Nicholas Franco, Author at Cryptic Rock

Interview – Øystein Brun of Borknagar Talks New Music + More

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoJanuary 31, 2024

One of the most vibrant Heavy Metal acts in any genre, Borknagar has thrived for three decades since materializing out of the vast second wave of Black Metal in Norway. Always so much more than any one defining quality, the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Øystein Brun ... Read More

Madder Mortem Old Eyes New Heart artwork

Madder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoJanuary 25, 2024

One of the more unique acts in all the spheres of Heavy Metal, Norway’s enigmatic Madder Mortem return with their eighth studio album, entitled Old Eyes, New Heart on January 26, 2024 via Dark Essence Records. Led by Frontwoman Agnete Kirkevaag and her brother, Guitarist ... Read More

Aeternus – Philosopher (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoDecember 21, 2023

Forming in 1993 in the coastal Heavy Metal heartland of Bergen, Norway, the long-standing Blackened Death Metal band Aeternus emerged from the same wellspring of furious creativity which fueled the best of the second wave of Black Metal. Largely the creation of sole founding member ... Read More

Imperium Dekadenz - Into Sorrow Evermore art

Imperium Dekadenz – Into Sorrow Evermore (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoDecember 21, 2023

Formed in 2004 in Baden/Wurttemberg, Germany, the illustrious and mystical Imperium Dekadenz has steadily risen among the ranks of Melodic Blackened Metal bands, proliferating to the tune of six full-length albums. Now in 2023, they release their seventh overall studio album, Into Sorrow Evermore. Released on January ... Read More

...And Oceans - As In Gardens, So In Tombs album art

…And Oceans – As In Gardens, So In Tombs (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoDecember 20, 2023

One might hear the expression ‘as restless as the ocean,’ an apt description of something that is constantly changing and evolving. In musical terms, Finnish veterans …And Oceans may indeed resemble the very thing for which they are named. Emerging in 1995 as Black Metal ... Read More

Amorphis: The Official Story of Finland's Greatest Metal Band cover

Amorphis: The Official Story of Finland’s Greatest Metal Band (Book Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoDecember 19, 2023

When one of our beloved bands gets a write-up in a magazine, or provides an interview, we rejoice at any glimpse into their creative processes, their successes, and even into their tribulations. When a band’s story gets presented in a top-notch, 400+ page hardcover book, ... Read More

Nicholas Franco

Interview – Øystein Brun of Borknagar Talks New Music + More

Madder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart (Album Review)

Aeternus – Philosopher (Album Review)

Imperium Dekadenz – Into Sorrow Evermore (Album Review)

…And Oceans – As In Gardens, So In Tombs (Album Review)

Amorphis: The Official Story of Finland’s Greatest Metal Band (Book Review)

Interview – Øystein Brun of Borknagar Talks New Music + More

Madder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart (Album Review)

Aeternus – Philosopher (Album Review)

Imperium Dekadenz – Into Sorrow Evermore (Album Review)

…And Oceans – As In Gardens, So In Tombs (Album Review)

Amorphis: The Official Story of Finland’s Greatest Metal Band (Book Review)

This Week In Horror Movie History – Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

This Week In Horror Movie History – Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)

This Week In Horror Movie History – Return to Horror High (1987)

Developing Artist Showcase – Faster on Fire

Developing Artist Showcase – Bleacher Days

Developing Artist Showcase – Anova Skyway

Interview – Charlotte Kirk

Interview – Luke Hemsworth

Interview – Dimitri Logothetis

The Police – Synchronicity (6-Disc Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set Review)

311- Full Bloom (Album Review)

Linkin Park – From Zero (Album Review)