Traditional Metal

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?

Legendarium – For Eternal Glory Review

By Eldritch Elitist on November 16, 2024 in Reviews, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, 27 comments

“Powerdeath. That’s the genre tag attached to Legendarium’s fifth album For Eternal Glory, and one I’d almost certainly roll my eyes at, had I not been following this curious project since its debut LP. Through arcane magics of ancient origin], I became aware of Legendarium, the brainchild of singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Laurence Kerbov and drummer Stefano Vaccari, in its earliest stages as a charmingly amateurish blend of traditional metal and classic punk. 2022’s Death’s Hand in Yours changed their status quo, not only by amping up their power metal side and introducing death metal elements to the mix, but also by being the first Legendarium record to be legitimately good. For Eternal Glory is their logical next step.” Legendary genre blend?

Flamekeeper – Flamekeeper Review

By Kenstrosity on May 6, 2024 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 17 comments

“We’ve covered Flamekeeper mastermind Marco S. before, under his blackened death metal project Demonomancy. It stands to reason, then, that Marco knows what black metal sounds like, but there is almost no trace of it in Flamekeeper. An occasional dalliance with quicker gallops verifies some measure of power metal heritage as well, but at the core this music is tailor-made for raising swords and pumping chests in the traditional way—think less Morgul Blade and more Manowar.” Epic flames of burnt ciders?

Triumpher – Storming the Walls [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Kenstrosity on December 21, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, Epic Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 41 comments

“As a sponge, I am not usually picky about what music I absorb. I often find my way to liking anything if it clicks the right boxes. For some reason, though, I’m pickiest about traditional heavy metal, both classic and modern. I rarely like anything that falls under the stock “heavy” umbrella, instead preferring things that are hybridized with other, more extreme fare. Luckily for me, Triumpher are here to help raise my sword to full might with their immense, astoundingly compelling debut Storming the Walls, released in March of this year.” Triumph of the swordcore.

Theophonos – Nightmare Visions [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Maddog on December 20, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, Death Metal, Grind, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, 27 comments

“Nightmare Visions is a blackened grindcore debut from Michigan’s Theophonos, the brainchild of Jimmy Hamzey (Serpent Column). If that genre label sounds unappetizing, don’t let that deter you. Theophonos took every hard rock and metal song released since 1967, crammed them all into a woodchipper, and assembled the mangled output into a blackened 30-minute hydra. Miraculously, it works.” NightmareER!!

Night Demon – Outsider Review

By Itchymenace on March 22, 2023 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 86 comments

“Ventura, California power trio, Night Demon have been producing quality, workman-like metal for over a decade. Always dependable, they quickly honed their NWoBHM-infused trad metal into bite-sized, three-minute horror-themed nuggets and swaddled them in denim and leather. Their last full album, 2017’s Darkness Remains was a power-packed olde school homage that my brother-in-sump, Eldritch said, “delivers pretty much everything you could want from a traditional heavy record.” After four years, the band return to haunt your dreams once more, but this time with a much more ambitious offering.” A night at the demon.

Old Spirit – Burning in Heaven Review

By Carcharodon on February 23, 2023 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, 17 comments

“When I shared with the slack hacks gathered in the AMG Break Room, the offensively purple artwork for ,b>Old Spirit’s Burning in Heaven, the Boss Ape piped up, “That the guy from Vanishing Kids,?” I shrugged noncommittally. I didn’t know whether it was the guy from<,b>Vanishing Kids, had never heard of Vanishing Kids and was unsure whether expression on those leathery features was a smirk or just a sign the old fella had gas again. I just wanted to revel in a group at how awful the artwork was. Denied this opportunity, I trudged back to my cubicle and started working the foot pedal that powers up AMG-issue computers to do some research.” Old spirits and missing kids.

Crimson River – Here’s To The End…Again Review

By Itchymenace on February 23, 2023 in Reviews, 26 comments

“I’ll be honest, I went into this review ready to bash this album. Crimson River is a silly name with awkward connotations, the album title doesn’t make any sense and the band’s logo makes them look like an evil tech company from an unproduced 90s Transformers movie. Still, I did my due diligence and spun the thing lest Steel withhold my precious gruel. With the opening Iron Maiden-y guitar notes, my preconceptions vanished like so many wasted years.” Iron water.

Condenados – El Camino de la Serpiente Review

By GardensTale on February 12, 2023 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, 25 comments

“Infusing the traditional Black Sabbath-style doom with smoky desert vigor, El Camino de la Serpiente (The Path of the Snake) rocks and rumbles rambunctiously. There’s a pleasing looseness to the music, a cool devil-may-care swagger that makes it impossible not to move along to the many, many riffs packed into the 46-minute running time.” On this rock, they will build their doom.

Kryptograf – The Eldorado Spell Review

By Maddog on March 1, 2022 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, 11 comments

“With that album cover, you know exactly what you’re getting. You’ve heard it before – a bunch of musicians who smoked one too many joints in high school, and then one too many joints in college, and decided to share their boundless love for early Black Sabbath with the world. Norwegian four-piece Kryptograf is relatively new to the overcrowded stoner rock scene, but they made a splash with their self-titled 2020 debut, which melded vintage doom, hard rock, and psychedelic jams.” Loving the leaf.