AFM Records

Brainstorm | On the Spur of the Moment

by Justin Gaines Staff Writer — Long running, hard-hitting German power metal band Brainstorm is back with a new studio album, their ninth, titled On the Spur of the Moment. With a sound that focused more on the headbanging heavy metal side of power metal than the sing-song hyper-melodic [...]

U.D.O. : Rev-Raptor

by Erik Tweedy Staff Writer In 1986, the band Accept was on top of its game and was one of the biggest metal bands touring Europe, and then it all instantly fell apart. In search of a solo career, lead singer Udo Dirkschneider unceremoniously left the band, leaving his fellow band mates to fend for [...]

Bloodbound : Unholy Cross

by Justin Gaines Staff Writer Swedish power metal troupe Bloodbound is back with a new offering, entitled Unholy Cross. This is the band’s fourth album, and comes after a significant change, namely the not entirely amicable departure of vocalist Urban Breed (also ex-Tad Morose), who gave the band [...]

The New Black II: Better in Black

by Mark Allen Staff Writer The biblical book of Ecclesiastes contains the famous phrase “there is nothing new under the sun,” a perceptively sage declaration that readily applies to the realm of hard rock. Certainly this sophomore album from The New Black brings nothing new to the table; [...]

Eden’s Curse Trinity

by Derric Miller Staff Writer With the release of their third full-length studio effort, aptly titled Trinity, Eden’s Curse is without a doubt separating themselves from the pack — and it’s not even close. Whether it’s Michael Eden’s surreal vocal expertise, the [...]

Elvenking Red Silent Tides

by Trevor Portz Staff Writer For those unfamiliar with Elvenking, the name and cover art for their newest release, Red Silent Tides, would surely lead most well-trained metal heads to make some reasonable assumptions about the music contained therein. Hell, the name Elvenking and accompanying log [...]

Kickhunter All In

by Mark Allen Staff Writer If you get your jollies from the retro sound of classic late 70s/early 80s rock ‘n’ roll, then Kickhunter will be the musical equivalent of Viagra. Anyone who enjoys wah-wah guitars, four on the floor beats, boogie-blues rhythms, Hammond organ theatrics, and a [...]

At Vance Decade

by Justin Gaines Staff Writer Decade is an appropriate title for the first “best of” collection from German melodic power metal band At Vance. They released their first album – No Escape – in 1999 and just issued their eighth studio album – Ride the Sky – last year. Decade captures the [...]

Masterplan Time To Be King

by John Kindred Staff Writer Masterplan is back in 2010 with their forth studio release to date, Time to Be King. Following up ’07’s MK II led to a period of time that saw original vocalist Jorn Lande step down and Mike DiMeo (Riot) join the band as his replacement. Whatever fallout between [...]

Jon Oliva’s Pain Festival

by Franco Wissa Staff Writer It was fellow Hardrock Haven staff writer, Jordan Rex, who, in his bio, talks about a “gut reaction” when hearing a particular track. He goes on to say, “… if the music itself doesn’t elicit an emotional response of some sort, what’s the point.” Truer [...]

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