A whopping nine years after its preceding regular studio album First of the Five Elements, Finnish melodic death metal quintet Warmen is back in full strength with sixth studio album Here for None. This record offers nine regular songs and a cover track for a concise total running time of thirty-seven minutes. The presence of a band such as Warmen is more important now than ever before in times when genre flagships such as Children of Bodom have ceased to exist and bands like In Flames have moved away from their roots.

Warmen deliver the goods in style with opening anthem ''Warmen Are Here for None''. The song features atmospheric yet playful keyboard passages, guitar play finding the perfect balance between anger and melody, pumping bass guitar sounds, energetic and tight drumming and rough vocals incarnating a provocative attitude indicating that this band does what it thinks is right and doesn't care about anything else. The aggressive lyrics blend in perfectly. The authentic, organic and raw production symbolizes the cherry atop the cake for this new band anthem that should be blasted relentlessly in concert.

While the opening tune is the record's strongest track, the other songs are only a notch below this excellent quality and manage to entertain from start to finish. This album represents consistency at its best as it doesn't aim for changes, experiments or progressive details as other genre bands do. What you get here are thirty-seven minutes of atmospheric, energetic and tight melodic death metal at its best. Only closing cover song ''Dancing with Tears in My Eyes'' is a slight disappointment as it fails to reinvent the melodic pop song with courage, grit and intellect as it just sounds like any other tune of this record and fails to grasp the melancholy that made the original tune so gripping.

At the end of the day, Warmen's Here for None is a return to form for the Finnish melodic death quintet and one of the strongest genre releases in recent memory. What genre fans all around the world need now are concerts from this band across the globe. After the tragic demise of Children of Bodom and years of pandemic lethargy, the time has come to bang heads, raise fists and make new friends in circle pits.

Final Rating: 80%

Live albums recorded in a studio without an audience were an underwhelming but understandable way for bands to play their repertoire for fans all around the world during the pandemic and collect some money for their own expenses, road crew and technicians. Three years later, releasing another such recording doesn't make any sense anymore, especially coming from a band that has only released two previous live records in a career of thirty-four years and counting, including one so-called official bootleg consisting of recordings from five different years and a ten-track recording of forty-two minutes, including five cover songs that has been limited to six hundred sixty-six pseudo-evil copies. Fans have been craving for a live record by Sigh but Live: The Eastern Forces of Evil 2022 is certainly not what supporters have been waiting for at all.

This live release starts with an instrumental tune from tape called ''Touji no Asa'' that works decently in its album context but fails to leave any impression except indifference on a live album. Another odd choice is closing this concert with Death cover ''Evil Dead'' that rushes by unspectacularly and ends the recording on a low note. Sigh has such a diversified, experimental and rich discography that one simply can't understand why the Japanese quartet keeps playing cover songs in concert. That being said, the entire release here is only just an hour long which would make sense in the context of a festival slot but not for a genuine live release.

To be fair however, this live record offers an overall satisfying overview of the band's career and is most recommended to newcomers and occasional listeners. The blackened, desperate and gloomy ''A Victory for Daikini'', ambitious, complex and experimental ''The Transfiguration Fear'' and melodic, playful and progressive ''Mayonaka no Kaii'' can be considered highlights on this output.

At the end of the day however, Sigh's Live: The Eastern Forces of Evil 2022 is lacking live atmosphere, extended selections from the band's vast discography and convincing musicianship as many sounds come from tape. My recommendation would be to purchase the band's regular studio albums at this point. Sigh still hasn't released one decent live album or one satisfactory compilation. Here's hope that both flaws shall soon be corrected.

Final Rating: 50%

Amethyst is a Swiss heavy metal quintet that has released its debut extended play Rock Knights digitally in December 2022, on cassette in March 2023, on CD in May 2023 and on vinyl in September 2023. This means that any collector can purchase this product in her, his or their favourite version. The band is touring through Europe in autumn 2023 and might soon evolve from a hidden gem to genuine heavy metal heroes.

The five young men play heavy metal in the key of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and its releases from the late seventies and early eighties. References such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Saxon quickly come to mind. The guitar play has an upper mid-pace and is very melodic. The bass guitar sounds vibrant throughout. The dynamic drum play varies from mid-paced sections to fast passages. The melodious vocals sound dreamy, otherworldly and relaxing which is quite unique in this particular genre. The record is somewhat underproduced, giving the material a powerful charm without ever sounding too raw. The image of the band is also quite simple. The cover artwork is as simple as it gets, the lyrics fail to stand out in any way and most of the band members haven't even bothered revealing their full names thus far.

The final result is entertaining to listen to from start to finish and allows fans to travel forty-five years back in time. Amethyst's Rock Knights manages to sound authentic, gripping and passionate and avoids old-fashioned stereotypes that many boring cover bands and exchangeable bands of the New Wave of Heavy Metal have been exploiting time and again. This release truly sounds like a forgotten demo from the old days that has recently been found in some attic, basement or box. All four songs clocking in at twenty-one minutes are on a constant high level and will make listeners bang their hands, raise their fists and feel like inviting a few friends, opening a some beers and partying on a Friday night.

Any fan of traditional heavy metal from the late seventies and early eighties should listen to Amethyst's Rock Knights. The musicianship is dynamic, the spirit is genuine and the vocals are quite memorable with their soft touch. Amethyst might not reinvent the genre but that has never been the quintet's intention anyway. The band celebrates the early years of heavy metal with genuine passion and does a very good job doing so.

Final Rating: 80%

German death metal pioneers Atrocity have taken an entire decade to complete their Okkult trilogy. The first part was creative, diversified and experimental while the second output was more brutal, sinister and traditional. The third and final entry finds a balance between both approaches, featuring some intense tunes that take no prisoners as well as several playful tracks with interesting guests here and there.

Regarding the first category, a concise, relentless and short tune like ''Born to Kill'' offers exactly what fans of the band's early days are craving for. The guitar riffs are fast, gloomy and loud, the bass guitar plays along angrily, the varied drum play is technically appealing and incredibly quick and the throaty vocals sound as if they come from the deepest abyss in hell.

Personally, I find the band's more diversified songs much more intriguing however since they are a lot less exchangeable and at times even explore new territories. ''Teufelsmarsch'' for instance explore vintage German folk sounds, features keyboard sounds by Australian YouTube legend Misstiq as well as guest vocals by former Equilibrium singer Robse and splendidly intertwines atmospheric parts with brutal sections.

''Cypka'' includes elements of a gloomy radio play that builds up much menacing atmosphere before interrupting into a relentless old school death metal track that certainly takes no prisoners.

''Desecration of God'' adds symphonic elements to the band's sound and opens the record on a most epic note. The song takes all the time it needs to develop a dramatic, elegant and mysterious atmosphere before death metal elements are slowly kicking in step by step. This opener entertains splendidly through more than five minutes and should please fans of bands such as Carach Angren, Fleshgod Apocalypse and Septicflesh.

My favourite song on this output is however ''Malicious Sukkubus'', an atmospheric, diversified and playful death metal song with two additional female singers. Elina Siirala knows Atrocity very well indeed since she cooperates with all band members in symphonic folk metal band Leaves' Eyes and their excellent chemistry adds much drive to this particular song. Zoe Marie Federoff had already been involved in the second part of the Okkult series and has recently been joining gothic black metal legends Cradle of Filth as keyboarder and singer. Her skills add even more punch to an already excellent song. This song offers much to explore and thus also much replay value. Vocals, orchestrations and death metal soundscapes find a perfect fusion through four and a half most fascinating minutes.

The album's only minor downsides are a few repetitive old school death metal tunes, a slight overproduction that values loudness over dynamics and the somewhat stereotypical cover artwork.

At the end of the day, Atrocity's Okkult III can't equal the quality of the trilogy's excellent first instalment but outclasses the second entrance with much creativity, diversity and energy. If you appreciate symphonic death metal or a raw take on gothic metal, then you should most certainly check this album out and even purchase the entire trilogy.

Final Rating: 85%

While Sermons of the Sinner was a simple but enjoyable heavy metal record with ten tracks and a running time of fifty-one minutes, KK's Priest's second output The Sinner Rides Again feels phoned in and must be considered a significant step down in terms of consistency and quality. The album title is already as boring as it gets and the childish cover artwork is quite stereotypical as well. This effort only offers nine songs and clocks in at just forty-one minutes.

The quality of the material offered here is only average at best. The melodic guitar play is the record's only redeeming quality but it rehashes past ideas time and again. The bass guitar play could be much more dominant and can only be described as serviceable. The drum play is decent but lacks playful elements and dynamic vibes. The vocals are technically satisfactory but sound quite by the numbers and lack variation. The generic production and the superficial lyrics complete an overall average impression that feels slightly disappointing when considering the charisma and experience of several members involved in this band.

Among the more decent tracks are single ''One More Shot at Glory'' that is quite catchy and dynamic as it should work very decently at concerts and festivals as well as title track ''The Sinner Rides Again'' with its beautiful melodies and concise songwriting. Other songs waste much potential such as the melodious ''Pledge Your Souls'' that ends on an unimaginative fade-out as well as album closer ''Wash Away Your Sins'' with its overlong introduction yet aborted ending.

At the end of the day, KK's Priest's sophomore output The Sinner Rides Again is only recommended to most faithful traditional heavy metal aficionados and uncompromising fans of band leader Kenneth Downing Junior. Everyone else can skip this record without any regrets as it gets attention by its history and name only. If you consider this lacklustre output a genuine highlight of the year, then you definitely need to listen to more contemporary heavy metal music to explore the sincere potential of this genre that is still alive and kicking after more than five decades.

Final Rating: 60%