Review: Whitesnake, "Forevermore"

Editor's Note: This review originally appeared at Something Else Reviews.

Maybe it’s because I was forced to listen to “Is This Love?” way too many times in the late 1980s, but for some reason, I just don’t hold Whitesnake in the same regard as many of my friends of a similar age. When I converted my music collection to CD in the 1990s, I repurchased every single record from many of my favorites of the same era. For Whitesnake, though, I opted for a compilation CD so I can get my fix of “Still of the Night” every now and then.

That said, the latest incarnation of the band has released a couple of very interesting records, including their 11th release Forevermore, which debuted in the Top 50 across multiple countries this month.

Review: Amon Amarth, "Surtur Rising"

"Surtur Rising" is an Amon Amarth album. Ultimately, that should be all I have to say in this review.

Few metal bands in recent memory have had a more consistent output than Amon Amarth, and while they’re not big on progression or trying new things, there’s certainly something to be said for knowing what you’re going to get when you hit the play button. In that, our Viking friends don’t disappoint.

All the elements are here: bludgeoning guitar riffs, Johan Hegg’s rage-filled growls about Viking heroes and villains and songs that are just as melodic as they are heavy. Surtur Rising won’t rank as the band’s best outing by a long shot, but it’s another worthy entry in the catalog.

Review: Helstar, "Glory of Chaos"

More than a quarter century after releasing their debut record, the current lineup of Helstar has released the band’s heaviest record to date in Glory of Chaos.

Like its predecessor, 2008’s The King of Hell, this record leans more on thrash influences than the band’s earlier power/speed metal tendencies, but it’s a more potent recipe than that record. Glory of Chaos goes for the jugular immediately with album opener “Angels Fall to Hell,” a ripping number that finds vocalist James Rivera exploring some Painkiller-era Rob Halford screams on the chorus. The album never lets up from there.

Review: Tuck from Hell, "Thrashing"

It’s kind of hard to take a band named Tuck From Hell seriously, particularly when their record contains song titles like “Barbecue Beast,” “Tuckerz” and “Italian Stallion” and the cover features a cartoon guy wielding a chainsaw and flamethrower. But if you’re a fan of old-school 1980s thrash, it’s kind of hard not to like them.

Tuck From Hell clearly draws its inspiration from the 1980s titans of thrash — Metallica, Megadeth, Testament. Unlike those bands, though, you won’t find many heavy topics on Thrashing. Instead, the band takes the more light-hearted approach of early Anthrax or D.R.I.

Freebies: Decibel streaming new Vicious Rumors album

Listen to a stream of one of my favorite records of 2011 so far, the new Vicious Rumors album "Razorback Killers," at Decibel Magazine.

Also look for a review of the record here in the coming weeks.