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TAAKE
T.A. 7/10 |
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TAD MOROSE
A.S. 8,5/10 |
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TAD MOROSE
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TALISMA
A.S.
7/10 |
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TALISMAN
A.S. 8/10 |
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TALON
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TAZ TAYLOR BAND
T.A.
5,5/10 |
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TEN
T.A.
8/10 |
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TEN
T.A. 7/10 |
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TENHI
G.K.
7/10 |
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TERROR 2000
T.A. 8,5/10 |
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TESLA
A.S. 8,5/10 |
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TEXAS TERRI BOMB
A.S. 6/10 |
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THANATOS
G.K. 6/10 |
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THE AERIUM
T.A. 2/10 |
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THE AWESOME MACHINE
T.K. 7/10 |
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THE BEREAVED
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THE BLACK LEAGUE
A.S. 5,5/10 |
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THE BONES
A.S. 8/10 |
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THE CHELSEA SMILES
T.A.
6,5/10 |
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THE DARKNESS
T.A. 5/10 |
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THE DARKNESS
T.A.
5,5/10 |
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THE DEFECTORS
A.S. 7/10 |
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THE DOITS
T.A.
6,5/10 |
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THE DOITS
A.S. 8/10 |
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THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN
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THE ELYSIAN FIELDS
G.K. 6/10 |
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THE ETERNAL
A.A. 5,5/10 |
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THE FIRSTBORN
G.K.
6/10 |
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THE GRAND TRICK
G.K. 7,5/10 |
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THE GREAT DECEIVER
G.K. 6,5/10 |
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THE ILLUSION FADES
T.A. 7/10 |
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THE LAST VEGAS/BIBLE OF THE
DEVIL
T.A. |
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THE LIZARDS
T.A. 7/10 |
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THE NERDS
A.S. 4/10 |
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THE MASS
G.K. 6/10 |
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THE PROJECT HATE MCMXCIX
G.K. 7,5/10 |
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THE PROWLERS
G.K. 7/10 |
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THE REVOLVERS
A.S. 6,5/10 |
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THE RING
G.K. 7,5/10 |
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THE SAVOY TRUFFLE
A.S. 8,5/10 |
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THE SAVOY TRUFFLE
T.A. 8/10 |
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THE 69 EYES
T.A. 8/10 K.P. 8,5/10 |
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THE SLEEPERS
T.A. 7/10 |
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THE SOLUTION
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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THE THIRD AND THE MORTAL
T.A. 6,5/10 |
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THE UNCHOSEN
A.S.
8/10 |
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THE VISION BLEAK
G.K. 8/10 |
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THE VISION BLEAK
G.K. 7,5/10 |
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THE WAKE
G.K. 7/10 |
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THINE EYES BLEED
G.K. 5,5/10 |
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THORN.ELEVEN
A.S. 6,5/10 |
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THORNE STEVE
A.S. 7,5/10 |
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THOUSAND POINTS OF HATE
T.A. 6/10 |
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THULE
T.A.
8/10 |
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THUNDER
T.A. 8/10 |
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THUNDERSTONE
A.S. 7/10 |
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THUNDERSTONE
A.S. 8/10 |
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THY PRIMORDIAL
A.A. 3,5/10 |
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TIAMAT
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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TIAMAT
T.A. 8/10 K.P. 8,5/10 |
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TIMELOCK
A.S. 8/10 |
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TNT
T.A. 8,5/10 |
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TOC
G.K. 6/10 |
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TO/DIE/FOR
T.A. 7/10 K.P. 8/10 |
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TO/DIE/FOR
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Old evil cold Norwegian Black Metal! Yes, that's exactly what Taake play. "…Bjoergvin…" is the second studio album that they
release. Almost all the songs of the album are mid-tempo and the voice of the vocalist Hoest is like
if you hear angry and full of hate creatures that scream from the frozen woods of Norway! The one and only song of the album "Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmerik" is separated in seven parts (from I-VII) and I liked most the fourth (VI), the sixth (VI) and the seventh (VII) part. Hoest's writings (who is also the guitarist and the mainman of the band) are inspired by the vast Norwegian culture heritage and are based on his personal thoughts and feelings. The lyrics of the album once again are in Norwegian and the whole sound and atmosphere of that album will take you a decade back and will also travel you to the frozen mountains of Norway. "…Bjoergvin…" is a good black metal album and for sure the fans of this genre will be very happy. Black metallers this album is just for you.
Holy shit!!! This CD blew my brains to the wall!!! Ok I knew Tad Morose quite well, and I liked its two previous works very much (especially
"Undead"). But every time I come across a new power metal album I instantly think "hmm I bet it's the same thing we have heard in the past" – listening to power metal for more than 10 years I feel a little bored and only few bands of the genre still manage to impress me. Well with this new album Tad Morose is one of them!! Not because their music is innovative, but because it is filled to the brim with inspiration. In 10 songs the Swedish band shows the way of how modern power metal should be played. Massive guitars spewing out riffs of flame, a rhythm section solid as a stonewall and an amazing voice resulting to a boiling metal which reminds of the best days of Crimson Glory, Judas Priest, Jag Panzer and Vicious Rumors!!! Do your self a favour and listen to songs like "Afraid To Die" or "Cyberdome" and their power will sweep you of your feet!! It's such a pity that the release of this magnificent album coincides with Dream Theater's and Pride Of Lions' CDs (which this site perceives as monumental) and we can not name it album of the month. Being severe...
After the incredible last year's "Undead", Tad Morose have just released a very good and powerful album which is called "Matters Of The Dark". This album contains everything that a fun of Good Metal music wants…
excellent vocals, brilliant refrains, and dynamic songs such as "In The Shadows", "Another Way", "Sword Of Retribution" and many others. Just give yourself the chance and listen to this album cause it's worth every penny of it! Tad Morose is a very good band and with their new album they will surely be more popular within the Metal Society. Just Heavy Power music. Nothing less or more!
“Hmmm,
dark the fate of this boy is”... Well, rephrasing the words of the master,
I can say that the future of this band is uncertain, at least in commercial
terms - unless the members of the band have no such dreams. You see, Talisma
here go in for a kind of progressive music that can never find any prop in
the big crowd out there. The musicians are indeed talented, with high
skills, delivering a mixture of prog rock/fusion with loads of jazz
elements. The amalgam is quite good, I can say. However there are no lyrics
(consequently no singing) here, only music... which by the way is not of the
most easily-digested kind. Sometimes the improvisations of the band make you
feel a bit lost - or speechless one might argue. However I think that this
album is mainly created to satisfy the musicians themselves and eventually
the CD refers mainly to musicians.
Double
live CD from one of the most underestimated hard rock bands of modern times.
I seriously have never understood the reasons why Talisman have not become
among the top of the top hard rock bands of these days, but I can only
compromise with that. Anyway, this live album can also work as a best-of
release of the group, as the setlist is quite satisfactory, the sound is
clear (although the live feeling is evident all around) and the band seems
to be in perfect shape. In essence the one CD contains the appearance of the
band in club Mondo in Stockholm, while the other CD presents their gig in
the Sweden Rock Festival. And to be honest my only objection is that the
tracklisting of second CD is almost the same with that of the first. This
means that it would be enough to release a single CD, especially since a
live DVD has also been released. Anyway, I seriously suggest this album to
anyone who wants to have a first contact with the group (although the studio
albums stand higher). By the way “Mysterious” is an eternal hard rock
anthem!!! How I whish I could see the band live one day...
I
bet most of you don't know what Talon means. The information argued that
these 5 guys from California "are going to save R-N-R"...and
when I listen to such kind of big words I hesitate. But this time my
hesitation lasted only for 4-5 seconds since I pushed play...as much as
the main harmony of "Wrecking Ball" flooded the place!!!! Fuck
yeah!!!! These guys have the qualities to take hard rock one-step
forward!!! A mixture of good-old Blue Oyster Cult (from the Fire of
Unknown Origin period), Iron Maiden (in their 80's days) and Scorpions
of the early period is what Talon resembles!!!! The band was formerly
known as Voxen and had produced two albums, while this one is their
first effort as Talon. The four musicians seem to be very talented as
their hard rock is very rich in various elements, while the structure of
the songs mirror high technical skills. What can I say?? The one
highlight follows the other!!! "Still you Run" with the
hispanic intro, "Calling you Tonight" with the amazing catchy/sticky
refrain (one of the best refrains of the year) and so the story goes!!!
It is really good to know that one great hard rock band has been created
in California...which has been rather silent for a few years now. Taking
into account that they haven't been promoted as much as they deserved I
suggest to at least try and listen to this album. They worth your effort!
Taz
Taylord Band is the name of this band which is the personal project of Taz
Taylor… who is an English guitarist that moved to 
Ten are back with their sixth studio album that contains excellent hard
rock/AOR music. So the fans of Ten and generally of hard rock better be prepared for this
remarkable album and for hard-rock dynamites like "Glimmer Of
Evil", "Strange Land", "Heart Like A Lion". Ten is one of the best hard rock groups nowadays and it's a pity that many people are not familiar with their
works. Don't forget that Ten has released incredible albums like "The Name Of
Rose", and "Spellbound" in the past. So I suggest you to start searching for the previous albums of this band and for sure you won't be
disappointed, and of course if you prefer to buy their new album you will like it very
much. Take the chance and try something that is not usual and trendy!
Tenhi
is a Finish band that was formed almost a decade ago. In 1997 they released
a demo and after that they made a deal with the German label Prophecy
Production. Since then, they have recorded two full-length albums and have
also released two mini CDs. The third album is titled “Maaart” and is a
mixture of folk, progressive and gothic/melancholic and experimental sounds.
The band uses acoustic guitars, piano, flute, bass and maybe some more
instruments and creates a wonderful atmosphere. This is not an
easy-listening album, especially for the metal fans, because it has nothing
to do with metal or even rock sounds! As for the lyrics, I must mention that
they are in Finnish and I could understand nothing of them, but the feeling
I got from the album, made me believe/feel that the band is somehow mourning
for Mother Earth... I mentioned this because the music is very emotional and
melancholic, but it works very well if you are in the right mood when
listening to this album... If you like the experimental and melancholic
music, listen to this album, which will travel you in
places/feelings/thoughts that you may not have visited in the past...
This
is the second release from Terror 2000; the band that 
It seems that we are going to have a great hard rock come back each year. So after last year's Thunder's amazing “Staring at the Sun” we now get Tesla’s unbelievable record “Into
The Now”. The band is back for good with the original line up and feeds us with pure hard rock! The band in the 00’s isn’t far away from its original sound that made it popular and beloved in the 90’s. However, the guitars are heavier at times, giving a “metallic” sound to most of the songs. The amalgam of straight hard rock, southern elements, Aerosmith-like breaks and ballads and some psychedelic tunes is here again, with Jeff Keith’s vocals marking each and every song! It’s amazing that Tesla managed to create an original sound out of all the bands of their time, although they step on British hard rock of the 70’s. Listen to songs like “Got No Glory”, the anthem “What A Shame” or the “Heaven Nine Eleven” and you will get stuck with the CD. It is addictive and that’s a problem. I keep listening to it all the time, and also re-discovered their past masterpieces, that I had neglected for the last couple of years! Hard rock friends don’t even think missing one great moment in our music. As for the fans of the group? They are already celebrating the come back!
The label keeps providing us with loads of punk-rock releases… however only few of them really worth. This is not the case for “Your Lips... My Ass”, unless you are a complete punk freak, who bows for The Sex Pistols and Clash and hunts everything that is related to these two bands. Ok Texas Terri seems to have loads of guts, some good guests (Wayne Kramer - MC5 for example), good production, but the total result is too noisy, and soooo common. Plus the cover on thin Lizzy’s “The Rocker” don’t seem to really work well... we should be careful when we make covers of eternal
diamonds.
The veteran death/ thrash metallers from Holland strike again after being
for twenty years in the metal scene! “Undead, Unholy, Divine” is only
their forth album since the band was on ice from 1992 through 1999, as you
can remember… Their new album is a really extreme death/ thrash metal
album! The feelings you will get after listening to it are hate,
suffering, anger and violence. No melodies and almost no calm moments will
you find here. The aggressive guitars play thrashy riffs and solos and the
drums sometimes sound very fast (many blastbeats) and others sound calmer.
The vocals are very brutal and each word spits aggressiveness! Finally,
the anti-religious lyrics make the album more dangerous than you can
think… Generally, this may be the best album of Thanatos and surely the
heaviest. It’s a wonderful mix of oldschool death and thrash metal with
the modern death metal sound! The album was recorded and mixed in the
Excess Studios (Sinister, Elegy, After Forever and other bands have
recorded there) in Rotterdam and was mastered by Attie Bauw (he has mixed
the classic “Painkiller” album and he has worked with The Gathering
a.o.), so as you can understand the band has a killer sound. Guest
appearances by: Ashmedi (Melechesh) and Ed Warby (Star One, Gorefest and
Ayreon). The fans of the death/thrash metal music will love it but for the
rest…
I
had many years to listen to a Russian rock/metal band... and really I do not
know if they had a rock/metal scene or just a few bands that are releasing
some albums, from time to time. Anyway, the case here with The Aerium is
simple. The band shouldn’t have had a deal with any label and it should
have been on its basement rehearsing in order to become a band first! I know
that it sounds a little comic but I cannot understand why some excellent
underground bands still waiting for a record deal and some wannabe bands
releasing albums from nowhere!!! What the hell is happening here?! Ahh... I
forgot to tell you that The Aerium is trying to play symphonic gothic metal
with operatic vocals and gloomy atmospheres. The bad thing is that I do not
believe that they will ever manage to play this kind of music ‘cause they
can’t. “Song For The Dead King” is by far the worst album that I have
listened since January and I cannot think of a good reason why Black Lotus
made a dealt with them! Also the production of the album is so bad that it
reminded me, my “old band days” when we were recording in our
drummer’s basement while we were rehearsing! Ohh my God... we had a much
better sound back then!!! Avoid this album like shit!!!
This is strange. Something is not letting me enjoy this very neat record. The songs are really stoner, the band is playing hell groovy and evil sometimes. The vocalist though, even that he is undoubtedly pretty much talented, his voice is too heavy. And when I say heavy I don’t mean like John Garcia but like Dio, Blackie Lawless or Chris Blotendhal! Apart from that the whole thing is marvelous. The classic Kyuss grooves and arrangements but with a more heavy-metal kind of play, solid production, short tracks and no special experimenting. Classic heavy rock and a bunch of anti-war and love lyrics. The guys are from the US, this is their fifth release and suggest everyone to listen before buying it. It’s not familiar with my ears at least. Who knows sometimes this bands turn out to be born-to-soon and achieve their deserved recognition later. Until then… only track 11 “Not My War” is keeping them in my CD player.
The
Bereaved is a new Swedish thrash/death metal band, which used to be called
Clone. “Darkened Silhouette” is its debut album and the band is
recommended by its label as the new Swedish death metal hope. On this
point I have an objection. The band is closer to thrash metal and it is
influenced from bands like The Haunted and At The Gates although it has
some death metal and few black atmospheric elements on its music. Setting
things straight, “Darkened Silhouette” is a nice album, which has a
very good and heavy production, but it lacks on originality. The band
plays good and it has plenty of time to improve on the songwriting and I
believe it can produce something really strong in the future. The fans of
the aforementioned bands and all those who like thrash/death metal music
should at least listen to them.
Wow, this is a real surprise! The Black League changed its approach completely. So the dark, gloomy atmospheric metal of the first two releases has been replaced by hard rock-n-roll, or stoner rock as we ended up calling it. As you might know (if you are keeping in pace with the site)
I’ve never been against the change of direction of an artist/group as I totally understand that they might want to explore things and evolve. But the result has to be good. I
wouldn’t mind even if Helloween played AOR - as long as it was really good. And this is not the case here. The Black League (which is not that... black anymore) plays the same things that hundreds of bands play after Spiritual Beggars made their brake. The approach here is Motorhead meets Danzig, Beggars, Molly Hatchet and Sabbath. A bit more up-tempo than the rest stoner groups, but
that’s all. It's not that
it’s bad, but one more average album in the same style as many others. It grieves me a lot to realise that the band, which released in 2000 the glorious “Ichor” plays now this kind of music following the trend. Hope for a revamp soon.
One of the best punkin’ hard rock albums I’ve heard in the last couple of years! This one along with Bloodjunkies’ “Maladies” are the best album of the genre this year so far... according to my humble opinion of course. Don’t worry your head a lot: The Bones here play good old punk, highway rock and roll that kicks you in the ass! Great vocal melodic lines, that stuck to your head at once, bars in the guitars (which naturally should hang at the height of their knees) and nice solos accompanied by multiple vocals here and there. If I had to describe it with one word, I would say Misfits!!!! Yes, the music is really close to the one of the great band, to such an extend that under different circumstances, it could have been their new album. Youthful, fresh, with good ideas and suitable to keep us a bit “sunny” in the coming autumn days.
The
Chelsea Smiles is a new band that was formed by vocalist/guitarist Todd
Youth (ex-Murphys Law, D-Generation, 
The Darkness is a new band that comes from the U.K. and “Permission To Land” is its debut album. I would characterize the band as very lucky, cause it has the chance to have the support of a big label and all the rest that goes with that. Now, some of you may think, why am I telling that? So, does not the band play well? No, The Darkness play pretty good, although their music isn’t very original, but I suspect that they own their deal with Atlantic records not to their good music but to the “weird” way that their vocalist Justin Hawkins is singing. You know that big labels are looking for “strange” things in the music industry nowadays, which can bring them more people and can shock in order to sell more copies and to keep people talking and arguing about them all the time. Just think how many bands are better than The Darkness and they hardly manage each year to release an album, cause they do not have the support of a big label. That is something, which is pissing me off. Anyway, lets go back to the album again. As I told you before the band rocks pretty good, in the vein of AC/DC, and Rolling Stones, but if the vocals were “normal” I would like this album more. I would spot the problem in the “high” vocals of the singer which are sounding really amateur and childishly, in my opinion. Some may like this band due to the vocals, cause they believe that this thing makes them differ among others. I think that a band differs from others, due to its original good music, which plays, and not to ridiculous other reasons that makes people to hate them or love ‘em! Besides this the album has two songs that can become hits like the single “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” and the AC/CD-like “Givin’ Up”. The rest of the songs are good and times passes quite good while listening to it, but you will not stop a second saying… how good things would have been without the “high” vocals of the singer. In the mid-tempo pop/rocker “Friday Night”, were the vocals are “normal” things are flowing much better. Nevertheless, this album has three bonus tracks, which are like the rest songs of the album except the instrumental “Bareback” which sounds simply like AC/DC. I like too AC/DC a lot but there is not reason in copying them so loosely! The production is also good but in my opinion it could have been better, if they want to compete with the other big hard rock bands. As, long as the big label supports them, people will love them and they will make a big success… but if the label ever leaves them… then things would be very difficult for them. Unless, the singer change his way of singing and then things will surely turn in their way. Till then…
My
No 2 “beloved” band has finally released its second album. Those who
have read the review of the band’s debut album that I wrote 2 years ago,
know that I disliked very much the falsetto vocals of the singer and the
stolen-wannabe riffs from AC/DC and in general the debut album didn’t
impressed me at all. No, after two whole years the band has sold million of
records everywhere, has gained so much money that they have never dreamed of...
and they, unfortunately, released a new album! Oh God what I have done to
deserve a fate like that?? Why should I have to listen to this untalented
wannabe singer again?? Who told him that he can be a singer??? Huh? Who?...
if you find that man just shoot him!! Well what do we have here? First of
all the singer hasn’t learned to sing... in truth to be told he’s not a
singer. Secondly the band’s music except from the stolen AC/DC riffs has
now elements from Queen!! No, do not be surprised... ‘cause the band
cannot even dream of playing like Queen or even copying... but if you read
who is the production of the album then you will understand who added those
Queen elements on their music. So, responsible for the excellent production
of the album is Roy Thomas Baker who has worked with Queen in the past. Not
to be biased, this album has nicer musical tunes than the debut but I
can’t stand listening to a singer like this one... If you loved the debut
then, then surely you have bought the album already... if you hated the
debut then stay away from this CD. Personally I will never play it again!
These blokes here seem to have been frozen out during the late 60’s and just woke up without having noticed that the century has turned. Living thus in their own world they entered a studio and recorded as if they were in the 60’s and we are still wearing pants or skirts with patches, we have pinned flowers on our hair and dance like hippies. For those who have not get the message yet, The Defectors play here an old fashion garage party kind of rock, which lets you groove. The Creeps meet Question Mark and the Mysterians meet The Blues Brothers.... and the party never ends! Hammond, undistorted guitar, old-fashioned production etc. Taking for granted that the band is indeed out of time, the question is simple: do you mind? The songs are really good and the funny mood is presented all-over. If you think that you can listen to something like that in 2004, then...
That’s
why I like rock n’ roll music… make it fast, make it simple, make it
good… that’s exactly what The Doits is doing on this new album. Nice RnR
with punk elements (ala Ramones)… tunes that will please anyone who is
into rock n’ roll music. Do not look for originality here…The Doits as
many others are doing is just offering some nice rockin’ “shinny”
tunes that will keep you good company, especially if you are driving on a
highway. Well, personally as I wasn’t so satisfied from the last
Hellacopters album, I will play this album far too many times, till the
“kings” of this genre, Hellacopters, release something really good as
they have done in the past. If you love the aforementioned bands, then do
not miss this one. It’s only RnR...
Cool!!
Rock ‘n’ Roll meets punk rock, the compositions are “sunny”, we will
have a great time listening to it and I’m always fascinated if such kind
of albums sound as good as this one! No joking now, I might be a huge prog
fan, but I always like a “happy” interval, just to get a break and have
fun. And The Doits offer it first class! Considering that I haven’t heard
from The Hellacopters for quite a while now, I can tell you that this CD is
like an oasis. This band’s coming from Stockholm, and it manages to
produce a perfect mixture of Hellacopters, Ramones, Misfits etc. If you like
this particular sound then you will be thrilled by this CD, which by the way
manages to provide us with a significant variety, even with some mid-tempo
melodic songs. Melodies, multiple vocals, solid rhythm section a couple of
beers and blonde bimbos!!!!!!
The band from New Jersey releases its second full-length album, after the
“Calculating Infinity” album and the “Irony Is A Dead Scene” EP
released in 2002 with Mike Patton (Faith No More, Fantomas, Tomahawk) on
the vocals. The line-up right now is: Ben Weinman and Brian Benoit on
guitars, Liam Wilson on bass Chris Pennie on drums and Greg Puciato on
vocals (he replaced Dimitri Minakakis). This new album consists of eleven
tracks that are separated into many pieces. So, after the CD is over (it
lasts about 40 minutes), you will see at the stereo display that you are
in the 99th track! Their music still remains a mixture of
metal, hardcore, punk, grind, progressive and all these under a
jazz/mathematical orchestration! The final result is chaos and sickness!
All the musicians are virtuosos and the frequent changes between ultra
fast and aggressive parts with slow/melodic moments make the final result
really strange… This album will not make big sales for sure, but I think
that the tracks included here can become influential for the aggressive
music scene, just like Watchtower’s “Control And Resistance” album
did many years ago in the progressive scene manly! This is a difficult
album to listen to and it’s hard to feel emotions other than surprise,
offence and sickness when listening to it!
Four years have pasted since the last release of the band (“12 Ablaze”) and
the Greeks strike back again. Their new album can be characterized as
melodic death metal, as always, but the main difference from their past
releases is the extensive use of the keyboards. In the past the band used
the keyboards only to create atmosphere, but now the keyboards play a vital
role in their music. So, the album is full of modern and atmospheric keys
and full of electronic sounds. The guitar work is pretty good, without
trying to impress the fans with dull technical tricks or fast solos. The
vocals are brutal in the whole album, but they are good. A drum machine
plays the drums and this becomes very obvious sometimes... The production is
a little bit strange, because sometimes you cannot clearly listen to all the
instruments, but in the whole album the keyboards and the vocals are in
front of all the other instruments... Generally, it is a simply good
melodic/electro death metal album, but I believe that if it had a better
production, a real drummer and lasted more than 37 minutes that it lasts, it
would be a very good album... In any case it is worth listening, if you like
the combination of extreme and electronic music.
The Eternal formed in 2003 from the ashes of the Australian doom band Cryptal Darkness and they’ve recorded just a short promotional demo since then. Obviously, here is their first full-length album. At the moment I saw the excellent gloomy cover of the CD I got warmed up for something really good. Will the inside be so good as the outside? Lets see… the album contains 10 tracks of nice dark melodies, thoughtful lyrics and depressing keyboard playing. The general style is more gothic and less doom. Mark Kelson’s voice is very melodic and touchy and many times reminds me of Ville Vallo’s (HIM’s vocalist) hue. Unfortunately, like many new doom albums, the most of the tracks are very extended and just two of them remain interesting until the end. (I’m referring to the songs “A Cruel Misfortune” and “Down” which are the best of all with catchy riffs and rhythms). The rest of the album is just a mediocre gothic outcome. Nothing to abruptly draw your attention. So I can recommend it only to inquiring doom\gothic funs that want to add more and more CD’s to their collection.
The
Firstborn was formed in 1995 in Portugal and this is the band’s third
full-length album and the first release since 2000. I haven’t heard the
previous releases of the band, but this one can be characterized as melodic
black metal. As I found out (because I don’t have the lyrics) the album is
a concept one and it is dealing with Tantric Buddhism based on the Tibetan
“Book Of The Dead”. I don’t know what this book is talking about, but
I would surely like to read the lyrics of the band, because I believe they
will be interesting and I will have the chance to understand their music
better... Their music is almost progressive, because of the unusual rhythms
and melodies the band uses. Apart from these the band uses Eastern melodies
and organs, which makes them almost unique in the black metal scene! The
vocalist (Bruno Fernandes) changes his vocals many times and the album
becomes more theatrical. The guitars (Paulo Vieira) have been influences
from the thrash and death metal, apart from the black metal sound. Another
characteristic of this album is that the band changes the tempo very often
and very sudden... The production is good, but I think that that the band
could achieve a better sound... Anyway, those who like to listen to
something new in the black metal scene, can check this album. The rest of
you who don’t like very much the experimental music should listen to it
first and then decide.
Do
you remember these guys from Sweden? I had written the review of their
demo almost a year ago and I was impressed by their 70’s sound. I
remember wishing them to find a label and now I received the band’s
first full-length album from their label, Transubstans Records. I was very
glad that the guys managed to make a deal with a label because I think
they deserved it. This album contains all the three tracks that were
included in the promo CD, the three tracks that were included in their
demo “The First Trick”, but with a different – better sound, and
three more new tracks... The general sound of this album is their familiar
70’s heavy rock music with some blues influences with no keyboards at
all! Those who will think that the band is a clone of the 70’s bands, I
must say that they are not just copying those bands, but they are playing
the music they love from their hearts and that’s why they sound fresh!
The band’s influences are Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, Grand Funk, UFO, Deep
Purple etch and the production is very clean, but it is also old-school!
Give these guys a chance and I think you will not regret it! I think that
this album is best accompanied with a big glass of beer... Cheers!!!
“Terra
Incognito” is the second album for the band that Tomas Lindberg created
after the split-up of the great-historical band At The Gates. The first
album had a very good feedback from the underground metal scene, because
of the band’s strange music style and the good tunes of the album. Now,
with their second album, they still produce good music without having many
differences from their debut album “A Venom Well Designed”. The very
heavy guitars (Kristian Wahlin and Johan Osterberg), the great death-dark
vocals of Tomas, the dark atmosphere, the melodic parts, the
aggressiveness and some electronic sounds are here! As you can understand
from the above, the mixture of many music styles is their advantage and
this is why this album sounds so fresh! The crazy Daniel Bergstrand
(Strapping Young Lad, Meshuggah, In Flames) made the production for this
album and it is very good and heavy. Finally, I must mention that the band
has prepared a nice video for the track “Lake Of Sulphur”. I believe
that the fans of Tomas Lindberg and also the fans of the aggressive music
will find this album very interesting and they will be impressed.
"In Black" is the second full-length album of The Illusion Fades. The band now is the personal project of the songwriter/singer John Dedes who is responsible for all the songs of this album. First of all as you have all figured out from the name of the band, The Illusion Fades play gothic rock music with some metal elements from song to song. The songs are all very good and melodic and they have that sweet sad, dark and desperate feeling that gothic music has. The production of the album is good (although it could have been better) but the only negative that I found is the distortion of the guitar. I would prefear the sound of the guitar to be more solid. But that do not change the good result of the album at all. The songs of the album that all gothic fans should listen to are the desperate "Light My Fire", the catchy dark "All I Want Is Nothing", the heavy "Shelter For The Soul", the atmospheric "I Don't Fear The Dark", and the gothic rocker "Stay" (you can find also an acoustic version of this song as a bonus track). In a few words "In Black" is a very good album and I'm sure that the fans of this genre will like it a lot. Do not hesitate to try things that are not too known cause many times they hide lots of good elements that if we do not try to find, we will never have the chance to listen to.
The Lizards are back with a new live album within a few months. So, this release can be used by someone who is not familiar with the Lizards as a “best Of”, cause the sound is very good and clear and the band is playing fuckin’ good! The album was recorded at Canada Tavern, Windsor, Ontario… in September of 2003. I’m not going to talk about the music value of its of the members cause I have done it in my previous review from their studio album some months ago. I must also tell you that again the four “crazy” guys are here, Garner, Klein, Pratt, Rondinelli, and the are offering us fifty minutes of 70’s hard rock along with some jazz, fusion and blues elements… and I personally like it very much although that I’ not the biggest fan of live albums. I always prefer the studio albums of a band and that will never change. The songs were taken from the two studio works of the band and if you like that kind of sound or if you are a fan of The Lizards then this release will satisfy you. I mostly prefer also to “see” the live show in a DVD than only to listen to it… so the review of their DVD is on the way… for more info. I would love to be in a bar wearing my leathers and my boots drinking many beers and listening to this kind of music. Small clubs are the best places for dirty “old” rock music!
Cheers.
What kind of music would you expect from a band with the name “The Nerds”? I personally thought they would play a kind of high school punk rock and roll. Well, I was half right, as they play hard rock and roll. However I also think that I was right to my other assumption to, the one that referred to “high school”. That is because the music here is so amateur, that could have been produced by high school pupils. Songs that don’t exceed the 3 minutes in length, a bad vocalist, noise, noise, noise for no reason. The only think I can grant them is that they indeed play fast. But because I’m not 19 anymore “fast” is not a priority to my likings.
The Mass is an American band (California) that now managed to release its
debut album under an almost underground label. The four guys of the band
play a mixture of hardcore, death, thrash and punk music. Their main
characteristic is that among the common instruments (guitars, bass and
drums) they have added a saxophone! This movement made them sound original
and added a jazz-math sound in their tracks! Their music is really strange
and unique, but the way that vocalist (Matt Waters) uses the saxophone
sounds very sick to me... The guitars are heavy and fast most of the times
and the rhythm section is very exact and technical. The vocalist sings
either with aggressive or brutal vocals, when he doesn’t use the
saxophone... If there were a way to describe this band’s music, I would say
that it is a mixture of Voivod, Slayer and Dillinger Escape Plan adding a
sick saxophone and jazzy rhythms! The grade goes to their uniqueness,
because I admit that I didn’t enjoy much their music... On the other hand, I
am sure that the lovers of the aggressive math music will like this band!
The Project Hate MCMXCIX started in 1998 in Sweden by Lord K. Philipson (Leukemia, House Of Usher and Lame) and Jφrgen Sandstrφm (Grave and Entombed). Since then they have released three full-length albums and now with a new female vocalist (Jo Enckell) recorded this album. Their music style is a mixture of death metal with many industrial and electronic moments. The guitars are very heavy and sharp and can make your head banging in all the tracks of the album. The vocals are brutal and spit every word in your mouth, contrary to the female vocals that are very calm and ethereal and give a dark and romantic atmosphere to the album. The rhythm section is tough enough, but I don't think that it reminds anything from a death metal rhythm section and that makes their sound to differ from the common Scandinavian death metal groups. There are also some guest appearances on the vocals and these are: Emperor Magus Caligula (Dark Funeral), Mogge Lundin (2 Ton Predator) and Rickard Alriksson (Genocide Superstars). I don't how you are going to react and feel after you have listened to this album, but I was really very surprised because everything is here: brutality, darkness, romance, hate, melodies and many more elements. This album contains 70 minutes of music that you will want to be repeated many times in the future, although that all tracks last more than seven minutes. Enjoy this album in every way that you can!
The Prowlers were formed in 1996 in Italy. Since now they have released three demo CDs and after many live appearances in Italy they found an agreement with the Northwind/Steelborn label and they recently released this full-length album. Some of you may know the group from the collection “Defenders Of Metal Vol.1” (released by Men In Black) that included their song “Incubus”, which was one of the best tracks in that CD and one of the best tracks in the CD presented here. Their music has many influences from the heavy, progressive and the power metal along with some epic moments. The guitarists, Stefano “Napo” D’Orazi and Fabio “The Eldar” Schirato, are a very nice duet that reminds much of the Murray/Smith style. I must admit that very nice work has be done on the bass (Allessandro Vincis), which sounds really interesting! The vocalist (and keyboard player) Fabio Minchillo together with Claudio “Dr. K” Cappabianca (drums and backing vocals) gives an epic feeling to the album. I must say that Minchillo has a very strong voice that sometimes reminded me of Dickinson’s voice! Also the keyboards, which just follow the tracks and very few moments lead the other instruments, give a wonderful epic and dramatic feeling to some tracks. The production is strong and is very good. Finally, I must inform you that the band is going to release a new demo later this year, in order to jump to a more important label for their second album.
This is the second album of the German band, which seems to put all its money to this punk rock-n-roll sound. To be honest I like this sound as an easy listening choice. You know something that I won't have to be focused on, rather play it in the background when working out for example. No, The Revolvers don't present anything particular, something that will shake our foundations. On the one hand we have heard the same things from bands like Saints, Radio Birdman or even the Hellacopters. On the other hand the bands plays with loads of passion and seems to enjoy what it does. At least this is indicated in songs like "What Happened To My Attitude" or "End Of Apathy". Plus the whole approach is old-fashioned
traveling us back to the early 80's days... something that can be good... or bad for others. In general I find it a good effort.
All of you surely know that J. R. R. Tolkien has influenced every form of
Art (cinema, music, painting, literature) with his trilogy “The Lord Of
The Rings”. The new followers of Tolkien are three musicians from Sweden
that formed this band. Their names are: Jakob Samuel (Midnight Sun, Jekyll
And Hyde and Punchline) on vocals, drums and keyboards, Pontus Norgren
(Talisman, Sin City and Lion
Southern rock made in Japan? And being better than some CDs of the genre coming from the States??? Well we are not so much surprised anymore, since we know The Savoy Truffle from its previous effort, “Take
To The Sky And Fly”. When we received the new album from the band from Osaka, we knew what to expect and we haven’t been disappointed an inch! Southern rock, with honky-tonk rhythms, some country elements, a few fusion touches and a lot of fun. The album indeed travels you mentally to some highways in the middle of Phoenix or to some South Carolina bars where people dance and drink till they are exhausted. If I didn’t know the band and it’s history and I listened to the CD I would bet that it comes from an american band... especially since Monji Kadowaki’s vocals sound... american to the bone! The whole band kicks asses with its performance, but I really have to mention the amazing work on the guitars by Sumitomo. Fantasy solos and riffs that smell bourbon from afar! I can hardly distinguish the highlights of the album (as all songs are in very high standards), but I would mention the anthem “Until You Can Feel It”, “Too Real To Feel” and “Give It One Good Try” where the spirit of Lynyrd Skynyrd is present. If you are into this sound, don’t hesitate a moment. Pure dynamite!
Do you like southern/blues rock music, slide guitars, harmonicas and blues-rockin’ vocals? Well, if the answer is yes, then it is surely coming from Japan! Yes, you are reading right. No America or U.K. but Japan. The Savoy Truffle is a five-piece band from Japan that was formed in 1990 and plays southern/blues rock music with some hard rock (from the 70’s era) elements, along with very nice vocal melodies. In this point I must inform you that the band has two (!) drummers. The big surprise of this album is not the very good music (they are all of them excellent music-players) but the melodic blues-rockin’ voice of the singer Monji Kadowaki. When I listened to his voice I thought that he was an American or at least an Anglo-saxon! His accent leaves you no other choice to think of something else. Just imagine Ian Gillan singing a little bit bluesier with the “southern-help” of Ronnie Van Zant! “Take To The Sky And Fly” is the third studio album of the band (they have released also the live album “Live! On Our Way”) and it combines the best elements of Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd along with the blues and freshness of The Savoy Truffle. The southern/blues rock fans will surely enjoy songs like, “Change The World In Me”, “Heart Of Stone’, “Hold Back The Tears” (Yuko Shigeno is participating in this song), and “Take To The Sky And Fly” (Mari Kaneko is also singing in this song). The Savoy Truffle is a band with fresh rock/blues ideas and they have offered and they will continue to offer their rockin’ blues to anyone who loves that specific genre. I bet that they will kick-asses in their live shows, so the next time that The Savoy Truffle are playing near your town, wear your leathers, your boots, your hat, get a beer (or a dozen of beers) and enjoy your favourite music! Personally, I’m looking forward to listening to their new studio album cause I believe that it will be as excellent as this one! Or maybe even better? We’ll see
very soon…
Long time ago (not so long
of course), I got a new cd from a band that was called The 69 Eyes. As it
was -for me- a completely unknown band I forgot that cd somewhere on my
desk. Till the time that I decide to listen to it! And I really regret
that I haven't listened that cd for such a long time! Those guys from
Finland left me speechless as they manage to release an album that as the
title says it really "Kills"! The 69 Eyes are playing gothic
music, with many rock/metal elements, which are creating an unbelievably
dark atmosphere in their songs. Some highlights of the album are: "Dance
D' Amour", "Betty Blue", and also the song "Forever
More", that they will enthuseyou. After the last year's surprise with
Scream Silence. I didn't expect that any other band in the same music
genre would create to me the same feelings in such a short period from the
last one! Melancholy, pain, and desperation…for those that are in to the
same mood I would suggest them, to check out this album immediately. As it
concerns me…I' m looking, desperately, to find the two previous albums
of that band!!
The band may be called The Sleepers but believe me, it won’t make you
wanna sleep with its music. This newcomer band from 
I believe that The Solution is a new band, as I have never heard of them in the past. When I took the album in my hands I
didn’t know what I was going to listen to, but suddenly I saw a very known person in the
band’s line up. That person is the well-known Nick Royale the leader of my beloved The Hellacopters. Then I smiled with meaning and I put the CD in the CD-player. I was ready to listen to rock
n’ roll music but Nick once again took me by surprise cause although the music is based in rock
n’ roll, it is most influenced by the late
60’s and early
70’s era. What a nice relief for someone like me who loves this era and of this kind of music. So, imagine calm guitars, piano, organ, sax, trombone, trumpets, cool rhythms strong vocal melodies and a
60’s-70’s vibe that will appeal to all the music fans of that era. In this point I have to say that Nick is not the vocalist of the band… the singer is Scott Morgan who has a very warm and smooth voice and he is accompanied in the most songs, by the lovely backing vocals of Viktor Brobacke and Clarisse Muvemba. Nick Royale except the drums, is also playing the guitar and has made the excellent production of the album. As a result, if you like The Hellacopters or rock
n’ roll music of the late
60’s - early
70’s then grab this album without any hesitation. Nick knows exactly how to offers us good music.
I thought that The Third And The Mortal had split up long
ago, but after so many years the band is finally back again with a new
album. First of all I have to warn you, that "Memoirs" is an album that has nothing to do with the metal
scene. And as you have guessed, all those metal elements that The Third And The Mortal once
had, now have gone away. The music that they play nowadays is a mixture of atmospheric
trip-hop with many pop/electronic elements! Are you surprised? Well I don't think that this is something new for the fans of the
band. They knew what they were going to listen from The Third And The Mortal in the next
years. But if you are a metalhead and you remember them as an interesting atmospheric metal band just forget them and stay away from
"Memoirs"! This album has some attractive songs like the atmospheric groovy
"Thin Dark Line", the depressive "Simple Mind" and the
slow-tempo "Good Evening Mr. Q". I think, "Memoirs" will be appreciated from
persons, who like groups like Massive Attack cause I don't think that the metal fans will be glad about this kind of
music. If you like electro/pop music then check out this album but if you
don't…don't even think about it!
Wow,
this is impressive. Basically because the group manages to digest loads of
elements and create a very solid musical proposal that has the ability to
reach larger audiences. Not that the band plays anything really novel or
innovative, but the approach here is very interesting. I haven’t much info
concerning the band to share with you, but I know that the band is coming
from 
The
second album of Ulf Theodor Schwadorf (ex- Empyrium) and Allen B.
Konstanz’s project is released. The first album (“The Deathship Has A
New Captain”) was very interesting and I really enjoyed its horror
music. The new journey into the horror and death includes eight new songs,
which are not very different from their debut album. This means that the
death, black, gothic and atmospheric metal influences are still here, but
this time their music has more gothic elements than the previous album, as
far as I think... The keyboards create beautiful and frightening
atmospheres and they are sometimes used as a piano, others just follow the
music and others sound like a dramatic orchestra! The guitars may be
heavier than their debut album and the drums have a more physical sound...
The vocals are a bit strange and are clearly influenced from gothic and
dark-wave music and there are very few death metal influenced vocals.
There is also a female soprano, which makes some guest vocals in some
tracks... The album is a concept one, as I found out from the official
site of the band, since I don’t have the lyrics... So, in the first
album, horror movies characters inspired every song but this one has to do
with a businessman that has inherited the old estate of his family in the
frightening and evil Carpathia... We, as listeners, travel together with
this man in the “unfriendly” and mysterious country, Romania... The
production and the artwork are very good and I believe that those who
liked their debut album will surely love this one! Listen to the wonderful
tracks: “The Drama Of The Wicked”, “Carpathia”, “The Curse Of
Arabia” and “The Charm Is Done”.
Do you remember Ulf Theodor Schwadorf from the Empyrium project? Well Ulf and Allen B. Konstanz cooperated and created The Vision Bleak. The promo artwork mentions that this album contains “9 tracks of death, doom and horror” and that made me enough curious to listen to the album. The artwork is marvellous and the song titles of the album promise something really interesting. For example, I mention some titles that refer to classic horror movies: “The Night Of The Living Dead”, “Wolfmoon” and “Metropolis” From the first note of the album you can understand that this is a very special one. Many different styles of music (Gothic, Dark Wave, Doom, Death and Atmospheric metal) are mixed in a unique way! The female vocals are very atmospheric and give a horror feeling to the tracks, especially when they are accompanied by the gothic male vocals! The other interesting thing is that the narration in and between some songs is spoken by: “the German voice of the evil wizard Saruman from the “Lord Of The Ring” movies” (as I read in the band’s official site)! There are many atmospheric moments and many aggressive parts that climax the agony, just like when you watch a movie and you reach to a critical scene… Check the following tracks “A Shadow Arose”, “Elizabeth Dane”, “Horror Of Antarctica”, “Woolfmoon” and “Deathship Symphony” and you will make a journey across the horror country together with these captains of the deathship called music!
The group was formed in Finland in 1998 and was firstly named “Bleeding Harmony”. After some line-up changes, live appearances and the release of some promos they changed their name to “The Wake” and signed for Spinefarm Records at the beginning of 2003. After while, they recorded their first full-length album “Ode To My Misery”, which is presented here. These guys play melodic death metal with some thrash influences, which gives the group a more aggressive and powerful attitude. The whole music mixture is indeed mysterious, because it is influenced from the Swedish death metal with more brutal vocals and excellent technical skills. The vocalist, Kaj Michelsson, who is also the bassist player of the group, has a strange voice, which sounds really nice, although it is brutal enough! On the other hand, the guitarists Jani Luttinen and Sakari Lempinen, together with the drummer, Wellu Helenius, will impress you with their technique, heaviness and the power of their playing. The layout is simple but also good and includes all the lyrics. Finally, the production is very clean and powerful, like most of the Swedish groups. I think that we must expect many good moments from this band, because they are young with a vision for the future, they have fresh ideas and made a surprise with their debut album, as it is different from the most Swedish death metal groups that are formed every day the last years… Give them the chance cause they will pay you back!
The debut album for the Canadian band Thine Eyes Bleed is a fact. The band
consists of Jeff Phillips (ex-Kittie) and Derek Ward on guitars, Justin
Wolfe (ex-Acacia) on vocals, Tom Arraya’s brother, Johny Arraya on bass and
Darryl Stephens on drums. Their music style is a mixture of hardcore and
metalcore music, while the thrash and death metal influences are more than
obvious. The fast guitars and the heavy riffs will please the thrash metal
fans and the brutal/aggressive vocals will please the death metal fans. The
drums are fast and technical and you will be able to listen to many blast
beats. Generally, the band did not impress me, because I don’t think that it
escapes from the classic hardcore/metalcore style... Everything here is at
it should be, so the fans of this kind of music will surely like it, but the
rest who are searching for something different or something new in this
music will definitely not find it here... The best tracks here are: “Live To
Die”, “Innocent Mind” and “Regret Your Fear”.
I’m afraid (or to put it better – I’m glad) that whatever groups like Thorn.Eleven will do the grunge movement cannot be revived. The band here plays a in the legacy of groups like Smashing Pumpkins or Therapy?. However the album is not a total grunge thing. The music is embellished by contemporary things. Imagine a grunge group being brought up by listening to Tool and Paradise Lost. The atmosphere here is dark and gloomy, but to be honest not so realistic. I’m quite confused whether this album is an average release, or something much better, that I might not understand. However I am sure that the main drawback of the album is the absence of originality. Although the songs are good they constantly remind us themes from the songs of other bands. Despite that, I cannot ignore some really good songs like “Hollow”, “Maze” and especially “Out To You”. I think that you should try and listen to it, before buying it.
This is a very interesting proposal for modern prog rock fans. Not only
because the outcome of the CD is very good, but also because one can find
here many distinguished musicians from the genre. Thorne is a
singer/songwriter who has been many years around in the British prog scene,
but only now decided to offer us his first solo album. It does worth
mentioning the artists assisting Thorne in this CD: Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s
Beard), Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Liquid Tension Experiment),
Geoff Downes (Asia, Yes) along with members from IQ and Jadis constitute
something like a super prog rock band! But most important is the outcome of
the CD, which is great. The aforementioned musicians here do not consume
theirselves in solos and skill show-off, rather completely offer their
capabilities to serve the needs of the songs. The result is a pop/prog rock,
or as I like to call it a mass-friendly prog rock. The stigma of the sound
borrows a lot from (the less complicated aspects of) Marillion, Spock’s
Beard, Radiohead, Arena and IQ. Good melodies, averagely short songs and
nice atmosphere. Very good effort indeed
Thousand
Points Of Hate is a new British bands and “Scar To Mark My Day” is the
first E.P. that they release. The band shows its intentions to play heavy
music from the start and they do not sacrifice their melodic side due to
aggressiveness. Heavy riffs, excellent vocals, melodic parts and a more
metalcore edge to some songs… and here we have Thousand Points Of Hate. No,
their music is not only about hate and violence. They have their melodic
moments and that is due to the very good hard-edged riffs and of course due to
the great voice of Simon Gordon’s (ex-Xentrix). Their music is influenced
from bands like Metallica, Pantera, Killswitch Engage and Arch Enemy and it
has a very good and modern production. They are planning to release their
debut full-length album on the next months so the fans of the aforementioned
bands and especially those who like heavy riffs and powerful vocals and a
modern edge on metal sound should pay attention to that band. I’m waiting to
listen to their full-length album to see their evolution. They have the
potentials to do something really good… let’s hope that they will also
have the will and the guts to do it.
This
is the most “weird” and psycho album that I have heard the last 7-8
months! The Norwegian band that exists for over 20 years released its new
album that’s full of psychotic music. Dark atmospheres, goth melodies,
psycho-passages, “cold”, gloomy vocals, bizarre samples,
heavy/acoustic guitars... a dark cell where you are locked inside, deep on
hollow earth and shadow-demons are there to make your loneliness, a living
hell! I really don’t know how I managed to get out of this “gloomy
music cell” but surely those were some of my thoughts while I was
listening to this album! Is it dark? Of course! Is it a living nightmare?
Sure... Is it extremely psycho? Hell yeah!! I do not know when I’m going
to listen to this album again but this time I’m gonna be prepared. It
will happen again only at 
I must admit that I'm a big Thunder fan many years now, and I was watching them right from their first steps in their early years. So, when I heard about the re-union of Thunder I was really excited. I remembered the good old
Thunder-ing rock days and the hard rock hymns that have offered us in their first three classical albums. Therefore I've listened to the album as soon as I could and my joyful was bigger than before! What I mean? It's so simple my friends. All those things that made me and in general made all of us to love Thunder, and I mean, the hard and mellow sound, the unique music style the energy, and the soul of the band, are still here reminding us their first "golden" days of them! As far as I know the first song of the album "Loser" was released, as a single and I believe that was a very smart move cause this song is a great heavy rocker one! Other songs that you are going to love from this album are the homonymous "Shooting At The Sun", semi-acoustic ballad "If I Can't Feel Love", the mid tempo rock "A Lover, Not A Friend", and the wonderful and satirical "Somebody Get Me A Spin Doctor". As a result to those that I said above, all the fans of Thunder must buy "Shooting At The Sun" cause it's an absolutely damn good hard rock album in the way that only Thunder can do it!
Second discographic effort for the German group, after last year’s successful debut. I remember that in that review I had written that if band’s members manage to keep their feet on the ground and work hard, we will talk about them some day with the best of words. Well I think we can talk with the best of words already, unless we are looking for something novel. No, Thunderstone does not innovate here in any meaning. It delivers pure euro-power metal, which however sounds quite differentiated from the mass and vigorous. This means that we are not going to listen to the same double bass drum all over the album again. On the contrary the music here has made a turn to the US sound, while the band blinks the eye to Iron Maiden. In general the music reminds me at times a lot of Hammerfall of the latest works, without being a copy. Plus the new video of “Until We Touch The Burning Sun” (which is a great song) is quite good and can introduce the band to larger audiences. It will not turn our world upside down, but it is a good effort, especially for power fans.
As you might have guessed this is Thunderstone's debut
album. Informations about them from Germany talked about the best debut power
album since Hammerfall's "Glory to the Brave". To be honest I am afraid of such kind of declarations, as sometimes it's all because of
public relations. So I was suspicious before listening to the album. Now, what I can say is that: I am not sure if this is the best power
metal debut since 1997, but it definitely a breathtaking release! I am sure that if the band manages to keep their feet on the ground and
work hard, we will talk about them some day with the best of words! Their music is a kind of European power metal, but embellished with
prog elements and some hard rock influences. This means that the songs do not follow the usual double bass drumming and the cliche harmonies
in the guitars. Vigorous songs, with lots of variety, fast outbreaks, melodic bridges and things. The vocalist is quite good too. At times
they remind a lot of Helloween, but in a more "modern" and closer to prog approach. Stratovarius' fans will appreciate this record for
sure. If you into this kind of European power metal, then Thunderstone is
a very good proposition for you, maybe the best for these days. At least they prove that there are more to play in this genre of our music.
By the way the song "Virus" is a pure power anthem!
Thy Primordial was formed in 1994 and they’ve recorded two albums since then. I can’t express any opinion for this two albums cause I haven’t heard them but their third album “Pestilence Upon Mankind” is the epitome of boring old-fashioned black metal. The band maybe lives somewhere in a forest and forgot that black metal have changed dramatically since early 90’s. Drum machine, speedy guitar riffs with no rhythm, lack of inspiration and monotonous roars are some of the features of this album. I wonder if there’s anyone in nowadays who can be impressed by this features! A 12 year old kid possibly. To be more precise, collect the most boring songs of “Immortal”, write them in a CD-r and you have “Pestilence Upon Mankind”. A mediocre result, which will never satisfy the funs of first-rate melodic black metal. That’s all. I’m bored to death…
Tiamat is one of my favorite bands and I’ve been watching them since their first
death/black days… but also I had the pleasure to see them change their direction and becoming one of the most interesting atmospheric bands in the metal scene, after they released the astonishing “Wildhoney”. So, the new album, which is titled “Prey”, is not so gothic as are the two previous works of the band. This album I would say that brings again Tiamat to their atmospheric roots but the goth mood and some gothic elements are also here. The opener song of the album (which is also the first single, if I’m right) “Cain” will surely impress you, as it is one of the catchy songs of the album. Other highlights of the album are the dark, moody “Wings Of Heaven”, the hit “Light In Extension”, the goth-rocker “Love In Chains”, the slow-tempo atmospheric “Carry Your Cross And I’ll Carry Mine” (and the “filler” “Triple Cross”), the tremendous melodic tune “Clovenhoof”, the gloomy “Prey”, the mid-tempo “Nihil” and the mysterious “The Pentagram”. Especially the last three songs that I referred to, will bring on your mind, days from “Deeper Kind Of Slumber”. Generally I think that “Prey” is a very good album and shows that Tiamat are getting away from the good but very commercial days of “Judas Christ” and they are into more atmospheric and dark paths now. The fans of the band will love this album and the fans of atmospheric dark music will also be satisfied from the variety and the well-produced songs that this album has. Tiamat with “Prey” done what they know to do best… they offered us truly good music that comes straight from their heart!
Johan Edlund the mastermind of
Tiamat, has just returned after almost 3 years and he offers us the new album of Tiamat
"Judas Christ". This time Tiamat decide not to change their music
style, as they used to do in the past, but they continue from where they had stopped with their previous
album. This doesn't mean that "Judas Christ" does not contain good songs and melancholic
atmosphere. Here we found the Super hit of the album "Vote For Love" which has been released as a single almost a month
ago. Some other possible hits that we picked up, are songs such as "Angel
Holograms" or "I'm In Love With Myself". I think that this time they trying to approach not only the Metal fans but also all those who like to listen to good music…Will they
succeed? 
This one is really good! Believe it or not this band was formed in 1991 and since then it has released two albums. After its second album “The Dawn” their record label went bankrupt and the band was forced to stop for a while. Now after almost 8 years they are back and things are even more impressive. The musical style here is melodic rock, but trust me that the term might be confining. That is because the band embellishes its sound with wonderful solos, some prog rock elements and magical synth "paintings" in the background! Plus at times the songs take a glam turn... but then a pop, an AOR or a straight rock one. One thing is for sure no one can get bored with this CD. The fact that Timelock is not afraid to experiment becomes evident with the 12-minutes long opus "Everything Except the World", where the classical piano delves into jazz and psychedelic approaches. I don't know what else to write to describe it. For those not convinced try and listen to the magnificent "Different Light", "The Fortune" or "The Road To Babylon" and you will discover a perfect mixture of influences presented under a unique prism. Great work indeed!
"Taste" is the brand new
E.P. from the terrific band
TNT. That E.P. was also released in Europe the first week of June under the title
"Give Me A Sign". "Taste" was released in Japan and it contains five new songs and an unreleased track from the
"Tell No Tales" sessions, which is called "Destiny". The five new songs give us a taste of how it will sound the new TNT
album, which I'm waiting with a lot of anxiety! The good thing is that TNT rocks like they used to
do, in albums like "Knights Of The New Thunder", "Tell No
Tales", and "Intuition". You will understand that TNT not only know how to show their respect to their
fans, but that they are in a very good shape too, if you listen to the songs of the
E.P. from the first song
"Live Today" you will realize that TNT are here to rock you!
"Hey Love" takes a few more listenings but I'm sure that in the end you will love
it! Great semi-ballad in the way that only TNT can write! The next song
"Satellite" is a very happy pop rock song and I'm sure that you gonna like the chorus of this
song! Well, in my opinion "Give Me A Sign" maybe is the best song of the
E.P. and I like it very much not only cause it rocks but because it is very
dark! "Magic Little Nightmare" is a very beautiful acoustic ballad and Tony Harnell once again left me breathless with his great
voice! And at last "Destiny", as I told you before, comes from the sessions of
"Tell No Tales" and you can understand when you listen to it that it comes from another era but it stills rocks very
well! As you have already understood TNT released an excellent E.P. and they made us wait with a lot of apprehension their new studio
album. I believe that it will be damn good TNT album, but we will see it very
soon. TNT know how to compose good songs, to respect their fans and they seem to like what they are
doing. Can you find a better reason to trust a band? Hard rock music and TNT goes on
together!
TOC
(previously known as Throne Of Chaos) where formed in the mid nineties in
Finland by Taneli Kiljunen (guitar), Joiku Harmaja (guitar), Rasmus Nora
(bass) and Snake Laitinen (drums). Through their two full-length releases
they have changed their music style both times and so they did now with
the “Loss Angeles” CD. Their music cannot be easily categorized and
that is very interesting! You can find all styles of metal here, mixed
under their personal style, but the kind of music that is over all the
others is progressive metal. All the guys from the group seem to be good
musicians and especially the vocalist Tuomas Nieminen and they keyboardist
Carl Sjφblom. You can find many influences from bands like
Queensryche, Dream Theater, Voivod and others in most of the tracks. In
the rest tracks the band becomes more violent and brutal although there
have some calm moments as well. The production is excellent and the
Fredman Studios where they recorded this album is much responsible about
this result. The album also contains two covers of two classic songs:
“Smoke On The Water” (Deep Purple) and “Night Crawler” (Judas
Priest), which is an interesting try but it does not offer something more
to the album although you can hear them pleasantly. The best tracks are:
“The Window”, “Mary Lou Is Dead”, “Acid Highway”,
“Gothamburg” and “Wait”.
"Jaded" is the second album of the promising Finnish band To/Die/For. So, the band plays
in the well-known gothic metal style, which is enriched by beautiful and emotional themes on the keyboards. I believe that the only song that will divide the fans of the band is the cover to the classic Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died In Your Arms". Personally I think that this cover is just cool. So,
on the other hand the album has very strong and heavy songs like the super homonymous "Jaded" the opener "Dying Embers" and the mysterious "Silence Tells More". Conclusively "Jaded" is a very interesting album and I'm sure that the gothic metal fans will enjoy it. To/Die/For is a very talented
band and I believe that they will become more popular in the future.