Number Ten:

Band Name: Species

Album Name: Changelings

Genre: Progressive  Metal

Record Label: 20 Buck Spin (Earsplit PR)

Sometimes it is quite difficult to put the right genre to the music you are listening to. I have that ‘problem’ with SPECIES, as I feel that this is predominantly Progressive Metal mixed with Thrash Metal, Death Metal  and Technical Metal, which is quite a varied and diverse mix of styles.

Number Nine:

Band Name: Banderstadt

Album Name: Red

Genre: Folk Metal

Record Label: Archivist Records

BANDERSTADT is able to give you quite varied and good quality songs that have depth, are full of soul but in the end are pure Metal that moves, that enthrals the way it should. And the Folk aspects in the music add a beautiful layer that has me very much in awe of “Red” as an album and therefore with BANDERSTADT as a band.

Number Eight:

Band Name: Crowen

Album Name: Where The Darkness Falls

Genre: Death/Folk Metal

Record Label: Inverse Records

Any Death Metal fan, but also any Folk Metal fan will find enough pointers to be able to enjoy what CROWEN is offering us on “Where The Darkness Falls”. What I like most about all of this is the fact that the band can effortlessly change from Folk Metal vibes to blastbeat speed Death Metal, followed by Melodic Death Metal.

Number Seven:

Band Name: A-Z

Album Name: A2Z2

Genre: Melodic Rock/Metal

Record Label: Metal Blade

A-Z plays pure and mostly quite heavy Melodic Rock, but also know how to touch your emotions when they have a ballad passing by. The changes are subtle, but very much distinguishable. The debut album “A-Z” is filled with rather good melodic Rock, whereas this current album “A2Z²” has the advantage of the addition of many a Progressive Rock/Metal infusion.

Number Six:

Band Name: Coffin Feeder

Album Name: Big Trouble

Genre: Brutal Death Metal/Deathcore

Record Label: Listenable Records

There are five letters that describe COFFIN FEEDER perfectly, the are the H, E, A V and Y! Because this is 35 minutes of what I would call ultra heavy Brutal Death Metal, but is classed by the Metal Archives as  Deathcore. Just so you know, this is extremely heavy. Oh, and bloody good.

Number Five:

Band Name: Six Feet Deeper

Album Name: Prayer By The Edge

Genre: Hard Rock

Record Label: Lion Music

Hard Rock with a sometimes Bluesy undertone, whilst on other occasions it will be more Rock or even Metal. What does become quite clear is that we are dealing with a very talented group of musicians within SIX FEET DEEPER. They are able to write good songs, that have a bucketload of emotions paired with very good instrumentals. And as far as guitar solos go, it has been a while since I have heard them being used in such an emotional and fitting way as on “Prayer By the Edge”.

Number Four:

Band Name: Jelusick

Album Name: Apolitical Ecstacy

Genre: Melodic Metal

Record Label: Escape Music

“Follow The Blind Man” was reviewed by me for Metal Temple when it was released in 2023. And the conclusion was quite clear; I thought it was a good album, but that the band needed to grow in the songwriting department. Well, they apparently have listened to my advice, and although they’re not there yet, the tunes that I get to hear on “Apolitical Ecstasy” are quite the improvement.

Number Three:

Band Name: Redshark

Album Name: Sudden Impact

Genre: Heavy/Power/Speed Metal

Record Label: Listenable Records

What immediately becomes clear is that the band have opted to change their dimensions between Heavy Metal, Power Metal and Speed Metal by putting the emphasis on the latter of the three for “Sudden Impact”. It makes this album just a tad more intense, slightly more in your face and certainly unable to ignore when you are listening to it.

Number Two:

Band Name: Sweet Freedom

Album Name: Blind Leading The Blind

Genre: Melodic Rock

Record Label: Frontiers Music Srl

“Blind Leading The Blind” is going to be the second album this year that I will be giving the full marks of ten out of ten. I have no choice, because if a band is capable of writing songs that have the riffing and guitar structures of RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE, the bluesy undertone of early WHITESNAKE, and with Håkan Nilsson a guitarist that can play riffs and solos like RITCHIE BLACKMORE as well as being able to match the emotive playing of MICHAEL SCHENKER in those solos.

Number ONE:

Band Name: Unprocessed

Album Name: Angel

Genre: Metalcore

Record Label: Independent (Hold Tight PR)

UNPROCESSED contains four world class musicians that have the ability to make music that is above reproach, that could be named world class. No, I have to say it should be classified as such, as that is exactly what my feelings on “Angel” are. I genuinely thought they wouldn’t be able to better “...And Everything In Between”, but they have.