(TheBRHM.com) We touched on neoclassical and one artist mentioned was 80s guitar virtuoso and neoclassical metal pioneer Yngwie J. Malmsteen. The Swedish metal legend got his start in 1978 and released three demos with his power trio band before being scooped up by Shrapnel Records and hooked up with the ...

(TheBRHM.com) In the late 2000s, there was a spotlight on metal and it seemed to come out of nowhere. See, the genre never died, the mainstream attention just moved on to other genres of music. During that time, you had bands that either stayed the course, faded out, or tried ...

(TheBRHM.com) Originally, we were going to sit down and talk with Norwegian black metal artist Halfden Svarti of the bands Moor and Phantom Castle but putting a schedule together to questions, send them out, and go back and forth is…an adventure. While the interview will happen, it didn’t go down ...

(TheBRHM.com) We’re looking at a band from the “thrash revival” era in Merciless Death’s 2006 debut Evil in the Night. At eight tracks and a little over 25-minutes, Evil in the Night is a fast-paced thrash thrill ride but how does it hold up as a debut? A quick intro ...

(TheBRHM.com) Metallica is one of the legends of heavy metal as the band that really took the genre mainstream. Coming out of the 1980s Bay Area thrash scene, Metallica has seen a few changes in members and sound but always maintained the core songwriting duo of singer/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield ...

(TheBRHM.com) Speed metal is a subgenre of metal that I’d place between old school, more traditional heavy metal and just before power metal and thrash. It always existed alongside heavy metal as it wasn’t unusual for bands to kick up the speed a bit. A band I really enjoy—Riot—started out ...

(TheBRHM.com) Jess and the Ancient Ones, Jex Thoth and Lucifer are three of the bands that first come to mind when “occult rock” is brought up. It’s with good reason as those bands really deliver some great albums in that vein. First of All: What Is Occult Rock? I will ...

(TheBRHM.com) This time we’re looking at extremely strong debuts! We’ll start with a band we’ve discussed a bit before in Blind Guardian with their 1988 debut Battalions of Fear. What Type of Vibe Is Blind Guardian? To be honest, there are different vibes with Blind Guardian’s music. It can depend ...

(TheBRHM.com) I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with neoclassical Metal or shred. Shredding—the central part of many neoclassical works—involves the guitarist(s) performing an extended display of their skill. This is often played rapidly but there are pieces with slower, more digestible guitar solos of the same length. The thing is ...

(TheBRHM.com) In the 1980s, heavy metal really made use of emerging music videos to add visuals to their tunes. I also like that music videos remove some of the mystery and vagueness of some songs by showing the story or referencing imagery from the song. Sure, many artists leave their ...