Nicholas Franco, Author at Cryptic Rock

Amon Amarth – Jomsviking (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoMarch 25, 2016

There are very few assurances in life, but one thing fans of the Metal scene can hang their hats on is the promise and delivery of a new Amon Amarth album. Now up to number ten with 2016’s Jomsviking, the Swedish horde continues to grow in ... Read More

Interview – Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoMarch 23, 2016

Consistency is an art form in itself, and Finnish epic Pagan Metal greats Moonsorrow have been dazzling their fan base since 1995 crafting cinematic, expansive masterpieces fraught with depth, drama, and sizzling intensity. Two-thousand and sixteen sees them releasing their seventh studio album, entitled Jumalten ... Read More

Deströyer 666 – Wildfire (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoMarch 21, 2016

For the uninitiated, Deströyer 666 represents an ideal that, while still prevalent, remains a bit scarce in today’s fast-paced, high-tech realm of squeaky clean productions, multi-album deals, and trend after trend of repeaters and imitators. The ideal is a simple one. It is the muted gleam ... Read More

Rotting Christ – Rituals (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoMarch 1, 2016

One of the most veteran bands plying the murky depths of Black Metal art, Greek originators Rotting Christ emerge once more to bestow their thirteenth studio album upon the world. Entitled Rituals, the album took three years to create, during which time brothers Sakis and ... Read More

Interview – Jens Ryland of Borknagar

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoJanuary 21, 2016

A well-oiled machine has many moving parts, each one integral to the overall function of the device. For Bergen, Norway’s blackened innovators Borknagar, a high-functioning, creatively rich unit making music since 1995, there have been many such pieces contributing energy to its life force. As ... Read More

Borknagar – Winter Thrice (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoJanuary 18, 2016

Peeking out from the aftermath of Norway’s second wave of Black Metal, Borknagar began life in Bergen, Norway, fueled by the angry spirit of the genre’s Pagan roots. This spirit, much like the snow-mantled heights of their nation’s interior, could not be tamed or held ... Read More

Nicholas Franco

Amon Amarth – Jomsviking (Album Review)

Interview – Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow

Deströyer 666 – Wildfire (Album Review)

Rotting Christ – Rituals (Album Review)

Interview – Jens Ryland of Borknagar

Borknagar – Winter Thrice (Album Review)

Amon Amarth – Jomsviking (Album Review)

Interview – Ville Sorvali of Moonsorrow

Deströyer 666 – Wildfire (Album Review)

Rotting Christ – Rituals (Album Review)

Interview – Jens Ryland of Borknagar

Borknagar – Winter Thrice (Album Review)

This Week in Horror Movie History – An American Werewolf in London (1981)

This Week in Horror Movie History – The Amityville Horror (1979)

This Week in Horror Movie History – Wolfen (1981)

Interview – John Gallagher of Raven

Interview – Cassandra Naud

Interview – Miss Velvet

Your Monster (Movie Review)

Black Oak County – III (Album Review)

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 (Movie Review)