King Diamond

The Magus – Daemonosophia Review

By Holdeneye on February 25, 2026 in Reviews, Black Metal, Heavy Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 39 comments

“The Magus is the eponymous band of The Magus himself. At times known also as ‘Morbid,’ ‘Magus Wampyr Daoloth,’ or even ‘George,’ the entity known as ‘The Magus’ is somewhat of a fixture in the history of Greek black metal. He contributed mightily to the scene by performing on the first two Rotting Christ full-lengths, founding both Necromantia and Thou Art Lord, and owning and producing at Storm Studio in Athens, the recording location for many of Hellenic black/death metal’s seminal records. In 2021, it was announced that Necromantia had “now descended into the Abyss” following the death of its co-founder, Baron Blood. Shortly after releasing that band’s swan song, The Magus announced the birth of The Magus as a vessel to express his Luciferian worldview.” Grand Magus?

Necrosexual – Road to Rubble Review

By Mark Z. on February 23, 2026 in Reviews, Black Metal, Thrash Metal, 35 comments

“It was a day like any other at the AMG water cooler when someone mentioned Necrosexual had a new album coming out. Ha, I ought to myself. I vaguely remembered reviewing the Philadelphia band’s Grim1 debut back in 2018, which I had slapped with a 1.5 due to its sloppy execution and lackluster production. Perhaps I expected too much from a band led by vocalist, guitarist, and bassist “The Necrosexual,” whose main claim to fame was doing interviews for Metal Injection and MetalSucks while clad in corpse paint. Let someone else take their new album, I thought to myself. I’m sure someone will get enticed by that band name. But week after week went by, and Road to Rubble sat in the promo bin.” Cold and hard.

Wreck-Defy – Dissecting the Leech Review

By ClarkKent on February 21, 2026 in Reviews, Power Metal, Thrash Metal, 21 comments

“Is a supergroup still a supergroup if the members who made it a supergroup are no longer part of the band? Last Canada’s Wreck-Defy passed through these halls, Steel Druhm was pleasantly surprised by their third LP, Powers That Be. However, the band that Steel reviewed has seen some significant lineup changes since then.” Super substitutions?

Turbo’s Tribunal – Mills of Tribunal Review

By Grin Reaper on January 30, 2026 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 13 comments

“Melodic heavy metal outfit Turbo’s Tribunal heralds the arrival of Mills of Tribunal, hoping to light a fire that warms the dark recesses of our cynical hearts. Hailing from Denmark, Turbo’s Tribunal is the invention of mastermind and sole contributor Andreas Thunbo. Having toiled on demos, EPs, and splits over the last couple of decades, Mills of Tribunal presents Thunbo’s first full-length endeavor. Citing legendary acts like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Running Wild as creative touchstones, can Turbo’s Tribunal live up to the lofty expectations.” Turbo-tastic?

Wildhunt – Aletheia Review

By Andy-War-Hall on January 8, 2026 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, 36 comments

“The calendar turns, and what better way to celebrate the coming year than an album that sounds straight out of the late 80s? Austria’s Wildhunt have been slinging out classic thrash/heavy metal since 2011, but have until this year produced only one record: 2016’s Descending. Ten years is a long time to cook up a sophomore record, and Wildhunt via Jawbreaker Records boasts of “a mix of detail-loving, energetic metal and epic song structures” for album number two, Aletheia.”” Tally ho!

Starscourge – Conqueror of the Stars – Betwixt Sundered Seraphim, the Lands Between Bleed Review

By Andy-War-Hall on December 22, 2025 in Reviews, Blackened Death Metal, 49 comments

“Fromsoftware’s behemoth action-RPG Elden Ring is an enigma. How a game so obtuse, difficult, and uniquely itself in its visuals and storytelling became the blockbuster that it is baffles me, and it’s one of those precious pieces of art that simply makes me happy to live in the same world as it. It’s also metal as anything can be. Bands like Fell Omen have tapped into the game’s mythology for inspiration before and, now, the international blackened death duo Starscourge enter the fray with their debut Conqueror of the Stars – Betwixt Sundered Seraphim, the Lands Between Bleed.” Star power.

Sexmag – Sexorcyzm Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on May 19, 2025 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal, 50 comments

“While Poland’s Sexmag and new album, Sexorcyzm, sound like a new addition to the Lordi sump of ‘metal,’ they’re far from it. Tagged as a death-thrash outfit, this little foursome is surprisingly fun and versatile for what they do. I’d go even further than these two genres and pin old-school 80s heavy metal to their influences, which adds a beautiful depth and uniqueness to their sound that I haven’t heard in some time. I mean, it’s still as slimy as Midnight, but there be much fun on Sexmag’s debut album. Buckle up, fuckers, we’re about to get sexy.” Dirty mags and genre tags.

Dr. A.N. Grier’s Top Ten(ish) of 2024

By Dr. A.N. Grier on January 1, 2025 in Blog Posts, Lists, 166 comments

Man, Grier be sassy this year. With a surprising new level of hate, he sets out to bury the posers under the weight of a correct Top Ten(ish) list for 2024.

Kingcrown – Nova Atlantis Review

By ClarkKent on December 15, 2024 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 28 comments

“Kingcrown may be a relatively new band, having formed in 2018, but its frontman, Joe Amore—or Jo Amore if you’re olde—has been rocking the world for more than four decades. Much of that time was spent with Nightmare, first on the drums and then, after a hiatus, as the lead vocalist, where his raspy voice received high praise from our ape overlord. In fact, The Steel One enjoyed Amore’s singing so much that he even dredged up Kingcrown’s last album for the March 2022 Filter.” Heavy is the power crown.

Portrait – The Host Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on June 25, 2024 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 53 comments

“Portrait is back with a new platter of King Diamond and Mercyful Fate worship. So, if your name is Doom et Al, you can leave and never come back. For the rest of you, The Host is the biggest album the band has ever released. With albums that typically range from eight to ten songs with forty-five to fifty-minute runtimes, the band has thrown all their restraint to the wayside to deliver fourteen tracks in seventy-five minutes. And more than ever, the band continues to take the KD/MF sound of old and mold it into their own.” The Portrait of metal royalty.