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MAALSTROOM
G.K. 6/10 |
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MACHINE HEAD
T.K. 8,5/10 |
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MACHINE MEN
G.K. 5/10 |
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MAD MAX
T.A.
7/10 |
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MADE OF IRON
G.K. 5/10 |
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MAGNUM
A.S. 8/10 T.A. 7,5/10 |
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MAJESTIC VANGUARD
G.K. 7/10 |
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MAJESTY
G.K. 6,5/10 T.A. 5/10 |
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MALEDICTION
G.K. 7/10 |
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MANDRAKE
A.S. 7/10 |
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M&R RUSH
T.A. 8,5/10 |
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MANIGANCE
G.K. 3/10 |
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MANILLA ROAD
A.S. 8/10 |
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A.S. 8,5/10 |
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MANNING
A.S. 7/10 |
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MAN ON FIRE
A.S.
5,5/10 |
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MARATHON
T.A.
7/10 |
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MAR DE GRISES
A.A. 7/10 |
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MARSHAN
A.S. 7/10 |
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MARTIE PETERS GROUP
T.A. 6,5/10 |
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MARTIRIA
G.K. 7/10 |
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MARTYR
G.K. 6,5/10 |
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MARYSLIM
A.S. 7/10 |
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M.A.S.A.C.R.E.
T.A |
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MASTERS OF REALITY/ CHRIS GOSS
A.S. 6,5/10 |
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MASTODON
T.A. 7/10 |
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MASTODON
T.A. 8/10 |
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MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE
A.S. 6,5/10 |
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MAYHEM
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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MAZE OF TORMENT
T.A. 2/10 |
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MCM
A.S. 4/10 |
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MEAT LOAF
A.S. 8,5/10 |
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MEAT LOAF
A.S. 7/10 |
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MECHANIX
T.A. 7/10 |
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MEDUSA’S CHILD
G.K. 7,5/10 |
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MEGADETH
T.A. 8/10 |
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MEGANOIDI
A.S. 9/10 |
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MELODINE
A.S. 7/10 |
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MEMORIZED DREAMS
A.A. 6/10 |
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MENNEN
A.S. 7/10 T.A. 7,5/10 |
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MENTAL HORROR
T.A. 0/10 |
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MERCURY FANG
T.A. 7/10 |
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MERCURY RAIN
T.A.
6/10 |
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MERMAID
A.S. 7/10 |
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MESHUGGAH
G.K.
6,5/10 |
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METALIUM
A.S. 5,5/10 |
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METALIUM
T.A. 7/10 |
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METALLICA
A.S. 3/10 |
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METALLICA
T.A. 4/10 |
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METAL MAJESTY
A.S. 6,5/10 T.A. 5/10 |
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METAL MAJESTY
A.S. 7,5/10 |
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MERCENARY
T.A. 9/10 |
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MICHAEL LANDAU GROUP
T.A.
8/10 |
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MICHAELS BRET
T.A. 8/10 |
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MINDGRINDER
G.K. 5/10 |
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MIDNIGHT
CIRCUS
T.A.
7/10 |
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MILLS TONY
T.A. 7,5/10 |
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MILTOS MAKRIDIS & MARATHON
T.A. 6/10 |
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MINDFLOW
A.S. 8,5/10 |
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MIND'S EYE
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Maalstroom recorded this EP after the release of the “Eye Of The
Storm” CD. All material is written and produced by Michael Spitzer. If you don’t know him, let me tell you that he is an underground virtuoso guitarist. His sound reminds me Yngwie Malmsteen’s first recordings with his band “Rising Force” because of the great guitar work Spitzer has done. So, in this five-track EP you will listen to instrumental material based on the guitars only. All the other instruments (bass and drums) are accompanying the guitar without offering something else. If you like rock guitar works you will surely sympathize this album but for me something is missing and that is the vocalist. I think that an appropriate singer, a more powerful drummer and bassist player and a better production would put the band in my interesting listens. The tracks that are really interesting are “Prophecy” and “Final Days”.
After the debut, a great sequel, an ok “Burning Red” in ’99 and weak “Supercharger” in ’01, how should the fifth one sound like? Crap right? Hopefully the guys woke up and that’s maybe because they understood the gravity of their name. Responsible, on a high percentage, of the music we call nu-metal or neo-thrash, Machine Head stopped fucking around and release a heavy and angry record equal to the first two. Songs with personality, with great sound and groove, that’s what was lost in the past two albums. The artwork is p-e-r-f-e-c-t and the band’s influence area has widened so their already existing personal sound is once again interesting to “study”. Logan’s vocals are at their highest level, the band is at top performing standards. Gig managers, hurry, I demand to see them live this year. Thank you Machine Head! Thank you for giving us another CD in our precious cases. For another work of art, one more proof to have against those who believe that nu-heavy shit is played from Linkin’ Park and Limp Bizkit.
When I put this CD in my stereo I thought that I made a mistake and took one Iron Maiden album, but then I relished that I was wrong and thought that I picked up one of the last two personal albums of Bruce Dickinson! The reality is that these guys sound very much like the music bands I mentioned before.
Let’s say a few words about this new Finnish band, which was formed in 1998. Since then they have recorded two demos and one mini-CD and have given many live appearances. The vocalist (Antony) sounds so similar to Bruce Dickinson that many times I would swear that Bruce was singing in the place Antony! The riffs and the guitars generally reminded me the old days of Iron Maiden (Murray/Smith) and the way that Roy Z and Adrian Smith sounded at the solo albums that Bruce released. The production is excellent and worth
everyone’s congratulations because it is so heavy as it should be! The band sounds really good and very heavy but their influences are so obvious that destroys the whole recording. Anyway, I think that Machine Men is the best Iron Maiden/Bruce Dickinson tribute band I have ever listened to… The CD contains 8 tracks, one hidden track and about 39 minutes of music that addresses to the hard-shell fans of Maiden and Dickinson. If these guys add some more personal sound to their music, I think they can offer us a really good album. Now, we can only wait until their next release…
Second
release for Mad Max after their comeback in January with “Night Of White
Rock”. This time “In White” is an acoustic E.P. which presents some
old songs of the band, a new one and a cover and all of them are being
orchestrated with acoustic guitars, soft drums, synth/piano, bass and of
course the ethereal voice of Michael Voss. The songs are very easy listening
and will relax you a lot… Voss has done a hell of a job and the production
is flawless. Of course Casanova fans are used to such EPs from Mr. Voss…
so it’s not a surprise to me that Mad Max released an E.P. only 8 months
after the band’s official release. Those who liked the comeback album of
the band will appreciate this release as long as they like laid back
easy-listening/acoustic albums. I like it… after all Michael’s voice…
is wonderful… how can I resist?! The band is already working on its new
album which will be released on 2007. This time Mad Max will have the
pleasure to work with Grammy award winner Neil Kernon, who will do the final
mix of the album.
This band was formed in 1999 by Nick on guitars and Jim on vocals. These
Greek guys were living in Germany and they played for two years some Iron
Maiden tracks as a cover band. Then they decided to compose their own
tracks so that the world would see that heavy metal is not dead... Since
then, they released two demos and a 7-inch with two songs that led them to
sign a contract with the Greek Sonic Age Records. The other members of the
band are: Andreas on bass and Holger on drums. Their music is oldschool
heavy metal and their influences are of course Iron Maiden (early days)
and the 80’s heavy and power metal in general. The production sounds like
coming straight from the 80’s and D. Liapakis (Mystic Prophecy, Valley’s
Eve) is responsible for the mixing of the album. I think that the band
needs to find a more personal sound, because I believe that few people
will be interested in a band that sounds like the 80’s days of Iron
Maiden...
I've
been wondering for years why Magnum were condemned to compose great, lyrical
songs, without earning the fame they deserved. I am afraid that this will
happen again with their new album: those who know and love the band will
find one more great record of quality British hard rock, whereas the rest
will keep ignoring them. I wish I were able to right this wrong when the
band released albums-masterpieces like "Chase the Dragon" or
"On A Storyteller's Night". The new album doesn't reach the
inspirations of the aforementioned reckords, but it contains songs
trademarks of the band like "Cry for You" and "Still".
The whole album is characterised by the quality standards of the band that
guaranty a good time while listening to it: catchy refrains, nice melodies,
keyboards "dressing" the songs, and this symphonic atmosphere
haunting them. The fans will love the album. As for the rest...there's never
to late to redress a wrong.
This
band has its roots in the early 90’s when Andreas Andersson (bass), who is
the mastermind of the group, joined a band which was later split-up. His
next band was named Divine Disciples and this was the first form of Majestic
Vanguard. After some line-up changes and a demo (released under the Rivel
Records), the band decided to change its name to Majestic Vanguard and now
they released their debut album. The five Swedish play a mixture of power,
progressive and melodic metal and sound interesting enough. The vocalist
(Peter Sigfridsson), who had no previous experience with metal bands
according to his bio, has a very good and melodic voice and he really amazed
me. The keyboards (Samuel Fredén) on the other hand, fill the band’s
sound and make the final result more interesting. The guitars (Johan Abelson)
are heavy in most parts and very melodic like most of the melodic metal
bands. The rhythm section (Daniel Eskilsson on drums) sounds tight and
powerful, but I didn’t like the sound of the drums in some parts...
Finally, Daniel Eskilsson made the production at the Studio X and it sounds
good, but I would prefer it more clean and heavy. The band seems interesting
to me and the fans of the particular kind of music should try listening to
this album... The best song here is “Take Me Home”. Some more tracks
that I managed to pick out are: “The Great Eternity”, “Emotions Of A
Picture” and “Tears In Neverland”.
With
a simple glance at the artwork of the CD (a warrior on a horse and in the
background some warriors fighting), everybody can understand that the band
Malediction is a French group that was formed in 1997. This is their second full-length album, after their debut album “Condamnes” back in 2001, which was a big seller in the underground scene and this is why they have given live appearances with great bands such as: Saxon, Edguy, Heavenly, Within Temptation and many others! Their music has many influences from groups like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Megadeth and their main characteristic is that all the lyrics are in French!
Don’t be disappointed because they have matched very well the heavy/power metal music with the French lyrics and I think that this is the best band with non-English lyrics that I have ever heard. All the nine tracks included in this album are very powerful and heavy and have very nice melodies. The quality of this CD is very high for sure and the reason for this is the excellent production and the very good guitar work! You can listen to “dangerous” guitars in the style of Megadeth and melodic guitar lines like Iron Maiden. The vocalist, Sylvain, has a wonderful voice that can sing the high notes and can also “color” his voice. I dare to say that if the guitars didn't reminded me so much the aforementioned bands, and the lyrics where in English, then this would be a necessary album! Listen to the following tracks and then decide if this album is for you: “Dans Ma Mιmoire…”, “Justice Assassine”, “Martyr”, “Conspirations” and “Esclave Du
Vice”.
The
band comes from Germany and this must be its debut album. The case with
Mandrake (I bet that the name of the group must be inspired by Harry
Potter!) here is simple: Take Nightwish, but let the symphonic elements
subside, mix them up with some good portions from Within Temptation, add
some good ideas, crystal clear production, reduce speeds a bit, embellish
the mix with some Tristania and Fields Of The Nephilim and you have
Mandrake’s new album. The band argues that their music emits a sense of
sweet melancholy, which in this case is linked to water. I can confirm it,
but also add that at times the music here grooves, which means that it is
not only a monotonous melancholic album. By the way the release comes also
in a double CD format, with the second bonus CD containing a new release
of a demo track and four covers, one of which on “Fade To Black”,
based on piano, violin and cello.
M&R Rush was formed back in the early 70’s from a bunch of high-school guys in Chicago. After giving many live shows in their area and having mature as songwriters, they finally participated on a vinyl compilation, back on 1980, that was produced by Chicago radio station Wlup-FM (The Loop) and featured 10 local acts from the Chicago area. That very first song of the band was titled “Rock n’ Roll Chicago” and became an instant hit at that station. Years were passing by and having only released an E.P. (“Reach For The Stars” – 1980), a cassette (“Set The Streets On Fire” – 1984) and a single (“Eminar” – 1986), they split up in 1987. The members have kept in close contact all those years and finally on 2002 they decided to be back on action and they also toured on 2003. In the same year they released a compilation, which was titled “Rock n’ Roll Chicago”. The CD features re-mastered M&R Rush music from vinyl and cassette releases from the 70’s and 80’s. In that year they also released a dingle titled “Heavy Metal Christmas”. So coming to 2004 the band released its new album, which features new songs along with newly recorded M&R Rush favourite songs from the past. The music of the band is influenced form the 70’s and the 80’s rock and of course from bands like Styx and Beatles. The new songs of the album are very good with a modern production and very melodic as well. For example the first song of the album “Wrap Me Up” can easily become a hit and it is also one of the best rock songs for 2004. Other songs that you will surely like, are: “Million Seller”, “Rock n’ Roll Chicago”, “Wish I Only Knew”, “Heavy Metal Christmas” (a song that you must be listened every Christmas period!), “Good Bye Baby”, “I’m Dreaming”, “Good Bye City Lights” and “Never Forget You, John”. The truth is that I like very much this CD although it took me by surprise when I pushed the play on my CD-player. Excellent, melodic 70’s-80’s rock music without being retro at all and with a fresh sound. If you like rock music from this time-period then do not hesitate to get this album. It’s even better than you can imagine! Let’s hope this time the band will make it through the time in order to offer us more albums like this one.
Another album from a French group came in my hands by Nothing To Say Records. The previous one was the last CD of Malediction, which was a very good album. I admit that I expected something good again, but my expectations were not fulfilled. This is the second album for Manigance, a band that is an expert in copying the pioneering euro-power metal groups… The main problems are that they have nothing new at all to offer to a listener of power metal music. All the guitars, bridges, bass and vocal lines will either remind you something of Helloween, Stratovarius and Pretty Maids or they will mean nothing to you. All the guys of the band are good music-players, but what they all miss is inspiration! Their inspiration level must be below zero so, I only have to tell them to practice more or
to call it quit so that their company will sign another group that is more interesting! Apart from all the above, the lyrics are in French and almost all the tracks last over five minutes, which, in their case, seem like ages… Anyway, ignore them and in case you want to listen to a power metal album that the lyrics are in French, I think that Malediction is your best choice this period. The only bonus is the good production, the very nice artwork and the live video track “Future World”, where Pretty Maids and Manigance jam together on stage.
Manning has been around for quite long. It’s mainly the project of Guy Manning. Nevertheless it’s the first time I listen to something from them, which is peculiar, as the music here is really good. I have no idea what they’ve been playing in the past five albums, but here the bottom line is progressive rock. But not in the sense we experience it nowadays. I could say that it’s a mixture of Jethro Tull and Fish, which presents many folk elements. Guy seems to admire Ian Anderson a lot as the vocals refer directly to him. The album is a concept one based upon a character Guy created in Manning’s debut album in 1999. The styles here are dark, lyrical (with the sax adding a lot to the atmosphere), and yet up-tempo at parts. It’s quite interesting exactly because it is far from what is released these days.
The
concept of the album is interesting. Man On Fire creates here a musical
place where “disconnected lives are intertwined through a common thread of
existence: a single urban city block”...each of the tracks describes a
different individual living within the block. Smart idea, but unfortunately
the music does not live up to the expectations. In general, the band seems
get drowned within the very ambitious project. The songs, a kind of prog
rock based on pop forms and keyboards embellished by some funk elements,
remain flat throughout the record. There have been tracks that I wanted to
press the “next” button, as I was bored. I think that in general the
music here misses the target, while at some point all the sound effects and
the squeaky keys become annoying. Bonus for the album is the appearance of
Adrian Belew (King Crimson, David Bowie, Talking Heads) on guitars (however
the use of guitars is limited or “buried” by the production) and David
Ragsdale on violin (Kansas, Smashing Pumpkins).
Well,
“Little Room Club” is the “official” new release of 
Have
you ever thought of an album, which contains a combination of doom-death
metal, progressive rock, classical and electronic music performed just by
a single band? Are you open-minded enough and you want a doom metal album
mixed with different metal and non-metal styles? If your answer is
positive, then its time to listen to the debut album of the Chilean Mar De
Grises. The band was formed between September 2000 and July 2001 and
because of the shared musical influences its members decided to take a
doom-death metal oriented path, but trying not to limit their spectrum of
expression. Did this decision bring the expected good results? I think
yes, as I let my mind being carried away by the dark sounds of the album
titled “The Tatterdemalion Express” which contains seven tracks full
of passion, sorrow and gloomy emotions. Can you imagine yourself being in
the middle of a funeral during a rainy day? That’s how you’ll probably
feel as you’re listening to the depressing songs of the album and that
feelings are very welcomed by the real doom metal funs. The guitars sound
like crying, the vocals vary between doom and death style but the best
part are the keyboards, which add a great and mournful melodic sound. Just
listen the track “Self Portrait No1”, a fine piano solo that could
easily be a classical track or a movie soundtrack. Personally, I can only
express an objection about the length of some tracks (could be shorter)
and the production, which could be more clear and loud in some parts of
the songs (for example in piano solo’s). Putting aside these flaws, the
whole album is very good and shows that mixing different styles can
sometimes be very interesting.
Marshan is a power-rock quartet and this is the first full-length album of the band (it has released a mini album in 2001). Well, the Scottish band plays with a lot of attitude, while treading on what huge rock names of the past have created (imagine Sabbath, meeting UFO etc). The sound is close to Spiritual Beggars of the “Ad Astra” period, but the band manages to distinguish itself from the common “stoner rock” genre of the past few years. Marshan here a groovy rock and roll with balls, that has many blues elements to present. Imagine that even harmonica appears at times! Hendrix-influenced guitar solos are gently mixed with piano, and then at times the sound becomes really heavy. I also have to mention that a southern feeling is present throughout the album. I think that the vocals have to be worked on a bit (unless the way Duff sings is so on purpose - and it must be so). I guess that Marchan has all the qualities to make a break with this album.
MPG
is the personal band of Martie Peters who used to be the frontman of Push.
The music style of the band isn’t far away from Push and I believe that
the fans of Push will be happy again not only ‘cause Martie is back with
a new album but also ‘cause MPG’s line up features Push drummer Jesper
Werner and guitarist Martin Slott. It’s kind of Push with another name
and for sure with better songs and a far better production. That was
Martie’s smartest move to call it quits with Push and to re-birth as MPG
under a new label. I was never a big fan of Push but I can assure you that
I enjoyed more this album than Push’s ones. The album except 8 new songs
features two re-make tracks of Push’s last album, “Only Dreaming”
and “Heart Is An Empty Space”, and a cover of the 1974 Rod Stewart/Ron
Wood “Dixie Toot”. Songs that I enjoyed most from this album were:
“The Beast Inside”, “Riot On The 5th Floor”, “Number
1”, “Take Some Time”, “Heart Is An Empty Space” and “Bird On
The Wire”. I must also tell that this album reminded of Mike Tramp’s
solo works due to Martie’s voice which is very close to Mike’s one.
“MPG” is a very nice melodic rock album that will surely please Push
and Mike Tramp fans.
Martiria was formed in 1987 as a doom metal band by Andy “Menario” Menarini (guitars and keyboards) and Massimo Di Vincenzo. In 1998 the band was put on ice since nothing really interesting happened through these years. Now Andy found new musicians and recorded the band’s debut album. The names of the musicians are: Rick Anderson (ex-Warlord known as Damien King
III) on vocals, Maurizio Capitini (ex- Astaroth) on drums, Derek Maniscalco on bass and four guest musicians on accordion, piano, baritone and tenor vocals! Their music cannot be characterized as doom metal, but it is a mixture of heavy and power metal with some folk/epic elements. I think that they are the great mixture of Warlord (epic moments) and Kamelot (dramatic moments)! Rick’s vocals are very good, but I would have never guessed, if I was not told, that he is the Damien King II. The guitars are very interesting and heavy and I believe that Andy is a very good musician since he has composed all the songs of this album. He must have been influenced from Bill Tsamis (Warlord) very much, because I found many similarities with him at moments! The rhythm section is very tight and sounds so clean and loud that I sometimes thought that my speakers would explode! This is due to the very heavy production that Andy made! Their lyrics are very interesting and epic, but I think that they should add some more epic feeling in their music… The artwork is simply wonderful. Best tracks: “The Ancient Lord”, “Arthur”, “Babylon Fire”, “The Gray Outside”, “Romans And Celts” and “Fairies”.
Martyr was formed in 1997 in Holland. The band has released some demos and a MCD under the Regimental Records, but now it has signed with the Black Owl Records and released its debut album “A Malicious Odyssey”. The band plays aggressive/melodic black metal with some atmospheric influences. I think that their music is close to the sound of Dissection, Dimmu Borgir and Old Man’s Child. The guitars (Haat and Amok) are thundering and have many melodic lines, something that I really enjoyed in this black metal album. The vocals (Haat) will remind you much of Dimmu Borgir something which is not bad at all. Instead I liked them a lot! The drums (Mike) are very fast in some parts and just fast in others, but generally the album is full of blast-beats. The band’s main purpose is to create aggressive black metal music combined with many melodic parts and I believe they have succeeded what they wanted with this album. Finally, they would have pleased me more, if the album was longer, because 35 music of music are not enough for a full-length release in our days… Anyway the fans of Dissection and Dimmu Borgir will surely like this album! I can’t choose some tracks to mention as the best, because all of them have interesting parts, but the track that I enjoyed most is “The Dawn Of The Malicious Crossfires” (the best track of the album!).
The Swedish group is not a new one on the block, rather have quite a few albums to present in their discography. To be honest I have not listened anything of their previous works, but I’ve read that his new album is maybe the best work of the group. I cannot say it for myself, but I can assure you that the music here is good. What we get is a mixture of rock-n-roll in the Hellacopters’ vein with sleaze/hair metal elements of the 80’s. Not much of originality here, but a lot of fun, good mood and loads of booze. One more plus for the album is Peter Taegtgren’s presence as the producer. I think it is his obsession (in the good way) with Kiss that has added a feeling of the great band to the record of Maryslim. An album quite suitable for the coming days, especially for rides with the car by the sea. I also have to mention that all songs are in high standards, which means that you won’t buy a CD for only 3-4 songs. Good effort.
Ok, this is in essence Goss’s personal band, which in the past 10 years has released six albums (two of them live). The band has some commercial success in the past, as it made a few singles. Although Goss has been considered to be a rock -n- roll God and the approach in the previous works was more rock or stoner, or bluesy rock, the approach here is a bit different, something that might estrange some of the old fans of the group. But then Chris is not one of those predictable guys. So, the whole outcome here (which contains some older live tracks in new studio executions too) is a mixture of folk rock. It reminds me a lot of Neil Young (especially in the “Sleeps With Angels” period) and John Lennon and less David Bowie (of the earl days). The whole approach is much more loose in comparison to the past releases, more acoustic guitars, reduced speed, no riffs. However some great musicians participate here. Among them are Ginger Baker and Chris Palmer. The songs in general are very good, but I think that the record is missing some nerve.
So, the time has come for Mastodon to release its second album. I must admit that I was really surprised by its debut album and from the abilities of the band in general. I believe that Mastodon is one of the biggest hopes of extreme music. This time their extreme metal/hardcore with jazz influences has become a little more melodic from song to song with rock elements and also influenced by Tool. This is logical… if the band wants to open its musical horizons should be influenced from one of the most uncompromising bands of our time. The riffs are heavy, the drums are excellent and the vocals just fit perfectly to this kind of music. Mastodon’s musical stigma is the very good heavy riffs along with the unique and excellent drum playing. If you listen to a song of this band you will surely understand that not only the members are very good music players but also know how to combine elements from rock to extreme metal music and to create very interesting songs. The production of the album is perfect and the songs start up from 1 and end up to 99! Yes, the album has 99 songs!… or to be more right it has 99 themes. Each song is divided up to 10 or so themes… and each theme last from 10 up to 30 seconds. Another smart way to differ as a band although I prefer a band to differ only in the music part. Some can do both as well. To cut it short… if you are an extreme music fan (also a metal or a hardcore/metalcore one) then you already know this band and maybe you already have bought their album. If you also love Tool then go and listen to Mastodon too.
Mastodon
is an extreme metal/deathcore band from America and
"Remission" is the first full-length album of the band. As I
said before the music style of the band is a mixture of extreme and
deathcore music but not only! In fact they play a "strange"
and extreme kind of music. Their music has much death metal and few jazz
(!!!) elements! In this point I must inform you, about the drummer of
the band, Brann Dailor. The guy is really a "beast"! His
technique is very high on the drums. I noticed that he can play anything
that he wants! Also the vocals of the singer are very sharp and brutal.
Another thing is that Mastodon composed very interesting songs in this
album, like "Ole Nessie" (a truly paranoid song!),
"Trainwreck", which is a mid-tempo "sick" song, and
the 8-second instrumental "Elephant Man". Just imagine, that
if this is the debut album of the band how much more they can offer in
the extreme music generally. I don't know how to characterize
"Remmission", but I can assure you that this album is full of
surprises. The fans of the specific genre must get "Remission"
right away! 
The band is an interesting proposal with
much potentials.
This is the debut album of Maximum Overdrive and makes a good impression. The band plays a kind of hard stoner rock, with many heavy metal elements. It makes some clear references to Spiritual Beggars, but then again to Deep Purple and Iron Maiden. And I think that this is the main problem for the band: that it still hasn’t concluded to what kind of music it wants to play. Ok, heavy rock and heavy metal are highly related and match together. However Maximum
Overdrive present it here in a different way: the one song might be a clear-cut rock one and the next one a heavy metal one. Variety is good but not presented in this way. In general some riffs in here kick ass, while the whole listening is highly recommended for headbanging. I think that a clear decision on what they want to play in the future might help them a lot.
The princes of unholy black metal are back! Well, to tell you the truth I like a lot their previous album “Grand Declaration Of War” and it also impressed me the fact that they put some melodies in the songs, back then. But now, seems that this experiment didn’t satisfied the band a lot, although the fans were satisfied I think, and so they decided to return to more pure Norwegian black metal forms. Some elements from their previous album are also here, just listen to the “Black Night Of The Soul” to understand what I mean, but the rest of the album is moving on their known pure extreme fast black metal sound. I liked Mayhem when they experiment in “Grand Declaration Of War” and showed that is an open-minded band, which like not to get stuck on the same things. But then, their “true” black metallers accused them for being too soft (!) for their wild tastes… and the question is: does a band have to listen to the opinion of its fans or do what ever it likes? I prefer the second thing… to do whatever feels it is better for the band in that specific time. You do not write music just for your fans… firstly you write music for you and if you are not totally satisfied with
it then better call it quits. So, back to the new album of Mayhem again, everything seems to be in total chaos here! Maniac screams like… a maniac, Hellhammer creating drum-blasts in order to drive us crazy and Necrobuthcer and Blasphemer are equally offering their best to create the monster, which is called “Chimera”… the name of an ancient monster, which was taken from the Greek Mythology. The production, once again, is terrific and please, turn on the volume to the max when you put this CD in your CD-player! It is obvious that “Chimera” will satisfy totally the fans of Mayhem and in general all the black metallers who love the Norwegian 90’s black metal sound. Enjoy the evil, dark, pure, impious, sick sound of Mayhem!
Maze
Of Torment is coming from Sweden and “Hammers Of Mayhem” is the fifth
release of the band. They play a kind of thrash/death metal music that has
borrowed many elements from Kreator and Slayer (talking about the first
era of both bands). This not something new to my ears as I used to be a
thrash and death metal fan when I was younger and really has nothing to
offer me nowadays. Maybe the fans of the aforementioned bands will
appreciate Maze Of Tomernt’s work more than I did but I can’t really
recommend to someone to listen to this album. Too flat and uninspired for
my taste and has many “borrowed” parts from other bands. The
production is fine but the artwork is at least ridiculous! Hey guys, there
is no way to scare anyone in 2005 by having demons and hell-shits on your
artwork!!! Maybe in the 80’s those kind of stuff were scary but nowadays
are too cheesy and gay for people!
My goodness, progressive metal can be really boring sometimes. This
happens when the band has the technical knowledge to produce complicated
music, but lacks the inspiration and sentiment to breath life to it. MCM
here play well and the complicated parts are impressive, but it takes much
more than that in order to produce a largely instrumental album. Ok,
Gordian Knot manage to do it in style and in top quality, but look at
those who participate in the band! The problem here is that I personally
get a bit lost within this kind of music, that has references to Sieges
Even, Gordian Knot, Spastic Ink etc. This is because the songs present
inefficiencies in their structure, while seem to run over the same things
again and again.
It seems that we live in the golden era of sequels... therefore our chubby friend - since he had already a sequel for his best album - decided to provide the third part of the “Bat Out Of Hell” opus. To be honest I don’t have the lyrics just to see how the story evolves, but from what I can figure out the cornerstone is about love... again. Nothing bad about it, although I’m not quite sure as to what exactly does the new, third part add to the “Bat...” saga. But this is the only objection to this glorious come-back of the loaf.... by the way I still cannot forget his monumental entrance on the bike in “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and how Dr. Frankenfurter killed him without laughing!
Whenever I think of Meat Loaf, some serious questions instantly flood my mind: Has he lost any pound yet? Does he wash his famous scarf often enough? Why did
Frank-N-Furter had to kill him in the "Rocky Horror Picture Show"? Eternal questions doomed to stay unanswered. Anyway, the fatty is back, and I have to make a review on his new album Well, the truth is that Meat Loaf is treated as a treator by metal fans, as after the heavy, excellent "Bat out of Hell pt I" he turned to pop music. His zenith came with "Bat out of Hell pt II", which made 3-4 hit singles. This new CD is close to his latter sound: melodic, pop, based on piano compositions, "epic", dramatic, mellow, etc. Well, setting aside his turn to easy listening, I have to admit that he is a good pianist, and smart enough to create songs that can be "digested" easily by the crowd, and thus sell more. BUT his songs retain high standards and don't become pop shit. Listen for example to the same-titled opening track and you'll understand. If you like some easy listening, close to AOR/pop, based on piano melodies, and in rock-n-roll forms, then why not try Meat Loaf's new CD? After all we all need a soft "pillow" during these long summer days.
Mechanix
is a band that comes from Arizona and plays melodic hard rock, just like the
way it used to be played in the 90's. Their music has also many influences
form the heavy metal music, and that is very logical, cause the line between
hard rock music and heavy metal is very thin. The production of the album is
very good for that kind of music and the band seems to know how to write
good hard songs that fits perfectly with the melodic voice of the singer
John D' Angelo. The songs of "Regenerator" are very interesting
and in some parts we can enjoy polyphonic compositions in were all the
members of the band are participating. Mechanix seems to have many
influences from bands like the U.S. Fortune (especially them) and from the
guru Leatherwolf (due to the polyphonic parts) in some songs. Highlights of
the album are definitively the great "Night Of The Dancer" and the
fantastic ballad "Another Night". Enough with the descriptions my
friends!!!. If you like melodic 90's hard rock/metal music, then
"Regenerator" will surely make you paint the town red! Albums like
Mechanix's "Regenerator" shows that the specific kind of music is not dead
and that will return better than ever, very soon!
Medusa’s Child were formed in 1999 in Germany and since then, they have released one more full-length CD and an EP. Their music is based on melodic power metal with lots of keyboards. The main thing that makes them really interesting is the dark atmosphere that the keyboards create and the voice of D. C. Crow. The vocalist has a melancholic voice in most tracks, accompanied with some good high notes. The guitarists, Tino and Jesus, have made excellent work and although that the guitars sound very heavy, they have also succeeded to make them sound atmospheric and melodic at the same time! The other element that made me happy is that despite they have released this CD without a contract with a label; they paid much attention to the production, which is very good. It would be a pity if their talent to compose wonderful music was wasted because of the production, but these clever guys seem to have realized this. The tracks vary from power metal tracks with nice refrains and melodies to atmospheric introductions and even to nice ballads. The ballad, which is also the best track of this album, is “Tears Of The Wolf”, a very romantic and touching song with acoustic guitars and female vocals! The other interesting songs are: “Lionheart” (the second ballad of the album), “Mother Earth” (a song with a high epic feeling), “Eyes Of Fire” and “Center Of The Dark”. Recently the band signed a contract, as I read at their biographic note that they sent me and I only want to wish them good luck! You can contact band through their official site at:
I’m a big Megadeth fan. I keep listening to them for over 13 years and with the exception of “Risk” (which is not a bad album but surely not a Megadeth one), they have never disappointed me. I had never believed that Megadeth’s carrier would end in such an inglorious way… and I was waiting to see how much time Mustaine would bear to stay away from the metal scene. Thank God, only two years after the spilt up of the band the weird but clever mastermind of the band, Dave Mustaine, decided to release a new album. It has been told that this was going to be a solo album and not a Megadeth one but due to some record label matters it finally released under the name of Megadeth. I do not know how much different would or could this album have been if it has been released as a solo one but I can surely say that this is a pure Megadeth album for the very start to the end. Great guitar riffs, excellent solos, fast drumming, paranoid vocals, and wonderful political lyrics with Mustaine’s personal stigma! The album has very good songs like: “Blackmail The Universe”, “Die Dead Enough”, “Kick The Chair”, “The Scorpion”, “Back In The Day”, “Of Mice And Men”, and “Kingdom Come” and maybe some of them will remind you the old glorious days of Megadeth. The line up of the band has changed once again and only Chris Poland is a known friend from the past. The production of the album is heavy and very good and it has an 80’s feeling that brought on my mind the late 80’s era of the band. I like, how’s the album’s sounding and I totally believe that this is the best work of Megadeth since “Crypting Writings”. I know that times have changed but some things must and have to remain the same like the old good wine! Megadeth is one of those things!!! “System Has Failed” will satisfy not only the Mega-maniacs like myself but most of the metalheads as well!
For me this is the surprise of the year! We knew that the band uses wind instruments... so the tricky webmaster thought it was something like "Tripod" (look at the review archive for details) and passed it on to me with the excuse that I was "experienced" to such kind of listenings after "Tripod". Ho-ho!!! This time he lost: the six Italians in their fourth album play an amazing amalgam of punk rock, funk, jazz, musical-like music, with metal elements based on guitars and winged instruments!!! I can tell you I have gone bananas with this CD! This is what I can call progressive music. Imagine that all those influences are combined in the best possible way. And the zenith is when instead of guitar solos, most of the songs present solos played on saxophone, trumpet etc! Latin rhythms are perfectly mixed with classical themes and I get shivers down my spine when listening to the tremendous capabilities of this band! I cannot find even one song that does not kick ass! The amazing thing is that the songs are powerful and aggressive despite the classical instruments. An album flooded in various and uncountable moods to make you wanna party, headbang, love, dance! At least for me the CD reaches the absolute qualitative highs when in one song I get a perfect combination of Ramones with Blood Sweat and Tears. I don't know what else to write to put you into the trip to try and acquire this album. And I say try because up to now it is only released in Italy. I know that the record company is trying to release it to the rest of Europe as well. If you are going to trust me only for once, do try and find it. Here is the website of the band:
What we have here is in plain words melodic rock. It seems that the genre is in total revival, otherwise I cannot explain all those bands appearing from everywhere like mushrooms. Do we like this? Well, if all this music were like Melodine's, the answer would have been definitely yes! Don't be infatuated that the band here plays anything different or escapes the unavoidable cliches, however the songs seem to be at inspired and at least they don't follow the usual couple-refrain structure that the bands of the genre use. Plus the music is embellished with some "symphonic" elements, which give great depth to the songs. The opening track "Exit Wounds" is breathtaking and introduces us to the album in the best possible way.... and the rest songs don't let us unsatisfied. At some point the band seems to be influenced by Russ Ballard (listen to "Heaven's Comming To California" for example) and introduces some 80's pop elements. In sum I would definitely suggest this CD to anyone who likes melodic rock, but also to those who would like to invest into a "romancing" album this time of year.
The references here give us a hint for a very good listening... since the
mastermind of the band is Joss Mennen (x-Zinatra - AOR fans acquire the
re-issue of “The Great Escape Rockumentary pt II”). This is the fourth
studio album of the Dutch band, which sticks to its traditional melodic
rock sound. However the CD is very good. Inspired guitars played by Eric
Van De Kerkhof, which have clear references to Eddie Van Halen, much
variety among the 11 songs of the album, bombastic production by Mennen
himself and lyrical bridges create a very good ensemble. I think you have
got the meaning so far: melodic rock that flirts with the hard part of it,
but presents many mid-tempo moments. To be honest that was the only
drawback for me... as those “slower” moments deprive the needed nerve
for such an album. However I cannot ignore the high skills of band’s
members, neither the very good songs.
Brutality over power? Brutality over speed? Maybe a mix of brutalism and speed along with power? Maybe I’m talking bullshits?!! Of course!!! How did this CD make it to my CD-player??!!! Satan’s work, I guess!!! And when I say Satan’s work I totally mean it! Only he can put such a blasphemer and shit CD in my CD-player in order to torture my ears! Damn you Satan you ruined my afternoon while I’m relaxing by listening to good, melodic music! Mental Horror seems to be Satan’s bastard who wants to make mankind suffering with their hyper-shit-brutal music… do you want me describe the music of this wannabe album? Well… imagine a drum machine playing ultra-super-fast (the rhythm does not change at all – plz
switch off the damn machine!), some sounds that will remind you an instrument that’s called guitar and someone that wanna imitate Satan’s voice and growls like an idiot!!! Maybe I should sue the label for releasing this album and also I will sue them for giving it to me! If you wanna make your neighbours disappear for ever then play them this CD all night long… but plz do not buy it… just borrow it… it’s only good for scaring people away!
Mercury Fang is the name of a new Swedish band, and “Liquid Sunshine” is their debut album. The singer of the band Fredrik Glimbrand was playing in a Swedish band called Atlantis, which only managed to release a single in the 80’s. Also the keyboardist of the band Jorgen Schelander was a member of the cult heavy metal band OZ. That’s all as it concerns the music past of the members of this band. In the music part of this album now, Mercury Fang are playing hard rock music, which seems to be influenced by bands like M.S.G., Led Zeppelin and Whitesnake and in general from the 70’s and the 80’s era of that specific music genre. The band members are, without doubt, skillful and especially I like the way that singer’s voice sounds… it has something “strange” that some of you may not like but I like it cause he’s voice is not the classic hard rock voice we use to know. Also his accent is quite good and “weird” as well. Furthermore the production of the album, which was handled by Pontus Norgren (ex- Talisman, Great King Rat) and Morgan Agren (ex- live drummer Of Frank Zappa and Glenn Hughes), is very good and clear and it seems that the band have worked a lot over the songs. Some tracks that I enjoyed while listening to “Liquid Sunshine” are the opener “Hello/Goodbye”, the catchy “Come To Me”, the mellow “I Made Up My Mind” the melodious “On The Moon”, the mid-ballad “You Need My Love”, and the rocker “Danger Zone”. Although this album has many songs, fourteen, for a debut album, there is no problem, I think, in getting bored cause time passes pretty good while listening to it. The last few years are being released too many good rock and hard rock albums every month and it is really tough for a fan to made up his mind about which one should buy and which not. Mercury Fang is that band which is gonna put us again on this dilemma. They are fresh, with melodies and good ideas and for sure they need our support. Personally, I’ll be watching this band from now own to see their progress from album to album.
Mercury
Rain is a band that was formed in Bristol, UK in 1998. “St. Matthieu”
is the second full length release of the band which plays heavy music
along with gothic and melodic elements. They seem to be influenced from
bands like Nightwish, Theatre Of Tragedy and Tristania. They play really
good and the singer of the band Sonia Porzier has a wonderful voice.
Although they have many similarities with the aforementioned bands they
seem to love what they are doing and I think that with every new release
they will become more popular in the metal scene. They have some skills
but they must be careful to write songs with their own personality and to
get rid of the clichés of this genre. The production is good although it
could have been better and the CD includes a bonus DVD with the
promotional video “Shadow’s Scent” plus three track from the “The
Dark Empire” UK tour including also footage from their Bloobstock 2003
performance. The fans of the aforementioned bands and of this genre should
at least try to listen somehow to this band.
This is a new discovery from Spain. New for us at least as from what I
found out the band is pretty successful inside its domestic borders, as
its previous release (second full length) “High Dimension Is The
Direction” has been voted second best rock album in Spain in 2000. This
new third album of the band targets the rest of Europe and it seems that
it has some potentials to conquer it. The band plays what came to be known
as “stoner” rock and does it well. This means that the direct
influences from Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Jimi
Hendrix are mixed with some more recent stuff like Kyuss, Hellacopters and
Gluecifer. So Mermaid here play
The
Swedish band that has managed to make many people to deal with them
strikes back with a new full-length album. The band’s music is still
based on the guitar accuracy (math metal), repeated riffs, experimental
and aggressive music, jazz influences (especially in the way they change
the tempos) and the technical skills of the band’s members. I don’t
know why many people have gone crazy with the band, but I am not really
fond of them. Their music is very complicated and you need to listen to it
many times in order to get into the album. The guitars are mostly playing
a main riff many times in the whole track, but they always have a strange
sound that I like it. It’s like they mechanized their sound! The bass is
very heavy and you will love to listen to what the bassist plays! The
drums are programmed, but there was no way to understand it, if I
haven’t read it, because they have a physical sound! The vocals are as
always aggressive and brutal although that there are some electronic
vocals too. The refrains and the melodic vocals are not here for once
again. Finally, I must mention that the whole album is one song, which is
separated in 13 parts. The production is incredible, professional and
groovy! I seldom listen to such guitar and bass sound on aggressive bands.
The album is a must have for the fans of the band (who are thousands as
far as I know) and those who like experimental – aggressive – math
metal! As for me this is just a good album so the grade below represents
my personal liking...
Fourth album for the power-metallers. The band started as an international “super-band” and ended up one more traditional euro-power group. And to be honest I don't understand why I
shouldn’t write for Metalium the same things I wrote for Shining Fury almost a week ago. Why? Because this band is more famous and has a good name? No, there are no such distinctions here. The band plays the same things as countless other groups. Double bass drumming, “hymnical” refrains, common harmonies etc. No, the album is not bad and
it’s whole in musical and technical terms (although I sense too much digital elaboration). Plus
Basse’s vocal performance is distinguishable. One more credit for the album is the participation of Don Airey on keyboards. But
that’s all. If you are new to the scene (welcome) then you might like it. If
you’ve been listening to power metal for 14
years... just drop it. In addition I have to mention that sometimes the vocal harmonies seem to not “bind" with the music due to deficiencies in the lyrics, which do not match to the tempo. The only interesting and differentiated song is the excellent “Athena”, but
it’s not enough to save the whole CD.
The
Metal Hero Metalium has returned within the third chapter. German power
metal with beautiful bridges and multiphonetic refrains. Maybe that will
sound a little cliché to any of you but we don’t need to expect
from bands like Metalium many and radical differences between their albums.
Metalium can offers us albums that features many good and powerful songs and
that exactly what they do and with their new record “Hero Nation –
Chapter III”. The songs that I like most of this album are “Odin’s
Spell”, “Odyssey” and the sentimental ballad “Infinite Love”. The
funs of power metal music will like this album but for the others I suggest
them to try somehow to listen to the album before they bought it. 
Is this what Metallica offer to their fans and music community after 6 years of absence from producing original new work? If this is not a joke, I feel really sorry as soon (if not even now) they will understand how humiliating it is to sign such a work with the name Metallica. For me the band is clinically dead since 1991. "Load" and "Reload" have been two boring albums, and let me clear this: I don't criticize their wish to change their style, image etc. An artist must explore new paths, and honestly nobody would ever want them to produce 3 or 4 "Ride the Lightning". My objection is that in their two previous albums they just produced bad music. The experiment "I want to be Sabbath in Sabbath's place, with Jimmy Hendrix in the guitars" was a failure, as in order to do it you have to be -at least inspired, a state of affairs that Metallica is missing since 1991. And this is proved to the highest extend by "St. Anger", where the best song of the album (if it can be called "good" such a song), the self-titled one, is based on Megadeth forms, especially in the refrain.
Second album from the band with the mystery singer Valencia within the
space of less than a year. To be honest I’ve always been suspicious to so
frequent releases from a band, as I cannot believe that the material can
be equally good. For those who don’t remember I can remind that in the
previous effort the group had literally “stolen” parts from many
Whitesnake songs, while the whole thing reminded “1987” very much. However
one could distinguish some very good elements in the music and ideas of
the band. This time the band doesn’t “borrow” from Whitesnake. We can only
say that it has “direct influences”!!! But this was until I listened to
the song “Burying Heather”, which is a common theft from Beatles’ “Eleanor
Rigby”, with a mixture of “She’s Leaving Home”... imagine, that I thought
it was a cover, but then I realised that the lyrics were different!!!! By
the way the specific song is completely out of the atmosphere and sound of
the album, which is a diverse form of “1987”. I don’t know how to grade
the album... it’s not bad at all, but it’s only an imitation. On the other
hand, you might say, Stratovarious kept “stealing” entire parts from other
artists’ songs for the first three albums...
Don’t have much information about this band, but I think that the singer here is Aldous Byron Valensia Clarkson, this strange guy we also meet in the latest Queen’s tribute. No joking now, the guy seems to have an amazing voice... and the band also kicks ass. That is because in technical and musical terms they seem to be great and the songs are amazingly structured and orchestrated, while they seem to mix many different musical influences to their music in the best possible way. The band in the CD plays of kind of hard rock that has clear references to the 70’s and bands like Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Queen (a lot) or even Cat Stevens. But most of the songs are orchestrated in a classical way, acquiring thus a lyrical tone. Being a huge Queen fan, I humbly feel that songs like “The Extra Terrestrial” present how the glorious british band could sound today. The only drawback for the album is that some times the band imitates a lot. For example “Grim Reeper” has literally stolen the slow part from Whitesnake’s “Still Of The Night”, and this is unacceptable. Anyway, I strongly believe (especially if this is the first effort of the band) that they have much more to offer, once they follow an even more original way.
This
is another promising band from Denmark. Their style I must confess that is
very strange! They seem to get many Death-Thrash influences and most of
them are coming from Sweden. I think that they love the Swedish death
metal scene. Anyway here we got a very interesting album with very good
production and also with beautiful changes on the vocals from the clean
ones to brutal and vice versa. Amazing melodies and guitar riffs create
incredible songs such as “Darkspeed”, ”Rescue me”, ”Seize The
Night” and many others…well an absolute heavy death melodic album that
will surprise you in many ways. I believe that we should expect more good
albums in the future from Mercenary. All you have to do is to follow
the band in a journey through powerful - Metal - melodic music and trust
me, won’t regret it!! Do you dare??? Mercenary just shows the way…
Michael
Landau is not only a terrific guitarist/composer but also a highly acclaimed
session player, who has taken part in hundreds of albums and has worked with
very famous artists/bands such as: Miles Davis, Chaka Khan, Mariah Carey,
Quincy Jones, Joni Mitchell, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, The
Jefferson Airplane, Seal and many others. I first came across Mike when a
friend of mine from 
One of my all time favorite singers released his second personal
album. Yes ladies and gents I'm talking about Bret Michaels the golden voice of
Poison! After the last year's incredible album that Poison released, Bret made us a small gift and released his second solo album with the very smart title
"Songs Of Life". For sure this album is a good antipasto for Poison's
fans, who are waiting for their next studio album. And when I say good
antipasto, I totally mean it! In some songs if you close your eyes you will think that you are listening to
Poison! The album is close to Poison style, but it has also and some other
punk/rock elements. Bret as a genuine vagabond, sings once again about women
(he's best theme, and for many of us also!), relationships, parties and in general for how someone can have a good
time! Also this album is better as it concerns the production, and that's a very important thing cause Poison's previous album had a little problem in that
point. Bret's voice is more mature and I think that is becoming better and
better, as he's getting older! So for the songs of the album I should tell you that they really
rock!!! Listen to the hard rock dynamite "Strange Sensation" for example to realize for what I'm talking
about. Others songs that will make you love this album are
"Bittersweet", "Raine", "Menace To Society",
"Forgiveness", "I
Remember" (Bret's harmonica rulez!), the great homonymous "Songs Of
Life", and the beautiful acoustic ballad "One More Day". All the people that love
Poison, or even love good rock music and pretty girls then should check out
"Songs OF Life"! Bret really is offering us songs for life, women and good
time!!!
Midnight
Circus is a Texas band that originally established in 1992 but the band’s
current line up came into existence in 2001 and that’s led them to
release its debut album almost four years later. As the band’s artwork
reveals this is going to be an 80’s hard rock/hair metal album full of
party rock songs! The bizarre artwork shows that all here is about sex,
money and music. I’m maybe be a big late 80’s/early90’s hard rock
fan but many CDs that are being released today are only trying to copy the
music and the feeling of that era. Fortunately, Midnight Circus managed to
mix the good elements of the 80’s along with the hard rock music of our
time. Yes, the album could have been released in the late 80’s but that
does not mean that it is retro. The guys here have taken the best elements
from bands like Poison, Ratt and Motley Crue and put them under their own
personal musical stigma. I love when music has to do with beautiful women
and sex and Midnight Circus are here to remind us how good they can match
those things together. My beloved songs from this album are: “Psychedelic
Trippin’”, “Tonight”, “Don’t Wait For Love”, “Only One”,
“Yours Forever”, “Dirty Rhythm” (with the “sweet” intro), “Forever
Came Today” (a catchy as hell Poison-like song) and the ballad “It’s
Alright”. The albums closes with the odd song “S.M.D.” were we hear
a bunch of chicks shouting dirty words!! Excellent! The production is also
very good although I’m sure it will be better on the next release of the
band. To be honest I didn’t believed that I could had such a great time
by listening to a debut album from a “newcomer” band of this genre but
Midnight Circus proved me wrong. All the fans of this genre should at
least give ‘em a chance.
The
voice of Shy/Siam has released his second solo album, in which he expresses
himself by any means. “Freeway To The Afterlife” is not a hard rock
album and has nothing to do with rock music in general. Tony Mills decided
to express himself in a more soft way by playing soul/gospel music with very
few funk/rock elements here and there. Maybe this change of direction will
surprise most fans of Tony but believe me, this album is very good even
it’s not a rock one. After all I totally believe that a solo album should
be in a different music direction than the music of the full time band of
each musician. Tony did exactly that thing by releasing “Freeway To The
Afterlife”... he shows us a different side of himself and he does it
pretty good. Those who love and follow Tony all these years will find
another one good reason to love him more after listening to this album. A
musician must always be free to express himself in many ways and in many
music kinds... as far as the final result is good. The production here is
excellent and very clear and you will have a nice time by listening to songs
like: “Salvation In The City”, “The Healer”, “Don’t Hurt Me
Anymore”, “Sensational”, “Airwaves” (the best song of the
album!), “Gemini” and “Freeway To The Afterlife”. This is not a new
Shy or Siam album but Tony’s new personal work, which has many
interesting things to offer to those that are open-minded and love good
music in general.
It
seems that Miltos and his gang have worked hard through this year in order
to deliver two new releases. This one is a more fun-blues rock release
which cauterizes the string-sex culture of our days and all songs are sung
in Greek. Song No 3 is a cover of Zappa’s “My Guitar Wants To Eat Your
Mama” and I must say that is quite interesting with Greek lyrics. The
production is fine, but I would like it to be more dynamic. Also in some
songs you are going to listen to, except from the known rock instruments
(guitar, bass, drums,synth), clarinet and baglama. Basically this release
addresses mostly to Greek fans that like to listen to smart “fun”
lyrics along with nice music. If you are a new fan that likes to try out
this band then I would recommend you to listen to, at first hand, the
other release of the band that I have reviewed above.
This
is a megaton surprise! A record that has the ability to sweep you of your
feet. Mindflow come from Brazil, this is their debut album, (in the
photos) they seem to be very young and they posses all the qualities to
become a big heavy metal name. I can say now that Brazil manages to feed
us with one great group every decade (80’s Sepultura, 90’s Angra) and I
guess Mindflow must be the new raising power of the 00’s. Their approach
is different than both aforementioned bands, as the young Brazilians play
progressive metal. They have managed to combine the psychic madness of
Psychotic Waltz, the technical capabilities of Sieges Even and the ever
catalytic sense of Dream Theater (of the latest works) and present it
through a very modern prism. These influences are accompanied by some folk
elements, classical guitars here and there, while the orchestrations bear
a touch of symphonic influence. No joking now, the band manages to balance
among those elements and provide solid, modern compositions of heavy
progressive metal that paves the way for a more glorious future.
Furthermore I should emphasize that the whole outcome emits a widespread
feeling of sweet melancholy, mixed at times with rage. I seriously urge
all prog fans to try and find this album. But I am sure that all serious
metal fans can appreciate and embrace it too. Hats off to the young
Brazilians! (You can get more information here:
To
be honest I didn't know this band so far. What a big mistake! This is
their third full-length album (I have not heard their previous works
"Into the Unknown" and "Waiting for the Tide"),
and I have to admit that it is a really mature, complete, magnificent
album of prog rock. But don't you get carried away by the term.
The songs (although have roots in the 70's prog rock movement) are
approached by a more modern perspective and they also last shorter
(average 6 minutes). Therefore Mind's Eye have the ability to be
embraced by all rock/metal fans, and not only the "prog
freaks" who have no problem in listening "12 minutes
songs". I have to say that the songs are complex enough but not
"too large" without having nothing to say. In order to
get an idea of their sound, imagine a mixture of Enchant, Arena and
Queensryche. However the band has created its own personality
imposed by magnificent guitar melodies followed by multiple voices and
a lyrical atmosphere. It would be a mistake to write that the band has
potentials to evolve to something great. T