Distorted Sound Magazine • 30th December 2022

Judicator: A Picture Of Fading Light

In some respects, The Majesty Of Decay is familiar ground for JUDICATOR. The latest album from the American quartet is an hour of elaborate power metal with a progressive edge. The songs are long, intricate blasts of riffage, choral vocals and creative musicianship, all structured around a single theme. They’ve done this before; they’ve written epic records about Byzantine Emperors and the rise of Napoleon, so long-term followers might not immediately notice a difference.

But there is a reason

Distorted Sound Magazine • 8th December 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Thus Always To Tyrants - Arrayan Path

Even by power metal standards, Thus Always To Tyrants is really nerdy. The ninth album by veteran four-piece ARRAYAN PATH is a huge concept record that may be the most challenging the genre has produced this year. It’s based on the life of Evagoras I, the ancient ruler of Salamis and is a dense, intimidating piece of work. This is an album that speaks of pitched battles between massed ranks of spearmen, pre-Christian heroes and epic deeds.

And just like a tightly packed, Hoplite shield wall, it

Distorted Sound Magazine • 7th December 2022

LIVE REVIEW: Powerwolf @ The Roundhouse, London

For years, conventional wisdom dictated that the UK wasn’t interested in power metal. Bands that could headline festivals in Germany were rarely mentioned in our magazines, and if you wanted to see someone like BLIND GUARDIAN live, you’d have to go abroad to do it. Judging by the frankly insane queue that forms outside The Roundhouse tonight though, those days are long gone. A line of black-clad headbangers stretches right down to Camden market and there’s a tangible excitement in the cold night

Distorted Sound Magazine • 24th November 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: The Atheist - Jamie Lenman

JAMIE LENMAN has had a remarkable career. The former REUBEN frontman is a long way from being a household name, but his fans absolutely adore him. He’s one of the last flag wavers for Britain’s alternative rock scene of the early 2000s and a fixture of the UK underground. Some of his peers (i.e. BIFFY CLYRO) might have sold more records and gone on to headline bigger stages, but you could make a convincing argument that our Jamie is more loved.

And his latest album, his fourth since returning a

Distorted Sound Magazine • 26th October 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Iconic - Obsidious

Progressive-death metallers OBSIDIOUS may be relative newcomers to the world of tech-death, but they’ve got some serious pedigree. Comprising three ex-members of OBSCURA, they deal in a highly elaborate style of song-writing that isn’t far removed from their previous band. Iconic is a confident, well-crafted debut and it’s packed full of dense, multi-layered songs that take multiple listens to truly appreciate.

The comparisons to OBSCURA are inevitable, but the most notable difference is in the

Distorted Sound Magazine • 25th October 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia (reissue) - Dimmu Borgir

It’s easy to forget how terrifying Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia was when it first came out. Back in 2001, DIMMU BORGIR’s first masterpiece helped them escape the black metal underground and was often compared to CRADLE OF FILTH. But where Dani Filth’s lads were clearly having fun, DIMMU BORGIR felt like the real deal. They took their blasphemous symphonies seriously and the album art was straight out of Clive Barker’s nightmares. It was as if hell itself had belched them out into the mortal

Distorted Sound Magazine • 17th October 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Final Days - Orden Ogan And Friends

If you’re even remotely interested in power metal and haven’t checked out ORDEN OGAN yet, rectify that immediately. Since 2008, the Teutonic five-piece have dished out a constant stream of high-quality albums and established themselves as one of the genre’s leading lights. They write choruses so infectious they could make your limbs turn green and fall off, have riffs beyond counting and some surprisingly chunky mosh parts as well. Like POWERWOLF and SABATON? You will adore these boys. They are

Distorted Sound Magazine • 11th October 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Exist Immortal - Exist Immortal

Is it finally time to give EXIST IMMORTAL their due? The five-piece have been churning out progressive-minded metalcore for years and won some major kudos with their three-part Triptych release in 2021. Those EPs were impressive, but this new full-length is really quite special. Since their early days as part of the burgeoning tech-metal scene, they’ve evolved and now resemble the successors to bands like SCAR SYMMETRY and MUTINY WITHIN. They deal in songs that are catchy as hell but have genuin

Distorted Sound Magazine • 22nd August 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Øf Kingdøm And Crøwn - Machine Head

In some respects, it doesn’t matter what rating we give the new MACHINE HEAD album; they’ve been critic-proof for decades. Even during the career-low of the post-Supercharger years, their fanbase refused to abandon them and they kept selling out venues. We could give them an absolute verbal-kicking and they’d still pack Brixton Academy to the rafters.

However, even the most loyal Headcase would have to admit that we’re well overdue a good album. 2007’s The Blackening was a game-changing masterp

Distorted Sound Magazine • 28th July 2022

Harbinger: A Letter Soaked In Agony

In the past decade, Nottingham’s UK Tech-Fest has become a fixture of the UK metal scene. Focusing primarily on progressive and tech metal, it has worked as a proving ground for a lot of upcoming British bands. They’ve put fresh-faced youngsters on stage alongside established acts like LEPROUS and VILDHJARTA and worked as a launch pad for several careers. London lads HARBINGER are a classic example. The five-piece have trod the boards at UK Tech-Fest so many times they’re practically the house b

Distorted Sound Magazine • 14th July 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Primal Fear (reissue) - Primal Fear

Ralf Scheepers is unlikely to ever escape the shadow of JUDAS PRIEST, but he’s probably okay with that. Back in the mid-90s, he came within a whisker of fronting them after Rob Halford’s departure, only for Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens to get the job instead. In the aftermath, he formed PRIMAL FEAR with several like-minded friends and musicians, intending to just have fun and blow off steam. Nu-metal was dominating the airwaves and his new band was only meant to be a hobby.

Instead, things escalated and

Distorted Sound Magazine • 23rd June 2022

Evergrey: Call Out The Dark

“I think ‘try to do everything as good as you can.’ I know that’s simple advice but it’s not easy to do,” says Rikard Zander, when asked what guidance he’d give his younger self. “I’ve been in the band twenty years and I’ve not done my best every time. I would try to convince myself to do as well as I can each time.” Rikard has spent the past two decades as the keyboard player for Swedish prog/power metal masters EVERGREY. He’s appeared on ten studio albums, played countless live shows and been

Distorted Sound Magazine • 7th June 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Warfront - Wind Rose

When you think about it, WIND ROSE’s gimmick shouldn’t work. By all logic, a ‘Dwarven metal band’ theme falls apart as soon as people realise they’re, you know, regular-sized guys. Thankfully though, metalheads are generally quite good at suspending disbelief and WIND ROSE have survived long enough to deliver their fifth album. It’s a belter too; Warfront is good old-fashioned power metal, full of cinematic flourishes, hearty choruses and fist-clenching anthems. They may be best known for their

Distorted Sound Magazine • 3rd June 2022

Jungle Rot: Genocidal Imperium

JUNGLE ROT are a band who’ve been around a lot longer than you’d expect. In the past decade, they’ve released a string of lean death metal albums and built a reputation as reliable purveyors of violence. They’ve been on a creative roll since 2013’s Terror Regime and could easily be mistaken for being a comparatively new band. It’s a surprise then to find out they’ve actually been going since the mid-nineties.

From the way frontman Dave Matrise tells us from his home in Wisconsin, the band’s ear

Distorted Sound Magazine • 25th May 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: The Price Of Dreaming - Hollow Front

There’s a certain, intangible sadness to The Price Of Dreaming. The latest album from Grand Rapids sluggers HOLLOW FRONT is metalcore at its most earnest. Even when you can’t decipher the lyrics, there’s a wealth of emotion that screams bitterness and heartbreak. It makes the album a gut-wrenching listen, but it is a good one nonetheless. And the openness and fragility are just enough to make it stand apart from legions of identikit bands.

Make no mistake; while they might bring a hefty dose of

Distorted Sound Magazine • 10th April 2022

HammerFall: Too Old To Die Young

“Grunge was the pandemic of the nineties!” laughs HAMMERFALL singer Joacim Cans, looking back on the state of metal during the band’s formative years. He’s joining us in a Skype call to discuss their brand new album, Hammer Of Dawn, and he’s in a reflective mood. You can tell he’s not entirely serious from his tone of voice, but he’s right about one thing; traditional metal was in a bad state when the Swedish five-piece first got together to write music. The airwaves of the early-to-mid nineties

Distorted Sound Magazine • 7th April 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity - Mors Principium Est

MORS PRINCIPIUM EST should not be allowed to release music in the spring. Yes, yes, album and tour cycles can be unpredictable and are always fluctuating, but Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity is not meant for longer days and flowers in bloom. It’s the sound of struggling through a forest in knee-deep snow while a blizzard howls around you. We’re always glad to get more music from these guys, but this is metal that comes with its own blast of Arctic cold, it shouldn’t be turning up with the Easter

Distorted Sound Magazine • 28th March 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Shadowland - Wolf

Swedish lads WOLF have been around since the mid-90s and carved out quite a respectable career in that time. They’ve got eight albums and multiple tours under their belts, but have never really troubled the heavy metal mainstream. One listen to Shadowland, their upcoming ninth record, and you may be able to guess why. These guys are dyed-in-the-wool old school metalheads of the denim and leather variety. It’s upbeat, crunchy and a lot of fun, but it also sounds like something your dad plays on t

Distorted Sound Magazine • 21st March 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: Wake Up Dead - Incite

There’s an unwritten rule in metal that second-generation bands don’t tend to get anywhere. Various members of BLACK SABBATH and IRON MAIDEN have seen their offspring try their hand at music only to fall at the starting blocks. Richie Cavalera of INCITE however might be the exception that proves the rule. He’s the stepson of the legendary Max Cavalera, and while INCITE aren’t exactly household names, they’ve quietly built a decent career over the past decade and a half. They’ve got five full-len

Distorted Sound Magazine • 8th March 2022

LIVE REVIEW: Evile @ The Joiners, Southampton

In a just world, EVILE wouldn’t be playing The Joiners anymore. The veteran thrashers should be smashing much larger venues and considered the leading light of the post-millennium thrash renaissance, but fate is a jerk. Their eighteen-year career has been marred by bad luck and tragedy, so here we are in 2022 and they’re still plugging away in the UK’s smaller clubs. Not that any of the assembled fans are complaining though. If anything, they’re probably delighted to get up close and personal wi

Distorted Sound Magazine • 28th February 2022

ALBUM REVIEW: The War To End All Wars - Sabaton

The Great War was one of SABATON’s best albums of the last decade, however it was also frustratingly short. Based entirely on events from the First World War, it was a thumping great record of blood and thunder, ideal for anyone that likes their memorable choruses to be historically accurate. But the runtime was less than 40 minutes and it was easy to feel irritated that it wasn’t longer. The individual tracks were epics and what was there was tremendous, but it did feel like SABATON hadn’t full

Distorted Sound Magazine • 20th October 2021

ALBUM REVIEW: Your Highness - Bloodred Hourglass

Finnish six-piece BLOODRED HOURGLASS are already a big deal in their native country but have yet to break out internationally. They’re a chart-bothering act at home, but overseas have mostly been limited to support slots and second stages. With a bit of luck though, Your Highness will be the album to change that. Their fifth full-length is a barnstormer; a spirited and well-executed romp that manages to be surprisingly moving too.

The band deal in the type of death metal that once made Gothenbu

Distorted Sound Magazine • 13th September 2021

ALBUM REVIEW: Wall Of Skulls - Brainstorm

Gothic-tinged power metallers BRAINSTORM have had quite the lengthy career, but only seem to be getting better with age. Their previous record – 2018’s Midnight Ghost – was a well-rounded collection of songs that earned them some much deserved praise, but Wall Of Skulls is even better. Their writing skills have improved incrementally with each release, and on their thirteenth album they hit the proverbial bullseye on a consistent basis.

Having had a relatively stable line-up for years though th

Distorted Sound Magazine • 8th September 2021

EP REVIEW: The Architecture Of Oppression - Dominicide

Death metallers DOMINICIDE just upped their game by a significant margin. The Glaswegian four-piece trade in highly elaborate tech-death and their second EP, The Architecture Of Oppression, is a highly impressive piece of precision engineering. All four songs are packed with blast beats, wildly escalating guitar solos and enough wizardry to make the Eye Of Sauron take notice.

Opening track The Empowered for instance is a complex burst of cybernetic aggression. It combines the ruthless, paint-st