When last we saw the mighty power metal heroes of Angus McSix, they were a fledgling group with a noble aim and a mighty quest: the titular starlord offered promises of adventure and whimsy, with epic aims and a glorious future that had nothing whatsoever to do with Gloryhammer, thank you for asking. Angus McSix could do no wrong on his epic trajectory. Then Thomas Winkler (vocals and the titular Angus McSix) opted to leave the band after their debut, so now McSix’s brother Adam (Samuel Nyman, Manimal) will lead in his stead. So that was a surprise. Still, I have nothing against a new hero, so, like Adam himself, I’m happy to roll with the punches and see what Angus McSix have up their sleeves for their descriptively-titled sophomore, Angus McSix and the All-Seeing Astral Eye.

Unsurprisingly, the core of the Angus McSix sound is pretty much the same. Nyman even sounds uncannily like Winkler on vocals, and the band’s approach to “join our D&D session, the drinks are already here” metal is largely unchanged. It’s a fairly open session too; joining Angus McSix are Rhapsody of Fire (“I Am Adam McSix”), Van Canto (“Dig Down”), Turmion Kätilöt (“Techno Men”), and Freedom Call (“The Power of Metal”).1 Winkler himself makes a brief appearance in opener “6666” for just long enough to say “help me brother, for I am trapped in a block of ice”2 and pass the torch to Adam. It’s a big number3 too, with exactly the kind of over-the-top, bombastic chorus and structure that made Angus McSix and the Sword of Power such a great album. It seems at first that Angus McSix has not missed a step; they pick up exactly where they left off, which is fine by me.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album is not so consistent, with the songwriting oscillating between classic Angus McSix and shakier ground. In particular, the guitars are pushed way back in the mix. The keyboards are similarly brought way up, and, in contrast to the previous album, focused on synths rather than orchestrations, giving several songs a vague ’00s-dance-pop-meets-power-metal feel. “Techno Men,” for example, plays to the industrial metal feel the Turmion Kätilöt singers bring to the song. The chorus, however, is classic Angus McSix, with Nyman singing his heart out on catchy vocal melodies this band does so well. Still, without a strong guitar presence—and the drums don’t pack much punch either, I’m sad to say—a lot of Angus McSix and the All-Seeing Astral Eye feels passive. “I Am Adam McSix” and “Dig Down” are good examples of this; in both songs, Angus McSix slow things down a bit, but only the latter one brings the energy needed to maintain an adventurous feel. This poppier Angus McSix can be a little hit-or-miss.

One of said misses was really unexpected: contrary to their debut, it feels like Angus McSix are trying to be funny. Many of the narrations are intentionally silly; at one point, a narrator describes Adam’s aims as “utterly impossible,” “even more impossible,” and “all in all, a rather questionable plan, except it wasn’t even a plan” (this all from “The Power of Metal,” an otherwise strong song that would be at home on an Avantasia record). Songs like “Ork Zero” embrace the inherent silliness of Angus McSix’s storytelling without overtly acknowledging it and largely succeed; when they do, it falls flat. I love the story of the uber-ork with a heart of gold, but why do Van Canto comment of Adam, “honestly, his tune is really catchy”? Does the phrase “orkish mumbo jumbo” have to appear at all? These feel like unneeded distractions from a group that actually does storytelling fairly well.4

There are great moments and baffling moments on Angus McSix and the All-Seeing Astral Eye. I strongly believe we need more fun in metal and adore Angus McSix for their success in that department. But I feel they missed a step here, leaning too far away from solid songwriting and too much into on-the-nose humor. I remain fully in Angus—and Adam—McSix’s corners, and will be back for the next chapter. But I hope things will feel more like they did back in the day.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: Crappy STREAM!
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: angusmcsix.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/angusmcsix
Releases Worldwide: March 13th, 2026

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Sweden’s MANIMAL Share Official “Forged In Metal” Live Video

https://bravewords.com/news/swedens-manimal-share-official-forged-in-metal-live-video/

#MANIMAL #Sweden #ShareOfficial #album #video #announcement #BraveWords #metal #music

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#BraveWords
Sweden’s MANIMAL Return With Official Live Video For “Chains Of Fury”; New Live Album Available For Pre-Order

https://bravewords.com/news/swedens-manimal-return-with-official-live-video-for-chains-of-fury-new-live-album-available-for-pre-order/

#MANIMAL #Sweden #ReturnWithOfficialLiveVideoFor #album #video #announcement #BraveWords #metal #music

Ambush – Evil in All Dimensions Review

By Steel Druhm

Back in the Year of the Great Plague, Sweden’s Ambush ambuscaded me with Infidel, knocking my noggin with an electrified baseball bat of 80s metal nostalgia. It hit that sweet 1981-1984 classic heavy metal spot so hard, it almost created a time vortex that allowed me to bail on COVID and drink shitty beers and Tango with my ne’er-do-well teenage self. Infidel sounded like a perfect fusion of Dokken, Europe, Accept, and the early Ozzy solo stuff, and that shit sells itself to geezers like me. Album high point, “Hellbiter” is one of my favorite metal tunes of the last 10 years, and I still spin it regularly.1 I’ve been patiently waiting for the follow-up for what seems like an eternity, and now we finally get Evil in all Dimensions. Can their fourth release deliver half as much unfiltered 80s glory as its predecessor? Let’s measure these dimensions!

Ambush go for the throat on the opening title track, and it’s a glorious mash-up of 80s metal and Euro-power. It’s high-energy, speedy, and full of top-flight guitar work as Oskar Jacobsson showcases his Don Dokken-meets-Joey Tempest vocal magic in all dimensions. The chorus is weirdly addictive, and the whole thing is just pure metal excess in the vein of Manimal. It will also remind you why you like metal in the first place, and that’s just awesome. Then the really BIG stuff hits with “Maskirovka.” It’s a righteous throwback gem that sounds like Iron Maiden wrote an enormous anthem for Europe. There’s a huge dramatic gallop, manly riffs, and Jacobsson’s laser-like voice piercing through everything. It’s a song you hear once and fall in love with, and it’s on a collision course with my Song o’ the Year trophy. But wait, there’s MOAR. “Iron Sign” sounds like a long-lost cut from Cities’ stellar 1986 Annihilation Absolute opus, and the riff-work here is relentlessly awesome.2

The hits keep on coming, with “The Reaper” going so old school, it almost leaves the 80s entirely to visit the early Rainbow days for a stadium-shaking retro-raging beast you couldn’t kill with 10,000 steely knives. The guitars are so slick and tasty here, you’ll never want them to stop noodling. “Bending the Steel” brings the unstoppable riffage of early Grave Digger to the battle and shells your brain until you scream for more. Things leave on a high note with “Heavy Metal Brethren,” which is another high-octane burner purpose-built to rock your skull bones. Are there stumbles? I suppose power ballad “I Fear the Blood” is less thrilling than its peers, but it serves its purpose by changing the tempo and giving you a breather. “Come Angel of Night” is frantic fun but a touch less hook-tastic; but otherwise, I have no complaints. When the album’s 40 minutes expire, you’ll wish there was more, and with every song in the 4-5 minute window, the writing is sharp and designed to sink hooks and depart. This is what makes Ambush such a throwback pleasure. They know their game, play it hard, and flee into the night, leaving you spent, sweaty, and satisfied. That’s metal, folks.

I’m a big fan of Oskar Jacobsson’s vocals. The guy has golden pipes and that kind of crisp, clear voice you might not associate with metal, but boy does it work when backed with beefy riffs. He’s improved since Infidel, offering different deliveries and greater versatility. He owns the material completely and elevates everything to the next level. Olof Engkvist and new fretbeast Karl Dotzek do NOT fuck around, swinging for the fences with reckless and wild shredding and tight, crunchy leads that amplify each song. There’s more than a little Accept and Judas Priest worship in their heroic playing, but they borrow from many a great 80s act along the way and make sure the air guitar muscles get a real workout. They know how to conjure the spirits of the golden age of metal more than most bands, and they work their necromancy hard.

Ambush have the Kavorka, and use their animal magnetism to lure you to the slaughter.3 Evil in All Dimensions is a very worthy sequel to Infidel with several cuts that will be among the best old school things you’ll hear this year. They’re one of the most entertaining metal bands going, and it’s impossible to listen to this and not get a jolt of energy. You need this sweet molten magic in your veins, so go get yourself Ambushed.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: An everflowing STREAM of ass
Label: Napalm
Websites: facebook.com/ambushsweden | instagram.com/ambushsweden
Releases Worldwide: September 5th, 2024

#2025 #35 #Ambush #Dokken #Europe #EvilInAllDimensions #HeavyMetal #Infidel #JudasPriest #Manimal #NapalmRecords #Review #Reviews #Sep25 #SwedishMetal

Bestial Human Weasel
Hand drawn Ink art by William McAusland, writing by Colin Chapman

Bloodthirsty and insatiable, bestial human weasels and stoats are swift carnivores with a reputation for viciousness out of all proportion to their size. They act with blinding speed (+2 initiative), and can divide their bite and two rear-claw attacks up to make three separate strike attempts on three separate foes (SV +10/ DMG 1d8+1 each) or combine all into a single flurry against one victim (SV +20/ DMG 3d8+4).
Stoat- and weasel-men are stealthy hunters (add 1d3+2 in the stealth skill), and their fur turns white in winter, a time when they can also endure twice the cold a human can, even without winter clothing.

Watch a video intro of this new book at RPG Overviews on Youtube:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmR1zStcU38

#weasel #weaselman #predator #carnivore #beast #bestial #manimal #RPG #ttrpg #mammal #bestialhuman #characters #noaiart #mutantepoch #apocalyptic #expansionrules #postapocalyptic #themutantepoch #outlandsystem

Bestial Human Vulture
Hand drawn Ink art by William McAusland, writing by Colin Chapman and W. McAusland
Bald-headed and ugly, bestial human vultures and condors are the least appealing of the bird-men, and their dietary preferences and reputations do nothing to endear them to human communities.
They are carnivores with a decided preference for carrion. Indeed, they prefer carrion that is particularly ripe, as they say it adds an extra layer of flavor, and while they can eat fresh meat, they enjoy rotting flesh much more.

You can play these bestial human critters using the new rule book.
https://www.outlandarts.com/expansionrules.htm

#vulture #bird #birdman #carrioneater #beast #bestial #manimal #RPG #ttrpg #flesheater #bestialhuman #characters #noaiart #williammcausland #wasteland #mutantepoch #apocalyptic #expansionrules #postapocalyptic #themutantepoch #outlandsystem #outlandarts #mutants #mutant #epoch #inkartist #Kamloopsartist #apocalyptic #fallout like #gammaworld
 #humanoidanimal #roleplayinggame #indiegame

Bestial Human Squirrel
Hand drawn Ink art by William McAusland, writing by Blood Axe and W. McAusland
These agile tree rodents are excellent climbers and do so at their normal speed (add 1d3+2 points to their climbing skill) and are quite alert (+3 initiative). Their fur helps protect them from the elements so they can withstand cold weather twice as well as a human. They prefer fruit, nuts, seeds and berries, but are omnivores and will eat meat in a pinch — although few people realize this.

New to the Mutant Epoch RPG?

Grab the free quick Start rules PDF and the included Adventure, ‘Muddy Mayhem’: https://www.outlandarts.com/qsr.htm

#squirrel #squirrelgirl #rodent #sandy #sandycheeks #beast #bestial #manimal #RPG #ttrpg #mammal #bestialhuman #characters #noaiart #wasteland #mutantepoch #apocalyptic #expansionrules #postapocalyptic #themutantepoch #outlandsystem #outlandarts #mutants #mutant #epoch#apocalyptic #fallout like #gammaworld
 #humanoidanimal #roleplayinggame #indiegame #charcterdesign

Bestial Human Skunk
Hand drawn Ink art by William McAusland, writing by Blood Axe
Bestial skunks are quite distinctive with their white stripe and luxurious, cold resistant fur coats and well-known ability to spray a streamer of stench. They are not welcome in human settlements unless disguised, already a trusted resident, arriving with more normal looking humans, or the gate guards are offered a hefty bribe (30+3d6sp). Likewise, a skunk-man will not be allowed into an eatery or saloon in an unfamiliar community and must take its food outside.

You can play these bestial human critters using the new rule book.
https://www.outlandarts.com/expansionrules.htm

#skunk #skunkgirl #pepelepew #stinky #smelly #beast #bestial #manimal #RPG #ttrpg #mammal #bestialhuman #characters #noaiart #wasteland #mutantepoch #apocalyptic #expansionrules #postapocalyptic #themutantepoch #outlandsystem #outlandarts #mutants #mutant #epoch #inkartist #apocalyptic #fallout like #gammaworld
 #humanoidanimal #roleplayinggame #indiegame #smell

Bestial Human Skink
Hand drawn Ink art by William McAusland, writing by Colin Chapman
Bestial human skinks are typical lizardoids, and so aggressive and territorial carnivores with a taste for bugmeat. They have strong bites (SV +9/ DMG 1d12), and are capable climbers (1d2 skill points in climbing), as well as secretive (1d2 skill points in stealth) and quick to act (+1 initiative).
Skink-men can grow back a lost leg, tail, or arm within 2+d3 months and may even voluntarily shed their tail to escape predators, which often break off their chase for the rest of the character to eat the still moving, fleshy tail.

Check it out: https://www.outlandarts.com/expansionrules.htm

#skink #lizard #lizardman #reptile #beast #bestial #manimal #RPG #ttrpg #characterdesign #bestialhuman #characters #noaiart #wasteland #mutantepoch #apocalyptic #expansionrules #postapocalyptic #themutantepoch #outlandsystem #outlandarts #mutants #mutant #epoch #apocalyptic #fallout like #gammaworld
 #humanoidanimal #roleplayinggame #indiegame #reptilius