Review by Alex on August 5, 2020.

Picking out the meaningful bunch from the subgenre of technical death metal could be tedious especially if the pool of groups are all damn good musical technicians. However, there are some that have a bit of an edge helping them in addition to their music's structural labyrinth. Oneiric Celephaïs is one of those bands, their debut EP The Obscure Sibyl has landed them a deal with Gore House Productions and it’s easy to hear why. That "edge" the band has is their ability to merge serendipitous melodic passages with their complex instrumental wizardry. They clearly don't appear to be the kind of tech death band that would spend 45 minutes composing mindless wankery that usually passes for technical death metal; instead they understand they have an obligation to created memorable songs. As many have stated before it’s easy to write technical metal but difficult to compose material that is both technical and more so, catchy.

The Obscure Sibyl is proof of what bliss could be accomplished when merging complex instrumental patterns with intoxicating progressive rhythm sections. 'The Aeon of Death' establishes melodic milieu from the onset with sensible chord progressions, and heavily atmospheric riffing to accompany the serpentine flare that'd sweep you off your feet. Not forgetting to mention, the vocals appear with an organic gruff that keeps the listener posted; if anything, this makes the music more believable. The drumming arrives punctually through a technical showcase that is seamlessly interwoven with the tight complex riffing. 'From Beyond' takes us through an interstellar drift with an array of flawless changes and moderations in time signatures and rhythms. This track does what 'The Aeon of Death' did, but to much greater effect, thus elevating the melodicism and fused intricacies all the while picking at your mind as it compels you to partake and attempt to predict what will happen next.

Having quickly established that they can write structurally sound music, Oneiric Celephaïs then proceed to blow us away with their best song off the album, 'Vǫluspá', a 12 minute piece of unrivaled poetic soundscapes magnifying the profound totality of Oneiric Celephaïs' musical capacity. From orchestral singing, to acoustic intermezzos, to beautiful and lush passages of fluent melodicism, to near perfect clockwork instrumental wizardry and timing, this track is compositionally monolithic, ceaseless in its ability to hypnotize and direct the listener and sounds like the main reason behind being picked up by Gore House Productions.

Demonstrating the ability to forego the common standards of technical death metal is not easy, especially when it's lauded and rewarded by many. However, Oneiric Celephaïs clarify that they intend to make music that is above and beyond the accepted norm and The Obscure Sibyl is the proof this talented quartet stands by.

Rating: 8.7 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 31, 2026.

Priest's “Painkiller” from 1990 is a good album. It is really a good album, no doubt at all. I just have to say this to myself again and again. It is a good album, oh yes. I mean, look at all the super-positive reviews of a lot of very well-appreciated colleagues (no irony here!). “Painkiller” must be a good, no, an almost excellent album.

But come on, Judas Priest lost all their integrity at “turbo” speed in 1986. “Ram It Down” was almost embarrassing in its obvious effort to compensate for the commercial fall from grace. “Heavy metal, heavy metal, what do you want? We want heavy metal”. Ehm… yes… But the lyrics on “Painkiller” are not one bit better. “Here comes the metal meltdown, run for your lives… no one survives”. And who the hell is the “Leather Rebell”? Halford, when he sings “Wild Nights, Hot & Crazy Days”? We do not need to go into the details; the ridiculous artwork alone speaks volumes. Actually, they wanted to give Mr. Painkiller a sword in his left fist, but the guys from Manowar probably took it from him because they needed it for their own crappy pictures, see their famous works “Jesters of Metal” and “The Downfall of Steel”.

Perhaps you say now that these are all secondary theaters of war. But for me, authenticity is a high value. Nevertheless, you are right, at least to a certain extent. Of course, the music can make a difference. The band's attempt to reestablish itself as the epitome of heavy metal is musically okay. One finds “Night Crawler”, a song with an enormous inner strength. It does not focus on spectacular velocity or any other form of extreme articulation, but its coherence, its flow, and its catchy but not intrusive parts (especially the bridge and chorus) are impressive. Not to mention the subtle, ghostly note of the song. The antithesis to “Night Crawler” is the roaring, screaming, and slightly primitive title track. It is painfully obvious that Judas wants to draw the audience on its side right from the beginning. This means you can't leave out any clichés. Start with a blower, sing nonsens,e and don’t forget a word like “metal”, “evil”, or “killer” in the chorus. Yes, the surface of the title track shines more or less brightly, but there is a little lie in it, in my humble opinion.

In terms of the naturally absolutely professional production is surely already said and done. All objective requirements are met, and this means, among other things, that the flawless mix does not lead to a sterile sound. I cannot say much more with regard to the technical implementation. If a legend like Judas does not have the financial power to create a good sound, who then? Having said this, I get back to the songs which offer a mix of a few (very) strong tracks and some pieces that reflect nothing but mediocrity. The tough “Hell Patrol” sounds tortured and pretty boring, almost as if the band had already lost interest by the second song. On the other hand, there is a song like “A Touch of Evil” with a bone-dry, extremely heavy basic riff and some cool keyboards. “All Guns Blazing” shows that the five-piece is able to let off steam in a very competent manner, while “One Shot At Glory” is as useless as its intro “Battle Hymn” (f**k, chief clown DeMaio comes to my mind again). All in all, the sound journey takes 46 minutes, passing over several hills and through several valleys. And yes, it is more or less pure heavy metal with some speedy outbursts and some high-pitched screams of a lead vocalist in good form. Mission fulfilled. So yes, “Painkiller” is a good album. It is almost excellent! And I must never forget that! I just have to keep telling myself that. And it remains an eternal mystery to me why the band hardly played any songs from this monster of an album on their tour (with Annihilator and Pantera, by the way) for this really good work called "Painkiller", at least not in Offenbach, Germany, on February 18, 1991.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Luka on June 20, 2001.

This album is so powerful and groundbreaking it can only be branded as a true heavy metal classic. This time Judas Priest aren’t out to fool anyone, after all the fame and pain and tragedy and lawsuit and musical experimentation, they’ve gotten hard and mean, and "Painkiller" is the result. This is a heavy, fast, razor-sharp, skull-crushing, ear-splitting, bone-crunching thrashterpiece!

Tipton and K.K’s awesome riffs have never been faster or heavier or this precise. The guitars roar furiously over the relentless precision and double bass pounding of the new drummer. The solos are more than plentiful, fast, complex, and absolutely amazing, the job divided among the two guitar legends. Halford’s love ‘em/hate ‘em ear-splitting screams could break glass.

The guys have nothing to hide, the production is crystal clear and the distorted riffs and wailing solos jump at you, going right for the throat. The title track is pure six minute thrash fury, never taking a break, filling in all the cracks with ripping solos, always enhanced with eerie feedback for more effect. Songs like "Hell Patrol", "Leather Rebel", and especially "A Touch of Evil" are more groove oriented and slightly slower than the rest, going for more heaviness. And the fast tracks that just rip your brains out like "All Guns Blazing" (with two of the best solos I’ve probably heard in my life! Tipton just burns the strings!), "Metal Meltdown" and the atmospheric "Night Crawler" don’t take a second off the relentless speed and fury. Every singly song is amazing and that’s what makes a great album!

Halford’s screams break the windows, the double bass rumble shakes the ground, the guitars tear town the walls as "Painkiller", going "faster than a laser bullet and louder than an atom bomb" shreds anything in it’s path! One of my favorite albums ever!

Bottom Line: Whoever said that you get mellower as you age needs this ruthless album’s heavy metal fury to rip their head off!! THIS ABSOLUTELY RULES!!!

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 31, 2026.

Priest's “Painkiller” from 1990 is a good album. It is really a good album, no doubt at all. I just have to say this to myself again and again. It is a good album, oh yes. I mean, look at all the super-positive reviews of a lot of very well-appreciated colleagues (no irony here!). “Painkiller” must be a good, no, an almost excellent album.

But come on, Judas Priest lost all their integrity at “turbo” speed in 1986. “Ram It Down” was almost embarrassing in its obvious effort to compensate for the commercial fall from grace. “Heavy metal, heavy metal, what do you want? We want heavy metal”. Ehm… yes… But the lyrics on “Painkiller” are not one bit better. “Here comes the metal meltdown, run for your lives… no one survives”. And who the hell is the “Leather Rebell”? Halford, when he sings “Wild Nights, Hot & Crazy Days”? We do not need to go into the details; the ridiculous artwork alone speaks volumes. Actually, they wanted to give Mr. Painkiller a sword in his left fist, but the guys from Manowar probably took it from him because they needed it for their own crappy pictures, see their famous works “Jesters of Metal” and “The Downfall of Steel”.

Perhaps you say now that these are all secondary theaters of war. But for me, authenticity is a high value. Nevertheless, you are right, at least to a certain extent. Of course, the music can make a difference. The band's attempt to reestablish itself as the epitome of heavy metal is musically okay. One finds “Night Crawler”, a song with an enormous inner strength. It does not focus on spectacular velocity or any other form of extreme articulation, but its coherence, its flow, and its catchy but not intrusive parts (especially the bridge and chorus) are impressive. Not to mention the subtle, ghostly note of the song. The antithesis to “Night Crawler” is the roaring, screaming, and slightly primitive title track. It is painfully obvious that Judas wants to draw the audience on its side right from the beginning. This means you can't leave out any clichés. Start with a blower, sing nonsens,e and don’t forget a word like “metal”, “evil”, or “killer” in the chorus. Yes, the surface of the title track shines more or less brightly, but there is a little lie in it, in my humble opinion.

In terms of the naturally absolutely professional production is surely already said and done. All objective requirements are met, and this means, among other things, that the flawless mix does not lead to a sterile sound. I cannot say much more with regard to the technical implementation. If a legend like Judas does not have the financial power to create a good sound, who then? Having said this, I get back to the songs which offer a mix of a few (very) strong tracks and some pieces that reflect nothing but mediocrity. The tough “Hell Patrol” sounds tortured and pretty boring, almost as if the band had already lost interest by the second song. On the other hand, there is a song like “A Touch of Evil” with a bone-dry, extremely heavy basic riff and some cool keyboards. “All Guns Blazing” shows that the five-piece is able to let off steam in a very competent manner, while “One Shot At Glory” is as useless as its intro “Battle Hymn” (f**k, chief clown DeMaio comes to my mind again). All in all, the sound journey takes 46 minutes, passing over several hills and through several valleys. And yes, it is more or less pure heavy metal with some speedy outbursts and some high-pitched screams of a lead vocalist in good form. Mission fulfilled. So yes, “Painkiller” is a good album. It is almost excellent! And I must never forget that! I just have to keep telling myself that. And it remains an eternal mystery to me why the band hardly played any songs from this monster of an album on their tour (with Annihilator and Pantera, by the way) for this really good work called "Painkiller", at least not in Offenbach, Germany, on February 18, 1991.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Luka on June 20, 2001.

This album is so powerful and groundbreaking it can only be branded as a true heavy metal classic. This time Judas Priest aren’t out to fool anyone, after all the fame and pain and tragedy and lawsuit and musical experimentation, they’ve gotten hard and mean, and "Painkiller" is the result. This is a heavy, fast, razor-sharp, skull-crushing, ear-splitting, bone-crunching thrashterpiece!

Tipton and K.K’s awesome riffs have never been faster or heavier or this precise. The guitars roar furiously over the relentless precision and double bass pounding of the new drummer. The solos are more than plentiful, fast, complex, and absolutely amazing, the job divided among the two guitar legends. Halford’s love ‘em/hate ‘em ear-splitting screams could break glass.

The guys have nothing to hide, the production is crystal clear and the distorted riffs and wailing solos jump at you, going right for the throat. The title track is pure six minute thrash fury, never taking a break, filling in all the cracks with ripping solos, always enhanced with eerie feedback for more effect. Songs like "Hell Patrol", "Leather Rebel", and especially "A Touch of Evil" are more groove oriented and slightly slower than the rest, going for more heaviness. And the fast tracks that just rip your brains out like "All Guns Blazing" (with two of the best solos I’ve probably heard in my life! Tipton just burns the strings!), "Metal Meltdown" and the atmospheric "Night Crawler" don’t take a second off the relentless speed and fury. Every singly song is amazing and that’s what makes a great album!

Halford’s screams break the windows, the double bass rumble shakes the ground, the guitars tear town the walls as "Painkiller", going "faster than a laser bullet and louder than an atom bomb" shreds anything in it’s path! One of my favorite albums ever!

Bottom Line: Whoever said that you get mellower as you age needs this ruthless album’s heavy metal fury to rip their head off!! THIS ABSOLUTELY RULES!!!

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 31, 2026.

Priest's “Painkiller” from 1990 is a good album. It is really a good album, no doubt at all. I just have to say this to myself again and again. It is a good album, oh yes. I mean, look at all the super-positive reviews of a lot of very well-appreciated colleagues (no irony here!). “Painkiller” must be a good, no, an almost excellent album.

But come on, Judas Priest lost all their integrity at “turbo” speed in 1986. “Ram It Down” was almost embarrassing in its obvious effort to compensate for the commercial fall from grace. “Heavy metal, heavy metal, what do you want? We want heavy metal”. Ehm… yes… But the lyrics on “Painkiller” are not one bit better. “Here comes the metal meltdown, run for your lives… no one survives”. And who the hell is the “Leather Rebell”? Halford, when he sings “Wild Nights, Hot & Crazy Days”? We do not need to go into the details; the ridiculous artwork alone speaks volumes. Actually, they wanted to give Mr. Painkiller a sword in his left fist, but the guys from Manowar probably took it from him because they needed it for their own crappy pictures, see their famous works “Jesters of Metal” and “The Downfall of Steel”.

Perhaps you say now that these are all secondary theaters of war. But for me, authenticity is a high value. Nevertheless, you are right, at least to a certain extent. Of course, the music can make a difference. The band's attempt to reestablish itself as the epitome of heavy metal is musically okay. One finds “Night Crawler”, a song with an enormous inner strength. It does not focus on spectacular velocity or any other form of extreme articulation, but its coherence, its flow, and its catchy but not intrusive parts (especially the bridge and chorus) are impressive. Not to mention the subtle, ghostly note of the song. The antithesis to “Night Crawler” is the roaring, screaming, and slightly primitive title track. It is painfully obvious that Judas wants to draw the audience on its side right from the beginning. This means you can't leave out any clichés. Start with a blower, sing nonsens,e and don’t forget a word like “metal”, “evil”, or “killer” in the chorus. Yes, the surface of the title track shines more or less brightly, but there is a little lie in it, in my humble opinion.

In terms of the naturally absolutely professional production is surely already said and done. All objective requirements are met, and this means, among other things, that the flawless mix does not lead to a sterile sound. I cannot say much more with regard to the technical implementation. If a legend like Judas does not have the financial power to create a good sound, who then? Having said this, I get back to the songs which offer a mix of a few (very) strong tracks and some pieces that reflect nothing but mediocrity. The tough “Hell Patrol” sounds tortured and pretty boring, almost as if the band had already lost interest by the second song. On the other hand, there is a song like “A Touch of Evil” with a bone-dry, extremely heavy basic riff and some cool keyboards. “All Guns Blazing” shows that the five-piece is able to let off steam in a very competent manner, while “One Shot At Glory” is as useless as its intro “Battle Hymn” (f**k, chief clown DeMaio comes to my mind again). All in all, the sound journey takes 46 minutes, passing over several hills and through several valleys. And yes, it is more or less pure heavy metal with some speedy outbursts and some high-pitched screams of a lead vocalist in good form. Mission fulfilled. So yes, “Painkiller” is a good album. It is almost excellent! And I must never forget that! I just have to keep telling myself that. And it remains an eternal mystery to me why the band hardly played any songs from this monster of an album on their tour (with Annihilator and Pantera, by the way) for this really good work called "Painkiller", at least not in Offenbach, Germany, on February 18, 1991.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10

Review by Luka on June 20, 2001.

This album is so powerful and groundbreaking it can only be branded as a true heavy metal classic. This time Judas Priest aren’t out to fool anyone, after all the fame and pain and tragedy and lawsuit and musical experimentation, they’ve gotten hard and mean, and "Painkiller" is the result. This is a heavy, fast, razor-sharp, skull-crushing, ear-splitting, bone-crunching thrashterpiece!

Tipton and K.K’s awesome riffs have never been faster or heavier or this precise. The guitars roar furiously over the relentless precision and double bass pounding of the new drummer. The solos are more than plentiful, fast, complex, and absolutely amazing, the job divided among the two guitar legends. Halford’s love ‘em/hate ‘em ear-splitting screams could break glass.

The guys have nothing to hide, the production is crystal clear and the distorted riffs and wailing solos jump at you, going right for the throat. The title track is pure six minute thrash fury, never taking a break, filling in all the cracks with ripping solos, always enhanced with eerie feedback for more effect. Songs like "Hell Patrol", "Leather Rebel", and especially "A Touch of Evil" are more groove oriented and slightly slower than the rest, going for more heaviness. And the fast tracks that just rip your brains out like "All Guns Blazing" (with two of the best solos I’ve probably heard in my life! Tipton just burns the strings!), "Metal Meltdown" and the atmospheric "Night Crawler" don’t take a second off the relentless speed and fury. Every singly song is amazing and that’s what makes a great album!

Halford’s screams break the windows, the double bass rumble shakes the ground, the guitars tear town the walls as "Painkiller", going "faster than a laser bullet and louder than an atom bomb" shreds anything in it’s path! One of my favorite albums ever!

Bottom Line: Whoever said that you get mellower as you age needs this ruthless album’s heavy metal fury to rip their head off!! THIS ABSOLUTELY RULES!!!

Rating: 10 out of 10