It takes cajones to record an album consisting of your fifth or sixth performance ever as a band. But if you're as talented as the guys in Transatlantic, nerves are perhaps the only problem.

The grand old ghouls of death metal, Morbid Angel have a tough task to keep themselves from falling into the dreaded "influential but over the hill" slot.

After the first couple of listens, I thought this record was pleasant enough but nothing too special. But it suddenly dawned on me about 3 weeks after I got it...I still wanted to listen to the damn thing!

Whenever Overkill releases a new album, the public is bombarded by a series of clichés such as "Overkill avoids all trends with their tried and true metal", "Overkill is the Motorhead of American bands" and "Overkill follows their own path".

This is a beautiful piece of work. I daresay that if Pharaoh had existed in the 1980's, they would now be releasing box sets in elaborate packaging much like Iron Maiden . They are that good.

It seems a sad fact that many artists forget the music of their younger days when they "mature". It's not unusual to find a successful musician trying to deny or belittle his time in punk, heavy metal or hard rock bands.

This disc is certainly the hardest rocking album the Ryche have come out with in a while, it is their strongest at least since Empire, but I would hazard to say since Operation Mindcrime. That is not to say that this CD is in the vein of that one, it certainly isn't.

As prog metal goes, Shadow Gallery in many cases comes the closest to crossing the line into pure prog. With Carved In Stone they created a work that foreshadowed great things to come from the group.

In the zine biz, you hear a lot about bands who are supposed to be the "future of heavy metal". If I had a buck for every time I heard that, I could buy myself my own harem of Japanese geisha girls.

When lead vocalist Chris Barnes abruptly left Cannibal Corpse, the band he had guided for so long, it sent shockwaves through the world of death metal, the world that Chris and Cannibal Corpse had helped to create.

Tool quite probably get lumped by many in the Nu-metal category. That fits to a degree, but as this album shows, the group are not good at being tied down to one musical label.

We are not very far into 2003 but we already have a candidate for album of the year. Twelfth Gate and their debut "Summoning" have burst out of nowhere (Chicago, actually) with a furious rush.

No one can deny there's a certain amount of cheesiness in heavy metal. That's part of its charm.

Voi Vod has always stood apart from the crowd. The French-Canadian mutants have been offering their own warped version of cybermetal since the early 80's and their crushing debut "War and Pain".

This independent four-track release shows a prog metal band that will probably go places. The group seem to have very solid instrumental and compositional skills.

A CD landed on my doorstep from Malaysia a short while ago which took my interest and inevitably ended up doing it's revolutions in my CD player on and off over a few weeks.

For those who like plenty of electronic beats and bleeps mixed up with their rock and roll, Celldweller is a new name to conjure with. Looking like a cross between one of the Misfits, the Cure's Robert Smith and pro wrestler, the enigmatic maestro named Klayton is the mind behind the madness of Celldweller.

With Live In Brazil Concrete Blonde have given us a solid album showcasing their live performance. Those whose only introduction to the band are the singles might find this to be a bit raw, but truly that edge really adds something.

Frou Frou means the sound that makes men go wild and the first thing that struck me about this CD - beside the succulent, breathy vocals of Imogen Heap, was the texture of the production: something I hadn't experienced since the Cocteau Twins.

Another in the series of Grand Funk reissues, this one shows the band not straying too far from their home turf musically. Still, when your home turf is such a great blend of bluesy rock laced with fuzz bass and tasty guitar riffing, why not stay close to home?

Once upon a time if you wanted to buy a Grand Funk live disc, this was the one to get, because it was the only one. Now, however, there are others to choose from.

Well before Metallica's Garage Inc., Guns and Roses did their take on their own influences. The result is The Spaghetti Incident?.

You can argue who the best band is in America, but few are better educated than Akron, Ohio's Housepopes, who sport three Ph.D's, an MD, and a few other scattered degrees amongst the ranks.

Far too often the blues can come across as generic and lacking in variety. There are few artists who manage to pull off a form of the style that is based in a traditional vein and is still varied enough to entertain.

KMFDM have been hovering around the edges of my musical awareness for a decade now. I knew who they were and I sure noticed all the goth/punk kids wearing their distinctive cartoony T-shirts but I never bothered to listen to them.

One tends to feel sorry for people living in Detroit. It's not the most picturesque city around, the economy isn't that good, and don't even mention the Tigers.

Few bands have ever achieved the level of success that Led Zeppelin did, and certainly not any that only released  a handful of albums.

L.I.N.T. are, to me, a curious Swedish mix of Voivod and Blink 182. I dig Voivod. I don't dig Blink 182, however I can appreciate their pop sensibilities.

In the mid to the late 1970's it seemed that there was a prevailing sound on the local music scene in the Chicago area. Based on hard edged guitar, Beatles leanings, catchy pop arrangements, and an almost punky texture, this sound was dubbed "power pop".

Linnea Quigley is best known as a queen of scream in such b-grade horror movie nuggets as "Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowlorama", "Creepozoids" and "Return of the Living Dead".

Carlos Santana has certainly had a long and wonderful career, and with the talent and spirit of the man he deserves it. His most recent effort is Shaman.

This is a short CD by the band which is fronted by Linnea Quigley. The music here is fun and punky, at times coming across a bit like the Ramones, at other times a bit like the Runaways, and even very old Blondie.

As Eminem once pointed out, "Will Smith doesn't have to swear to sell records". Non-vulgar rap/hip hop is certainly a rarity these days, but Smith pulls it off.

Recorded with their horn section The Red Hots (who technically are credited in the name on the CD. This reviewer left that off for brevity in the title of the page), this album is an interesting one in many ways.

Although this disc was released worldwide in 2001, it is just now being put out in the US, so I am considering it a 2003 release.

Readers, it's pretty hard to describe what this album sounds like, but the term "music" is applied very loosely! I would not call it heavy metal either, though it is marketed through a mostly metal label.

Common Ground shows a band that seems a bit green and in-experienced, but with a lot of potential. If these guys do it right, expect great things from them.

This review was probably one of the hardest that I have ever had to write about. Pete is Malaysia's answer to Leonard Cohen or Suzanne Vega.

Suzanne Vega is one of my all time favourite artists and has continued to compose compelling, thought-provoking material which has made her one of the music industry's most prolific songwriters of our time.

As both a die-hard Black Sabbath fanatic and one who was fortunate enough to see the band several times on their reunion tour, I was really looking forward to this DVD. The quality of the performance, the videography and sound all lived up to my expectations, showing just how phenomenal of a tour this was.

This video is not perfect, and is not quite what I was expecting, but is pretty darn interesting. Indeed, I was thinking that I would find a lot of musical snippets and clips, and while there are some (from all phases of Phil's career, I might add), they are short and far and few between, but that is not the true purpose or beauty of this video.

One of my all-time favourite bands, Heart, has finally released The Road Home DVD in the UK with a few bonus items. The DVD is of fantastic quality and in 5.1 surround sound.

The year 2001 marked the triumphant return of the classic Iron Maiden lineup. The band undertook a tour to promote the critically acclaimed Brave New World album.

All hail the kings of true metal! Yes, these guys are a bit over the top at times, even bordering on silly, but man do they rock! T

The most recent installment from the Triumph camp comes in the form of this 1985 show which was recorded at the Metro Centre Arena in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada during their Thunder Seven Tour.

MSJ Chat Transcript Derek "Mo" Moore of Nektar from 2003

Interview with Chris Barnes of Six Feet Under From 2003

Interview with Roine Stolt From 2003

Interview Usurper's Jon Necromancer From 2003