Articles by Manus Hopkins

Septicflesh's 'Infernus Sinfonica MMXIX' Is a Live Album with Purpose
PUBLISHED Jul 31, 2020
Live albums sometimes feel a little pointless. It's too often they're used as gap-fillers for bands who haven't released anything in too lo...
Ensiferum Bring Extra Vigour to Their Finnish Folk Metal on 'Thalassic'
PUBLISHED Jul 9, 2020
It's easy to argue that Finland's premier folk metal band have perfected a formula that doesn't ever need to be changed. After a couple of...
Carach Angren Embraces Black Metal's Inherent Goofiness on 'Franckensteina Strataemontanus'
PUBLISHED Jun 25, 2020
Nearly two decades into their career, the Netherlands' Carach Angren have earned themselves a respectable reputation in the world of extrem...
Lamb of God Have Plateaued — but Their Self-Titled Album Proves That's Not Such a Bad Thing
PUBLISHED Jun 16, 2020
It was a shame for one of 2020's biggest and most anticipated metal albums to be delayed by over a month just before it was set to be relea...
Behemoth's 'A Forest' EP Distills the Band Down to Their Essence
PUBLISHED May 26, 2020
A new Behemoth EP announced only a couple of weeks before its release is a nice surprise for everyone stuck at home these days — not that t...
Like a Cask of Rum, Alestorm's Merry Pirate Metal Gets Stronger with Age on 'Curse of the Crystal Coconut'
PUBLISHED May 25, 2020
At a time like this, a reminder from Scotland's merry "pirate metal" crew Alestorm that nothing can be taken too seriously has never been m...
Vader Deliver Another Straight-Up Death Metal Ripper on 'Solitude in Madness'
PUBLISHED Apr 30, 2020
It's hard to believe Vader are nearly 40 years into their career. The band have been a leading force in Polish extreme metal for decades, a...
Havok's 'V' Is the Gold Standard for 21st Century Thrash Metal
PUBLISHED Apr 30, 2020
Calling your band's fifth album V may be a little on the unimaginative side, especially for a band like Havok, whose politically charged ly...