[ALBUM REVIEW] Soilwork – Death Resonance
Soilwork – Death Resonance Nuclear Blast Release Date: August 19th Reviewed By: Matt Bolton These Swedes need no introduction, providing us with their passionate brand of melodic death metal since 1996. Not long after releasing The Ride Majestic last year, we get two brand new songs that give us a hint as to the future […]
Witherscape – The Northern Sanctuary – Album Review
Witherscape The Northern Sanctuary Century Media Release Date: 22 July 2016 Review by Matt Bolton Dan Swanö, the man responsible for being part of such important extreme acts as Edge of Sanity, Bloodbath and Nightingale, performs vocals, keyboards and drums. He’s joined by multi-instrumentalist Ragnar Widerberg on guitars/bass for the duos third offering and the […]
Gone is Gone – Gone is Gone – Album Review
Gone is Gone Gone Is Gone Cooking Vinyl/Black Dune Records 8 July 2016 Review by Matt Bolton Gone is Gone have a lot to offer on their debut EP and it’s no surprise with the high calibre of musicianship laid out on the table. Putting his heart and soul into the vocals is Troy Sanders […]
Album Review – Inquisition – Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond The Celestial Zenith
Inquisition Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond The Celestial Zenith Season of Mist 26 August 2016 Review by Matt Bolton On their seventh offering, Columbian duo Inquisition, now residing in Seattle, leave us with this perfect soundtrack to sacrificing goats and the like. Along with an epic title to the record, Bloodshed across the Empyrean […]
Ghoulgotha – To Starve The Cross – Album Review
Ghoulgotha To Starve The Cross Dark Descent Records Release Date: 13 June 2016 Review by Matt Bolton Three-piece Ghoulgotha from San Diego, California produce their third offering of death metal, with a tinge of doom. The riff HEAVY opener, Village of Flickering Torches, showcases the intense leads provided by the guitarists. The drums come at […]
Hellyeah – Unden!able – Album Review
Hellyeah Unden!able Sony Music Australia Release Date: 3 June 2016 Review by Matt Bolton From the build-up of intro, !, to the in your face, X, Hellyeah come at you with full force. Vinnie Paul puts the pedal to the metal and it is great to see the man giving it his all after […]
Gig Review: Iron Maiden + The Raven Age, Sydney, 6 May 2016
Iron Maiden + The Raven Age Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney 6 May 2016 Review by Matt Bolton Photos by Jess Miller Any band has big boots to fill supporting a massive headline act like Iron Maiden. But UK five-piece The Raven Age did a pretty damn good job of that tonight. The thudding drums of […]
Filter – Crazy Eyes – Album Review
Filter Crazy Eyes Wind-up Records / Caroline Australia Release Date: 8 April 2016 Reviewed by Matt Bolton Filter releasing their seventh album is something to get excited about. It’s the best music they have created in some time. The music is edgier, while still being hard hitting and catchy at the same time. The band […]
The 69 Eyes – Universal Monsters – Album Review
The 69 Eyes Universal Monsters Nuclear Blast Records Release Date: 22 April 2016 Review by Matt Bolton If you could imagine what it would sound like if Iggy Pop, The Cramps and The Sisters of Mercy had a three way, while spinning an Elvis record would sound like, it would be close to this. Perhaps […]
Elephant Tree – Elephant Tree – Album Review
Elephant Tree Elephant Tree Magnetic Eye Records Release Date: 22 April 2016 Review by Matt Bolton If you haven’t heard of Elephant Tree you’re not alone. But, if you are willing to give them a listen (which I suggest you do) be prepared for some kick ass stoner rock from this tight new band from […]
Obsidian Kingdom – A Year with No Summer – Album Review
Obsidian Kingdom A Year with No Summer Season of Mist Release Date: 11 March 2016 Review by Matt Bolton The Spaniards explain their new album best as, “a spiked cocktail of city spleen, conspiranoia and personal trauma; blue like the stagnant water in the pool of a marooned holiday resort and heavy like the silence […]
Demonstealer – This Burden is Mine – Album Review
Demonstealer This Burden is Mine Release Date: 25 March 2016 Review by Matt Bolton The name Sahil Makhija should translate to ‘true legend.’ As the man is just that, in his hometown of Mumbai in India where he has his very own metal podcast; that being the only one in the country. Besides fronting blackened […]
Opia – Eon – Album Review
Opia Eon A&R Records Release Date: 12 February 2016 Review by Matt Bolton Perth trio Opia don’t hold back, starting with album opener One By One. It’s a cracker of a track and the perfect intro, with the drum build up by Dain Pattison. Somethings, is a highlight for me, with Dan Zarb keeping a […]
The Black Queen – Fever Daydream – Album Review
The Black Queen Fever Daydream Release Date: 4 March 2016 Bulletproof Australia Review by Matt Bolton 2016 has already seen some great side projects this year with the likes of Nevermen featuring Mike Patton, someone who Greg Puciato clones at times using the same singing style when fronting The Dillinger Escape Plan, who he is […]
Agoraphobic Nosebleed – Arc – EP Review
Agoraphobic Nosebleed Arc (EP) Release Date: 22 January 2016 Relapse Records Review by Matt Bolton Generally known as a grindcore outfit Agoraphobic Nosebleed pull off some sludge/ doom which could stand up to be the bands best creation yet. With the concept of 4 EP’s bringing out the band members different influences, their first being […]
Hands of Despair – Bereft – Album Review
Hands of Despair Bereft Release Date: 9 February 2016 Deathbound Records Review by Matt Bolton Knowing very little about this band from Montreal, I was blown away when hearing Sleeper on YouTube. Bereft, being Hands of Despair’s second full length was absolutely flawless and keeps getting better after each listen. Opening track Reborn features death […]
Ignite – A War Against You – Album Review
Ignite A War Against You Release Date: 8 January 2016 Century Media Records Review by Matt Bolton Ignite return with their 6th studio release, a strong comeback from 2006’s Our Darkest Days, making such an impact that Machine Head covered the title track and album opener Bleeding on the B-side of their Killer be Killed […]
There Is No Us – Farewell To Humanity – EP Review
There Is No Us Farewell to Humanity Release Date: 30 August 2015 Review by Matt Bolton As stated on their bandcamp site “There Is No Us is a social movement to expose the failure of the human race.” Andy Gerold is the mastermind of the group playing all instruments, something he is familiar with after […]
Danzig – Skeletons – Album Review
Danzig Skeletons Release Date: 27 November 2015 Nuclear Blast Records Review by Matt Bolton Love him or hate him, Danzig is the man who gave us the infamous punk classic Walk Among Us and now he is going to share with all his fans his Skeletons, the songs that shaped him as a musician. What […]
Intronaut – The Direction of Last Things – Album Review
Intronaut The Direction of Last Things Release Date: 19 November 2015 Century Media Review by Matt Bolton One cannot categorise Intronaut to any specific genre. At first listen I would compare the band to Post-metal groups such as Baroness or Mastodon, even sounding like the progressive turn Between the Buried and Me have taken on […]
Philm – Fire From The Evening Sun – Album Review
Philm Fire from the Evening Sun Release Date: 20 October 2015 UDR/Warner Music Australia Review by Matt Bolton All aboard the “train to the valley of the dead” with opening track Train, as California’s Philm take you on a ride full of prog-rock mastery. The riffs pack a wallop from the get-go with singer/ guitarist […]
Ugly Kid Joe – Uglier Than They Used Ta Be – Album Review
Ugly Kid Joe Uglier Than They Used Ta Be UKJ Records Release Date: 18 September 2015 Review by Matt Bolton Ugly Kid Joe last left us with Motel California back in 1996 and now they are back with a hard rocking full-length record. We got a taste with their 2012 EP release of Stairway to […]
My Dying Bride – Feel the Misery – Album Review
My Dying Bride Feel the Misery Peaceville Release Date: 18 September 2015 Reviewed by Matt Bolton When it comes to epic doom metal none come close to the UK’s very own My Dying Bride. With their 12th studio album, Feel the Misery it sees the band progress even further, something one would be forgiven for […]
Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls – Album Review
Iron Maiden The Book of Souls Parlophone/Warner Music Australia Release Date: Out Now Review by Matt Bolton Iron Maiden can do no wrong when it comes to releasing classic metal records. The magic is back, capturing the same feel as with their Brave New World album in 2000, recording at Guillame Tell Studios in Paris, […]
Gig Review: Hellyeah + supports, Sydney
Hellyeah + Bellusira + Carbon Black The Metro Theatre, Sydney 28 August 2015 Review by Matt Bolton Photo by Britt Andrews You know that feeling you get when you hear an unreal Oz band for the first time. The same feeling I got when I first heard The Butterfly Effect I got instantly when I […]
Funeral Horse – Divinity for the Wicked – Album Review
Funeral Horse Divinity for the Wicked Artificial Head Release Date: 15 September 2015 Review by Matt Bolton From the opening of the record the band get into a fat riff and you know they didn’t come to fuck around. Just clocking in at just less than 40 minutes this is a display of some punk/hardcore […]
Cattle Decapitation The Anthropocene Extinction
Cattle Decapitation The Anthropocene Extinction Metal Blade Records Release Date: 7 August 2015 Review by Matt Bolton Forget the Job for a Cowboy comparison, cos Cali’s own Cattle Decapitation is back with a ripper of an album where they create their own style with what I would describe as epic progressive deathgrind. Album opener Manufactured […]
Hope Drone – Cloak Of Ash – Album Review
Hope Drone Cloak Of Ash Relapse Records Release Date: Out Now Review by Matt Bolton The endless talent to come out of the Australian metal scene at the moment is mind blowing with bands such as King Parrot, Ne Oblivisicaris and Adrift for Days who supported Neurosis in Sydney. Another act that also supported Neurosis […]
Art Of Anarchy – Art of Anarchy – Album Review
Art Of Anarchy Art of Anarchy Century Media Release Date: 8 June 2015 Review by Matt Bolton Stone Temple Pilots may be no more. I don’t think too many hard-core STP fans stuck around to hear Chester from Linkin Park take over vocal duties. The band is happy to play so kudos to them, even […]
Armored Saint – Win Hands Down – Album Review
Armored Saint Win Hands Down Metal Blade Release Date: 2 June 2015 Reviewed by Matt Bolton This album has classic written all over it. After hearing first single Win Hands Down, also the title track and album opener, I knew I was in for something special. Eagerly awaiting the release it feels like I have […]
Inquisition – Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm – Album Review
Inquisition Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm Season of Mist Release Date: 15 June 2015 Reviewed by Matt Bolton Originating from Columbia and now residing in Seattle where he met drum god Incubus, Dagon had found his partner in crime who would help him in his quest for true black metal. If there is […]
Apocalyptica – Shadowmaker – Album Review
Apocalyptica Shadowmaker Harmageddon Records Release Date: Out Now Review by Matt Bolton Finnish 4-piece Apocalyptica leaves the guest musicians aside on their 8th release with new addition, Franky Perez, on vocals. Formerly playing guitar with Daron Malakian’s group Scars on Broadway and even being lead vocalist for Slash’s touring band before Myles Kennedy took over. […]
Weedeater – Goliathan – Album Review
Weedeater Goliathan Season of Mist Release Date: 18 May 2015 Review by Matt Bolton North Carolina Sludge trio Weedeater deliver the goods yet again with fifth album ‘Goliathan’. Kicking things off with ‘Processional’, which is just that, a Southern procession. It builds up to epic title track ‘Goliathan’. The sludge legends don’t hold back with […]
Shining – IX – Everyone, Everything, Everwhere, Ends – Album Review
Shining IX- Everyone, Everything, Everywhere, Ends Season of Mist Release Date: 20 August 2015 Review by Matt Bolton Not to be mistaken with Norwegian avant-garde metal band of the same name, Sweden’s very own Shining deliver some of the best black metal still out there today. Going strong from 1996, after releasing 5 EP’s and now […]
Gig Review: Sydney – Napalm Death + Supports
Napalm Death + Carcass + Extortion The Factory Theatre, Sydney 18 April 2015 Review by Matt Bolton Always a good venue sound wise The Factory seemed like the right place for this mammoth bill this evening. Having a history with this venue, twisting my ankle on the way to the toilet at the Amorphis gig, there […]
Karma To Burn/Sons Of Alpha Centauri – Six/66 (Split 7″) – Review
Karma To Burn/Sons Of Alpha Centauri ‘Six/66’ (SPLIT 7″) H42Records Release Date: 23 April 2015 Review by Matt Bolton When it comes to hard hitting stoner rock, instrumentalist three piece Karma to Burn sit comfortably at the top of the pack. Residing from West Virginia they are joined by Sons of Alpha Centauri coming from […]
Drudkh – A Furrow Cut Short – Album Review
Drudkh A Furrow Cut Short Season of Mist Release Date: 20 April, 2015 Review by Matt Bolton If there is one black metal album in 2015 you have to get your hand on it’s this one. Thurios proves he can do no wrong taking over the vocals teaming up again with the usual suspects, Roman […]
Steven Wilson – Hand. Cannot. Erase. – Album Review
Steven Wilson Hand. Cannot. Erase. Kscope Out Now Review by Matt Bolton Musical genius Steven Wilson releases his fourth solo record, away from Prog Rockers Porcupine Tree, who are greatly missed since going on hiatus in 2010. I can really credit the man as being a great talent whether his amazing ability to play the […]
Review: Marilyn Manson + Apocalyptica + Deathstars, Sydney
Marilyn Manson + Apocalyptica + Deathstars The Enmore Theatre 25 February 2015 Review by Matt Bolton Photos by Christian McGuinness After some real hot days in Sydney and uncomfortable nights a cool change has come in time for tonight, perhaps because of the arrival of ‘The God of Fuck.’ The rain was most welcoming as […]
