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ABANDONED SOULS
T.A.
7/10 |
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ABDULLAH
T.A. 8/10 |
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ABIGAIL’S MERCY
A.S. 7,5/10 |
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ABLAZE IN HATRED
T.A.
6/10 |
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ABRAMIS BRAMA
G.K.
7/10 |
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ABSOLUTE STEEL
T.A. 5/10 |
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ACHERON
G.K. 6/10 |
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ADAGIO
A.S. 8/10 |
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ADAMS
BRYAN
T.A.
7/10 |
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A DAY’S WORK
A.S. 8/10 |
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ADEMA
T.A. 5,5/10 |
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ADIMIRON
G.K.
6/10 |
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A DOZEN FURIES
G.K. 5/10 |
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ADRIANGALE
T.A. 8/10 |
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AETERNITAS
A.S. 3,5/10 |
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AGENT STEEL
T.A. 7/10 |
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AGGRESSION CORE
T.K. 6/10 |
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AGRESSOR
G.K. 7/10 |
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AHRCANA
G.K. 7/10 |
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AIRGED L’AMH
G.K. 7/10 |
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AJALON
A.S. 8/10 |
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AJATTARA
G.K. 5,5/10 |
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ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY
A.S. 6,5/10 |
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ALICE COOPER
A.S. 9/10 K.P. 9/10 |
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ALPHA SAFARI
A.S. 7/10 |
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ALTARIA
T.A. 7/10 |
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ALYSON AVENUE
T.A. 6,5/10 |
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AMARAN
A.S. 7,5/10 |
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AMARAN
T.A. 7/10 |
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AMERICAN DOG
A.S. 7/10 |
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AM’GANESHA’N
G.K. 7/10 |
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AM'GANESHA'N
T.A. 7/10 |
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AMORAL
G.K. 6/10 |
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AMORPHIS
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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ANAND
T.A. 5,5/10 |
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ANASARCA
T.A. 1/10 |
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ANATHEMA
K.P. 7,5/10 |
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ANDERSSON RICHARD
A.S. 6,5/10 |
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ANDRALLS
T.A. 6/10 |
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ANDROMEDA
A.S. 9/10 |
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ANGEL
G.K. 7/10 |
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ANGEL DUST
K.P. 7,5/10 T.A.7,5/10 |
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ANNIHILATOR
A.S. 8/10 |
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ANNIHILATOR
A.S. 8/10 T.A. 8/10 |
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ANTIMATTER
T.A. 6/10 |
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ANTHEMON
G.K. 7/10 |
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AOR
T.A. 6/10 |
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AOR
T.A.
6,5/10 |
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A TRIBUTE TO NEW YORK DOLLS
A.S. 4/10 |
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ATROCITY
T.A. 8/10 |
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ATROCITY
T.A. (the whole album will be rated) |
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AT VANCE
T.A. 7/10 |
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ATOMIC ANTS
T.A.
5,5/10 |
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A PERFECT CIRCLE
G.K. 7,5/10 |
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AQUILA
T.A. 8/10 |
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ARACHNES
G.K. 6/10 |
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ARACHNES
T.A. 7/10 |
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ARCH ENEMY
G.K. 7/10 |
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ARCHETYPE
G.K. 7/10 |
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ARCTURUS
T.A. 7/10 |
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ARTICA
T.A.
8/10 |
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ASMODEUS
G.K. 4/10 |
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ASTARTE
T.A. 7/10 |
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ASTERIUS
G.K. 6/10 |
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ATTIKA
G.K. 6,5/10 |
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AUDIOPLUG
T.A. 7/10 |
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AUDIOSLAVE
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Abandoned Souls is a brand new band from 
Even
though their name is quite timely, Abdullah knows exactly how to rock.
Well they play in the known heavy/doom style that they were playing in
their debut album but this time the songs are faster than in their
previous album. The vocals are in the same melodic and paranoid style,
and that is something that I like very much in this band. Jeff Shirilla
is an extremely good singer. The main influences of the band seem to be
Black Sabbath but also some groups from the N.W.O.B.H.M. wave, like
Diamond Head and Witchfynde. Several songs that they are going to blow
your head off are: "Black Helicopters",
"Deprogrammed", "A Dark But Shining Sun" and
"Behold A Pale Horse". It is true that I liked very much
"Graveyard Poetry" and I'm sure that the fans of the band and
also the fans of this specific genre will be keen on this album. Don't
expect to listen to fury guitars or synthies or technology's stuff here.
We're talking about really heavy music that will travel you back in the
70's and allow you to feel how music was so beautiful and genuine then.
The new album of Abdullah will be liked from the 70's dreamers and it's
truly heavy dynamite! Join the club!!!
That’s
a nice surprise. The debut album from Abigail’s Mercy makes sure that the
band has much potential to take leading role in the saturated goth-rock
genre. The name, inspirited by Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, a story
of the Salem witch trials, perfectly ties with the sound of the band, a kind
of mystique atmospheric and dark (yet not melancholic) approach. The vocals
are shared by a female and a male vocalist, but not in the usual “black
metal” approach. After all the music here is more related to hard rock...
mixed with gothic inspirations and some metal forms. Good riffs appear from
time to time (listen for example to “Meaninigless”) to ensure that this
is not a “sad”, “heartbroken”, “weeping” album, rather a living
and energetic one. Seriously songs like the amazing opening “To Hell With
Angels” kick ass and rubber stamp that the band will offer us a lot if it
keeps working towards this direction.
Here
we have a new doom/death metal band from 
“Womanizer”
is the second released of this Norwiegian band. The album was originally
released in 2004 and after the band signed to Black Lotus recs it
re-mastered it and re-released it as an official album. The music of the
album can be described as party hard rock n roll music with many 80s hair
metal elements but again we are talking only for the 7 songs of the album.
The other two songs are instrumental influenced by heavy neoclassical music
and artists like Malmsteen... those two songs are really good but I cannot
understand what’s the connection with the other songs of the album... is
like you are listening to another album. Yes, the guitarist can play truly
good and fast but again... well OK... here we have two songs that have
nothing to do with the album’s atmosphere is that too bad? No, at all I
will rather call “weird”. This album isn’t going to make your day but
it can keep you good company while you’re drinking your beers...
Most of the fanatic fans of death metal will probably know very well this band, cause as I was informed, it has been in action for fifteen years! I admit that I have never heard anything from the group in the past because I'm not a real death metal fan. Also, their satanic style is very old-fashioned for me, so there was no reason for me to pay any attention to them in the past. The group had split up the last years but now it is has been reformed and under a new label (Black Lotus) they recorded this new album (the first original full-length album since 1998). The nine tracks that these guys have composed are full of evil melodies and lyrics, but they seem to believe very strong to what they are doing, cause the decay and the evilness that their music exhales are original. Many groups have an evil-satanic style but few of them are shocking and original. One of these groups is surely, Acheron. The very good and interesting music points are that they have very nice guitar solos, on most tracks and they use some female vocals. The production could have been better, but I think that these guys made such an old-fashioned production in order to give a more aggressive and evil atmosphere to their latest album. Finally, the artwork, as you can also see, is trying to scare some of you but I believe that it is a little bit childish and it is not spooky enough… Anyway, those of you who know the band can guess what to expect and I believe that you are going to get this CD. The rest of you, who like death metal and want to listen to something evil and original, can also check this album.
This is a nice surprise coming from France. In essence this is the band of French guitarist Stephan Forte, who used to play death metal in the past, in the path of Death and Dismember. But now he decided to change his approach and turn into prog/power metal. But it is not only power metal. Forte seems to adore the neo-classical music so he has adapted such kind of elements. Imagine a mixture of Symphony X with Malmsteen' neo-classical virtuoso style and extensive use of the piano. The French guitarist is here surrounded by Kevin Godfert (keys), David Readman (Pink Cream 69 - vocals), and Dirk Bruinenberg (Elegy - drums). The whole effort is a highlight for our music indeed, full of ideas, breaks and a special approach to the songs. Plus the choir and orchestral parts are physically recorded and not samples - something that is clear and adds a lot to the album. This is definitely one of the very best releases of this genre for 2003.
One
of the most successful singers/songwriters in music industry is back with a
new album titled “Room Service”. I know that many loyal Bryan’s fans
have been a little disappointed from his latest works and were waiting the
new album with a lot of anxiety. All that I can say is that Bryan maybe
considered this fact and he finally decided to offer to his fans a good rock
album without having the cheesy moments of his latest works. The songs here
are in rock forms (although they could have been more rock) and Bryan offers
also some very good melodies. The album has a mid-tempo mellow rock vibe and
Bryan seems to find himself as it concerns the songwriting. Songs like:
“East Side Story”, “She’s A Little Too Good For Me”, “Open
Road”, “Room Service”, “I Was Only Dreamin’” and “Right Back
Where I Started From” will please all Bryan’s fans and he will gain
their trust again. I also believe that the first three of the aforementioned
songs can have some radio play. The production is excellent and clear and
Bryan performance is also very good. Just to mention that the album will
contain a bonus song in some countries which is titled “Blessing In
Disguise” and will transfer you back to the 60’s where rock n’ roll
music was on the rise and very popular! As a result, “Room Service” is a
good soft rock album that the fans of Bryan will enjoy and will also make
them forget of the last bad albums.
That’s an interesting piece of work, pushed in a nice package. The Dutch band releases here an EP with four new songs, seven outtakes (demo versions, live etc.), three videos (where we can experience the full of energy live performances of the band), photos etc., which enhance our appetite for more. The music here moves in an emo rock sound that reminds me a lot of bands like Muse, Filter, The Gathering, Unjust and Radiohead. The amalgam is indeed magnificent, and although I have not listened to their full-length album
(“Above And
Within” - 2002), I am really curious about it and I started looking for it. Powerful songs, a bit melancholic with heavy guitars, "sticky" melodies and very good vocals. Indeed my only problem is that the 4 new songs are just so few to curb our appetite, which is enhanced by the amazing music of the group. If this is a small sign of what the band holds in store for the future, then
I’m thrilled cause we can expect much from it! With the whole package coming out in a special price,
I’d suggest you to “bite” it!
The situation with Adema is kind of strange. They begun almost 4 years ago
as a nu-metal band and gained some success in the nu-metal scene. After they
lost their contract with their previous label, they made a deal with
Earache. I do not know what a label like Earache has to do with this kind of
music but it seems that Adema is now the big band of the label if we
consider the fact that the sales are far too many (almost 1 million). On the
other hand Adema on “Planets” have a new singer and they have changed their
sound to new rock with some nu-metal elements and made it more commercial.
The production is fine and the songs are quite listenable. For sure now they
seem to be a new band although they have kept their name. But I do not seem
to get the whole thing here again. Why bands like this one, or Evanescence
or The Darkness have become so popular although their music isn’t so special
and others that are releasing excellent albums stick in the underground and
most of the times are forced to split up, or they never get a deal with a
big label. Is it all matter of promotion or not? And if yes, then why some
bands that managed to get a deal with a big label never really made that big
step? Maybe we (the fans) do not really support all those good bands that
trying to make it on their own without a big budget from a big label. Just
don’t get it!! Anyway, as it concerns this album, I wasn’t get bored when
listening to it but it didn’t mean that much to me and I will hardly play it
another time in my stereo. Reconsider all those things that I said above and
then judge on you own... this is by far the best thing that you have to do.
“Burning Souls” is the debut album for the Italian band Adimiron which
has released two MCDs and has supported bands like Destruction, Vicious
Rumors, Entombed, God Dethroned, Annihilator, Opeth and many more! As you
can understand from the above bands, Adimiron is an aggressive band and to
be more specific it plays death/ black metal with many thrash metal
influences and some melodic and technical guitar parts. The guitarist
(Alessandro Castelli) is very good and his technical and fast solos will
drive you insane. On the other hand, there are some interesting riffs
inside the fast death/thrash guitars… The vocals (Leornado Gioia)
balance between brutal death metal and extreme black metal… I must also
mention that the use of keyboards is very clever and it is done when it
should be! Generally, the band sounds aggressive and the musicians seem to
enjoy the kind of music they play. The eight tracks included here last too
much I think (about 6 minutes every track), and that is a minus for the
album … The band is only interesting for those who love death/thrash
metal and the oldschool sound.
Many
of you may be familiar with this band, because it was the winner at the MTV
show “Battle For Ozzfest” in 2004, which led them play at the Ozzfest
Tour this summer. After this success, a good contract with one of the
biggest labels (Sanctuary) came and now the band’s debut album is a fact!
The five Texan guys have also released a self produced E.P. and have played
live many times, although that they are a new coming band, since they were
formed in 2003... The band plays a mixture of American modern thrash metal
and metalcore music. All the characteristics that describe the above sound
are here. So, you will be able to listen to aggressive vocals and melodic
refrains, Swedish death metal guitars together with American thrash metal
guitars, a powerful rhythm section etc... Apart from the above, the band
doesn’t play something different and pioneering. The production is
excellent, the guys seem to be good musicians but they have to try more in
order to create something really interesting in the metalcore scene, which
is “static” the last years... As a matter of fact, only their perfect
production and the amazing drumming amazed me. If you can become a fan of a
band that comes from a reality show and you like this kind of music, you may
find them interesting... I hope for something better in their second attack!
We have serious problems here. This is because the band would like to produce serious goth/metal music, but the effort is so poor that we can hardly hold our bellies from the laughter. The German band has copy-pasted Lacrimosa, Theater Of Tragedy, Therion etc. to such an extend that it becomes annoying. Pitiful ideas that sound childish, too much fake mellow feeling etc. I’d suggest you to avoid this one. After all the whole listening is soooo out of date! In an era when Tool, Dream Theater and Pain Of Salvation take music many steps forward, this CD just doesn’t find any space left.
Three years after the good "Omega Conspiracy" Agent Steel returns dynamically to the metal community. I don't know why they insist in refereeing in this album again to extraterrestrials but it seems that they are really inspired from that kind of themes! So, the order of the Illuminati returned or it will return if we do not watch out as Agent Steel says. I'm not here to talk about Illuminati or what Illuminati are, cause those who don't know, it seems that truly they don't sneeze at that specific theme. Thus I will continue reviewing the album and leave the talk about that kind of things. Therefore Agent Steel plays in their known heavy/power/speed music style with good hooklines and hard sharp riffs. The opener track of the album is the heavy/speed "Avenger" and I believe it is the best way for a heavy album to begin. The rest of the songs such as the powerful "Ten Fists Of
Nations" (with the excellent break before the end), the instrumental
"Kontrol" and the melodic, heavy "Human Bullet", show that Agent Steel are continuing making good heavy music after all those years. The production also is very dynamic and heavy. "Order Of The Illuminati" is a good album from a band that has its own story at the metal scene. Agent Steel contrary to other bands shows that they respect their fans and they releases only good albums that they can have the chop of Agent Steel. The fans of the band (the new and also the old ones) and generally the fans of heavy/speed music, will like "Order Of The Illuminati" and some songs may remind the first era of the band.
Do you like football? Take Champion’s League as an example. There are leaders and always finalists like Real Madrid or
Juventus, there are surprises each year, outsiders who manage to disqualify top teams, and there are teams like Olympiakos who are always in the league but never make it to the next round. Many bands are good enough to attract your attention but never become on of your favorites. That kind of a band is Aggression Core. Although they have a good “team” with Curran Murphy (Annihilator, Nevermore) on the guitar and James King (ex-Annihilator) as a vocalist, they don’t have “that thing” that every band needs. The song are very good and some interesting, they production is not impressive but functional,
their Slayer - meet s- Pantera - meets - Nevermore - meets - numetal sound and play is well performed and attracting to me, although after listening twice to the record I didn’t catch a line or didn’t silently sing a phrase or a chorus and lost interest in listening it again. I did anyway. I noticed the first and last songs were “treated” better both by band and production. “Victim Of The Enemy”, the starting one, makes me feel like “torturing” my neck and start “evil” smiles. The last one, “Drunk”, a psycho
Kyuss-space outro, makes me feel stoned. But that’s it! All the other songs do nothing. Is it King, who sounds like
Angelripper, like Cronos, like Jonathan Davis, like Petrozza but never like himself? Is it that their self-titled debut gave me the same feeling? I don’t know…. so this is “Victim Or Enemy” and the grade is…
The CD presented here, is a really special one. Let me tell you a few words about this underground band, in order to understand what I’m talking about. Agressor were formed in New York in 1985! Since then the band has made many live appearances and has opened live shows for many bands such as: Savatage, Virgin Steel, Overkill, Anvil, Fates Warning, Nuclear Assault and many more! They have also recorded two demo tapes, which were praised from the international underground scene. Their first full length CD, “Say Your Prayers, is an old release, since it was released in 1996. The group has now changed its name from “Agressor” to “Magus Beast”, which is the name of the first track of the CD presented here. The CD is properly named “Say Your Prayers” because its music is so aggressive and powerful that you will think that your final hours are coming soon… Their music style is based on aggressive metal, nice riffs, tight rhythm section and very nice vocals. I would say that this music is a mix of American power metal and thrash metal of the 80’s. The vocalist Ron Scauri screams in all seven tracks (eight, if we include the hidden track) and creates a nightmarish atmosphere. The riffs included here will make you release all energy and anger you have and will make your head banging. The production doesn’t sound so good but we must excuse them because this CD is a seven years old release, they recorded it with their own money and their style doesn’t demand much better sound. This CD is recommended to all metalheads who want to live again the pure days of the 80’s when extreme metal music was a punch in the stomach. You can also check and support the band by visiting their website:
This band comes from Milan and was formed in 1998 under the name Prophecy, and they changed it to Ahrcana in 2000. The band plays power metal, which paradoxically has no similarities with Rhapsody, as many groups in the Italian metal scene use to have… They are most influenced from the early days of Helloween (“Walls Of Jericho” and the Kiske period). So, their music is a mixture of power metal and speed metal. The most impressive part of this album is the vocals and gave me to understand that Halley, the vocalist, can have great future in the metal scene! All the songs are full of nice solos, great riffs and generally very nice and melodic guitar work made by Alex Castelnovo and Franz Montonati. The rhythm section (the bassist Emanuele Coccato and the drummer Gianluca Luci) is tough and sounds aggressive. I also believe that the rhythm section is much responsible for the speed metal sound of this album. The songwriting although that it is really good, it reminds me a lot of Helloween’s early days and this is what the band much take care in their next release in order to find their personal sound. The production is good although that it can become better in the future. The best tracks are: “The Travel”, “Gates To Realm”, “We’ll Reborn” (a very touching ballad) and finally “Long Life To Dark Elf” (a wonderful epic song).
Airged L’Amh is not a new-coming band since it was created in 1989 under the name Ragnarok! The band comes from Greece and recorded its first demo in 1995 and in 2002 this demo was re-released containing some new songs. Their music can be characterized as barbaric epic power and heavy metal, not only because of the music but also for the lyrics. As for their influences I think that Virgin Steel, Manilla Road and the NWOBHM have offered many things to the band. The “Silver Arm” album is a concept one and the lyrics concern an ancient Celtic legend about the Tuatha De Dannan tribe and the king Nuada, who has his hand cut in the battle and he lost his kingdom… The epic vocals of Steve Vernardo are one of the best points of the album. His voice is really majestic and the epic feeling is real! The guitars (Alexandros Vasilopoulos and George Sofikitis) are much inspired and so is the rhythm section (John Tsimas on bass and George Thanasopoulos on drums), although that I didn’t like much the sound of the drums in some parts… The production is a little bit weak and I think that this is the only thing that the band should take care in their next release. Finally, I must say that the folk elements, the few keyboards and some barbaric screams create an extra epic feeling! Listen to the following wonderful epic tracks and you will surely find the band interesting: “Guardians Of The Ancient Deeds”, “Warp Spasm”, “Mourning Grief”, “The Arrival” and “End Domain”.
The
album is a pleasant surprise for this month... it is always interesting to
listen to newcomers (or almost newcomers) to deliver good piece of work.
Ajalon play this kind of music I like to call prog rock for the masses,
but they do it with style and in a very good way. Shall I explain the
term? Well, we got all the tradition of (UK) prog rock of the 70’s, seen
through a modern prism, embellished with many pop and straight hard rock
elements. I know that similar releases come from all over the place
lately, but Ajalon is among those that can make their way out from the
crowd. The most distinctive instinct is that their music... flows, it
seems to never been restrained by any do’s and don’ts. The band plays
in a very skilful way some solid, short (with two exceptions) and very
well structured songs. What amazes me is that the solos and improvisations
of the band manage to be short, yet so ripe and full of substance (listen
to for example the very smart solos in “Sword Of Golliath” and
you’ll understand what I mean). The general feeling of the album is
up-tempo, with very good use of the piano, in the way Marillion use it in
the later stages of their career. Prog/melodic rock, combined in the best
possible way... Yes, meet Magnum, Journey and Asia. What else shall I ask
for in order to be happy? Vote of confidence here!
Ajattara
is a band from Finland and this is the first time I come across with these
guys. I found out that this band is the project of Pasi Koskinen (ex-Amorphis
singer) and “Tyhjyys” is their third album since they were formed in
1996! Their music is a kind of dark/symphonic black metal, which shifts in
slow speed. All the lyrics and the title songs are in Finnish and as I can
assume this was happening in their previous releases too… The guitars
are slow in most parts, have a heavy sound and have an epic, doom and
black metal feeling. The keyboards, which have a main role in the band’s
music, are very atmospheric and are used very well. The vocals vary from
typical black metal vocals to screams and are not annoying at all.
Finally, the production is clean and the artwork will remind you of the
classic black metal bands… The problem with this band is that the tracks
are slow and sound almost the same, something which results in a boring
album. To become more specific, I believe that the fans of this kind of
music will love to listen two or threes songs from the album, but not the
whole album, because they will get bored… The best tracks are: “Naaras”,
“Pahan Tuoma”, “Harhojen Renki” and “Uhrit”.
The
opening instrumental track is weird and completely not indicative of what
will follow. It manages to create a good atmosphere, until the second
track bursts out, and I burst into laughter!!! Sorry but I find that the
thrash/death/black vocals are indeed irrelevant to this kind of music, and
in this case are indeed hilarious!!!! It reminds me of a band that tries
to persuade us that it is “bad”, “mean” and “really heavy”.
Thankfully in the third track the vocals are more normal, although the
singer maintains a growling style, which reminds a lot of Phil Anselmo and
JB (if only...). I think that was a bad move from the band, because the
music is very good and especially the riffs seem to have been made in
hell. In general the whole listening sounds a lot like Down, having thus
clear references to Black Sabbath, Pantera, Spiritual Beggars and Lynyrd
Skynyrd. If you are a fan of the above groups, then you should definitely
check out this CD. My total grade is lower because of the vocals that I
just can’t stand (but I have to mention that for others might be
suitable).
Our Dark Prince is finally back for good!!!! Not that he ever left us, but this time he is back to his 70's days, presenting his best album since "Welcome To My Nightmare" (well, let's make an exception and say after
"Trash"). I still remember Alice's was the first gig I ever attended back in 1989 - a small kid without really knowing what a legend I had in front of my eyes. It's no need to write about the unique contribution of this artist to theatrical rock. I can only say that I never expected from him to release such an album in 2003. Full of energy, power, a vagabond sense present throughout the CD. This time his experiments with sounds strange to him are over. We are talking about pure rock, or hard rock if you want it. Rakish, dirty, heavy, paranoid at times. I cannot separate a weak song among the 13 diamonds of the album. What can I say? "Man Of The Year" and "Spirits Rebellious" makes you wanna headbang like crazy, the party spirit of "Love Should Never Feel Like This" and "Novocaine" carry you away, "This House Is Haunted" sounds as if it "escaped" from the monumental "Welcome To My Nightmare"... no, it is unjust to not mention all the songs! Those who are familiar to Alice's latter works might be a bit estranged, but they will definitely like the album. As for us who know by heart albums like "Billion Dollar..", "School's Out" and "Killer", we are already leading the dance!!!!
As
an introduction here I have to clear one thing out: the record companies
are responsible to provide us with the needed information for their bands.
This means that once we receive a plain promo (which in this case is a
copied CD and a photocopy instead of the cover) and not even the official
site of the band we are not responsible to search for extra information.
So, this must be the debut album of this band, that must come from Sweden.
And to be honest the “package” we received it is not equivalent to the
context of the CD, which is good. Hard rock is what we get here, with some
(only a few) stoner elements, much grunge influences (especially from
Therapy?), good production and some catchy refrains. Indeed the band here
manages to keep interest for the album at high standards as it evolves.
Much variety between the songs, mid-tempos, fast, rhythmical, etc. The
band presents much potentials for the future, especially in songs like
“Disappear” (which could be a good hit single) and “As the City Falls On
My Feet”, where we can enjoy first class rock music.
Altaria strikes back with their second album. The band was formed a few years ago by ex-Blindside members, Tony Smedjebacka (bass) and Mark Pukkila (drums) along with Sonata Arctica’s guitarist Jani Liimatainen, in order to offer us good melodic heavy/power music and they have achieved that. Their typical euro-heavy/power style has been enriched with many melodies, catchy choruses, power, excellent vocals, mid-tempo hard rock parts and a crystal clear and strong production! This is what a call a killer production and a hell-powerful sound! The man who is responsible for that, is Mika Jussila (Stratovarius a.o.). The songs of the album are well written, very beautiful and melodic. Although sometimes they have those clichés that all euro-heavy/power metal bands have, they won’t leave you any bad impressions. Best songs of the album, are the powerful opener “Unchain The Rain”, the heavy “Prophet Of Pestilence” (you ask if I have a God complex?… let me tell you something… I am God!!!), my beloved melodious hard rocker “Darkened Highlight”, the euro-power “Discovery”, the mid-tempo rocker “Haven”, and the moody rocker “Enemy”. Well, to be honest, all songs here are worth listening and be sure that you won’t get bored. We are not talking for anything new here, but for heavy/power music with inspiration and an incredible production that will obliged you to turn on the volume to the maximum and to burn your speakers! The artwork of the CD is terrific as well. The fans of the band should buy this album. As for the heavy/power fans in general, should at least try to listen to it and then decide.
Alyson Avenue is a band that exists for almost fifteen years now, but they have managed to release only two studio albums till now! I know that this is really strange but it also shows the true love of the band about melodic pop-rock/A.O.R. music that they play. The singer of the band is a woman so; the similarities and also their influences are mostly from woman-fronted bands like Heart, Robin Beck and The Bangles. Their music will drive you back to the 80’s, as well, but that is not something absolutely bad. Personally, I like it a lot! “Omega is an easy-listening album which has good pop/rock songs like “When Dreams Fall Apart”, Perfect Love”, “One Life One Show”, “Echoes Of My Heart”, and “I Have Been Waiting”. This album isn’t something extraordinary but it is a good suggestion especially to those who love female-fronted bands and the pop/rock music of the 80’s.
It seems that it’s something like a new trend for heavy metal groups to have female vocalists. I don’t mind with that as long as the voice matches with the style and the sound of the band. The case with Amaran here is so. The vocalist adds here a very interesting touch to the songs and the album as a whole, keeping a perfect balance between emotions and roughness. We are talking about traditional heavy metal, in the vein of Accept, early Annihilator, Megadeth, Brainstorm etc, which makes itself distinct by the female vocals. Not only the songs are heavy, but also the atmosphere has something from the “Painkiller” album. Plus the work on the guitars is excellent, many and very nice double solos and harmonies, are mixed with thunderous riffs... you should listen to songs like “24 Pills” to understand the perfect combination. I think that the Blind Guardian-like bridges can be something like a trademark for the group. Since it’s the second album of the band, then Amaran present great potentials for a good carrier. I suggest friends of heavy metal in general to check this one out.
Amaran is a brand new Stockholm based band and
"A World Depraved" is
the first full-length album that they release. In fact the band is playing really heavy,
(some may call it melodic death music) but also
melodic and in some parts atmospheric music at the same time (you don't have to use only
keyboards, in order to write atmospheric music!).
Also the good thing with Amaran is the vocals of Johanna De Pierre that are full of passion and
emotions. The album has many good and pleasant-sounding songs such as,
"Little Victory", "Faith Healer and "Karma In
Flesh". Moreover the production of the album is very good
and the sound of the guitars is so massy! We are talking about a very heavy
production! The fans of heavy and melodic music should check
out this newcomer band. Their debut album is very good but I'm sure that they will write much better songs in the near
future. As a result,
don't hesitate to buy an album from a new and not very known band, cause many times the new bands has a lot to give to metal
music.
This
album emits a genuine old fashioned hard rock feeling. The band here
manages to balance between straight and fast hard rock songs, that
sometimes make reference to Motorhead and MC5, and mid-tempo, kinda bluesy
and southern influences. The album is flooded with guitar solos here and
there, while it presents a street attitude mainly because of the roots it
has in punk rock - a straightforward approach. Yet again at time we even
listen to piano giving us some southern/country elements (38 Special,
Molly Hatchet etc). In general, we are talking about a good effort, which
will give to the fans of the sound a pleasant listening.
I don’t know how this album came into my hands and I am curious how Holy
Records decided to sign a band like Am’Ganesha’N, which has no relation
with metal or even rock music! The band is coming from France and decided
to title this new album with a Greek word (“Eleftheria”), which is
translated as “Freedom” in English. I found very few information about the
band and I think this is the third album for these guys. I don’t know what
I can write about this album, because I don’t even know how to
characterize their music. I believe they are influenced from the
traditional Indian and Arabian music, but they have also added a gothic
touch in the whole album... Their music is magical, hypnotic, full of
emotions and when I was listening to it I felt like dreaming or traveling.
Apart from the ethereal vocals the band uses instruments like: santoor,
flute, yang you chin, gong, bell, drums, cymbals Tibetans, violoncellos,
oboe, keyboards and some more unknown to me instruments! The album has a
very good sound and it is really amazing the production that the band has
made! I believe that very few people will spend their money on this album
and even fewer metalheads will even try to listen to it... Those who like
other music styles, apart from rock and metal, like ethnic, gothic etc.
should give it a try. The grade below is for my personal liking... the
moment that I was writing the review, I was listening to the CD, and I
came to the conclusion that this is not an album for everyone and
especially not for every hour of the day...
This is a very strange release, especially for me. Although I'm not the biggest fan of ethnic/atmospheric/India music, I must admit that when I'm listening to it I have no problem at all, especially when I'm enjoying my coffee! To be honest I didn't know Am'Ganesha'n and I didn't really expect what should I wait to listen from them. So, I was totally surprised when I listened as I said before ethnic/atmospheric music, ethereal voices, which have many influences from India music and Dead Can Dance! I believe that the above music mixture will sound good to the ears of the fans of this genre. The album is well produced and well played and the fourteen songs that has, will travel you through mystic places where fairies use to dance and through the alleys of India. "Somnia" is a good release from those who like ethnic/atmospheric/emotional music full of mysticism! If you really love this kind of music then better try out Am'Ganesha'n's new album and you won't be disappointed. I must also warn those who have psychologically phobias or problems or even those who have many obsessions to stay away from this album!
Amoral is a new-coming band from Helsinki that has now released its debut album titled “Wound Creations”. In the past years Amoral had recorded two demos and has played in many live shows. The band plays death metals, which has many melodic parts and thrash metal influences. Here you can find dynamic riffs and heavy guitars (Ben Varon and Silver Ots), a fast rhythm section (Juhana Karlsson on drums and Ville Sorvali from Moonsorrow on bass) and very brutal vocals (Niko Kalliojarvi). I think that their music is a mixture of American and Swedish death metal. The riffs are so good and heavy that many death metal groups would feel envy for them! Also the solos are very technical and sound like coming from a thrash metal band. The technical parts are not boring at all, because they are very natural combined with their music, something which proves that this is the way they compose music and they don’t force themselves to play many technical parts like many death metal
bands... The only thing I didn’t like is that almost half of the tracks lasted more than six
minutes... The production was made at the famous Morissound Studio in Finland and it is very good. Finally, I believe that the fans of technical, brutal and melodic death metal should listen to this album, because Amoral is not another clone band. Instead they have many influences and sound very fresh. The grade is for my personal liking, so the lovers of brutal death metal will appreciate this album
more...
Amorphis is a very
"strange" band as it has the abilities with any new album, that they
release, to follow a different way that always revive the band and of course keeps the
fans' interest alive. So let's see what new elements Amorphis offering us with their new
album. Well, to be honest "Far From The Sun", isn't very different from
"Am Universum" and it seems that they decided to
"walk" in the same way but this time the songs are softer, easy listening and
mid-tempo. Some songs, like "Mourning Soil", might remind you, only as a
feeling, "Elegy", due to the eastern scales that they use in the specific
songs. Those who hoped or even believed that Amorphis might go on a harder music
way, better accept once for all that the old days of the band have passed and they never coming
back. "Far From The Sun" is not a bad album at all. It has many beautiful songs like the amazing
"Day Of Your Beliefs", which is maybe the best song of the album and for sure it could be on
"Am Universum", the melancholic "Ethereal Solitude", the homonymous one that brought on my mind
"My Kantele", the very interest "Higher Ground" and my personal favorite and weird and wonderful
one, "Smithereens". The sure is that this album, has many memorable
songs, a clear production; very smart vocal melodies and good lyrics. So, what else can a fan ask from a
band? I'm sure that the fans of the band have already bought the album and they have listened to
it. To cut it short, "Far From The Sun" is not the best album that Amorphis have ever released but certainly is a remarkable
one.
“A
Man’s Mind” is a re-issue of Anand’s debut album back in 1999. Anand
Mahangoe is a Dutch guitar wizard that appeared in the scene in 1999. He is
influenced from guitarists like Santriani, Steve Vai, Tony McApline and
Yngwie Malmsteen. This album contains 11 instrumentals that will bring on
your mind some works of the aforementioned artists. I would say that Anand
is mostly influenced by Santriani even in the way that he orchestrates his
tracks. The production is good and clear. I think that this album will
appeal to all the guitar freaks that love to listen fast and mid-tempo solos
and pounding rhythms. If you are a guitarist this album will also help you
in developing your own style. On the other hand why not listen to the
“kings” of this kind and prefer some other that is a follower? I do not
know about you but I prefer more Santriani and Vai. Of course is not bad to
give some support to new artists, so better listen to the album first and
then decide whether is for you or not.
It’s the third time this month that I put a CD in my CD-player in order to listen to it and I do not know what should I except. Of course you can judge by the artwork of the CD but always I’m hoping for the best! But again this time I didn’t get the best! I might even got the worst! Sick brutal American death metal music with many blast beats with only high-tempo songs and a voice that is coming from hell! Arggggggg… what am I listening to?!! I should have passed that CD to someone else… but I didn’t! Shit! In the booklet of the CD we can see some photos from patients that are being in hospitals and in the last page of the booklet there is also a photo of many doctors that maybe are trying to recover someone… maybe he listened to Anasarca!!! Oh… I also forgot to tell you that the intro of the fourth song of the album has the sound of a mosquito! What a very pleasant intro for a very calm/melodic song! Do
not even try to read my review! Stay awayyyyy…
“A Natural Disaster” is the title of Anathema’s new album. The truth is that I was really very anxious to listen to this album. Anathema was (and still are) one of my favourite bands (one of my dreams came true last summer at Chania’s rock festival, where I had the luck to watch them on a live show!) So, my expectations were more than great ones! Well, if they have never released albums like “Eternity” or “Judgment” perhaps I could say that “A Natural Disaster” is a quite interesting album. But, no, I waited so much more from Anathema. The atmosphere of the album is definitely the familiar, beloved Anathema’s one, far away of “A Fine Day To Exit”…but, but but…something’s missing! I listen to the album over and over again but I didn’t found the highlight song that I was expected. Nevertheless, it seems to me that this time Anathema are experimenting in different musical expressions and that’s a good thing, although the opening song “Harmonium” with long vocals and common guitar riffs was not the best introduction to this album as I expected something more powerful either more sentimental. The next song “Balance” reminded me a bit the sound of the famous Dutch band, The Gathering but with… male vocals! In the ballad… area they managed to write “Flying” which is a wonderful song with individual lyrics. Speaking about lyrics, this seems to be the strong part on this album as they are very interesting, they have something to say and to me sometimes they are touching the neat lines of poetry. This is more obvious in “Pulled Under 2000 metres” which is definitely one of the best songs of this album in spite its nightmarish concept. If you pay attention to the lyrics of this song you might get depressed, but also you might start to ruminate many things that are ruling your life. The homonymous song “A Natural Disaster is the surprise track, as it has a pure blues sound and in the vocals is not Vincent Cavanagh but Lee, who is the sister of Anathema’s drummer John Douglas. From the 11 tracks of the album, the two of them “Childhood’s Dream” (another weird song) and “Violence” are instrumental. That last one is also the epilogue of the album and has the familiar Anathema’s sound (specially in the guitarist part), which at least compensated the general impression. Anathema are still (and hope will be for a long time) an one in its kind rock/metal bands.
Ok,
I don’t know if this is the ultimate collection for the artist, but to be
honest I didn’t know him and I wasn’t familiar with his work. On second
thought, I remembered two of the bands he used to play, Majestic and Space
Odyssey, but again only as names - I hadn’t listened anything from them.
The guy comes from 
This is something that I didn’t expect to hear in 2006. I know that this band is coming from Brazil but I didn’t expect to listen to an 80’s thrash metal dedicated band. Adralls bow to Sepultura mostly and to Slayer. Heavy riffs, vocals full of hate, fast rhythms and an 80’s production that will please of the old fans of the genre. If we also consider the fact the big bands of the genre have disappointed their fans far too many times then this album will awake you memories of the 80’s glorious thrash metal days! If you are pretty tired and you do not like the neo-thrash bands of today and you still playing your old vinyl of Sepultura and Slayer (if they haven’t melt till now) then Adralls will prove to be a good substitute of your old thrash idols.
Holy Shit!! This is it!! This is the progressive metal album I longed to hear for a long time!! To be honest I ignored the existence of the Swedish band (this is their second album), so it was quite a shock for me to listen to such a great piece of work! I'm overwhelmed by the same feelings I got when I first listened to Pain of Salvation's "The Perfect Element": surprise, admiration, shock and the urgent need to find a place to hide for neglecting the band that far! We are talking about progressive metal of the traditional type, mazy songs, unrivalled
technique, the complete suggestion of a musical orgy, where Gods meet Evil, the rivers flow reversely, clouds are enthroned on earth's surface, the mountains are buried in the sea, but everything seems so normal! The band managed to create progressive metal, which despite its complicated nature, is driven by inspiration, creating thus astonishing songs. It is hard to describe their sound, but imagine a mixture of Gordian Knot, Mind Over Four, Sieges Even, Threshold and Leviathan, to understand what we are talking about. Ah yes, not to forget that one cannot have a prog metal band which is not influenced (directly and indirectly - here is the latter) by Dream Theater. Talk is cheap in circumstances as such. The only problem is that this kind of music is for few...for elite listeners, as it is almost impossible to be embraced by the crowd. Who cares? The devoted minority of the progressive metal community found one more beacon to its dark path to deliverance!
The project band of Helena Iren Michaelsen (Imperia, Trail Of Tears) is
called Angel and the musicians that take part here, are the same ones, with
the musicians of Helena’s other band, Imperia. In this project, Helena
tries to create something really personal. Something that she would never be
able to create with any of her other bands, because the lyrics and music of
the album concern her own experiences in life... Some of the lyrics will fit
many other women and why not, men too. This is because all the lyrics are
talking about happy and unhappy moments, birth and death, love and hate
etc... The music is melancholic and most parts of this “diary” are a
mixture of the atmospheric metal with some gothic influences. The violin
creates a really moody atmosphere and so do the piano and the acoustic
guitars... The guitars and the rest of the instruments are following
Helena’s moods and so, sometimes are touching and others sound heavier...
The most interesting part of the album is that Helena sings with passion all
the lyrics that she has written off, and changes her vocal-style according
to the lyrics and the emotions she wants to transmit in each track! I
believe she is doing that in a very nice way, without exaggerating or
bypassing her abilities and that’s why the final result is so good. The
production is also very good and clean. Listen to the soundtrack of
Helena’s life and why not... the soundtrack of your life...!
Angel Dust are back with a brand new album titled "Of Human Bondage". With their new strong guitarist Ritchie Wilkinson who has replaced Bernd.
Angel Dust are releasing a dynamic heavy power album, and the fans of that kind will definitely enjoy it. Angel Dust's sixth album is compiled of ten dynamic but not "noisy" songs so we recommend to pay some attention to tracks like "Got This Evil", "Forever", "The
Cultman", "Freedom Awaits" and you will see what we mean. Angel Dust are surely presenting a decent album, with no extraordinariness but also very interesting. I'm sure that no one will get bored with this album!!!
As Jeff Waters has argued in a recent interview, Annihilator
seems to have evolved to his personal project. He writes all the music, he changes the musicians in every album, he is
responsible for everything. Here the singer has changed once more and Joe Comeau has been replaced by the unknown Dave
Padden, who sounds like Aaron Randall and delivers great performances. Jeff has declared that this is Annihilator’s
“Back In Black” in the sense that all tracks are great and can become classics. Not sure about that, however the album
in general is a very good one. In a way it is a normal continuity of the last two very good albums, “Carnival
Diablos” and “Waking The Fury”. I can say that this new album seems to be the epitome of everything that the band has
presented in the past: from technical parts to, thrash thunders and from ballads to pure heavy metal. So we are
talking about a classical Annihilator album that will thrill the fans of the band and has the potential to bring some
more. Here Jeff presents also two longer tracks (“Dr. Psycho” and “Both Of Me”), which present one more mature side of
songwriting for the band. This might be the best Annihilator album in many-many years. And please note that the girl on
the cover is our good-old friend Alice, who has grown up a little...
The band after a long time of
experiments, seemed to found its way with its previous release Carnival
Diablos, something that is assured with the new record. The first song of the album grabs you from the neck and compels you to bang your head for the rest of the 50 minutes or so of the
album! I doubt that there will be one who will listen to the album without moving to the rhythm of the
songs. Annihilator's approach these days is more thrashy, yet combining the needed melodic lines in order to have a tow on pure heavy
metal. Jeff Waters' capabilities with the guitar are known, and of course are present in this record
too. Don't expect to come up with the new “Alice in Hell” here, because you might be
disled. However the band seems to have been reborn from its ashes and produces really heavy riffing and excellent songs like “Striker” and “Nothing To
Me” (not that the other songs are bad-the contrary!). Someone more keen to this thrashy sound might appreciate the album
more, but for me (I am not the greatest thrash fan in the world) it is
a...
This
kind of music is only for melancholic, sad and psycho people. Yes Antimatter
was always a gloomy, melancholic band but this time its “bring you down”
moments are all over the album! If I was listening to this album a month
later that I was having the blues... (still have, ever will!!) then it would
be catastrophic for me and for my inner self. Now, I can tell you that this
kind of music cannot affect me that much but if I continue to listen to it
then I will surely break inside!! So, I believe that’s its not the
appropriate time of day or time of year to listen to such a dark and
melancholic album. Those who liked the two previous albums of the band and
in general like so depressing music should try it with no fear.
Anthemon is a French band that in 2003 released the successful “Arcane”. Now the new album of the band is titled “Dystopia”. The band has a new singer named Loïc Malassage (since the female singer left the band), a new drummer (David Verbecq) and a contract with Thundering Records! Their music is a mixture of doom and atmospheric metal with many gothic metal parts and some death metal growls... The album is full of melodies and keyboards, which add an atmospheric and melancholic background to the album. The album has so many interesting keyboard parts that it could be described as a symphonic doom metal album! The vocals are very fresh, have a big variety and could fit a heavy or a progressive metal band very good. The guitars are heavy and powerful and vary from mid-tempo to slower. All the tracks are basically mid-tempo, but some of them include slower parts… The production is very professional and I couldn’t find any problems with their sound. Generally,
“Dystopia” is a very interesting effort for all the fans of the atmospheric doom metal and those who love dark cold melodic music.
I
was pretty sure that MTM, after the release of the last AOR studio album,
would surely release the first and the hard to find album of AOR. This
album was released in 2000 and was released/financed by the band itself.
It’s good that now everyone can find this album although I do not think
that it’s something exceptional. Here we have the first attempt of Frédéric
Slama (the mastermind of AOR) to present a descent record which it is
mostly westcoast than AOR. Some may found this album too laid back for
their taste… but in truth to be told this album can keep you good
company especially if you are relaxing. The sound is now better than the
first release and Tommy Denander has also helped Frederic and produced two
of the bonus tracks of the album. So, if you like westcoast so much and
you prefer laid back albums that can help you relax try it out. I think
that I may play two-three songs of the album several times but not all the
songs again.
Frederic
Slama’s brainchild AOR has delivered us another good melodic AOR/Westcoast
album. This time Frederic has joined forces with Tommy Denander, so as you
can imagine Denander is all over the album and that is more than clear if
you listen to “L.A. Connection”. I like Tommy’s works all those
years but he is almost in every new AOR, Westcoast or melodic rock album
that’s being released lately and so much popularity is not so good
always. This album also features the talents of many great AOR/Westcoast
stars such as Steve Lukather, Philip Bardowell, Rick Riso, J.Lynn
Johnston, Dane Donohue, Peter Friestedt, David Diggs and Michael Landau
among others. “L.A. Connection” has many elements from bands like
Toto, Radioactive, Survivor and Foreigner and in general is a nice album
but in the end it fails to take your breathe away but in truth to be told
it has some good songs like: “How Could I Ever Forgive Her”, “Like
An Open Book”, “The House Of Love” and “L.A. Winds”. Tommy
Denander made the production here and it is very clear and dynamic. If you
like AOR/Westcoast (sometimes it gets pop too) music and you wanna listen
to some nice melodic songs then get this album but do not expect to be
blown away.
Crap! I seriously don’t understand the reasons why some unknown bands
gather to “pay tribute” to some great bands. What is the point to get
some average executions on some historical glorious songs, from bands we
don’t know and we possibly will never get to know in the future.
According to my opinion, a good tribute album must be assembled by
performances of top class bands giving their version of all time classic
songs (take for example the 2 double tributes to Black Sabbath and Judas
priest, where the top class of heavy metal and not only gathered to
seriously pay tribute to the masters). Now, who is interested to listen to
Slow Motorcade playing “Vietnamese Baby”, or Science Fiction Idols
delivering “Human Being”. When Guns and Roses gave their versions of
such monumental songs (back in 1993 by the way - more than a decade
ago!!!) the whole thing was interesting. Now, even though some executions
are quite good, I hardly believe that there will be many people to buy
this one. Do yourselves a favour and go find the originals!
The situation here is very strange! Although I have listened to the CD-single of the band, when I listen to the whole album, I was taken by surprise! Having listened to the CD-single “Cold Black Days” I was waiting to listen to melodic gothic metal songs on “Atlantis”. But I was too wrong. Atrocity maybe remembered their melodic death metal past and they decided to release a very aggressive album… and they have achieved that. “Atlantis” combines best the aggressive and the melodic side of Atrocity. We listen to fast-drumming, brutal and clean vocals, fast guitars, gothic atmospheric songs and mid-tempo heavy ones. Sounds good huh? The production is terrific and is without a doubt the best production that Atrocity ever had. Alex Krull dared to mix the “old” sound of the band along with the new gothic one and his experiment was successful. Best songs of the album are: “Reich Of Phenomena” (my favourite one), “Gods Of Nations”, “Ichor”, ”Enigma”, “Cold Black Days”, “Apocalypse”, “The Sunken Paradise” and “Aeon”. I like to see bands like Atrocity not following the safe way and surprising nicely their fans. “Atlantis” will surely satisfy the new and the old fans of the band. One of the best albums that Atrocity have ever released.
“Cold Black Days” is the first single of the forthcoming album of Atrocity, which will be titled “Atlantis”(and it will be released on 26.04.04). The German gothic metalers are in a very good shape and they are delivering the goods with the melodic gothic song “Clod Black Days” which will please not only the fans of the band, but also and the gothic metal ones. The CD-single includes three versions of the song “Cold Black Days”, where the Das Inch Remix is very “weird” and I like it a lot cause the band is experimenting with electronic sounds and electronic orchestration), the heavier “Antediluvian World” which reminds the “old” days of the band, and a screen saver of Atrocity. When you put the CD-single in your CD-Rom it takes you in a section where you can listen to the songs and read the lyrics as well. Very nice work as it concerns the multimedia section. “Cold Black Days” is a nice suggestion if you wanna taste how the new Atrocity album would sound.
At Vance is a band that follows a stable way a few years now and they also manage to release good albums, which the one is better from the other. So, "The Evil In You" is the new album of At Vance, the band that has released five albums within five years! No bad at all huh? The band also has a new singer, who is the known Mats Levin that has worked in the past with
Malmsteen, John Norum and Dogface. As it concerns the vocals of this album, I do not think that anyone will have a problem. Even those who like the previous singer of the band Oliver
Hartmann, will be also pleased, with Mats performance! In the musical part of this album, At Vance plays as they always do and like, heavy/power metal music with heavy, fast guitars and powerful, beautiful choruses. There is nothing new in "The Evil In You" as it concerns the music style of the band. But this album has more good songs, clever and beautiful vocal melodies, due to the new singer maybe, and of course a good and strong production. So the ins and outs of this album are better than their previous one and maybe the better that they have released so far. Just listen to the opener "Fallen Angel", the homonymous "The Evil In You", the superb "The Curtain Will Fall", and the sentimental ballad "Shining Star", and you will understand exactly what I'm talking about. As a resume, I should say that "The Evil In You" is a good album of heavy/power music and the fans of At Vance and generally of heavy/power music will be satisfied. At Vance is a good band that plays straight true (I do not mean the ridiculous movement of "true" metal bands) heavy music and I must admit that they do it pretty good.
This is another debut from a newcomer band (many debuts have been released
this time period-don’t you think?) that is coming from 
The second album from the super-band, A Perfect Circle, is released. The line-up is a little bit different from the first album, “Mer De Noms” back in 2000. The new members are James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) and Jeordie White (Marilyn Manson). The other members are still the same and are: Maynard James Keenan (Tool, Deftones, Rage Against The Machine), Josh Freese (The Vandals, Suicidal Tendencies, Rob Zombie, Guns N’ Roses) and Billy Howerdel (worked with Guns N’ Roses, Tool and other groups). Everyone who would expect to listen to music that would approach the previously mentioned groups will be defeated. No metal or hard tunes will you find here, except two or three tracks that are at the end of the album. All the other tracks are a progressive, experimental, complex and not easy listening music. It is strange that when you listen to this album two or three times you will feel that it has very few good moments and you will be disappointed because you would expect more from these musicians. After many listenings though, you will realize that some melodies have entered your mind and then you will start to listen to the album more and more again! The mystic power behind this album is the vocalist Maynard James Keenan who is really unique. His excellent voice creates an incredible feeling and if you combine it with his brilliant lyrics and the complex of the music you will understand the meaning of the real intellectual music. I believe that few singers can transmit their feelings through words, and one of them is surely Keenan. The only characterization that can describe their music is: a softer and more melodic version of Tool with a combination of O.S.I. (Office Of Strategic Influence) and Smashing Pumpkins! The best tracks in this album are: “Blue”, the unbelievable “The Outsider”, “Vanishing”, the extremely good “The Nurse Who Loved Me” and “Pet”. If you are a lover of music and not only a metal or rock fan you will appreciate this CD after the necessary
listenings…
Aquila is the new band of the
singer/guitarist and former of Terra Nova, Fred Hendrix. "Say Yeah" is their debut
album. Also the keyboardist of the band is Ron Hendrix who is Fred's
brother. In the musical part now, the band plays excellent Aor/rock music and of course Fred has the gift to write incredible hits like
"Young And Restless", "Nothing's Impossible Now" with the mandolin in the
chorus!, the radio-hit "Everyday", the homonymous "Say
Yeah", the rock 'n' roll "The kids Wanna Rock" and the emotional ballad "Cecelia". This album is full of fine Aor melodic songs that every fan of
Aor/rock music will love! In the last few months I have listened to many good
Aor/melodic rock albums and, Aquila's "Say Yeah" was one the most surprising
albums!! I'm just thinking that if their debut album is so great, how much better could be their second
one? I'm anxious to see!! Well Aquila can become one of the "hot" names in the
Aor/rock genre if they'll keep doing such a great job like they did in their very first
release! And why not? Do you listen every day such albums with so many great
songs? I believe that you don't! To put it simple, if you're fan of this kind of music this album will be a surprise for
you. And if you don't listen to Aor/rock music, I'll suggest you to make a start with this
album, before it is too late for you!
Arachnes comes from Italy and this is their forth full-length release, but I think that they are not very popular to the world metal scene, although that they exist many years now. Anyway, their music is based on power metal with some symphonic parts and some progressive or even neoclassic moments. Also their music may not differ much from other similar groups such as Rhapsody and Stratovarius, but they are trying to do their best and they are not just copying the previously mentioned groups. The guitars sound very technical without sounding very heavy. The keyboardist (Enzo Caruso) is a virtuoso and the keys, when they not just follow the guitars but lead the other instruments, sound like playing a classical theme of the great composers such us Bach, Paganini and others! The vocalist has a very nice voice that sometimes will remind you of Fabio Leone (Rhapsody). The CD includes fifteen tracks and seven of them are instrumental and very emotional, but I think that there are too many instrumental tracks for just one non-instrumental album… The production is really wonderful and I don't think that anyone can have many objections on this. This is not a must-have album but is very interesting and the time passes simply nice when you are listening to it. The best tracks of the album are: "Battle To Victory", "Primary Fear", "Tota Pulchra" and "Eruption" (which is a cover to the classical song of Emerson, Lake and
Palmer).
Arachnes is a band that comes from Italy and
"Apocalypse" is their new album (third in a row). The music style that the band has is a mixture of
heavy-power metal with symphonic elements. Maybe they are not the only ones that play this kind of music but this album has quality in combine with very good songs and the amazing guitar works of Franco Caruso and the
high-quality melodic vocals of Enzo Caruso. Some remarkable songs of the album are
"The Rain Song" (simply the best song of the album and one of the best of this
year), which will be loved from all the heavy-power metal fans, the touching ballad
"Forever", the epic powerful "Prayer part II and part I", and the homonymous
"Apocalypse". This is a typical heavy power release but I can see that Arachnes have some good orchestras elements in their sound and if they try to enrich their sound more with such
elements, they will surely make a difference in the specific genre. They have all the capacities to write more interesting music and to get away from the cliches of the
genre. I like this band and I'll wait for the next release to see if they will make the
breakthrough! As for the fans of the power metal genre better check out
"Apocalypse" as soon as possible.
Michael Amott (ex Carcass, Spiritual Beggars and other guest appearances) and his company are back with their fifth album (or the second one with Angela on the vocals). Angela Gossow is a phenomenon because I don’t think that has anyone heard of a woman roaring so brutal before! If someone doesn’t know that the band’s singer is a woman there is no way to guess it, because she sings better and more brutal than many male singers! Despite this, she is something more than good-looking, although that when she sings she transforms to a beast, to something that is very good for the band’s image… Anyway, “Anthems Of Rebellion” is a typical Ach Enemy album with brutal vocals and a sound balancing between heavy, thrash and Swedish death metal. The Amott brothers have done great guitar work again, although that they are not the best guitarists in the scene. Considering this, their melodic solos are extremely good and mark their sound in order to single out the group from all the other Swedish groups which most of them sound to my ears identical. On the other hand, the clear and tough production is another bonus for the band, which I believe has gone off from the underground scene although many still believe the opposite. The album consists of thirteen tracks from which I spotted: “Silent Wars”, “Exist To Exit”, “Despicable Heroes”, “Saints And Sinners”, “End Of The Lines” and “Dead Eyes See No Future”. In a few words, this album is a very nice buy for the fans of the band and the fans of Carcass.
Archetype was formed in 1997 in Ohio and recorded their debut album
“Dawning”, early in 2000. After the recordings, they were not able to
find a label and so, they decided to re-recorded it and to release it by
themselves in 2001. Now the band has found a label and the album is
released for once again so, that everyone can listen to it and learn about
Archetype! The band plays progressive metal with many heavy and american
power metal parts… The musicians seem to be very good and brilliant
composers, because all the tracks are very interesting and there is no
chance that you will get bored! Another thing that makes this album really
interesting is that every track has the ability to fill you with a big
variety of emotions! The vocalist (Greg Wagner) is great and sounds very
theatrical, but he sometimes tries to sound like Mat Barlow (ex-Iced
Earth)… The guitars (Chris Matyus) differ from track to track and become
heavy, fast, melodic, technical etc… I must also tell that the rhythm
section (Keith Zeigler on drums and Jamie Quiet on bass), is powerful and
technical. Finally, the promo that I have in my hands includes two bonus
tracks that come from their first demo CD (back in 1998), and so, the
whole album lasts almost 82 minutes! I must admit that I enjoyed this
album very much and I am sure that the fans of the emotional progressive
metal music will appreciate this effort of the four talented musicians!
Three
whole years I was waiting for the new Arcturus album and I was very happy
when I took it in my hands. The Norwegian kings know how to satisfy every
man’s soul! The band’s music is unique and they have a great talent on
mixing so many different music styles. Again is so hard to categorise them
and I would call their music dark/atmospheric/symphonic/prog metal. What
does it mean? Well honestly, I have no idea! I can’t find any better words
to describe it. The theatrical, operatic vocals make it more dramatic and
gloom. The production is excellent and the members performances are superb.
But again this not an easy album, as all the albums of the band. It needs
many listenings and your full attention to get into it. If you do not spend
much time on listening to some albums or you are only looking for hits on an
album then surely “Sideshow Symphonies” is not for you. Although, I
consider myself as a fan of the band, it took me a while to get into it.
With every new listening I discover many new things and that’s the case
here. They never left you to rest. My beloved song of the album is the
incredible “Hibernation Sickness Complete”, but again it’s really hard
to separate one song from the whole music puzzle of the album. Even thought
I like this album a lot I think that is a step lower than “The Sham
Mirrors”. This of course is my personal opinion and I’m sure that many
others will disagree with me but that’s no bad at all. If you like not
easy listening dramatic, atmospheric dark metal music then try out
“Sideshow Symphonies” and you won’t regret it.
Artica
is a veteran band in the Italian gothic rock scene. They formed in 1989
and they released two full-length albums, “Ombra E Luce” in 1995 and
“Natura” in 1997. So, after almost 8 years the band returns with a
brand new album hat contains 11 new songs, all sung in English for the
first time. If you listen to this album you will understand totally why
some (new especial) bands are trying hard to play gothic rock music and
some others have it in heir veins! Artica is one of those bands that are
destined to play gothic rock music and you will understand this by the
cold, desperate, gloomy feelings that you will get after having listened
to the CD. This is how gothic rock should be... heavy, dark, melancholic,
melodic and atmospheric... listen to “Black Eyes”, “Plastic
Terror”, “Ocean”, “Engel”, “Nemesi”, “Fade Away”, “I
Don’t Fit” and let Artica travel you to their icy depressing world! If
you consider yourself to be a gothic rock fan then you have absolutely no
excuse no to have “Plastic Terror” in your album collection. One of
the best gothic rock albums of the year.
After three demo releases in the past years and a contract with Twilight Records, the Austrian Asmodeus managed to release their debut album “Phalanx Inferna”. Their black metal music will remind you bands like Dark Funeral, Setherial or even Satyricon. So, here we have fast and raw black metal with no keyboards and only few melodic lines. The vocals (Desdemon, who is also the bassist) are the classic black metal screams with some death metal growls and can create a nightmare. The guitars (Tyr and Naroth) are extra fast and have the same sound with the aforementioned groups. The ultra fast drumming sounds very good with their traditional black metal music but also sounds so common… The production is a little bit strange and although I know that I can’t expect too much from a black metal group, I think that these guys have done well, if we exclude that the vocals are in front of all the other instruments. The tracks that you may find interesting are “Evoking The Beasts In Twilight” and “The Ascend Of My Demise”, but don’t expect too much, cause they will remind you of other black metal groups… So, as you must have already realized, Asmodeus is a nice black metal band, but they have no personal sound and you will always compare the eleven tracks included here, with the big black metal bands. The choice is yours...
The
Asterius, is a band coming from Germany whose story began in 1997. This CD is their first full-length album, which follows their first demo CD “As Descendants Of Stars…” back in 1999. The band plays black metal with some very good points. First of all, they have many influences in their sound from the power and epic heavy metal scene. Also, and very interesting, is that the group has two singers who are contributing two different parts each, in all songs! To be more specific, Sir-I-us, who is also one of the two guitarists of the band, does the black metal vocals on all songs and on the other hand Andrash does the clean vocals with his powerful voice. This mixture gives this album a different atmosphere and ensured me that the band is trying very hard to succeed their purpose, which is to play music free from any limitations of the scene. The album was recorded at Sub-Zero studios by the mastermind and bassist of the band Arctur with the help of Ecki Erlenbusch (owner of the studios). If you are now wondering for the band’s future let me tell you that up to now they have played at festivals with
Samael, Opeth Moonspell and many other bands! So if they keep on trying, success won’t be late for the group. The key for the success to come is the use of two singers, although that Andrash should do more efforts in the future, and the great use of keyboards that give a dark and almost gothic atmosphere. Some very good tracks to listen to are: “Frozen Zodiac”, “On Black Tusk” and the different remix edition of “The One Perspective”.
Attika is an American band which was formed in 1986 and since 1989 they released two albums: “Attika” (in 1988) and “When Heroes Fall” (in 1989). The Greek label “Cult Metal Classics” now reissues their first album. The musicians that took part in those recording were: Robert VanWar (lead vocals), Joe Longobardi (electric and acoustic guitars and backing vocals), Dan Rubel (bass and backing vocals) and Jeff Patelski (drums and backing vocals). Their music style is pure heavy metal, which is a mix of the N.W.O.B.H.M. and the American heavy metal of the middle 80s. Nevertheless, the band seems to be very influenced from the first two albums that Iron Maiden released, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself wondering if this album is an Iron Maiden collection with their unreleased tracks… The best tracks here are “Kings In Hell”, “Bad City” (pure Heavy metal!), “Racing The Dawn” and “Exiled”. The reissued album includes two bonus tracks: “The Motherlode” and “Bad City” (with the original bass mix, as the group changed the original one before releasing the album), some photos of the group and finally, all the lyrics and the band’s history, written by Joe Longobardi. This release is mainly addressed to collectors and to those who wanted to get this album and couldn’t find it. For those who are now discovering the heavy metal music, I don’t believe that they are in the need of this CD…
Audioplug is a band that comes from Thessalonica, Greece and has signed a contract with the Italian label Decadance. “X Posed” is the debut album of the band and seems that it is well produced and well worked. No, this album has nothing to do with rock music in general, and if you do not like to listen to other music styles, then there’s no reason in reading this review. Audioplug plays ebm/psychedelic, hard-edged at times, electronic music and they are doing it pretty good. The band started out as a duo but some time ago another member joined them. The songs have a nightmarish atmosphere some times and others have a truly dark/vampire ambience. The members of the band seem to love that kind of music and they have given their best to achieve a really good result. For me, the highlight song of the album, is the terrific “Hyperion Sun” which… (hmm, I better not tell you about the lyrics) has something actually special, not in the musical part but in the lyrical part. I like very much this song and I keep listening to it every day. Very interesting idea and very nice result… well done guys. Those who love ebm/psychedelic electro music, then do not be afraid to check out a new band that has
the will to work hard.
I
always liked Chris Cornell as a singer when he was in Soundgarden, although
I didn’t quite like the band’s music. On the other hand, Rage Against
the Machine was a band that I never really liked because of its fake
rebellious style. How can we combine those things in orde