At the Heart of Winter is the fifth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Immortal. It was released on February 22, 1999 through Osmose Productions. It is the first Immortal album not to feature Demonaz on guitar, as he suffered from acute tendinitis in his hands. The album marks a shift in Immortal's musical sound, towards a black metal and thrash metal fusion.

After 5 years, we are back with our new album "Weltenwandel".
Darker sounds combined with our well-known Pagan flair leave nothing to be desired for fans of melodic metal.
The lyrics are about change in society, freedom and resistance to oppression. For the first time, all lyrics of the album were written and sung exclusively in German.
For the first time, we recorded in our own studio in Graz (AT). This resulted in a much freer, more creative and relaxed atmosphere that you can hear in the quality of the songs. In collaboration with co-producer and mixing / mastering engineering Adam Train, the finishing touches were made in London, UK.

Chile’s Extreme Metal scene continued to impress with COFFIN CURSE’s debut, “Ceased to Be,” an old school Death Metal record with riffs of maximum caliber. The album was eight tracks of fresh ideas mixed with old school stylings.
“Gathered unto Death” introduced the album with steady riffing and nice structure but nothing beyond what was expected of the release. The track jumped around with different riffs, progressing through them with ease before reaching a sort of grand finale. As a whole, the song was a strong start to the record.
Within the first half of the record, the scene was set for brutality. “Where Sickness Thrives” and “Chopped Clean Off” provided a look into the fierce riffing of the band. With very good transitioning and songwriting technique, the songs were effectively two of the strongest on the record.

"Thulêan Mysteries was made passively, in the sense that I never intended to make a new album; I just made music every now and then and at one point realized that I actually had enough to release it all on an album. When asked to do so I figured: why not? It was a good idea. The music is a little bit of this and a little bit of that, transcending any genre, and perhaps belonging to many different genres. The intention with it was always to create a certain atmosphere, often related to an idea or a situation. Since my true passion has never been music, but actually tabletop role-playing games, I figured I should make this an album intended for that use; as background music for my own MYFAROG (Mythic Fantasy Role-playing Game). Hopefully you will get a sense of Thulê when you listen to this, like always with Burzum, ideally when on your own. I hope you will enjoy this soundtrack to Thulê, to Mother Nature and life itself" – Varg Vikernes

Burning Witches ist eine Schweizer Heavy-Metal-/Power-Metal-Band aus Brugg.

BIFF BYFORD’S SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS DUE FEBRUARY 21ST 2020. Legendary Saxon frontman releases first solo album Free, tough, uncompromising and supremely obdurate, the English North is everything you saw in Game of Thrones and more. It is the true heart of England, the region where its soul resides, and Biff Byford has earned the right to be considered its true heavy metal bard. The legendary Saxon frontman takes on not just tales and stories from his heart and soil, but also investigates the Middle Ages and Medieval history overall in his first ever solo album. Recorded by Jacky Lehmann at Brighton Electric Studios and mixed by Matts Valentin at Queens Street Studio in Stockholm, the album was produced by Biff Byford, vocals, with Fredrik Akesson on guitars, Christian Lundqvist on drums and Gus Macricostas on bass guitar. The album also features guest appearances from Phil Campbell, Nick Baker, Alex Holzwart and Dave Kemp. In all senses a classic, masterfully-constructed old school British hard rock album School of Hard Knocks is every aural inch a Byford storybook highlighting his passionate interests. From the spoken word of “Inquisitor” leading into the metaltation on the Spanish Inquisition of “The Pit and Pendulum” to the autobiographical, old-school ‘wheels of steal’ era thrust of the title track, you’ll get to know Byford supremely well over the 11 tracks which comprise School of Hard Knocks. School of Hard Knocks is destined to be one of the biggest, most entertaining metal-plated surprises of 2020.

Rosenrot is the fifth release from the popular Industrial German sextet. The album was originally slated as 'Reise-reise Vol. 2' as it contained songs that didn't make it onto the 2004 release as well as a few new songs. However, while Reise-reise experimented with different sounds, this album brings back a more traditional sound similar to that found on 2001's Mutter. Over their career, Rammstein has progressed from a riff-laden industrial sound to almost theatrical compositions of heavy guitars, oddly placed samples and Till's hollow but agressive deep vocals. This album is no exception, having progressed even further down that path. The end result is an album that I would rate second to Mutter and place high above its mediocre predecessor.

Metallica is the self-titled fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica. Released on August 12, 1991, by Elektra Records, it is commonly referred to as The Black Album because of its packaging design. Its recording took place at One on One Studios in Los Angeles over an eight-month span that frequently found Metallica at odds with their new producer Bob Rock. The album marked a change in the band's music from the thrash metal style of their previous four albums to a slower, heavier, and more refined sound.

Cruelty and the Beast is the third studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 5 May 1998, through Music for Nations. It is a concept album based on the legend of the Hungarian "blood countess" Elizabeth Báthory. The album features guest narration on certain passages by Ingrid Pitt in-character as Báthory, a role she first played in the Hammer film Countess Dracula in 1971.