I admit it, it has taken way too long to finish this piece. When this interview took place, it was still a week or so until the release of “Doom Decimation”. Some reviews were already out there, does Procession’s main man Felipe care about what the reviewers think about the album? Continue reading
I had a pretty extensive chat with bass player Johnny Hagel around the release of “In The Shadow Of The Inverted Cross” back in 2015, so when the chance appeared to speak to singer Anders Engberg about the brand new offering, “The Crowning Of The Fire King”, I didn’t hesitate.
Sweden has a long and rich history when it comes to epic, melodic doom metal. I don’t have to educate you about Candlemass of course, but lesser known bands as Sorcerer and Memory Garden, amongst others, are also part of the tradition. Below are a newer band carrying the same torch, first with the release of “Across The Dark River” back in 2014, and following it up with “Upon A Pale Horse”, their second for Metal Blade, released back in May this year. Continue reading
A few of you have probably noticed the stream of the excellent new EP “Stone Command” by Zodiac, the heavy/doom metal outfit from Brisbane, Australia. If you haven’t checked out those three tracks yet, go here and listen to them straight away. The EP is also just released on tape by the ever reliable Heavy Chains, if you prefer to have it on some kind of physical format. I guess there are more people than me who don’t know a lot about this promising act, so I hooked up with a couple of the members, mainly guitarist Leo, but singer Ben also popped in with a few answer, to learn about the past, present and future in the Zodiac-camp.
So, yet another year has passed, and it’s time to look back and reflect on what was. In this first of two parts where I look back at 2014, I will focus on Metal Squadron. Part 2 will dwell around the year in metal, with of course, my top 15 list for the year that is soon coming to an end. 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
Dean Tavernier is a musician I have the uttermost respect for. When “no one” cared for traditional metal back in the second half of the nineties, he was partly responsible for some cracking albums with Skullview. As I mentioned in the review of the new Stone Magnum-album, the Skullview-debut “Legends Of Valor”, contains some killer heavy metal, has a totally cult artwork and all the heavy metal- clichés one could dream of. A release that shaped my musical taste for years to come, and tempted me to dive deeper and deeper down in what has turned out to be a never ending hunt for obscure heavy metal. Continue reading
PROCESSION is definitely one of the finest new doom metal bands out there. The heavy riffs, the majestic voice of singer Felipe, the beautiful solos, everything about this band is perfect. Especially the way the band sounds on the new album “To Reap Heavens Apart”. Taking nothing away from “Destroyers Of The Faith” which was an excellent album, but this new one is simply amazing. Continue reading
Metal Squadron 