Reviews by Chris Gibbs

Psycroptic are swiftly approaching their 20^th anniversary. In that time they’ve consistently proven they run a relatively tight ship, with six full length records under their belt and only a couple of line-up changes. The most sig...

Light the Torch

Revival

By Chris Gibbs | 14 May, 2018

Devil You Know went through a bit of turmoil in 2016. Drummer John Sankey was heavily focussed on his Legion Festival following the collapse of the annual travelling Soundwave Festival in the hopes of giving Australian metal heads something else t...

Machine Head

Catharsis

By Chris Gibbs | 28 February, 2018

I have been a die hard Machine Head fan since I stumbled across Burn My Eyes in January 1997. Now, just because my all time favourite band releases a new record, this does not mean it is automatically a faultless masterpiece. Ever since <...

Corrosion of Conformity

No Cross No Crown

By Chris Gibbs | 28 February, 2018

It has been 18 years since the classic Deliverance line-up of North Carolina’s Corrosion of Conformity last made a record together. That was 2000’s somewhat mediocre and commercial leaning America’s Volume Dealer

Pallbearer

Heartless

By Chris Gibbs | 10 April, 2017

Melodic doom metal band, Pallbearer, impressed doom lovers across the globe with their excellent 2012 debut, Sorrow and Extinction, and we all rejoiced in the splendour of their 2014 sophomore release, the Billy Anderson produced Foun...

Soen

Lykaia

By Chris Gibbs | 20 February, 2017

When former Opeth drummer Martin Lopez announced the formation of his new progressive band Soen in 2010 with bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Testament), the possibilities of how it would sound were tantalizing. Combining such impressive musiciansh...

Hour of Penance

Cast the First Stone

By Chris Gibbs | 20 February, 2017

Hailing from Rome, Italy, Hour of Penance has been consistently belting out records of technical death metal for the last 14 years without my knowledge; six of them in fact. In that time, they have weathered substantial line-up changes with not on...

Aversions Crown

Xenocide

By Chris Gibbs | 03 February, 2017

After signing a deal with Nuclear Blast Records and releasing their 2014 sophomore effort, Tyrant, Brisbane’s Aversions Crown suffered an unfortunate bout of inner turbulence. Original vocalist Colin Jeffs (now fronting Tongues) was...

Sepultura

Machine Messiah

By Chris Gibbs | 16 January, 2017

I must admit, Roots was my very first exposure to Sepultura, and I loved it. I still do in fact. While I did delve into their past classics with Chaos A.D, Arise, and Beneath the Remains, I honestly did not spend a lot o...

In Flames

Battles

By Chris Gibbs | 17 November, 2016

A number of years have passed since I last gave In Flames any significant attention. Even more have passed since they released an album I enjoyed, such as 2006’s Come Clarity. While that wasn’t a true return to form of their c...

Testament

Brotherhood of the Snake

By Chris Gibbs | 01 November, 2016

While 2008’s The Formation of Damnation and 2012’s Dark Roots of Earth were both excellent Testament records post-reunion, brimming with thrash, melody, and hooks, there was a substantial overall lack of speed. This i...

Meshuggah

The Violent Sleep of Reason

By Chris Gibbs | 23 October, 2016

I don’t know about you, but in the late 90s an obscure band from Umeå, Sweden by the name of Meshuggah took every single thing I thought I knew about metal, rolled it up into a ball of garbage and through it out the window. They left m...

Crobot

Welcome to Fat City

By Chris Gibbs | 06 October, 2016

I have mentioned in the past that Nuclear Blast have built up an impressive roster in recent years, branching out to consist of some pretty killer hard rock n roll bands in addition to the high calibre death and thrash metal that is synonymous wit...

Charred Walls of the Damned

Creatures Watching Over the Dead

By Chris Gibbs | 04 October, 2016

After an excellent two album cycle with heavy metal masters Iced Earth, drummer Richard Christy virtually disappeared from the music scene for over five years, taking up a seat as a radio presenter on The Howard Stern Show. In 2010, he returned wi...

Heaven Shall Burn

Wanderer

By Chris Gibbs | 19 September, 2016

Having now ripped off faces for 20 years, Saalfeld, Germany’s prodigal sons of all things melodic death metal tinged metalcore, Heaven Shall Burn, return with their eighth full length album, Wanderer. Visually, the band's moniker is...

Opeth

Sorceress

By Chris Gibbs | 13 September, 2016

Before we go any further, and regardless of what the gorgeous yet brutal artwork by regular contributing artist Travis Smith might imply, there are no death growled vocals on the new Opeth record, Sorceress. Once upon a time, I adored Ope...

King

Reclaim the Darkness

By Chris Gibbs | 05 September, 2016

Australian black metal trio King consist of an impressive extreme metal line up. Vocalist Tony Forde of the legendary Blood Duster and The Day Everything Became Nothing, guitarist David Hill of Fuck I’m Dead and also The Day Everything Becam...

Witherscape

The Northern Sanctuary

By Chris Gibbs | 09 August, 2016

Dan Swanö. The name is royalty amongst the world of the metal elite, and has been at the forefront of Swedish melodic death metal and production for well over two decades. Any self-respecting metal head is aware of the man and his plethora of...

Revocation

Great is Our Sin

By Chris Gibbs | 09 August, 2016

When I think of Boston, Massachusetts, I think of hardcore and metalcore bands, plenty of them and some rather excellent ones I might add. I most certainly don't think of technical death and thrash metal, that's for sure. That all changed barely t...

Despised Icon

Beast

By Chris Gibbs | 21 July, 2016

I am not a fan of deathcore. I am even less a fan of that word being used to describe a sub-genre. I had the same view when the term metalcore first propped up in the late '90s. Yes, the '90s. I don’t care what anyone says as that word was a...