Mors Principium Est
Dawn of the 5th Era
AFM Records
05 December 2014
by Pete Long
The key to a good melodic death metal album is a multitude of great riffs, teetering right between wild-eyed aggression and impressible catchiness. But the majority of bands in the genre seem to have forgotten this in their quest to push its boundaries. Mors Principium Est’s new album, Dawn of the 5th Era, is an antidote to that. It’s filled to the brim with great riffs.
Black Messiah
Heimweh
AFM Records
29 November 2013
by Pete Long
It mightn’t be quite as popular as the current wave of atmospheric black metal, but there’s no shortage of bands playing various black and folk metal tributes to Odin and chums. Germany’s Black Messiah have been at that game for two decades now, without ever really placing themselves in the league of heavyweights like Falkenbach and Moonsorrow.
Betzefer
Freedom To The Slave Makers
AFM Records
21 February 2011
by Andy Parker
Freedom To The Slave Makers has taken quite a while to surface. After leaving Roadrunner Records in 2007 with mixed feelings from both the band and label, Betzefer regrouped in 2008 with with producer Warren Riker (who’s previously been behind the desk for both Korn and Down) and headed into the studio with the intention of releasing their next record before the year was out. Fast forward to 2011. Only surfacing for a mere handful of shows during the intervening period, Betfezer seemed to have very little to show for such prolonged delays.
Elvenking
Red Silent Tides
AFM Records
17 September 2010
by Tom Dare
It’s not always easy being a fan of power metal. There’s a tired old line that gets thrown around in the UK- that it’s basically just Europop with distortion and bass drum kicks aimed at perpetually adolescent Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts. While this is obviously patently untrue in every way (ahem), Elvenking appear to be doing everything in their power to prove this theory.