Masters of Metal Volume 2

In the spirit of classic heavy metal compilations like Metal Blade’s Metal Massacre series and Roadrunner’s Stars on Thrash, the Divebomb label has launched its own compilation series titled Masters of Metal. The series will focus on new and established bands, and instead of just having a song by each featured artist, Masters of Metal will include complete demos and EPs.

The bands featured on the Masters of Metal Volume 2 collection are:

Blazing Rust – Can rust even blaze? This Russian band obviously thinks so. We get their two-song 2015 demo that was originally only available on cassette. There’s a nice heavy NWOBHM vibe to these two songs, which definitely leaves you wanting more.

Carriage – Virginia-based Carriage is up next, with a 4-song demo of King Diamond-inspired songs about vampires. They pull off that sound really well, though the high-pitched vocals do get a bit thin at times.

Oath of Woe – This Danish band brings somber, epic doom metal in the Candlemass mold. Only more atmospheric and grim (in a good way). Their 3-song 2011 demo is included here. Three songs averaging 7 minutes each, that is.

Warlok – This Oregon-based traditional metal band’s 6-song 2015 demo Summoning Sickness, previously available on cassette, is included here. Imagine a powerful doom metal singer fronting Enforcer and you’d be close to Warlok’s sound. Great vocals, wicked riffs, and plenty of old school energy.

Volume 2 (for me at least) is a bit more hit-and-miss than Volume 1. I didn’t love the Blazing Rust and Carriage tracks, but the Warlok songs are killer and Oath of Woe is just epic in every way. Those three songs alone would be more than worth the price of admission.

The Masters of Metal series is a fantastic way to spotlight bands that really deserve another look as well as to give fans a proper CD version of these limited releases. If you’re the kind of metal fan who likes to dig a bit deeper than the major label offerings and find true diamonds in the rough, you’re going to love this series.

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