Album Review: "Heaven's Gate" by Eternal of Sweden

Heaven's Gate

Growing up, Scandinavia was this place very far away.

Taking Social Studies as a young lad, I remember hearing about the midnight sun and the northern lights.

I still desire to see the Aurora Borealis.

As I've gotten older, our friends of the fjords have grown more and more interesting. Their exportation of hockey players comes to mind.

Think of the first Euro NHL player, he's from Finland or Sweden isn't he? Russians don't count. They're Russian players.

Sweden, Finland, Norway, and maybe that little bit of Russia, are very, very metal. From black metal to power metal to thrash metal to the Gothenburg scene, they have given us many more great metal bands than great hockey players.

Album Review: "Written In Blood" by Raise Hell

Written In Blood

Today's subject plays the oft forgotten about metal genre that's a clear response to what the English forebears began.

There was a time when metal wasn't fast or too aggressive and even when it still retained some of the old flower power, but then some Americans took hold of it and added the anger to stew...but I do go on don't I?

Let's meet some new old friends.

Today our album review is for some Swedish Thrash Metal.

You read that as death metal didn't you? Honestly, I don't blame you. It's really hard to conceive of Swedish Metal not being death metal or black metal, but here we are.

Raise Hell are  hardly new to the scene. Written In Blood is their sixth full length album, but this is my first time sampling their wares.