Blog

Rebel .

The post Rebel Rose unleash video for new single “Don’t Panic!” first appeared on Sleaze Roxx.

Now in its third year, Malmo Melodic continues to grow in scale and stake a claim to be the world capital of the melodic rock community for one weekend. There were 30 countries represented, once again with the United Kingdom … Continue reading →

The post Gig review: MALMO MELODIC- Plan B, Malmo, Sweden, 24-26 July 2026 appeared first on Get Ready to ROCK!.

The conquests continue to stack up.

The analogy of medieval warfare to traditional expressions of heavy metal is an apt one, for the skill of the blacksmith and the swordsman alike tends to determine who walks off the battlefield. In this respect, multi-instrumentalist and composer Andrew D’Cagna is among the rare sort that forges his own tools and wields them in combat, boasting a healthy level of participation in the present American metal scene between more than half a dozen projects, spanning the subgenres of doom, folk, black, heavy, and power metal.

Though noteworthy bands like Icarus Witch and Nechochwen have seen fairly prolific output over the past decade with his input, his primary focus has remained upon the traditionally grounded heavy/power metal powerhouse outfit Ironflame. Now 6 full-length albums deep into a career that has seen D’Cagna going it mostly alone in the studio, Worlds To Conquer is the latest towering palace of sound to be constructed by this one-man metallic legion.

To those not initiated into this NWOTHM stalwart, Ironflame marches to the beat of a similar stylistic drum to that of fellow compatriots Visigoth and USPM revivalists Twisted Tower Dire. Epic themes of battlefields of a historical or fantastical character are implied in every single crushing riff and soaring vocal melody, tempered with a very methodical and polished approach to songwriting and execution that often resembles the gallantry of Hammerfall, but is more so rooted in the gritty character of 80s American heavy and power metal icons like Dio and Riot V.

Occasionally, D’Cagna’s outside involvement in various doom and black metal projects seeps into the stylistic flow of things, be it a dreary atmospheric passage or a slower-paced haunting metallic interlude reminiscent of Candlemass, and even a few isolated nods to the early 90s aesthetic of Scandinavian 2^nd wave icons Darkthrone and Satyricon. Distilled into a cohesive opus by Andrew’s prowess as a guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and drummer; to speak nothing of his powerful tenor voice that is uncannily similar to that of Solitude Aeturnus’ own Robert Lowe, it’s a mighty undertaking by any standard.

In storybook fashion, Worlds To Conquer establishes a vivid setting and comes with a healthy supply of twists and turns befitting a grand tale. The somber ode of a lone piano sets an epic doom tone at the onset of the opener “Night Closes In”, which explodes into a galloping charge with a mighty battle cry ringing out of D’Cagna’s voice with every note, often adorned with rich intermittent harmonies that are echoed in the accompanying guitar assault. The follow-up crusher “Legion Of Fire” effectively blurs the lines between a vintage mid-80s USPM sound and a pummeling late 80s Bay Area thrash attack, upping the aggression ante further while maintaining a consonant melodic character topped off with a riveting guitar solo duel.

The mid-paced drive of “Dynasties Fall” lies on a heavy helping of Iron Maiden-inspired harmonized guitar splendor above a bottom-heavy foundation; meanwhile, the old-school metallic bluster of “Where Cauldrons Burn” and “Shadow Slave” function as near-complete throwbacks to the 80s heyday of Dio and Armored Saint. With each passing anthem, the plot thickens further, pushing towards an explosive apex point, yet all the while never really venturing too far outside of what would be considered a conventional song.

The fast-paced cruiser “Crimson Shores” generally functions as another thrash-infused power anthem with an even more amped up drum performance and some occasional bass flourishes to complement the busy guitar work, not to mention featuring the most technically charged guitar solo section of the album. “Valhalla Is Calling” manages to take it a step further by trading in the thrashing quickness for a more progressive blend of ideas, frequently shifting in feel and stylistic dimension from a Crimson Glory-inspired metallic upsurge to a pulled-back Candlemass-infused stomp, then segues into a blast beat interlude out of nowhere for added measure.

The final hurrah and title entry “Worlds To Conquer” would seem to have practically nowhere to go relative to its 2 predecessors, yet stands tall at the top of the fray by delivering the most spellbinding vocal showcase out of D’Cagna above the most mercilessly memorable earworm anthem of the whole bunch.

30 years prior, the American mainstream was delivering what it thought was the eulogy of old-school heavy metal, and it might well have been so were it not for the defiance of bands of the same pedigree as this one. Much like the booming NWOTHM movement that has coincided with its 2016 birth, Ironflame is a band that stands on the old ways without even the hint of an apology, and isn’t afraid to take risks when the moment is right.

There might be times when this album feels like it came out alongside the mid to late 90s exploits of Twisted Tower Dire’s debut and Slough Feg’s Twilight Of The Idols, but it packs enough of a modern punch to be perfectly at home with what heavy/power metal has been bringing to the table in 2026. It’s a slight cut below the legendary offering that was this outfit’s third studio LP, Blood Red Victory, and smash sophomore outing, Tales Of Splendor And Sorrow, but core fans of this band and traditional metal in general will find an opus that wants for very little here.

Release Date: August 14th, 2026
Record Label: High Roller Records
Genre: Heavy Metal

Musicians:

• Andrew D’Cagna / Vocals
• Quinn Lukas / Guitars
• Jesse Scott / Guitars
• James Babcock / Bass
• Noah Skiba / Drums

Worlds To Conquer Tracklist:

1. Night Closes In
2. Legion of Fire
3. Dynasties Fall
4. Where Cauldrons Burn
5. Shadow Slave
6. Crimson Shores
7. Valhalla is Calling
8. Worlds to Conquer
9. Death’s Immortal Flame (CD Bonus Track)

Order the album here.

The post IRONFLAME – Worlds To Conquer (Album Review) appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Primordial sludge unearthed.

Like a decrepit old corpse that has been marinating in the earth for a few decades and decided to rise again just to remind the surrounding town what’s waiting for them in the future, sludge is an art form that just seems to get better with age. This was perhaps best understood by the New Orleans scene that perfected the craft after the initial strides of its Pacific Northwest forerunners Melvins, though the hardcore-infused doom metal bug didn’t take long to make its way across the pond and plant a few auspicious seeds like that of Nottingham’s own Iron Monkey.

Roughly 30 years to the day that said outfit made a respectable studio splash in the mid to late 90s, a new disciple of sorts has emerged from the same locale in Tomb Slab, built out of several active members of the English Midlands’ underground extreme metal scene and bringing a more blackened take on the sludge equation, forging an eponymous debut that could be best described as pleasantly modern in its traditional ugliness.

At every turn, this outfit telegraphs their influences in the most overt ways possible, yet paints them with such an intense enthusiasm that it comes off as music that could have been unleashed in ’96 were the production of a more lo-fi character. Guitarist James Caygill’s mud-steeped riffs and feedback-rich tone are almost dead-ringers for the sort of filthy sounds that Jimmy Bower and Brian Patton were drawing from the instrument during Eyehategod’s heyday, though at times the underlying Black Sabbath influences are more pronounced.

This tendency towards a vintage doom sound is further bolstered by the loose jamming quality of the rhythm section, particularly that of Kez Whelan’s drumming, which often feels like a slightly slower emulation of Bill Ward’s classic early 70s handiwork with shades of Chris Hakius’ cymbal-heavy attack, whereas John Hunter’s bass work is more straightforward and anchors an otherwise chaotic arrangement. The outlier of the pack is vocalist Dean Lettice, who opts for a uniform blackened shriek that puts a diabolical twist on an otherwise agony-based aesthetic.

As a total package, Tomb Slab comes close to blurring the lines between a studio LP and an EP, opting to give the listener six individual tracks the hard way in just over half an hour yet leaving nothing to the imagination. Leaning heavily into a more traditional doom feel, the opening 6-minute slough “Kingdom Of Tyranny” pummels the auditory marshlands with the force of an anvil, and the massive splash of decrepit water and earth lands somewhere halfway between a blistering Nola offering and a more laid-back stoner anthem, albeit with a raving voice at the helm.

The maddened resound of “The Butcher” kicks up the tempo a bit more following a choir of guitar feedback and a glassy bass exposition of the main riff and definitely ranks as one of the heaviest offerings of the bunch, while the quick-paced heavy rocking ode to Clive Barker’s classic Irish horror flick “Rawhead” has banger entry written all over it. The up-tempo carnage continues with a mighty slab of Iommi-inspired riffing with double the fury, “What’s Below Remains Below”, which is contrasted by the punishingly slow and harrowing trudge of “Tomb Of Flesh”, taking the cake in terms of raw, unrefined nastiness alongside the elongated final blast of down-tempo sonic suffering “Toils Of The Unclean Spirit”.

Though enthusiasm often finds itself standing in the stead of originality in Tomb Slab’s playbook, the sheer level of the former effectively cancels out any deficit in the latter. Then again, there is definitely something to be said for how changing a single element in the equation, in this case the vocal approach, can shift its dimensions into something far more unique.

This isn’t to say that Lettice’s approach is entirely without precedent, and Johnny Morrow’s often higher-pitched shrieks did strike a bleak and agonized tone that was undoubtedly an influence on how these songs were crafted, but the former just takes it a step further and presents a rather interesting alternative universe where Gorgoroth or Darkthrone ended up dabbling in sludge/doom.

The result is something that is not entirely a retread, but can still be best appreciated as a heartfelt tribute to a sound that was all the rage 3 decades ago and has been making the rounds again in recent years, and definitely something with lots of future potential.

Release Date: July 17th, 2026
Record Label: Independent
Genre: Blackened Doom/ Sludge Metal

Musicians:

• Kez Whelan / Drums
• John Hunter / Bass
• James Caygill / Guitars
• Dean Lettice / Vocals

Tomb Slab Tracklist:

1. Kingdom of Tyranny
2. The Butcher
3. Rawhead
4. What’s Below Remains Below
5. Tomb of Flesh
6. Toils of the Unclean Spirit

Order the album here.

The post TOMB SLAB – Tomb Slab (Album Review) appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Live Gallery: Kittie – Club Academy, Manchester

10th August 2025
Support: Split Chain, Harpy
Photos: Rich Price

We look back at the epic Kittie show through the eyes of our photographer Rich Price!

Kittie

Split Chain

Harpy

Photo credits: Rich Price

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Live Gallery: Kittie – Club Academy, Manchester appeared first on The Razor's Edge.