Review by Felix on May 10, 2019.

The Antichrist, oh no, not again. He is a well-known fellow for each and every fan of extreme metal. Back in 1985, he appeared on Destruction's "Infernal Overkill". Bewitched witnessed his rise in 2002. In 2012 Kreator thought he is just a phantom, but I guess we can be sure that he dwells everywhere, even in Finland and probably in close neighborhood to Santa Claus, who lives, as even all little children know, in Rovaniemi, Lapland. So, it was no big surprise that he made a courtesy call on Diaboli, a one-man-project from Suomi. Therefore, the artist behind this project called the album The Antichrist and everybody was satisfied.

Everybody? Yes, more or less everybody, because the album keeps the promise that it names makes. I freely admit that the technical execution leaves plenty of room for optimization, because its dull overall impression and the lack of differentiation cannot be ignored, especially during the fast parts. (Needless to say, that Petri was also responsible for the recording. Guess his circle of friends consists of his mother... and nobody else.) "Grim Winter" is the victim that suffers most from the mix. In general, seven of eight tracks are not able to reveal their full might and the remaining title is an atmospheric, pretty strong and somehow Nordic keyboard intermezzo which seems to be recorded in a frosty Polar night. Nevertheless, the vinyl does not disappoint. Petri, the artist who runs Diaboli, has enough creative potential to make a convincing offer. He does not show new options for the genre, but he operates skillfully within the given frame.

Once influenced by Burzum, Diaboli present a more brutal approach now. A minimum of riffs goes hand in hand with a minimum of breaks. Petri's guitar dominates everything, and he is obviously able to feed his instrument with effective notes. Nobody can deny that the guitar lines are aligned with the typical spirit of the genre. "Cursed be thy Name", the overlong opener, has both pretty monotonous, fast parts and melancholic excursions and maybe some very wise people might say that it is more than sufficient to listen to this track in order to be familiar with the entire spectrum of the project. But I don't want to be blamed by these omniscient creatures for not telling them the whole truth about the fifth full-length in the discography of the lonesome warrior. The massive tremolo picking forms great tracks like "Malicious Satanic Vengeance" or "A Sign for War" and I highly recommend giving them a try. Petri does not hesitate to plough the frozen Finnish soil and he does it with a fine instinct for flattening guitars and well-dosed dynamism, even though he does not create new genre highlights.

Slayer fell in love with the Antichrist in 1983, Gorgoroth kissed his pale face in 1996. "Sinful Birth", a great thrash album from 2017, was released by a band that wears proudly his name. You see, he is present at any time. Maybe he is even responsible for the smell of your running shoes or the unattractive spots in my underpants. It doesn't matter, because one thing is certain: he did not have a bad day when it came to the realization of the here reviewed work.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on July 9, 2024.

In this wild and ever-growing year of 2024, who would have thought that one of the crucial names in New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the mighty Blitzkrieg, would be returning this year with a new album. We already had excellent releases from the British Isles with bands such as Saxon and Cloven Hoof to name a few, but this one came out of nowhere and if you ask me, I think it was the right time to do so. Personally speaking, Blitzkrieg is also one of the most important bands that played a big role in my early teens when I was discovering the treasures of classic heavy metal, and of course I wasn’t going to miss the chance to check out their new self-titled album. With all that said, it’s time to take a look at their eleventh full-length album Blitzkrieg with the release date of September 6th, 2024 via Mighty Music. 

From the very get-go, Blitzkrieg is already kicking ass by delivering some catchy and powerful heavy metal anthems that shake the Earth’s core and rock the world, with each song being more exciting than the other. Of course, the first track 'You Won't Take Me Alive' is off to a good start, but as the album progresses, you see that there is more than meets the eye. For example, 'The Spider' is where things get even more crazy with melodic guitar work and neoclassical guitar solos, or 'Dragon’s Eye' where it goes full-on power/speed metal with its fast and energetic approach, but you also have 'Above The Law' which is stylistically very much oldschool progressive/heavy metal like early Queensryche and Fates Warning. This album did a fairly good job at promising that this will be an experience worth the while with the first couple of tracks, and it certainly does not fail to deliver with its awesome riffs, powerful vocals of Brian Ross and all-around amazing band performance that nicely transitions from one song to another. On top of that, we have an interesting inclusion on this album, in the form of a Michael Myers/Halloween themed song 'The Night He Came Home' that literally uses the iconic melody from the movie’s main theme, and it does a pretty good job by giving that infamous horror movie theme a real heavy metal twist, ending it with the heavy breathing of Michael Myers behind his white sprayed William Shatner mask. As a nice closure to this wonderful journey, we have the epic finale known as 'On Olympus High - Aphrodite's Kiss', the longest track on this album that gives a grand sense of payoff. This track closes Blitzkrieg’s chapter with its simplistic riffing, which is nicely expanded with both clean and acoustic guitars as backing instruments, as well as the beautiful melodies and guitar solos that really succeed at keeping you on the edge of your seat as you experience this musical ascension. 

The songwriting is very well balanced with its effective simplicity and dynamic range of ideas that really go well together, broadening the musical horizon of Blitzkrieg while maintaining the strong level of musicality throughout the entire album. For a band such as Blitzkrieg which has been around since 1979, this album really shows that their game is just as strong and fresh as it was beforehand, proving that they still have the enthusiasm since their youthly days and that such dedication was put into their work. It’s safe to say that all their years existing as a band nicely pays off, because you have such nice examples that showcase how the band perfected their songwriting and the best part is that they always keep it interesting and exciting, which should come as no surprise especially after 4 decades of experience. I think that the biggest contributing factor to their excellent and fresh songwriting is the fact that they went through numerous lineup changes, and of course every new addition to the band will always bring in some new ideas onboard, but aside from that, they obviously understand what an important task they have to fulfill and what it means to be a part of such significant band that was one of the founding fathers of NWOBHM which influenced the likes of Metallica or any other US thrash metal band at the time. Honestly though, it would be criminal that this band didn’t get the recognition and love they deserve, especially since Metallica covered their self-titled track “Blitzkrieg” back in the 80’s, which resulted in many people discovering the band, myself included. I believe their self-titled album is a great testament to their long-lasting legacy as a band that still has the strength and willpower to bring down the tower with their heavy metal might. On the final note, the sound production of their self-titled album is very top-notch and nicely executed with the modern clear sound that does not thin out the heaviness of the guitars, nor the immense power of the vocals that Brian Ross delivers. 

Blitzkrieg could not have picked a better time to return with their self-titled album and the final result is yet another great addition to this powerful heavy metal year of 2024. This album has a lot of strong tunes worth checking out, bringing out the best out of them while nicely expanding what they’ve done in the past. There is just so much silver and gold coming out this year that you just can’t allow yourself to miss out on any of it, so make sure you check out Blitzkrieg’s new self-titled banger when it’s officially released. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on July 9, 2024.

In this wild and ever-growing year of 2024, who would have thought that one of the crucial names in New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the mighty Blitzkrieg, would be returning this year with a new album. We already had excellent releases from the British Isles with bands such as Saxon and Cloven Hoof to name a few, but this one came out of nowhere and if you ask me, I think it was the right time to do so. Personally speaking, Blitzkrieg is also one of the most important bands that played a big role in my early teens when I was discovering the treasures of classic heavy metal, and of course I wasn’t going to miss the chance to check out their new self-titled album. With all that said, it’s time to take a look at their eleventh full-length album Blitzkrieg with the release date of September 6th, 2024 via Mighty Music. 

From the very get-go, Blitzkrieg is already kicking ass by delivering some catchy and powerful heavy metal anthems that shake the Earth’s core and rock the world, with each song being more exciting than the other. Of course, the first track 'You Won't Take Me Alive' is off to a good start, but as the album progresses, you see that there is more than meets the eye. For example, 'The Spider' is where things get even more crazy with melodic guitar work and neoclassical guitar solos, or 'Dragon’s Eye' where it goes full-on power/speed metal with its fast and energetic approach, but you also have 'Above The Law' which is stylistically very much oldschool progressive/heavy metal like early Queensryche and Fates Warning. This album did a fairly good job at promising that this will be an experience worth the while with the first couple of tracks, and it certainly does not fail to deliver with its awesome riffs, powerful vocals of Brian Ross and all-around amazing band performance that nicely transitions from one song to another. On top of that, we have an interesting inclusion on this album, in the form of a Michael Myers/Halloween themed song 'The Night He Came Home' that literally uses the iconic melody from the movie’s main theme, and it does a pretty good job by giving that infamous horror movie theme a real heavy metal twist, ending it with the heavy breathing of Michael Myers behind his white sprayed William Shatner mask. As a nice closure to this wonderful journey, we have the epic finale known as 'On Olympus High - Aphrodite's Kiss', the longest track on this album that gives a grand sense of payoff. This track closes Blitzkrieg’s chapter with its simplistic riffing, which is nicely expanded with both clean and acoustic guitars as backing instruments, as well as the beautiful melodies and guitar solos that really succeed at keeping you on the edge of your seat as you experience this musical ascension. 

The songwriting is very well balanced with its effective simplicity and dynamic range of ideas that really go well together, broadening the musical horizon of Blitzkrieg while maintaining the strong level of musicality throughout the entire album. For a band such as Blitzkrieg which has been around since 1979, this album really shows that their game is just as strong and fresh as it was beforehand, proving that they still have the enthusiasm since their youthly days and that such dedication was put into their work. It’s safe to say that all their years existing as a band nicely pays off, because you have such nice examples that showcase how the band perfected their songwriting and the best part is that they always keep it interesting and exciting, which should come as no surprise especially after 4 decades of experience. I think that the biggest contributing factor to their excellent and fresh songwriting is the fact that they went through numerous lineup changes, and of course every new addition to the band will always bring in some new ideas onboard, but aside from that, they obviously understand what an important task they have to fulfill and what it means to be a part of such significant band that was one of the founding fathers of NWOBHM which influenced the likes of Metallica or any other US thrash metal band at the time. Honestly though, it would be criminal that this band didn’t get the recognition and love they deserve, especially since Metallica covered their self-titled track “Blitzkrieg” back in the 80’s, which resulted in many people discovering the band, myself included. I believe their self-titled album is a great testament to their long-lasting legacy as a band that still has the strength and willpower to bring down the tower with their heavy metal might. On the final note, the sound production of their self-titled album is very top-notch and nicely executed with the modern clear sound that does not thin out the heaviness of the guitars, nor the immense power of the vocals that Brian Ross delivers. 

Blitzkrieg could not have picked a better time to return with their self-titled album and the final result is yet another great addition to this powerful heavy metal year of 2024. This album has a lot of strong tunes worth checking out, bringing out the best out of them while nicely expanding what they’ve done in the past. There is just so much silver and gold coming out this year that you just can’t allow yourself to miss out on any of it, so make sure you check out Blitzkrieg’s new self-titled banger when it’s officially released. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on July 9, 2024.

In this wild and ever-growing year of 2024, who would have thought that one of the crucial names in New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the mighty Blitzkrieg, would be returning this year with a new album. We already had excellent releases from the British Isles with bands such as Saxon and Cloven Hoof to name a few, but this one came out of nowhere and if you ask me, I think it was the right time to do so. Personally speaking, Blitzkrieg is also one of the most important bands that played a big role in my early teens when I was discovering the treasures of classic heavy metal, and of course I wasn’t going to miss the chance to check out their new self-titled album. With all that said, it’s time to take a look at their eleventh full-length album Blitzkrieg with the release date of September 6th, 2024 via Mighty Music. 

From the very get-go, Blitzkrieg is already kicking ass by delivering some catchy and powerful heavy metal anthems that shake the Earth’s core and rock the world, with each song being more exciting than the other. Of course, the first track 'You Won't Take Me Alive' is off to a good start, but as the album progresses, you see that there is more than meets the eye. For example, 'The Spider' is where things get even more crazy with melodic guitar work and neoclassical guitar solos, or 'Dragon’s Eye' where it goes full-on power/speed metal with its fast and energetic approach, but you also have 'Above The Law' which is stylistically very much oldschool progressive/heavy metal like early Queensryche and Fates Warning. This album did a fairly good job at promising that this will be an experience worth the while with the first couple of tracks, and it certainly does not fail to deliver with its awesome riffs, powerful vocals of Brian Ross and all-around amazing band performance that nicely transitions from one song to another. On top of that, we have an interesting inclusion on this album, in the form of a Michael Myers/Halloween themed song 'The Night He Came Home' that literally uses the iconic melody from the movie’s main theme, and it does a pretty good job by giving that infamous horror movie theme a real heavy metal twist, ending it with the heavy breathing of Michael Myers behind his white sprayed William Shatner mask. As a nice closure to this wonderful journey, we have the epic finale known as 'On Olympus High - Aphrodite's Kiss', the longest track on this album that gives a grand sense of payoff. This track closes Blitzkrieg’s chapter with its simplistic riffing, which is nicely expanded with both clean and acoustic guitars as backing instruments, as well as the beautiful melodies and guitar solos that really succeed at keeping you on the edge of your seat as you experience this musical ascension. 

The songwriting is very well balanced with its effective simplicity and dynamic range of ideas that really go well together, broadening the musical horizon of Blitzkrieg while maintaining the strong level of musicality throughout the entire album. For a band such as Blitzkrieg which has been around since 1979, this album really shows that their game is just as strong and fresh as it was beforehand, proving that they still have the enthusiasm since their youthly days and that such dedication was put into their work. It’s safe to say that all their years existing as a band nicely pays off, because you have such nice examples that showcase how the band perfected their songwriting and the best part is that they always keep it interesting and exciting, which should come as no surprise especially after 4 decades of experience. I think that the biggest contributing factor to their excellent and fresh songwriting is the fact that they went through numerous lineup changes, and of course every new addition to the band will always bring in some new ideas onboard, but aside from that, they obviously understand what an important task they have to fulfill and what it means to be a part of such significant band that was one of the founding fathers of NWOBHM which influenced the likes of Metallica or any other US thrash metal band at the time. Honestly though, it would be criminal that this band didn’t get the recognition and love they deserve, especially since Metallica covered their self-titled track “Blitzkrieg” back in the 80’s, which resulted in many people discovering the band, myself included. I believe their self-titled album is a great testament to their long-lasting legacy as a band that still has the strength and willpower to bring down the tower with their heavy metal might. On the final note, the sound production of their self-titled album is very top-notch and nicely executed with the modern clear sound that does not thin out the heaviness of the guitars, nor the immense power of the vocals that Brian Ross delivers. 

Blitzkrieg could not have picked a better time to return with their self-titled album and the final result is yet another great addition to this powerful heavy metal year of 2024. This album has a lot of strong tunes worth checking out, bringing out the best out of them while nicely expanding what they’ve done in the past. There is just so much silver and gold coming out this year that you just can’t allow yourself to miss out on any of it, so make sure you check out Blitzkrieg’s new self-titled banger when it’s officially released. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10