After eight studio albums together, the recording behind the ninth from Birmingham’s biggest Metal export Black Sabbath was one that threatened to derail the Crazy Train. The band no longer saw eye to eye with frontman Ozzy Osbourne and after 11 months of development hell in Los Angeles, Osbourne exited stage left to be replaced
London England was the home of one of Progressive Rock’s most influential figures in guitarist Robert Fripp. By 1974 his brainchild King Crimson were releasing their seventh studio record entitled “Red“, an album that saw five cuts including the epic 12 minute affair that is “Starless” that unbeknown to the band at the time would
When it comes to impressive multi instrumentalists, there aren’t many much more impressive than Paul Antonio Ortiz, otherwise known as Chimp Spanner. Using Ibanez 7 and 8 string guitars to create Progressive Metal with DJent infused ambient touches, he self released and financed debut “Imperium Vorago” back in 2005 before it’s later release through Underground
The year 2000 saw Millennium Bug fears turn out to be nothing as Tampa Florida Death Metallers Morbid Angel inked just their sixth studio album in 17 years to that point, a turbulent line up being partially to blame with riff lord Trey Azagthoth essentially being the mastermind of the highly influential act and the
The fifth studio album in six years from Swedish Melodic Death Metal act Soilwork saw them following up the critically acclaimed “Natural Born Chaos” by introducing some Alternative Metal elements to their sound and broaden their horizons. While the previous album had the fingerprints of Devin Townsend upon it from the Producers chair, this one
Following the success of their debut EP “Don’t Close Your Eyes” in 2014, Byron Bay Metalcore quintet Parkway Drive left Australia and headed to Zing Studios in Westfield Massachusetts to record their debut full length with Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. All the tracks were written and rehearsed so the recording took just two weeks
New Orleans Louisiana quintet Exhorder are one of those bands who are cited as one of the creators of a sound and style of Metal but never really profited from it. Originally getting together in 1985 as a Thrash act, they developed their style from their debut “Slaughter To The Vatican” in 1990 to their
These days releasing a double album that isn’t split into two discs and at least six months apart doesn’t happen, but back in 1991 Geffen Records took the unusual approach of releasing parts 1 & 2 of “Use Your Illusion” as two separate albums on the same day. The first week sales for the pair
Talk of a particular sound being ‘dead’ as it reaches a saturation point is common place these days and when bands breathe new life into a genre it’s not always met with the nostalgic glow that you’d hope it would be. Formed in 2004, Denver Colorado Thrash Metallers Havok took 5 years to get their
Progressive DJentlemen Vildhjarta formed in Hudiksvall Sweden in 2005 and are known for employing Meshuggah influenced jarring staccato riffs, harmonic minor chord progressions and when “Masstaden” was written back in 2011, a dual lead vocal attack. Recorded with Jens Bogren (Sepultura, At The Gates, Arch Enemy) handling mastering and guitarist Daniel Bergström handling production, the
