ANGEL WITCH aren't my favorite NWOBHM band (those are Witchfinder General, Holocaust, Blitzkrieg, and Diamond Head in particular), but nevertheless I like their self-titled debut record that has been released in 1980. Just like so many other heavy metal bands from that period of time, ANGEL WITCH never made a commercial breakthrough in the 1980's but remained an insider's tip over the last decades...
I am very picky about progressive rock. This is because I can't stand complacent musical masturbation and I think that most prog rock bands are very good at showing off...
The Argentinian four piece around singer Sergio Chotsourian (some might know him from his former band Los Natas which disbanded only weeks ago), presents their second full-length album on Elektrohasch Records. Simply named 'II', it is a bastard made of Stoner, Psych, Doom, Folk and even Drone elements...
Without the press info, I would have thought that AMBER is a relatively new band, which clearly shows that 'Pearls Of Amber' still sounds fresh and is full of energy. However, the fact is that these recordings date from 1970/1971 and this is the remastered CD reissue on Merlins Nose Records, because up to now 'Pearls Of Amber' has only been released in 2000 in a small vinyl edition which is no longer available in stores and is out of print...
I am truly excited about ARENNA's debut album that has been released in 2011 thru Nasoni Records. The reason for my enthusiasm is the fact that these guys from the Basque Country have succeeded in recording a full-length, which is not only packed with great melodies but also with heavy, muscular riffs...
ADMIRAL BROWING come from Maryland, USA, and this is already a sufficient reason for me to take a closer look at them. I did this for the first time in 2009, when the band had sent me a copy of their new CD-EP 'Magic Elixir'...
Once upon a time there was a bizarre Japanese band named Solar Anus, which mixed doom metal with kraut- and space rock. That was a really unique sound, but I fear that the band has long fallen into oblivion...
With this new EP, ANCESTORS have delved even deeper into the progressive rock world, although the term 'rock' is here - if at all - only true in a restricted sense. Progressive folk psych hits the mark best if one would like to describe the first two songs of 'Invisible White'...
Some of you will remember guitarist/bassist Mark 'Griff' Griffiths from the days of early Cathedral because he was one of the co-founders, together with Lee Dorrian. After the release of the excellent 'Soul Sacrifice' 12", he left the band and opened a new musical chapter with Year Zero who released two criminally underrated albums for Hellhound Records...
