Greyhawk – Warriors of Greyhawk

Metalcatto

Explosions! Unicorns! Dragons! Now that I have your power metal attention, I should talk to you about Greyhawk‘s new album, Warriors of the Greyhawk. I assume they’re talking about themselves with this title. I’ll do my absolute best to give these guys a fair chance, despite my eternal disdain for anything that is remotely corny or happy. A reviewer needs to keep evolving; otherwise, we just become bitter old people like most. So, let’s start this riff extravaganza.

Æternia – Into The Golden Halls

Elyna Khan

What follows dissonates with what I’m used to saying about music. I usually don’t write a single word if an album or a band’s work doesn’t fully connect with my sensibilities. But this time, I’ll make an exception: Æternia and their new album Into The Golden Halls. I’m doing it because sometimes we need to be sincere enough to admit that what first sounds like a great record… might not actually be one. And that it’s often smarter not to step into territories we haven’t mastered yet — no matter how much we want to experiment or push for artistic perfection, especially when we already do certain things really well.

Fer de Lance – Fires on the Mountainside

Elyna Kahn

Have you ever noticed that when a band releases an album and describes it in terms of music, lyrics, production, and so on, what you end up hearing isn’t always what you were told to expect? Well, that didn’t happen to me with Fer de Lance, an epic Heavy Metal band from Chicago. Their second album, Fires on the Mountainside, arrived in my inbox a while back with a description that went something like this: “This new work promises an immersive experience where epic heavy/power metal intertwines with doom-like overtones and black metal atmospheres, taking the listener through landscapes of mythology, revolution, and darkness. Far from sounding generic, Fer de Lance embraces a bold identity that pays homage to ’90s metal while forging their own path, guiding the bravest listeners toward unforgettable sonic adventures.”

Christian Mistress – Children of the Earth

Sometimes at MER, we need a break from all the monkey howling and the buzzing chainsaw guitars. We need to connect with our spirit animal (probably one of these). That’s why we have room for old-school Heavy Metal/Hard Rock bands like Christian Mistress, a band that’s essentially rising from the dead with its latest album, Children of the Earth. In our niche scene, we’re used to bands taking long breaks between albums—after all, nobody’s making money out of this “business”—but that doesn’t mean we can’t get excited and have expectations, right? Let’s dive in!