Nicholas Franco, Author at Cryptic Rock

Lord Belial - Unholy Trinity / Hammerheart Records (2025)

Lord Belial – Unholy Trinity (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoAugust 10, 2025

Acknowledging Sweden as a Death and Black Metal hotbed takes only a cursory knowledge of the underground, and lurking just behind all the massively hyped names of the 1990s were a number of bands that seethed with originality, talent, and authenticity. Lord Belial is a ... Read More

Sodom - The Arsonist / Steamhammer / SPV (2025)

Sodom – The Arsonist (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoJune 24, 2025

There are few metal bands that convey authenticity and reliability as well as German historic Thrash icons Sodom. Over the course of a forty-three-year career, the teenage creation of one Tom Angelripper has upheld the promise of its raw and uncompromising origins – to create ... Read More

Hexvessel - Nocturne / Prophecy Productions (2025)

Hexvessel – Nocturne (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoJune 11, 2025

Fans of one Matthew Kvohst McNerney will be familiar with the Brit turned Finn and his work in eccentric and brilliant bands such as Code, Dødheimsgard, and Beastmilk/Grave Pleasures. The discerning fan will also know him from the work at hand here, that being the ... Read More

Mystic Circle – Kriegsgötter MMXXV (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoJune 6, 2025

Germany’s Mystic Circle grew into one of the nation’s leading Black Metal bands from their beginnings in the mid-1990s, having produced a plethora of melodic, Symphonic Black Metal albums while also releasing some cover songs. June 6, 2025, sees the release of the Kriegsgötter MMXXV ... Read More

Benediction - Ravage of Empires album cover

Benediction – Ravage of Empires (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoApril 30, 2025

English Extreme Metal pioneers Benediction return with Ravage of Empires, out April 4, 2025, on Nuclear Blast Records. Five years from the comeback album, 2020’s Scriptures, released on April 4, 2025, through Nuclear Blast Records, Ravage of Empires is the ninth studio album overall for a ... Read More

Cradle of Filth – The Screaming of the Valkyries (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoMarch 27, 2025

Having been in existence since 1991, English Dark Metal institution Cradle of Filth has just embarked upon the release of its sixteenth studio album. Entitled The Screaming of the Valkyries (out now via Napalm Records on March 21, 2025), the enduring vision of founding shriek-master ... Read More

Nicholas Franco

Lord Belial – Unholy Trinity (Album Review)

Sodom – The Arsonist (Album Review)

Hexvessel – Nocturne (Album Review)

Mystic Circle – Kriegsgötter MMXXV (Album Review)

Benediction – Ravage of Empires (Album Review)

Cradle of Filth – The Screaming of the Valkyries (Album Review)

Lord Belial – Unholy Trinity (Album Review)

Sodom – The Arsonist (Album Review)

Hexvessel – Nocturne (Album Review)

Mystic Circle – Kriegsgötter MMXXV (Album Review)

Benediction – Ravage of Empires (Album Review)

Cradle of Filth – The Screaming of the Valkyries (Album Review)

This Month In Movie History – The Last Starfighter (1984)

This Month In Horror Movie History – The Brood (1979)

Developing Artist Showcase – Bee Blackwell

Developing Artist Showcase – Euphrosyne

Developing Artist Showcase – James and the Cold Gun

Interview – Kelsey Grammer

Interview – Stephen Macht (Part 2)

Interview – Stephen Macht (Part 1)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition Theater Review)

Return to Silent Hill (Movie Review)

Louis Tomlinson – How Did I Get Here? (Album Review)

Favorite Horror Movies Revealed: Joseph Milligan of Anberlin

Favorite Horror Movies Revealed: Hoaxed

Favorite Horror Movies Revealed: Imperial Triumphant

Nicholas Franco

Lord Belial – Unholy Trinity (Album Review)

Sodom – The Arsonist (Album Review)

Hexvessel – Nocturne (Album Review)

Mystic Circle – Kriegsgötter MMXXV (Album Review)

Benediction – Ravage of Empires (Album Review)

Cradle of Filth – The Screaming of the Valkyries (Album Review)

Lord Belial – Unholy Trinity (Album Review)

Sodom – The Arsonist (Album Review)

Hexvessel – Nocturne (Album Review)

Mystic Circle – Kriegsgötter MMXXV (Album Review)

Benediction – Ravage of Empires (Album Review)

Cradle of Filth – The Screaming of the Valkyries (Album Review)

This Month In Movie History – The Last Starfighter (1984)

This Month In Horror Movie History – The Brood (1979)

This Month in Horror Movie History – The Crazies (1973)

Developing Artist Showcase – Bee Blackwell

Developing Artist Showcase – Euphrosyne

Developing Artist Showcase – James and the Cold Gun

Interview – Kelsey Grammer

Interview – Stephen Macht (Part 2)

Interview – Stephen Macht (Part 1)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition Theater Review)

Return to Silent Hill (Movie Review)

Louis Tomlinson – How Did I Get Here? (Album Review)

Favorite Horror Movies Revealed: Joseph Milligan of Anberlin

Favorite Horror Movies Revealed: Hoaxed

Favorite Horror Movies Revealed: Imperial Triumphant