The Fermi Paradox...Out Of This World Metal Reviews

  From Bandcamp, “Coming off a last few years defined by an American Music Award and iHeart Radio Award-winning international #1 album, an RIAA-certified platinum single, and a massive world tour immortalized in a box office record-breaking feature film, 2025 is poised to be   GHOST’s   busiest, most ambitious and outright biggest year to date. Having revealed the existence of   “Skeleta ,” the forthcoming sixth album from the GRAMMY-winning Swedish theatrical rock icons,   GHOST   has only begun the next phase of its inevitable path to world domination.” It took me years to warm to this band…their imagery turned me off immediately. Being Scottish, I am very stubborn, so once you are spurred, you remain. I’m not sure when the light came on, but a small part of me remembered that it’s about   music , and that’s all that matters. “Peacefield”  is the first song. Gentle tones open the song, as the title suggests, and it builds into an unabashed Pop s...

  It’s been seven long years since their last release, and now   LUX TERMINUS  returns with their latest offering titled   “Cinder.”  From their Facebook page, they self-describe as “keyboards-driven instrumental cinematic modern Prog.” The first three songs, in three separate movements, feature   ESPERA  (live backing vocals for   SLEEP TOKEN,  and Prog band   EXPLORING BIRDSONG )   vocalists   Lynsey, Paige, and Maty.  The first movement is short, and has minimal instrumentation, but might be a precursor to what we can expect on the album. If it’s any indication, we are in for a treat, because the gentle piano and keyboard melodies are gorgeous, as are the hushed vocals of the trio. Rolling into the second movement, their lush, cinematic side comes bursting through like a beacon, and  Vikram’s  bright piano and keyboard notes work so well with the cadenced rhythms. Backing vocals roll in, and the entire song be...

  Off the beaten path and mysterious, genre-twisting bands are what captivate me these days. Maybe it’s because I am tired of the same old, same old, and because of my age, experience, vast pedigree of reviews in just about any genre you can think of (over 4,000 and counting), and my constant need to discover and listen to new bands, I am smitten with the prospect of digesting   VIOLET COLD’s  new album,   “Modular Consciousness.”  First, it’s a one-man band hailing from the county of Azerbaijan, and for Americans, that is located at the border of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia's republic of Dagestan to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. Second, he is a prolific songwriter, delivering 12 full-lengths since formation in 2013. This new album is an EP, made up of five songs.  “Digital Mirage”  is first. An electronic beat comes through first, reminding me of ...

  From Bandcamp,   “Goldstar”   takes perennial New Yorkers,   IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT's   exploration of the extreme and arcane and delivers the band’s most focused, authentic and accessible work to date. Featuring guest appearances by   MESHUGGAH  drummer   Thomas Haake   and legendary drummer,   Dave Lombardo,  both of whose presence makes it clear that musically,   IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT   are in a class by themselves. In their vision of urban disorder,   IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT's   monolithic cityscapes are dark as any of their extreme or black metal brethren.” The album has nine songs, and  “Eye of Mars”  is first. The opening tones are very dark, heavy, dissonant, and somewhat chaotic from all that is going on in the background. It is so thick and overgrown, that you can barely parcel out some of the music. When I imagine Hell, I imagine this song.  “Lexington Delirium”  begins with clean tones, b...