Reviews

Records the editors have actually sat with, scored out of ten. A high mark is an argument, not a favour, and the write-up has to earn it.

82 reviews

Madball — Not Your Kingdom 8.5

Madball

Not Your Kingdom

2026 · Hardcore

Ten rounds, no clinching, and the old fighter still hits first

Gareth Llewellyn Jul 30, 2026

Malevolence — Where Only the Truth Is Spoken 7.5

Malevolence

Where Only the Truth Is Spoken

2025 · Metalcore

Sheffield goes to Los Angeles and comes back sounding enormous.

Gareth Llewellyn Jul 22, 2026

Vader — De Profundis 9.0

Vader

De Profundis

1995 · Thrash Metal

Thirty four minutes, nine songs, and a scene finally audible abroad.

Andrzej Sawicki Jul 10, 2026

Blackbraid — Blackbraid III 8.0

Blackbraid

Blackbraid III

2025 · Black Metal

A trilogy closed with a plateau instead of a summit.

Eirik Solvang Jul 1, 2026

Killswitch Engage — The End of Heartache 9.0

Killswitch Engage

The End of Heartache

2004 · Metalcore

The album that taught a whole genre how to write a chorus.

Jonah Pike Jun 20, 2026

Paradise Lost — Gothic 8.8

Paradise Lost

Gothic

1991 · Death Metal

The players were not ready. The sound was, and the sound won.

Ilse Brandt Jun 11, 2026

Behemoth — The Shit ov God 7.5

Behemoth

The Shit ov God

2025 · Death Metal

Immaculate execution, undermined by a decision made in marketing.

Andrzej Sawicki Jun 3, 2026

Blind Guardian — Nightfall in Middle-Earth 8.8

Blind Guardian

Nightfall in Middle-Earth

1998 · Heavy Metal

Eleven songs of genuine grandeur, and eleven fragments that are not songs.

Julien Vasseur May 23, 2026

Sodom — The Arsonist 8.0

Sodom

The Arsonist

2025 · Heavy Metal

Analogue drums, four decades in, and nowhere to play it.

Declan Rourke May 16, 2026

Godflesh — Streetcleaner 9.1

Godflesh

Streetcleaner

1989 · Industrial Metal

A drum machine, two men, and the end of metal's need for a drummer.

Curtis Vance May 7, 2026

Emperor — In the Nightside Eclipse 9.2

Emperor

In the Nightside Eclipse

1994 · Black Metal

The record that built the vocabulary, in a mix that half buries it.

Eirik Solvang Apr 28, 2026

Whitechapel — Hymns in Dissonance 8.5

Whitechapel

Hymns in Dissonance

2025 · Metalcore

They put the clean singing away and remembered how to scare people.

Jonah Pike Apr 21, 2026

Napalm Death — Scum 8.8

Napalm Death

Scum

1987 · Death Metal

Two bands, one drummer, and the year music stopped being polite.

Gareth Llewellyn Apr 9, 2026

Lacuna Coil — Sleepless Empire 7.0

Lacuna Coil

Sleepless Empire

2025 · Gothic Metal

Heavier, yes. The question nobody answers is what for.

Ilse Brandt Apr 2, 2026

Morbid Angel — Altars of Madness 9.3

Morbid Angel

Altars of Madness

1989 · Death Metal

Thirty eight minutes that taught death metal how to play.

Rafael Quintero Mar 24, 2026

Werewolves — Die for Us 9.0

Werewolves

Die for Us

2024 · Death Metal

Australia's most savage death metal band, Werewolves, returns with their fifth studio album, Die For Us. Known for their...

Andrzej Sawicki Mar 18, 2026

The Obsessed — Gilded Sorrow 8.0

The Obsessed

Gilded Sorrow

2024 · Doom Metal

The Return of The ObsessedAfter a seven-year gap following Sacred, Wino returns with Gilded Sorrow, an album that merges...

Ilse Brandt Mar 11, 2026

Æthĕrĭa Conscĭentĭa — The Blossoming 7.0

Æthĕrĭa Conscĭentĭa

The Blossoming

2024 · Progressive Metal

Ætheria Conscientia’s third album, The Blossoming, is a testament to their startling creative abilities, spanning six ep...

Eirik Solvang Jun 8, 2024

Darkthrone — It Beckons Us All....... 7.5

Darkthrone

It Beckons Us All.......

2024 · Heavy Metal

It Beckons Us All opens with "Howling Primitive Colonies," immediately immersing listeners in a dense, doom-laden atmosp...

Eirik Solvang Jun 8, 2024

Evergrey — Theories of Emptiness 8.0

Evergrey

Theories of Emptiness

2024 · Power Metal

Swedish progressive metal titans Evergrey are set to release their fourteenth studio album, Theories of Emptiness, on Ju...

Julien Vasseur Jun 8, 2024

Severe Torture — Torn from the Jaws of Death 9.5

Severe Torture

Torn from the Jaws of Death

2024 · Death Metal

Dutch death metal titans Severe Torture have returned with a vengeance on their latest album, Torn from the Jaws of Deat...

Rafael Quintero Jun 6, 2024

Witherfall — Sounds of the Forgotten 6.0

Witherfall

Sounds of the Forgotten

2024 · Heavy Metal

Witherfall burst onto the metal scene in 2017 with their dramatic debut Nocturnes and Requiems, capturing the attention...

Declan Rourke Jun 1, 2024

Rotting Christ — Pro Xristou 6.0

Rotting Christ

Pro Xristou

2024 · Black Metal

Rotting Christ, the name alone evokes an image of unfiltered death and blasphemy, a fitting description for the band tha...

Andrzej Sawicki May 28, 2024

As the Sun Falls — Kaamos 9.0

As the Sun Falls

Kaamos

2024 · Death Metal

The Finnish metal band As the Sun Falls is back with their latest album Kaamos, released less than a year after their pr...

Rafael Quintero May 11, 2024