Nicholas Franco, Author at Cryptic Rock

Rotting Christ – Pro Xristou (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoMay 17, 2024

There are few names as synonymous with the ascension of Black Metal music, from its nascent tape-trading days all the way to its paradigm-shifting, genre-bending present day, than Rotting Christ. The Greek band has been in existence since 1987, and on May 24, 2024, they ... Read More

Darkthrone – It Beckons Us All (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoMay 7, 2024

The time has come for one of the elder statesmen of the second wave of Norwegian Black Metal to release a new album. Darkthrone may have strayed far from their original blueprint in both sound and philosophy, but one thing the duo of Fenriz and ... Read More

My Dying Bride – A Mortal Binding (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoApril 24, 2024

If dirge and poetry could be melded into the lifeblood of a Heavy Metal band, that band would undoubtedly be the Yorkshire, England Doom brigade known as My Dying Bride. Set to release their fifteenth studio album since forming in 1990, the solemn six-piece bring ... Read More

Accept – Humanoid (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoApril 24, 2024

One of the hardest working, longest running true Metal bands in the entire history of the genre, Accept came out of Germany in the late 1970s to take the world by storm. Pouring out some of the most enduring, high-quality tunes in the denim and ... Read More

Interview – Wolf Hoffmann of Accept

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoApril 15, 2024

Of all the legacy Heavy Metal bands still in existence, there are few who can boast such consistent output as Accept. The Germans even found new stability with a new American singer in Mark Tornillo, with whom they are now entering their sixth album cycle ... Read More

Judas Priest – Invincible Shield (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoMarch 7, 2024

Fifty-four years running, the Heavy Metal institution known as Judas Priest is about to release their twentieth studio album on March 8, 2024. This would be a monumental occasion for any band, but with Priest we are talking about one of the foundational forces that ... Read More

Nicholas Franco

Rotting Christ – Pro Xristou (Album Review)

Darkthrone – It Beckons Us All (Album Review)

My Dying Bride – A Mortal Binding (Album Review)

Accept – Humanoid (Album Review)

Interview – Wolf Hoffmann of Accept

Judas Priest – Invincible Shield (Album Review)

Rotting Christ – Pro Xristou (Album Review)

Darkthrone – It Beckons Us All (Album Review)

My Dying Bride – A Mortal Binding (Album Review)

Accept – Humanoid (Album Review)

Interview – Wolf Hoffmann of Accept

Judas Priest – Invincible Shield (Album Review)

This Week In Horror – Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

This Week in Horror Movie History – The Horror Show (1989)

This Week In Horror Movie History – Gothic (1987)

Developing Artist Showcase – Black Hibiscus

Developing Artist Showcase – Return to Dust

Developing Artist Showcase – Niina Soleil

Interview – Madeleine McGraw & Violet McGraw

Interview – Maria Canals-Barrera

Interview – Aaron Stainthorpe of High Parasite & My Dying Bride

Poppy – Negative Spaces (Album Review)

Doro – Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas Party (EP Review)

Empire of the Ants (Blu-ray Review)