"Invisible Queen" is officially the last and farewell album of German thrash metal legend Holy Moses. It was recorded with the line-up of the previous album "Redefined Mayhem" (2014), i.e. Sabina Classen (vocals), Peter Geltat (guitar), Thomas Neitsch (bass) and Gerd Lücking (drums). The album's twelve songs represent a professional and highly technical thrash metal material that lasts over 47 minutes. If you compare the band's albums from different eras to this final album, you will realize that overall there are huge musical changes, but somehow, thanks to Sabina's charismatic voice, whatever the music is, the end result always tastes like Holy Moses. The same goes for the sound production, which for me was a little strange this time, mostly due to the very synthetic sound of the drums and cymbals. Nevertheless, Peter's tricky guitar riffs, Thomas' crazy bass lines and Gerd's precise drumming make the album's musical production flawless. Out of the twelve tracks, I liked "Cult of the Machine", "Invisible Queen", "Alternative Reality", "Visions in Red", "Outcasts" and "Too Far Gone" the most, because they were perhaps the most similar to what I liked about their early records. Don't get me wrong, the other songs are also very good, but they combine more modern influences and approaches, which sometimes even border on progressiveness, and that's a bit much for me, ha-ha... I have the 2CD digipak edition with the bonus "Invincible Friends" CD. Which is none other than the album's 12 songs performed by guest vocalists, i.e. close friends of the band. Here are the ones I liked the most: "Cult of the Machine" featuring Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of Overkill, "Alternative Reality" featuring Tom Angelripper of Sodom, "Forces Great and Hidden" featuring Gerre of Tankard. This killer digipak edition includes 2 booklets: the 16-page "Invisible Queen" booklet containing all the lyrics, 2 great band photos, individual photos of the members, recording information, long thanks lists and Gyula Havancsák's fantastic cover artwork, while the 12-page "Invincible Friends" booklet contains great stories about Holy Moses directly from the guests as well as some cool photos. All in all, it's a beautiful and perfect ending from the queen of thrash metal. My deepest respect to Sabina and most importantly, Holy Moses will always be a part of our metal hearts and souls!!!

The French Horoh is a one-man death metal unit that draws on the raw sounding death metal of the 90s. This is a fairly young formation, as only one 4-song EP was released earlier, in 2021. The mastermind behind Horoh, J. (all instruments and vocals) is very capable of recreating the horror and gore feel of bands like Autopsy, Cannibal Corpse, Deceased, Impetigo, Macabre, Necrophagia and even adds his own musical approaches here and there. His music is not about the technical side, it's more about creating the right atmosphere, but musically and even cover-wise it reminded me a lot of Cannibal Corpse. "Aberration" is the debut full-length material, consisting of 9 well-arranged but also very sick death metal tracks. The 29-minute CD sounds rather obscure and faithful to the early demos and albums of the aforementioned bands. Still, beyond the obvious old-school feel, the riff structures contain a lot of exciting experimentation and avant-gardeness. In my opinion, this is an area that needs to be explored more thoroughly in the future. All instruments were played at a good level, although I found quite a few mistakes in the drum parts. The latter should therefore definitely be improved for future releases. The growls and screams, which are the highlights of this album, are executed in a completely malevolent way. I really dig them. Also don't forget J. did all the recording, mixing and mastering, so hats off to him. In that respect, it's a very decent debut album, not flawless, but honest. I made a reference to the cover comparison earlier, so let me just say that what Seb Mocky did for "Aberration" pretty much reminds me of Vincent Locke's cover of Cannibal Corpse's "Worm Infested". Speaking of Seb, he also did some killer guest vocals on "Devour the Saviour". This aptly designed 6-panel digipak CD is limited to 200 copies, so act fast if you feel this release might interest you!!!

"Acts of God" is the eleventh studio album by New York death metal legend Immolation. Musically, they continue where they left off with "Atonement" in 2017. Their line-up has not changed since then and continues to combine the darkest forces of Ross Dolan (bass/vocals), Robert Vigna (guitar), Alex Bouks (guitar) and Steve Shalaty (drums) with perfect chemistry. I can state that the 15 songs and more than 52 minutes of material became the longest album in the band's history. With this album, the quartet perhaps delved even deeper into the musical embodiment of abstract darkness. The way they combine eerie riffs and melodies is completely unique, I think only they can create the most ominous musical formulas of the death metal style with such great precision and devotion. In terms of mood, this record became incredibly abstract, in which, of course, their old colleagues, Paul Orofino (engineering & tracking) and Zack Ohren (mixing & mastering), played a big role. The aural production of the album is crystal clear, powerful and balanced, I especially liked the way the drums and cymbals appear in the final mix, because they sound so natural to me. Ross consistently delivers the most anti-religious lyrics and evil death growls, his manner has remained the same for years, simply hats off to him. The way Robert and Alex share their riffs and structure the songs is absolutely remarkable. Then there's Steve, who always brings the beats and fills in the craziest way possible. Well, let me call it death metal perfection! The 16-page booklet has a fantastic layout thanks to Rob Kimura, but it wouldn't be as great without Eliran Kantor's stunning cover artwork and Santiago Jaramillo's inside artwork pieces. Oh, and you can hear Dan Lilker's additional vocals on "Let the Darkness in". This is obscure death metal at its best, a must for all death metal fans worldwide!!!

My good friend Coro of Axa Valaha Productions sent me this CD of Insepultus' debut album to review. The one-man Romanian black metal band is led by Robert "Sepultus" Pieptan (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards & effects). An interesting fact is that the band was formed in 1998 and had a 4-song demo in 2002 called "The Hell Will Rise Again". After a little more than two decades, the long-awaited debut album of Insepultus has arrived, which was definitely worth waiting for. The debut album consists of 7 masterfully composed songs, which can be said to be conceptual not only lyrically, but also musically. The musical side is maximally atmospheric, but also very sad, as it must fit perfectly with the lyrical ingredients, which are excerpts and adaptations of various war poems. Robert's songwriting skills are amazing, as he was able to combine the gruesome facts of war, the fear and horror that a young man can experience on the front, and even a near-death experience, with an incredible musical undertone. The album opens with the slow, marching rhythm and cold guitar harmonies of "The Last Battle I", which here and there are very similar to the opening parts of Mayhem's "Freezing Moon", but when the trumpet comes in, everything changes into a completely surreal soundscape. This is followed by "The Last Battle II", which is done according to black metal standards, albeit with some modern sound effects. The third track is entitled "The Wreckage of the Earth". The basic Norwegian atmosphere is there, but the keyboard parts hidden in the background create an interesting effect, and the well-composed guitar solo is also not to be neglected. Robert's vocals are quite harsh and gloomy, but they fit the music perfectly. Opening with air raid sirens, "The World's Heart" is perhaps one of the most varied songs on the record. It's mostly mid-tempo, with pounding kick drums, measured vocals and a scene reminiscent of an air raid at the very end of the song. Coincidentally, as I'm writing this review, there's an air raid alert going on outside. Welcome to the horrible reality! Well, this is followed by "Hell upon Earth", the album's most epic and heart wrenching song, with accompanying acoustic guitars and lyrics taken from J.B. Priestley's "Great War Letters Home". The sixth track on the disc is "The Old Lie". A kind of super melodic composition, in which the inclusion of weird trumpet melodies turned out to be simply fantastic. The approximately 29-minute recording closes with a slow piece called "The Trumpet Sound". Obviously there are trumpets in there which sound amazing, but this tune has some killer death metal growls and even haunting whispers. In conclusion, "Deadly Gleams of Blood, Steel and Fire" is a flawless release with some great avant-garde solutions that I highly recommend to those who are not afraid to experiment within the black metal genre. In addition to Robert, the following people participated in the recording of the album: Nikola Dušmanic (drums), Ezequiel Lagrotta (trumpets) and Jeremy Diener (narration). The 12-page booklet contains all the lyrics, as well as the matching cover art and illustrations by Costin Chioreanu. Romania's Loud Rage Music took care of the CD release, so contact them or the band directly to get your hands on this exceptional yet experimental black metal masterpiece!!!

Since their previous album "Firepower" (2018) is, in my opinion, Judas Priest's best album in decades, and they set the bar very high with it, I was really looking forward to seeing if the new album would surpass it, or in what direction would take it on musically. So the title of the long-awaited new LP is "Invincible Shield", which I think fully continues the musical formula of "Firepower" and can be considered a logical continuation in every possible way. However, I have to admit right away that the new material is very well done, but not nearly as flashy as its predecessor, so this is their second best album in decades. In terms of sound production, we got another flawless work from Andy Sneap, which can easily be considered the twin brother of "Firepower". Mine is the deluxe hardcover digibook version which has 3 bonus tracks over the regular digisleeve CD version. So this version has a total of 14 songs in nearly 64 minutes. The album opens with "Panic Attack", a super punchy tune with flawless energy, dynamism and insanely melodic solos from Richie Faulkner, clearly one of the best songs on "Invincible Shield". This is followed by "The Serpent and the King", another damn good song with catchy vocal harmonies from the metal god himself – Rob Halford. The third is the title track itself, which has some old-school vibes with a slight "Painkiller" touch. This kind of mix is simply great and very enjoyable. Anthem at its best! By the way, this is the longest track on the album. "Devil in Disguise" continues at a measured pace, focusing more on the weight of the riffs and the variety of the vocal themes. "Gates of Hell" is the fifth. Another mid-tempo song packed with plenty of melody. Next up is "Crown of Horns". It's a super soft metal anthem if you ask me, where the guitar melodies are matched with the proper vocal parts. With "As God Is My Witness" we return to heavier and more crushing metal songs, which is pretty similar to "Hard as Iron" due to its opening riff. The solos are awesome there and the whole track just rocks. The eighth cut is called "Trial by Fire", which is the second best song on the album. These guitar riffs are so catchy and majestic along with the super cool vocals that once you hear them, you'll definitely never forget them. "Escape from Reality" opens with a hellishly heavy riff where Ian Hill's bass lines come through crystal clear yet massive. The vocal effects used there are also very remarkable from an atmospheric point of view. The tenth song is "Sons of Thunder", a typical Judas Priest tune if you ask me. The grooves are great and the guitar riffs are quite heavy sounding. "Giants in the Sky" starts with a Black Sabbath-esque riff before transitioning into "Children of the Sun"-like guitar and vocal harmonies. Then there are the bonus tracks. "Fight of Your Life" reminded me quite a bit of the "Ram It Down" era because of the vocal arrangements. The "Vicious Circle" follows with an unadulterated Priest atmosphere, I really like the hymn-like character and heavy sound of the guitars there. The last song on the CD is "The Lodger". A rather strange and unusual tune, the writing of which is attributed to Bob Halligan Jr. So overall, I really enjoyed this new Judas Priest release. Which is accompanied by a fairly thick booklet with lots of high-quality visuals and all the lyrics. A must for any Judas Priest fan in this damn sick world!!!

The Brazilian blasphemers of Krisiun systematically break into the underground spheres with a new album every 3-4 years. "Mortem Solis" is the title of their latest masterpiece, which contains 11 songs in the explosive death metal style they are known for. These infernal brothers – Alex Camargo (vocals & bass), Moyses Kolesne (guitars) and Max Kolesne (drums) – have been firmly spreading Krisiun's sonorous brutality for over 3 decades now. On this album they collaborated with Mark Lewis (producer, mixing & mastering), Hugo Silva (producer & engineer) and Otávio Rossato (assistant engineer). The production of the new album is quite solid, yet it sounds crystal clear. I guess the band's loyal fans have noticed that for nearly 20 years now, as they have been coming up with less chaotic productions, each of their new works is cleaner, more melodic and perhaps more thrash-oriented. Which is not a problem, because the trio is constantly developing and trying to steer their already brutal death metal repertoire in a new direction. So the one thing you have to remember once and for all is that Krisiun always represents quality death metal. Marcelo Vasco provided the cover art and layout for this excellent death metal creation, which definitely adds to the visuals. In short, the approximately 44-minute album will not disappoint fans, that's for sure, so get this record in time! Krisiun rules as always!!!

The new Morta Skuld record, "Creation Undone", has finally arrived, which is also the band's seventh studio album. It was recorded in the line-up of the previous album, i.e. Dave Gregor (vocals/guitar), Scott Willecke (guitar), John Hill (bass) and Eric House (drums). The CD contains 10 ultra-crushing death metal songs with a playing time of over 44 minutes. From the first riff of "We Rise, We Fall" to the last riff of "By Design", this album literally captivates the listener with its relentless energy. Their songs are full of grooves and brutally pounding death metal madness. The sound production is so killer, yet crystal clear and proportionate, with a so-called bulldozer character, that it is simply a joy to listen to. Dave's vocals are not too brutal, more of the rougher kind, but their music is so heavy and full of brutality that they don't even need to be toughened up. The entire repertoire radiates an old school death metal attitude. It's not about the super speed or the mind-blowing techniques, it's more about the heaviness of the riffs and the dynamism in general. It's mostly the usual Morta Skuld kind of slamming death metal, but the song "Perfect Prey" has a riff that reminded me quite a bit of a combination of Celtic Frost and Mortician vibes. Then there's "Soul Piercing Sorrow", which suddenly has a very atmospheric keyboard passage in the middle, an interesting solution that gives the moment a haunted feel. Eric is a great drummer and loves to bomb blast in the songs, that's for sure. I must admit, I really enjoyed listening to "Creation Undone". The 8-page CD booklet includes all the lyrics, an awesome band photo (by the way, there's another great band photo on the back), the usual recording info and a sick cover art. A must for all Morta Skuld fans worldwide!!!

The masters of eerie blackened death metal are back. Their new album, "In the Twilight Grey", continues the musical journey of the previous two records, "Mark of the Necrogram" (2018) and "Dawn of the Damned" (2020). What I'm reviewing here is the standard jewel case CD version, which consists of 10 songs. Musically, this is a refined and improved version of the two previous records, as the quintet always tries to expand its sound world and technical possibilities. Four members remained intact, namely Anders Strokirk (vocals), Sebastian Ramstedt (lead guitar), Johan Bergebäck (rhythm guitar) and Joakim Sterner (drums), but they have a new bassist in the person of Tobias Cristiansson. I'll tell you, it's a very good addition, because both the bass parts and their clearly audible sound are outstanding on the record. So on this album, the band continued to develop their haunting harmonies and expand their sonic arsenal. There are typical Necrophobic songs like "Grace of the Past", "Clavis Inferni", "Stormcrow" or "Cast in Stone". Then come the more experimental ones, but only in a few small details that mostly touch the mood aspects, giving a new angle and approach to their songs. Such is the case with "As Stars Collide" with its super epic atmosphere and otherworldly solos. It definitely doesn't have a typical black metal structure, which is why it stands out. "Shadows of the Brightest Night" is another one that focuses mainly on atmosphere and mysterious guitar harmonies, I especially loved Sebastian's palm-muted guitar melodies which, along with the solo, are the highlights of the actual song. Then there is "Mirrors of a Thousand Lakes". This is a next level Necrophobic song thanks to the well-crafted guitar parts and fantastic solo. "Nordanvind" is the slowest, but also the most ethereal track on the album. The whole song is dominated by medium tempos, marching drum beats and a special cold atmosphere. Anders' voice takes on a new dimension there, more evil, yet deeper. The ninth song is the title track itself, which is also the longest. Due to its length, it shows many changes in rhythm and mood, so it is one of the more experimental ones. The 54-minute album ends with "Ascension (Episode Four)" on an epic note, the other three episodes were on the "Darkside" (1997). If I had to sum it up, it's a very solid record with great songs and an absolutely captivating atmosphere. The only thing I didn't like was the strangely gated sound of the overheads, so if a crash or a Chinese cymbal is hit on the right, a pressure gap appears on the left. It's pretty annoying to be honest. This jewel case edition comes with a thick 20-page booklet with lyrics, band and member photos, and flawless cover art and graphic design by Jens Rydén. But since the limited edition digibook CD has two more killer songs, one of which is a cover, I decided to order it right away.