Phil Cooper
As seen in:
Amazon Web Services (AWS),
MSN Singapore,
BBC,
Yahoo Canada,
Yahoo News,
Aol,
Bandcamp Daily,
Tes,
The Drum,
Kiplinger
and
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Phil Cooper
Green Lung: Urban Folklore
It seems odd to be talking about dark folklore tied to London in the midst of a June heatwave. Yet, even as the country swelters, the macabre undertones of the city pervade. GREEN LUNG has just released the single Necropolitan Line from forthcoming album Necropolitan. Tom Templar, lead singer of self-identified goat bothering heavy metallers acts as guide for the path from the heathen land into the myth laden streets of the capitol.
ALBUM REVIEW: From The Dark – Tony Iommi
It’s been 25 years since the last full outing for TONY IOMMI as a solo musician. Save a few collaborations here and there, guesting twice on the late great OZZY OSBOURNE‘s final solo record. However, whenever one hears a track from IOMMI, the sound is instantly recognisable. His ability to turn a riff into a connecter to the primal receiver in the listener’s brain is nothing short of masterful.
IN THE STUDIO: Celestial Sanctuary
Five years ago, CELESTIAL SANCTUARY broke through the UK underground scene with their seismic debut Soul Diminished. They have never looked back. They have rolled on relentlessly; consistent touring has seen them hone an edge to their live performance and earn themselves a massive fanbase. Their subsequent releases, including follow-up album Insatiable Thirst for Torment and last year’s EP Visions of Stagnant Blood, has seen the band continuously move from strength to strength.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Light That Keeps Us – Mother Of Graves
Raw aggressive power is tempered by a meticulously crafted melancholia. That’s what you get when quintet MOTHER OF GRAVES put pen to paper and release an album. Their debut followed by The Periapt Of Absence cemented the band as a standout within the death/doom field. The ability to seamlessly blend the dominance of crashing death metal with an almost romantic edge of melodic based doom catapulted them to top ten spots on AOTY lists and garnered widespread praise and acclaim.
ALBUM REVIEW: Necropolitan – Green Lung
Having taken us through a sprawling tour of the folklore of the British Isles with This Heathen Land, GREEN LUNG now extends a hand to take us to the myths, legends and morbid facts of the urban. A trip to the capital’s streets to stories of cemeteries, magic and mystery, this is not a sequel, more a companion album a reverse of the coin paid to the boatman.
INTRODUCING: GURT
For a band now 16 years, four albums and multiple EPs into a career. It is surprising how few people in the wider metal community have heard of GURT. However, once experienced, the brand of party sludge that the four-piece deliver is not forgotten.
ALBUM REVIEW: Still – Finsterforst
For over twenty years, FINSTERFORST have been expanding upon their own genre known as black forest metal. Consistently developing and evolving ideas that makes them tricky to pin down. Their identity revolves around the fusion of many different aspects including, folk, black metal, industrial and anything else that seems to work within their lyrical and musical concept.
Frozen Soul: Heavy Hooks From The Heart
“We’ve found our sweet spot. We’re not as worried about what people are thinking about us…we’re more worried about just having fun. Having faith that if we’re having fun then everyone else is too.” This is how Chad Green, FROZEN SOUL vocalist, sees it when we discuss how the band have dialled in their electric live energy into their newest release No Place of Warmth. There’s a desire to enjoy what they do within the music that the Texan death five-piece have released.
ALBUM REVIEW: Rituals Of Shame – Warning
A lot can change in twenty years. Governments, trends, technology. Two decades can hold a wealth of change. Something that has not changed but only increased is the reverie with which some bands are held. Bands can release an album and it be welcomed with critical and audience acclaim leading to tags such as ground breaking or genre defining. In 2006 this is precisely what happened with WARNING with the release Watching From A Distance.
ALBUM REVIEW: Circadian Promise – Fires In The Distance
With their origins as a solo project, it didn’t take long for FIRES IN THE DISTANCE to flourish into a fully-fledged band. A four-piece specialising in intricate melodic death metal. Delivering a heart and passion with a sharp edge of aggression. Previous release Air Not Meant For Us, boosted their profile significantly. It shone a light on how a band can temper the raw emotions of death metal and channel them with emphatic melodic delivery.
EP REVIEW: Survival of The Shittest – GURT
Party sludge. Not a term everyone is familiar with. But to those who know GURT, they’ll attest that this is precisely what you’re in for with this four-piece. Two years on from the very excellent Satan Etc. album, GURT have been enjoying a packed out run of live dates. Earning themselves accolades and an ever-increasing fanbase.
Desert Storm: Poetry In Sludge
Oxfordshire riff conjurers DESERT STORM have been delivering heavy weight rhythms and colossal sounds for the past nineteen years. Since their debut album, 2010s Forked Tongues, they’ve harnessed a sound that draws inspiration from stoner, doom, southern rock and pure adrenaline pumping rock ’n’ roll. Consistently delivering on subsequent albums such as Omniscient, Sentinels and Death Rattle from 2023. This latter release saw them coalesce their sound into a tight, unstoppable punch.
Black Stone Cherry: Celebrating Staying True
Twenty years since the self-titled debut shone a spot light onto the Kentuckian quartet, BLACK STONE CHERRY have consistently proved themselves to be a band of authentic quality. Steadfastly sticking to their own values and principles has seen them attain popularity far outstripping the dreams of their teenage selves.
EP REVIEW: Festering Mutations – Blood Mania
Like a bolt out the blue, BLOOD MANIA have announced a thunderous arrival with Festering Mutations. With an eye to release further singles, but no current plans for a full length. BLOOD MANIA have an air of mystery. However, what is not up debate, off the back of this release, the band are capable of delivering some colossal riffs and crushing death metal.
ALBUM REVIEW: Astral Voyager Vol. 2 – Kal-El
Since 2012, Norwegian quintet KAL-EL have been blending doom, stoner and psychedelic rock into a tight package of engaging riff driven power. They’ve picked up critical acclaim for their inventive blend of sci-fi into their sound and the concepts that they are able to deftly weave into the compositions. 2025’s Astral Voyager Vol. 1 set in motion a cosmic story line of bounty hunters crashing through time and space.
Urne: The Spirit, Alive
To refer to a metal band in this day and age as a best kept secret feels like an oxymoron. Not least because secret implies the use of whispers and hushed tones and a metal band of any stature is anything other than quiet. However, it appears that URNE have been flying under the radar for several years now, being revered within the underground but have as yet, been unable to break through into the limelight. URNE are arguably the most exciting thing in the UK scene at the moment.
ALBUM REVIEW: Isle Of Bliss – Hanging Garden
Since 2004 and through several lineup changes, melancholic melody merchants HANGING GARDEN have made a name for themselves. Creating often atmospheric soundscapes, layering in rich textures and generating a mournful yet captivating style. They’ve garnered critical acclaim for their compositions and lush production. Now, the Finnish seven piece are embarking down a darker road than that which they have trodden before.
MØL: A Crushing Hug
Few bands in today’s heavy scene are capable of creating compositions that can cross genre boundaries effortlessly. Drawing inspiration from a variety of genres and elements to combine into something that can become far more than sum of its parts. Transcending labels, MØL are just such a band. Since their earliest releases of EPs through to their critically acclaimed full-lengths of Jord and Diorama, the Danish quintet has become a phenomenon.
ALBUM REVIEW: Forever Beyond - Black Lung
Baltimore psychedelic fuzz drivers BLACK LUNG have returned with their fifth album, Forever Beyond. Capitalising off the launch pad that fourth album, Dark Waves, provided. This new offering seeks to push them further into the realms of sonic realms of the celestial remote. However, they are not merely looking to push a stoner doom jaunt to the stars. They have a tangible defiance, a focused energy to offer catharsis against the real world.
ALBUM REVIEW: A Reign to Conquer – Hela - Distorted Sound Magazine
Since forming in 2012, Spanish quartet HELA have continued to grow and develop a deeply engaging melodic doom sound. With three albums already under their belt, HELA have honed into a style that enables them to engage elements of the heavier end of their chosen genre yet also capitalises on their personal strength of generating some mesmerising melodic moments. With a spoken word introduction moving into a doomy atmospheric riff, Vessel To Nowhere begins HELA’s fourth album.
ALBUM REVIEW: Perseus 9 – Epimetheus - Distorted Sound Magazine
Bristol is well established as a hot bed of metal talent. Not quite as illustrious as say Birmingham. However, it’s eclectic venues draw in all manner of musicians and bands coalesce creating exciting sounds that capture the attentions of many far and wide. One such trio, taking inspiration from their local surroundings as well as popular pulp science fiction is EPIMETHEUS. Having been regulars of the local scene, sharing stages with a variety of other acts.
ALBUM REVIEW: DREAMCRUSH - MØL
Returning with their third full length album, Danish quintet MØL are set to offer up another piece of sublimely crafted blackgaze. Like the beauty within a thunderstorm, MØL are masters of dominant loud dynamics with illuminations of captivating melodic brilliance. They’ve gone from strength to strength since their initial EPs and 2018 debut, with previous album Diorama receiving widespread and thoroughly deserved acclaim.
ALBUM REVIEW: Setting Fire To The Sky - Urne
Two exceptional albums into their career and a list of supporters that reads like a who’s who of modern metal royalty. It is baffling that URNE have still not yet found that gateway into the wider metal consciousness. Having enthralled the underground scene with their complexity and ambition, delivering time and again a freshness and bite in a movement often dominated by stagnating current trend.
Frayle: See What The Bones Say
Drenched in glorious October Los Angeles sunshine, it’s hard to imagine that the two sunglasses sporting musicians are responsible for one of 2025’s best doom albums. However, Gwyn Strang & Sean Bilovecky are the creative force behind FRAYLE and their latest offering Heretics & Lullabies is exactly that. With a backdrop of a trailer full of stage gear and instruments, that’s the main indication that FRAYLE is currently on a North American tour supporting DOGMA.
HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Motörhead
“If we moved in next door, your lawn would die”. Whether or not the exact quote is apocryphal, it is attributed to MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister when asked about his fledging band. Now, five decades on from their founding, MOTÖRHEAD are heralded as heroes rather than a threat to suburban garden care. From their inception, there was a deeply rooted sense of authenticity that appealed to swathes of disaffected youth.
ALBUM REVIEW: A Throne Of Ashes - Sun Of The Dying
With the idea for SUN OF THE DYING being laid down in 2013, it was several years later that they would attain a stable lineup and begin to harness the sound that they would go on to identify with. Employing key elements of death doom metal at the core, the Spanish six piece are unafraid to branch out and incorporate other sounds and styles to deliver their vision. With numerous tours and two full length albums under their belt, SUN OF THE DYING are showing no signs of stagnating.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Sinking Isle – Oromet - Distorted Sound Magazine
Funeral doom duo OROMET have returned with another colossal, enveloping record. The Sinking Isle is the follow up to 2023’s self-titled debut. The pair specialise in curating melodies that engulf and enrapture leading the path to moments of shattering weight. The emotive soundscapes that were key to the delivery of the previous album are the foundation for sophomore effort and with these firmly in place, OROMET look to reach to new heights. With an acoustic melody and babbling water soundscape.
ALBUM REVIEW: Viribus Unitis - 1914
Returning for a fourth tour of duty on the frontlines of World War One, Ukrainian blackened death/doom outfit 1914 present a united strength on Viribus Unitis. Continuing with the by now, established blend of crushing brutality of extreme metal with revered solemnity for the stories they tell, the band have also mixed in a wider melodic scope and greater levels of orchestration to continue pushing the boundaries of their sound.
Unlocking vehicle maintenance and why scan tools are now non-negotiable
Most vehicles need a scan tool to perform even the simplest of maintenance functions like oil reminder resets, placing the parking brake into service mode, battery resets and TPMS resets, to name a few. In this article, we will look at how a scan tool is an integral part of the process to ensure you can remain productive in the bay. Why do you need a scan tool? Modern vehicles are heavily reliant on computer-controlled systems.
ALBUM REVIEW: Ascension - Paradise Lost
For more than three decades UK gothic-doom metal purveyors PARADISE LOST have been at the forefront of the dark and melancholic underside of heavy metal. Their morose melodies have captivated audience for over thirty years and has seen them release some genre defining records in that time. 1991’s Gothic was a fierce introduction to what the band could produce. Whereas 1995’s Draconian Times has since become a focal point for those who feel an irrepressible pull to downhearted, dejected doom.
HEAVY MUSIC HISTROY: Painkiller - Judas Priest
The year is 1990, mankind is on its knees. The Grim Reaper, swapping traditional black robes for plaid, stalks the musical landscape. Scything down the pompous, hairspray indulgent, glamourous metal bands that populate the sunset strip and covet the FM airwaves. In their place, Seattle churns out stripped down angsty grunge. Disaffected youth are now enthralled by the sounds of NIRVANA, PEARL JAM and ALICE IN CHAINS. There’s something in the air; it smells like teen spirit.
ALBUM REVIEW: Trivia Goddess - Year of The Goat
No strangers to the ideas of a concept album. Swedish occult rockers YEAR OF THE GOAT have returned with Trivia Goddess. Six years since the previous album, Novis Orbis Terrarum Ordinis, which is the second of a three-part opus. The new album steps away from this framework, delivering an insight into the crimes against women and telling stories of religious vilification and witch hunts.
IN MEMORIAM: Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy zig needs a gig. One simple sentence, an ad placed in a music shop window in Birmingham. One sentence with the added detail of ‘has own PA’ would be enough to change not just one person’s life, but the lives of three others and to an astounding extent the face of popular music for ever. John Michael ‘Ozzy’ Osbourne placed the advert hoping to find like minded individuals to help find a way out of the grey oppression that came with living in a post war industrial city like Birmingham.
ALBUM REVIEW: Thirst - Slow Crush
Belgian heavy shoegazers SLOW CRUSH have returned with their third album Thirst. Debut Auora served as the perfect introduction, however it was sophomore effort Hush that really sparked wider interest. Riding the wave of their second album, they were able to build a momentum that led to a relentless touring schedule. With layers and dynamics at the forefront of their compositions, SLOW CRUSH have garnered widespread critical acclaim and drawn in many fans with their intoxicating soundscapes.
ALBUM REVIEW: Annihilation Day – Torso - Distorted Sound Magazine
Since its inception, heavy metal has walked the same path as horror. Geezer Butler himself recalls that the name BLACK SABBATH was taken from a Boris Karloff film of the same name. From there, the two extreme artistic outlets have been kindred spirits. Musicians taking inspiration from films and books and vice versa. The cross over is often more pronounced in some bands more than others but it is never far from the surface.
HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Subliminal Message Trial - Judas Priest
July 1990. JUDAS PRIEST are set to be on trial. They are accused of subliminal messaging within their recording of Better By You, Better Than Me from their 1978 album, Stained Class. Five years previously in 1985, two young men in Nevada entered into a tragic suicide pact.
INTRODUCING: Cwfen
With a gleam of enthusiasm in the eye. Agnes, holds up a phone to the camera of the zoom meeting. “Just look at all these!” She exclaims before scrolling, seemingly endlessly through a litany of names. All of which potentials for what would eventually become the final agreed upon name, CWFEN.
ALBUM REVIEW: Trapped – Hammer - Distorted Sound Magazine
While we are all well aware of the axiom ‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,’ it doesn’t stop people doing just that. The same is true when it comes to band names. Certain names conjure up mental imagery that identifies the sort of sounds that can be expected once the play button is pushed. HAMMER, for example, does not depict subtlety or grand melodies. It is a brute force tool and therefore the music would have something akin to this.
ALBUM REVIEW: Lost In Darkness And Distance – False Gods - Distorted Sound Magazine
New York based four-piece FALSE GODS formed in 2015. Blending several aspects of modern heavy music from sludge to hardcore. They’ve cultivated a force of bleak aggression behind their music which propels their songs with a ferocious intensity. Unfiltered and unrelenting in their presence, they do not make music to provide escapism. Rather, they take the rawest of emotions, craft them into a baseball bat and then launch an aural assault. Latest offering Lost In Darkness And Distance is no exception.
Nite: When Nite Draws In
When NITE draws in. “We’re going for your throat.” With their third album, Cult Of The Serpent Sun, now out in the wild. Blackened heavy metal quartet NITE are looking to bring their attacking sound to a wider audience. 2023s Voices Of A Kronian Moonreceived widespread acclaim and helped to establish them a signature sound. A powerful blend of traditional heavy metal sound with harmonised guitar melodies and galloping riffs. The twist is the addition of blackened, aggressive vocals.
ALBUM REVIEW: Die Close - Blood Vulture
Melodic, gritty, dynamic and engaging. These are just someways to describe the debut album Die Close from Jordan Olds‘ led project BLOOD VULTURE. Encapsulating a story of vampirism and classic goth genre emotive drives of passion, grief and mournful longing. Olds has sought to tap into a wealth of musical inspirations including death metal, grunge and brooding sludgy doom to give the idea life and texture.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Fragile Light Of Fireflies – Evadne - Distorted Sound Magazine
With many of the best tracks that grab us having begun as simple acoustic ideas. Fragile ideas that have been built upon that then morph into something altogether encapsulating with grand instrumentation of powerful walls of sound. Riffs, melodies and rhythms are all bound up in humble beginnings. Many times, the acoustic roots are still prevalent in the finished track.
ALBUM REVIEW: Death Chants Echoes from Aphotic Void - Obsidian Scapes
Brooding monolithic soundscapes are conjured from an eerie darkness. That is the picture outlined by the five-piece OBSIDIAN SCAPES on their crushing debut Death Chants Echo From Aphotic Void. Since 2017 the quintet have been dialling in on a doom sound taking inspiration from the swirling chthonic realms. With a DNA of funeral doom and death metal courtesy of previous projects by the current members, the Saxony based band have certainly honed their stylistic intentions to a point. Current single.
ALBUM REVIEW: Osmium - Caregah
For the past six years, Swedish metal quartet, CAREGAH, have been toiling and honing a groove laced brand of heavy metal. A cascading wall of sound delivering crashing hook laden riffs and rhythms that engage on a primal level. With an EP already under their belts and Osmium having already been through the self-release process, CAREGAH have rightfully earned themselves high praise from many quarters and built a firm base from which to launch themselves further.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Phil
Contact Phil, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack