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These guys have been around a really long time, and they play a style of classic/power metal that is pretty much what you'd expect.

It is no secret that Shai Hulud (the worms out of Dune’s novels) are one of US pioneer metalcore bands. Starting in 1995, there have been more than twenty musicians playing in this band, and apart from a longer break between, changing line-ups of the band have recorded albums every five years. Their current CD Reach Beyond the Sun shows Shai Hulud from a surprisingly strong side.

My personal meaning about German Paganers Wolfchant is an ‘up-and-down’ opinion. Both first albums (Bloody Tales Of Disgraced Lands and A Pagan Storm, released in, respectively, 2005 and 2007, through CCP) were acceptable, yet nothing more. Then they signed to Massacre. 2009’s Determined Damnation for sure was their best effort to date, but Call Of The Black Winds (2011) was a disappointing step backwards.

Asylum Pyre released their debut album ‘Natural Instinct’ in 2009.  I seem to have missed this album completely.  Now they’re back with their second opus.  Since their previous album there have been line-up changes, the drummer has been replaced, but also the female front vocalist has changed.

There are not that much internationally known Metal acts from South Africa, but one of the most interesting ones is a pretty young act, Bloodbeast, formed in 2011 by some (current or former) members of Bile Of Man, Demented Martyr, Fuck The Corpses, Architecture Of Aggression and Divine Plague. With gratitude to Infektion, Bloodbeast will be able to penetrate the metallic spheres of the Northern hemisphere.

Australia’s Denouncement Pyre gave me another aural orgasm in 2010 with their debut full length World Cremation, released through Hells Headbangers (review posted on 07/07/2010 and still available on Concreteweb’s archives section).

Katalepsy hail from Russia, and in their home country, they seem to be one of the most active and one of the most appreciated Death acts nowadays. With their international debut full length Autopsychosis, these guys will try to convince the rest of the dead worlds as well. I wonder if they will succeed. For sure they deserve to succeed!

There he is again, with another new project.

Brooklyn based Psychedelic Rock band Naam can call themselves lucky! Having formed in 2008 as a trio of John Preston Bundy (bass & vocals, but also piano and synthesizer), Ryan Lee Lugar (guitar & vocals, and also tambura) and Eli Pizzuto (drums), they soon struck a deal with New York based specialist label Tee Pee Records, and as a result saw their debut 3-track EP Kingdom released in April of 2009.

Ritual Killing are a German Thrash-combo, formed in 2008 in Cobourg and rather inspired by the American scene than the European in general, or the German one more specifically. And with ‘American’ I’m referring to both the North and South American scene.