The UK's Most Dedicated Metal Blog
Many would say that power metal is a dying breed. It’s hard to argue really. Apart from the classics, how many fresh faces have you seen in the genre that have really blown you away? But with a new major record contract, someone has put a lot of faith in Twilight Force…time to find out why!
Often seen as a throwaway word, community is something that is felt throughout each genre of music. However none is more in a sense of unity than that of Metal. Beginning as a small family run festival Bloodstock has fast become one of the premier Metal festivals in the UK. Showcasing band’s from all different genre specifics, from the moody Norwegian stylings of Black Metal to the bloodsoaked entrails of Death Metal. Banding together once again this August for three more days of Metal bliss we were kindly enough invited back to the UK’s premier extreme Metal festival. Complete with good ol Bloodstock Jesus, crowd favourite Darth Vader and enough fire to ignite hell itself, this is our account of Bloodstock 2016.
Delain have transformed into an ambitious supergroup project into a symphonic powerhouse, easily now ranking alongside the Dutch greats of Within Temptation, Epica and After Forever. The band are on a perpetual mission to gain an identity as a great in their own manner, and with each album, they have succeeded a little more. Is ‘Moonbathers‘ the album to fire the band into the stratosphere?
Rooted in the questioning of what we are told, Thrash Metal as a genre has always had somewhat of an inquisitive nature. Consistently questioning to believe what we are told, it is in a sense a revolution in itself. Primed at the time of the likes of the Cold War the classic themes of indoctrination have scarcely left Thrash’s vocabulary. Seeing a resurgence in the movement of late the new wave of Thrash Metal bands have begun to carry the torch of this questioning manner. One Colorado born Havok are leader of the proverbial pack, having released their previous ripper Unnatural Selection the band are now ready to enter a new chapter in their history. Performing at this year’s Download Festival we had the pleasure of speaking to main muso David Sanchez about the band’s forthcoming new album, set for a fall release via Century Media, Al Di Meola and some of the bands plans in the coming months.
It’s a pretty feasible argument now that Sabaton and European heavy metal can be set on synonymous terms. The band have gained an increasing amount of popularity with their highly energetic approach to heavy metal, laced together with the epic themes of military history. The band take no rest after each musical victory, and return once again with their latest opus, ‘The Last Stand‘.
Delain at this point in their career have arguably joined the fine ranks of legendary Dutch symphonic metal. It’s taken a little while to get there, but there has been no stumbling block in their existence, only music that has refined like matured like a good wine. Now comes ‘Moonbathers‘, that has already promised some of the band’s strongest material to date. We chat with keyboardist and composer Martijn Westerholt to explain what makes the Delain machine tick when it comes to making music.
It’s been a hell of a ride in recent years for Sabaton. The band is a classic example of one who has defied all odds to get to where they are now – a hard worked rise in popularity to conquer European heavy metal. This is much in the spirit of the title of the band’s upcoming album, ‘The Last Stand‘ that lands this week. Defying odds and providing the most unexpected of results. We caught up with the band to talk about the spectacular rise of Sabaton and their ‘Last Stand‘.