REVIEW: DEATHFIST – Too Hot to Burn

 

DEATHFIST – Too Hot to Burn

Pure Steel / High Roller Records

DEATHFIST come from Germany, and they wear their musical heritage with absolute pride. This is a thrash metal act that genuinely caught me off guard the first time I spun their album. The passion is unmistakable, the ideas are sharp, and—most importantly—the band knows how to craft songs that push your head into overdrive with relentless, ultra‑speed riffing.

Their influences, as expected, draw heavily from the German thrash tradition. You can clearly sense their admiration for titans like KREATOR and DESTRUCTION, both in the riff architecture and in the overall attack. Yet the album isn’t limited to that lineage. There are moments where DEATHFIST channel early METALLICA—the title track “Too Hot to Burn” is a prime example—and flashes of SLAYER surface in tracks like “Killing Time” and “Slay Her.”

The atmosphere throughout the record is rooted firmly in the 80s, but the band avoids sounding dated. Instead, they manage to inject a contemporary edge that makes the album appealing to both old‑school devotees and modern thrash listeners. One element that truly stands out is the vocal performance. Corinna Becker handles the microphone with a ferocity that easily earns her the title of a female counterpart to Mille Petrozza. Her delivery adds character and intensity without ever feeling derivative.

What ultimately elevates Too Hot to Burn is that it rekindles that rare feeling of listening as a fan first and a reviewer second. It’s an album that invites excitement rather than analysis, and that alone says a lot. DEATHFIST deserve attention, and alongside THE PROPHECY 23, they stand among the most compelling thrash metal acts I’ve encountered recently.

Nick Parastatidis

REVIEW: MOTORHEAD, We Are Motorhead

 

MOTORHEAD, We Are Motorhead (2000)

Steamhammer

Το δεύτερο ομώνυμό τους στη νέα εποχή

Το άλμπουμ αυτό σηματοδοτεί την τελευταία, τρίτη και ίσως ισάξια με την αρχική περίοδο για τους Lemmy, Phil Campbell και Mikkey Dee. Έτσι, μετά το καλό αλλά ελαφρύ ολίσθημα που λέγεται Snake Bite Love, επιστρέφουν δυνατοί και κλασικοί όσο δεν πάει.

Η απαραίτητη —και καλύτερη του πρωτότυπου— διασκευή στο God Save the Queen των (ξεπουλημένων, όπως φάνηκε) πανκ πρωτοπόρων Sex Pistols αποτελεί και το πρώτο βίντεο κλιπ του άλμπουμ.

Το speed metal κομμάτι See Me Burning ανοίγει το CD, ενώ ακολουθούν τα Stay Out of Jail, Out to Lunch, Wake the Dead, η «μπλουζιά» του One More Fucking Time, τα Stagefright – Crush and Burn, (Wearing Your Heart) On Your Sleeve, και για επίλογο το ομώνυμο We Are Motörhead, που σφάζει άγρια. Αυτά είναι και τα καλύτερα κομμάτια του δίσκου.

Εννιά στα δέκα, δηλαδή, από μια μπάντα που έχει μόνο καλά, καλύτερα κι άριστα άλμπουμ — και τίποτα πλέον να αποδείξει.

English:

Their second self‑titled album of the new era

This album marks the final, third phase for Lemmy, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee—one that may well stand shoulder to shoulder with their original golden period. So, after the good but slightly wayward Snake Bite Love, they come back sounding as strong and as classic as they possibly can.

The essential —and better than the original— cover of God Save the Queen by the (as it turned out) sold‑out punk pioneers Sex Pistols also serves as the album’s first music video.

The speed‑metal blast See Me Burning opens the CD, followed by Stay Out of Jail, Out to Lunch, Wake the Dead, the blues‑soaked One More Fucking Time, Stagefright – Crush and Burn, (Wearing Your Heart) On Your Sleeve, and finally the title track We Are Motörhead, which cuts viciously and closes the record in style. These are the album’s standout tracks.

Nine out of ten, then, from a band that has only ever delivered good, better, and excellent albums — and has nothing left to prove.

Τάκης "Ε-Μortal One" Γιώτης

REVIEW: MOTORHEAD, The World Is Yours

 

MOTORHEAD, The World Is Yours (2010)

Motörhead Music

Πάντα με πλήρη άγνοια κινδύνου

Οι Motörhead δεν έχουν κακό δίσκο. Έχουν από καλούς έως τέλειους, κι αυτό το αξίωμα ισχύει στο διηνεκές. Αυτός εδώ είναι ο τρίτος από το τέλος του αγαπημένου γίγαντα Lemmy Kilmister και των μουσικών συντρόφων του, Phil Campbell και Μιχάλη Δελάογλου (μην ξεχνάμε, ο Mikkey Dee είναι συμπατριώτης μας κατά το ήμισυ), και για άλλη μια φορά αποδίδουν.

Τώρα, με αυτό εννοούμε περισσότερο απ’ το Motörizer πριν; Λιγότερο απ’ το Aftershock που ακολουθεί; Έχει σημασία; Ο λόγος που η τριάδα των Motörhead πάντα γέμιζε το κοινό με χαρά όταν έβγαζε νέα κυκλοφορία ήταν κάτι που εξηγούνταν μόνο στο συλλογικό μας ασυνείδητο. Ένας αθόρυβος συναγερμός μέσα μας και πολύς θόρυβος επί σκηνής από το συγκρότημα, ζωντανά στις τουρνέ τους ανά τον πλανήτη — δυνατότερα από κάθε άλλον, όπως και οι ίδιοι διακήρυτταν.

Η αφιέρωση στον αδερφό του Ronnie James Dio, που λίγο καιρό πριν είχε φύγει για το απέραντο άγνωστο, κάνει τον δίσκο ακόμη πιο σκοτεινό. Ο Lemmy δεν ήξερε ότι ο χρόνος μετρούσε ανάποδα και για εκείνον. Born To Lose, I Know How to Die, Get Back in Line, Brotherhood of Man, Outlaw — εδώ μέσα ακουμπάνε το στάτους του κλασικού, περισσότερο πάντως απ’ ό,τι στον προηγούμενο δίσκο τους, το Motörizer.

English:

Always with Complete Ignorance of Danger

Motörhead don’t have a bad album. They range from good to downright perfect, and that’s an axiom that holds for eternity. This one is the third-to-last from the beloved giant Lemmy Kilmister and his musical companions, Phil Campbell and Michalis Delagglou (let’s not forget, Mikkey Dee is half‑Greek by heritage), and once again they deliver.

Now, do we mean more than Motörizer before it? Less than Aftershock that followed? Does it even matter? The reason the Motörhead trio always filled their audience with joy every time they released something new was something that could only be explained in our collective unconscious. A silent alarm inside us — and a whole lot of noise on stage from the band, live on their tours around the world, louder than anyone else, just as they themselves proclaimed.

The dedication to Ronnie James Dio’s brother, who had departed for the great unknown not long before, casts an even darker shadow over the record. Lemmy didn’t know that time was counting backwards for him as well. Born To Lose, I Know How to Die, Get Back in Line, Brotherhood of Man, Outlaw — tracks that brush up against classic status, more so than on their previous album, Motörizer.

Τάκης "Ε-Μortal One" Γιώτης

REVIEW: OBSZON GESCHOPF – Symphony of Decay

 

OBSZON GESCHOPF – Symphony of Decay

Twilight Vertrieb Records

I’ll keep this concise, because this is one of those albums I’m ready to file away and not revisit. OBSZON GESCHOPF, a French band active since 1996, return with their fifth studio album, offering their take on industrial thrash metal.

Industrial metal has never been a genre I gravitate toward, and I only tolerate it when the electronic elements are used sparingly or blended with more traditional metal structures. Here, both the industrial and electronic components are present in overwhelming quantities. More than once I found myself irritated by the songwriting choices, and at times the electronic flourishes felt so exaggerated and juvenile that they became unintentionally comical. Yet the dominant sensation from start to finish was simple, unshakeable boredom.

The songs follow nearly identical patterns, with a rhythm section that never deviates from its formula. The down‑tuned guitars and deep, hoarse growls—vocals that often sound as if the singer recorded them while fighting off a cold—do little to elevate the material. Stripped of its industrial coating, what remains is straightforward, extremely typical thrash metal. Unfortunately, “typical” is the operative word: the album feels predictable, repetitive, and ultimately uninspired.

Symphony of Decay may appeal to listeners who enjoy industrial metal in its most saturated form, but for me, it offered little beyond monotony.

Christine  Parastatidou

MYSTFALL Unveil “Sleeper In The Abyss”

 

Greek symphonic metal act MYSTFALL present their new single “Sleeper In The Abyss”, taken from their upcoming studio album Embers of a Dying World, released via Scarlet Records.

Embers of a Dying World marks the band’s second full-length release, following their 2023 debut Celestial Vision. Led by the commanding soprano vocals of Marialena Trikoglou, MYSTFALL continue to expand their cinematic, darkly atmospheric sound.

The album explores an alternate dimension where dreams and nightmares wage war to preserve the human spirit. Each of its ten tracks unfolds as a standalone story, reflecting on the consequences of human actions on Earth.

Among these compositions is the new single “Sleeper In The Abyss”, offering a glimpse into the album’s immersive and dramatic sonic world.

Embers of a Dying World is out now through Scarlet Records.

Herbscure Unleashes Debut Self Titled EP via Dale of Shadows Records

 

Austrian one‑man project Herbscure has released its debut self‑titled EP through Dale of Shadows Records, marking the official arrival of what creator Daemon Herbae calls Herbal Black Metal.

Composed, recorded, mixed, and mastered entirely in Herbae’s home studio in Gratwein‑Straßengel, the EP presents a bold fusion of raw black metal intensity with the rhythmic sway of reggae. What began as a stylistic experiment has evolved into a fully formed artistic identity, pushing genre boundaries with confidence.

Across its three tracks, Herbscure explores the tension between harsh atmospheres and groove‑driven undercurrents, crafting a sound that feels both unexpected and strangely cohesive. The release positions the project as one of the more unconventional new voices emerging from Austria’s underground metal scene.

GUS DRAX RELEASES NEW SOLO ALBUM

 

Theogonia Records is proud to announce the release of "Theories of Imperfection," the brand-new instrumental solo album from acclaimed Greek guitarist Gus Drax, out now on all platforms as of April 3rd, 2026. This eight-track journey represents Drax’s most ambitious work to date, seamlessly blending the technical mastery he is known for in Sunburst and Suicidal Angels with a new level of melodic depth and emotional intensity.

From the philosophical opening of "Sentio Ergo Sum" to the high-octane "Sombrero Attack," the album showcases a staggering dynamic range. Drax pushes the boundaries of modern progressive metal by fusing blistering shred with cinematic textures and expressive storytelling. The record is further elevated by an elite lineup of guest musicians, including George Kollias on drums and a guest solo by Andy James, ensuring a world-class listening experience from start to finish.

The album’s powerful, crystal-clear sound is the result of expert mixing and mastering by Simone Mularoni at Domination Studio, while the striking cover art by Remedy Art Design perfectly reflects the music's balance of chaos and beauty. Standing as a landmark in his career, "Theories of Imperfection" is a must-listen for guitar enthusiasts and prog-metal fans alike. It is available now via Theogonia Records in both physical and digital formats.