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Brothers and sisters, we are gathered here to worship the gods at the altar of heavy metal. HIGH PRIEST have come forth from Chicago, Illinois in the United States of America to brighten your days with a message of hope and doom, one that is hammered into metal, stone and rock to assume the shape of their debut album "Invocation". HIGH PRIEST have taken the prophecies of the elders to their hearts. Their glorious harmonies and melodies bear the catchy mark of THIN LIZZY. There is dark heaviness foretold by BLACK SABBATH and renewed by ELECTRIC WIZARD, and even a touch of METALLICA’s more classic riffs. From the scriptures of grunge comes an emotional force that has been received through prayers directed at ALICE IN CHAINS. All of this is set forth in a new testament of blues-laden guitar-riffs and soulful vocals. With the friends playing together in various bands and line-ups since their youth, HIGH PRIEST came into being with a clear vision in mind. While watching an ELECTRIC WIZARD show in 2015, they spontaneously and simultaneously concluded that they wanted to play doom and old school metal from that day on (all while transfixed by the performance and having to shout their agreement over the din of the PA). Their first public declaration of the metal gospel was the 2016 EP "Consecration", which got HIGH PRIEST much attention throughout the doom and stoner metal scene as well as a record deal with Magnetic Eye, which led to the release of second EP "Sanctum" in 2019. And now the time has come to rejoice: HIGH PRIEST deliver their eagerly anticipated debut full-length, and "Invocation" doesn't just live up to what the two EPs promised, but will carry you straight to the heavens on a chariot of fiery riffs. Amen!
Released in 1998, "Odin Owns Ye All" is the second full-length studio album by Einherjer. It’s a fascinating, if slightly polarizing, chapter in the history of Viking Metal because it marked a distinct departure from the cold, black-metal-influenced sound of their debut "Dragons of the North". While their earlier work was rooted in the atmospheric and aggressive Second Wave of Black Metal, "Odin Owns Ye All" leans heavily into Heavy Metal territory. The guitar work is much more rhythmic and "groove-oriented" than the tremolo-picking found in traditional Norwegian metal and the sound is cleaner and punchier, losing the raw, lo-fi aesthetic of the mid-90s in favor of a more polished, rock n' roll Viking vibe. One of the most notable changes is the vocal delivery of Ragnar Vikse: instead of the typical black metal shriek, Vikse utilizes a unique, raspy, and melodic approach. It feels more theatrical and storytelling-driven, which fits the epic themes of Norse mythology but was quite a surprise to fans at the time.
“Thrashin Blues” finally available again, Thrash Metal with a dirty blues edge!
Violent Playground is one of the many Thrash Metal bands that ended up forgotten without ever having serious opportunities; the fact is that they deserved much more than their peers. In 1988, they were able to create an unparalleled blend of Thrash Metal, Hardrock and Blues that did not open the doors to fame for them at all.
These five guys lived their musical experience exclusively within the underground scene for a relatively short time (about three years), without any chance to emerge in the slightest (at least to achieve the popularity of groups like Tankard, Razor, and so on). For this series of reasons, the group is one of the most ignored within its environment. And their “Thrashin Blues” has become a collector’s item. The only link Violent Playground has with the world outside the underground is the album cover: created by the famous Ed Repka, the same who drew for Megadeth, Death, Toxik, Vio-lence, and others.
It’s no coincidence that they deserved more than many other bands of the time: their only album is a true masterpiece. Frankly, we do not find a single excessive derivation, a single plagiarized note; you can hardly even hear the influences from the usual genre epigones, but the sound is typically thrash, accompanied by contamination ranging from Blues to Classic Rock. The production isn’t too raw for a record like this, made of captivating riffs and solos that haven’t been heard since the days of “Kill ‘Em All”. The originality of the product is evident from the very first spectacular seconds of the title track.
Unable to repeat themselves and strained by the harsh failure of the album, the Playground disbanded shortly after, and with them, that kind of explosive mix of “blues fusion” came to an end.
HULDER is a dark black metal project from the United States, driven by the creative partnership of Hulder and Necreon, whose three albums to date have steadily drawn the project toward more expansive and collaborative territory. ‘Verbolgen’, released jointly by Season of Mist and 20 Buck Spin, marks a decisive turn: the first HULDER record on which Necreon steps fully into his role as co-leader rather than session contributor. Rooted in ancient nature worship, ancestral rite, and the shadows of pre-Christian tradition, ‘Verbolgen’ moves through nine tracks that trade in both the severity and the strange, wintry beauty that have always defined HULDER 's sound. The writing has grown more layered here, drawing on a wider palette of instrumentation: hurdy gurdy and additional keys from Keld bring an almost processional weight to certain passages, while Ianuaria's session flute drifts through the album like smoke across still water. Two drummers divide the record between them, Vapula and Vrolok each bringing their own character to their respective tracks, and the sum of it is a rhythm section that feels alive to the album's shifts in mood and tempo. The mix, handled by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico Tico Studio in Finland, gives the record an earthy, resonant quality that suits its themes of blood, soil, and the settling of old debts. Even the visual identity signals a new chapter: the cover art, painted by Morrigan, is her first work created for a metal band in nearly three decades, with an updated logo crafted by Jannicke Wiese Hansen. Three of the album's songs are sung in Flemish, lending ‘Verbolgen’ a peculiar, incantatory dimension that sets it apart from anything in HULDER's back catalogue. For fans of BATHORY, DISSECTION, MOONSORROW
