NWOBHM

Aquilla – Sentinels of New Dawn Review

By Baguette of Bodom on October 31, 2025 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, Power Metal, Speed Metal, 29 comments

“The Polish metal scene is much better known around these parts for its bludgeoning death metal than for classic metal worship, and Aquilla is looking to change that. Formed in Warsaw in 2015, their debut Mankind’s Odyssey was unleashed on the masses in 2022, delivering NWoBHM with a dose of ”80s–’90s speed/power metal influence. Sophomore album Sentinels of New Dawn promises a similar but more epic brand of sci-fi thunder. With a couple EPs and a full-length already under their belt, how does Aquilla navigate this set of space war stories?” May cause Aquilla Lung.

Castle Rat – The Bestiary Review

By Saunders on September 21, 2025 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, 80 comments

“New York’s Castle Rat generated buzz off the back of their impressive slab of fantasy-inspired doom rock featured on 2024s Into the Realm. A fuzzy, female-fronted doom act with sword and sorcery shtick and a theatrical, unabashedly old school bent, the debut featured tight, infectious songwriting and enough retro flair and heavy metal swagger to rise above the familiar, throwback nature of their craft. Of course, the debut had its detractors, with their theatrical antics, coupled with a not especially original sound, failing to match the hype for some listeners enamored with the heavily populated throwback doom rock/metal scenes. Striking while the iron’s hot, Castle Rat return in quick time with sophomore album, The Bestiary.” Beauty in the Bestiary.

Wytch Hazel – V: Lamentations Review

By Steel Druhm on July 2, 2025 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, 77 comments

“The Lords of easy-breezy 70s/80s metal return to the chapel of riffs once more to pay their respects. Over the course of 4 albums, Wytch Hazel have perfected their stripped-down, bare-bones take on 70s rock and infused it with just enough metallic oomph to make it stick. Their music is more about joyous worship of nature and higher powers than despair, anger, and hostility, and it feels like a breath of fresh air from a sun-kissed meadow. Albums like III: Pentecost and IV: Sacrament were loaded with power rockers full of riffs, vocal harmonies, and choruses that hit just right and burned into the memory. There was no reason to expect anything different on V: Lamentations.” Wytch trials.

Helms Deep – Chasing the Dragon Review

By ClarkKent on June 20, 2025 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, Power Metal, Speed Metal, 38 comments

“Helms Deep made quite a splash with their debut, Treacherous Way, thanks to their high-energy ode to speed metal acts of the ’70s and ’80s. Now they’re back with a little extra firepower in the form of guitarist Ray DeTone and a more progressive-minded drummer in Hal Aponte (Ice Age). The remaining two players make their return, including bassist John Gallagher, who AMG writers have attempted to lure back into the comments section since his infamous critique of Huck N Roll’s review of Raven’s Metal City. Finally, there’s Helms Deep founder and frontman, Alex Sciortino, whose impressive vocals help propel this project to the next level. On Chasing the Dragon, Sciortino promises a new focus while still maintaining their modern take on old-school thrash and traditional heavy metal.” Metal strongholds and ancient draGONS.

Learning Senjutsu at the AMG Rodeö: Putting the New(ish) Iron Maiden Album Out to Pasture

By Steel Druhm on June 18, 2025 in Angry Metal Guy's Unsigned Band Rodeo, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, 202 comments

Iron Maiden released Senjutsu in 2021. We waited until 2025 to review it because it’s THAT big! AMG’s Maiden Rodeö can’t be fought. AMG’s Maiden Rodeö could be bought.

Absolva – Justice Review

By Steel Druhm on May 15, 2025 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, 37 comments

“Absolva is the long-running “home base” project of Luke Appleton (Blaze Bayley, ex-Iced Earth) and Chris Appleton (Blaze Bayley). Absolva’s biggest claim to fame is that they function as the backing band for Blaze Bayley. When not on the road with Blaze, these cats deliver NWoBHM-inspired classic metal with a strong hard rock influence. Over 6 full-length releases, they’ve shown themselves to be decent songwriters with a sound sitting somewhere between Saxon and Dokken. No Absolva album will blow your doors off, but each one is pleasant enough and easy to digest with a few notable tracks for playlist poaching. Here comes seventh album, Justice, and not much has changed for the Appleton clan.” Absolva in the middle.

Century – Sign of the Storm Review

By Holdeneye on January 21, 2025 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, 30 comments

“There’s something so magical about epic traditional metal. Of course, I could be speaking about the genre’s sword and sorcery themes, but I actually mean it in a much larger sense. So much of today’s metal is unmistakably modern in the way that it is produced, played, and marketed, and, yes, I enjoy a ton of this perfectly polished output. But it’s so much fun to have a sub-genre of our favorite music that not only transports us back decades in time through conscious aesthetic choices but also teleports us to another universe where might and magic reign supreme.” Century of trveness.

Axetasy – Withering Tides Review

By Holdeneye on January 15, 2025 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, Speed Metal, 43 comments

“Distributed by the suspiciously named Big Pharma firm Dying Victims Productions, Axetasy hails from Germany, and the drug’s mechanism of action works by flooding the victim’s patient’s brain with copious amounts of molten guitar leads in order to induce a state of therapeutic euphoria. If you choose to try the embedded pharmaceutical sample labeled “Beyond All Order” (after consulting your physician, of course), you’ll see that Axetasy’s debut recipe, Withering Tides, draws inspiration from a host of tried-and-true formulas from years past. Take all of the health benefits of speed metal, arena rock, early power metal, proto-thrash metal, and NWoBHM drug classes and add them together, and you’ll find that they can all be replicated by listening to this one easy-to-swallow pill.” Better living through essential metals.

Amethyst – Throw Down the Gauntlet Review

By Steel Druhm on September 25, 2024 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, NWOBHM, Retro Metal, 26 comments

“Following hot on the heels of the one-man NWoBHM avalanche led by Brian Ross of Satan and Blitzkrieg, Swiss retro rockers Amethyst throw their chrome dueling glove into the arena with their rollicking, rocking debut Throw Down the Gauntlet. With tongue-in-cheek cover art and a logo ripped straight from 1979, these chaps mean serious throwback business and aim their sound at a time when metal was just beginning to coalesce into something distinct from hard rock and punk.” Smell the glove.

Satan – Songs in Crimson Review

By Steel Druhm on September 13, 2024 in Reviews, NWOBHM, 54 comments

“One of the great mysteries in life is how an 80s NWoBHM act with limited success in their heyday could become such a reliable source of righteous metal thunder 40 years later. Satan was an original member of the British metal explosion, but despite a solid debut and follow-up, greater glory eluded them. after 1987s Suspended Sentence, they folded up shop and moved on. It wasn’t until 2013 that Satan rose again with a shockingly vital and all-around badass opus called Life Sentence. It sounded like a NWoBHM product but everything was dialed to 12 and the writing and playing were razor-sharp and uber infectious. Thus began one of the greatest comebacks of all time.” Godless endeavors.