Category Archives: Album Reviews

Ice Age’s “Breaking the Ice”: Debut, 30 Years in the Making

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Ice Age is:

Sabrina Kihlstrand – Lead vocals

Linnea Landstedt – Guitars

Viktoria Larsson – Bass

Andre Holmqvist – Drums

Remember that Big 4 show (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax) back in the day in Sweden where the show was dedicated to a band called Ice Age? I do and vaguely recall looking the band up, only to find a few songs floating around with a few demo bootlegs available. I dug them, but didn’t expend too much more effort once I heard the limited amount of what was available here in the US. Since then, the name has come up in passing a few times in the “whatever happened to…” context and I always wondered myself. Surprise! They’re back, and with a damned vengeance…

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Sparzanza is “Announcing the End”

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Sparzanza is:

Fredrik Weileby – Vocals
Calle Johannesson – Guitar
Magnus Eronen – Guitar
Anders Åberg – Drums
Johan Carlsson – Bass

 

Spawned in Karlstad, Sweden, Hard Rock/Metal outfit Sparzanza was formed by guitarists Calle and David Johannesson along with drummer Anders Aberg back in 1996. Soon after its inception, bass player Johan Carsson and vocalist Fedrik Wileby were added, allowing the band to release a number of demos, singles and EPs. By 2003, Sparzanza had two albums under their belts, “Angels of Vengeance” and “Into the Sewers” under the production of Rikard Löfgren, who becomes the honorary sixth member of the growing band. As their fan base grew, Banisher of the Light was released in 2007 and followed two years later with In Voodoo Veritas, just before replacing David Johannesson with guitarist Magnus Eronen. By 2012, Finland seized on Sparzanza’s musical offerings, allowing the band to relentlessly tour the country and earned a high frequency of spins on Finnish Rock radio. After releasing Folie à Cinq and Death is Certain, Life is Not in 2012 and “Circle” in 2014, Sparzanza began producing a number of well-received videos on their own YouTube channel and are allowed to play in China for the first time. After touring the world for some twenty years, Sparzanza released their first live album, Twenty Years of Sin in 2016.

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Review: BLUES PILLS – ‘Lady In Gold Live In Paris’ [Official Live Video]

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Formed in 2011 Blues Pills originally founded by  half-brothers Zack Anderson (bass) and Cory Berry (drums), formerly of Radio Moscow. The brothers then added powerful blues vocalist Elin Larsson and then adding then 16-year-old guitarist Dorian Sorriaux. Cory has since left the band and was replaced by current drummer André Kvarnström. In July 2013, Blues Pills signed a contract with Nuclear Blast and released their ‘Devil Man’ EP. In total the band has released 3 EP’s, 2 studio albums and now 2 live albums. Now the Sweden based blues rockers Blues Pills have announced the release of their first ever DVD/Blu Ray, entitled ‘Lady In Gold Live In Paris’, on November 3, 2017. The release features the band’s sold out performance at Le Trianon in Paris, France on October 30, 2016 in front of 1.200 euphoric fans.

Commented the band: “We are stoked to share with you that we will release a live record/ DVD which was recorded and filmed during our show in Paris at le Trianon last October on the ‘Lady in Gold Tour’. We decided to do this because we want to share our live experience with all our fans and also those fans who might have never had the chance to see us live. The live interpretation of our songs differs a lot from the studio record versions. We would call it a bit more rock ‘n roll, more heavy, more jam parts, more psychedelic parts simply another experience . Playing live is what we’ve always enjoyed most. In no other situation can you connect as deep with your fans. We tried to catch the magical moments and emotions of the live atmosphere on DVD/ record for your living rooms, cars and wherever you will rock out to it. Paris was chosen because it means a lot to us to play in this beautiful city and also ‘Le Trianon’ is one of the most beautiful venues in Europe, this needed to get shared with you. Continue reading →

Album Review: ANNIHILATOR – “For The Demented” [Official Video Streams]

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What else do you get in the great white North of the Americas apart from extremely kind people? Of course, heavy frigging metal, and especially the one and only ANNIHILATOR. This Canadian engine is over three decades old and is still going strong with all guns blazing, Jeff Waters and co. are back with yet another album, amassing their catalog to a whopping 16 records in total with the release of “For The Demented“; out this November 3rd via  Silver Lining Records. Two years in the making and a quick successor to 2015’s “Suicide Society“, the all new “For The Demented” features the work of new drummer and bassist Fabio Alessandrini and Rich Hinks, respectively, adding to the ever persistent changes in the history of the band’s line-up. 

So, does ANNIHILATOR‘s sweet 16th really sound sweet? Let’s find out!

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Entheos Prepares to Unleash Their “Dark Future”

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Entheos is:

Chaney Crabb – vocals

Navene Koperwis – drums

Evan Brewer – bass

Travis LeVrier – guitar

Huge fan of Entheos right here, so when we got the opportunity to review the new album Dark Future on Spinefarm Records and due out November 10, 2017, I staked claim on it within seconds of the promo email hitting our mailbox. I have been waiting to hear this thing since speaking with vocalist Chaney Crabb last year while touring in support of their last full length album, The Infinite Nothing. She stated that any new music was going to be “more weird” and “experimental” as time progresses. Thankfully, she and the rest of Entheos has made good on that promise with Dark Future. Continue reading →

Review: ELECTRIC WIZARD – ‘Wizard Bloody Wizard’ [Official Video]

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Formed in 1993 and having released album after album of genre defining doom metal, Electric Wizard are back once again to melt faces with their newest release ‘Wizard Bloody Wizard’ (licensed to Spinefarm Records through the bands own Witchfinder Records). While the album isn’t as memorable as ‘Dopethrone’ I’d still argue that it’s the strongest thing they’ve done since ‘Witchcult Today’. ‘Wizard Bloody Wizard’ the ninth ELECTRIC WIZARD studio album is released October 20th 2017 via Witchfinder Records / Spinefarm Records Continue reading →

Review: SIGNS OF THE SWARM – ‘The Disfigurement Of Existence’ [Official Videos]

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After releasing the record ‘Senseless Order’ people were already dying over how brutal Signs Of The Swarm is but after the just released album ‘The Disfigurement Of Existence’ you will most likely not even be able to tell the tale. So fasten your seatbelts and get ready for the roller coaster of your life!

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Album Review: HOBOSEXUAL – Monolith

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Hobosexual

Monolith

Kitchentable Records

Monolith, the stunning third album from Seattle’s Hobosexual, is a tough beast to wrap your head around. How is it that these two guys, Jeff Silva (who plays the everloving shit out of the drums) and Ben Harwood (who does everything else), are able to make a sound this lush and full? How, exactly, were they able to get their hands on my entire music collection from 1983 to 1997? And how in the hell did they figure out how to play it all at once? I’ve listened to this record over and over and over and over in search of an answer, and all I’ve got to show for it is two throbbing eardrums, a blown mind and a thoroughly kicked ass. Monolith is a jaw-dropping genre-smasher, like grinding up and snorting everything you’ve ever like about loud n’ hard heavy rock.

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Album Review: ADARVIROG “Kraj Padanniau” [Song Stream]

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Have I got something new for you all! So we here at Metal Nexus received a strange looking album in a language none of us could quite translate, and left our editors Fist and Rattlehead scratching their heads. After using a mixture of Serbian, Russian, and English keyboards, plus some dedicated searching, we found the very unique works of Adarvirog. And this review will be a touch different from what we’re used to, between discussing the Belarusian elements, attempts at pronunciation, and translations.

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Review: SCOUR – ‘Red’ EP. Supergroup Ft Philip Anselmo, Adam Jarvis… [Partial Album Stream]

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“[T]he Scour thing was something that just popped up, and it’s something that I think I can kill, something I can lay it out…it’s predominantly, in my ear, modern-ish black metal sounding, thrash black metal type stuff. I’m going to put my own spin on it. I don’t have to sound like your boy from Gorgoroth (laughter) to get my point across, man. There’s other ways of singing over that style of music, and I shall employ many styles” – Philip H. Anselmo talking to hellbound.ca

Just kill it? – too tame! The US extreme metal supergroup Scour, the brainchild of Philip H. Anselmo (Pantera, Down), John Jarvis (Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed), Derek Engemann (Cattle Decapitation), Chase Fraser (Animosity, Decrepit Birth), and Adam Jarvis (Pig Destroyer, Misery Index) have absolutely annihilated it once again with their ferocious new ‘Red’ EP out this Friday 3rd Nov via Anselmo’s own Housecore records label (physicals including CD, LP and merchandise orders here, and digital available here). The ‘Red’ EP offers a punishing 16-minute mix of pure modern black metal with pulsating grind and thrash which will leave you ‘seeing red’ with an insatiable bloodthirsty appetite for more – not that that’s a bad thing, existing fans of Scour are waiting heavily in anticipation for a full-length and if this EP is anything to go by, it will be an absolutely formidable aural battery full, pioneering the new chapter in US Black metal!

The record well exceeds expectations that were already set high after 2016’s debut ‘Grey’ EP, which reached an unprecedented #4 on the iTunes top 100 heavy metal albums just 2 days after release. The ‘Grey’ also saw release via Anselmo’s own Housecore label, just before their crushing performance at Hellfest Open Air festival featuring the Pantera classic “Strength Beyond Strength”. Continue reading →