|
|
June / July 2006Cardinale | Facedowninshit | Nightmare | Voodoo Moonshine | Queensryche | Dead to Fall | Saxon | Enforsaken | Witchery | Inner Surge | Man's Evil | The Hidden | Luca Turilli | Quinta Essentia | Gat-Rot | Moonspell | Fields of the Nephilm | Bloodaxe | Mower | MTV2 Headbanger's Ball | Euroforce | In Flames | Steve Cone | Smoky Mountain Skullcrushers | Avian | Retisonic | Anthenora | J.D. Bradshaw | Greenhaven | Scalamercalli | Entwine | V:28 | Thor | Satariel | Daylight Dies | Venom | Dismember | Bruce Turgon | The Trews | Xasthur/Leviathan | Katatonia | Mona For Now | Intronaut | Stereo Fuse | Overloaded | Judas Priest | State of Integrity | Thryfing | Dawn of Defiance | Alev | The Strongest Proof | Evil Beaver | Evildoer | Luca Turilli's Dreamquest | Nachtmystium | Insense | Thunderlords | John Tapella | Uncrossed | Southern Black Sand | Smakone | Hymns of the Wicked | Dawn of Defiance | Toxic Virgin | Speed Kill Hate | Babylon Mystery Orchestra | Bathtub Shitter | Dryline | Soulfly | Melisend | Megaherz | Sapthuran/Leviathan | Amoral | Mardo | Hevin | Herod | Bleeding Kansas | John Tapella | Curt Shaw | Jorn | Manngard | The Abominable Iron Sloth | Hoover's G String | Godsmack | Beyond Agony | The True Wake | Boris | NSI | Survivor | Infected Malignity | Event Horizon | Psionic | Neils Vejlyt | Eidolon | Deadstar | Beyond Twilight | Fivecore Records Sampler | Killer Sixgun | Divided by Zeros | Shitkickers | Octagon | Loudlife | Isolated | Doppler, Inc. | Bludgeon | Torture | Storm the Castle | Bal-Sagoth | Enslaved | Vreid | Beyond Twilight CARDINALE Atmospheric elements abound on this record, which is named after the length of its lone track. There is a time and a place for such an album, one surely must be in the proper frame of mind to fully absorb such a lengthy composition, especially when the aura of said music ranges from harsh, hardcore doom to fluid, transcendental jazz. Cardinale displays a great amount of musical ability during this wandering journey, with sound composition being a strongpoint as the group leads the listener through what is, by all rights, a half-hour of quality jamming. Although the commercial potential of such an undertaking is limited due to public stereotypes that demand three minute, encapsulated musical ideas, this is still an album that deserves to be heard by a much broader audience than its format will allow. Cardinale impress as a more diverse version of Sleep or a less exaggerated Yob, pummeling away at stoned, loose rhythms, sometimes backed by a welcome wall of distortion. With more artists moving toward this type of open-ended jam, it's a fashion that is gaining more attention. Although you really must devote some time in becoming familiar with "31:13", the time spent is rewarding. Such undertakings underline a still-youthful, exploratory sort of creativity that you just can't find in a short, catchy blurb. In an effort to be all encompassing and articulately emotive, Cardinale succeeds in quantifying music as time. FACEDOWNINSHIT Harsh, lo-fi tones abound on "NPON", as Facedowninshit parlay a great deal of influence from Eyehategod with the result being foreboding, coarse, doom-sludge with more than enough disparity to seize the listener's interest. Over the course of seven drawn-out musical beatdowns, Facedowninshit incorporates significantly gruff undercurrents of NOLA-inspired dissonance. During the record's boisterous title track, the band steers well clear of conventional definitions of melody, instead opting to deliver a sound that is bitterly jagged, discordant and considerably unforgiving. Random, squealing feedback and slow moving, teeth-gnashing reverberations infect "Countless", a track that is powered by random string scraping and a thick, sludgy riff. A touch of hardcore worms its way into "Ten Strip", but the band's propensity for keeping a restrained tempo gives the track a slow motion effect. Overall, Facedowninshit will be most appealing to those who take pleasure in a particularly anti-musical experience. Rough sounds such as the ones that listeners will unearth here are often difficult to swallow, but Facedowninshit provides an admirable antithesis to the plethora of sugarcoated sounds currently accepted as metal these days. NIGHTMARE This was a power metal band and not a bad one at that. The band don't sound like a lot of the chorus power metal bands making the sounds and the singer has a soft self spoken almost like voice when he sings the lyrics. He has a clean style, but it fits with the band and he can crank it up when needs be. The music is crunchy power metal melodic at times. The songs are quite catchy and any metal fan that likes the power metal style would like this as this is better than a lot of the other bands doing this sort of thing today. Info: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com VOODOO MOONSHINE A nice rock band with a bit of a melodic edge to them. The songs are catchy rock n roll numbers with some slick singing. The guy has a great voice and fits in right with the music this band plays. This band may fall into the 'hair band' style, but they play great songs and that was the bottom line for me. Info: http://www.voodoomoonshinetheband.com Queensryche After eighteen years, Queensryche finally release the long awaited, much anticipated sequel to their classic "Operation Mindcrime" album, arguably the pinnacle of their career, which originally came out in '88. This one picks up from where the original left off. It is twenty years later, and central character Nikki is released from prison, having been there for the crimes he may or may not have committed in the first story. He then goes on the warpath, hunting down Dr. X (voiced by none other than Ronnie James Dio), his former mentor and suspected murderer of Sister Mary, Nikki's lover in the first one. The first (proper) song on the album is "I'm American", a fast, hard rocking tune that borders on being thrash metal. As for the rest of the album, it's a bit of mix between Queensryche's classic 80s sound and their more recent material, which is in a more modern, current style. Many of the songs sound like they could have been on the "Hear In The Now Frontier" album, which I though was comparable to Stone Temple Pilots and alt-rock in general. While this album is closer in style to the band's classic sound than their last few albums, it is not a complete "return to form", if that's what anyone was expecting. However, the guys have still got it in them as musicians. The musicianship and songwriting are excellent. Queensryche have always been a very talented and unique metal band, and this album is no exception. They also use orchestral arrangements and some operatic vocals, giving the album a classical touch, as they did on the original. Sister Mary appears in spirit, attempting to give Nikki some guidance in the right direction. While this doesn't quite measure up to the original, and, in places, it does sound a bit lackluster compared to Queensryche's classic material, it is still well done, and the story is interesting and suspenseful. The most disappointing thing about it is that RJD's role as Dr. X has been given a lot of hype, but he only appears on one song ("The Chase"). DEAD TO FALL While the band's last album, "Villainy And Virtue", gave off a starkly noticeable deathcore impression, the band's third album, "The Phoenix Throne," Dead To Fall has returned to their previous stance, which is more of a hardcore brush with metal than that of many bands termed with the now-slanderous metalcore moniker. Production-wise, "TPT" is stuffy, with the entire mix sounding as if it were filtered through a pillow before heading off to be mastered. In contrast to the last record's punchy, in-your-face mix, this engineering approach causes the band to sound more restrained and much less dynamic. In many instances, it sounds like Dead To Fall is simply going through the motions, offering warmed over As I Lay Dying riffing with a brusque, yet non-threatening vocal delivery courtesy of Jon Hunt. With the muffled tones, snuffing out half of the rhythm section at any given time, the music is somewhat less enjoyable than the band's previous offerings. Strangely, although the bass, kick drums, cymbals and vocals are often smothered, the guitar sound is much more pronounced, especially during the melody lines. In combination with these factors, there's noting that really excites the listener the way a really great record should. At this point, the style Dead To Fall emphasizes is growing fairly tiresome. When considering that there is a massive glut of artists now treading this path, it is required that bands do more to stand out from the pack and unfortunately, such is not the case on this album. Although the completely killer presentation of the CD leads one to believe that they're in for something really special, the final analysis here uncovers bland, impotent metalcore such of the type that is due for extinction. Uninspiring and unexpectedly lackluster, "The Phoenix Throne" is one that's only worth looking into if you're overly zealous for a particularly bland rendition of an exceedingly tired style of heavy metal. SAXON "Dogs Of War" is no means as groundbreaking as the band's earlier catalog, nor is it as sonically mature as the band's latest effort "Lionheart", with this re-release bearing much more in common with bands like Molly Hatchet and AC/DC than much of the group's output. Somewhat of an experimental venture into hard rock territory for the band, this release was eschewed by many Saxon fans upon its original release in 1995, a time when interest in this sort of music was at an all-time low. However, with rock sounds being more prevalent than ever in 2006, this revised offering indicates that it may have been a bit of an injustice to write Saxon off in the mid-nineties. Tracks like "Hold On" show wizened songwriting that might be a bit patterned, but is executed with raw talent nonetheless. Vocalist Biff Byford's talent as a vocalist has often been underrated over the course of his career and he proves here that he can pull off a solid pop metal track just as well as the next guy. Bluesy, Jimmy Page inspired guitar work in sprinkled throughout the record, with a great mix leaving Byford front and center, yet giving the other musicians plenty of room to breathe. American fans of eighties metal for the most part never really warmed up to Saxon and "Dogs Of War" was clearly an impassioned attempt to appeal to a mainstream rock audience that, in those days, no longer appeared to exist. The group's return to a more metallic sound proved to be welcome, but this album, featuring very solid tracks like "Don't Worry" and "Walking Through Tokyo" should satisfy any hard rock lover's appetite. ENFORSAKEN This didn't do much for me. It was death metal, but it was just kinda there. the band play a vicious style of death metal sort of a combo of like Decide meeting say Malevolent Creation. The band just play like too many other bands and it just stuck out of anything other than ordinary. The production is good and the vocals are solid death metal style, but the band in my opinion are just missing that 1 thing to put this over the top. Not bad though. Info: http://www.crashmusicinc.com WITCHERY Previous Witchery albums, although certainly evil sounding in their own right, often maintained a morbid sense of humor about them that gave the impression the band didn't always take themselves too seriously. Around five years has passed since the release of the group's last studio effort, "Symphony For The Devil" and Witchery has grown a great deal more serious in the meantime. "Don't Fear The Reaper" is easily the band's darkest themed record yet. As always, Tue Madsen makes the difference at the mixing desk and for the first time, the band has managed to come up with a record that you need not be a Witchery fan to appreciate out-of-hand. Seeking a musical middle ground in comparision to their past efforts, "Don't Fear The Reaper" sees Witchery taking advantage of slower tempos at times but the primary shift in the band's songwriting focus lies in the arrangements in particular, with the band making a conscious effort to shift between sounds from track to track, giving the album as a whole a diabolical yet defined character. One of the most exciting aspects of the album is Witchery's continued commitment to old school thrash metal riffs and rhythms. It is such fodder that creates the proverbial backbone of the group, with great attention being taken to meter out chugging riffs, leaving the band's sound appearing right in the groove and completely unrushed. But although you'll hear classic "…And Justice For All"-style Metallica rhythms in the opening instrumental, "Don't Fear The Reaper" leans even moreso toward the the power grooving sounds of mid-nineties Metallica as well. Fans of the band expectsuch influences to crop up and during some instances, unsurprisingly, a bit of Slayer creeps in as well. Those expecting a classic Witchery sound should be pleased by "Stigmatized" (come on, the is "Am I Evil" at the end, guys) as well as tracks like "Plague Rider", which is often distinctly more reminiscent of the group's classic sound. A quick cover of "Legion Of Hades", originally penned by Witchery precursors Satanic Slaughter strikes swiftly and proves to be deadly in its utter finality. "Ashes" proves gloomy and foreboding, with a hell-chant chorus from vocalist Toxine that resounds as being delightfully wicked. Surely, the gem here is "The Ritual", where the band's music takes on a feeling similar to bassist Sharlee D'Angelo's other breadwinner, Arch Enemy. Here, the group shows maturity and restraint in creating a near-perfect metal track whit a headbanging beat suitable for seperating skull from spine. Such highlights illustrate the amount of hard work and dedication that Witchery put into this record and further underline that fact that Witchery has taken their craft to entirely new levels. Inner Surge What do we have here? Damn, this is an interesting release. It's sure to shake up your metal collection if you can figure out where to put it. As far as a description goes, I saw the term "metal/punk" thrown around, which I agree with to a certain degree. I can hear metal and I can hear punk in their music. However, I also hear some hardcore, some progressive rock, some alternative...a little bit of everything to be honest. I think they threw in everything except the kitchen sink and, more than likely, they probably would have thrown that in as well if they would have been able to find some room. "Signals Screaming" is a rollercoaster ride of musical emotion. It goes from one extreme to another and back again...it's amazing. This is an album that I'm not even gonna attempt to pick apart. You must listen to this one as a whole to get the proper impact. I don't think you'll totally understand this release with a single listen. You may have to go through it a few times to get it. Hell...I'm still trying to figure out what I just heard. All I can tell you for now is that it's god a great sound, excellent musicianship and it's well worth checking out, especially if you're in the mood for something different. http://www.innersurge.com MANS EVIL This is some wicked old school thrash/speed metal. Vocals like the old days, where the screaming vocals were a thrashers delight. Riffing that makes the neck go spinning and the intensity and emotion are there too. The band play old school thrash with a raw, unrelenting production. This was a real pleasant surprise and well worth getting. Info: mansevil@hotmail.com THE HIDDEN This was an alternative band and not a bad one. The music is mixed in with some punk stuff, sort of like Sex Pistols meets DOA. The production is raw and the vocals are raw and sung with hate and anger. The band add just a touch of groove to their style, but it works for them. This is not your MTV punk rock. This is the real deal. Info: http://www.the-hidden.net Luca Turilli Rhapsody guitarist Luca Turilli has released a trilogy of solo albums over the last few years, and this is the final installment of that trilogy. This album is basically in the same vein as Rhapsody-slick melodic power metal with a lot of classical and opera influence, a style they've dubbed as "film score metal". This even appears to have more classical and opera elements than Rhapsody does. On many of the songs it sounds as if a whole orchestra plays, with a lot of operatic vocals. The featured vocalist is Olaf Hayer, along with guest singer Bridget Fogle. Bridget sings on many of the songs and has beautiful, haunting voice, that also has a tough quality to it at times. In spite of all the classical orientation of this album, Luca does not forget about the metal. He and his cronies crank out many hard driving metal tunes on here. Luca plays guitar and keyboards, and does a brilliant job of both. Everything on this album is done to perfection (as is always the case in the Rhapsody camp-they certainly are perfectionists)-the singing, the playing, the compositions, the arrangements...Luca never settles for second best. Perhaps his ultimate composition is the title track, which is a grand finale of sorts, not only to the album but the entire trilogy. It is a metal/classical/opera epic that has it all-orchestration, operatic vocals, both singers singing in unison, speed metal riffs and a beat to match, guitar and keyboard wizardry, classical piano-quite a piece of work. Luca has once again outdone himself with this project. He is a brilliant musician and songwriter, arguably a genius, and has made a very good album here. Hell of a way to round out a trilogy. Rhapsody fans and those who liked his first two solo efforts should not be disappointed. http://www.lucaturilli.com QUINTA ESSENTIA Death/black metal is the ticket here. The music is sort of like Morbid Angel at times, which isn't a bad thing. The vocals are good solid death metal vocals and the production is good and thick. The blast beats and fast parts are those cheeze blast beats that those groove bands use, but honest to goodness blast beats. A good release of death/black metal. Info: http://www.deathgasm.com Gat-Rot This is the first time I ever heard of this band. Going by the album cover, I thought they were gonna be hardcore rap or something like that. Well, they're not rap, that's for sure. Hardcore? Well, I think it's safe to say that they would fall into that genre. You know, I listen to a lot of hardcore releases and, after awhile, they all start the same to me. So, instead of really hearing the album as a whole, I start to look for tunes that stand out. In this case, we get to track five, "Is This The End (Of History)," which starts out fast and full of energy. But, near the end of the song, it slows to a heavy crawl, which I thought was kind of cool. It bleeds into the next song, "Make Today (Vindication)," which starts off slow and builds into a heavy, solid song. "Where Will You Go" was a song that seemed to be built for maximum impact which, of course, caught my attention. So, there was something different to be heard on this release. But, to be honest with you, there's only so much screaming I can take in one sitting, regardless of how good it might be. Hardcore fans should eat this one up. http://www.gatrotmusic.com MOONSPELL I thought this was gonna be really bad, but it wasn't it. This was pretty damn good. The band is back to playing death metal and some fast death metal at that. The band still mix in some slower atmospheric parts, but it blends in nicely with the death metal stuff. The music was highly enjoyable and the melodic parts were moving and death metal parts crushed me. Moonspell is back gang. Info: http://www.spvusa.com FIELDS OF THE NEPHILM This was very boring alternative metal. The music just plodded along and the vocals were weak. The music had no soul and no substance. It was just kinda there. I had to shut it off or it would have put me to sleep. Yeah it was that bad. Info: http://www.spvusa.com BLOODAXE This is a one man band playing raw black metal. This is old school and very, very raw. The music is fast black metal all the way with some keyboard parts mixed in. For a 1 man band this was pretty damn good. The vocals are great and the music is hard hitting and not boring. If your into stuff like old Bathory and the like, here ya go. Info: http://www.bloodaxe.net MOWER Typical groove, break down band with all the jump happy riffs and angry vocals that a million other bands are doing. Bands like this are a dime a dozen with the dual angry vocals and the death metal vocals. Bands like this suck and a copy cat of bands like Biohazard and Pantera. Info: http://www.suburbannoizerecords.com MTV2 Headbangers Ball Where do I begin?! Two Cds with nineteen tracks each... That's a lot of Metalcore. Not much hear for Power Metal diehards like myself, but TONS of Ozzfest-style material (If the title wasn't self-explanitory enough). Warning: This collection may not have a great deal that interests those who have one foot firmly placed in the eighties. There is much less melody & a lot more aggression than the Adam Curry/Rikki Rachtman-era Headbanger's Ball I grew up watching. With the exception of Iron Maiden, HIM and MAYBE the Korn track, I feel there's little that would be melodicly pleasing to the traditional Headbanger. Although if you do most of your shopping at Hot Topic, then 'Headbanger's Ball: The Revenge' is definitely for you. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/artists/MTV2HeadbangersBallTheRevenge/ Euroforce This quartet play melodic power metal, similar to the likes of Stratovarius, but with a bit more crunch, fewer keyboards, and more pronounced guitars. All the songs are speedy, polished, and streamlined (except for the ballad, "By Neptune's Hand"). Guitarist Theodore Ziras plays some sleek, nimble-fingered, Yngwie-style guitar, lighting up the album with his playing. In fact, the instrumental track, "Ubiquitous", focuses on his guitar skills, and he is quite a skillful player. This band is not doing anything that hasn't been done before, but they are good. They pick up points for Theodore's guitar work, and for the fact that they don't overuse keyboards, like many bands of this genre do. In Flames The other In Flames reissue is this one, their debut album. It actually sounds thrashier and more aggressive than the band's later material, closer to regular death metal, but still with a melodic/power metal element, and a great deal of old school influence. Being that this was the band's first album, it's clear they were cutting their teeth on this one and hadn't quite come into their trademark sound just yet. However, their skills are obvious in the music, showing that they were a band who knew what they were doing and were bound for bigger and better things. There is quite a lot of fire on this album, the band playing with passion and thrashing away relentlessly, but with a tendency for melody and skill. These qualities would become more apparent on their later albums. They use classical guitar and strings in many places, and one song, "Haragalaten", is played entirely on acoustic guitar, with a woman singing in a beautiful, haunting voice. This almost sounds like something from a Rhapsody album! There are four bonus tracks, three of which are demo versions of songs heard earlier on the album (and there really isn't a lot of difference between the different versions), and a very brief, untitled acoustic piece. Comparing these two early albums to In Flames' more recent work, one can see that the band has come a long way since its humble beginnings. Their potential showed in their early work, and it really isn't surprising that they've become as big as they are. STEVE CONE This is some ass kickin heavy metal with bits and pieces of power metal mixed in. It reminded me of The Rods at times. The riffs are complete 100% no frills metal with some hard hitting beats and great metal vocals. The production is perfect and fans of bands like Judas Priest, Raven, Riot, Omen, Helstar, etc will eat this up as I did. This is a must have for any fan of true ass kickin no frills metal. And yes, it's that damn good. Info: http://www.stevecone.net SMOKY MOUNTAIN SKULLCRUSHERS Garage style punk rock and not very good. The riffs and songs just bored me and didn't make my head move or have my feet tap. The vocals aren't bad as they are screamed style punk vocals, but the music just went nowhere fast and all 8 songs were quickly forgettable. Sorry no contact info was provided. Avian These guys are basically a straight up power metal band, pure and simple, but with a few touches of prog here and there. They're in the same vein as Helloween, Primal Fear, and other such bands. Vocalist Lance King sings in melodic, Michael Kiske type voice. while guitarist Ian Leviathan serves up some pretty good axework. The solos are played by a guest axeman named Roger Moore, and he does a good job too. All the songs are hard driving, galloping metal tunes, with one short instrumental ballad in "Last Moon", all piano and strings. A few keyboards are used here and there but this is a guitar-dominant album, for the most part. Avian are good at what they do but don't really sound much different from other power metal bands around today. This is OK, but nothing special. RETISONIC This was more like it. 6 tracks of punk rock that had my neck moving. The vocals were a bit more melodic, but the music was more underground punkish if that is a good term or not. The music was sort of Black Flagish in spots and reminded me of some of those old 80's punk bands I used to see at City Gardens. The production is on the raw side, which works for this band. 6 songs just whetted my appetite, I need more. Info: http://www.moderncityrecords.com Anthenora Anthenora, from Italy, play old school style heavy metal, very influenced by classic thrash. "Soulgrinder" does indeed grind, thrashing full throttle from start to finish. Every song is pedal to the metal, in high gear, never slowing down, not a ballad to be found. The band take their cue from metal masters like Testament and Iced Earth, as well as some power metal influence from bands like Gamma Ray and Primal Fear. The music is rough, raw, fast, and aggressive, but is certainly not played without skill. The band are very talented and play with some sophistication to their music. Vocalist Luigi Bonansea has a rough and gutsy voice. Guitar team Stefano Pomero and Domenico Borra play with speed and skill, inspired by guitar heroes like Yngwie, Alex Skolnick, and John Schaffer. Bassist Steve Balocco and drummer Fabio Smareglia make up a strong and powerful rhythm section, and keep it speedy. Anthenora are a lean, mean metal machine, playing pure, no frills metal, like it was meant to be. This is one band who could make Mount Vezuvius erupt again! http://www.anthenora.com J.D. BRADSHAW By the 2nd song I was bored. This is a one man guitar project and while the guy can play, the lack of vocals hurt this really bad. The music is old school metal played with roaring riffing, but no vocals made this tough to listen through. if this guy can grab a singer, he would be much better off. Info: http://acacia_entertainment.tripod.com GREENHAVEN The band reminded me of Soundgarden at times. Don't get me wrong this is no copycat band and the band can lay down some molten riffs when they need it. This band is one heavy mother fuckin band. The band also have a melody about them and the singer is fantastic. The tunes are all catchy, but heavy tunes and no groove. Sort of like Black Sabbath meets modern metal without the groove. A very original band and this is highly recommended too. Info: http://www.killingtimeproductions.com SCALAMERCALLI Killer thrash/power metal with some unique vocals to say the least. They remind me of the guy from Loudness and they aren't bad, just different. The music is awesome power metal with some thrash parts and the riffs had my head spinning. The fast parts had my blood pumping too. 10 tracks that will would make any fan of spikes and headbanging proud. Info: http://www.abrecords.it Entwine This album, unfortunately, does not live up to its title. Entwine play your basic, run of the mill prog rock, third generation Dream Theater clones, done completely by the numbers, and that can hardly be called "progressive". There really isn't a lot to rave about, I found this to be a very mediocre affair. This band aren't pushing the boundaries or trying anything new at all, they're just staying within the lines, going through the usual prog motions, sounding nearly indistinguishable from the many other Theater clones that already exist. Entwine also lack the talent and the edge of Dream Theater and other such bands. Now they're not terrible, and they can play fairly well, but they sure aren't spectacular either. The scene is already overcrowded with Dream Theater wannabees, there are no more required. Next please. V:28 This trio basically plays death metal with some industrial and gothic elements thrown in. Think a band like Obituary with a little bit if Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, and Rage Against The Machine on the side. Death metal is the predominant style of V:28, with the speedy, crushing riffs, howlin' and growlin', Cronos style vocals, and pounding drumming with some fast double bass work. They also use some electronic sound effects, synthesizers, and sampling throughout the album, along with a dark, brooding atmosphere, giving it the industrial/goth flavorings. The band are talented enough, and are doing something that's a bit different and innovative, so they deserve credit for that. Thor He who holds the hammer has returned. Yes, it's Thor, the strong man of rock. He's got two new releases that he's unleashed upon the world and the promotional machine is in high gear. The last time I was listening to the music of Thor was back in 1997/1998 when he was pushing "Ride Of The Chariots" and "Thunderstruck," two releases which I still have in my collection. What has Thor been doing all this time? Who knows? I'm sure you can find out by checking out his website, which I haven't gotten around to doing yet. However, what he's doing now...allow this mere mortal to share that with you. Let's talk about his new album, "Thor Against The World." The first thing I noticed about this release was the production, which was killer. I mean, it's got a great sound. Thor has gotten better with age, that's for sure. Even the songs sound stronger. Well, most of them anyway. In fact, the first three tracks, "Thor Against The World," "Creature Feature" and "Easy Women" are some of the best tunes Thor has ever done. "Serpents Kiss" kind of brings Alice Cooper to mind and, if you skip to the end of the disc, "The Coming Of Thor" is a heavy blast of muscle rock. I guess he wanted to end the disc with a bang and...yeah...I'd say he accomplished that. There's also a Quicktime video for the song "Glimmer," which looked like crap on my computer. If you wanna see this video the way it was meant to be see, check out Thor's new DVD release, "An-Thor-Logy 1976-1985." SATARIEL This is another band from Sweden playing At The Gates style of death metal. The band use a bit more melody than they do, but the guitar sound and the vocals are pretty much the same. The band have one song with female vocals and some of the other songs are less death metal and have more melody in them and really didn't do much for me. This band needs to find a style and stick with it. Info: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com DAYLIGHT DIES I couldn't get into this at all. This band play deep and dark music sort of like Type O Negative with a bit of death metal to it. The songs just plod along and don't do anything but just drag on. I am sure some people will be into this and that is cool for them, but me, I just didn't see the attraction. Think Alice in Chains meeting Type O Negative with melody. Info: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com Venom In Nominie Satanas... I've got well over 20 Venom albums in my collection. But, it's always a pleasure to hear new material because, in all honesty, you can never have enough Venom. So, of course, I was really looking forward to hearing what they had to offer on their new release, "Metal Black," and, after going through this album a number of times, I can honestly say that it doesn't disappoint. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that it's one of the best albums they've ever done. It ranks right up there with "Welcome To Hell," "Black Metal," "Possessed" and "At War With Satan," four releases that are rather legendary in my opinion. The best material Venom has ever done was with the Cronos/Mantas/Abaddon line up, there's no question about that. But, there's also no doubt in my mind that Cronos is the one true voice of Venom and, backing him up this time around is Mykvs (guitar) and Antton (drums) and, from what I've heard on "Metal Black," they do the Venom legacy proud. I don't know about you. But, for me, every song on this album can stand alone. It doesn't need the other tracks to be great and the only other Venom album I feel this way about is "Welcome To Hell." So, that should tell you something. The opening crush of "Antechrist" is just the tip of the iceberg. There's a great wealth of material to be heard here. Tracks like "Burn In Hell," "Death & Dying," "Rege Satanas," "Assassin," "Lucifer Rising" and "A Good Day To Die" simply slaughter all those who dare to listen. They rip and tear through thirteen brutal songs without showing you the slightest bit of mercy and, when you think it's all over, they've got one more tune to beat you senseless with and that is, of course, the title track, "Metal Black," which is pure, black metal thrash. It's an amazing tune to end an amazing album and, what's even more impressive is the fact that Venom can make an album as great as "Metal Black" this late in their career. Gotta give 'em credit for that. There's not a lot of new music out there that's not worth listening to these days. Luckily, we have a band like Venom who's willing to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to make an album that will kick your ass and leave you a bloody mess. If you don't buy this album...may your soul burn in the eternal fire of hell. All hail Venom! DISMEMBER This is a absolute incredible display of death metal played the right way. This is brutal, has melody, has speed and the vocals crush. Pure angry death metal vocals all the way. This band has been around for a long time and this release is one of their best releases so far. The swedish guitar sound never sounded so good. The band mix in speed, brutality and melody to the mix and this is just an example of how death metal when it is played well, just crushes all. A must have for any true death metal fan. Info: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com Bruce Turgon So the bassist for Foreigner has released the first solo CD in his career. To say I'm pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. This disc is full of timeless melodic rock anthems tailor made for anyone who enjoys great songwriting & sing-along choruses. Apparently, Turgon is not known for his vocal abilites but you wouldn't know it when listening to "Outside Looking In". Like Bon Jovi's RitchieSambora & Judas Priest's Glenn Tipton before him, Bruce Turgon has proven himself(contrary to the band from which he came) as a great frontman. Overall, I can honestly say this album is a solid release worthy of being on the Frontiers label. Any AOR fan should do themselves a huge favor by giving it a good listen and hopefully you'll appreciate it as much as I do. The Trews Now here's an album worth talkin' about. "Den Of Thieves" is a solid album...about as solid as they come. This fine recording is brought to you by The Trews. They're style is a combination of classic and radio friendly modern rock. Canada's answer to Aerosmith maybe? I don't know...I get a few different impressions when I listen to their music. Black Crowes come to mind. Actually, I went through the album a few times in order to form a really good opinion and, the more I thought about what I was hearing, the more I started to lean towards the singer/songwriter genre. I'm a huge fan of that style of music. That's a pure form of music and the people who consider themselves to be singer/songwriters, at least the ones that I've been in touch with, focus on making a great song and that's the impression I got after getting my fill of The Trews. It's like a rock 'n' roll version of the singer/songwriter attitude. There's almost an hours worth of music to be heard here, fifteen tunes and there's really not a bum song in the bunch. In fact, there's a lot of tunes on this release that I feel could be a number one song. The first three tracks alone are worthy of that honor. "Fire Up Ahead," "Makin' Sunshine" and "Cry" could/should drive this album straight to the top. As far as a favorite, I'd probably have to go with "Cry," there's just something about this one that sticks with you. As you get deeper into the album, "Poor Old Broken Hearted Me" rises to the top. I found myself humming that one after only a single listen. There's no doubt in my mind that "Den Of Thieves" is gonna be huge...and I mean huge. Years from now, when people look back on it, they're gonna talk about it like they talk about the debut Guns 'N' Roses album, if you know what I mean. It will be mentioned as a classic. One of those releases that everyone has in their collection and, if they don't have it...they're looking for it. I can almost guarantee it. So, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. You won't be disappointed. XASTHUR/LEVIATHAN Xasthur play a bunch of noise black metal that is beyond awful. The vocals are piss poor and buried and the music is a wall of noise and is pure shit. Leviathan aren't much better as they play awful doom/black metal with buried vocals and a awful production. This wasn't so hot in my opinion. Info: http://www.battlekommand.com KATATONIA This is complete garbage and the fact that in the middle of the songs some asshole comes on and tells you that you listening to this song and this song is a complete joke. This is a bad. The band write bad songs that have no power and the band should change their name and now slaughter the name of Katatonia.This is like some college rock/metal crap that you would hear on MTV.Info: http://www.peaceville.com Mona For Now I went through this disc in less than 15 minutes and that's kind of a bummer because I really like what I heard. Let me ask you something...why is it that the stuff that's able to float my boat these days only comes in small packages? It just doesn't seem fair. Anyway, Mona For Now is the name of the band, "Kiss My Fetus" is the name of the EP and, as far as musical style goes, I don't know, I've seen the term alt/metal thrown around when people have been talking about the music here. I guess I could agree with that. They sort of remind me of Guano Apes with a DIY attitude. Three people in the band, the singer is a female who has a voice that's kind of rough...and I mean that in a good way. The opening track, "Don't Feel A Bit Of Pain," was all it took for me to become a fan. "Wind Me Up" was an up tempo rocker that wound me up. I still can't get over the fact that I can only spend 15 minutes in the Mona For Now world. I mean, sure, I can always hit the repeat button. But, I'd like to sit here for about an hour or so and just take in everything this band has to offer. They do have some other releases that are available, which I haven't heard. I wonder if they're as good as this release. I don't know. This one's pretty damn good. About the only thing that can top it is a full length release. When that time does roll around, I hope they stick to doing what they're doing on "Kiss My Fetus" because this is fucking great. There's no need to change it...it's raw, it's rockin' and, as much as I hate to repeat myself, I've gotta say it again...this is some great stuff. Be sure to check 'em out and offer your support any way you can. INTRONAUT More modern death metal with lots of groove and the throaty tough guy death metal vocals. This was like every other death metal band doing this tired, overplayed style. The riffs are the same, the vocal patterns, the music, etc. Bands like this are a dime a dozen and aren't doing anything new or exciting. Info: http://www.goodfellowrecords.com STEREO FUSE This wasn't too bad. his band play hard rock with a bit of alternative edge to it. The tunes are catchy numbers with some decent vocals. Really not my style, but if your into the alternative rock think with lots of catchy melodies and some nice vocals, check these guys out. Info: http://www.madacy.com Overloaded Overloaded are a good name for this band-we're talking total rock and roll overload here! These guys crank out music that could short circuit every power grid in the country! In other words, this band rocks out! Just about every song is a pedal to the metal , boot in the ass rocker. The band seems to worship Skid Row, as they appear to be a big influence on Overloaded. Singer Chris Gillen sounds a lot like Sebastian Bach, and guitarists John Sullens and Erik Kluiber shred to beat hell, their style similar to Scotty Hill and Dave Sabo. Judas Priest, Aerosmith, and Helix appear to be other influences ("Heavy Metal Highway" sounds a bit like Priest's "Exciter"). Overloaded are classic, old school hard hard rock all the way. Nothing trendy or fancy to be found here, just pure rock and roll, rough, raw, and aggressive, the way it was meant to be. http://www.overloadedmusic.com Judas Priest I'm not sure if "Essential" is the right word for this compilation. This is really just another "greatest hits" collection from Judas Priest, and there are already plenty of those available. In fact, Priest released the "Metalogy" box set not long ago, which is probably the ultimate Priest collection (and even that was just a glorified greatest hits collection if you ask me). So is another compilation like this really necessary, in wake of that? This a two disc collection of many of Priest's best known songs from the 70s and 80s, plus two songs from their last album, "Angel Of Retribution". There's nothing on here that most Priest fans wouldn't already have, plus no songs from the time Ripper Owens was in the band are included and that makes the collection incomplete, in my opinion. Most fans would surely already have all the albums, and/or the box set, so there really isn't much reason for them to shell out any cash for this. This is just another example of a record label using a legendary band as a cash cow, as if that hasn't been done to Priest, and countless other bands, already. Priest are now at work on a new album, which will be their first concept album, based on the prophecies of Nostradamus. It should be good, so my advice to my fellow Priest fans would be to save your bucks for that, and give this one a miss. Enough collections of Priest classics have been released already (including, as I mentioned, a whole boxful, very recently), so another one of these isn't necessary, much less "essential". The most interesting thing about "Essential" was the intro, which was written by British rock journalist Geoff Barton, who was once editor for Kerrang. STATE OF INTEGRITY This was Slayer like music with some throaty death metal vocals. The music kicks ass with the ripping riffs and powerful drum patterns. The vocals aren't bad, but kept this from me going nuts over it. The production is great and the guitar sound will rip your head off. 12 tracks so a lot of value here. Info: http://www.stateofintegrity.com THRYFING This was a melodic sort of metal band and a quite boring one at that. The band play metal and it is nor brutal nor exciting. The music kinda plods along and has little or no direction. I found the music lacking shape and the vocals were just not there. Not a good release in my opinion. Info: http://www.candlelightusa.com DAWN OF DEFIANCE 7 tracks of some raw death metal done old school. The chainsaw pounding guitar sounds reminds me back of those demos I used to get in the 80's. The vocals are like Possessed in some spots. The music is pure brutal death metal with no groove or blast beats. This is pure death/thrash all the way. This band plays with more emotion and feeling that a lot of bands can't match. Info: http://www.dawnofdefiance.com Alev Over several years I've given quite a few props to female fronted rock bands. Therefore, I'd hoped this Turkish five-piece would grab me, but after a few listens, that just wasn't the case. Overall, the band lives somewhere in the land of Nickelback, alongside other radio friendly modern rock artists, whereas vocal vixen Alev Lenz has been said to sound like Garbage... (the band, that is).Overall, these guys are missing the edgy dynamics of Flyleaf, the gothic tinge of Lacuna Coil, the operatic aspect of Evanescence and the pop hooks of the Donnas. Also, fans of Arch Enemy & Kittie will definitely find this a bit lackluster as well, since Alev ain't much of a screamer, instead sounding more like she'd be at home at Lilith Fair. The only song that really caught my attention was the closing track which is sung entirely in Turkish. Better luck next time... Hopefully their sophomore releasewill be sronger. THE STRONGEST PROOF This was some alternative rock/metal stuff that I didn't find too interesting. The vocals I felt were weak and the music just sounds like any other band I would hear on the radio on some top 40 station. This is like one of those force fed bands that every radio station will say is the next big thing. I felt the songs were lacking and lacked power. Info: http://www.phratryrecords.com Evil Beaver Evil Beaver are a duet consisting of bassist/vocalist Evil Evie and drummer Gene Trautmann. They don't use guitars and I guess that alone makes them a bit different. Evie does know how to work her bass and gives it a muscular sound (and I guess she has to, being that there's no guitarist). This opus sounds like something that might have come out a decade ago. The sound is very influenced by the alternative/grunge sound of the 90s, with a touch of punk, and there is a 90s vibe to it. There is an angry, angst-ridden attitude to the music, and influence from bands like Hole, Pearl Jam, Garbage, and Smashing Pumpkins. Evie seems to take a cue from female singers of that era like Courtney Love, Shirley Manson, and Gwen Stefani. There are four songs on this EP; three originals and a cover of The Stooges classic, "I Wanna Be Your Dog". On this song, they actually use some guitar (surprise, surprise), as well as some electronic percussion. While I'm not a fan of their style, and I don't think anyone needs a trip back to the 90s, Evie can play a mean bass, and her singing isn't bad either. Evil Beaver is doing something a little different, I'll give 'em that. EVILDOER What an incredible display of death/thrash metal. This hits hard and often and will knock you back big time. The band rip through these tunes with the velocity of a 5 ton truck. The riffs just tore through me and the vocals sliced through me like knife through butter. This takes like a combo of swedish death metal and goes up on a bigger scale. This just destroys everything. The production is perfect and the guitar sound owes me. A 10 plus for this one for sure. Info: http://www.season-of-mist.com Luca Turilli's Dreamquest This is Luca's latest solo project. It's in a similar vein to his previous ones, and to Rhapsody, but he's added some different elements to the music, giving it a more diverse sound. As always, there's much in the way of classical/opera influence, as well as elements of progressive, electronic, goth (adding a dark flavor to the music), and modern rock. Many of the songs are galloping, melodic speed/power metal tunes that follow in the footsteps of Rhapsody, but have the aforementioned elements added to it, giving it a different musical flavor. A female vocalist (unnamed) with a haunting, operatic voice does the singing on this album, hitting a wide range of octaves, from a low moan to a high pitched wail. She flexes her vocal chords to the max, specially on the song "Sospiro Divino". This one is a complete opera number, no rock or metal to be heard in this one, and she goes all the way with her voice on it. The ballad "Dolphin's Heart" is also very classically/opera inclined, with classical piano, orchestral arrangements, and more operatic singing. Getting back to the metal side of things, Luca's guitar sounds a bit more up front than usual, but he only solos on a couple of the songs. This is a bit surprising because he always shreds on his other works. He also plays keyboards on this album (as he did on his last solo effort), and he does an excellent job of it, working up some keyboard wizardry, some of which has a dark, gothic, haunting atmosphere. While Luca experiments with other styles and pushes his musical boundaries on this album, he does not forget where he come from, still keeping a foot firmly planted in Rhapsody style metal. His playing is phenomenal, as usual, and everything on this album is brilliantly done-the singing, the playing, the songwriting, the arrangements...This will certainly be a feather in Luca's cap. http://www.dreamquest.it NACHTMYSTIUM This is a re-release from a few years back and I think the 1st time on CD. The band play raw black metal and do a decent job on here. The band don't just play the fast pick riffing sound and sing about satan and play a million miles per hour. The band play some killer slower stuff and mix it up with fast parts. The vocals are pure black metal, but don't sound forced. The fast parts aren't just a wall of noise neither. The raw production only adds to the hellish sound. Worth getting for black metal fans. Info: http://www.battlekommand.com INSENSE More groove metal with an At The Gates feel, but this band play with a lots more of groove edge and melodic vocals. Bands like this are a dime a dozen. Info: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com THUNDERLORDS The Thunderlords are the first metal band for children. Yes, that's right...children. We're talking ten years old and under. No, I'm not kidding. I'm talking about a collection of tunes that have lyrics you would expect to hear on a program like Sesame Street. The only reason these tunes wouldn't be featured on a program like Sesame Street is because of the musical style which is, and I'm not making this up, metal. Old McDonald moved off his farm. Old Man Olaf took his place, changed some lyrics, added a bit of metal guitar and now you have "Old Man Olaf," who does have a farm...and on his farm, he does have some cows and, of course, the cows do the "moo moo" thing here and they do the "moo moo" thing there. They "moo" here, they "moo" there...they "moo" everywhere. Uh, what else...let's see...well, children like dirt. They can thrash around in the mud while listening to "I Like Dirt," which is an ode to, what else...dirt. There's also tunes about ice cream headaches, animal sounds, food and what it's like to be a big old viking. There's even a metal version of "Little Teapot." But, the best of the bunch has got to be "Eat Vegetables," which is a cover of the Iron Maiden classic, "Run To The Hills," with slightly different lyrics, of course. "Noisy Songs For Noisy Kids" is a twelve minute metal romp that's sure to please any child who has a parent or two that's into metal music. So, pitch those crappy Barney cassette tapes and raise your children right. Introduce 'em to The Thunderlords and give 'em their education in metal at a very young age. You don't want them growing up to listen to Britney Spears now, do you? I didn't think so. JOHN TAPELLA'S This was about 15 or more songs of classical songs done with a driving metal guitar sound. That is all their is, is the guitar. There is know doubt this guy can play, but after about song # 6 I was growing bored with the lack of singing and actual music besides the guitar. I bet if this guy got a band together they would smoke cause he has the chops down. No contact info included. UNCROSSED This was a really cool band. The band mix in metal with some jazz and come out with a really cool sound. I would say the band is pretty original and the music didn't fly over my head. The vocals are sort of in the hardcore vein like the Crumbsuckers, which made for a really weird musical sound. The production is solid and if your looking for something different this might be your band. Info: http://uncrossed.musica.mustdie.ru SOUTHERN BLACK SAND Same ole groove metal with shouted throaty vocals that has been done to death by a ton of other bands. The riffs are weak, the vocals are crap and this is a really bad attempt of groove metal. The riffs aren't even strong nor are the vocals. Info: http://www.southernblacksand.com |
