Don’t be fooled by the title: despite claiming to contain albums released between 1981-1984, this four disc set by Aussie legends Rose Tattoo actually kicks off with their self-titled album from 1978. With Lemon Records being a UK based company, the decision has been made to present that record as it was first experienced by UK audiences domestically, with its alternate title (‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaws’) and belated 1981 release date. [Further evidence of this clam shell box being pitched squarely at the British buyer can be found in the sleeve notes, when Rose Tattoo’s 1986 LP ‘Blood From A Stone’ is referenced as being an Angry Anderson solo album of the same name released in 1988.]
WITCH HOUND – Mountain Knows
Not to be confused with the Colorado based doom/stoner band of the same name, this Polish trio arrived on the metal scene in 2025, bringing huge sounding trad metal riffs. Their shamelessly old school heart should make them appeal instantly to lovers of a “classic” style, but it’s also quite pleasing that some of the band’s material shows off a love for an unexpectedly dirty edge.
PINK STILETTO – Do It For Me / Amour Finale
Credited with bringing back the “fun” and the “sexy” within a retro sound, Pink Stiletto’s 2024 EP ‘New Wava’ presented four mechanical sounding bangers that drew influence from a world of synth pop and new wave and occasionally added basslines that sounded more like they belonged on a synth-goth record. The managerie of sound created something so lovingly indebted to the past, it became instantly loveable, despite sharing a rather cold edge.
Watch: Kill The Silence share new video for ‘The Final Word’
In terms of blending metal subgenres, Kill The Silence’s current single ‘The Final Word’ makes a bold statement. The track’s very heavy intro fuses the sheer force of groove metal with the complexity of prog, resulting in something that appears to pull in different directions, yet sounds incredibly tight.
Listen: Asylum Road unleash new track ‘Cut To The Bone’
Asylum Road closed their 2025 with a very uncompromising single, ‘Mask of Oblivion’. The track’s mix of metalcore and hardcore with a pinch of death metal darkness left nothing to chance in terms of overall heaviness.