4 min read
Metal

Long Distance Calling – The Phantom Void

Review by Glen Parkes – Jace Media Music There are bands that write songs, and then there are bands that build worlds. For two decades now, Long Distance Calling has comfortably sat in the latter category, crafting vast, instrumental soundscapes that speak louder than most lyric sheets ever could. With The Phantom [more…]

4 min read
Metal

Vomitory – ‘In Death Throes’

Death Metal Metal Blade Records Release Date – April 10th, 2026 Review By Snudge Smith Swedish death metal legend Vomitory were formed in 1989 and, up to their split in 2013, released some of the genre’s most crushingly brutal albums, such as ‘Revelation Nausea’, ‘Primal Massacre’, ‘Blood Rapture’ and ‘Terrorise, Brutalise, Sodomise’. [more…]

2 min read
Metal

Artillery – ‘Made In Hell’ EP

Thrash Metal Mighty Music Release Date – May 15th, 2026 Review By Smudge Smith It’s a welcome return to Danish thrashers Artillery. Only four tracks, but it’s a perfect chance for new singer Martin Steene and guitarist Rene Loua to show what they’ve got. They open with an eastern-flavoured intro on the [more…]

3 min read
Metal

Venom – ‘Into Oblivion’ Review

Metal Noise/BMG Release Date – May 1st 2026 Review By Smudge Smith Blimey it’s been six years since Venom released ‘Storm The Gates’ and apparently this new slab of evil blackhearted metal n roll has been worked on prodigiously since then. Cronos has mentioned that they have really pushed the boundaries and [more…]

3 min read
Metal

Anthea – ‘Beyond The Dawn’ Review

Symphonic Metal Rockshots Records Release Date – April 17th 2026 Review Smudge Smith Anthea (give us a twirl! Sorry had to be done for those of a certain age) are from Los Angeles and have been around since 2015. Founded by singer/keyboard player Diego Valadez as a side project along with some [more…]

4 min read
Metal

ARTIST – MASTERPLAN

ALBUM – METALMORPHOSIS REVIEWER – GRAEME WRIGHT It’s been thirteen long years since Masterplan released their last studio album ‘Novum Initum’, to the extent that some of us were wondering if we would ever hear anything new from this band again. Well, imagine my surprise when the rumblings began of a new [more…]

3 min read
Metal

Elvenking – ‘Rites Of Disclosure’

Folk Metal Reaper Entertainment 22nd,Release Date – May 22nd 2026 Well, here’s a thing. The Elvenking has obviously been having a spring clean. They’ve looked behind the wardrobe and the back of the sofa and found a bunch of songs that were released digitally and never made it onto a physical record. [more…]

4 min read
Metal

Preludio Ancestral – ‘Guardians Of Twilight’

Power Metal Fighter Records Release Date – April 14th 2026 By Smudge Smith Preludio Ancestral are a new name to me even though they’ve been around for twenty years. The project was founded by main man/brain guitarist Leonardo Gatti who also provides bass, keyboards and orchestrations. He did have some help from [more…]