#Dio

2026-03-08
🗞️ "Il #Dio #giusto e il Dio #sbagliato", "L’ #amaca" di Michele #Serra su 'La Repubblica' dell’8 marzo 2026

https://almericocolizzi.substack.com/p/il-dio-giusto-e-il-dio-sbagliato
ALMERICO COLIZZIColizziAlmerico
2026-03-08

🗞️ "Il e il Dio ", "L’ " di Michele su 'La Repubblica' dell’8 marzo 2026

almericocolizzi.substack.com/p

2026-03-08
Borrower – Killerdemons Review By ClarkKent

Unlike some of our staff, I’ve never been in a band. However, I can imagine the feeling of satisfaction in putting together and releasing that first full-length record. For every band that achieves this milestone, countless more never do. Italy’s Borrower was nearly among that number. Formed in 1993, Borrower released three demos in the ’90s, a fourth in 2005, and then disappeared until 2018 with their debut EP. Whatever interrupted their musical career, the dream remained, and they finally released their first album (and signed to a label, to boot) 33 years later with their founding vocalist, Massano Ratano, and drummer, Frank Formoso, joined by new guitarists Matteo Marzo and Matteo Marini. Behold their vision, a story of killer, humanoid demons as told through music that harks back to some of the legends of ’80s and ’90s speed metal.

Granted, the concept of an album where each song tells a story about a distinctive demonic entity with its own unique “physical traits” and “specific weapon” is extremely silly, yet Killerdemons proves to be a catchy and cool affair. Borrower claim Motörhead, Judas Priest, and Dio as their main influences, and they write spare, riff-tastic tunes in their honor. The guitars carry much more heft than their influences, however, with enough reverb to take tunes dangerously close to stoner territory a lá High on Fire and Black Sabbath. This marriage between speed and stoner proves effective. “El Degollador” oscillates between lightning-fast, “Ace of Spades”-inspired riffs and slower, “War Pigs”-style stoner riffs in a performance that’s sure to give you whiplash. Taking a cue from AC/DC, Borrower keeps their song structures simple yet catchy. The rollicking “Stay Alive” best demonstrates this virtue with crisp songwriting and energetic pacing. Each track has distinctive riffs that are far more powerful than the demons it conjures.

In the eight years since their 2018 EP, A Plague Chapter…, Borrower has vastly improved their sound and instrumental prowess. The two Matteos have played a major role in this transformation. Marini’s fuzzy guitar tone adds heft where the EP’s guitars sounded tinny. His blending of Motörhead-style riffcrafting with the density of High on Fire and Mastodon adds an extra oomph to tracks like “Der Todessoldat” and “Tough Fight.” Marzo’s bass takes a commanding presence as well. He adds depth and backbone to the music, making his presence especially felt on the slower moments of “Knocking on the Coffins.” Formoso takes a restrained approach behind the kit, occasionally blasting the cymbals (“Dream on Fire”), but mostly setting the pace with an effective simplicity. The wild card of the group is vocalist Ratano. He seemingly channels Lemmy, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Fozzie Bear in a truly strange, yet somehow endearing performance. His Italian accent, which drags out the words “kee-ler dee-mons” during the chorus of “Killerdemons,” adds a level of camp that contributes to the goofy fun.

While Borrower keeps Killerdemons to a concise 36 minutes, the record does falter on the two songs that stray from the 3-4 minute range. The first, “Knocking on the Coffins,” has some memorable riffs, including a cool, old school solo, but at over five minutes, it drags on a bit too long. Positioned between the album’s two best tracks, it also proves to be a major momentum killer. The biggest sore thumb, however, is the six-plus minute finale, “A Chaos Vortex.” Not only does it lack memorable riffs, but it falters in its final two minutes as the band sorely misjudges when to best wrap it up. Trimming 2-3 minutes from each of these songs would have immensely improved the album’s otherwise incredible pacing.

As I established last month, metal tends to invite some weird characters, and the killer demon universe created here is certainly an odd one. But that’s also what makes metal so much fun. Bands feel free to try out their off-the-wall ideas, from literary– or video game-inspired themes to the creation of fantasy or sci-fi realms. And sometimes these ideas actually work. Borrower finally sees through their vision, or at least the start of it, and presents it in such a catchy, cool way. I love to see original ideas performed with such care and passion, and I hope these guys continue to cultivate their ideas and musical talents.



Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Argonauta Records
Website: Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Site
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

#2026 #30 #ACDC #ArgonautaRecords #BlackSabbath #Borrower #Dio #Feb26 #HeavyMetal #HighOnFire #ItalianMetal #JudasPriest #Killerdemons #Mastodon #Motörhead #Review #Reviews #SpeedMetal #StonerMetal
2026-03-06
🇺🇸 Leader religiosi #cristiani (Pastori evangelici) pregano per il presidente degli Stati Uniti d' #America, le forze armate e la vittoria contro l’Iran..

"#Dio è solo Dio della #pace, non è Dio della #guerra, e chi appoggia la violenza ne profana il nome."
(Papa Francesco)

🇺🇸 Leader religiosi #cristiani (Pastori evangelici) pregano per il presidente degli Stati Uniti d' #America, le forze armate e la vittoria contro l’Iran..

"Dio è solo #Dio della #pace, non è Dio della #guerra, e chi appoggia la violenza ne profana il nome."
(Papa Francesco)

ALMERICO COLIZZIColizziAlmerico
2026-03-06

🇺🇸 Leader religiosi (Pastori evangelici) pregano per il presidente degli Stati Uniti d' , le forze armate e la vittoria contro l’Iran..

"Dio è solo della , non è Dio della , e chi appoggia la violenza ne profana il nome."
(Papa Francesco)

2026-03-02
JOEL HOEKSTRA’S 13 – From the Fade eternal-terror.com/?p=76925

RELEASE YEAR: 2026BAND URL: facebook.com/JoelHoekstra13

Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Revolution Saints, Cher) is not only one of the hardest working musicians out there but also one of the most talented and productive that I can think of, and a brief glance at his impressive resume should tell you all you need to know about this skilled guitarist and […]

#blackCountryCommunion #blueMurder #cher #dio #fromTheFade #frontiersRecords #hardRock #heavenAndHell #heavyMetal #joelHoekstra #tonyFranklin #vinnyAppice #whitesnake
2026-02-27
Rozario – Northern Crusaders Review By Holdeneye

After removing my clothes, I wade into the promo sump. Yes, nakedness is advised for such a foray, as any loose material can get you ensnared by the bog’s filtration and disposal machinery or by the foul denizens that reside within the sludge. I enter herein with a single purpose in mind: to find a promo that will restore my credibility as a reviewer, if I ever had any to begin with. Since my return to the hall, I’ve written 3.5 after 3.5, and I am in search of something that will bring my average down before I am made to “non-suspiciously” disappear again. I reach down and grasp a promising prospect. Pieces of congealed n00b meat and 16-year-old promo remains fall from the cover, revealing a band name that sounds like some guy’s last name and a photo of several dudes in various tough-guy poses. I smile, allowing myself to hope that I’ve found what I’m looking for. Further investigation reveals Rozario’s Northern Crusaders to be a 50-minute-long heavy/power metal album, and I tell myself that this has 2.5 written all over it. Yep, this’ll do.

My confidence grows when I see that these Norwegians have picked the album’s first two songs as singles. “Fire and Ice” starts things off with some energetic power metal-infused heavy metal that brings Dream Evil immediately to mind. After a huge earworm chorus and some killer riffing and leads, the song winds down, and I’m horrified to realize that I’ve been involuntarily smiling and headbanging the whole time. Fear not, I say to myself. The next single can’t be as good. “We are One” takes the momentum of the opener and runs with it. I hear Brainstorm. I hear Dio. I hear more Dream Evil. I hear an even bigger chorus. Shit.

Not to worry! I’m sure they’ve simply stacked the singles at the front because they’re the best tunes. A qualitative drop-off is sure to come! Just as those foolish words finish leaving my mind-lips, “Down Low” slaps me across the face with a down-tuned chug that I didn’t see coming. This PED-enhanced version of Rozario, also seen on “Sleepless” and “Betrayed,” fits the Brainstorm mold alluded to above, and even ventures towards Mystic Prophecy levels of heaviness. “Crusader” and “Die Like Warriors” both see the band putting their Saxon pants on, their quality daring me to add them both to my “SWOARDS” playlist of battle-ready metal.

I finish Northern Crusaders for the first time and am surprised at just how fast the album’s 50 minutes flew by. I play it again. I like it even more. I am totally fucked. Sure, I can look across the album’s track list and pick out two songs that I don’t absolutely love (“Coming Home” and “The Warning”), but they’re still good songs whose place in the runtime almost totally mitigates any potential impact they could have had on the overall flow. I’m rather pissed that singer David Rosario puts in a journeyman performance with his weathered voice, and I’m even more upset that he’s filled his near-eponymous band with so much talent, particularly on guitar. The duo of Stein Hjertholm and Taran Lister has filled these tracks with muscular riffs, beautiful leads, and face-melting solos, and this is a huge reason that Northern Crusader feels so effortless and easily replayable. Even the production is fantastic. Gah! What a catastrophe!

It’s now been several weeks since I plucked this from the sump. As I put the finishing touches on the review and prepare to enter the final rating, I am suddenly aware of a presence in the room with me. I look up from my laptop screen to see 3.5 glaring at me with a sinister smile on its face. “You couldn’t live with your own failure,” it says. “Where did that bring you? Back to me.” I type the score, realizing it is futile to resist, fully aware that I’ve made the mistake of judging Rozario’s Northern Crusaders by its cover. I slam my computer screen down, stand up, and walk away, naked and full of shame.1

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Pride & Joy Music
Websites: rozarioofficial.com | facebook.com/rozarioband
Releases Worldwide: February 20th, 2026

#2026 #35 #Brainstorm #Dio #DreamEvil #Feb26 #HardRock #HeavyMetal #MysticProphecy #NorthernCrusaders #NorwegianMetal #PowerMetal #PrideJoyMusic #Review #Reviews #Rozario #Saxon
2026-02-23

Review: Cruel Force “Haneda”

Release date: 27 March 2026

Label: Shadow Kingdom Records

7–11 minutes

Gage J. Tolin

SHADOW KINGDOM RECORDS is proud to present CRUEL FORCE’s highly anticipated fourth album, Haneda, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

Truest of the true, Germany’s CRUEL FORCE burst onto the scene in 2008 with the Into the Crypts… demo. While many have tried to emulate the ancient German (black)thrash sound, CRUEL FORCE brimmed with an authenticity that could not be denied, as well as songwriting that added to that noble tradition rather than lazily picking at its corpse. Their two successive albums, 2010’s The Rise of Satanic Might and 2011’s Under the Sign of the Moon, made CRUEL FORCE a certifiably CULT name in the international metal underground. Sadly, the band fell into a hiatus following that second album, but returned reinvigorated with the comeback 7″ EP Across the Styx in 2022 and, a year later, the glorious full-length Dawn of the Axe at the hands of new label home SHADOW KINGDOM.

Continuing to make up for lost time, CRUEL FORCE storm back with swords gleaming high on their fourth full-length, Haneda. Where a line could be drawn between the band’s “first era” of The Rise of Satanic Might / Under the Sign of the Moon, so continues this Second Era that began with Dawn of the Axe – one that harkens to the “Jurassic period” of heavy metal, when everything was rawer, less polished, and more energetic and powerful. As displayed by that pivotal predecessor, Haneda further proves that CRUEL FORCE are more so an old-style speed metal band, largely bereft of that blackened edge during their First Era. The tradeoff is that there’s a prominent mysticism coursing through that speed, and the blue-collared aspect of Dawn of the Axe is now spit-shined to a lethal slickness that makes Haneda hit that much harder.

However, it must be stressed that, while it follows logically from Dawn of the AxeHaneda is very much its own headspace, its own continuation of a still-vital aesthetic. At times more epic, exuding both more and different atmospheres, CRUEL FORCE here take the listener on a journey from old temples to desert planes, from deep jungles to mountain tops, and other mysterious locales beyond; indeed, the whole record is like a journey through mystical realms. Although no concept album, Haneda is very conceptual in its aesthetics, even down to its production: BIG and natural-toned, from the guitars to especially the drums, everything here is as ’80s and authentic as possible, underlining those days when it was imperative to have a massive-sounding record. 

“To us, it often feels like what Rainbow / Dio would have sounded if they’d played speed metal!” state the band, and with its neoclassical moments plus tasteful references to Eastern European metal, Haneda locates that unique melting-pot of the thrashing rage of classic Kreator, Deathrow, Razor, Piledriver, and Powerlord meeting the grandeur of equally-classic Rainbow, Iron Maiden, and Virgin Steele. Again, this is AUTHENTIC as it gets!

With whips a-swinging, the warlords of CRUEL FORCE wield the Sword of Iron and await the Titan’s awakening. Dare you venture into Haneda and disturb the Savage Gods on the way to the Crystal Skull?

Line-Up
Carnivore- Guitars
Slaughter- Vocals
GG Alex- Drums
Spider- Bass

Review

“The Cross”, our slightly over a minute intro, erupted from the onset with some solidly melodic guitars and an overall rhythm that felt like the build up to something big.

“Whips-A-Swinging” desecrates and defiles the aforementioned melody right out of the gate with thundering double bass, drummer GG Alex is all over the place here (in a good way). The recurrent drumroll is such a nice touch to add another layer to the drumming. Carnivore’s vocals felt a bit more melodic as well, compared to the rest of Cruel Force’s discography and especially their early work. Slaughter and Spider, on guitar and bass respectively, really hold things down with some incredible riffing throughout. Spider, in particular, is ravenous at keeping up a nasty groove. This was an excellent piece of blackened thrash for about the first two or so minutes, and then there’s an insanely funky breakdown that really moved it into the next level.

With a downright malicious riff to start, “Savage Gods” wasted little time in getting to the point. There’s a freneticism here that a lot of modern speed/thrash tends to sorely lack, but Cruel Force has it here in spades. Once again, GG is destroying the drumkit like they owe him money (or blood). While the chorus was a bit hookier than I’d anticipated, it was a total earworm. That first call-out of the track title hits like a bulldozer! For the guitar solo in this one, there was a sense of neo-classical playing (a la Randy Rhoads), adding another layer to this Satanic onslaught. Also mega props for the Big Rock Ending, Rock Band style!

“Sword of Iron” let loose with another dastardly riff and some more incredible drumming (the mixing on the drums is perfection). Notably, there’s less of a black metal influence on this one and more straight up speed/thrash metal. The addition of the background choir at around 1:30 to back-up the outstanding guitar solo was peak stuff, really structured like some old school 80s metal. It actually felt like to belonged and not like a tacked on nostalgia tug, and it really propelled the track up a notch. For the final minute, the choir returns for a second guitar solo before the fadeout. If I had any complains for this one, it’s that it wasn’t long enough, and it was still 4 minutes long.

“Crystal Skull” began with an Indian-style introduction, complete with the perennially underutilized sitar. It was brief but it did a lot to build ambiance for the forthcoming track. Similarly, the tempo of the main riff was so uniquely odd that I found myself enthralled by it. Not even anything unbelievably complex, it was just cool sounding. This was an instrumental track that featured great riff after great riff, along with the incredible drumming that had become commonplace. It’d be nearly impossible for me to pick out a favorite riff or sequence, but the portion near the 3 minute mark where things slow down into something that made me think of deserts (and Ancient Egypt?) was a particular highlight. I normally never know what to say with instrumentals, but this one was absolutely mental.

https://youtu.be/Btshd3iX1yw

At 6 and a half minutes long, “Warlords” was the first of two lengthier tracks and it began with a great headbanger of a riff. Spider’s basslines shine through the darkened haze, with each pluck of the string striking like cannon fire. GG Alex’s incredible drumming persists, in particular with the section at 4:30. As is customary for Cruel Force, littered throughout the track were many more ace quality riffs. I must also commend their keeping of the frenzied nature of much of their riffs, just because the song is a bit slower, doesn’t mean Cruel Force is any less deadly. While it didn’t quite grip me as firmly as the other tracks thus far, this was still an absolute banger, and it’s nice to see Cruel Force slow things a bit and make a more straight-up heavy metal song.

“Black Talon” featured a monumentally gripping main riff that I couldn’t help but headbang along with. Carnivore’s delivery in this one had a particular venom attached to it as well, as if he was cursing the listener. In terms of vibes, this one reminded me a lot of early Slayer (particularly Hell Awaits era, aka best Slayer era). Again though, Cruel Force’s ability to juggle the ferocity of blackened speed metal with a refined sense of melody that is often lost for many black/speed bands is to celebrated. I wish I could say more about this one, but I can’t get that riff out of my head.

With a main riff that felt almost discordant, “Titan’s Awakening” began with a sense of evil and foreboding. The first two minutes or so of this one was already incredible black/speed goodness, but the riff at that 2 minute mark was like the part in Total Recall when that dude’s head blows up (it was cool). But then Cruel Force hits me once again with an insane chugging riff and then a sizzling groove with a bit of guitar solo over it. Yeah, this was insane stuff. The final half of this track is some of the best stuff on the entire album, and maybe even in Cruel Force’s entire discography thus far (that’s a high bar though haha).

Finally we come to “Haneda”, our title track and the longest of the album at a whopping 9 minutes. That fact alone had my interest piqued (I love long thrash songs, what can I say). As you’d expect, there’s a bit of a build up to kick things off with the traditional ‘clap-along-to-the-beat’ drum/bass combo, but this ain’t hard rock, this is f*ckin’ speed metal baby and there’s a sort of thunder behind every crash of the drums before the guitars erupt into a frenzy. The delivery of the chorus is glorious stuff as well, band chant sequences will always get me, and Carnivore even gets an ‘Eugh!’ moment. The midway point of the song brought things back down to Earth (Hell?) with a slower and more melodic bridge section that also saw a return of the drum/bass sequence from the intro. An appropriate final track to be sure, everything that worked throughout the album all came together for a bonafide opus of epic proportions.

Conclusion

Cruel Force returned in 2021 with arguably their best work to date in Dawn of the Axe, but I have to say that I think that title is up for contention with Haneda. While longtime fans might malign the less overt black metal influences in favor of the more speed/power tinged areas, Cruel Force has shown that they’re not just another in the long ass line of Bathory/Venom clones. Instead they’re something unique and while they still proudly wave their love of those early black metal legends, their ability to also dive into the wellspring of their influences and immerse their sound and style into their own identity is something to behold. After all, if every metal genre were a color on a painter’s palette, you’d have to combine them all to get black.

TheNwothm Score: 9/10

Links

Bandcamp: https://cruelforceofficial.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cruelforce

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cruelforceofficial/

Label: https://www.shadowkingdomrecords.com/

Read More Reviews

#bathory #blackMetal #blackenedSpeedMetal #cruelForce #Deathrow #dio #GermanHeavyMetal #GermanSpeed #Haneda #IronMaiden #kreator #NewAlbum #NewWaveOfTraditionalHeavyMetal #NWOTHM #Piledriver #Powerlord #rainbow #razor #Review #shadowKingdomRecords #Slayer #speedMetal #thenwothm #thenwothmCom #venom #virginSteele
ryder :dp: :ok:dreamland@quokka.city
2026-02-23

im noticing a pattern ((i only get m/svp with invis if im #dio colours bruh

Adoro il Genio :verified:AdoroIlGenio@mastodon.uno
2026-02-21

ADORO IL GENIO - SLACK WYRM

Cioè, se il tuo Dio ti chiede del pane, tu gli porti il fottuto pane, punto! Poi, casomai, ti offri di fare l'#uvetta, no?

#adoroilgenio #21febbraio #SlackWyrm #Ferragus #reboot #comicart #comics #fumetto #fumetti #fantasy #dracaris📷 #draghi #drago #vignette #Trono #fantasy #divinità #dei #culto #vignettedivertenti #dio #villici #pane #toast #Comodità #paneeuvetta👌😋 #humor #comedy

2026-02-16

My big dislike for evil corporations like Google and Co. gets compromised a little when I stumble upon video gems like this mash-up song:
youtube.com/watch?v=RBZKHnmTJu4
#yes #VanHalen #dio #DazzBand #Mashup #TalentsOnTheDarkSide

2026-02-12
Greyhawk – Warriors of Greyhawk Review By Holdeneye

What a week this has been for Seattle-based, Hawk-themed, team-oriented activities! Not only did I just get to see my beloved Seattle Seahawks reach the precipice of American football via the most awesome post-season arc I could have possibly drawn up, but I also get yet another opportunity to cover my beloved hometown metal heroes, Greyhawk. I’ve written ad nauseam about how I found the band and their brand of hard-rocking traditional metal, and I’ve routinely gushed my appreciation for their commitment to mind-positivity. Yes, it is safe to say that I am a total fanboy. So, it was with a fair bit of trepidation that I sat down with Greyhawk’s third full-length album, Warriors of Greyhawk, knowing it to be the band’s first release since the departure of their distinctive original front man, Revere “Rev” Taylor. I’ve always loved Taylor’s operatic approach to metal singing, so I guess it makes sense that he has moved on to pursue (rather successfully, it appears) a career as a professional opera singer. How does a party carry on after the departure of such a powerful wizard? Let’s find out.

Greyhawk’s sound has been undergoing constant evolution since the band’s beginnings, and Warriors of Greyhawk is no different. Over the years, the straightforward heavy metal of the band’s debut EP has morphed to include elements of speed metal, album-oriented rock, and now, with the introduction of new singer Anthony Corso, a healthy dose of power metal. Corso has a much more “standard” approach to metal vocals than Taylor, and his high register leaves him naturally suited to bridge the gap between classic heavy metal and its cheesiest of cousins. Advance single “Ascension” begins in Priestly fashion before handing out some Helloween candy with Corso’s stratospheric chorus. The track strikes the perfect balance between the band’s traditional past and powerful future.

Warriors Of Greyhawk by Greyhawk

And that balance is a microcosm of the rest of Warriors of Greyhawk. The band’s trad-metal identity is secure with cuts like “Take a Stand,” the Dio-esque title track, and the Accept-able “Embers Rise,” with the latter being the most quintessentially snarl-able heavy metal song I’ve heard so far this year. Thanks to the furious groove laid down by guitarists Jesse Berlin and Rob Steinway and the thunder from bassist Darin “The Bulletproof Barbarian” Wall, the track gives me some serious Dream Evil vibes. But the band just as easily veers into pure power metal with the Running Wild riffing of “Endless Race” and “Land of Ashes, while “Hyperspace” blasts straight to Guitar Hero status with enough pyrotechnics to rival Dragonforce.

I dig the production this time out. It feels big and beefy most of the time, but the leads still have that razor-sharp, molten edge to them—*Chef’s kiss*. About the only misstep I can point to is the inclusion of essentially two epic closers back-to-back in “Rise Above” and “Eternal Quest.” Both songs are good, but I think that “Rise Above” fails to match the quality of its set mates and that Warriors of Greyhawk would feel tighter (at 43 minutes instead of 49) and finish more powerfully had it been axed. The band took a risk by including Rev Taylor beside Corso on album highlight “Chosen,” and I’ll admit that hearing his powerful baritone nearly brings me to tears every time I hear it. But ultimately, the track ends up being a fitting farewell to a foundational figure in the band’s history, and it’s the perfect way for fans to compare Greyhawk’s past to its future. Best of luck on your future endeavors, Rev. Metal’s loss is opera’s gain!

Warriors of Greyhawk is undoubtedly a transitional album as the band finds its way forward with a new vocalist, but it also feels like the songwriting has reached a new level compared to previous efforts. This leaves Greyhawk with enormous potential moving forward, and honestly, without a minor flub at the album’s close, I’d be tempted to hang a 4.0 on this one. Much like those other Hawks of Seattle, apparently, these guys don’t rebuild; they reload. Go Hawks!



Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Cruz del Sur Music
Websites: greyhawkmetal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/greyhawkheavymetal
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

#2026 #35 #Accept #AmericanMetal #CruzDelSurMusic #Dio #DragonForce #DreamEvil #Feb26 #Greyhawk #HardRock #HeavyMetal #Helloween #JudasPriest #PowerMetal #Review #Reviews #WarriorsOfGreyhawk

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