Arquievus - "Three Colossal Monthly Slabs of Epicness"

*April*

Unleash the Archers - Demons of the AstroWaste

Holy Martyr - Invincible

Falcon - S/T

CastleAxe - Castlemaster EP

CastleAxe are a heavy/speed metal band from Utah, U.S. and I bumped into them in the form of their EP Castlemaster, made available with the bands blessing at the virtual inn Morbid Tabernacle, a metal blog that I strongly recommend, just like the band.


The vocalist of CastleAxe, has a very distinctive style that sets the band apart from countless others. Granted, it might be a barrier for some, an acquired taste for others, or an instant hit (like in my case). The point is, you won't know till you've heard them and bear in mind that the band has lots more stuff going for them then just a polemic, albeit capable, vocalist. Insane solos, merciless, pounding rhythmic session and tunes catchier than bird flu, like "Damned (If I Do)", the opening track of the Castlemaster EP are just a few examples.


For the good of all things metal, I must warn you that metal archives still has the band page under the name Speitre (read Spider), although the name was abandoned in September 2011 in favour of CastleAxe.

I've already ordered the EP!!

Arquievus - "Three Colossal Monthly Slabs of Epicness"

*March 2012*

Ashbury - Endless Skies

4arm -Submission For Liberty

Solstice - Halcyon

Clark Ashton Smith

Clark Ashton Smith was a name that I was ignorant of, but here it comes the amazing leveller that is heavy metal, and while reading some random band interview, the name popped out. I looked for some of his work and five minutes later I was hooked for life.

I won't bore you with a long biography about the man, suffice to say that this self-educated American poet, sculptor, painter and author of fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories was mates with the likes of H. P. Lovecraft

What we have here is the The Collected Fantasies Of Clark Ashton Smith Volume 1: The End Of The Story (Collected Fantasies), together with the other four volumes that complete this series of five tombs.

If you enjoy H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard or a much darker Lloyd Alexander, you owe yourself an immersion into the fantastic world of Clark Ashton Smith.

Not for people with a short attention span, be warned, although it is extremely handy to whoever writes the lyrics of your band...

Krux -s/t 2002

What do you get when crossing two death metal musicians with a power metal vocalist and the bass player of 80's epic doom metal trailblazers Candlemass??

Easy, you get a kick ass, mid tempo, drugged out but not pedestrian, time traveller of an album like any other in my collection.

Powerhouse bass player Leif Edling takes Krux well above and beyond the "side project" stigma attached by some kneejerkists to this band. Guess that any disciple of old school doom metal would rejoice when seeing one of the movement's legends standing on his own two feet with cuts of galactic proportions like Black Room, Krux or the immeasurably vast epicness of Omfalos.

Let's indeed acknowledge the contribution of Mats Levén, a trooper in his own right, veteran of collaborations with guitar virtuoso Yngwie J. Malmsteen and flowery power metal act At Vance, but perhaps more relevant to get this gig, were his past experiences with Candlemass and Abstrakt Algebra, where a past collaboration with Leif was forged.

The other two musicians are Jörgen Sandström on guitar and Peter Stjärnvind on drums. Both from Swedish death metal outfit Entombed, although Jorgen plays bass in Entombed, not guitar. Just another giveaway, if more were needed, that Krux is fronted by a bass player.

Personally I find the fifty minute duration of Krux's first effort an extremely pleasurable experience. From the hashish induced Lunochod, to the spatial landscapes of Nimis, or the more eerie and atmospheric moments evoked throughout the nine compositions in their début, Leif Edling and his cosmic wanderers never let down or fail to elevate you to a higher realm populated by ghostly bass lines, haunting vocals with a 70's hard rock charm and bestial guitar work.

Be forewarned, although Krux's capable of sending you on a time travel of astronomical dimensions, do not expect any nods to modern "doom" or incursions into "stoner" metal territory, what we have here is pure mid tempo galactic doom, loaded with enough dope fiend ammunition to slay any non believer who timidly dares to raise their fists clutching debris like My Dying Bride et al.

If you happen to like it and can't get enough of it, do not despair, Krux have, at least, another two studio albums and a live one, try looking for them here .

Masters of the Cover Art

After a long recovery from Metal Archives April Fool's joke, I was again faced with the difficult question of who to feature on our Masters of the Cover Art series.

The dubious honour goes to the german artist Werner Hornung with Dol Theeta's The Universe Expands. Polemic choice but truly deserved, controversial for my own standards but as Frank Zappa used to say "without deviation, progress is not possible".

You can see more work by Werner Hornung here and here

"Trust the Expert" by Werner Hornung

Masters of the Cover Art

Swedish painter Thomas Holm, born in 1957, is the man responsible for the "Melissa", "Don't Break the Oath", King Diamond's "Abigail" and others like swedish defenders of the faith Wolf's "Black Wings", to name just a few.

Mr Holm seems to enjoy a low profile, as it was extremely difficult to find any info on his work, this was the best I can come up with, but here's some more of his latest work with Wolf's Legions of Bastards.



Without a shadow of a doubt, "Don't Break the Oath", is one of the most attention grabbing covers ever, especially in vinyl (the first time I saw it, was in vinyl), which really works due to the size of the cover and outstanding colours. Again, I'm no art critic, but I'm allowed my personal taste.