#frontiersmusic — Public Fediverse posts

Cro-Mags have unleashed "Wired For Chaos," their first new music in six years and debut release for BLKIIBLK.

The new track takes inspiration from the recent Wired For Chaos documentary.

Details: https://metalinsider.net/video/cro-mags-unleash-first-new-song-in-six-years-wired-for-chaos

#CroMags #HarleyFlanagan #WiredForChaos #NYHC #Hardcore #CrossoverThrash #BLKIIBLK #FrontiersMusic #MetalNews

Seems like the Filtration system is overburdened once again. Normally, my minions have to scavenge much longer to pick things up this early in the year, but 2026 is proving to be rich in moderately precious metallic ore. That just means I gotta push my team even harder to pull greater loads of filth from the ducts!

As I send them in for yet another round, please enjoy the spoils thus far exploited. BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Tattered Tome

Overtoun // Death Drive Anthropology [February 13th, 2026 – Time to Kill Records]

Chilean progressive death thrash outfit Overtoun is what you get when you mix old school Death and Atheist with the proggier side of Pestilence, then amp the thrash up by a half turn. At a lofty 50 minutes, you’d expect third release Death Drive Anthropology to drag on, but to make that assumption is to criminally underestimate Overtoun’s creativity and versatility. Opening up the throttle in fine form, the one-two punch of “What Unites All (ft. Max Phelps) and “The Final Beat” manages to encompass many of these Chileans’ songwriting and performance skills in a scant 10 minutes. More introspective, nuanced songwriting takes center stage throughout Anthropology’s midsection, balancing smart melodies and minimalist atmosphere with complex guitar layering, proggy structures, and shreddy wizardry (“Dur Khrod,” “Jade, Gold, Obsidian,” “Yurei,” “Weeping”). The three-part “The Waves Suite” suite adds a mystical character to the affair that blends remarkably well with Overtoun’s more overt political messaging and emotional textures, which helps carry the record through its lengthy runtime without causing fatigue. It’s a neat record that’s modestly blemished by a bass presence that begs for more weight and wildness, especially considering the raw talent on hand. Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a creative, thoughtful, and sophisticated entry into the death/thrash progosphere, Death Drive Anthropology makes a strong case.

Andy-War-Hall’s Primordial Pick-Up

The Grand Myth // Of Vultures and Dragons [February 26th, 2026 – Suncrusher Recordings]

I have a grossly limited capacity for seriousness. Yeah, I like my death metal progressive, technical, and thoughtful, much the way Brandon Bordman’s The Grand Myth deliver it on their latest record, Of Vultures and Dragons, but sometimes I just want fun, too. Of Vultures and Dragons, an adaptation of Ethan Pettus’ novel series Primitive War1 in which a rescue team searches a Vietnamese jungle for a missing platoon of Green Berets and fights for their lives against dinosaurs, has fun in spades. Utilizing a many-layered guitar attack (“Symbiotic Death”), shifting and propulsive rhythms (“Through the River Styx”), a wide cast of voice actors for brief narrative bits2 and surprisingly bright tones (“Agony”), The Grand Myth’s approach to progressive death metal isn’t revolutionary, but it’s deeply refreshing and engaging regardless. Though an absolute blast, The Grand Myth doesn’t spew embarrassingly stupid levels of campiness with their sci-fi dinosaur theming like Victorius. Rather, Of Vultures and Dragons can be fairly emotionally effective at times thanks to Bordman’s emotive clean/harsh vocals and elaborate soloing (“Pyre,” “Agony”). Nobody asks about your favorite dinosaur anymore,3 so feed your inner kid with The Grand Myth’s Of Vultures and Dragons now!

Saunders’ Sunken Shards

Puscifer// Normal Isn’t [February 6th, 2026 – Alchemy Recordings]

After losing track of recent offerings, I reacquainted myself with the latest LP from Puscifer, leaving me pleasantly surprised in the aftermath. The project featuring Tool/A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan returned for their first hit out since 2020’s Existential Reckoning. Normal Isn’t finds the shape-shifting project embracing its quirky, gothy industrial rock and electronic elements through an angsty filter of guitar-driven arty rock, post-punk, and infectious songcraft. Age should not weary Maynard, as he still sounds angry, cynical, and on point vocally through a mostly engaging, catchy bag of tunes. The dueling vocal melodies with collaborator Carina Round’s ghostly singing work a treat amidst jittery beats, angular riffs and strong electronic overtones. Rhythmically, it is an interesting ride, drummer Gunnar Olsen putting in a top-notch performance, while there is a vaguely progressive edge underlying the hook-centric songwriting. Opener “Thrust” sets the album in motion with sticky hooks, a darkly humorous, unhinged Maynard performance, and a dose of spite. Other key highlights include “Bad Wolf,” “Self Evident,” “A Public Stoning,” and “ImpetuoUs.” Puscifer made a fine return with Normal Isn’t.

Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows // Inexorable Opposites [February 6th, 2026 – Magnetic Eye Records]

You’ve gotta love a sneaky name drop from our trusty commentariat. It has led to many great discoveries over the years. On this occasion, one of our dear commenters enlightened me to Melbourne psych-blues-doomers Jack Harlon & the Dead Crows with fourth LP, Inexorable Opposites. And it didn’t take long absorbing this latest slab of rustic Aussie coolness to be struck by the album’s slow-burning, addictive power, and gritty tones. Boasting an expansive, rugged sound built on layers of distortion and a weighty blend of psych-drenched blues and doom heaviness. Jack Harlon & the Dead Crows features old school, outlaw-driven lyrical content from mastermind and vocalist/guitarist Tim Coutts-Smith, meshing fictional tales of woe and adventure of character Jack Harlon, with relatable real-life struggles. Through the fuzz, thick jammy vibes, and Coutts-Smith distorted, menacing Aussie drawl, catchy songcraft shines through the muck and psych haze. From the tense, stoner-infected grit and catchy hooks of opener “Moss,” through to the stormy outback balladry of closer “To Die,” Inexorable Opposites is a hard-hitting, riffy delight, further evidenced through scorched earth, infectious cuts like “Venomous,” “Seer,” and the trippy, drug-addled “Mt. Macedon.”

Grin Reaper’s Reaped Recluse

Cold Communion // Monuments to Ruin [February 13th, 2026 – Self Released]

Melodic death/doom isn’t a genre I dabble in often, but every now and again, one of its bands thwarts my defenses and wraps their tendrils around my precious listening time. Durham, North Carolina’s Cold Communion is one such band, featuring Barre Gambling (Daylight Dies) on guitar and Tim Rowland (Alchemy of Flesh, Silent Vigil) on everything else. If that sounds like an unfair split, take a spin and reassess, because Gambling’s performance defines Cold Communion’s melancholic character as much as Rowland’s emotive growl. Forgoing any long-form doom epics, Monuments to Ruin’s longest song comes in at five-and-a-half minutes, with the entire album clocking just forty-five. It’s a tidy platter, and both in song composition and mood shares ample common ground with Finnish sadbois Insomnium. Besides Monuments’ superior production, songs like “A Stillness Survival” and “When the Light Breaks” wouldn’t feel out of place on Across the Dark or One for Sorrow. And despite the somber trappings one might expect from doom-adjacency, there’s plenty of lively riffing and solos to find across Monuments to Ruin, adding a touch of boom to the gloom. In the end, Cold Communion doesn’t reinvent the genre or break new ground, but Monuments to Ruin offers a comfy chair by the fireside on a freezing cold day, and I’m perfectly content with that.

Mossgiver // Renewer [February 6th, 2026 – Sij MusicArt]

Atmospheric black metal often contrasts the beautiful with the bestial, typically prioritizing moods over hooks. ‘Twas a delight, then, to unearth Mossgiver’s Renewal, which deftly combines the two. Weaving together hypnotic passages flooded with strings, piano, flute, synths, double bass rolls, and the requisite blackened tremolos,4 Mossgiver’s mastermind Tilen Šimon (Ueldes) delivers the band’s best record to date. Above all, Renewer sounds like a celebration of nature in the vein of Autrest and Cân Bardd, evoking a whispering wind whipping at leaves or sunlight dappling a brook shaded by oaks and maples. Beyond the well-crafted soundtrack for a walk through the woods, Mossgiver etches emotion into the nooks and crannies of Renewer’s five tracks. From rousing string orchestrations (“I Bring the Spring with Me”) to soft-and-heavy tradeoffs pitting clean guitar and pan pipes against distorted guitar and blast beats (“Renewer”), Mossgiver shimmers with a lush backdrop of instrumentation rife with playfulness and pensiveness. The trio of primary songs5 revolve around powerful melodies that evolve over each track’s duration, with assorted instruments coming in and out to push refrains along. Renewer’s brisk thirty-four minutes showcase Mossgiver’s sticky compositions and leave me whistling its melodies for days at a time. Now throw on your hiking boots and get lost in the Moss.

Ossomancer // Banebdjed’s Path [February 28th, 2026 – Esoteric Evocations]

Six-and-a-half years removed from Ossomancer’s debut Artes Magickae, lone wolf and mastermind Kamose returns to tread Banebjed’s Path. Bursting with references to mythology and mysticism, Banebjed’s Path rumbles and shakes with arcane thunder. Although the backdrop and track names might recall the frenzied onslaught of Nile, Ossomancer instead conceives a realm recalling Aeternam, Iotunn, and Naglfar. Despite the scant thirty-four-minute runtime, Banebjed’s Path sprawls across diverse landscapes and textures. Opener “The Ogdoad Arrangement and the Osirian Creation” oscillates between In Flames melodies and a slinky crawl that could pass for a 90s Geddy Lee bass line played over synth injections from Rush’s 80s era. Follow-up track “Sobek – Cosmic Vibrations Devoured” features Kreator-bred riffing, while closing duo “A Sea of Sand, a Silver Star” and “Retraction into Kether” synthesize the ethereal atmospheres of Iotunn with the blackened assault of Naglfar. Through it all, Ossomancer sounds fabulous, as Banebjed’s Path flaunts an enviable DR 8 and a bodacious mix that spotlights its burly bass performance. Ossomancer’s sophomore outing is crammed with meloblack goodies, and though it’s not a long trek, the journey down Banebjed’s Path far transcends its distance.

Tyme’s Danish Dalliance

Ædel Fetich // Ædel Fetich [February 20th, 2026 – Deadbanger Productions]

That blinged-out pink dish-glove-clad hand is what first drew me to Denmark outfit Ædel Fetich’s self-titled debut. Then I clicked play and was taken on one of the more compelling “black” metal rides in recent memory. With roots primarily buried in the soil of the traditional second-wave, Ædel Fetich is rife with moments of rifferous tremolodic speed (“Ridderlig Lider,” “Madras”) and absolutely berserk guitar chaos (“Sort Magi”). There’s a Trhä-like sense of experimentation, and the rawness of the production enhances the oft-changing compositions, which, like weather in the Midwest, often shift on a dime without warning. Luckily, Ædel Fetich’s adept songwriting organically smooths these transitions, which could have easily come off stilted and jarring, but makes drawing direct comparisons to the Ædel Fetich sound difficult, as there’s a spectrum of other influences at play. There are tracks packed with punky punch (“Et Liv Fuld af Fejl,” “Ildtang”) or imbued with folky reverence (“Mit Billede af Dig”) and even some 80s pop—fans of the movie Flashdance shouldn’t have a problem finding the poppy easter egg hiding near the end of “Sort Magi.”6 Far and away the star of the show, however, is singer Skvat, whose performance is filled with as much black metal bravado as it is theatrical exuberance, his arsenal of shrieks, growls, hoots, howls, and operatic baritonations a refreshing treat, akin to if Mike Patton woke up one day deciding to record a Danish black metal album. Bottom line is, I really dig Ædel Fetich and think you will too.

Creeping Ivy’s Ashen Afterthought

Belzebong // The End is High [February 20th, 2026 – Heavy Psych Sounds]

In my humble opinion, lyrics are key to making stoner metal more than novelty music. If you’re referencing reefer in your album art, band name, and song titles, at least keep the reeferisms out of the songs themselves,7 or better yet, avoid vocals altogether. Taking this latter advice to heart is instrumental Polish four-piece Belzebong, who have been at it for almost 20 years now. On The End is High, their fourth full-length, Belzebong deal 35 minutes of fuzzed-out riffery described as “a new sermon for the final days.” While not as highbrow (huh huh) as the instrumental stoner metal of Bongripper, Belzebong are similarly ominous on opener (yes) “Bong & Chain,” which caps its ten-minute burn with creepy, haunting synths. From there, the band settle into material more akin to Bongzilla; sound clips adorn the chill grooves of “420 Horsemen,” “Hempnotized,” and “Reefer Mortis,” which closes things out with some solid Electric Wizard worship. If you instinctively (and understandably) recoil from music with marijuana aesthetics but dig the meditative repetition offered by stoner metal, consider sampling The End is High. It’s not exactly the caricature it advertises itself as.

Baguette’s Bygone Bounty

Sundecay // The Blood Lives Again [February 13th, 2026 – Self Released]

Toronto’s Sundecay has been around for a while. These Canadian doomers spawned sometime prior to 2014, quietly releasing EP material every once in a blue moon. The Blood Lives Again is their first full-length release—their first signs of life since 2018 in general—and the time and care they took to develop their sound and songwriting prowess pays off here in spades. The doom and proto-doom inspirations from Black Sabbath to Saint Vitus are obvious (“Here Comes the Wizard”), complemented by other influences from proto-metal, psychedelic, and progressive music (“Silence Spoken”). The hefty, layered guitars have a nice fuzz without fully landing in stoner territory. Ambitious long-form tracks like “Will Dusk Defy Dawn” flow like water while carrying significant emotional heft. Lastly, a moody, reverb-heavy vocal performance crowns the classic doom trance the band is aiming for. At five tracks and some 43 minutes, The Blood Lives Again is a total vibe and flies by before you’ve even noticed. Fans of the ’70s should take notes!

Temple Balls // Temple Balls [February 13th, 2026 – Frontiers Music]

One of the most authentic ways you can honor rock music tradition is via questionable naming conventions. On an unrelated note, Temple Balls is a Finnish hard rock/glam rock band, and they’re fun as hell! They’re not particularly new around the block, either: the group formed in 2009, and self-titled Temple Balls is already their fifth album since debut Traded Dreams in 2017. 2023’s Avalanche felt like a watershed moment, a welcome surprise that brought some new life and energy to a fairly dated genre of Europeisms and Hanoi Rocks rehashes. Temple Balls proves that Avalanche wasn’t a one-off, continuing their extremely authentic throwback approach. The heavy/power-metal-meets-AOR direction of songwriting (“Flashback Dynamite,” “Soul Survivor”) gives it that extra guitar oomph and energy that melodic music like this requires to be anywhere near competitive. With great all-out vocals from Arde Teronen and gigantic hooks to match, it’s just a damn good time front to back. Though it will sadly be the last time we’ll hear Niko Vuorela’s guitar work on record (R.I.P., and fuck cancer), the self-titled is certainly a worthy final milestone for him—and hopefully, another beginning for his comrades.

ClarkKent’s Enchanting Earworm

Hela // A Reign to Conquer [February 27, 2026 – Ardua Music]

Just as it put a pause on many plans and projects, the COVID pandemic slowed down the output of Spain’s Hela. A Reign to Conquer marks their first record since 2019’s Vegvìsir, which was their third release since 2013. This brief hiatus brought new blood in the form of vocalist Raquel Navarro, though, in truth, the only consistency in Hela’s lineup is the other three members—Tano Giménez on bass, Miguel Fernández (The Holeum) on drums, and Julián Velasco (The Holeum) on guitars. They have a deep bond, first forged in 2009 with The Sand Collector before forming Hela just three years later. Though they brand Hela as melodic doom, and the band does have a little in common with Katatonia, I think it’s more accurate to describe them as dreamy progressive rock. Navarro is a major reason for this, with dreamy croons that guide listeners through breezy soundscapes. She bears a passing resemblance to Maud the Moth, though the music Hela plays is decidedly more metal than our Dolphin friend’s favorite nocturnal insect. Guitarist Velasco plays a hypnotizing mix of atmospheric fuzz, crushing doom, and melodic riffs that add some heft and crunch to the ethereal sound. A Reign to Conquer has plenty of layers to probe, rewarding listeners who bear with it for repeat listens. While my initial spins left me wanting, I’ve since become spellbound. Add to that some gorgeous artwork, and this is a nice addition to anyone’s vinyl collection. Hela yeah!

Spicie Forrest’s Vicious Vittles

A Wilhelm Scream8 // Cheap Heat [February 27th, 2026 – Creator-Destructor Records]

A Wilhelm Scream9 returns after a four-year hiatus with their eighth long player, Cheap Heat. Sounding like the best combination of The Story So Far and Rise Against, A Wilhelm Scream delivers an impressive tour de force so late in their career. Vocalist Nuno Pereira10 is the highlight of Cheap Heat, driving the album with urgency and passion (“Somebody’s Gonna Die,” “Fell Off”), but no one here is a slouch. The rhythm section—bassist Brian J. Robinson, rhythm guitarist Trevor Reilly, and drummer Nicholas Pasquale Angelini—gleefully tosses gas on Pereira’s bonfire (“I Got Tunnel Vision”) and delivers solid grooves (“Poison II”) and searing ragers (“Unsolving the Mystery”) that keep the energy cranked to 11 all through Cheap Heat. Hooks are by far the most common lead duty, and Ben Murray puts on a fucking clinic. Each note that rings out from his axe sounds like it fucking owns the place (“Run,” “Visitor: Unimpressed”). Cheap Heat is a smidge front-loaded with “Midnight Ghost” and “I Got Tunnel Vision” being album highlights, but no song on here is anything short of a barn burner. At a super tight 28 minutes, Cheap Heat hits hard and fast and gets the fuck out of Dodge before you’re even sure what hit you. I didn’t expect a 26-year-old hardcore outfit to knock my teeth out when I queued it up on a whim one morning, but Cheap Heat is proving to be one of my favorite albums of the year.

Lead Injector // Witching Attack [February 20th, 2026 – High Roller Records]

Who doesn’t like the combination of thrash’s unchained aggression and black metal’s cold hate? There’s never been a better pair. Lead Injector hit the ground running on debut LP Witching Attack. From the opening moments of “Siege Upon Heaven” to the closing moments of “Nuclear Antichrist,” Lead Injector is here to do two things: feed high-speed buckshot to God, skeletons, and anything else that gets in their way, and have a Hellripping good time. “Angel Destructor” and “Siege Upon Heaven” barrel pell-mell through searing riffs and blast beats, while groovier tracks like “Evil Executioner” and “Nuclear Antichrist” let black metal’s punk ancestry shine through. Heavy metal influences a la Judas Priest can be found injected into tracks like “Sacrifice This Bitch” and “M.C.C.I.” While nothing about Lead Injector’s sound is particularly new, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. This debut is a unique and retro spin on a tried-and-true formula that bodes well for a young band. Witching Attack is a killer time that Ash Williams would gladly spin while boomsticking Deadites alongside Lord Arthur’s army.

 Crónica del concierto de Shiraz Lane: se imponen en Madrid tras la buena apertura de Strangers
Info en 👉  https://www.guitarcalavera.com/cronica-del-concierto-de-shiraz-lane/
#FrontiersMusic #MadnessLive #ShirazLane #Strangers #guitarcalavera #guitarcalaveramagazine
https://www.guitarcalavera.com/cronica-del-concierto-de-shiraz-lane/?utm_medium=Guitar%20Calavera%20&fsp_sid=3285&utm_source=Mastodon%20&utm_campaign=cronica-del-concierto-de-shiraz-lane%20

https://www.europesays.com/es/445401/ Escucha la nueva reedición de RUSH. Recopilatorio con rarezas de CREMATORY. Recopilación de aniversario de Frontiers Music. #CREMATORY #Entertainment #Entretenimiento #ES #España #FrontiersMusic #Music #Música #RUSH #Spain

La mítica banda Asia regresa con nueva formación y contrato con Frontiers Music. Geoff Downes lidera este renacimiento que promete gira y nuevo disco
#asia #geoffdownes #harrywhitley #johnmitchell #virgildonati #frontiersmusic #rockprogresivo #aor #rockbritanico #nuevadiscografia #heatofthemoment

https://rockandblog.net/asia-anuncia-su-regreso/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Leverage – Gravity Review

By Steel Druhm

Finland’s Leverage are one of those bands that always seemed to operate at the outer fringes of heavy metal. Their 2006 Tides debut showcased a strong 80s rock base with just enough of an over-the-top edge to make it plausible to call them a metal act. Most of the songs reminded me more of Survivor and Night Ranger than any specific metal act, but the writing was catchy enough that it didn’t matter. Follow-ups Blind Fire and Circus Colossus kept the template in place with only modest tweaks, and when very distinctive frontman Pekka Heino decamped, they replaced him well with Kimmo Blom. Blom passed away in 2022, and now Leverage return with a new frontman as they try to soldier on. For 6th album, Gravity, they also added a full-time violinist to expand their sound beyond their familiar rock/metal blueprint. Since I’ve enjoyed all the Leverage albums to some degree, I was curious if they could bounce back from tragedy and keep on delivering the earwormy goods.

I’m happy to report that Gravity is very much a typical Leverage outing in most regards. New singer Paolo Ribaldini (ex-Skiltron) sounds a lot like both Pekka and Kimmo, so there’s no real acclimation period for the longtime Leverage fan. Opening cut “Shooting Star” is everything you’d want and expect from them, with big, bombastic radio rock energy pinging off a tougher metal aesthetic and a vague country-western drawl, and the writing is designed to stick immediately. The chorus is catchy enough to ensure you wear it home like gum in your back hair. Paolo wins you over immediately with bold, forceful vocals that bring enough power to the 80s retro party. From there, Gravity blasts through a series of tracks that balance cheese with iron, radio rock with metal, and the emphasis is always on hooks. “Tales of the Night” belongs on the soundtracks for Rocky III AND IV, and you will want to create your own training montage to this thing. “Moon of Madness” is so Survivor it almost leaves no survivors, but the hooks are there, and the fiddle bits are odd, but interesting.

The band takes some chances and stretch their writing at times, as on “All Seeing Eye” which sounds like a Dio-era Rainbow song that’s been lost in a dusty vault until now. It has that 70s coolness factor and the same grandeur heard on cuts like “Stargazer” and “The Gates of Babylon,” and Paolo really comes into his own with a gritty, badass performance full of gravitas. “King Ghidorah” sounds like a mash-up of Nightbreaker era Riot and the more hard-charging Deep Purple classics, and that means a rabble-rousing good time. Hell, even the nearly 10-minute title track works for the most part, stealing some of Avantasia’s trade secrets about writing ginormous power ballads crammed full of bombast and cheddar. It’s ultimately about 3 minutes too long, but it’s an entertaining tune at its core. The big set-piece tracks suffer some unsightly bloat, but the shorter, more immediate tracks power the album along at a brisk, breezy pace and keep you bopping along.

With the usual Leverage vets all in place and doing their thing, Paolo is given a solid foundation to work with and build from, and he impresses with his macho vocal efforts. He’s enough like past Leverage singers, but he has a few extra gears to reach for when needed. He does the whole Jorn/Coverdale hard rock growl well and brings enough of his own style to the table to sell the material like cupcakes outside a CBD superstore. Tuomas Heikkinen continues to marry hard rock and 80s rock idioms with harder-edged riffwork and makes it all work together. He can be flashy, but he’s the kind of guitarist that puts song before wank. New violinist Lotta Pitkänen is only noticeable at a few key moments, and the rest of the time she’s deep in the background behind the keyboards. I’m not sure she’s needed, but she does provide a nice gloss when audible.

I’ve never been disappointed by a Leverage album, though I have my favorites. Gravity is good enough to drop right in the middle of their discography with a few playlist-worthy cuts that demand poaching. If you like bands in the Brother Firetribe / The Night Flight Orchestra vein, Gravity should be right in your wheelhouse. It’s not quite a must-hear, but it packs enough entertainment value to be worth a flyer. I’m glad they’re still with us. R.I.P. Kimmo.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: Fucking STREAM
Label: Frontiers Music
Website: facebook.com/leverageofficial
Releases Worldwide: June 20th, 2025

#30 #BrotherFiretribe #FinnishMetal #FrontiersMusic #Gravity #HardRock #HeavyMetal #Journey #Leverage #Rainbow #Review #Reviews #Survivor

Insania – The Great Apocalypse Review

By Angry Metal Guy

On the surface, The Great Apocalypse is exactly what you’d expect from Insania,1 Sweden’s long-running Europower mongers. Their sixth album—four years after their comeback record V (Praeparatus Supervivet) was praised for its commitment to the bit—brings back all the trappings of the genre: soaring choruses, galloping triplets, righteous lyrics about light and liberty, and the guitar and keyboard gymnastics that make the beskulleted power metal fan grin and throw horns. This plays into Insania’s reputation as a charmingly derivative Stratovarius knockoff, a reputation earned during their first run between 1999 and 2003.2 Reputations like that are tough to shake. And despite having produced two of the most underrated Europower albums of the 2000s (2001’s Sunrise in Riverland and 2003’s Fantasy), this has been Insania’s fate.

One could be forgiven for thinking The Great Apocalypse was another nostalgia ride—a lovingly executed Stratovarius/Helloween tribute made by scene veterans committed to the bit.3 The base of the sound is familiar: founding drummer Mikko Korsbäck’s double-kick sprints and backbeat snare hits (“The Trinity”) and gallops both traditional (“The Great Apocalypse”) and half-time (“Fire from Above”); returning guitarist Niklas Dahlin, now mantling axe duties solo, layers in neoclassical flourishes and trem-picked glory (“The Prophesier,” “Afterlife”) with a fluidity that borders on smug. The new bassist—Erik Arkö—holds down the low end unobtrusively, working well in tandem with the others, while being sacrificed on the Altar of Newsted to make space for moar kick drum in the mix.4 And above it all, Ola Halén’s crystal-clear voice floats somewhere between Kai Hansen and Timo Koltipelto, belting out messages of diaphanous positivity with just enough grit to sell the drama. But the familiarity is a trap. Underneath the Europower surface is something more ambitious.

The more you listen, the more you realize The Great Apocalypse isn’t the typical power metal it seems at first blush. Rather than relying on obvious resolution and recycled hooks, these songs lean into variation, twisting and stretching ideas in ways that subtly derail expectations. Songs mutate, growing with each repetition (“Revolution” or “The Great Apocalypse”). Choruses evolve in phrasing, harmony, or arrangement instead of simply looping back in place (“No One’s Hero,” “Underneath the Eye,” “Indestructible”). Even the final choruses of otherwise straightforward tracks will shift gears, changing key, feel, or introducing elements that reshape something familiar into something better (“Fire from Above,” “Afterlife”). A major part of this dynamism comes from the guitars, where Niklas Dahlin shows off chops that help to drive the compositions. In diametric opposition to my criticism of Jari’s performance on Wintersun’s most recent album, Dahlin often crafts solos that seem to facilitate dynamic songs, undermining predictability by following his lead. This isn’t showy for its own sake. Insania has developed a newfound compositional discipline that’s nestled comfortably inside genre convention.

Insania treats motifs and melodies in the same way: not as loops, but as clay to reshape. Rather than reiterate, they recast phrases with harmonic or rhythmic tweaks that breathe new life into already-hooky material (“The Prophesier” has the best example,5 shifting from a major to harmonic minor after the solo, and it’s fantastic). Tonal centers shift underneath you without warning, nudging songs toward unease when the melodies remain sweet (“Underneath the Eye,” “Fire from Above”). Extended tracks stretch these ideas even further: rotating riffs, slowing tempos, delaying resolution until the final moments, or never offering it at all—like the title track, which ends the album on a slightly dissonant chord. Even in the vocal phrasing, Ola frequently dodges the expected A-B-A-B symmetry in favor of through-composed or extended-line approaches. I wouldn’t say that Insania has morphed into prog, but their choices are far too deliberate to be accidental, placing them a lot closer to Angra, Star One, Almanac,6 or Symphony X than Stratovarius. And it’s a welcome evolution.

By playing to form and yet resisting predictability, The Great Apocalypse breaks the mold and shows what 25 years of experience can get you. Insania sounds like a band that knows the rules so well that they don’t have to break them; they write in ways that subvert them. While earlier albums felt like excellent—but predictable—additions to the scene, The Great Apocalypse differentiates Insania’s personality within familiar bounds. They haven’t changed their sound—I’m sure that critics will pop it on and dismiss it for being a Europower record—but the added nuance and increasing sophistication have propelled Insania into a different tier than they previously inhabited. And while no album is free from flaws—Ola strains in his upper range in a way he surely didn’t in 2003, the bass gets swallowed by an Industry Standard Production™, and the record isn’t free from subgenre obligatory moments of cringe—it is tough not to see this evolution as ambitious, confident, and, at times, even profound.

Rating: Great!
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: Stream
Label: Frontiers Music
Websites: facebook.com/insaniastockholmofficial
Release Date: June 13th, 2025

#2025 #40 #Almanac #Angra #Europower #Fantasy #FrontiersMusic #Helloween #Insania #InsaniaStockholm #Jun25 #PowerMetal #StarOne #Stratovarius #SunriseInRiverland #SwedishMetal #SymphonyX #TheGreatApocalypse

Impellitteri – War Machine Review

By Dolphin Whisperer

As the eponymous outfit of American shredhead Chris Impellitteri, Impellitteri has wielded the heavy metal chorus call and neoclassical solo response for near forty years. Though presenting a style that rollicks about Malmsteen-like fretboard gymnastics in a 80s rockin’ manner in the ballpark of the flamboyant Racer X or rough ‘n’ riffy Chastain, Impellitteri has maintained a workmanlike vigor in their long-standing songcraft. Virtuosity in runs and power chord progressions call the shots in this well-attended line of fire-fingered, efficient attacks. And though times are different than when Rob Rock (of his own eponymous works and ex-Axel Rudi Pell), first joined the Impellitteri crew, his continued presence alongside the nimble band leader aims to find that same consistency with this newest War Machine.

Understandably, War Machine veers little from the Impellitteri way. Though the American stalwarts materialized in 1988 as an affair similar to the Rainbow-on-shred names popular of the time, debut Stand in Line even featuring ex-Rainbow, ex-Alcatrazz vocalist Graham Bonnet, Impelliterri grew to thrive less on AOR shakin’ and more on power metal adjacent triumph on successive releases.1 And with the introduction of Rock on mic, Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, ex-Chastain) on kit, and Ed Roth (Driver) on keys, 90s peaks Screaming Symphony and Eye of the Hurricane offered a thrilling and overloaded version of a sound that already possessed much flexing force. Though low on variation, Impellitteri’s style through to War Machine remains classic and guitar-forward, a combo that to lovers of the olde and solo-wild will rarely be displeasing.

Despite the similar nature of everything, both to past Impellitteri works and within its own walls, War Machine comes stacked with bombastic guitar work against ridiculous themes. Reaching for a standard-issue bag of neoclassical tricks, along with spacey phasers that give whiffs of Van Halen party energy (“Superkingdom,” “Just Another Day”), Impellitteri’s licks endure as swift and truly heavy metal. And relying on the intensity of a post-Painkiller world, tracks like “Hell on Earth” and “Light It Up” find an extra rhythmic propulsion that keeps the horns raised high against double-kick assaults.2 Testament to Rock’s not-ageless but studied bravado, his performance, while not striking the highest highs of his younger days, lives in full commitment against campy themes of AI takeover (“Superkingdom”) and getting rowdy in the mosh pit (“War Machine,” “Light It Up”). Adding that all-too-important warmth and earnestness to the smoky stage romp that Impellitteri embodies, Rock persists as a link vital to keeping the War Machine on course.

When Impellitteri fires on all the cylinders still at their disposal, War Machine lives up to its name. But that makes up only about half of its forty-three-minute runtime. At this point in the Impellitteri catalog, the line between filler and iterated event runs thinner than the cutting tone Mr. Impellitteri loves so to highlight his lightning-speed scale laps. In that sense, it shouldn’t matter that “War Machine” is another “Turn of the Century” (Crunch, 2000) shred-laced groove that sets a marching tone, nor should it be a bother that “Beware the Hunter” utilizes one of the most common riff patterns that Impellitteri has ever put to tape. The War Machine versions of these tested sounds should land on their own merit—at cranking speeds (“Wrath Child,” “Light It Up”) and proudest arpeggio (“Superkingdom,” “Just Another Day”) they do, and Impellitteri shows they have ideas left in the tank. But when all eleven tracks don’t show this same fervor at this stage of their career, Impellitteri needs to spend a little more time in curation than creation.

If a younger Dolph had written this review, some of War Machine’s issues of repetition may not have stuck out in as flagrant a stumbling manner. However, Impellitteri, since first entering the fold of cetaceous enjoyment in the mid-00s, has released album after album of lowering differentiation with infrequent flashes of a former shining self. When the past was more recent, less littered by minds who wanted the same 11-dialed Marshall and scalloped Strat in the limelight, Impellitteri’s recursive ideas were more forgivable. But at our current juncture in time, growing every year closer to four decades of Impellitteri occupation, the War Machine must stand against those who preceded and inspired its existence, those who grew shoulder-to-shoulder in shred, and those who have raised themselves on the entirety of that history. And that’s all more fight than War Machine gives.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Frontiers Music
Websites: impellitteri.net | instagram.com/chrisimpellitteriofficial
Releases Worldwide: November 8th, 2024

#20 #2024 #Alcatrazz #AxelRudiPell #Chastain #FifthAngel #FrontiersMusic #HeavyMetal #Impellitteri #NeoclassicalMetal #Nov24 #PowerMetal #RacerX #Rainbow #Review #Reviews #RobRock #Shred #WarMachine #YngwieMalmsteen

Paralydium – Universe Calls Review

By Iceberg

Prog was my metal gateway drug, and I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for its bonkers, over-the-top ways. It’s pretty hard to find this genre unclaimed since Dolph got that laser-targeting system for his half-birthday, so I waited until he jumped a few time zones and then snagged the first thing I could find. Perplexing cover art aside, Sweden’s Paralydium have been peddling their brand of finger-flying theatrics since 2015, but with only an EP and 2020 debut Worlds Beyond under their belt, they’re still young in their recorded career. It’s prog week for Iceberg, and I want gratuitous solos, 64th-note unisons, and multi-movement songs injected straight into my cerebellum. Can Universe Calls deliver the goods?

Universe Calls is first and foremost a symphonic prog album, and a pretty traditional one at that. None of that blackened bombast or quirky genre-blending; this is meat-and-taters progressive metal. Think Kamelot, Dream Theater and Symphony X. Although no one person is credited with orchestrations, the synth orchestral hits and swells are the sixth band member, and their interplay with the full band is a central component of Paralydium’s sound. Georg Egg delivers intricate drum parts peppered with syncopated, athletic fills. Jonathan Olsson’s bass is wonderfully highlighted, snappy and clear when it leads, and rumbling when it supports. Alexander Lycke’s admirable performance reminds me of a pre-growls Russell Allen, but the stars of the show here are John Berg (guitars) and Mike Blanc (keyboards). Their dueling solos and lengthy, harmonized unison riffs anchor the rest of the band, cementing Universe Calls as prog metal from beginning to end.

If you liked Symphony X’s run from their self-titled to The Odyssey, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better doppelgänger than Universe Calls. This is a double-edged sword, however, since the line between emulation and plagiarism runs mighty thin. But the positives first. There’s a lot of musical material packed into Universe Calls; the majority of it compelling, and all of it well-performed. Along with the typically propulsive verses and sweeping choruses, the Berg/Blanc duo deploy ambient acoustic passages to great effect (“The Arcane Exploration Part I,” “Interlude”). The band doesn’t bare their teeth very often, but the opening riff of “Caught In a Dream” and the harmonic minor bookends of single “Sands of Time” provide some much-needed headbang-ability. At 50 minutes this album risks running overlong, but the band generally has a good handle on song structure and knows how to use style variance and riff placement to make the songs feel shorter than they are (“Forging the Past,” “Caught In A Dream”).

Paralydium excel at high-flying performances but they’re missing a key part of the songwriting formula: hooks. The absence of memorable, catchy material is the death knell of any composition, prog-leaning ones especially. The band get closest with the chorus in “Sands of Time”—as evidenced by its status as lead single—but after multiple listens, that was the only vocal or instrumental melody that stuck in my head. And then there’s “The Arcane Exploration.” This mammoth, 25-minute opus-split-in-two accounts for roughly half of the album’s runtime, but doesn’t have anywhere near the dynamic or style shifts to justify its length. Usually, prog bands will break tracks like this into movements, each with their own flavor and verse/chorus structure. But Paralydium gamble big on two giant movements, and ultimately fall flat with overextended solo and transition sections and not enough shared DNA to tie the tracks together. It’s a pity because the performances within border on excellent, but the pitfall of prog is indulgence that gives way to sterility, and Universe Calls falls prey to exactly that issue.

Which brings us to the flip side of the Symphony X-worship that is Universe Calls. The surface of the album is ready-to-serve, and it makes for a nostalgic, enjoyable listen for those who yearn for the halcyon days of symphonic prog. But there’s something missing inside, the absence of the vibrant core that made V: The New Mythology Suite and The Odyssey such genre classics. I hope Paralydium continue to find their own style and voice, but I can’t help but feel Universe Calls represents a ceiling for their growth. It’s one thing to emulate a genre-defining band and carry on the legacy they forged, especially when said band has been a decade quiet. But as the late, great Omar Little opined, “when you come at the king, you best not miss.”

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: STREAM
Label: Frontiers Music
Website: facebook.com/paralydium
Releases Worldwide: August 23rd, 2024

#2024 #30 #Aug24 #DreamTheater #FrontiersMusic #Kamelot #Paralydium #ProgressiveMetal #ProgressiveRock #Review #Reviews #SwedishMetal #SymphonicMetal #SymphonyX #UniverseCalls

Seven Spires – A Fortress Called Home Review

By sentynel

One of symphonic metal’s struggles as a genre is that it turns out writing a symphony is hard. Just slapping some string synths on generic metalcore and calling it a day does not Beethoven make. Which was why Seven Spires’ glow-up on Emerald Seas was so striking. Not that debut Solveig hadn’t shown promise, but suddenly their fancy music education and performance skills combined to produce something genuinely worthy of being called “symphonic.” Gods of Debauchery proved it wasn’t a fluke (while also proving they can write out-and-out pop catchiness too with “Lightbringer,” which—fight me—is a great song, but you wouldn’t want the whole album to sound like that). That was a pandemic project, following the year after Emerald Seas. Three years and fewer distractions later, we come to A Fortress Called Home.

It’s immediately clear this is still the Seven Spires we expect. The writing is lush and complex. The emotional impact has always been first and foremost in their writing, and A Fortress Called Home is no different. Songs like “Love’s Souvenir” or “The Old Hurt of Being Left Behind” tug firmly on your heartstrings. They’re great at contrasting soaring highs and crashing lows. Catchiness follows from interesting, creative hooks and twists, not from big cheap choruses. It’s never content to sit around in a single genre, despite the obvious power metal base. In particular, there are some definite death/doom influences here, perhaps more so than on previous records, with lots of harsh vocals and downbeat, downtrodden riffs (“Impossible Tower,” “Where Sorrows Bear My Name”). And the orchestration threaded through all of it is key to its success, and never too busy or too cheesy.

So what’s missing? Well, not much. My most significant gripe is we don’t quite get a category 5 banger on the scale of, say, “Every Crest.” There are some category 4s—”Songs Upon Wine-Stained Tongues,” “The Old Hurt of Being Left Behind,” “No Place For Us”— they just doesn’t quite hit the heights they’re capable of. And I do miss the editing from the 50-minute Emerald Seas. This isn’t as long as Gods of Debauchery, and cutting it down would require some fairly brutal choices—there’s no bad songs here. But I took a little longer to appreciate penultimate track “House of Lies” than it deserved due to slight listen fatigue creeping in at the one-hour mark. I also wish the orchestration was real, or that they used slightly more natural-sounding samples. I recognize that hiring an orchestra isn’t exactly cheap, but there’s a real violin on “Love’s Souvenir” and it makes such a difference.1

The star of the show is once again Adrienne Cowan on clean and harsh vocals (not to mention the keyboards, songwriting, and orchestration). She’s a brilliant singer with versatile cleans and heavy, enunciated growls, and carries a lot of the album’s emotional weight with panache. I also really like the [(Luca) Turilli(‘s) / Lione] Rhapsody [of Fire] flavored duet with a male vocalist on “Songs Upon Wine-Stained Tongues.” Guitarist Jack Kosto (who also handles the very complex production work) is impressive, with highlights like the lyrical guitar on “No Place For Us” and regular stylish solos. Bassist Peter de Reyna gets a few spotlight moments, like the end of “Impossible Tower”, and deserves more. Finally, percussion has a lot of work to do to carry music with this much going on, and departing drummer Chris Dovas does a great job matching the ever-changing moods.

A Fortress Called Home doesn’t quite equal the absolute best Seven Spires are capable of, but that’s as far as the negatives go here. Once again they’ve produced an emotional, captivating record filled with unexpected twists. I’ve had half the record stuck in my head at once since I started listening, all of it earned by clever writing and great performances. Existing fans should find a lot to love here. And if you’re a fan of anything even vaguely power/melodeath/prog flavored, or like symphonic metal in theory but not in execution, and have never checked out Seven Spires, now is the time.

Rating: Very Good
DR: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ | Format Reviewed: Stream
Label: Frontiers Music
Websites: sevenspiresband.com | facebook.com/sevenspiresband
Releases Worldwide: June 21st, 2024

#LucaTurilliSLioneRhapsodyOfFire_ #2024 #35 #AFortressCalledHome #AmericanMetal #FrontiersMusic #Jun24 #PowerMetal #Review #Reviews #Rhapsody #SevenSpires #SymphonicMetal