Nicholas Franco, Author at Cryptic Rock

The Halo Effect – Days of the Lost (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoOctober 10, 2022

If one positive could be gleaned from the disaster that was 2020, a period when the ‘now’ was so unpleasant and the future so uncertain, it was the inevitable outcome of pausing and looking backwards. Not to regress, but to reach back to all the ... Read More

Interview – Olli-Pekka Laine of Amorphis Talks Halo

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoMarch 1, 2022

When a founding member of a beloved band moves on to other things, it isn’t often that person returns to the fold and rides a wave of success and stability as that currently being enjoyed by Amorphis. Sometimes that member is the vocalist, and his ... Read More

Amorphis – Halo (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoFebruary 8, 2022

Three decades of growth. Three decades of magic. Three decades of gorgeous manifestations of sound commonly referred to in the collective as Melodic Death Metal, yet Finland’s progressive titans Amorphis are so much more. And here in the grip of winter, 2022, they are set ... Read More

Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik – Hardanger (EP Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoDecember 28, 2021

The combination of Einar Selvik and Ivar Bjørnson just makes sense. Both men hail from western Norway, raised near rugged mountains and arterial fjords of profound beauty. Sharing a background in Extreme Metal, both men have explored the realms of the traditional ethnic music endemic ... Read More

Mayhem – Atavistic Black Disorder/Kommando (EP Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoDecember 26, 2021

The Black Metal force known as Mayhem needs no introduction. Rooted in the turbulent adolescence of Norwegian Black Metal, the band has surpassed its own legacy musically if not sensationally. Benefiting from an influx of talent and a return of its most successful vocalist, the ... Read More

Dornenreich – Du Liebe Sei (Album Review)

Nicholas FrancoNicholas FrancoDecember 26, 2021

In the sprawling pantheon of Heavy Metal diversity, there exists few bands as pronounced in their weirdness as Dornenreich. Since 1996, the Austrian duo of Moritz Neuner and Jochen Stock have pushed the limits of the limitless. On June 11, 2021 they have released their ... Read More

Nicholas Franco

The Halo Effect – Days of the Lost (Album Review)

Interview – Olli-Pekka Laine of Amorphis Talks Halo

Amorphis – Halo (Album Review)

Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik – Hardanger (EP Review)

Mayhem – Atavistic Black Disorder/Kommando (EP Review)

Dornenreich – Du Liebe Sei (Album Review)

The Halo Effect – Days of the Lost (Album Review)

Interview – Olli-Pekka Laine of Amorphis Talks Halo

Amorphis – Halo (Album Review)

Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik – Hardanger (EP Review)

Mayhem – Atavistic Black Disorder/Kommando (EP Review)

Dornenreich – Du Liebe Sei (Album Review)

This Week In Horror Movie History – Bride of Chucky (1998)

This Week in Horror Movie History – Night of the Demons (1988)

This Week in Horror Movie History – He Knows You’re Alone (1980)

Developing Artist Showcase – SRSQ

Developing Artist Showcase – Young Gun Silver Fox

Developing Artist Showcase – I Hate Heroes

Interview – Eicca Toppinen of Apocalyptica Reflects Back In Time

Interview – Tomi Koivusaari Reflects on Three Decades of Amorphis

Everclear – Sparkle & Fade and So Much for the Afterglow (Remastered Vinyl Review)

Mickey Thomas – A Classic Christmas (Album Review)

The Beach Boys (Documentary Review)

Nicholas Franco

The Halo Effect – Days of the Lost (Album Review)

Interview – Olli-Pekka Laine of Amorphis Talks Halo

Amorphis – Halo (Album Review)

Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik – Hardanger (EP Review)

Mayhem – Atavistic Black Disorder/Kommando (EP Review)

Dornenreich – Du Liebe Sei (Album Review)

The Halo Effect – Days of the Lost (Album Review)

Interview – Olli-Pekka Laine of Amorphis Talks Halo

Amorphis – Halo (Album Review)

Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik – Hardanger (EP Review)

Mayhem – Atavistic Black Disorder/Kommando (EP Review)

Dornenreich – Du Liebe Sei (Album Review)

This Week In Horror Movie History – Bride of Chucky (1998)

This Week in Horror Movie History – Night of the Demons (1988)

This Week in Horror Movie History – He Knows You’re Alone (1980)

Developing Artist Showcase – SRSQ

Developing Artist Showcase – Young Gun Silver Fox

Developing Artist Showcase – I Hate Heroes

Interview – Jonny Hawkins of Nothing More Talks Carnal

Interview – Eicca Toppinen of Apocalyptica Reflects Back In Time

Interview – Tomi Koivusaari Reflects on Three Decades of Amorphis

Everclear – Sparkle & Fade and So Much for the Afterglow (Remastered Vinyl Review)

Mickey Thomas – A Classic Christmas (Album Review)

The Beach Boys (Documentary Review)