Finally, Czech underground label Nasphyr Records did Dementor's early material justice by releasing it on vinyl. They started with the band's second demo, "Morbid Infection", originally released in 1993 under the title "Chorobná nákaza". It consists of 6 songs, which were recorded in the famous Slovak studio Exponent. The demo line-up is as follows: Jaro Kyselica (vocals), Roman Lukác (guitar), René Blahušiak (guitar), Luboš Gazdík (bass) and Roman Gazdík (drums). On this demo, the band had not yet forged their unique death metal style, but they were well on their way. The title track kicks off side A, which is a great song with some thrash influences here and there. "Predestined Future" follows, with lots of mid-tempo drum patterns, catchy guitar riffs and solos. Jaro's grunt was already sick as hell, like a real caveman. "Soul Insanity" is the third song where René and Roman's riffs begin to noticeably shape Dementor's future style. Side B opens with the Obituary-like riffs of "Altars of Death". This song is a bit monotonous for me, but it's still good, I would especially highlight the solo here, because it turned out really badass. "Birth of the Messenger of Death" is the fifth cut, another track with Obituary influences and some "Harmony Corruption" type Napalm Death riffing. The final composition is "Fate Sealed by Fool" and with its five and a half minutes it is the longest piece. This is a pretty solid death metal track with fantastic solos and a gloomy outro. A new cover was used for the vinyl version, from one of Gustave Doré's woodcuts. The original artwork can also be found on the printed inner sleeve, along with the lyrics and a cool band photo. The vinyl itself is standard black at 45 rpm. Needless to say, this vinyl is definitely a must have for Dementor fans!!!

"The Church Dies" is my personal favorite from Dementor. Originally released on cassette by Immortal Souls Productions in 1994, it is also the debut long play of the Slovak death metal pioneers. The album lasts over 32 minutes and consists of 8 well-crafted death metal tracks that sound fantastic thanks to the Exponent studio. I can't say enough how much I love the songs and sound production on this album. The energy and dynamics of this record are simply flawless. And now, for the first time, we can enjoy these songs on black vinyl courtesy of Nasphyr Records. This masterpiece was recorded by the following members: Jaro Kyselica (vocals), Roman Lukác (guitar), René Blahušiak (guitar), Roman Thorn (drums) and Robo Janicik (session bass). They did a perfect job, as did their producer Tomáš Kmet. There are four songs on each side and the song titles are "Mortal Melody", "The Law of Karma", "The Church Dies", "Robbed After Death", "Rotting God", "Darkness", "Revived for Condemnation" and "Discoveries of Catastrophe". The kind of death metal they play is closer to traditional, of course their songs are also well equipped with brutality, but the overall picture is still about majestic riffs, melodic solos, elaborate drumming and sly bass lines. Jaro's growls took on a slightly different character compared to the demo '93, they became much more expressive and characteristic, if I may say so. His pronunciation in English is quite strange, but at one point it makes their material unique. Most of their lyrics are of course antichristian, but this can already be understood from the album's title. This vinyl edition features original artwork by Ján Sakmár and includes a printed inner sleeve with lyrics, member photos and a band photo. This is a sparkling death metal gem from Slovakia that is not only a must for every loyal Dementor fan, but highly recommended for all death metal fans worldwide!!!

I've previously written reviews of Immortal Souls Productions' 1997 CD version and their 2021 reissues on MC/CD, so I'm taking a slightly different approach and focusing more on the pros and cons of the vinyl version. Let me start by saying that it feels really good to finally have Dementor's second full-length album on vinyl. Like previous Dementor vinyls, it was released by Nasphyr Records. This is the first time this blasphemous death metal record is available on vinyl. The vinyl itself is black and spins at 33+1/3 rpm. There are 4 songs – "In the Name of God", "Kill the Thought on Christ", "The Law of Karma" & "The Lost Humanity" – on side A, and 5 songs – "Fate of Emptiness", "Rotting God", "Suppuration of My Soul", "Mortal Melody" & "Prometheus (Tublatanka cover)" – on side B. On this album, the band's line-up shrank to a trio (although they once again used the services of a session bassist, namely Hans Šeliga), and from the beginning only the guitarist René Blahušiak remained, who also performed well as a singer starting with this record. So his comrades-in-arms became guitarist Roman Calpaš (who also did some backing vocals) and drummer Jozef Piroš. This material was recorded at Pro Art Studio with producer Miloš Rojko. The whole musical concept and even the sound production became much more vicious than on the debut album. René's growling took on a rather brutal character, and his lyrics became even more blasphemous, but I think this is already evident from the album's title and cover art. The guitars sound very powerful and massive, but Jozef's drumming somehow lacks energy and dynamics. Nevertheless, "Kill the Thought on Christ" is a killer death metal release that I can only recommend. This vinyl edition has a printed inner sleeve with all the lyrics except for the Tublatanka cover and photos of the band and members. Unfortunately, I discovered too many mistakes and typos in the lyrics, which made me a little sad, since it is a vinyl release. Otherwise this is a great release and you better get it before it's too late!!!

It's been two years since the release of "Diabolical", but the German thrash metal quartet already hinted that they will release a new album in 2025, which is now preceded by a magnificent two-track EP, entitled "No Kings – No Masters". Destruction's line-up has remained unchanged since 2021, consisting of the invincible forces of Schmier (vocals/bass), Damir Eskic (guitar), Martin Furia (guitar) and Randy Black (drums). Well, the new song "No Kings – No Masters" unsurprisingly follows the musical path of the previous album, but with an even fresher, 2024 approach, with a much more modern sound, that is, their perspective on how German thrash metal should be represented and played today. It starts with a combination of their trademark parts, with Randy's crash cymbal accents under the opening guitar riff, backed of course by Schmier's massive low end attacks, then once the crazy drum fill kicks in, they start wreaking havoc. The rest of the composition is structured quite routinely, but in the middle of the song, starting with the words 'Say No, No Way, Say No', the guitar riffing and drums jump into a fantastic gallop, followed by a distinctly heavy metal-flavored solo. Continuing in the magic of heavy metal, we get a cover, a thrash metal version of Accept's "Fast as a Shark". It's a very famous song and an absolute classic from the "Restless and Wild" album, so it's been properly treated and brutalized in the Destruction way. I have the blue vinyl, but Napalm Records also pressed it in red, gold and silver, if I'm not mistaken, strictly 100 copies per color. So this is a very limited vinyl release that is sure to sell out fast. The vinyl A-side spins at 45 rpm and sounds pretty awesome, while the B-side has some impressive etching. The mixing and mastering was done this time by none other than Martin Furia himself, who did a perfect job! The same applies to the artwork on the front and back covers, created by the reliable Gyula Havancsák. This EP definitely makes me curious about the upcoming new album, I really hope they come up with some exceptional material, but we'll find out soon enough, in the meantime get this killer and super limited 12" vinyl!!!

This is definitely the kind of dream box set that every true Dismember fan should have in their collection. Released nearly a year ago, it is limited to 1000 copies and compiles all 8 studio albums, 2 EPs, 3 demos, selected rarities, a 36-page booklet, plus if you ordered directly from the band's online store, it also includes a t-shirt and a slipmat. All these treasures are housed in a fabulous looking cardboard box. There are six blue and six yellow vinyls that are transparent. The ones in blue are "Like an Ever Flowing Stream" (1991), "Pieces" EP (1992), "Indecent and Obscene" (1993), "Massive Killing Capacity" (1995), "Misanthropic" EP (1997) and "Death Metal" (1997). Finally, after so many represses and reissues of the debut album with extremely loud and rather distorted masters, we get the songs from the "Like an Ever Flowing Stream" album with the more dynamic version (June '91), which always represented the only correct version of this masterpiece, but in the past was only used for the European first pressing of the CD. So first time on vinyl with the right master, needless to say it sounds and feels fantastic! By the way, I will point out that there are quite a few "for the first time" in this box. For example, the "Pieces" EP never featured lyrics before, but now we have them all on the insert. Nice surprise! The "Misanthropic" EP was also released for the first time on vinyl and is also exclusive to this box set. The songs on "Misanthropic" and the tracks on the "Death Metal" album were the only ones remastered by Patrick W. Engel under the supervision of Fred Estby. The first six vinyls represent the classic era with the band's original line-up. The other six vinyls are yellow and they are: "Hate Campaign" (2000), "Where Ironcrosses Grow" (2004), "The God That Never Was" (2006), "Dismember" (2008), "The Complete Demos 1988-1990" (2023) and "Historia Mortis – The Rarities" (2023). The 3 demos, namely "Dismembered" (1988), "Last Blasphemies" (1989) and "Reborn in Blasphemy" (1990), were previously released by Regain Records in 2005 under the title "Complete Demos", but new tape rips were used for the current vinyl version. Another exclusive vinyl for this box is "Historia Mortis – The Rarities", which contains rare songs previously available on various compilations, Japanese CD versions or later reissues. However, no matter how you look at it, these songs are being released together for the first time on vinyl. So the tracklist for this special vinyl is as follows: "I Wish You Hell" (unmastered version, originally released in 1992 on "Rock Hard presents Monsters of Death" compilation), "Torn Apart" (alternate master, taken from "Death ...Is Just the Beginning II" compilation, released in 1992), "Justifiable Homicide" (taken from "Death ...Is Just the Beginning III" compilation, released in 1994), "Hill 112" (originally released in 1996 on "Death ...Is Just the Beginning IV" compilation), "Beyond the Unholy Grave (Death cover)" (taken from "Death ...Is Just the Beginning V" compilation, released in 1999), "Live to Hate" and "Unhealing Scars" (both originally released in 2000 as Japan bonus tracks of "Hate Campaign" album), all the previously mentioned songs are on side A, while side B contains "Collection by Blood", "Life - Another Shape of Sorrow" and "On Frozen Fields – Shadowlands" (taken from the instrumental pre-production demo of "Massive Killing Capacity" recorded in 1994). Then there's the exclusive full-color 36-page booklet. Produced in 12-inch format, it includes a wealth of rare and previously unseen photos from the band's private collection, an annotated discography, posters, flyers and more historical content. Nice addition and valuable for sure! What's more, the box also contains exclusive artworks by Daniele Valeriani, which are definitely worth paying attention to. The entire audio was mastered to vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony with the highest goal of preserving the "true to the original" sound as much as possible, which I can 100% confirm after thoroughly listening to all the vinyls. Very good work indeed! All vinyls are 33+1/3 rpm except for the 2 EPs which are 45 rpm. In conclusion, I can only say that I am very happy to own a copy of this very well done box set. Hail to the Stockholm death metal legends, hail to Dismember!!!

This 3-song 12" EP comes as a precursor to King Diamond's long-awaited 13th studio album "The Institute", featuring the new track "Masquerade of Madness", which of course has been circulating online since 2019 in digital format, as well as two live cuts from Graspop, namely "Welcome Home" and the "Arrival". All of these songs are available on vinyl for the first time. I have the 180-gram regular black vinyl, but limited edition vinyls are also available in clear violet brown marbled, bone and translucent black ice. All these editions include a paper mask with the lyrics to "Masquerade of Madness" and a download card. Since there are only 3 songs in total with a playing time of almost 15 minutes, the heavyweight vinyl plays at 45 rpm to the delight of audiophiles. Well, "Masquerade of Madness" is a typical King Diamond hit, which riff-wise reminded me of the turn between the albums "Conspiracy" and "The Spider's Lullabye". It is quite full of keyboard parts, which also refers to the atmosphere of the last mentioned album. The sound production is incredibly solid as usual. Needless to say, I can't wait to hear the new album in its entirety, I hope we don't have to wait too long. Side B has the two live tracks. Both were captured at the Graspop Metal Meeting on June 17, 2016. Their vibe and sound are perfect, I really dig them. These old evergreen tunes are awesome in every possible way and we know it for sure! The front and back covers of the EP were created by Yannick Bouchard, which were aptly adapted to the lyrical concept of the new song, and of course both works of art were mind-blowingly well done. I think it goes without saying that this item is a must have for fans of the King!!!

"Excessive Outburst of Depravity" is the title of Protector's latest release, which, like its three predecessors, perfectly combines the European thrash and death metal styles of the 80s and 90s. Since it was intended for the maximum old-school atmosphere from the very beginning, you won't find any modern elements in it, that's for sure. The album's 11 songs were recorded and engineered by Robert Pehrsson at Studio Humbucker (Stockholm, Sweden) between October 30 and November 13, 2021. It was then mixed and mastered by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony (Bamberg, Germany) in December 2021. In essence, it is thanks to them that the sound production is old school to the core. The members of Protector have been the same since 2011, and that's a pretty killer fact. The quartet – Martin Missy (vocals), Michael Carlsson (guitar), Mathias Johansson (bass) & Carl-Gustav Karlsson (drums) – does everything perfectly, leading them to another great Protector record. With more than 47 minutes, this new album is more thrash metal than death metal in my opinion, and it also embodies the epicness of the heavy metal bands of the 80s. The guitar sound is so penetrating that it tears the listener's mind apart, while the dynamism of the riffs is even more impressive, not to mention the super solos. The drums are also natural sounding and that makes it all the more exciting. I also like the sound of the bass, it rumbles quite massively in the background. Then there's Martin's unique and rough voice that's unmistakable from anyone else's, and that completes the picture of a successful album to be honest. I have it on vinyl, in a beautiful transparent beer color, and frankly, this record should only be played on vinyl, because it sounds better on that format. The whole design suits the vinyl release better, not to mention the masterful artwork by Patrik Tegnander, and of course the album cover poster is bigger and better quality than the CD version, and there's a super cool A5 photo card. In short, this release is a must for Protector fans worldwide!!!