Back catalogue: Metal

Review: Rhode Island post-metal avant-garde duo The Body have made a name for themselves due to their caustic maelstrom of harsh, brutalist experimentalism as well as their prolific output and collaborative nature, releasing collab albums with the likes of Full Of Hell, Thou, Uniform, and most recently, Dis Fig. Their latest endeavour sees the pair link up with another duo of musical extremity, Toronto, Canada's recently reformed industrial two-piece Intensive Care. Was I Good Enough? has been on the cards since the artists first began making plans as far back as 2018, trading, warping and ruining mutual sessions with layers of loops, distortion, samples and even dubs, constantly striving to find the ideal haunting balance between both of their sonically hideous, oppressive worlds. For all of our ears' sakes, they just might have succeeded.

Review: The third full-length from Los Angeles-based progressive, jazz-tinged post-metal giants Intronaut was originally released in 2010 and celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. Further embracing the fretless bass, jazzgazing style of its 2008 predecessor Prehistoricisms, the material found on Valley Of Smoke was the first from the band to slightly eschew the use of exclusively harsh vocals and instead utilise the harmonious cadences of dual vocalist/guitarists Sacha Dunable and Dave Timnick, conjuring a hypnotic balancing act reminiscent of the synergetic fusion of Alice In Chains' Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell. Featuring Tool bassist Justin Chancellor on the epic title-track, providing double bass flourishes, as well as the pitched glitching vocal processing similar to that of progressive death metal legends Cynic (both of whom the band would subsequently tour with), Intronaut have always deserved to be spoken of within the same breath as the likes of Mastodon, Baroness, Deftones, Hum, and any other respected boundary pushing group connecting the mercurial dots between grandiose, conflicting sonics.

Review: Originally released in 2005, and considered to be the second solo full-length from nine-fingered metal guitar pioneer Tony Iommi, Fused celebrates its 20th anniversary just a tad early with these revitalised remasters pressed to wax for the first time ever. Written in collaboration with vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (former Black Sabbath frontman during the mid-80s who would assume vocal duties on 1986's Seventh Star; released under the band moniker but long perceived as Iommi's first solitary creative endeavour), and legendary session drummer Kenny Aronoff (The Smashing Pumpkins, Bob Seger, Willie Nelson, John Fogerty, Bon Jovi etc), this limited translucent cobalt blue vinyl 2xLP pressing comes complete with three sporadically dispersed bonus cuts finally locked down onto own complete home.

Review: Are Iron Maiden the finest stadium heavy metal band the UK, or any other country, has ever produced? Maybe, but let's not get into subjective comparisons. The fundamental truth of the matter is the English titans of frantic riffs really did crack the formula and set a benchmark - combining thunderous instrumentation with mesmerising theatrics and wonderfully tongue in cheek branding.

The Number of the Beast was (and still is) the outfit's third full length record, and by this point it's safe to say they had fully entered the stride of their finest era of the last 50 or so years. Boasting at least some of their biggest anthems ('Run to The Hills', 'The Number of the Beast' itself, and 'Iron Maiden', to name but three), it's almost ridiculous to think they managed to pack this LP with 26 consistently powerful and inescapable tracks, all played with the energy of their legendary live shows.

Review: 1984's Powerslave is often referred to by the members of Iron Maiden as the album that made them "really famous", as the fifth full-length from the iconic metal heroes saw them filling out larger arenas than ever previously imagined, while the World Slavery Tour would ultimately lead to their longest time ever out on the road. Featuring the iconic hit single '2 Minutes to Midnight' as well as the galloping 'Aces High', the album is most noteworthy for its epic near fourteen-minute musical re-telling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner', with the band even confessing to it being their favourite song to play live. This would also serve as the first Maiden record to consist of the same line up as its predecessor (1983's Piece Of Mind), with this stable going on to record two more full-lengths with Somewhere In Time (1986 ) and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988). Celebrating its 40th anniversary, this reissue lands on limited edition zoetrope picture disc vinyl..

Review: Iron Maiden are one of the world's most successful bands. They clocked up numerous hits, sold-out world tours, and chart-topping singles and were no slouches in the live area. Proving that beyond doubt is the highly collectable and limited edition picture disc which saw them deliver an electrifying performance in this concert broadcast on Dutch radio back almost a quarter of a century ago in the year 2000. The show captures the band's remarkable ability to energise and captivate live audiences with their powerful and dynamic presence across many of their most well-loved hits.