• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

November 2023

• High Spirits: Safe On The Other Side
• Signum Regis: Undivided
• DGM: Life
• Soledriver: Return Me To Light
• Care Of Night: Reconnected
• Secret Sphere: Blackened Heartbeat
• Seventh Crystal: Infinity EP
• Angra: Cycles Of Pain
• Hugo's Voyage: Inception
• DMJ: Sophomore
• Temple Balls: Avalanche
• Ignescent: Fight In Me

October 2023

• Pattern-Seeking Animals: Spooky Action At A Distance
• Overland: S.I.X
• Vitalines: Wheels Within Wheels
• Lynch Mob: Babylon
• District 97: Stay For The Ending
• Lalu: The Fish Who Wanted To Be King
• Entierro: The Gates Of Hell
• Nitrate: Feel The Heat
• Kings Crown: Closer To The Truth
• Theocracy: Mosaic
• Edge Of Forever: Ritual
• Ronnie Atkins: Trinity

September 2023

• Rockett Love: Galactic Circus
• Kerrigan: Bloodmoon
• Taz: Shipwrecked, Vol 2
• Taz: Wake Up & Sweat, Vol 1
• Ronnie Romero: Too Many Lies, Too Many Masters
• The Flower Kings: Look At You Now
• Vega: Battlelines
• Blackbird Angels: Solsorte
• Primal Fear: Code Red
• Eclipse: Megalomanium
• Seventh Wonder: Mercy Falls (Reissue 2008/2023)
• Seventh Wonder: The Great Escape (Reissue 2010/2023)

August 2023

• Hurricane: Reconnected
• U.D.O.: Touchdown
• Streetlight: Ignition
• Sarayasign: The Lion's Road
• Neal Morse: The Dreamer - Joseph - Part One
• Rian: Wings
• Icon Of Sin: Legends
• Lancer: Tempest
• King Kobra: We Are Warriors
• Dark Sky: Signs Of The Time
• Hell In The Club: F.U.B.A.R.
• Kent Hilli: Nothing Left To Lose

[ More Music Reviews ]

Blackslash: Sinister Lightning

(Traditional) Heavy Metal

4.5/5.0

Website Facebook YouTube
Iron Shield Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 24.11.2015

The parents of Blackslash band members may want to check their vinyl record collection. They might find they're missing some choice New Wave of British Heavy Metal and assorted Eighties metal albums, like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or Angel Witch, for instance.

Blackslash

Yep. Blackslash, a band of youngsters from Germany, play old school traditional, "keep it true," heavy metal. And, frankly, they're pretty darn good at it. They have the fundamentals worked out. Melody and harmony from twin guitars and vocal arrangements. A steady and driving rhythm section to execute tempos from moderate to speedy. Clean melodic vocals sometimes backed up by, traditional to the genre, gang vocals. A truckload of large riffs and roaring solos. And, all this wrapped up in some fine rock groove. These are all things that made us fans of heavy metal from its inception.

On the more power speed metal side, you have songs like Empire Rising, Rock n Roll, or Wild and Free. You'll catchy some of that aforementioned rock groove in fast-paced Lucifer's Reign, also a fine example of the harmonious vocal arrangements. Alternatively, Edge Of The World uses groove and rhythmic pacing to drive the catchy harmonious riffage, giving the song a marching, epic, feel. Blackslash even ventures into metal anthem territory with the milder Made Of Steel, which moves by vocals over lighter guitars throughout. Bottom line: Blackslash's Sinister Lightning is a fine and entertaining platter of classic heavy metal made engaging for the present era. Easily recommended.

Blackslash - Lucifer's Reign

Share This Review with Your Friends

Blackslash's Sinister Lightning is a fine and entertaining platter of classic heavy metal made engaging for the present era. Easily recommended.

Alphabetical Index

We haven't had a new studio album from Brazil's Angra since prior to the COVID pandemic, 2018's Omni. But the quintet has been busy. In 2021, they released Omni Live in Japan where they have a huge fan base ... [ Read More ]