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Articles by Andrew Depedro
IOMMI 'From The Dark'
IOMMI From The Dark BMG For someone whose notably dark, monstrous riffs shaped the sound of heavy metal for well over 50+ years and counting, TONY IOMMI is surprisingly not the type to be overtly maudlin or even melancholy. His signature tone that birthed the doom-laden depths of BLACK SABBATH’s may often evoke feelings of such but if anything, IOMMI’s first solo studio album in 21 years titled From The Dark is more of a rebirth of sorts for the legendary guitarist.
IN THIS MOMENT 'Witch'
IN THIS MOMENT Witch Better Noise Records Pain! Persecution! Struggle! And some decent cover choices! When it comes to scribing soliloquies about redemption, revenge and recovery, LA-based Grammy-nominated metallers IN THIS MOMENT completely sweep a great deal of their competition.
NIGHT RANGER 'Best Of'
NIGHT RANGER Best Of Frontiers Music Srl Neat vocal hooks! Heavy riffs! Touching ballads! Colorful-looking discs! …Christmas songs?
THE WARNING 'Everything’s Falling'
THE WARNING Everything’s Falling Lava/Republic Records Dizzying heights! Crashing lows! And putting the dental floss dance craze on notice! Not since Andalusian one-hit wonders LOS DEL RIO, a.k.a. the purveyors of the “Macarena”, has an active band been so intrinsically tied to a dance move as Monterrey, Mexico-based rock sister-trio THE WARNING.
AIRBOURNE 'Airbourne'
AIRBOURNE Airbourne Spinefarm Records Gargantuan riffs! Blockbuster shit! Homages to rock legends! And the end result of what happens when you put esteemed producer Mutt Lange and BRYAN ADAMS in a studio together! Australian rockers AIRBOURNE have never been ones to think small. But on their self-titled sixth studio album, they’ve outdone themselves in the most personable manner ever: Recording their latest disc in at Music Farm Studio in “the jungle” outside Byron Bay.
APOCÆLYPSE 'Fænix'
APOCÆLYPSE Fænix Independent Crushing modern metal! Cinematic atmosphere! Thought-provoking themes! Challenging font symbols! Created and fronted by veteran guitarist Ira Black (VIO-LENCE, METAL CHURCH, I AM MORBID, LIZZY BORDEN, WESTFIELD MASSACRE), APOCÆLYPSE represents a bold new chapter in his career.
THE HU 'Hun'
THE HU Hun Better Noise Records Chanting! Unique string arrangements! And wall-to-wall sound! Not to be phonetically confused with Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend’s well-known ongoing classic rock band as they’re from Mongolia and have only been a band since 2016, THE HU(It’s Mongolian for “human beings”) have emerged as one of the genre’s most innovative-sounding purveyors of folk metal.
TESLA 'Homage'
TESLA Homage Frontiers Music Srl Rock! Blues! Soul! Country! And a new song! When it comes to compiling an album featuring renditions of the most inspiring songs from a band’s illustrious career, Sacramento, California-based veteran hard rockers TESLA know how to keep their proverbial bases covered.
VOIVOD ‘Symphonique’
Minor falls! Major lifts! And lots of different strings and secret chords! They may not be the first band to bring hard rock/metal and classical music together in a casually live audience setting, but as far as their own 40+ year history of progressive sci-fi metal innovation is concerned, Quebec’s VOÏVOD are perhaps one of the first extreme bands to experiment with such a project.
VENOM ‘Into Oblivion’
Loud! Raw! Heavy! And still keeping it real and ungodly nearly 50 years later! For any diehard fans of NWOBHM architects VENOM, one has always accepted that the legendary trio’s raw and punishing approach to its brand of heavy metal owes a great deal of its success to mostly two things: Volume and honest simplicity. This is a band, after all, who managed to create an entire subgenre of obscure metal purely by accident with their debut album Black Metal back in 1982.
ELEGANT WEAPONS ‘Evolution’
Forward thinking! Progress! Watching the beat! ….and how many album covers has that robot appeared on now, including this one? Don’t let the new album cover fool you otherwise. ELEGANT WEAPONS are far from being a bunch of daft punks who just got lucky.
SEVENDUST ‘One’ - KNAC.COM
For weeks, I anticipated the arrival of SEVENDUST’s fifteenth full-length studio album, ‘One’ via Napalm Record. Not knowing whether I’d get an early listen or endure the wait with everyone else until its May 1, 2026, release was agonizing. As a longtime fan, finally receiving an advance copy felt almost like Christmas morning. To be clear, I’m far from a casual SEVENDUST listener. Their music and live shows are woven into my family’s life.
HARDLINE ‘Shout’
Loud love! Animal magnetism! And giving a voice to man’s best friend! It’s impossible to tell the full story of HARDLINE’s new studio album ‘Shout’ without mentioning their 1992 breakthrough classic ‘Double Eclipse’. After all, that was the moment when this exceptional hard rock act’s unique artistic DNA was created, its first draft already done to perfection. Since then, HARDLINE have brought out six more studio albums, each one of them considered to be a highlight of the genre.
Album Review: CRIMSON GLORY ‘Chasing The Hydra’
Flower power! Transcending time! Metallic facewear! Since their inception in 1983, Sarasota, Florida-based metallers CRIMSON GLORY have been runnin’ down a dream with their brand of powerfully chaotic-sounding operatic metal.
Album Review: CORROSION OF CONFORMITY ‘Good God/Baad Man’
Magic! Loss! Rock ‘n roll celebration! …unintentionally ahem “baad” spelling? Let’s face it: Much has gone down in the CORROSION OF CONFORMITY universe since their last album smacked us upside the head. Back in 2018, when No Cross No Crown dropped like a rock n’ roll atom bomb, the tried-and-true CORROSION OF CONFORMITY lineup of Pepper Keenan (vocals/guitar), Woody Weatherman (guitar), Reed Mullin (drums), and Mike Dean (bass) was still going strong.
Album Review: LIGHTNING STRIKES ‘The King Is Victorious’
LIGHTNING STRIKES The King Is Victorious Pure Legend Records They were once touted as the first lean, mean Armenian heavy metal machine who predated SYSTEM OF A DOWN by a decade when they first formed in Los Angeles in 1985. Their name conjured up images of fast and furious forces of nature – so much so that their first single also shared the same title as their band name. And then they suddenly disappeared without a trace for about 30 years. And they were known as LIGHTNING STRIKES.
FINGER ELEVEN 'Last Night On Earth'
FINGER ELEVEN Last Night On Earth Better Noise Music Apocalyptic! Adrenalizing! ...probably not an appropriate band name to ever bring up around Millie Bobbie Brown Bonjovi's most famous character though. That aside, Burlington, Ontario's FINGER ELEVEN have been a mainstay in the modern rock/alternative scene for close to three decades.
ENFORCER, STRIKER In Ottawa, Canada
"Summer's over. It's fall out, boy!" It was indeed the last weekend of the day preceding the autumn solstice when four bands - one local, one I though was local but turns out they're from LA, one from Edmonton making their latest return and one from Sweden, with none of them featuring Pete Wentz in their lineup - took the Overblow Brew pub by forceful homecoming storm. And there was even an unannounced special guest who was unmasked during LYCANTHRO's first homecoming show in well over a year.
KNAC.COM - Reviews - BATTLE BEAST 'Steelbound'
BATTLE BEAST Steelbound Nuclear Blast Records Falling skies! Stormriders! ....samba beats? Finnish power metallers BATTLE BEAST were never the type of band to take themselves even remotely seriously. It'd be hard to anyway in those outfits. Yet, seven studio albums into a nearly 20-year unstoppable career so far shows that the sextet are otherwise determined in taking heavy metal to ridiculous heights - with strong yet also well-meaning emphasis on the ridiculous.
THE RODS 'Wild Dogs Unchained'
THE RODS Wild Dogs Unchained Massacre Records Nuances! Sonic beatdowns! Ferocity! Heavier grooving! And sounding tight tight tight! It's safe to say that between the release of last year's Rattle The Cage and now, THE RODS haven't just been simply content with, well, mere cage rattling, but they're more than ready for walkies on their newest effort Wild Dogs Unchained.
MOB RULES 'Rise Of The Ruler'
MOB RULES Rise Of The Ruler ROAR! Records Dystopia! Hostility! ...beyond Thunderdome? Contrary to TINA TURNER's assertion, we actually do need another hero. And plural, for that matter. Be they donning tight Lycra bodysuits and capes or dressed up in rugged leather like they're about to conquer the rugged Australian outback in a black '71 Charger, Teutonic outlanders MOB RULES are the best men for such a mission by a mile.
KNAC.COM - Reviews - BURNING WITCHES 'Inquisition'
BURNING WITCHES Inquisition Napalm Records Vocal sorcery! Piledriver riffs! Strange brews! Six albums into their non-stop whirlwind career of magic, mayhem and lineup changes, I'd be surprised that anyone in BURNING WITCHES can even spell their own names let alone cast such spells upon the land given their busy schedules lately.
DEF LEPPARD, TOM MORELLO In Ottawa, Canada
Humidity! Hysteria! With the heat dome still present at the Ottawa Bluesfest, everyone was prepared to rock 'til they dropped. Luckily, HOZIER wasn't just an opening act at the festival but also an actual task by security to keep concertgoers properly hydrated by spraying them with a hose. And the night's performances with an attendance of over 40,000+ was projected to be one of the festival's busiest - moreso for the beer vendors.
TURNSTILE In Ottawa, Canada At Bluesfest
Photos By Nancy D Stifling heat! Heavenly monkeys! Odd billings! Missing siblings! Untrustworthy men! And some rather confusing stage backdrop images! Welcome to Ottawa Bluesfest 2025, where the current heat dome is essentially Mother Earth's version of Ozempic.
KNAC.COM - Reviews - SPADES GT 'United'
SPADES GT United Independent Patches! Ripped jeans! ...gardening tools? Can you dig it? Barrie, Ontario-based road warriors SPADES GT are once more making the Earth move from the ground up with their brand of heavy-sounding punk or punk-sounding heaviness on their sophomore album United.
PAPA ROACH, DAUGHTRY In Ottawa, Canada
Idols! Angels! Insects! Runaway golf carts! Oblivious siblings! And no unnecessary pyro! When yours truly isn't on the frontlines of the Ottawa Bluesfest reporting on many legendary pure rock soldiers conquering Lebreton Flats every July and directing the online traffic to KNAC.COM, he's also directing actual traffic in and around the main stage away from random pedestrians as part of the Road Warriors team (through Alternates) - including his clueless sister who walked right in front of an...
KNAC.COM - Reviews - HALESTORM 'Everest'
HALESTORM Everest Atlantic Records Snowblind! Over the mountain! ....peak performance? Pathing their way through the land of the ice and snow over the past two decades or so, don't you think that HALESTORM know what they're doing? Lzzy Hale's recent glamorous appearance and performance of "The Ultimate Sin" alongside Jake E.
NIGHTHAWK 'Six Three O'
NIGHTHAWK Six Three O Mighty Music Rock royalty! Flying feathers! And rock 'n roll peace of mind! Swedish classic hard rockers NIGHTHAWK may be a fairly new name to most ardent rock fans, but with three full-length studio albums to their credit and boasting the familiar vocals of SOILWORK vocal powerhouse Bjorn Strid singing at his most clean-sounding, it seems that damn near every Swedish person knows about the bird.
KNAC.COM - Reviews - INGLORIOUS 'V'
INGLORIOUS V Frontiers Records Srl If BLACK SABBATH's recent farewell performance has shown us anything, it's that many of our much-heralded classic rock heroes - some of whom we've occasionally taken for granted - are increasingly reaching their golden years as they yearn for a much-needed break from the rigors of the road and the often-confining conditions of the studio.
CLUTCH In Ottawa, Canada
Wild mobs! Unstoppable watts! Piles of street cred! That last one is giving me Grade 11 vibes, to be honest, but so was the venue where the Full Ahead Flank tour was making its official landing for a few hours of heavy-set blues rock on a humid Sunday evening. His entrance music was HATEBREED, his choice of shirt was PIG DESTROYER, and given his musical tastes, it's almost odd to find out that he's got the voice of STURGILL SIMPSON.
CHRIS CAFFERY '20 Years Of The Music Man'
CHRIS CAFFERY 20 Years Of The Music Man Metalville Records Jesters! Knights! Obscenely priced Starbucks coffee? Since his formal initial entry into legendary Tampa, Florida progressive metallers SAVATAGE in 1989, guitarist Chris Caffery has not only made a name and a sound for himself within the band itself, but he's practically become the band's best-known member and spokesperson - much so that he's been able to craft a solo career out from that same tenure.
BUCKCHERRY 'Roar Like Thunder'
BUCKCHERRY Roar Like Thunder Round Hill Records Lifted spirits! Motivation! Purpose! And lots of rock 'n roll! Platitudes rarely come easy for a band like BUCKCHERRY who have borne witness to many tales of rock 'n roll excess and excitement throughout their 30 years of activity. Frontman Josh Todd is usually just relieved that he was able to survive the scene's perils, given his own admission that he hadn't expected to live beyond the age of 30.
VOLBEAT 'God Of Angels Trust'
VOLBEAT God Of Angels Trust Republic/Universal Horns! Halos! How to write a song without a chorus! Over time, artists develop many formulas for success. Whether rooted in superstition, repetition, or just plain knowing what works, these practices can provide a roadmap or outline for a new project. VOLBEAT frontman Michael Poulsen has relied on various formulas to write the songs that have earned the band more than 143 platinum and gold certifications around the globe.
LYCNTHRO 'Remnants Of Rapture'
LYCNTHRO Remnants Of Rapture Psychomanteum Records Wolves! Flowers! Fiery Helvetian sorceresses! After a much-needed hibernation period following several high-profile performances such as Power Metal Quest Fest in the UK, Power Metal Takeover in Madison, Wisconsin and Legions Of Metal in Chicago as well as some of their own individual tours throughout the past three years, Ottawa, Ontario's ambassadors of wolf metal LYCANTHRO are back and ready to let the fur fly once more with their...
BTO, APRIL WINE In Ottawa, Canada
Driving ambition! Working overtime! And elbows up in swag! This would not be the first time I've been able to perform double duty in honoring both my KNAC.COM and TD Place obligations on the eve of the Back In Overdrive Tour featuring three of Canada's top classic rock vets either celebrating their 45th, 50th or 55th anniversary as a band. Only know of one song from each if even at all?
GIANT 'Stand And Deliver'
GIANT Stand And Deliver Frontiers Music Srl Perfect plans! One desire! And that's just the name of some of the bands who were affiliated in this ongoing comeback! Just as Kurt Cobain was stalking the Billboard album charts, smelling the blood of his permed and glammed-up nemeses and then some, an up-and-coming AOR/hard rock band from Tennessee by the name of GIANT were poised to claim the golden goose with their debut 1989 album, The Last Of The Runaways.
ARCH ENEMY 'Blood Dynasty'
ARCH ENEMY Blood Dynasty Century Media Anger! Energy! Flowing positivity! It's all in ARCH ENEMY to give on the Swedish quintet's 12th studio album Blood Dynasty. The band, known for its mantra of "pure fucking metal", delivers strongly on their latest effort, having rebounded from a notable lineup change and bringing in newcomer Joey Concepcion to take over the guitar slot recently vacated by Jeff Loomis.
ALIEN WEAPONRY 'Te Rā'
ALIEN WEAPONRY Te Rā Napalm Records History! Battle lore! Mysticism! And learning a new indigenous language while headbanging? Since releasing their acclaimed debut Tuin 2018, New Zealand modern groove trio ALIEN WEAPONRY have been putting their Māori where their moshpits are while bringing a refreshing flavor of traditional Kiwi aura to the metal scene.
BRKN LOVE 'The Program'
BRKN LOVE The Program Spinefarm Records "You can't tell the spectators from the performers without the program!" A Bugs Bunny quote might not be the best segue into this review. And yet, when it comes to being fueled by raw energy and unfiltered emotion, there is no perfect metaphor to otherwise describe the rustic carefree approach of BRKN LOVE - and, specifically, their third studio album titled The Program.
SICKSENSE 'Cross Me Twice'
SICKSENSE Cross Me Twice Earache Records Tracksuits! Body piercings! Down tuning! We can't say that we never saw the oncoming nu-metal nostalgia of the early 2000's in pop culture three months already into 2025. And, like many a genre then and now in its wake, and often for better and for worse, it birthed a good number of solid mainstays while unintentionally creating ten times as many off-brand knockoffs with a limited shelf life.
SCORPION CHILD 'I Saw The End As It Passed Right T
SCORPION CHILD I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me Noize In The Attic When it comes to playing dark rock and roll that blends haunting themes and atmospheric melodies along with a unique fusion of post-punk, hard rock, and brooding aesthetic, Austin, Texas rockers SCORPION CHILD can sure elate a mouthful.
KNAC.COM - Reviews - BUMBLEFOOT 'Bumblefoot...Returns!'
BUMBLEFOOT Bumblefoot...Returns! Bumblefoot Music Don't let the album title completely deceive you. Despite its heralding tone of a comeback into the rock/metal scene, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal has kept himself busy in the spotlight.
THUNDERMOTHER 'Dirty & Divine'
THUNDERMOTHER Dirty & Divine AFM Records Reborn! Revitalized! Revamped lineup! And ready to rock 'n roll! Two years on from the release of their last studio album Black & Gold which had also seen most of their lineup also being released afterwards, Swedish quartet THUNDERMOTHER are back with a deafening bang and a powerful-sounding follow-up in the form of Dirty & Divine.
KNAC.COM - Reviews - GRAND MAGUS 'Sunraven'
GRAND MAGUS Sunraven Nuclear Blast At nearly 30 years into their career, Sweden's GRAND MAGUS appear to be one of the more consistently active bands coming out of the mid-90's Gothenburg doom metal scene.
EVANESCENCE, HALESTORM In Ottawa, Canada
Positive vibes! Piano-driven power ballads! House husbandry? The irony - and thankfully not the ironing - of nearly missing my first experience of catching two bands I'd taken somewhat for granted musically as well as an aspiring female power trio from way down south because of last-minute house chores was not lost on yours truly. That, and the usual public transit commute out to Kanata which rivals navigating the construction of the bridge on the River Kwai during WWII.
KNAC.COM - Reviews - INFRARED 'Manifestation'
INFRARED Manifestation Self-Released Tech! Drugs! Monkey business! ByTown bangers INFRARED sure know how to make up for a nearly 30-year absence from the metal scene.
UDO Live In Ottawa, Canada
Beating metal hearts! No opening act! Maybe Wattie from THE EXPLOITED was right after all about the inefficiency of Canadian customs? It's been quite the difference between 2018 when UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER, the powerful voice of Teutonic trad metallers ACCEPT, had commanded a vast army of local and international opening acts so great that the stage could barely accommodate them, and this past October when the legend found himself as both the sole and the main attraction.
THE EXPLOITED In Ottawa, Canada
Photos By Andrew Depedro Punk and disorderly! Probable ceasefires! Pogoing! Early birthday gifts! A total of 90+ years of old and new school punk experience gathered at the Brass Monkey on a muggy summer's day under the touring banner of Punk's Not Dead/40 Years On The Road and also finally provided my brother-in-law Hubert a birthday gift he'd remember for the ages.
FORRESTER/ROBBINS 'The Complete Dr. Dirty Sessions
RHETT FORRESTER/ROB ROBBINS The Complete Dr. Dirty Sessions BraveWords Records As one of the identifiable voices of NYC hard rock legends RIOT, Rhett Forrester was a frontman with a swagger and style of his own. Inspired by a wide range of equally powerful-sounding vocalists such as Paul Rodgers and Steven Tyler, the Tucker, Georgia native gave RIOT some of their most groove-laden and powerhouse albums in the form of 1982's Restless Breed and 1983's Born In America.
MOTLEY CRUE At Ottawa Bluesfest, Ottawa, Canada
Photos By Andrew Depedro As the 2024 edition of the Ottawa Bluesfest has long since wound down for the season, few attendees could have ever perceived that the long-running festival, regardless of the number of actual blues performers it's attracted over the years, could have made it to 30 years. And yet, it has continued to attract some of the top names in the music industry over time.
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