Rebel Extravaganza

Heavy Metal And Other Occasional Musics And Cultures

High Roller Records

Album Reviews

Album Review: Messiah – Christus Hypercubus

MESSIAH was one of the first metal bands to cross my hears from Switzerland (yes, yes, the mighty CORONER, a little-known band named HELLHAMMER that turned into an even lesser-known band called CELTIC FROST, we know). There was always something quirkily special about MESSIAH, though. From the low-slung proto-doom/death of ‘Space Invaders’, to the utterly bonkers yet melodic ‘The Dentist’ of the debut to the complete about-face that was Extreme Cold Weather and that curious polar bear on the cover, MESSIAH was just different. Fast forward to 2024, the regrettable loss of vocalist Andy Kaina certainly still haunting after the […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Lucifer’s Hammer – The Trip

There are a lot of ’80s inspired metal bands coming from South America today, but Chile’s LUCIFER’S HAMMER is the king of them all. This wonderful band just oozes metal class from every pore, and fans of great guitar work and melody in particular should waste no time tracking this down. Beyond The Omens was excellent in itself, but The Trip levels up in a big way, as it’s more classical and epic in style, with more complex songs that aren’t afraid to jam a little. Who does LUCIFER’S HAMMER sound like? Early MERCYFUL FATE and HELSTAR are good starting […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Messiah – Fracmont

The return of Switzerland’s MESSIAH is welcome indeed. Coming from the same fertile scene that birthed CELTIC FROST and CORONER, they were an ’80s band that almost reached those same heights. They had their own unique sound that had some relation to both those seminal acts without falling into worship or mimicry. But that was then…this is now. Is Fracmont a comeback that lives up to its promise? You will certainly find similarities to MESSIAH’s classic sound here, but they’ve added some new tricks as well. I call the style on Fracmont “elegant primitivism”. The riffs are thick, heavy and […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: High Spirits – Hard To Stop

HIGH SPIRITS have been ahead of the game when it comes to the revival of classic metal and ’70s hard rock. They’ve been following that path since before it became a trend. Once lonesome, they now have plenty of company. The band continues to stick to their usual style here for the most part, but they were smart enough to throw in a few curveballs this time around, which is a good thing. The HIGH SPIRITS style is sometimes uncomfortably staid. ‘Hearts Will Burn’ surprises by being the heaviest song the band has done yet…a real riff-cruncher that doesn’t pretend […]

Interviews

INTERVIEW: LEGENDRY

Welcome to our humble pub here in the city of Ardona, far beyond the world you know. Have a seat and a tankard of ale while we listen to The Bard tell us of The Warrior with No Name. Here we await the presence of Vidarr, himself a bard of no mean renown, and the man behind the metal majesty of LEGENDRY, a band reveling in stories of courage, danger and high adventure. Vidarr knows much of the Warrior’s tale and has used LEGENDRY to tell the story. The latest chapter is The Wizard And The Tower Keep, which tells […]

Album Reviews

Album Review: Legendry – The Wizard And The Tower Keep

This is a real oddball release, and perhaps that is its greatest strength. With their 1982-era Dungeons And Dragons style artwork, Pennsylvania’s LEGENDRY looks like they might be another knock-off of NWOBHM and epic power metal. And indeed, you can find much of that style here. But there’s a lot more going on sonically here than can be described in one easy sentence. There’s a lot of ’70s love and worship in LEGENDRY. They have the kind of quirkiness that could be found in early SABBATH, RAINBOW, ’70s RUSH, even JETHRO TULL and KANSAS! They don’t restrict themselves to basic […]