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Album Review – Valkyrie’s Fire / Out of Darkness (2026)

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This new Symphonic Metal force emerging from the shadows of Music City is ready to attack with their debut album, a monumental journey through the dualities of human grief, historical despair, and cosmic beauty.

The Nashville, Tennessee music scene is historically synonymous with country legends, yet a new force is emerging from the shadows of Music City to claim a different kind of throne. Having rapidly ascended to become the definitive Symphonic Power Metal powerhouse of the American South, the up-and-coming act Valkyrie’s Fire is unleashing upon us their debut full-length album, titled Out of Darkness, following up on their 2024 EP Ascension. Produced, engineered, and mixed by the band’s own Joey Grimaldi, mastered by Swedish metal luminary Mikael Sehlin (Amaranthe, Engel, In Flames), and visually anchored by the striking artwork by renowned illustrator Jan Yrlund (Delain, Battle Beast, Manowar), the new album by vocalists Adam Sanders and Bettie Floyd, guitarist Joey Grimaldi, bassist Dave Hale, keyboardist and cellist Salem Belladonna, and drummer Ryan Metroka is a monumental journey through the dualities of human grief, historical despair, and cosmic beauty, positioning the band at the absolute forefront of modern Symphonic Metal.

The cinematic intro In Spirit, In Shadow will transport us to the band’s fantasy realm, warming us up for Evermore, with the vocal duet by Adam and Bettie working really well, reminding me of the absolute joy flowing from all songs by Visions of Atlantis. Then we have Valkyrie’s Fire, the song that carries the band’s name, bringing to our avid ears epic sounds clashing with the incendiary riffs by Joey, sounding absolutely fast, thrilling and fun; and Salem keeps embellishing the airwaves with her magical keys in Cascade, while Bettie steals the spotlight with her soaring vocals. Featuring Mikael Sehlin of Amaranthe as a guest vocalist, Ryan kicks off the ban’s Epic Power Metal feast in Burning Sky, another ass-kicking tune by the band, followed by Shattered, the most theatrical of all songs, with the cello by Salem bringing sheer melancholy to their dark sounds; and I See the Angels Fly is a dense, multi-layered ballad that will bring peace to our blackened hearts, with Joey’s guitar lines spreading sheer passion.

Then back to a more electrifying and fast sound we’re treated to the Symphonic Power Metal beast Skylark, with Dave’s thunderous bass walking hand in hand with Ryan’s beats, crafting that galloping rhythm we all love so much in Heavy Metal. Labyrinth feels a bit generic compared to the rest of the album, as it tries to be too epic but falls flat after a while; whereas Bone and Thorn is another bold power ballad by the band where Joey steals the show once again with his classy riffs and solos. After that we face Dark Moon, inspired by the classic sound crafted by Nightwish while boosted by Salem’s hypnotizing cello, followed by Nocturne, offering a more direct, in your face Power Metal sonority overflowing adrenaline and setting the stage for I Will Rise Again, an epic ten-minute journey through the lands of modern-day Symphonic Metal that puts a climatic ending to the album.

Pacing Valkyrie’s Fire as a formidable contemporary to bands like Epica, Within Temptation and Nightwish by blending the grandiosity of European Symphonic Metal with the sharp production values of the modern Nashville metal scene, Out of Darkness feels both timeless and urgent, inviting us all to join the band in their quest for heavy music. Hence, if you have what it takes to embark on such a mystical and thrilling journey, you can find the band on Facebook and on Instagram, subscribe to their YouTube channel, stream their music on Spotify, and of course grab a copy of Out of Darkness by clicking HERE. Valkyrie’s Fire will certainly spread their wings over the entire metal community with the release of Out of Darkness, and when the music in question is so good and compelling, we’ll all be very happy to be caught in such a dark embrace.

Best moments of the album: Evermore, Valkyrie’s Fire, Skylark and I Will Rise Again.

Worst moments of the album: Labyrinth.

Released in 2026 Eclipse Records

Track listing
1. In Spirit, In Shadow 0:50
2. Evermore 4:41
3. Valkyrie’s Fire 4:42
4. Cascade 5:21
5. Burning Sky 4:00
6. Shattered 5:44
7. I See the Angels Fly 6:49
8. Skylark 4:43
9. Labyrinth 4:33
10. Bone and Thorn 7:31
11. Dark Moon 6:38
12. Nocturne 5:47
13. I Will Rise Again 9:57

Band members
Adam Sanders – vocals
Bettie Floyd – vocals
Joey Grimaldi – guitars
Dave Hale – bass
Salem Belladonna – keyboards, cello, backing vocals
Ryan Metroka – drums

Guest musician
Mikael Sehlin – vocals on “Burning Sky”

Album Review – Listless / Listless (2025)

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Behold the debut opus by this one-man Depressive Black Metal project from Canada, aiming to capture an isolated sense of solitude through melancholic introspection.

A solo Depressive Black Metal project based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from the mind of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Aidan Crossley, the vocalist and guitarist for the excellent Atmospheric Black Metal band Liminal Shroud, Listless aims to capture an isolated sense of solitude through melancholic introspection. Recorded and mixed by Aidan himself, who was also responsible for all visual design, mastered by Cody Baresich at Circle A Studios, and with photography by Rob Hehr, the project’s self-titled debut aims to hypnotize listeners into a dark, endless oblivion with its emotionally resonant guitars, desperate howls, and sorrowful keys, being highly recommended for fans of Austere, Woods of Desolation, Coldworld, None, and Gris, among others.

Devoid starts in a lugubrious, grim manner to the minimalist guitar lines by Aidan, gradually evolving into a dense display of Depressive Black Metal while at the same time exploding into his anguished gnarls; and Aidan speeds things up in Burning Sky, blending his core Depressive Black Metal with Post-Metal elements, and the final result is simply amazing. Then we have Bloodstained Memories, back to a more introspective mode, with Aidan extracting minimalist sounds from his guitar, sounding caustic and despondent until the end. Aidan keeps dragging us down to his Stygian lair in Futility, an interlude that sounds bitterly harsh before we face Absence, one of the darkest, most depressive of all songs, with Aidan once again extracting unsettling sounds from his instruments while also gnarling deeply. Passerine, the longest song of the album, also brings to our avid ears a harsh onrush of Depressive and Atmospheric Black Metal, with his guitar lines and drums exhaling melancholy, whereas lastly, Aidan brings forward A Final Yearning Breath, a serene, grim outro that will darken our hearts for all eternity.

In summary, Listless channels the songwriting, intensity, and surging expansiveness of Liminal Shroud while focusing more on emotive aspects of musical expression in its debut album, resulting in a must-listen opus for admirers of contemporary Depressive Black Metal. You can check what Aidan and his Listless are up to on Facebook and on Instagram, stream their music on Spotify, and grab a copy of its caustic debut offering from the Hypnotic Dirge Records’  BandCamp, worldwide store or Canada/US store (CD only), letting the project’s harsh and atmospheric music penetrate deep inside your soul. There’s always some controversy surrounding Depressive Black Metal as a whole, but when the artist is question is as talented and focused as Aidan, bringing to us the striking sounds of Listless, any type of preconception should be ignored, simply letting the music do its wonderful job.

Best moments of the album: Burning Sky and Absence.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Hypnotic Dirge Records

Track listing
1. Devoid 5:41
2. Burning Sky 4:00
3. Bloodstained Memories 6:21
4. Futility 3:31
5. Absence 7:41
6. Passerine 8:29
7. A Final Yearning Breath 3:12

Band members
Aidan Crossley – vocals, all instruments

Album Review – Wolfheart / Draconian Darkness (2024)

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Finnish frontrunners of icy Melodic Death Metal return with the musical embodiment of frigid, dark winter nights that, while terrifying and foreboding, reveal the majestic power and beauty of the natural world.

Finnish frontrunners of icy Melodic Death Metal, the unstoppable Lahti, Päijät-Häme-based Wolfheart, are preparing to unleash their latest album, Draconian Darkness, taking every aspect of the band’s trademark sound of colossal melodies, growling vocals, and driving drum rhythms to searing new levels. Recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Saku Moilanen at Deep Noise Studios, the follow-up to their 2022 album King of the North is the musical embodiment of frigid, dark winter nights that, while terrifying and foreboding, reveal the majestic power and beauty of the natural world, all carefully brought into being by Tuomas Saukkonen on vocals and guitars, Vageliss Karzis on lead guitars and clean vocals, Lauri Silvonen on bass and backing vocals, and Joonas Kauppinen on drums.

An imposing, epic start gradually evolves into the metallic feast Ancient Cold, with all background orchestrations adding an extra touch of epicness to the heavy and technical sounds blasted by Tuomas & Co., whereas Joonas pounds his drums in the name of Melodic Death Metal in Evenfall, with their riffs matching perfectly with the deep roars by Tuomas, or in other words, it’s a beautiful song from the North. It’s then pedal to the metal in the just as heavy and multi-layered Burning Sky, where the riffage by Tuomas and Vageliss will pierce your mind like an arrow on fire; while slowing things down but sounding just as melodic we have Death Leads the Way, presenting nice headbanging riffs complemented by the classic drums by Joonas. And in Scion of the Flame the band brings elements from Symphonic Metal to their core Melodic Death Metal, resulting in a very detailed and epic song tailored for fans of Finnish melodeath.

Back to their more vicious sonority, it’s time for the violent Grave, a metal assault showcasing harsh lyrics (“Cross breed of pure violence and virtuous flesh / Driven by the principle of wrath / Overfeed the senses / Let the cancer cells devour / Cranial nerves under profusion of information”) and endless electricity, and their razor-edged guitars will keep cutting our skin deep in Throne of Bones, while Lauri and Joonas fill out every space left in the air with their rumbling bass and drums. It’s not as exciting as the other songs, though, but still really enjoyable. Then in Trial by Fire the quartet once again delivers a high-octane, groovy and incendiary Melodic Death Metal feast where Tuomas deeply roars supported by his bandmates until the very last second. Lastly, we face The Gale, starting in a serene and soothing manner in paradox with the rest of the album, and alternating between more violent moments and pure acoustic sounds, putting a charming yet strong ending to the album.

The guys from Wolfheart are waiting to show you all the glory of the North, and you can join them by following the band on Facebook and on Instagram, by subscribing to their official YouTube channel, by streaming their music on Spotify, and of course by purchasing a copy of the excellent Draconian Darkness by clicking HERE. Melodic Death Metal will always be one of the best genres to translate the harsh yet alluring cold of the winter into music, and the unstoppable Wolfheart are offering exactly that in their powerful and enfolding new album.

Best moments of the album: Evenfall, Burning Sky and Grave.

Worst moments of the album: Throne of Bones.

Released in 2024 Reigning Phoenix Music

Track listing
1. Ancient Cold 5:37
2. Evenfall 4:03
3. Burning Sky 4:15
4. Death Leads the Way 3:22
5. Scion of the Flame 4:01
6. Grave 4:22
7. Throne of Bones 5:28
8. Trial by Fire 3:53
9. The Gale 4:28

Band members
Tuomas Saukkonen – vocals, guitars
Vageliss Karzis – lead guitars, clean vocals
Lauri Silvonen – bass, backing vocals
Joonas Kauppinen – drums