Plaguewielder: "Plaguewielder"

Varying depth and an unruly substance, Luxembourg's young ones are a strange lot

Formed in 2012 by Maxime Weber and Nicholas O'Connell, Plaguewielder is one of few bands hailing from the small European country of Luxembourg. Though they later signed with Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, it all started with this ambitious EP from 2013, which offers crushing guitars and surprisingly varied drumming.

Ozric Tentacles: "Jurassic Shift"

Obviously not completely hidden away, but nevertheless an oft overlooked classic

Though some consider them a mainstay in progressive and psychedelic rock, Ozric Tentacles remain one of the UK's best kept secrets. Their output since the 80s has been consistent in both volume and quality, with their trademark adventurous rhythmsection with overpowering melodies changing very little over the years.

TONEwood TAPES - Update

THEY ARE FINALLY HERE

The second pressing of FORDÆRV's Fy For Satan and the TELEPORT double-EP Galactic Usurper / Stellar Damnation are finally here and immediately available through our Tictail shop!

Black Rock: "Black Rock"

Down to basics take on thrashy, blackened speed metal

Black Rock might be one of the most fitting band names in recent times; The Finnish crust punk and Hellhammer aficionados from the township of Hyvinkää take the term 'rock n roll' and extrapolates it to fit a blackened speed metal aesthetic coupled with a raw, shouting vocal style in a simple setting.

Morfin: "Consumed by Evil"

The perfect example why sound matters almost as much as songwriting

Never judge an album by its cover, because this one looks unmistakingly like a terrible tech-death album, but what is found within contrasts that notion with a lethal dose of death metal in the vein of early Death and Asphyx. Everybody's talking about Gruesome when the subject falls on a new take on Death's classic style, but where is Morfin in this discussion?

Frozen Realm: "Frozen Realm"

A closed fist in the face of their own heroes

Once the acoustic guitar intro to Frozen Realm's debut EP of the same name breaks into an orgy of flashy guitar melodies, there can be no doubt as to the nature of the Swedish band. Balls deep in the long-standing tradition of the Gothenburg sound, Frozen Realm break into full-fledged melodic death metal, complete with every element that the definition entails.

Theory: "The Art of Evil"

Far away from the usual dime-a-dozen prog bands of today

On a personal note, the only progressive metal band that ever truly spoke to me is Symphony X, and even so it is probably their power metal side that speaks the loudest. Oddly enough, I'm a huge fan of 70s and 80s prog rock, but the vast majority of progressive metal just hasn't appealed that much to me.