Back catalogue: Metal

Review: Halestorm's last album was 2018's Vicious, and since then the chart topping, hard rocking band has been working keenly on a follow up. It was proceeded by the title single with a morbid looking video fearing band member Lzzy Hale in a bodybag, and then a run of sold out gigs in club and festivals all around the UK. The full album follows up in fine style and will not disappoint fans. It was produced by Nick Raskulinecz of Foo Fighters and Alice in Chains association with co-production by Scott Stevens and showcases great songwriter laden with mental health, redemption and survival themes.

Review: San Antonio, Texas based blackened doom-death hybridizers, Haunter, return with their much anticipated, decimating third full-length, Discarnate Ails. The follow up to 2019's exceptional Sacramental Death Qualia, sees a further eschewing of their screamo origins in favour of gargantuan, esoteric, depressive opus-like pieces that transcend genre and spectacle in favour of cathartic bombast.

Review: Ever since Los Angeles noise-rock trio HEALTH provided the score to Rockstar Games' Max Payne 3, both their sonic and career paths have veered down a direction that avid early fans still have trouble reconciling. Shifting from predominantly instrumental, spasmodic chaos to a unique form of laser-focused, industrial metalwave; their 2019 opus Vol 4: Slaves Of Fear newly established them as the ultimate electronic act for metal fans. While lockdown led to the Disco 4 collaborative albums, split into two separate volumes and boasting a remarkably dynamic array of features from the likes of alt hip-hop guru JPEGMAFIA, trap-metal phenom Ghostemane, hyperpop absurdist duo 100 Gecs, industrial overlords Nine Inch Nails and even groove metal legends Lamb Of God, their fifth full-length Rat Wars draws on the insidious influence from these more aggressive collaborators while simultaneously offering some of their most vulnerable, melancholic and fragile material to date. Complete with a Godflesh sample, it's rather fitting when considering HEALTH's attempts to marry such disparate yet equally punishing sonics mirrors Justin Broadrick's forays from decades ago. Grinding, mechanical percussion fuses to ethereal, androgynous vocals all drowned within EBM sickliness, whilst unpacking utterly nihilistic worldviews. Imagine Placebo or The Pet Shop Boys writing an album with Ministry, and you may start to have an idea of the war you're heading into...

Review: LA based industrial trio HEALTH have had quite the curious trajectory from their confrontational noise-rock beginnings, to providing the acclaimed score to Max Payne 3, all the way to redefining themselves as a gritty, synth-metal behemoth on 2019's Vol 4: Slaves Of Fear. Following on from their lockdown-inspired two-part Disco 4 collaborative project which boasted cuts written in tandem with artists ranging from a multitude of differing sonic spheres, such as alternative hip-hop (JPEGMAFIA, Ghostemane) to hyperpop (100 Gecs) and even grindcore (Full Of Hell), their latest endeavour appears to be taking cues from both their more vicious experiments as well as their newfound collaborative ethos. With features from the likes of Godflesh and Willie Adler of Lamb Of God, whilst embracing both their metallic and techno-leaning indulgences simultaneously, Rat Wars promises to distil the myriad of components essential to the sonic makeup of HEALTH into one oppressive, melancholic, hellish, absorbing and vital collection.

Review: German power metal pioneers, Helloween, bemused and surprised fans in 1999 with their now iconic covers album, 'Metal Jukebox.' Remastered for the modern audiophile inside all of us, there's never been a more ample opportunity to discover some of the more traditional, dare we say, obvious choices such as, 'He's A Woman - She's A Man' (Scorpions), or, 'From Out Of Nowhere' (Faith No More), and audibly witness them at odds with the likes of the bizarre renditions of David Bowie's, 'Space Oddity', The Beatles', 'All My Loving', or perhaps most vital of all, the endlessly entertaining reimagining of 'Lay All Your Love On Me', originally by ABBA. Yes, you read that right.

Review: Alternative, goth and pop rock band HIM are one of the most creative and strongest bands to come out of Finland. Tears On Tape was their eighth and final album from the band whose career covered nearly 25 years. Originally released in 2013, this is the first reissue and fans of the band are celebrating that this will also be its' very first time on vinyl. Green vinyl that matches the artwork as well is a nice touch. Experience some of the last key tracks from this ground breaking band like 'All Lips Go Blue', 'Into the Night' and the title song 'Tears On Tape. Come experience a celebration of the band's final full length.

Review: Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Holy Fawn have become quickly renowned thanks in no small part to their acclaimed debut LP Death Spells, released in 2018. Combining overwhelming levels of reverb-drenched shoegaze with blackened metallics whilst avoiding the obvious blackgaze assumptions, their unique brand of cathartic post-metal has been refined and polished to a severely impressive degree on the much anticipated sophomore effort Dimensional Bleed. Arriving toward the end of 2022, the work builds upon the melancholic grandiosity of their The Black Moon EP with shimmering ease, conjuring levels of emotive despair usually occupied by acts of the more extreme metal variety. Atmospheric, forlorn and utterly crushing, this is doomgazing at both its most ethereal and punishing.