In reality, bands are like real families. There are ups, downs, and sometimes they get hit hard and find themselves at a crossroads, asking what comes next. Just like in life, the only reasonable choice is to move forward and carry that experience with you. Forget it? Hell no. You use it, you channel it, and you turn it into music that comes straight from the soul. That thought fits CORROSION OF CONFORMITY perfectly. A band that lost Reed Mullin (R.I.P.) and later saw Mike Dean part ways. Pepper Keenan and Woody Weatherman moved forward, doing what probably feels like their safest place: writing music. The result is an impressive collection of fourteen songs. So, what’s your pick gonna be? Good? Or baad?

There is something compelling about bands that still believe in Heavy Metal, not as a nostalgia-driven trend, but as a living, breathing force. Germany's KERRIGAN have been on METAL KAOZ's radar since late 2023, precisely because they belong to that rare category. Emerging from Freiburg in 2019, the band quickly made their presence felt with “Bloodmoon”, a debut that captured the spirit of the '80s without being trapped inside it. Three years later, “Wayfarer” arrives not as a reinvention, but as a confident continuation, and from the first spins, it feels more refined, quite expansive, and quietly ambitious.

It is hard to believe that it has been eleven years since I last heard new music from MELECHESH. I had often wondered what Ashmedi had been up to, but to be honest, I wasn’t following closely enough to know that the band had faced some serious challenges. I am glad to see that his perseverance paid off and that, with a new record deal, the band is ready to unleash the "Sentinels Of Shamash" EP with three new songs. So, what have the sands of time done to MELECHESH?

“Let fire now claim it all.”