Suffering so you don't have to!
Vicky
I might be subjective, but I love bands whose members are all women. This is why, when I first heard that the fierce ladies in Burning Witches have just released Inquisition, I really wanted to write about it. This Swiss/American/Dutch band plays Heavy and Power Metal and we have to give them credit. So far, they’ve done a fantastic job at it! But how about Inquisition? Let’s see!
Elyna Kahn
Feuerschwanz – Knightclub has been released. At first listen, this work instantly evokes the feeling of “when Metal came to the Shire.” It’s a masterful fusion of technical power, festive energy, honour, joy, mystery, humour, and elegance, all woven together with perfect balance. The sound echoes something you might have heard at Bilbo Baggins’ legendary 111th birthday party—celebration and joy turned into music.
Metalcatto
You know what this year hasn’t had much of (aside from peace and love)? Sad puppy Death/Doom. So I decided to check the inbox and see if we had some. Of course we did: Sorrowful Land – Hiraeth (I swear I’ve reviewed an album with that name before). However, despite my obvious bias for this wholesome and crushing subgenre, I’m trying to give more balanced views lately when it comes to my guilty pleasures. So, let’s see if this album is something Pegah would love, or just me. Let’s dive in!
Metalcatto
I needed a change for a while, so I picked an album that’s going to be out in a while. When I first read about Now I’ve Done It’s promo, I was puzzled. It claimed to be a wild, strange album, but it also featured band members from Lör, one of the few Power Metal bands I can still enjoy these days. An Ill Guest was either going to be an amazing experience or suck harder than a curry with no spices (and if you felt attacked, then you probably have poor taste!). It promised to be something profound, yet the artwork looked pretty disturbing. Was this going to be a schizophrenic trip? Let’s find out!
Metalcatto
Saying that I was excited about In Mourning’s The Immortal would be an understatement. I’m old school; I’ve been a fan since Monolith and Shrouded Divine. Everything after that has been the highest level of MeloProg consistency ever seen in that niche. If anything, the band could easily top a list of the most underrated acts in Metal. However, with every great release, the risk of the next one being a flop increases. The Bleeding Veil was outstanding, but can the band keep up with this ridiculous run? Let’s find out!
Metalcatto
Here I am again, helping those who are making Metal with their bare hands and gaining promo points by basically sending us a nice presentation email. It’s incredible how good manners still get you far in life, kids! Anyway, Mind:Field is a one-man Prog/Death Metal project, and that’s just as promising as it is dreadful in a way. Will An Atonement of Existence be a refreshing show of creativity, or are we going to be left with nothing but excess and regret? Kind of the way you feel after you empty that bag of fries in less than five minutes. Hopefully, this will hurt my blood pressure less. It’s time!
Metalcatto
As you know, we get lots of promos—some by mail, some by text, some by smoke signals—but rarely can we give attention to the little band that sneaks into our DMs. That’s the case with Return to Zion, a band that came to us with nothing but a humble request. And well… here I am, getting all soft and offering Burdened with Glorious Purpose a chance. This Post-Rock/Metal release has the difficult task of standing out as an instrumental album, which is still a hit-or-miss subgenre for me. Can one of these finally match the quality of more standard releases, or are we going to be left waiting?
Metalcatto
It’s been some time since we checked in on epic comebacks. Not that there have been many this year, but I was hoping Korp could deliver one for us. And Darker it Shall Become has everything, in principle, to succeed at this task. There’s nothing like an album you can’t easily define to do the job. This one is a strange mix of Death, Black, and Thrash Metal that I feared might leave us numb—but you know, the past is always full of disappointment and regret, which is why I approached it cautiously. Sick artwork, though! Let’s do this.
Metalcatto
It was a mental struggle, a deep existential debate, to review Laurentian Blue by Panopticon. You see, its previous album had been my album of the year in 2023, so there was no way this one was going to top that. And yet, Panopticon is risking it all by basically stepping away from Metal and going full American Folk—or, as we non-Americans might call it, hillbilly Rock. It’s going to be an ordeal for me to make jokes about this without straight-up insulting the trailer park community, but I’ll do my best!
Metalcatto
This year keeps throwing lots and lots of Thrash at us. As if the Metal Gods were offended we didn’t have a Best Of category for Thrash last year (there just weren’t enough good albums, Oxygen Destroyer won that easily). White Mantis’s Arrows At The Sun is here to join the rapidly growing competition in this niche that, despite hard times, never dies! But can the band stand out from the pack, or will we just get more 80s nostalgia that makes me want to quit? Let’s find out!
Metal Eclipse Reviews 