Into the Coven
Into the Coven: Occult Burial – “Burning Eerie Lore” Album Premiere with Interview
An interview and album premiere for Occult Burial’s sophomore album Burning Eerie Lore!
New Releases
Track Premiere: Possessed Steel – “Skeleton King” from their upcoming debut album Aedris
Possessed Steel are a four-piece traditional heavy metal band hailing from Toronto, Canada. They’ve been toiling away in the underground since 2010 and two EPs and one band break-up later, they are finally poised to release their highly anticipated debut album Aedris on Temple of Mystery Records!
Features
Feature: Lost Doom Recovered
Being a doom metal fanatic my taste for the heavy and doomy but definitely metallic has significant elasticity. I enjoy doom metal that more discerning ears might not have the time nor inclination for. I’ll leave the lower end of my listening spectrum out of my writing but over the years the shear amount of doom I’ve leant an ear to is significant. Amidst the boulders, forests, and rubble of that mountain of doom there are some quality bands that seem to have gotten lost and left off the radar of most doom fans. These are not the very top shelf, the legends of the genre, but they are really good and considerably enjoyable. It is this article’s intent to get a few more doom fans to discover them.
New Releases
New Release Highlight: Traveler – Termination Shock review
No star is safe! Right at a year since their debut album, Traveler return with their second full-length, Termination Shock. Traveler made waves in 2018 and 2019 with their brand of no-frills heavy metal heavily rooted in the dual-lead assault characteristic of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Termination Shock certainly continues that trend.
New Releases
New Release Highlight: Freeways – True Bearings Review
Even though they’re definitely not exploring untamed musical areas, the Brampton, Ontario quartet are able to distinguish themselves from the pack by their picks of influences. Not a lot of twenty-something dudes are ready to show their love for Thin Lizzy, Blue Öyster Cult or Budgie…
New Releases
Track Premiere: Smoulder – “Dream Quest Ends”
Fully intent on striking while the iron is still hot, Smoulder are primed to release a new EP titled Dream Quest Ends in just over a week. In partnership with our friends over at the NWOTHM Full Albums YouTube channel, we have an exclusive track premiere and interview for you all to enjoy ahead of time!
Features
Follow the Wheel: The Story of Sword (Featuring an Interview with Rick Hughes)
When someone exchanges musical opinions within the heavy metal circle, it is not uncommon to hear expressions like “too rough” or “too melodic”, and more recently “very old school” or with a positive spin “very refreshing”. So if an album had exactly the correct ratio of melodic and rough riffs and sounds refreshing even it was released in 1986, that would mean that it will top the charts and everyone would speak about it right?
Demo Dungeon
Demo Dungeon: Candle Opera – Dream Theatre Review
Not long ago I was having dinner with a very good friend of mine discussing about all those demos that we wished to be reissued but we both knew that was only wishful thinking. And then he mentioned Candle Opera, an extremely obscure heavy/ power band from Canada that somehow he managed to get one track from their long lost 1992 demo to upload in his Youtube Channel. Little we both knew then that at the same time Cult Metal Classics was working on a release of their long lost demo titled Dream Theatre.
Interviews
Smoulder Feature: Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring Album Review and Interview with Vocalist Sarah Ann
Smoulder took the metal underground by storm with 2018’s The Sword Woman demo, so much so that it landed them a well deserved spot on our women in traditional metal feature. This epic doom metal band is poised to make a big splash with their debut album next month titled Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring. In this feature, we’ll walk you through the themes that make this album so compelling. We’ve also included an interview with vocalist, lyricist, and professional sword woman – Sarah Ann.
Interviews
The North Wolf Rises: An Interview with Gatekeeper’s Jeff Black
Canada’s traditional metal scene has been burgeoning as of late and epic heavy metal band Gatekeeper are right at the forefront of it all. Looking to keep their momentum from last year’s debut album, East of Sun, they’ve just put out a killer EP titled Grey Maiden. I caught up with founding member Jeff Black to discuss the band’s recent success and the new EP.