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All reviews written by Stuart
| 1. Riot - Thundersteel | Rating: 9/10
Riot were formed by guitarist Mark Reale way back in 1975. Since then the New York City based band have released a not inconsiderable 13 albums. Many of them highly regarded by fans and critics alike. Why then do the vast majority of Metal listeners remain unaware of them? Starting out as a pretty traditional Heavy Metal....
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| 2. Queen - A Night At The Opera | Rating: 9/10
Since I'm normally the go-to guy for the heavier end of the metal spectrum on RevelationZ, I thought I would branch out and review something a little different. And quite frankly you wont get much more different than A Night At The Opera by Queen, one of the most "out there" albums ever released by a major label band....
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| 3. Nevermore - Dead Heart In A Dead World | Rating: 9/10
After issuing three excellent albums since their formation in 1992, Nevermore's fourth release "Dead Heart in A Dead World" really saw them hitting full stride. It's got everything that a modern metal album should have, heavy riffs, lightning fast solos, some of the tightest drumming ever heard and a superb production job by a certain Mr Andy ....
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| 4. Misfits - Famous Monsters | Rating: 9/10
The Misfits are one of those punk bands that even the most militant of metal fans will admit to liking. Whether it was the ghoulish image, the lyrics based primarily on horror films or maybe just the Metallica connection, they seem to strike a chord with those of both the Mohawk and long hair persuasions. The Misfits early career ....
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| 5. Hibria - The Skull Collectors | Rating: 8.5/10
Hibria's 2004 debut album Defying the Rules hit me with such force that I still haven't fully recovered. It was 52 minutes of pure, unadulterated Power Metal from Brazil which had to be heard to be believed. Its allure lay in the fact it cared not for the genre's conversions and seeked to pile as many riffs, solos, tempo changes, bass licks an....
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| 6. Hell - Human Remains | Rating: 8.5/10
There has been quite a buzz about the release of the first full length Hell album and for good reason. Formed in the heady NWOBHM days, Hell fashioned some exciting and highly original music hampered by below average (even for those days) demo level production. The bands original incarnation never managed to progress beyond....
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| 7. Deicide - Till Death Do Us Part | Rating: 8.5/10
Deicide's last album The Stench of Redemption was an astonishing return to form and a bona fide Death Metal classic. It came in the wake of several below par releases, contractual wrangling with their old label Roadrunner and most importantly the sacking of long time guitarists the Hoffman Brothers. Having recruited two excellent ....
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| 8. Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger | Rating: 8.5/10
"So pure, so cold, Transilvanian Hunger" Darkthrone are one of the most respected black metal bands in existence. Along with bands like Mayhem, Burzum and Immortal they helped spearhead the 2nd wave of black metal in Norway in the early 90's. While their peers spent their time burning churches, kil....
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| 9. TYR - By The Light of The Northern Star | Rating: 8/10
It's not often that you come across a metal band from the tiny European nation of the Faeroe Islands. In fact www.metal-archives.com lists a grand total of four bands hailing from that part of the world, one of whom are now split up. But in spite of facing issues with lack of interest,....
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| 10. Toxic Holocaust - An Overdose Of Death | Rating: 8/10
If you're a little disappointed with the new Metallica album, which despite having some excellent moments isn't free of that long-winded groove curse that has plagued them since the mid 90's, and are looking for some genuine dirty, raw Thrash, then you could do worse than have a listen to this latest release from US Thrash maestro Joel Grind a....
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| 11. Taake - Taake | Rating: 8/10
When a band who hail from the Black Metal capital of the world Norway name themselves after their mother tongue's word for "fog" then you won't win any awards for guessing which style of music they play. And sure enough as soon at the first screech of opening track Atternett reverberates....
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| 12. Syth - The Reckoning | Rating: 8/10
There has been a desperate shortage of good Scottish Metal bands for too long now. Think about it, in the past few years how may albums by Scottish Metal artists have you bought? You may have an Alestorm record in your collection but that's probably about it. Thankfully all is not lost for my homeland, tired of being a neglected p....
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| 13. Savage Messiah - Spitting Venom | Rating: 8/10
Ladies and gentleman you will be pleased to hear that good old U.K Thrash is back and as strong as ever. Bands like Evile, Pitiful Reign, Gamma Bomb and Amok are dusting down the sleeveless denim jackets and Hi-Top trainers to produce some of the most exciting, neck breaking Thrash heard on this fair Isle in many a year. At the fo....
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| 14. Napalm Death - Time Waits For No Slave | Rating: 8/10
Before I start this review I feel a confession is in order, I have never in my life listened to a Napalm Death album. Sure, I'm aware of their history as one of the most important and influential British metal bands since the NWOBHM days but Grindcore in general never really interested me. I always liked my punk with a more melody....
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| 15. Nachtmystium - Assasins - Black Meddle Part 1 | Rating: 8/10
Nachtmystium are a band who since their inception at the turn of the century have been constantly evolving. Their early works were lessons in the rawest of US Black Metal but in the past few years they have moved into a more melodic and experimental sphere. In fact there are many parts of the latest release <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: norm....
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| 16. Immortal - All Shall Fall | Rating: 8/10
"The Kings At Hold... On Their Thrones Immortal And Invincible... The Might Lives On" These are the words inscribed in the booklet of Immortals last album Son's Of Northern Darkness in the year of 2001. Its been eight long years but now the tyrants ....
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| 17. Burzum - Belus | Rating: 8/10
Well here we have it people, in terms of black metal this is pretty much as big a release as it gets. After sixteen years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Varg Vikernes escaped into the Bergen underground. If you have a problem and no one else can help you....hold on, this isn't the A Team!Let's start that one again, sixteen yea....
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| 18. Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer | Rating: 8/10
Black Sabbath, The name alone means so much to so many, A band that arguably created this whole entity now known as Heavy Metal back in the 70's, that tore apart the hippy dream of peace and love, replacing it with nightmarish visions of war and despair and most importantly a band that has released some of the most thrilling, demonic and tranc....
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| 19. Arkona - Lepta | Rating: 8/10
Arkona are a band I had read about several months ago and was intrigued to say the least. A Russian, keyboard heavy, Pagan Folk Metal band with a female lead singer who handles both the growling and melodic vocals piqued my interest straight away. And I'm pleased to say that once I got a hold of a couple of their albums I was not disappointed.....
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| 20. Agalloch - Marrow Of The Spirit | Rating: 8/10
Agalloch are one of those bands that I had heard talk about in excited whispers but had never found the time to sit down and examine their works. So when I got a hold of their newest release Marrow Of The Spirit back at the tail end of last year I was rather intrigued to say the least. It turns out that those faceles....
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| 21. Accept - Blood Of The Nations | Rating: 8/10
When I heard that Wolf Hoffman was reuniting his classic traditional Heavy Metal band Accept without their long time, leather lunged frontman Udo Dirkschneider I was initially very sceptical. After all last time he did this was for the horrible exercise in selling out with 1989's Eat The Heat. A rather commercial sounding metal re....
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| 22. Warrel Dane - Praises To The War Machine | Rating: 7.5/10
When I heard that one of my all time favourite singers Warrel Dane was taking some time out from his main band Nevermore to record a solo album I was pretty intrigued. Having been previously involved in straight up Power/Thrash with Sanctuary then following it up with the progressive genius of Nevermore I was curious as to whe....
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| 23. Steel Tormentor - Return Of A King | Rating: 7.5/10
It's been a long time coming but Irish true metal band Steel Tormentor have finally issued forth the follow up to their 2004 debut Unleashed. There have been various set backs and delays in the record's genesis but the band have held fast to their resolve and commitment to the music and made th....
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| 24. Power Quest - Blood Alliance | Rating: 7.5/10
I've always had a soft spot for Power Quest, I remember seeing them live supporting Helloween in 2006 and enjoying their light, airy take on power metal. It took me a while to track down some of their albums but once I got my hands on them I enjoyed them immensely. I was then saddened by the news a couple of years back tha....
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| 25. Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy | Rating: 7.5/10
Nevermore's 2005 album "This Godless Endeavour" was the album that cemented the bands status as one of the most gifted, bold metal band's on the planet. It brought the band to a wider audience than ever before and sparked a three-year touring cycle that took the band all over the world and back again....
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| 26. Meat Loaf - Bad Attitude | Rating: 7.5/10
Since a very early age Meat Loaf has been one of my favourite singers. I went through a Meat renascence a few years back and decided I was going to track down all of his albums that I didn't already own. Most Meat Loaf fans are familiar with the Bat Out Of Hell albums and <B style="mso-bidi-font-weig....
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| 27. Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know | Rating: 7.5/10
When you combine Ronnie James Dio with half of the original Black Sabbath line up and a talented drummer with a prestigious background you can't help but have high expectations of anything they release for public consumption. And indeed history has taught we would not be wrong to expect excellence. After all this is the line up th....
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| 28. Dragonforce - Twilight Dementia | Rating: 7.5/10
Dragonforce are an oddity in the metal world, a commercially viable power metal band. They have shifted thousand upon thousand of copies of their four studio albums and play to packed venues worldwide. This is made all the more impressive when you consider they have done it in less than ten years. If you can name me another power metal band th....
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| 29. Celtachor - In The Halls Of Our Ancient Fathers | Rating: 7.5/10
There have been some quality metal releases coming across from Ireland over the past few years. Many of these have been self-financed and self released, as the mainstream metal labels don't seem to have picked up on the underground swell of talent. They would do well to take a closer look at some of these bands including Dublin's ....
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| 30. Blaze Bayley - Promise And Terror | Rating: 7.5/10
I have a lot of time for a guy like Blaze Bayley, someone who speaks from the heart, who writes the music he loves and performs it with a passion unsullied (or indeed, perhaps reinforced) by all of the personal difficulties he has had to overcome. Blaze Bayley's latest release Promise And Te....
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| 31. Anvil - Juggernaut of Justice | Rating: 7.5/10
By now I think everyone is familiar with the story of Canadian rockers Anvil. One time brightest hopes of the Canadian metal scene cast into bleak obscurity for no discernable reason only to be brought screaming back into the lime light with the help of the documentary Anvil! The Story Of Anvil. It's heartening to see Anvil get th....
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| 32. Tevana3 - Mieron Tiellä | Rating: 7/10
Tevana3 is the new band from Finnish metal musician Juha Jyrkäs. You may not be familiar with the band or the man behind it but you will have heard of another act he is closely associated with. Juha is the man who contributes the Finnish lyrics on Korpiklaani's albums. Like his work with the folk metal behemoths and his oth....
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| 33. Tank - War Machine | Rating: 7/10
Tank are one on the many NWOBHM bands that never quite achieved the fame found by the top tier of groups in that genre. They showed great promise with their Motorhead influence debut "Filth Hounds From Hades" but were never able to capitalise on their early success, The band split in 1988 but were reactivated again in 1997 as sing....
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| 34. Poison - Look What The Cat Dragged In | Rating: 7/10
Life was once very simple. Even up to a couple of years ago I quite happily existed in a world where Heavy Metal was the Law and was brought to me by true men in tight leathers, riding motorcycles and proclaiming how God damn METAL they were while screaming their hatred for the wimps in the reviled "false" metal scenes.&nb....
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| 35. Metsatöll - Äio | Rating: 7/10
For better or worse the Estonian nation is always going to be remembered by this writer as the country that didn't show up for a World Cup Qualifier against Scotland back in the 90's. However on closer inspection it seems that Estonia is in possession of a pretty ....
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| 36. Kreator - Hordes of Chaos | Rating: 7/10
Along with Sodom and Destruction, Kreator were at the forefront of the brutal German thrash scene in the early 80's. The German brand of thrash was much grittier and malevolent than most of it's more refined American brothers. The lyrics screamed of hatred and wild, wanton violence. Only Slayer could come close match them in the "evil" stakes.....
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| 37. Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier | Rating: 7/10
A new release from Iron Maiden is a very big deal in the heavy metal world. They are one of the few genuinely globe straddling bands who unite all factions under the banner of glorious, galloping traditional metal. Now that the band are locked into this album every three years cycle it always seems to take an eter....
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| 38. Gamma Ray - Land of The Free II | Rating: 7/10
It's that time again; Kai "The Happiest Man in Power Metal" Hansen is back with his bands 9th album Land of The Free II. And watch out because this time he's happier than he has been in a fair while!
Gamma Rays last album Majestic was a slightly darker affair than us Gamma Ray fans were used to. I'm not saying that it was a....
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| 39. Amon Amarth - Twilight Of The Thunder God | Rating: 7/10
Amon Amarth are one of those rare breed of bands that you know you can always depend on. While other bands change style to suit the times Amon stick to what they do best. And what they do best is releasing thundering Melodic Death Metal albums full of Viking imagery. Sure, over the course of their sixteen year history there have b....
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| 40. Alestorm - Captain Morgan's Revenge | Rating: 6.5/10
Everyone loves Folk Metal don't they? For some reason the mix of skippy, fey folk rhythms, heavy metal guitars and ye olde world lyrics have made ideal bedfellows. The music and atmosphere just seem to come together perfectly and have unleashed a new generation of bands onto the music scene. Just like any other genr....
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| 41. Sons of Liberty - Brush-fires of The Mind | Rating: 6/10
You may not have heard of Sons of Liberty but you will almost certainly have heard of the man behind their conception, Mr Jon Ryan Schaffer. That's right the Sons of Liberty are a one man band from the man behind US Power Metal behemoths Iced Earth. While Iced Earth's last few albums have dealt with fantasy and hi....
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| 42. Nightwish - Dark Passion Play | Rating: 6/10
Its been a long time in the making but Nightwish have finally returned with their eagerly awaited follow up to 2004's world wide smash Once, an album which kick started the bands career in both the USA and the UK and gave them success beyond anything they could previously have hoped for.
But at what price was this success gained?
Once a....
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| 43. Kiss - Sonic Boom | Rating: 6/10
KISS are a band who's recorded output always causes great debate among fans of rock and heavy metal. They are undoubtedly masters of the live arena and were one of the bands who pioneered theatrical, over the top live performances which many other groups have expanded on but some say never bettered. But while The Starchild., The D....
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| 44. Hibria - Blind Ride | Rating: 6/10
As some of you may know I'm a rather large fan of the Brazilian power/speed metal group Hibria. Their first album Defying The Rules is one of the finest albums in the power metal sphere and I enjoyed the follow up The Skull Collectors so much I awarded it the number two slot in my albums of 20....
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| 45. Cradle of Filth - Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder | Rating: 6/10
Each new Cradle Of Filth album gets greeted with equal amounts of scorn and praise. To the hardcore fans, their gothic take on the Black Metal framework is a joy, to everyone else they are an over commercialised T-shirt factory lead by a shrill midget. My own view point on the band lies somewhere in the middle of these camps. The ....
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| 46. Black Raven - The Day of the Raven | Rating: 6/10
A couple of weeks ago my first ever promo package from RevelationZ was delivered unto me by the nice people of Royal Mail. Upon opening it and examining the contents I was immediately drawn to one CD in particular. It more than likely captured my attention due to it's enduringly rubbish artwork which depicts a badly drawn Knight with a spiked ....
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| 47. Metalforce - Metalforce | Rating: 5.5/10
Majesty are one..sorry, I mean, Metalforce are one of those bands that it's always very difficult to get truly worked up over. They play straight up, no frills power metal, which while clearly influenced by the top tier of melodic metal monsters, always seems forever destined to remain scrapping it out in the lower leagues. In cas....
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| 48. Impellitteri - Wicked Maiden | Rating: 5.5/10
I usually tend to avoid any sort of band who are lead by a guitarist whose style of playing is described as "Shred". To me it conjures up horrible images of self-indulgent guitarists soloing into eternity and boring me to tears with a bland backing band playing bland backing riffs. I can't be bothered with this type of music, where the s....
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| 49. Kiske - Past In Different Ways | Rating: 4.5/10
Michael Kiske has been a bit of a controversial figure in the past few years. As the singer with Helloween he helped shape the sound of what's now known as Power Metal with some stunning vocal performances. But since leaving them in 1993 he has gone on to denounce metal in general as lacking integrity and freedom while partaki....
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| 50. Morbid Angel - Illud Divinum Insanus | Rating: 2.5/10
So I'm guessing some of you may have heard the rumours doing the rounds about how Morbid Angel have gone all "experimental" on us, right? You have heard that for their first album in 8 years and their first album with original frontman Dave Vincent for 16 years, they have brought in some outside influences in an attempt to make something even ....
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| 51. Austrian Death Machine - Total Brutal | Rating: 2/10
Originality is a tough thing to track down and can be one harsh mistress when you believe you have cracked it. You pull what you think is an amazing idea out of the ether and go about putting it into motion only to find out someone beat you to it and has already cornered the market. Question is, what do you do then? Do you admit ....
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Daily Spotlight
Iced Earth - The Crucible of Man, Something Wicked Pt. 2
 Iced Earth led their ride into glory and metal immortality with the amazing power/thrash masterpiece, "Somet....
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Retro Reviews
(Michael)
The Almighty - Soul Destruction
 "Soul Destruction" was the second studio album from The Almighty. Originated in Scotland the band took the world by storm with their dirty biker/Sleaze Rock. The bands visual image was raw personified....
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(Michael)
Alleycat Scratch - Deadboys in trash City
 Alleycat Scratch formed back in 1988, when Glam metal was huge. The band was based in San Francisco, but after playing the bay area a few years the obvious career move was to head south to the Sunset ....
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