Ahamkara - I'm late again to the melodic black metal party but I'm glad to have made it

Ahamkara

The Harrow of the Lost

Bindrune Recordings

25 April 2025

I messed up. Again. I should have told you about this melodic black metal band way earlier. Ahamkara (U.K.) released an album in 2014, but to be honest, I don’t know if I actually heard it, I don’t remember listening to it. Now, in 2025, they’ve released a new album, and this one I’ve heard tons of times. I’m not really sure why I had some difficulty grasping the music at first. Maybe listening to it in the car wasn’t the best way to experience it. Personally, I find that black metal usually doesn’t sound great in a car. I’m not a car audio expert or technician—I’m sure there’s a way to adjust a sound system to suit black metal, but I don’t have the technical skills for that. Anyway, I’ve found that the album sounds best through headphones.

Setting aside my tardiness and general incompetence, let’s get to the heart of the matter. The band is often labeled “atmospheric black metal,” and that’s fine. I’m not going to argue with it, but this isn’t “forest,” “synth” or meandering black metal. There’s a lot of speed and energy here. The slower parts are also quite melodic, and honestly, that’s what I like about it: it still sounds very much like black metal. Ahamkara presents a lively, melodic style that really works for fans of the genre. The combination of fast-paced rhythms and intricate melodies creates an enjoyable listening experience. What stands out most to me is how each song layers melodies over the riffs. It’s not just nonstop rhythm guitar, which can be fun but loses my interest quickly.

The album is made up of four tracks, totaling around 43 minutes. The “atmospheric” parts are done with guitars, no ambient filler, no political themes, and it's not mellow, post-metal vibes. It’s fast, melodic black metal with slower moments that are well-executed, not distractions. As for the lyrics: they focus on the sorrow of loss and are clearly written from a mature, thoughtful perspective by adults who’ve experienced the death of a loved one. For example: “Beyond the veil there is fear, an immeasurable gulf that gnaws incessantly, on the febrile ragged edges of my grief, torn intolerably open to the foulness of the world.” The lyrics are a bit difficult to understand at first reading, and that's on purpose. It's direct, in-your-face yelling about clichéd topics.

The Harrow Of The Lost by Ahamkara

https://www.facebook.com/theembersofthestars https://theembersofthestars.bandcamp.com/album/the-harrow-of-the-lost

Shores of Null - Italian melancholic doomsters issue live album Beauty Over Europe

Shores of Null

Beauty Over Europe

Sulphur Music / Masked Dead Records

9 May 2025

Italian melancholic dark metal band Shores of Null released their first-ever live album, Beauty Over Europe, in May 2025. The record marks a significant milestone in the band’s journey, capturing the intensity, atmosphere, and emotional depth of their acclaimed live performances. Featuring 10 carefully selected tracks, the album was recorded during their long 2023 European tour in support of their critically praised studio album, The Loss of Beauty.

The 2023 tour saw Shores of Null sharing the stage with fellow masters of doom and melancholy—Swallow The Sun, Draconian, and Avatarium—on a run that spanned 35 shows across 18 countries. From Norway and Denmark to packed venues in Germany, the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Hungary, the band delivered powerful performances night after night. These shows not only introduced their haunting blend of melodic doom, post-metal, and blackened atmospheres to new audiences but also reaffirmed their place in the upper echelon of the European dark metal scene.

Beauty Over Europe offers a vivid snapshot of that unforgettable tour. The album highlights the band’s ability to translate the somber beauty of their studio recordings into a gripping live experience. Tracks are filled with sorrowful melodies, heavy riffs, and frontman Davide Straccione’s signature deep, emotive vocals, resonating with themes of loss, solitude, and introspection.

Guitarist Gabriele Giaccari comments:

“This tour was an incredible journey, the longest in our career, and a true milestone for Shores Of Null. As the promotional tour for The Loss Of Beauty, our latest and most acclaimed album to date, it was an honor to bring these songs to life across 35 shows in 18 countries. Sharing the stage with monumental bands like Swallow The Sun and Draconian—huge inspirations for our music—was unforgettable. Despite the melancholy of their sound, they’re some of the most fun and genuine people we’ve met, and by the end of this epic journey, we were proud to call them friends. We owe special thanks to our incredible crew—Petri, Matti, Mikko, and Tero—who ensured everything ran seamlessly and made this experience unforgettable. To pay homage to this extraordinary chapter, we decided to produce a live album. Recorded during key moments of the tour, it captures the essence of these unforgettable performances and is dedicated to all the people who supported us live and shared these magical moments with us.”

Below you’ll find the full album along with a selection of live videos. If you’re a fan of doom metal but haven’t yet discovered Shores of Null, now is a good time give the band a chance and see if it lives up to the acclaim for you!

Beauty Over Europe by Shores Of Null

Shores Of Null - The Last Flower (Live in Aschaffenburg)

Shores Of Null - Quiescent (LIVE) - "Beauty Over Europe"

Shores Of Null - A Nature in Disguise (LIVE) - "Beauty Over Europe"

https://www.facebook.com/shoresofnull

Encelado - ain't no party like a technical death metal party in space

Encelado

Pillars of Creation

Regenerate Records

29 April 2025

Houston, we have no problem. When the vastness of space informs the lyrics of your wrist-breaking, arthritis-tendonitis technical death metal, then we get a particular soundtrack to the journey to the stars. Star Wars! Star Trek! Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! They all need this music. In point of fact, I have to get on this case, as they say in Japanese, trés muito prontíssimo, and make some phone calls to a couple of high-ranking officials at NASA.

NASA needs this music! Make this music the soundtrack to space exploration voyages. In addition, Elon Musk and I have discussed this music for the upcoming voyages to colonize Mars. All in all, Elon Musk agrees that space travel and technical death metal make for a fruitful partnership. After all, with lyrics expressing the anxiety of adaptability to the rigors of life for the fragile-body humans in the face of planets, stars, constellations and galaxies, how can you not: "In the vast expanse of cosmos, where darkness engulfs light, we drown in the darkness of our souls, a symphony of chaos and control." Neat, right?!

Therefore, here's a nifty EP of technical death metal to get the blood pumping. Is this catchy? No. is this melodic? No. Will you be able to hum the songs? No. Well, hey, it's music that sounds like warp-speed acrobatics with instruments and low, gruff inscrutable growling. The fun is in the intensity-speed of the cluster. After a few listens it begins to make more sense, and it begins to sound more coherent. Then, the flashes of melody, the gleams of memorability began to fit together like a puzzle. Frankly, only the musician themselves remember the songs very well because they are the one who built the songs from scratch, from smaller ideas, a riff here and there. The rest of us? We are just here for the dizzy heights of the ride to boldly go where no one has gone before. 

RPM/HASBRO DROPS BOMBSHELL REVEALS FROM G.I. JOE’S INFAMOUS METAL BAND, COLD SLITHER (Featuring EXHUMED, GRUESOME AND KMFDM Members)

Hasbro, a leading games, IP and toy company, in collaboration with Reigning Phoenix Music, today unleashed a series of epic announcements for Cold Slither, a newly reimagined heavy metal band based on the infamous fictional group from the iconic 1985 animated series G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero.

"This isn't just an album – it's a sonic strike straight from Cobra Command!” said Cold Slither. “We're back, louder, heavier and deadlier than ever. We can’t wait for G.I. JOE fans and metalheads to experience the raw power of our music, culminating in our live debut at San Diego Comic-Con. Prepare your ears for total domination... Let’s Rock and Cobra Roll!”

Following the success of “Cold Slither” and “Knock Em Dread,” the band’s explosive new single, “Thunder Machine,” is now streaming on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. The hard-hitting track, inspired by the Dreadnoks' brutal battle rig, delivers cinematic riffs and raw energy — an explosive anthem forged from chaos, rebellion and heavy metal fury.

The identities of the band members have now been revealed as:

Zartan: Gus Rios, vocals/guitars (GRUESOME, UNION BLACK, LEFT TO DIE)

Ripper: Matt Harvey, guitars (EXHUMED, GRUESOME, LEFT TO DIE)

Torch: Ross Sewage, bass (EXHUMED, IMPALED)

Buzzer: Andy Selway, drums (KMFDM)

COLD SLITHER – Thunder Machine | Official Lyric Video | Cobra Road Rage Reborn | G.I. Joe

OPETH Present Official "§1" Band Performance Video

Swedish 2025 Grammi winners OPETH are pleased to unveil a full-on band performance video for "§1." The track is taken from their current success album The Last Will And Testament (released on November 22, 2024 through Moderbolaget / Reigning Phoenix Music), which was highly praised by press and fans alike and saw frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt return to growling vocal territory for the first time in 16 years. Their new material has additionally been warmly welcomed during their ongoing world tour, which is why the video arrives right in time as their touring cycle commences at the legendary Sweden Rock Festival today.

Åkerfeldt states: “So here’s a video (of sorts) for your ‘enjoyment.’ We had requests left, right & centre to do one of them measly ‘lyric videos’ or ‘visualizers’ for ‘content.’ Now, right there are three words I despise! I’ve made it clear in our circle of trust that we shouldn’t use the word ‘content’ even if that’s exactly what we’re working on. We’re not some goddamn influencers, now are we? So can we please settle on the old-fashioned word ‘video’ without meddling with modern online lingo? And a video is what it really is. A performance video, no less. We figured it’s a bit more happening to look at (should you decide to do so) than a lyric video. ‘§1’ is the opener on “The Last Will And Testament.” A good song. I like it! The video looks good. As good as it can look when involving 5 middle-aged, slightly hungover geezers miming along to something. We shot it in some industrial area in Birmingham (UK) on the latest Euro tour. Everyone (well, the band and crew) were quite eager to get out of there as we had dinner planned at a fancy curry house locally. Much thanks to Ash Pears and ASH TV, who were really professional (ie: quick!) and made the whole experience rather easy on us. Hope you dig it, people!”

Holler (Italy) - new album from classic rockers features a cover of pop star Sia's "Chandelier"

Holler

Next in Line

Scarlet Records

23 May 2025

There’s a unique appeal to the band Holler, named after frontman Terence Holler (whose name is Mario Tarantola), formerly the vocalist for the Italian prog metal band Eldritch, with whom he performed for over 30 years and recorded 12 studio albums. Despite his legacy, both Holler and their record label make sure to underline that this new project is not prog metal. Holler marks a clear departure from Eldritch’s sound. The debut album, Reborn, released in 2024, seems designed specifically to establish this difference. Rather than continuing in the vein of prog or modern metal, Holler delivers American-style, radio-friendly, arena rock with a strong melodic hook. The only real link to the past is Terence Holler’s unmistakable voice.

Holler has more in common with classic rock than with anything happening in today’s metal scene. The music includes piano, a mix of slower and midtempo tracks, and strong vocal melodies that truly take center stage. It’s the kind of music made for singing along. In a more logical world, this album would be playing on American classic rock radio, slotted somewhere in between bands like Boston, Night Ranger, The Cars, Sammy Hagar, and Heart.

Admittedly, I didn’t connect with Holler’s debut right away, and I had a similar reaction to their second album at first. Nevertheless, I kept returning to it, mostly out of curiosity about what Terence Holler was doing after so many years with Eldritch. Over time, something clicked. It’s been a strange journey getting to that point, especially since I’ve never been the biggest fan of classic rock, but I’ve come to genuinely enjoy what Holler is doing. It’s catchy and melodic, drawing heavily from the styles of the 1970s and 1980s. To me, the new 2025 album—Holler’s second—is more accessible than their debut. One noticeable shift is the increased presence of guitars. It seems clear that Holler recognized the need to bring the guitars more to the forefront, and they’ve done just that on this record. Make no mistake, this isn’t prog metal! What Holler delivers here is a blend of classic rock and hard rock, with touches of traditional heavy metal. One standout example of heavy metal is the track “Crystal Eyes”, which leans into old-school heavy metal. That said, most of the album isn’t as heavy or fast as “Crystal Eyes.” The overall tone stays rooted in classic rock, with a balance of melody that defines Holler’s evolving sound.

Here's some fun trivia: The album also features a rock cover of pop star Sia’s hit “Chandelier”! Confession: I did not know that it is a cover when I first heard it. I just thought that it is another song on the album. Well, it is a surprisingly fitting song that brings forward Holler’s ability to reinterpret modern pop through their classic rock sound.

Next In Line by Holler

Reborn by Holler

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553825592623

Moonlight Haze (Italy) - melodic metal - "Set the sail and go and leave the tempest behind you"

Moonlight Haze

Beyond

Scarlet Records

23 May 2025

What a fun album! Fans of catchy, positive songwriting and of melodic, upbeat songs in general should find here lots to listen to a couple of times, and then after those couple of times, it’s very likely that the listener will notice that the entire work is worth delving deeper into to see what it is really all about. After a brief mellow and ethereal introduction of some two and half minutes, they begin with a pretty heavy number, and we’re off to the races!

On their three previous albums these Italians were categorized as something like “neosymphonic power metal,” but I have to tell you, this band on their fourth album rocks out. Moonlight Haze sounds energized. It's a good new direction. It's still melodic and catchy, and still elegant, but this is not keyboard-dominant mellow music with super high operatic vocals. While the ballad “L'eco del silenzio” features operatic singing and the Italian language, it is not the total direction of the album. Believe you me, they could do operatic vocals on all the songs, considering that their singer Chiara Tricarico has the ability to sing that way, but Moonlight Haze has chosen rock!

It's heavier, more uptempo, with the drums and guitars taking on a more pronounced presence. I'm happy with the new sound. It assimilates the various phases of their music, and adds a bouncing, rocking feel to it. It works! Now that they are on their fourth album, Moonlight Haze has become more visible on the European scene, and deservingly so. For example, the singer Chiara Tricarico has been singing live with Avantasia, which means that the melodic metal big boss Tobias Sammet, one of the most important figures in power metal, has been paying attention. Really, though, I feel like this band will be achieving a whole lot more success in the future. Fans of melodic metal may want to get on this bandwagon now. It’s not too late, and I’m sure the band is now accepting new applicants, so inquire within.  

Beyond by Moonlight Haze

https://www.facebook.com/moonlighthazemetalband

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Chase The Light (Official Video)

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Awakening (Official Video)

Confessions of a Traitor - This Pain Will Serve You

Confessions of a Traitor

This Pain Will Serve You

Facedown Records

16 May 2025

01 - Starve 2:14

02 - Fatal Frame 3:19

03 - Doomsayer 3:45

04 - Midnight Sun 3:28

05 - Still Haunted 3:26

06 - Love You Left Behind 3:28

07 - Noble Bloom 3:34

08 - Hail Mary 4:00

09 - Let It Consume Me 3:30

10 - The Sins I'm Yet To Answer For 3:06

11 - Half Life 2:33

The sound on this new album depends on a grooving, rhythmic heaviness, with chugging as a central pillar of the songs. This midpaced chugging encourages, I would say, audiences into motion, to move around in some way. It is tons of fun. It should, I would think, put a listener in a better mood. One person might mosh with joy, or another might simply rock back and forth matching the heavy grooves. There is also an abundance of melodies happening. The robust heavy grooves, with the melancholic guitar melodies, and with the addition of background sounds of melodic synths/keys (or something similar) makes the album such a treat.

The vocals are quite a contrast to the ears. On one hand, the extreme vocals can go low and guttural in some spots, and then go into higher, screeching registers. Whichever way we look at it, it is rather harsh growling, and depending on the listeners' tastes, the extreme vocals may be a favorite element, or it might just as well be that some listeners will need a certain amount of time of adjustment to the extreme vocals. There is, in fact, quite a bit of screaming going on, of course, and these vocals run the gamut of subgenres with screaming and growling, like metalcore, hardcore, deathcore and death metal. In general, the band sound is categorized as metalcore.

There are also melodic vocals. Some of the singing is pleasant and gentle, while other parts of the singing are sung with considerable lung strength. Some of the melodic vocals sound a bit like a choir, with multiple voices or layers to be heard. Sometimes the melodic vocals are separate segments appearing at a different time from the extreme vocals, but at other times they both are present simultaneously: extreme and melodic both at once, which may delight some listeners or overwhelm others with a feeling of too much stimulation. Perhaps give the album a few listens before rushing to form an opinion. What seems like too much on a first listen may end up sounding good by the fourth listen.

Formed in 2013 in London, England, the band seems to have the following discography before the 2025 album, according to Wikipedia.

2014 Seasons (EP)

2017 Illuminate (EP)

2019 Guided

2021 Press Start to Play (EP)

2022 Punishing Myself Before God Does

I do not believe that I have heard the 2014 recording, but I have heard all the other ones on that list above. This new album is a smoother listening experience than the earlier, younger more hardcore/metal material, but the new songs are also heavier and more melodic. I would not say that the melancholic elements are as present on the older material as on this new album. The melancholic elements have added another angle for their songwriting. Overall, I like the new material as much as the older music. At this point in their career, they are moving towards a new phase in their sound, I would say. It's a cool transition towards a more expansive range that repurposes what some people consider metalcore in 2025.

Lyrically, the band itself explains, “This record is a heartfelt tribute to those who have experienced profound loss to those who continue to grieve the ones they love. It stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, inviting listeners to find comfort and solidarity in faith, hope, and the shared experience of grief. We grow from trauma. We let it serve us.” Despite the heaviness and the screamed vocals, the music is meant to be a positive experience, to have listeners come away in a better state of mind than when they first heard the album. Mission accomplished.

CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR "Noble Bloom" Official Music Video

CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR "Still Haunted" (Ft. HolyName & Heal The Hurt) Official Music Video

https://www.facebook.com/confessionsofatraitor

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Awakening (Official Video)

The fourth album by Italian melodic band MOONLIGHT HAZE is called Beyond and it comes out on the 23rd of May, 2025. Just the other day there was a new music video from them called "Awakening." It is the third video, actually. Below you will find the three videos from the new album, as well as the Bandcamp link. Now on their fourth album, the band has taken a little bit of a heavier approach on some the material, while still keeping their sound very melodic overall. They strive for a melodic and elegant sound, with high vocals, and that continues on the new album. These three songs provide pretty good evidence that they continue to add elements to their sound and continue to become more comfortable in flexing their muscles a little bit. Having said, the sound is very much recognizable as MOONLIGHT HAZE. If you like to sing along, good luck trying to sing like MOONLIGHT HAZE! May 23rd will be here in no time. These three songs show what's on the agenda.

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Awakening (Official Video)

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Tame The Storm (Official Video)

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Chase The Light (Official Video)

Byonoisegenerator - jazzgrind one-way ticket to the mosh pit

Byonoisegenerator

Subnormal Dives

Transcending Obscurity Records

13 June 2025

Oh, boy, what a doozy! What on planet Mars do we have here?! This is the most interesting album that I have heard this year, if by interesting we mean "out there wacky world experimental mind melting freak out". This music turns into a pancake slap to the face in a matter of mere seconds. So, friend, check it out, the band calls this "jazzgrind" and that sums it up pretty well. They can row their boat with the best of them, and they get down and boogie with their saxophone interventions all over these songs, and they can break down their songs like an expert Rubik's Cube decoder-shuffler-airbender. Not only that, friend, it turns out that they have an actual saxophone player in the band.

Can you imagine what type of personality you have to have in order to grow up practicing the saxophone for hours, and your parents think that you are going to play normal saxophone mellow music, only to find out that you went off the deep end and joined an experimental grind band?!

Well! That's different, huh?

Just when I thought that 2025 would not hand out any more parking permits to the parking lots on Pluto, here comes an album to make fans wonder where grind goes to party after the party. Buckle up, safety harness on, and get ready for the drop. Where is Frank Zappa when you need him?! What would Frank Zappa have said if he had lived to see this? "Thank you for chaos, but please remember to feed the beavers"?

One last thing. The band has shared their lyrics with this publication. I am glad to report their lyrics deal not with zombies, demons, politics, murder and the usual grind topics, but possibly rather with equations about chemistry, maybe about elements from the periodic table or perhaps about life forms. I'm not sure. Really, it is possible that the only person that knows is the author of the lyrics!

Subnormal Dives by BYONOISEGENERATOR

https://www.facebook.com/byonoisegenerator

CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR "Noble Bloom" Official Music Video

Below is a new video from CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR (U.K.). "Noble Bloom" is a song from their upcoming album This Pain Will Serve You scheduled for May 16th, 2025 on Facedown Records. If you check out their Facebook page (link below), you will find all all the revelant information for the buying the album and also their concert in London planned for the end of May, 2025.

Below is the official information about the song and the upcoming album. I have not yet heard the album itself, but this song is sounding pretty representative of the band's overall sound, their mix of heaviness and melodies, done in a way that is fun, easy to understand, and difficult to remain still while listening to the music. Their smooth sound proves to be, despite the heaviness, rather easy on the ears, in my opinion. As you will see below, the music is fun, but they make an effort to provide lyrics that have meaning. In this case, it is a situation of terminal illness. Thus, it is that contrast of heaviness of music and lyrics, and catchy songwriting, that may appeal to you. Find out if that's true!

"London metalcore quartet CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR have released their brand new single 'Noble Bloom', an emotionally-charged track about the relentlessness of grief. The single is the latest to be taken from their recently announced upcoming album This Pain Will Serve You, set for release on 16th May via Facedown Records. Sitting somewhere between ballad and metalcore monolith, 'Noble Bloom' demonstrates CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR's ability to walk the tightrope between delicate emotive intensity and boundless sonic force. Lyrically the track explores the complex emotions that surround the terminal diagnosis of a loved one, coming face to face with mortality and the painful journey towards inevitable loss; something that guitarist Jack Darnell had to confront when he tragically lost his mother."

"This song is about being forced to move through the stages of grief far too quickly," Darnell shares, "starting with overwhelming anger, then realising just how limited your time together truly is. Eventually, you're left with no choice but to accept the immutable truth. For those who are going through, or have been through, something as life-changing as a terminal illness: the pain never fully goes away. But over time, the space around it grows. It does get easier. I promise."

"This Pain Will Serve You delves deep into the complex and raw emotions of grief and loss. Through haunting melodies and powerful lyrics, CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR explore the universal experience of mourning and the journey toward healing. The album captures the lingering presence of the memories that shape our lives while also reflecting on the beauty that can emerge from the depths of sorrow, serving as a poignant reminder of the enduring impact that those we've lost continue to have on us. Produced by the band and Justin Hill (SikTh, Heart Of A Coward) and mixed by Lance Prenc (Alpha Wolf, Polaris), the eleven track record is set to cement their status as one of the most promising prospects in British heavy music.

Speaking on the record, the band states: "This record is a heartfelt tribute to those who have experienced profound loss to those who continue to grieve the ones they love. It stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, inviting listeners to find comfort and solidarity in faith, hope, and the shared experience of grief. We grow from trauma. We let it serve us."

"Shortly after the album release, the band will be performing a very special show in their London hometown, celebrating the record in the heart of the city they started their journey in. The exclusive UK show will take place at The 229 on 31st May."

CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR "Noble Bloom" Official Music Video

CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR "Still Haunted" (Ft. HolyName & Heal The Hurt) Official Music Video

https://www.facebook.com/confessionsofatraitor

Kardashev - two new songs streaming from melodic prog dream catchers

Melodic prog visionaries Kardashev (U.S./Canada) are streaming two new songs from the upcoming third full-length album titled Alunea, scheduled to be available in its entirety on the 25th of April, 2025. The songs are called "Reunion" and "Seed of the Night," and both exemplify well the current direction in their always-turning wheel of music. In the past people have spoken of certain subgenres when referring to this band, even using new-fangled fancy terms like "deathgaze," and the like.

Frankly, I'm sure right now that I have no idea what the writers are going to label the new album. Instead, I'll tell you what you will hear. Sweet melodic singing (and it's not the typical metal singing, either) sharing space with some rather deep, gruff growling, along the lines of death metal/deathcore, with some black metal shrieking in some parts, too. The drumming patterns are all over the place: from gentle, grooving rhythms to prog and to fast extreme metal, all punctuated with some heavy, soothing low frequencies of the bass. Likewise, the guitar goes to many different places, from chugging to djent, to prog and extreme metal, and various other localities, in which shades of black metal, death/deathcore, breakdowns and whatnot can be detected. However, when you hear it, it is all a lot better, smoother and flows very well, way better than I'm making it seem, just in case that you, dear reader, are getting the impression that this is a crazy mix of genres. It is not a crazy mix of genres at all, not experimental.

Finally, the band strives to bring intelligence to their songwriting. Their music includes some parts in the lyrics that have a made-up language. The album is appropriate for all metal audiences, given that the album has no profanity, according to the band. Having heard the album myself a bunch of times now, I can tell you that the album is certainly an interesting listen for all metal audiences, young and old. Some of it, is surprising when you first hear it. For instance, the melodic singing might just take you by surprise!

Alunea by Kardashev

https://www.facebook.com/Kardashevband

Voidchaser - the eagle has landed

Voidchaser

Trust

7 March 2025

I am new to the VoidChaser game. It looks like this project began in 2023 with a single, then a couple of EPs in 2024 and now a new EP in 2025. This new EP is reportedly the conclusion to the space traveler concept that this Canadian/Swedish project has been working on since the start. The new EP is three songs in 20 minutes. So, science fiction space travel music, right? Yes, apparently.

The music is melodic and midtempo prog neosymphonic extreme metal. Think of melodic death metal played a nice, grooving tempo, with space, synth elements, and you have a good idea about the deal here. While the music is rather heavy at times, there is plenty of cleaner, leaner melodic passages, which may sound closer to traditional prog power or prog heavy metal. It's rather melodic and catchy, and not excessively meandering nor experimental. There are some growled vocals and the music throws down pretty heavy at those times during the harsh vocals. In my opinion, the guitar melodies are pretty cool. I like the melodic singing, too. It's good. I am not the biggest fan of these growled vocals in particular, as they sound too screamed and tend to be rough on the ears, as if the music is too elegant for the screaming, but who knows, maybe you will enjoy the growling the most! You never know. One thing is clear: the music gets across the message they have worked hard at making prog that is quality while being accessible.

Trust (Deluxe Edition) (EP) by Voidchaser

Holler - classic rockers stream new song "Trust"

The first link below is for "Trust," the first song available right now from the upcoming sophomore album titled "Next in Line" from Italian classic rockers Holler. The album will be released on the 23rd of May, 2025 on Scarlet Records. "Trust" is a good representation of the upcoming album. I am enjoying the new album a whole lot, probably a little too much, actually.

Italian singer Terence Holler (Mario Tarantola) is known as the voice of long-running melodic prog band Eldritch from 1991 to 2022, including the previous band named Zeus from 1988 to 1991. Therefore, even though Eldritch has now made one album, their first, in their new post-Holler era, there are some 12 studio albums with Holler on vocals, with tons of outstanding songs ranging from ballads to melodic thrash, and everything in between, songs that for some fans mean "Eldritch with Holler on vocals" for more than two decades.

Once out of Eldritch, there was in 2024 the first Holler album. In my view, that album's main objective was for Holler to be established as very different from Eldritch. Holler was not any type of continuation of the former style of prog metal, not any type of contemporary metal, but rather American-style, ear-friendly, arena-vibe classic rock that is very catchy.

To be perfectly honest, the debut album "Reborn" from last year took a while for me to understand it. Mentally, to go from Eldritch to the new music was a bit much, especially since the debut album, in my opinion, went too far away from heavy metal and was too soft for too much of the time. Basically, the guitars were very subdued, just pushed too much out of the picture. Later on, I have come to enjoy the debut album a lot more.

However, this new 2025 second album is much easier to understand! It has more guitars. It really does look like Holler realized that it was necessary to bring the guitars more to the forefront. Well, this new album does have more guitars. Of course, this is not prog metal or anything like that. It is classic rock and hard rock, with some heavy metal elements. For example, the song "Crystal Eyes" (not streaming yet) on the new album is a heavy metal song, like an oldie heavy metal tune, similar to the sound of heavy rock from 1975 to 1982, which is to say heavy rock that was dominant before thrash metal came on the scene. However, most of the new album is less heavy and less fast than "Crystal Eyes," while maintaining classic rock as the foundation of the sound: heavy rock and AOR (adult contemporary rock).

Finally, one interesting piece of information: The new album includes a Sia cover. Namely, they cover (not streaming yet) the pop music star's hit "Chandelier." Below I have included the video for the original pop version of "Chandelier." Holler's version, in my opinion, sounds, more or less, like a Holler song, not like a weird experiment, which it isn't. Holler makes the song their own. Anyway, check out the new song "Trust" and the previous album from 2024 until the new album comes in May 2025.

Next In Line by Holler

Reborn by Holler

HOLLER - Do You Believe (Official Video)

Sia - Chandelier (Official Video)

Ikitan: from Italy to outer space

Ikitan

Shaping the Chaos

7 March 2025

In the world of heavy music, Ikitan offers wordless heaviness, perhaps from outer space or from Genoa, Italy, depending on what map you are looking at. This instrumental trio is living out their best life in chill-out grooves to keep the listener in a good mood. Do they know a secret? No vocalist singer screamer need apply, thank you very much. Do you know what happens? It makes for a relaxing experience! Without some dude yelling about whatever he's upset about, Ikitan delivers some heaviness in which you can hear the instruments. Sometimes it gets groovy and mellow, then it gets a bit heavier, like chilled out doom, but it might be spaced-out, too. Or, just all of that thrown together in the kettle. What happens? Ikitan is what happens. Expect no vocals, expect to feel relaxed. Rock music has plenty of angry people yelling about whatever. How about Ikitan for a change of pace?!

Shaping The Chaos by IKITAN

Leather Leone show announced for Seattle in August

I came across this announcement from singer Leather Leone and it involves Seattle. This is not until August, but maybe write it on your calendar now, just in case you forget about the month of August when it rolls around. If you are new to Leather Leone, here is the bio and also the Wikipedia information, just to give you an idea about Leather, in addition to some more information that I hope is useful to you.

BIO: Leather Leone needs no introduction. She has forged her unique place in metal history a long time ago. After being scouted by Mike Varney (President of Shrapnel records), Leather emerged in the early 1980s as a pioneer of the power metal vocals with the band Chastain. After releasing five celebrated metal records with the band during that period, Leather re-emerged again in the 2000s alongside David T. Chastain to release two critically acclaimed albums, “Surrender to no One” and “We bleed Metal”. In the last few years, Leather has allowed her creative urges to match and expand her loyal international fanbase, resulting in widely successful South American and European tours, and in the release of “Leather II” in 2018. Anchored in her strong writing partnership with lead guitarist Vinnie Tex, and against a backdrop of unexpected Covid-19 lockdowns, the creation of a new album became Leather’s focus from early 2020. The long-awaited “We Are The Chosen” came to light in the Autumn of 2021 at Hertz Studios in Poland (Behemoth, Vader, Hate), undoubtedly containing ten of Leather’s most ambitious material yet. All the songs were written, produced and recorded by Leather Leone and Vinnie Tex, except the drums recorded by Braulio Drumond and keyboard orchestration by Douglas Pinella. The album was mixed and mastered by Woitek and Slawek Wieslawski. The cover art was created by Marcelo Vasco (Slayer, Dee Snider, Kreator, Testament). With her trademark boldness, Leather traverses several musical decades effortlessly, instilling the new album with the straight-from-the-furnace steel that metal legends are made of. If anything, “We Are The Chosen”, tells us that Leather is here, she is the real deal, and she is ready for more!

Wikipedia: Catherine Anne Leone, known professionally as Leather Leone, is an American heavy metal vocalist, best known for fronting the groups Rude Girl and Chastain in the 1980s. She released one solo album, Shock Waves, in 1989, before taking a twenty-year break from the music scene. In 2011 she began performing again in The Sledge/Leather Project, which released a debut heavy metal album, Imagine Me Alive, in 2012. Leather Leone started singing in the early 1980s. She joined with drummer Sandy Sledge to start the all-female metal band Rude Girl in San Francisco, California. Leone handled vocals. The group began headlining metal shows in the San Francisco area, and were on stages with groups like Exodus and Megadeth. The band was asked to sign a seven-year record deal with Columbia Records, with producer Sandy Pearlman of Black Sabbath, but the band split before they recorded their first album. Rude Girl would morph into Malibu Barbi. Leather Leone guest sang on a released highly collectible "Rude Girls" 2-song 12" EP in 1987.

Leone soon became lead vocalist of the band Chastain. The group was put together in 1984 by Mike Varney, president of Shrapnel Records for a David T. Chastain solo album. Varney had noticed the shred guitar ability of Chastain, member of the Cincinnati-based band CJSS and, at the same time, he wanted to create an output for the talent of young singer Leather Leone, formerly with the San Francisco band Rude Girl. She recorded five albums with him over six years, and the group at different points contained members from Alice Cooper, Cannibal Corpse, and King Diamond. After a long hiatus Leather Leone has begun recording with Chastain again. They released "Surrender to no one" in 2013. An uncut version of "Surrender to no one" in 2014. Chastain also released "We bleed metal" in 2015 on the Leviathan label. Chastain, with Leather Leone hasn't toured since 1990. However Leather Leone has once again begun to play shows as the voice of Chastain. In 2016 she began working with a new band in Brasil with tours in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Leone released her debut solo album, Shock Waves, in 1989 on Roadrunner Records. The album was first released in 1989 through David T. Chastain's own label Leviathan Records. After a final tour in 1991, she disappeared from the music scene. Leone resurfaced in 2011 to form the duo The Sledge/Leather Project with former bandmate Sandy Sledge on drums, and Matthias 'Matthew' Weisheit on guitar. The heavy metal duo released a debut album, Imagine Me Alive, in early 2012.

Leone has recently resurfaced with a band in Brasil. In 2016, 2018, and 2019, she did a South American and European tours with much success. She has since released another two full-length studio albums: Leather II was released on April 13, 2018, via Divebomb Records in the United States and via High Roller Records in Europe; We Are the Chosen was released on SPV/Steamhammer in 2022.

Here is an excerpt from an interview that Leather did with Sonic Cathedral. I think Sonic Cathedral did a good job transcribing this interview. Again, if you would like more information about Leather, this excerpt provides more context.

Leather: I don’t think anyone in my circle in the ‘80s was sitting around wondering how to get on radio. I was out there with Metallica and Megadeth and Exodus; people just wanted to play, they wanted to pull out their guitars and play at clubs. Many people make it for different reasons; most of those bands just wanted to create music that made them happy, and they were lucky that somebody came along for the ride.

C.: Or for a lot of those bands, to just make it enough to where they didn’t have to work a shitty day job anymore!

Leather: Good luck with that! [Laughs] Back in my day, there were clubs on every corner. I hate saying “back in my day”, but it’s true…you could play every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night and have a packed house. Labels would come and find you…I remember eating pizza in San Francisco, and running into someone from Shrapnel [Records], looking for us. It was just a different time. I don’t know what people do nowadays; they have to “pay to play”, you can’t play within a 30-mile radius of certain places…I don’t know what people do now. I have no idea!

C.: It’s not only tough for bands nowadays, but for fans too, especially fans like myself who have to travel long distances to see good metal shows.

Leather: I’ve been blessed to be able to create and to play shows; people like me, so it’s been a lot of fun. I get to do it again, and I’m gonna get out there. Nobody’s gonna stop me. Nobody can stop me!

C.: I think you have a great advantage to be in a band but still be your own entity. You’re sort of like a Sammy Hagar; he was still the Red Rocker even when he was in Van Halen.

Leather: Right; and people are interested in seeing me, which is really cool, because working with Chastain is pretty intense. I’m really excited to talk to people who take the time to talk to me. I’m just really lucky. I’m so excited about what’s gonna happen this year. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.

C.: Are you considering doing a solo album in the near future, or a project outside of Chastain?

Leather: I don’t know; I’ve never really considered myself a solo artist. That Leather Shockwave thing came about through Chastain. Roadrunner [Records]—who was known as Road Racer [Records] at the time, I think—it was just a scam to get Chastain on the label. Now that I’m older and wiser, I realize that now, because they never pushed it. I don’t know; it’s not like I’m sitting here in Northern California and I have this guitar player that I just hang out and write music with all the time. It’s not like that for me. Probably not; I consider myself a “band person”. I like the feeling of tribe, of family, of 3 or 4 people sitting around and putting in their two cents. I’m not this prolific songwriter with amazing ideas from A-Z. I need to hear a guitar piece, and then the drummer adding in something…I don’t know; you never know.

C.: I imagine it does get frustrating sometimes, because you did say Chastain doesn’t like to tour, where you do.

Leather: Yeah, I want to knock him over the head every day! [Laughs] But I adore him; I respect his wishes, but I argue with him about it at least once a week. We’ll see what happens!

C.: Maybe he’ll change his tune after he sees what a success you are on the road!

Leather: Like I said, touring was never one of his favorite things to do. I hate to repeat myself, but we’ve never had “the machine” behind us. It’s always been out-of-pocket money; it’s not like we ever had tour managers, he has always done all this. I was running around like, “woo-hoo, we’re playing another month!” He just didn’t want to lose money anymore. We’re also considering doing another Chastain record, so if we put out another record, the offers will probably come in. We’ll see.

C.: The new album is kick-ass, so that’s good news to hear!

Leather: Thank you! We have another one ready to go, but we’re kinda waiting to see what happens.

Chastain - For Those Who Dare

Leather - We Are The Chosen (Official Video)

Leather II by Leather

https://metal-samples.com/category/Leather/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094755846029

Brainstorm - 14th album of heavy metal from Germany

Brainstorm

Plague of Rats

Reigning Phoenix Music

28 February 2025

Consider this new album an open invitation to the ways and means of Brainstorm, the German institution of heavy metal with 14 studio albums. They began in 1989 with a thrash-based sound, recording at least four demos until their official full-length debut in 1997. They possess a remarkable and admirable tendency to deliver quality album after quality album, in a way that has proven very consistent, and very reliable, all wonderful traits, while expanding on their thrash-based early albums to a less speed-based brand of headbanging heavy metal.

It took them the better part of a decade for their debut album to finally see light of the day in 1997, but once it did, the boys got on an incredible run, especially the first ten years after 1997, with the albums rolling out until the present. At this point, more than 35 years since their thrashy start, they have become experts at what works for them. Therefore, their new album is a great equilibrium of their big fundamentals. The Brainstorm big fundamentals consists of guitar riffs as their indispensable work ethic. The meat and the bones of Brainstorm signify all things guitar, from power chords, riffs, melodies, hooks and solos, gallops and palm muting, downpicking, and everything else that's headbanging heaviness, and as their career continued this main concept remained while driving the music to adjacent areas, sometimes adding more groovy songwriting or substantially more melodies, adding heavy/power metal flavors, while staying away from all-out sugary, pop, dance influences found in happy-go-lucky power metal.

This new album finds the band at that intersection of all their experience in songwriting, musicianship and studio/recording knowledge. Given that Brainstorm is a conservative band, and not one to make huge unexpected changes, listeners will be pleased to know that the new album does incorporate some interesting elements to go with the standard no-nonsense heavy metal, like some background Indian music melodies to go along with some of the Hindu-themed lyrics. Let's be careful, though! This does not mean that this is folk metal or something. Fear not! Brainstorm still sounds very much like Brainstorm, with some melodies and a bit more studio magic, without really going off the rails with excessive adornments. Finally, the vocals are such a nice change of pace from some of the most irritating styles of vocals in traditional metal: Brainstorm singing is not artificially (annoyingly) high. It's not banshee show-off singing, not strained, not nasal, not groaned singing, not weird singing. It is melodic, male singing, not banshee screaming, and not growling/barking, either. Everything is top notch, from their rhythm section to the production, but it is their riffs and singing, in my opinion, that makes them Brainstorm. This is my new favorite Brainstorm album (until they change my mind with their next one one).

BRAINSTORM - Garuda (Eater Of Snakes) (Official Music Video)

https://www.facebook.com/officialbrainstorm

CONTRARIAN's George Kollias and Jim Tasikas Back in the Studio!

Prog extreme metal entity CONTRARIAN have made the following announcement.

Rochester (NY) - With the wrap-up of Nile's North American tour, drummer George Kollias is back at work with guitarist Jim Tasikas in Athens, Greece, finalizing Contrarian's forthcoming album, Escaping Depravity. The new album will also be mixed in Athens, at Grindhouse Studios with George Bokos.

Known as the underground death metal philosophers, Contrarian are primed and focused, readying their sixth studio release. The band returns to its roots with founding members Jim Tasikas and George Kollias, delivering an intricate and relentless exploration of progressive death metal.

Escaping Depravity will be released through Willowtip Records.

Contrarian released its previous album, Sage of Shekhina, on Willowtip Records in 2023.

Sage of Shekhinah by Contrarian

Sepulchral Curse - death metal, let's get ready to rumble!

Sepulchral Curse

Crimson Moon Evocations

Dark Descent Records

28 February 2025

Is it time for this band to dismiss the vocalist? I conducted an experiment to determine the answer. I'll tell you about the experiment in a minute.

Have you ever done a group project, with a certain person not pulling their weight while getting credit as the people who did most of the work? Imagine working on a presentation and one person in the group does the minimum, but on the day of the presentation itself this individual is all smiles, leading the audience to believe that this person played a bigger role on the presentation, while in reality this individual showed up "ready" only during the presentation: ready to be the center of attention.

This album is kind of like that. It is a type of melodic, even catchy, ominous death metal from Finland. It's not truly brutal, but it is very heavy and underground. There are plenty of good melodies and riffs on this album. A lot of work has gone into making these songs, and those melodies and riffs are overwhelming evidence of how hard the guitars have worked to add melodies to the heaviness, working with a rhythm section does a lot towards a cavernous, knuckle-dragging album. It deceptively seems like basic caveman brutality, but it is more sophisticated than that.

The problem. The album is held back by the stubbornly monotonous, monochromatic, almost 100% one-dimensional boring, faceless, harmless "cavernous" low growling. There may be justifications for the nondescript vocals, which are about as exciting as a bowl of plain white rice for dinner. Perhaps the vocalist is a really good friendly member of the band and a good drinking buddy. Maybe the vocalist has been told to be monotonous by the band: "Don't act like you are Ronnie James Dio, dude," they told him, "Just do a low growl, and keep it that way." Whatever the reason, the end result is a sound of everyone, except one person, working hard to deliver a quality album. This recording sounds like a vocalist that could record a whole album's worth of this type of growling every single week: just grab a microphone and proceed to do this comfortable, low, forgettable growling. It’s not awful growling, but it’s ok only, not great. Well, what about the guitars? Could they knock out an album every week? No way! There are too many melodies that have taken a long time to be crafted and too many riffs that have to created and then arranged. I doubt the drummer or bassist could also just get on the instruments and play mindlessly without thinking.

I conducted an experiment with this album. I read a whole bunch of reviews and looked to find reviewers that had even mentioned the vocals on this album. How many reviewers felt enough enthusiasm about the vocals to write about them? Do you know what I found?! There is not one single review in which the writer is enthusiastic about the vocals. Not a single one, and the vast majority of the reviewers, like me, enjoy this album a lot. The most positive thing that I could find was reviewers writing words like "monster" and "brutal" (or similar) to describe the vocals, but such descriptions are debatable: the problem with the vocals is precisely that they are not brutal nor monstrous. However, not a single reviewer really dove deep into the vocals. Why? Because they are not interesting, that's the real reason.

Death metal fans have been forced to accept the idea that in this genre the vocals do not matter. It's a weird idea: The vocals supposedly don't matter, just put a warm body in the center of the stage because this is what people expect, want and need. Fans expect a person, any person, doing vocals, and as long as it sounds ok, fans do not even care. The vocalist is there like a pacifier for a child: Fans feel better with some dude, any dude, a dude, growling. Do bands and fans feel wrong, feel naked, without a vocalist on the stage? It is clear that 99 percent of death metal bands would not dare get on the stage without the growler, even if the growler is rather lazy and only writes mind-numbingly stupid lyrics, because there is this incorrect idea out there, which we have not been able to get rid of: that death metal is death metal because of the vocals.

Is this particular vocalist hopeless? Interestingly enough, no, he isn't! It seems to me that perhaps he is on autopilot. There is actual evidence that he is capable of a lot more than he has decided or has been ordered to deliver. For example, the song "Empress of the Dead" is one of the better examples of what is possible. By the way, said song features some rather nice guitar harmonies or melodies at the beginning before jumping into a barnstormer of a song that induces headbanging irresistibly. It has a bunch of awesome things: black, thrash, death riffs, with a cool shreddy solo in which the guitars do some switching out for some segments, like classic heavy metal. It's all very nice, indeed. After the guitar, there is some rough-nosed riffing that could not be more metal. Good stuff. Now then, the song has been going for a full six minutes, with the vocalist doing his thing, his low, gruff, gentle-ogre growl. Then, at the six-minute mark, inexplicably, my guy launches into an awesome brutal, vocal chords ripping, black metal growl. It sounds unbelievable! It's like the student that everybody thought did not know how to read all of a sudden is reading The Old Man and the Sea aloud to the class perfectly pronouncing every word with excellent, clear enunciation. Like, what on earth! I didn't know you could read, Johnny!

Alright, then, that is very good! Nevertheless, we now have a different problem, don't we?! Why have you not been using all your abilities on the songs?! The predominant growling on the album would be wonderful if dialed back to one third of the album; the black metal increased to about a third, and leave plenty of room for the vocalist: Paint the town red! Get crazy. Imagine you are the Jim Carrey or Robin Williams of extreme metal and amaze us with some creative, unexpected vocals. What about some cavernous monk chanting? How about taking the low growling much lower to the point in which the words are 100% super indecipherable, like a rumbling murmur? What about some higher black metal screaming? What about actual brutal death metal growling?

About the lyrics. I do not have the lyrics. Judging this book by its cover and by the titles of the songs, I would assume that the lyrics are some type of garbage, meaningless "dark" and "occult" hogwash that metal bands like to do. I guess it's what you do when you do not have anything to say. Finland has a long history and prehistory. It's not like there is a shortage of topics: the relation to Sweden, to Russia and Germany. Of course, nowadays Finland is preparing for the inevitable conflicts and wars that are going to take place in neighboring lands and in Finland itself. Thus, it's not like Finnish metal bands, like the Finnish population in general, have nothing serious on their minds. Or, what about writing about life experiences? What have you lived? Or, what about your beliefs, if you have any, unless you stand for nothing?

To end, this album is awesome and it makes you bang your head. Death metal fans should find lots to enjoy. My critique has to do with the lack of creativity in the by-the-numbers growling. The album is worth keeping, despite the shortcomings in the vocals and subject matter.

https://www.facebook.com/SepulchralCurse