July 1, 2015 by Rich Castle • Heavy Metal Reviews Tags: Atmospheric, Black Metal, Germany, new bands, new releases • 0 Comments
Release May 15, 2015, Antlers are billed as Black Metal from Germany, Spain and Catelonia. That description on YouTube is too complicated. The band actually simply hails from outermost Germany. Get this (of course, limited) 12-inch vinyl on Vendetta Records while you can. The band’s debut is Atmospheric Black Metal, to be exact. I love […]
July 1, 2015 by Rich Castle • Heavy Metal Reviews Tags: Venom Cronos Black Metal Punk/Metal Heavy Metal Mantas Cronos • 0 Comments
Venom’s 2011 LP, “Fallen Angels” must have encountered — happened upon — a new age of deafness. Tone deafness, that is, as that’s what I’m talking about. This decade-opening Venom caveat was great. Period. Cronos was flying his sarcastic flag of Black Metal, for it, as per what he usually does. I hadn’t liked an […]
January 25, 2015 by Rich Castle • Heavy Metal Reviews Tags: Cold Winter Blades, Epic Metal, Fantasy Metal, Graveland, Ragnarok, Ragnarok 2013 movie, Rob Darken, Vikings • 0 Comments
As I watched the subtitled-in-Norwegian 2013 fantasy/Viking 2013 flick, “Ragnarok”, I pictured the flames and explosions ravaging the mystical Finnmarkian Scandinavian-Russian landscape — to the tune of “Cold Winter Blades”. To see Queen Asa clutch her three-sided necklace and the foolish king storm towards mayhaps the eye of Odin, I didn’t hear Bathory. I heard […]
January 5, 2015 by Rich Castle • Heavy Metal Reviews Tags: Bad Channels, Blue Oyster Cult, BOC, Buck Dharma Roeser, Prog, Shooting Shark • 0 Comments
Blue Öyster Cult — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – 1992 Did Long Island, New York’s Blue Öyster Cult ever sound like Canada’s Bachman-Turner Overdrive/(B.T.O. — circa 1973)? Yes. And did you ever think, generally, that the sound of a Rock singer reaching down lower for the gravelly notes have not that much difference via geographical […]
January 3, 2015 by Rich Castle • Heavy Metal Reviews Tags: #10, All Time, Best, Guitarists, Heavy Metal, NOCTURNO CULTO, Reviews, Top 10 • 1 Comment
Fenriz may hog the spotlight within Norway’s supremely talented duo, as the man responsible for the “battery” — but let us not forget Nocturno Culto. His GIFT OF GODS mini-LP came a-clanging to spotlight his immense talent. Unsung guitar heros like Piggy of VOI VOD (RIP) deserve their due. I am giving props to this […]
January 3, 2015 by Rich Castle • Heavy Metal Reviews Tags: #9, All Time, Best, Guitarists, Heavy Metal, JEFF HANNEMAN, KERRY KING, Reviews, Top 10 • 0 Comments
The world witnessed one of the most coordinated musical maelstroms when SLAYER unsheathed album after album, starting in 1983 with “Show No Mercy”. “Hell Awaits” followed in 1985 with a dazzling lead-in EP before it. All a mere prelude for the din of “Reign In Blood” (LP in 1986). “South Of Heaven” in 1988 and […]
January 3, 2015 by Rich Castle • Heavy Metal Reviews Tags: #8, All Time, Best, Guitarists, Heavy Metal, JOHNNY RAMONE, Reviews, Top 10 • 0 Comments
THE RAMONES. If you any question about the Heavy Metalness of this inclusion please play the “Rocket To Russia” album or “Road To Ruin” LP by THE RAMONES. They would pin your frame to the back wall when they strutted into a club. Manhattan, New York City was home turf to the band that brought […]
January 3, 2015 by Rich Castle • Heavy Metal Reviews Tags: #7, All Time, Best, EDDIE VAN HALEN, Guitarists, Heavy Metal, RANDY RHOADS, Reviews, Top 10 • 1 Comment
EDDIE VAN HALEN — tie with RANDY RHOADS – RIP, dead in a plane crash. I can’t talk about him too much but please what the boy did on the first two Ozzy Osbourne solo albums was a stunning display of chops to spare. Album: OZZY – “Diary Of A Madman” — 2nd solo album […]
January 3, 2015 by Rich Castle • Heavy Metal Reviews Tags: #6, All Time, ANGUS YOUNG, Best, Guitarists, Heavy Metal, MALCOLM YOUNG, Top 10 • 1 Comment
Two heads are better than one. In bandspeak when there is a lead guitarist and a rhythm guitarist and they both smoke at their respective tasks; watch out! Hailing from down under, in Australia, their band AC/DC has been making albums for 40 years with the new video for “Play Ball” probably the last to […]
Slayer – “Repentless” 2015 LP
July 2, 2015 by Rich Castle • Heavy Metal Reviews Tags: Araya, Exodus, Hanneman, Holt, King, Slayer, Thrash • 0 Comments
Unrepentant. That is how Slayer feel at this moment in time about having an album that spawned it’s legs by being released on 9-11-2001, “God Hates Us All”. In any case this new album carries the stench of death also by being Slayer’s post-Hanneman affair. “Repentless” (bad English is not cool Mr. Araya and Mr. […]
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