in depth answers even when my questions turned just a little bit critical. Continue reading
It certainly doesn’t seem that it will end soon, the stream of new US bands heavily influenced by the NWOBHM. In many cases we are talking about musicians with a background from other genres of metal who now wants to try their luck at replicating or creating something similar to the wave that washed through Great Britain more than thirty years ago. Continue reading
1. SLOUGH FEG ”Digital Resistance” (Metal Blade)
– Will this band ever disappoint? Quality as we come to expect it from Mike Scalzi & Co. Simply put – a metal institution!
2. DARK FOREST “The Awakening” (Cruz Del Sur)
– Awesome twin guitars and some really huge choruses. Is it diverse enough to stand the test of time? Continue reading
Ever since Realmbuilder released their first album, “Summon The Stone Throwers” during the spring of 2009, I have considered the band to be something really unique in today’s heavy metal scene. Call them epic metal, call them doom metal, or call them heavy metal, it really doesn’t matter, as long as the duo, consisting of Czar and JH Halberd continues to carve out their own path, far away from most contemporary acts. Continue reading
Just like the last band I featured, Cromlech, Texas based Cruxiter is an up and coming act who has just released their debut album. As many bands had to do during the nineties, when traditional metal really went underground, Cruxiter has put out their album on their own, without the support of a label. Continue reading
1. REALMBUILDER “Blue Flame Cavalry” (I Hate)
– Their best effort so far. Still weird and original, but also a bit easier to get into.
2. STONE DAGGER “Demo” (Self released)
– Epic metal with the singer from Magic Circle. Tape only, 7″ coming up!
Cromlech out of Canada just released their first album through Italy’s My Graveyard Records. The band is far from the finished article yet, but the strong self confidence they seemingly possess as well as their desire to do things their own way, resulting in a quite original form of epic metal, are reasons good enough to warrant a feature here at Metal Squadron. The five guys gathered at band practice to answer my questions. Continue reading
What a year 2013 must have been for Brian Ross. Not only was “Life Sentence”, the comeback album from Satan (go to the bottom of the page to check out the long interview I did with Steve Ramsey) released to rave reviews, the charismatic and highly original singer also managed to put out the first Blitzkrieg album in six years. We’ll touch on both subjects in this interview of course, along with Metallica, Judas Priest and the new compilation album. Continue reading
(Photo: Luis Jordão) Just when I thought it was pretty safe to think about relaxing in front of the stereo with this year’s finest offerings of heavy metal, Portugal’s Ravensire unleashes a beast of an album on Eat Metal Records. In my opinion, “We March Forward” is a huge improvement on the “Iron Will”-EP, with new singer Rick Thor adding more power and aggression to the band’s sound. Continue reading
With their blend of seventies hard rock, heavy metal and doom metal, Argus out of Pennsylvanias in the US has established themselves as one of the finest new bands to grace the scene during the last five years.
Seemingly out of nowhere rises The Unholy, another promising Portuguese act, following great newer bands like Ironsword, Ravensire and Midnight Priest. However, apart from sharing some members with the latter, The Unholy doesn’t have much in common musically with the aforementioned acts, as they have a sound that is close to the more melodic US metal bands from the second half of the eighties. Continue reading
1. SOLSTICE “Death’s Crown Is Victory” (Self released)
– EP with two killer long tracks as well as two cool instrumentals. Long enough to convince, short enough to leave you wanting more.
2. RAVENSIRE “We March Forward” (Eat Metal)
– What an improvement on the EP! Raw, epic and heavy. It doesn’t get more metal than this! Continue reading
2013 has been a marvellous year for heavy metal. Seldom have we been flooded by such a quantity of great releases, and it looks like an impossible task to create a personal top ten list as the year draws to an end. One thing is certain though, the self titled debut from Borrowed Time out of Detroit, Michigan is certain to figure. Hell, I am sure it will be in my top three. You can read my full review of the album somewhere else on this site, so let’s just keep it short and simple here: This album rules! Continue reading
Since releasing their demo “The Shadow Era” back in 2007, Altar Of Oblivion has managed two full length releases as well as an EP. So far, everything has had quality written all over, and there is no reason not to believe the band will be able to keep the high standard also in the future. Continue reading
I remember I got a bit excited when the news reached me that Metal On Metal Records had signed a new doom metal-band with Forsaken-bassist Albert Bell in their ranks. I was already familiar with Albert’s work in Forsaken of course, and kind of sensed that the result yet again would be some high quality melodic doom metal.
1. Borrowed Time “Borrowed Time” (High Roller)
– A refreshingly different take on pure heavy metal. Some cool ideas. Lots of identity.
2. In Solitude “Sister” (Metal Blade)
– Great album, but so far I prefer the more metallic approach of the last album.
Some people tend to believe that the interest in pure heavy metal represent some kind of resurgence indictating that the genre was dead and buried until Earache, Nuclear Blast and Metal Blade (again) started signing new heavy metal-acts. The fact is, heavy metal was never dead in the first place. It never died during the nineties, it just went pure underground, many hundred meters below the point where it is at today. There were some terrific stuff released during the early nineties, some killer releases, self financed or on small, independent labels that never were heard by the masses since the once great publications (Metal Hammer, Rock Hard, Metal Forces and so on) suddenly started dissecting garbage and the big breakthrough for the Internet was yet to happen. So what does all this have to do with Assembly At Dusk, a quartet hailing from New Haven, Connecticut in the US?
Continue reading
If you haven’t read the interview I did with Manuel Trummer when Atlantean Kodex released the acclaimed debut, “The Golden Bough”, you should visit https://metalsquadron.com/2012/11/02/atlantean-kodex-maybe-frazer-was-right/ for an insight into the early days of the band as well as all the details on the first album. For this new interview, conducted by phone, once again with Manuel, the focus is mainly on the brand new album “The White Goddess”, but I also tried to catch up on some of the questions and some of the themes from the last interview. Continue reading
With their new album coming out on High Roller Records in mid-September, it was time to hook up with bass player Ryan Waste for the full story on a band that with “On The Edge” shows a lot of improvement on the EP “Shocking Its Prey”, released through Heavy Artillery back in January 2011. Continue reading
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