For the 20th anniversary, Arjen Lucassen remixed the audio to 21st century standards. He made it clear that it's a 'remix', not a 'remaster', saying "Remastering takes 2 hours, this remix took me 2 months!".
Into the Electric Castle is an epic prog rock opera from Dutch guitarist Arjen Lucassen. The sci-fi story centers around eight strangers brought together into a dimension of no space and no time. The characters in the story are played by varying lead singers, including former Marillion frontman Fish. The supporting cast is a who's who of proggers, which translates into superb musicianship. The story is standard sci-fi fare, but winds up being quite effective with the accompanying score. The massive coordination of such a large project is admirable, but to pull it off with such impressive results is stunning…

Japanese edition with bonus track.
Saxon, those seminal British Heavy Metal Heroes hailing from Barnsley, UK, release Carpe Diem through Silver Lining Music. Ten titanic tracks bristling with still-clad riffery and proud intent, Carpe Diem is the statement which reminds heavy metal fans worldwide who the true masters of British Metal are, drawing on a variety of ingredients from their career to forge what is Saxon’s most dynamic release in many a year.

Coming to prominence towards the end of the new wave of British heavy metal, both 'Welcome To Hell' and 'Black Metal' were major influences on the whole genres of thrash and extreme metal. Often considered the first black metal band, the band even gave a certain band named Metallica their first break in Europe nearly 30 years ago. Indeed Lars Ulrich once said “[The first Venom album] 'Welcome To Hell' was a classic! Black metal, speed metal, death metal, whatever you want to call it, Venom started it all with that one record!”
1985’s 'Possessed' is presented here as a digisleeve CD reissue featuring bonus tracks.

LIK - the modern-day purveyors of classic Swedish Death Metal - are back with a vengeance with their fourth album 'Necro'! Standing loud and proud above so many imitators, 'Necro' is the musical equivalent of a classic shock-horror film, drenched in blood and gore and packed with exaggerated extremities.
Looking beyond the zombie-fied cover art created by Stockholm-based tattooist and artist Jens Olsson (Ink Fanatics), 'Necro' serves as a reminder of just how special and exciting the genre is: packed with blood-curdling fantasy stories of war, death, zombies, world apocalypse, murder; and stacked with disgustingly good rotten riffs. Proudly staying true to the DNA and ethos of the music they've collectively loved since their teenage years, LIK go straight for the jugular in true quintessential death metal style…

AntiFragile marks All That Remains' first full length release since 2018. All That Remains have built an unbreakable axis between pit-splitting metal and anthemic melodies. This signature balance has defined the platinum-certified band's output since day one. It's why the quintet have notched multiple Top 10 Active Rock Radio hits, sold out shows worldwide, and generated over half-a-billion streams. For as far as they've come, they've never lost sight of the cold Massachusetts underground where the guys first cut their teeth, preserving the same spirit without compromise. They've weathered the changing tides of a fickle business, unspeakable tragedy, and all manner of conflict only to come out stronger than ever on the other side. This strength surges through their tenth full-length album and first independent offering. The album embodies everything All That Remains are at the highest level.

Disarmonia Mundi, a name synonymous with melodic death metal, has been captivating audiences worldwide since its inception in 2000.
After almost a decade of silence since their last release, during which they pursued various musical projects, Disarmonia Mundi returns with their new studio album "The Dormant Stranger".
As with previous releases, Disarmonia Mundi are once again supported by Björn Strid (Soilwork), who lends his voice to various parts of the album, adding an extra portion of intensity and energy!

A ferocious blend of razor-sharp riffs, guttural vocals, and uncompromising intensity, Inverted World plunges listeners into a nightmarish landscape of dystopia, corruption, and existential dread. It’s a bold reaffirmation of Cancer’s legacy - raw, dark, and devastating.

Though it appears to be a best-of album, Wind of Change: The Collection mainly focuses on the German rockers' output from the early '90s, entirely skipping over iconic rockers like "Rock You Like a Hurricane" to provide a pretty narrow look at the band's prolific career. Fans of the band should also note that this compilation is a repackaging of 2002's Classic Bites, with the only difference being the packaging.

WhoCares, full title Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi: WhoCares is a music project by Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and a charity release by the supergroup WhoCares they had formed with the help of other musicians, to raise money to rebuild a music school in Gyumri, Armenia after the destruction of the city in the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. In addition to Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi (who were Black Sabbath bandmates from 1983-1984), many artists took part in the charity music project including Jon Lord (Ian Gillan's then-Deep Purple bandmate), ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain, and HIM guitarist Mikko "Linde" Lindström.

Hailing from Wiltshire, and formed in 1982, Tokyo Blade was initially considered part of the NWOBHM scene but quickly outgrew the tag, enduring over the course of 13 studio albums and five EPs. Producing genuine early classics such as their self- titled debut and follow up ‘Night of the Blade’, the band went through multiple line-up changes over the years and yet continued to enjoy the support of the metal community and diehard fans across the globe.
Initially joining forces with Dissonance for 2020’s ‘Dark Revolution’ and the 2022’s ‘Fury’, the new album sees band leader Andy Boulton leading the charge with 14 new tracks of aggressive melodic metal, coupled with the anthemic vocals of Alan Marsh. ‘Time Is The Fire’ will be supported by a full promotion campaign with multiple singles and features in all major metal and rock media.

The four-piece from Oakland, California built up considerable momentum on the back of their sophomore album, Velvet Incandescence, which arrived in April 2023. Returning with Bioluminescence, the new year heralds a new chapter for the band. Creatively spearheaded by guitarist Tony Thomas (also of Botanist) and vocalist Chelsea Murphy, Dawn Of Ouroboros conjures up an atmospheric blend of black and death metal. Whilst Chelsea’s distinctive vocals both scathe and soothe, there is a vicious underpinning of progressive and propulsive extremity that unites their sound into something cohesive and alluring. An abyssal, claustrophobic thread runs through to the sound of the album itself - expanding and contracting as the songs undulate and pulsate. Dawn of Ouroboros are illuminating the path forward as they approach the release of Bioluminescence. Once again they find themselves with much to celebrate as an even brighter future beckons.

Behemoth's ascent is a story that can be told in many ways and from many perspectives. When one writes about a band that has written and rewritten the book on extreme metal for over 30 years that much is inevitable. However, it would be difficult to really capture the story's essence without focusing on the ambition and power which drive the band. While both power and ambition, as terms, can be tied in some way and some meaning to every story - their interpretation here is exact and carefully chosen. Ambition is the charioteer, navigating ever forwards to new horizons and visions and power are the horses, without whose prowess those horizons would be but a distant dream.
The new opus, The Shit Ov God, is emblematic of that. Here's a band that, 34 years in, is releasing it's most inflammatory and extreme record to date…