SAVAGE MASTER - Dark & Dangerous review

 

SAVAGE MASTER - Dark & Dangerous

Shadow Kingdom Records

In my not so humble opinion SAVAGE MASTER are one of the best US Metal bands out there. So yeah bias alert I'm a huge fan. A few years ago in a review I said that by now anyone into good Metal should know about SAVAGE MASTER. I mean they've release a bunch of great albums. Their live performances are amazing. Plus they've got some cool videos. I mean you would have to be a jaded bozo to not like em or not know about em.

But any unknowing people (clowns) out there then here's a quick history. The band is a five piece act who hail from Louisville, Kentucky. They started out back in 2013 and in the early part of their career they released two great full lengths as well as equally great EPs. In 2019 they put out their third full length, Myth, Magic and Steel. I thought that was a great full length but to me it was a transitional release. The album had one part of the style they were doing but also showed some branching out.

The result from that branching out was 2022's Those Who Hunt at Night which to me is the band's best album. I mean that one ranks up with the greatest Metal albums of all time. It's a perfect record. So how the hell do you follow up on a masterpiece? Well ya do what cool bands did back in the day. You stick with the formula and tweak it a bit. So after listening to this the band's fifth full length I've gotta say it's another Metal masterpiece.

So let's start with the obvious fact that Stacey Savage has gone from being a great singer to an amazing vocalist. Check out the final cut "Cold Hearted Death" or "I Never Wanna Fall in Love" both of which showcase a different side to the rest of her vocals on the album. "Cold Hearted Death" is almost a power ballad. "I Never Wanna Fall in Love" should be paired with "Devil Rock" as a seven inch single. In a better world they'd both be hits on FM - AOR radio. 

Musically this album, after a one minute instro intro, just rocks with opener "Warriors Call". From that point on you know you're getting some late 70's / early 80's non-commercial Metal influences. Yeah I hear early PRIEST as well as some other acts. The song "The Edge of Evil" is totally classic 80's era Metal. On this album the riffs are catchy as fuck. The guitar lead work is down right cool. And of course the drum work is solid for this style. 

In the end yeah Dark & Dangerous is another masterpiece of Metal by SAVAGE MASTER. They're coming to town in June and I'm looking forward to that. Basically I wanna hear what songs they perform off of this album. Yeah I kinda expected Dark & Dangerous was going to be one of the best albums of 2025. Tonight it is the best Metal album of 2025.

https://www.shadowkingdomrecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://staceysavagemaster.bandcamp.com/album/dark-dangerous

DIVINE SOVEREIGN - Autaxia Chronicles: Dawn of a New Age review

 

DIVINE SOVEREIGN -  Autaxia Chronicles: Dawn of a New Age

WormHoleDeath

Just for the record this is a concept album which made me think back on my thoughts of them. I have to admit I do own many concept albums going back to the 1970's with RUSH 2112 to a handful of ABSU full lengths and so on. This is also what I'm guessing is part one of many more to come. So let's get into this. 

DIVINE SOVEREIGN is a one man band. The one man is Cezary Rochnowski who hails from the great nation of Poland and performs all the instruments and sings. As far as the music goes this is a mix of Atmospheric Black Metal and Doom. Sound-wise Cezary does a good job merging the two genres. The Black Metal touches are standard melodic while the Doom is thunderous. Cezary's vocals are a deep baritone which also keeps in the Doom aesthetic but he does let out a harsh deep blackened vocal scream once in a while. 

As far as the concept of this release goes it's basically a science fiction narrative which is actually a metaphor of religious fanatisism. Now those of you who read this site (and frankly who doesn't) know that 99.9% of the time I don't mention politics or religion. Obviously the artists I write about do mention it in their lyrics and I let the reader / listener make up their own mind about it. 

As for myself I've been a history buff for all of my life and when it comes to religious fanaticism I can say since the dawn of recorded time we human beings have been victims of it. I mean something which is/was supposed to be beneficial is corrupted by people seeking power over the individual. Cezary Rochnowski's epic music on this release is certainly a metaphor. I say that because there are modern day religious fanatics that would kill him if actually named names, in modern day Europe. 

In the end this is a decent sounding release. I'm not overwhelmed by it in the least. It's the perfect blend of that beauty and bestial sound which is cool for late night listening. I will say Cezary Rochnowski has his work cut out for him on part two of these chronicles.  

https://wormholedeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://divinesovereign.bandcamp.com/album/autaxia-chronicles-dawn-of-a-new-age

ANIMALIZE - Verminateur review

 

ANIMALIZE - Verminateur

Dying Victims Productions

And they are back and just as cool as before. A few years ago I checked out this French band's debut album Meat We're Made Of. Basically this four piece act had a sound  like a page torn from 1980's Heavy Metal. I mean it was far more that a copycat homage. These guys took that style and created their own path. Which is why I thought one was an amazing album. 

How do you follow up that greatness? Well you do it one better which is what Verminateur is all about plus you make it French Heavy Metal. Imagine an 80's era HM band from LA but they're French. That's pretty much what you got with ANIMALIZE. The band knows how to rock and also touches onto the Speed Metal genre on a few cuts. 

There are many great things about ANIMALIZE, on this album, first off is that the vocals are all in French. Great vocals by the way. Secondly there's some catchy as fuck songs with great solos added. Once again this is not a remake of the past. ANIMALIZE have just remade an old Metal genre and come away with it sounding fresh. 

I really feel bad for those who are pining for the past by still living there and do not acknowledge this as some great fuckin music. Not only that but this band brings the 80's to the 2025 era in a good way. I say that while there's a ballad playing on this album. 

Nuff Said.

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/verminateur

HELLCRASH - Inferno Crematorio review

 

HELLCRASH - Inferno Crematorio

Dying Victims Productions

This is the second full length I've checked out from Italy's HELLCRASH. The last time around was a few years ago with their second full length Demonic Assassination which came out in 2023 on Dying Victims Productions. If I remember correctly I called HELLCRASH the spawns of fellow countrymen BULLDOZER. For me that's a compliment.

Now as much as I liked their previous album which was heavily influenced by their love of VENOM, SLAYER and yeah BULLDOZER. This new album definitely sees HELLCRASH coming into their own way. Sure it's Blackened Speed Metal and the influences are there. But on Inferno Crematorio this three piece makes it sound fresh and cool as fuck. 

I give props to songs on the second half of this album like "Oathbreaker" , "Mark of the Beast" and the closer "Templar's Curse". I mean the song writing is cool. The vocals still sound like Cronos. And the the overall feeling is let's hear this again and again but a bit louder please. HELLCRASH's new one is a winner in my book. 

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/inferno-cremat-rio

GALGEBERG - Cerberus review

 

GALGEBERG - Cerberus

Aftermath Music

So last year (aka 2024) two of my favorite releases were from Swedish Death Metal bands incorporating some old school Hardcore into their sound. Now sure it was called Crust and I do have plenty of anti - revisionist history truth for that term. But for now I'll leave it be. Those two albums I'm speaking of are CRAWL's Altar of Disgust and FERAL's To Usurp The Thrones. Great stuff if you're into the whole Death Metal meets Hardcore sound.

Which brings us to this band here. This is the debut full length by a Norwegian three piece act who are doing that same sound and for 2025 they're winners in my book. Also once I saw who was in GALGEBERG then what was not to like. GALGEBERG started out in 2022 from Oslo, Norway and is basically BLOOD TSUNAMI doing Death Punk. You've got Peter Vegem on guitars & lead vocals, Bard Eithun on drums (also formerly of EMPEROR) and Peter Bosse Bostrom on bass & backing vocals. And for you ignorant people BLOOD TSUNAMI is a great Norwegian Thrash band that I've been a fan of. 

Musically it's more Punk Fuckin Rock infused with that crunchy Boss HM2 early Stockholm DM sound. The songs on here, just six of em, are all about intensity which will kick your fucking ass. Vegem is a vicious vocalist and can throw down some cool dive bomb DM leads as well as crushing riff packages. Bard Eithun has always been one of the greatest drummers in Norway. And Bosse was a fuckin killer bass playing maniac in BLOOD TSUNAMI and on here he repeats it.

This album rules from start to finish. It'll blow your fuckin mind because the song writing goes beyond the whole simple Death Metal meets Punk idea. GALGEBERG have taken the idea to a better level and still keep it seething with aggro filth, hate and punishment. Fuck yeah GALGEBERG are amazing.  

https://www.aftermath-music.com/en-us

LISTEN HERE:

https://galgeberg.bandcamp.com/album/cerberus

MALUMMORTEM - Volume I review

 

MALUMMORTEM - Volume I

Black Mass Prayers

While I was first checking out this release it dawned on me that I've been listening to Black Metal, especially off the beaten path Black Metal, for a very very long fuckin time. Now obviously the genre has grown over the decades and shout out limbs all over the place. Two limbs or sub genres of Black Metal which I've always found fun / interesting are the Suicidal and Depressive BM sub-genres. Now when I say "fun" let me explain. 

Obviously I'm not the target audience for anything suicidal or depressive. Hey I'm a happy guy and yeah hate is the handshake I give to the world. The thing with me is how can you be a suicidal BM artist and still be around for twenty years? Next as far as the depressive BM stuff goes after listening to two of a artist's full lengths I get depressed. Thankfully these people are not on anti-depressants or they'd be involved in mass shootings. So yes stay off the meds and just play Black Metal.

Be that as it may there's some blackened beauty in these BM sub-genres which you cannot deny if your a fan. Case in point here we have the second full length from Italy's MALUMMORTEM. This is a one man band (ain't they all) with Valentino Aragues performing everything (as usual) which is electric & acoustic guitars, drums, maybe bass but I can't really determine that on listening to this. 

Valentino Aragues started this act back in 2023. His first full length came out the following year. Since then he's released some short form releases. From what I see most of them appear on this release like "Hate God and Kill Yourself", "Awaiting for my Death" and "You Were My Angel". 

With that all said yeah musically it's the usual I love BURZUM effect with the cold riffage sound structures and pain filled vocals. But I give Valentino Aragues credit for introducing some of his own cultural touches especially with the acoustic passages. BM music like this these days needs a twist to be inviting. Along with the before mentioned acoustic stuff there's good straight up guitar solos. Obviously there's a melancholy vibe once in a while. 

In the end it's been a while since I've blasted something like this other than a few Moribund Records favorites from years ago. But on the good side it's been a while since I've heard a decent artist do DSBM well enough to enjoy. MALUMMORTEM's Volume I full length should be a modern day start for all DSBM fans. Also we can all look forward to Volume Two unless he offs himself.

LISTEN TO & BUY IT HERE:

https://blackmassprayers.bandcamp.com/album/volume-i

FLY - Or Die! review

 

FLY - Or Die!

Dying Victims Productions

In all honesty every couple a years I'll see and hear some new Hard Rock / Metal act that's supposed to be the biggest thing since sliced bread. In 2025 it's FLY a four piece act who hail from Melbourne, Australia. 

Now in all honesty hell yeah on this the band's full length debut FLY fuckin rocks. The opener cut is an instro but the next official song "Highway Fiend" has a MOTORHEAD vibe which fuckin kills. The following song, "The Sinner" is a full on ripper. It's like MOTORHEAD with Richie Blackmore on guitar. Seriously listen to those riffs because it's Machine Head all the way. And the leads are damm good as well.

As this album continues yeah the MOTORHEAD influence reigns on a bunch of cuts but I also hear VENOM and some RADIO BIRDMAN on "Loser" and "Fly or Die". So yeah this is in spirit a homage to hard fuckin rock from the late 70's whether it was Australian Punk Fuckin Rock or UK MOTORHEAD rock and rule. Great fuckin album. 

https://dying-victims.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/or-die

BALEFIRE - Self Titled EP review

 

BALEFIRE - Self Titled EP

Iron Bonehead Productions

For the most part I'm against that whole "For Fans Of" descriptive definition. I'd say 99% of the time the PR info is stretching it a bit. But this time around I'll say this release is for INCANTATION fans as well as anyone who is into Death Metal circa 1990 to 1995. Ah yeah those are the glory years as well as some Death Doom type of filth. 

BALEFIRE is the latest side project from INCANTATION  bassist Chuck Sherwood. On this six cut release you'll get honestly four true cuts book-ended by an instro intro and an outro. Now the four cuts are good as far as being a homage to early 1990's Death Metal. I mean what else would you expect?

The four real tracks are good as in the riffs are decent. The vocals are bestial and of course the rhythm section rules. Now with all respect to Chuck Sherwood yeah I like this release and would pick up another one from BALEFIRE. But I'm an INCANTATION first and foremost. I became a fan of them since the mid-1990's and I'll always like what they put out. Nuff Said.

https://ironbonehead.de/

LISTEN HERE:

https://ironboneheadproductions.bandcamp.com/album/balefire-balefire

ANCESTOR OF KAOS - Animal Ritual review

 

ANCESTOR OF KAOS - Animal Ritual

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

Every time I give this release another listen I get more excited. What we have here is the fourth full length by Florida's ANCESTOR OF KAOS. Now a little history for ya. This band originally started out in Cuba back in 2005. Now thankfully in 2013 they came to the US and call Miami their new home. 

Now on a side note I use the word "thankfully" because I'm all for seeing a Metal band escape a far left dictatorship and come to the US. In fact years ago I said in a Facebook comment to a hipster that I'd trade a college class of wanna-be socialists to a communist country for one of their Metal bands. Obviously that hiptard was offended. 

Be that as it may there's a lot on this release to like. Musically ANCESTOR OF KAOS are Black Metal / Blackened Thrash which is the tagline description to a point but there's so much more going on here. Take your minds back to the formative years of BM aka: the first wave. Yeah things were thrash oriented back then to say the least. ANCESTOR OF KAOS are like that in all of their chaotic hate filled glory. 

Now add in some traditional metal hooks, a few cool guitar solos, painfully screamed psychotic vocals and some early Death Metal influence. So that gives ya ten tracks of something which sounds like a fuckin cool demo from 1989. Ya gotta blast this one to absorb the utter insanity of this release. 

A great example is the drum work which for the most part sounds like that old style of banging on Tupperware. But the drummer goes ballistic to the point where he's Black Metal Neal Peart or Hellhammer, you chose. As I was saying about the guitar soloing they're like Florida DM circa 1988. Besides that the riffage on here is non generic typical modern day Blackened Thrash shite. 

The bottom line here is yeah this album is really good because it's sound is exciting. Obviously they're not trendy and their hate is real. So call me old, call me bias or hell call me an SOB. But don't call me anything other than a fan of cool music. So if you're into Black Metal that's not a polished turd then here ya go. Nuff Said!

https://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/animal-ritual

GLORIOR BELLI - Self Titled review

 

GLORIOR BELLI - Self Titled

Season of Mist

I first got into this French Black Metal act with their second full length Manifesting the Raging Beast from 2007. If any of you people remember it was in the late 2000's when French Black Metal really came into being cool as fuck as well as noticed by fans world wide. I mean the French Black Metal bands were putting out far better stuff than the Scandinavians at that time. Yeah that's in my not so humble opinion. 

But after a few years in started to stink and yeah in my not so humble opinion. French BM quickly moved into that whole experimental phase which was part of the trend. To me that's why I lost interest and this band here is a perfect example. 2009's Meet Us at the Southern Sign was a damm good release but that was the last one I really liked. I did pick up a few more releases by em but was not happy with em. 

So here we have GLORIOR BELLI's eighth full length and first since 2018's The Apostates. Musically this is not the kinda cool stuff they were doing two decades ago. On a whole this is standard melodic Black Metal. There's some crazy parts tossed in, like the weird chorus vocals. But basically it's melodic punishing riffs, traditional pounding drum work and vicious vocals. 

Some of the riffs do touch on the atmospheric element which was big in late 2000's French BM, aka: the trendy stuff. But overall it's straight up melodic Black Metal with some rockin lead work thrown in to give it a modern appeal. In the end I'm walking away.  

https://www.season-of-mist.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://gloriorbelli.bandcamp.com/album/glorior-belli

DRUDKH - Shadow Play review

 

DRUDKH - Shadow Play

Season of Mist

DRUDKH have been around now for over two decades. If you're a fan of this Ukranian Black Metal act, which I am, then you understand that their first four releases are amazing. After that the band started to play around with their sound. I can't say many of those releases are faves of mine. Basically they were hit or miss for me. 

Eventually the band got back around to making, in my not so humble opinion, great music within their style and it's been great. Their last full length, All Belong to the Night from 2022, was a return to form. This one here, Shadow Play, is a companion piece. Main-man Roman Saenko has returned the band's sound to the early atmospheric Black Metal style. Well not too early in fact I'd say it's similar to what he was producing fifteen years ago. 

Be that as it may this full length definitely has a depressive angst ridden tone to the sound. Yeah and for obvious reasons. The riffs are punishing to a point but they still have that cascading effect which washes over you. A couple of cuts start off with instrumental openers. The vocals are far more hateful than usual as well as carrying a tone of desperation. 

In the end you've got six tracks in all spanning around fifty-five minutes. I like this one a lot. Obviously what's going on in the Ukraine these past few years is an influence on this release's sound and atmosphere. It's in a blackened mode of pain, trauma, anguish and full blown anger. It's reality there people.   

https://www.season-of-mist.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://drudkh.bandcamp.com/album/shadow-play