Tim Bolitho-Jones

Metal Temple

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Another metal website I wrote for. Album reviews, live shows and the occasional interview. 

Dr Hell, Kraven Morrdeth (Evil Scarecrow) interview - Metal-Temple.com

Over the past few years parody Black Metallers EVIL SCARECROW have been making an impact onto the Metal scene with songs about crab robots, space dementia and everything being blackened. They are on currently touring the UK bringing conga lines, cake eating contests and crab robots to every venue; Metal Temple's Tim Bolitho Jones managed to grab a few words with Dr Hell and Kraven Morrdeth about the life cycle of a Crabulon, their live shows and what they are generally about.

Evil Scarecrow, Saqqara, Decapod @ The Firehouse, Southampton (UK) live report - Metal-Temple.com

To the casual observer, EVIL SCARECROW’s sudden rise to fame might seem like it happened overnight. However, when you consider that their first album came out in 2004, their ascension to the main stage at Bloodstock and mass media coverage become more of a well-deserved success than a sudden flash in the pan. Tonight they’re on the third date of their “Boldly Going Anywhere” tour, playing loads of small clubs across the UK and Ireland. We caught them at The Firehouse, Southampton’s dedicated Met

The Scintilla Project - The Hybrid (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

It was almost inevitable thatwere going to sound like. Sure, there are extra keyboards and the songs have more Prog in them, but with powerhouse vocaliston board, the comparison just can’t be avoided. And the Yorkshire Titans legions of fans will absolutely love this.Inspired by the recent sci-fi movie(also known asin some places), the band was born out of a mutual friendship betweenand drummer, who also serves as the producer. Whether their efforts work in conjunction with the film remains to b

Kawir - Father Sun, Mother Moon (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

Greek Black Metallershave gone around the block a few times. They’ve been spreading their particular brand of Hellenistic darkness since 1993 and are now on their sixth full length album. “” is eight tracks of pagan anger that doesn’t stray too far from the trappings of their chosen genre, although they do mix things up a bit by taking lyrical inspiration from their home country’s mythology and throwing a bit of Folk in as well. It’s okay. You know, it’s all right, nothing spectacular but decent

Nothing Remains - Beyond Spheres Of Humanity (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

Now this is a frustrating listen. French Deathcore outfithave one of the more striking opening tracks in recent memory. Just over ninety seconds long, the appropriately namedis an impressive instrumental opener; a sinister music box chime, ominous piano chords and restrained-but-effective guitar work all working together to make an instant attention-grabber. It’s the kind of track that sends shivers down the spine, an excellent set-up for the first song-proper and is both terrifying and inviting

War Rages Within - Vitriol (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

Sometimes getting the wrong vocalist can make a band trip at the first hurdle. Sydney based Metalcore troupeare a classic example. Like so many of their contemporaries, they (used to) have a singer who alternated between both Cookie Monster barks and sweet melodic highs. But the trouble is, he didn’t handle either particularly well.Of the two styles frontmanplays with, his cleans are probably the better, but they don’t really match the music he’s crooning over. He’s like a cross betweenand, but

Before Eden - A Realm Reborn (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones )

Blasting out of the starting gates like a rocket-propelled DRAGONFORCE, the opening track of Brazilian four piece BEFORE EDEN’s third album is a highly infectious slice of Power Metal. Boasting a massive chorus and some gloriously, over the top, riffage, it’s a hugely enjoyable introduction and a high energy, headbanging delight. The only problem is it sets the bar too high. Over the course of the next forty minutes, BEFORE EDEN cram enough turbo-charged anthems to guarantee them a slot at the n

Gravil - No More Forgiveness (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

might be one of the best kept secrets of the UK underground. Their previous record – 2013’s “” – was an underrated gem that deserved a wider audience than it found, but they’ve really stepped up to the plate with this sophomore effort. “” is a confident and impressive follow-up that’ll hopefully see their fan base expand dramatically. It’s also far more aggressive than their debut. There are no gentle acoustic intros or film quotes to ease the listener in as “” goes straight for the jugular. The

Across The Burning Sky - The End Is Near (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

Coming from the heavier end of the Melodeath genre, Sweden’sinject a much-needed layer of grim authenticity back into an increasingly mainstream movement. They owe a major debt to the giants of the scene, but they do away with clean singing altogether and are far more aggressive, if a bit less polished. “” is an uncompromising and nasty version of Death Metal that seems to have bypassed everything that’s been released post-2001. It’s not a classic, but aside from the fact the song titles all com

Disordered - Carnal Materialism (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones )

Now this is disappointing. On July 27th of this year, German four-piece DISORDERED announced the end of their life as a band, after three and a half years performing together. This is a real shame because their sole album “Carnal Materialism” is not just good, it’s bloody great. It’s a raw, gravel throated and highly aggressive strain of old school Death Metal, bursting with energy and clearly played by guys that love this genre. It’s a fitting swansong and no mistake; it’s just irritating becau

Graveslave - Corpseborne (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

Minnesota’sare relative newcomers on the Death Metal scene. Having only formed a year ago, the five piece had barely got their demo out before following it up with this, their first EP. Clocking in under twenty minutes,shows off some nice technical chops and is entertaining enough to make them worth watching out for in the future. It’s not a game changer, but it’s far from the worst Death Metal we’ve heard at Metal Temple and is a good start to what will hopefully be a long career.Also, we shoul

Bolzer - Soma (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

Competently executed but a long way from exceptional,the second EP from Swizz duois one of those releases that are, you know, fine. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it doesn’t feel like the next big thing either. It’s just perfectly acceptable Death Metal with a nice proggy twist and while they’re bound to bag a few decent support slots in the course of their career, it’s hard to imagine them ever being headliners.Ever since they released their first EPlast year,have enjoyed a healthy amount o

Grorr - Unknown Citizens (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

That’s a bit of an unusual name isn’t it? Just what the heck is a GRORR? Well before getting further into this review, take a minute to say it out loud in your best low register Death Metal voice.


Suddenly makes a lot more sense doesn’t it, a band has actually named themselves after the death growl noise! And yet despite this, GRORR are not knuckle-headed cavemen with nothing but mosh pits on their agenda. They’re a progressive minded lot and ‘Unknown Citizens’ is an enjoyably bizarre album.

Armageddon Rev. 16:16 - Heartless Soul (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

are apparently something of a cult band in their native Cyprus. Originally forming way back in 1985 when they were known simply as, they released a few demos and EPs but nothing of any major note until 2014’s full-length debut “.” And while it was reasonably successful on a critical level, it wasn’t heard by enough people to propel them into the Power Metal mainstream.Their second album “” seems unlikely to change that. There’s no doubt their existing fanbase will welcome this into their hearts

Messenger - Starwolf Part 2: Novastorm (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

, singer forhas a truly remarkable set of pipes. His big, booming vocals are powerful enough to startleand are the main selling point for “,” a huge album of pure German Power Metal. He makes a convincing case for being one of the genre’s great underdogs based on his performance here and turns these ten songs into colossal anthems, all designed to be belted out by thousands of people at Wacken Open Air.Butare not a one-man show and there’s a lot of impressive musicianship to be found on “,” even

Grim Van Doom - Grim Love (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

It might be getting late in the year but Germany’shave raised the bar for 2015’s Doom albums. Their debut “” is an agonising and enthralling trawl through the dark heart of heavy metal. Slow paced, down tuned and bleak music is the order of the day but rather than being yet another bunch ofcopyists, they’ve got a clearly defined sound of their own and it’s way more entertaining than it has any right to be.For one thing,sound like they enjoy Hardcore just as much as getting stoned and listening t

Slug Lord - Transmutation (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

Do you ever have problems with slugs eating your cabbages? Are you sick and tired of finding trails of slime all over your garden furniture? Well then you’ll love, the fastest and most efficient way to kill all unwanted garden pests since crop dusting with Agent Orange was made illegal. Once you’ve used, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it.Unlike most rival products,do not rely on pellets to drive the squishy varmints from your lawn. Instead, this mighty Finnish product relies on Doom M

Kobra And The Lotus - Prevail I (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

If you’ve not encounteredbefore, imagine a less pompousand you’ll get the idea. Classically trained singerhas a beautiful operatic voice but rather than focusing on grandiose symphonic arrangements they deal primarily in four-minute anthems. They’re characterised by memorable choruses, nice, chunky guitar riffs and they play the type of Metal that even non-metalheads can enjoy. “” is the first of two fan-funded releases they’ve got planned for 2017 and bar a couple of duff tracks, it’s an impres

Kobra And The Lotus - High Priestess (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

For the past couple of years,seem to have been a band that plenty of Metal fans have been aware of, but not actually listened to. They’ve had several massive tours supporting big name acts and certain corners of the press have fallen over themselves to shower them with praise, yet they haven’t quite captured the imagination of head-bangers at large yet.There’s a multitude of reasons for this of course. It’s tough being an up and coming band in today’s market, even if you do have the approval ofh

Terror - The 25th Hour (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

It’s been eleven years sincereleased their debut albumand they still sound exactly the same, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.is their sixth album and unsurprisingly, it sounds like. It’s full ofbarking lyrics about survival at all cost over short, violent blasts of ultra-manly mancore. It’s one-dimensional, predictable and so macho it would happily replace its own arsehole with another clenched fist if it could find something else to crap out of. But ifandare the soundtrack to your gym se

Artillery - Penalty By Perception (Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones)

Danish thrashershave outdone themselves on “.” Their eighth full length is an absolute joy from start to finish and it sounds fantastic. The songs are terrific, the production is top notch, and while they won’t win any points for originality, the sheer enthusiasm is obvious even on the first listen. This is one of those albums where you can almost hear the band members bouncing around the studio, overdosed on caffeine and having fun making music. Thrash has a tendency to get a bit one-dimensiona

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I am a freelance copywriter and music journalist based in Southampton, UK. You can follow me on social media with the links below.

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