Steel Druhm

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Cardiac Arrest – The Stench of Eternity Review

Cardiac Arrest – The Stench of Eternity Review

By Steel Druhm on May 18, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, 20 comments

“You can’t listen to everything out there and we all have gaps in our metal detection system through which plenty of quality product sluices out. Still, I’m left wondering why I never spent time with Chicago’s death metal maniacs Cardiac Arrest until last week. Active since 2004 and with 7 full-lengths under their belt, this is a Windy City death institution that I completely slept on despite AMG having reviewed their 2018 opus A Parallel Dimension of Despair. On eighth album The Stench of Eternity, these scuzzmongers deliver a nasty sound mixing classic Floridian death with the uglier side of grind and crust and occasional flirtations with meatheaded slam.” Chest pains are the best pains.

Nocturnus AD – Unicursal Review

Nocturnus AD – Unicursal Review

By Steel Druhm on May 16, 2024 in Reviews, Progressive Metal, 37 comments

“When Mike Browning reformed his project as Nocturnus AD and dropped 2019s Paradox, it ignited a fresh rush of possibility. Was this the long-awaited successor to The Key? Sadly, it was not, though it was a rip-roaring dose of proggy death with a grand scope. Now we get Unicursal and like its predecessor, the ambition is on full display as Browning and company strive to create a new world of unusual soundscapes. It’s an hour of wild time signatures, twisting tempo shifts, and enough technical chops to overdose on, but is it the Nocturnus album we dream about like so many electric sheep?” Nocturnal remissions.

Warlord – Free Spirit Soar Review

Warlord – Free Spirit Soar Review

By Steel Druhm on May 8, 2024 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 60 comments

“And the cannons of destruction have begun… anew! Long ago in a very different time, guitarist Bill Tsamis and drummer Mark Zonder (later to become a member of Fates Warning) joined forces tro create a new heavy metal project. Warlord was a little band with a huge potential, and their early demos quickly caught the attention of Metal Blade Records. Their 1983 Deliver Us EP made an impression on the scene, offering regal, semi-progressive American power metal with hooks, pomp, and polish. Despite the promising start, lineup issues and the odd decision to use a live performance recorded and filmed in an empty theater as their full-length debut hurt their momentum. And though And the Cannons of Destruction Have Begun… was a solid piece of 80s metal with some major high points, it gained limited traction and left a confused public wondering what to make of it. Further lineup issues quickly undermined the band’s resolve and Warlord came to an ignoble end all too soon. The band’s cult mystique endured however.” Return of the Warlord!

Riot V – Mean Streets Review

Riot V – Mean Streets Review

By Steel Druhm on May 7, 2024 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 86 comments

“The seals have hit the beach once again and a new Riot V opus is upon us. New York’s longest-running metal act are back with their third album under the modified Riot V moniker after the death of founding guitarist Mark Reale in 2012. Following 2018s Armor of Light, Mean Streets keeps the same lineup intact and continues more or less in the same classic Riot direction with a sound walking the line between hard rock, heavy and power metal with a decidedly retro charm and sensibility undergirding much of what they do.” The Art of the Seal.

Unearthly Rites – Ecdysis Review

Unearthly Rites – Ecdysis Review

By Steel Druhm on May 2, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, 39 comments

“Unearthly Rites are a new kid on the block in Finnish death metal, with only an EP to their name prior to the release of debut full-length, Ecdysis. Formed by scene vets with time spent in Sink, Hexhammer, and Fuck-Ushima, they bring plenty of experience to the party. What Unearthly Rites offer is a ghastly amalgamation of raw old school death, grind, and crust, curated and designed to cave in your face with the resulting unnatural sound profile.” Earth as mass grave.

Accept – Humanoid Review

Accept – Humanoid Review

By Steel Druhm on April 23, 2024 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 56 comments

“The 17th album by the unstoppable Germanic horde known as Accept is upon us and resistance is brutile. After the enjoyable machinations of 2021s Too Mean to Die, those who keep their balls to the wall opted to stick with the same basic formula. Their three-guitarist wall of sound is back along with no-longer-so-new frontman Mark Tornillo, and Accept find themselves in a late-career groove, very aware of who they are and what they want to be. And that means Accept continue to drift closer and closer to AC/DC territory as their core metal sound drills down further into hard rock idioms.” The future is the past.

Balance of Power – Fresh from the Abyss Review

Balance of Power – Fresh from the Abyss Review

By Steel Druhm on April 18, 2024 in Reviews, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, 18 comments

“It’s strange when a band you like goes into an extended period of inactivity. You miss them for the first few years and get impatient for new material. After 4-5 years though, you move on and eventually give up on hearing more from them. Stranger still is when a band that put you through all that abruptly returns some 20 years later with a very different sound. This is the experience I’ve had with the U.K.s Balance of Power.” Out of balance.

Attacker – The God Particle Review

Attacker – The God Particle Review

By Steel Druhm on April 11, 2024 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 46 comments

“New Jersey’s Attacker have a decades-long history but seem to exist in perpetual near-obscurity outside of the Tri-State area. Hitting the scene in 1985 with their Battle at Helm’s Deep debut, they were a part of the US power metal scene along with contemporaries Helstar, Liege Lord, and Jag Panzer. As with others in that movement, they blended Judas Priest andIron Maiden influences with increased speed. Now Attacker return with seventh album The God Particle. Will this be the fateful release that finally sees Weehawken, New Jersey’s finest getting greater exposure?” Do you come from the land of landfills?