Red Sparowes commanded almost universal appreciation there a couple of years back. A great live show did them no harm, nor a debut album that really did come out of the left field. We’re used to them now, and used to the scene of bands they spawned.

Their lengthy, agrarian themed albums really were decent at taking the listener away. So what promises does this new album hold, bar the usual daft titles? Not very many says Lorcan Archer.

These bands just dont know where to stop. It’s as if Aeon recorded their double kick against a click track measured by the atomic clock.

Since their debut EP these Swedes have consistently impressed within the DM pack. They havent always gotten the recognition they deserve. The attack on this record certainly sees them snapping at the heels of Nile and Behemoth. But as ever, it’s all about the songs. Do Aeon have them?

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a tour manager? Me neither. They’re subhuman. But local promoter- done-good Corey Barkley recently undertook the job for none other than slowly matured death metal reprobates The Rotted. He even came out smelling entirely unlike faeces, and found some time on the job to pen this guest blog.

Could anything prepare YOU for the utter tedium of managing teenagers in their thirties? See how well our lad got on.

If there’s an exact place between the mainstream and the underground, Norma Jean probably fall within it. They’ve got all the right qualities for big time success, building on the musical foundations of bands like Deftones. Yet they also retain a force that at times is punishing in its groove. They’re also professedly Christian - but you wouldn’t really know it.

The categories mightn’t seem to bode well, but the fact is ‘Meridional’ is probably a more serious mainstream metal album than many around at the moment.

One of the greatest qualities you can have in extreme metal is the guts to be different. Blood Revolt have that alright - their mix of Axis Of Advance and Revenge war metal quasi-grind with the clean narrative of Primordial’s Alan Averill is more or less without precedent as far as I can remember.

So is it a leap too far into the self indulgent, or a crushing story of one man’s rage against the machine? Jamie Grimes finds out.