nwothm — Music — Monsters, Madness and Magic

SpellBook Pulls Pages From the Tomes of the Greats With Magick & Mischief

Formally known as Witch Hazel, SpellBook’s debut album “Magick & Mischief” delivers a much-needed infusion of brilliant classical rock and proto-metal in an anemic 2020 music landscape for such offerings.

Museum of Macabre Media, MusicGuest UserSeptember 8, 2020SpellBook, Magick & Mischief, review, heavy metal, nwothm, cruzdelsur, Cruz Del SurComment

The Testament of the Traveler: Termination Shock Comes As No Surprise

Calgary’s Traveler came charging out of the gates with their 2019 self-titled debut album. The band firmly announced their arrival to the metal community at Germany’s Keep It True festival, treating European audiences to a traditionally brisk blend of heavy metal. The travelers from beyond are composed of retro-riff master Toryin Schadlich, guitar guru and songwriter Matt Ries, shrieking storyteller Jean-Pierre Abboud, and robustly rounded out by the thundering rhythms of bassist Dave Arnold and drummer Chad Vallier. With the release of the latest album Termination Shock on April 10th of this year, if you’re still sleeping on Traveler, it’s time to wake up.

Museum of Macabre MediaJ.R YoungApril 21, 2020Traveler, Termination Shock, Gates of Hell Records, nwothm, heavymetal, metal, reviewComment

The Wizar'd Cast An Arcane Assault of Metal Magic With Subterranean Exile

The incantations of Australia’s The Wizar’d have held listeners spellbound since their inception in 2004. Established by guitarist/vocalist ‘Ol Rusty, the band would summon several singles and demos before calling forth the EP Follow the Wizard in 2006. Two years later, The Wizar’d released the first full-length album Infernal Wizardry. From 2010s Pathway into Darkness to the ritualistically revered Ancient Tome of Arcane Knowledge, the Australian Archmages have managed to manifest a mystic and doom-laden discography.

Museum of Macabre MediaJ.R YoungApril 15, 2020The Wizar'd, doom metal, epic doom, heavy metal, nwothm, cruzdelsur, review, Subterranean Exile, magicComment

Trad/Speed Metalers Blood Star Refuse To Give In To The Fear On Debut EP

I will admit that before I had the opportunity to write this I was drooling over the first track of this EP not long after it hit Bandcamp. I won’t shy from the fact that I am a sucker for killer cover art and god damn this cover is sick. You could easily convince me that this was a release from 1984 based on the art alone. I wouldn’t argue.

Virginia based artist Markus Fussell can lend his brush to as many albums as possible and the scene would benefit. Google him and you’ll see what I mean. Of course, we’ve all been lead-in by the promise of good album art only to be left disappointed. I’m happy to report that this is not the case with Blood Star’s The Fear.

Museum of Macabre MediaGuest UserApril 9, 2020nwothm, Blood Star, The Fear, review, metal, heavy metalComment

Bütcher's "666 Goats Carry My Chariot" is the Best Metal Album of 2020... So Far.

666 Goats Carry My Chariot is the second album from Antwerp, Belgium’s Bütcher and it’s a Speed Metal masterwork. This band combines all the best parts of Show No Mercy-era Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Diamond Head, Motörhead and Judas Priest with a generous dash of Bathory and Dissection for good measure. There isn’t a single wasted track on the album, it’s all prime cuts, from the second the intro track fades into the Ace of Spades-inspired “Iron Bitch,” to the final note of the somber, acoustic “Exaltation of Sulphur.”