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WALRUS
“NOW YOU KNOW!”

(Casket Music)


This band with the strange name comes from England, specifically the London rock scene and this is its debut album. To be honest I am kind of cautious when the subject comes to English new rock because the big island seems to produce good rock bands sparingly these days. But in this case the band is really good. To be honest I didn't expect to listen to something that good. This rock trio plays a mixture of modern rock, with elements from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica (of the "Load" period), a portion of rock riffs and... It is kind of difficult to describe it. Imagine three musicians who have grown up with Black Sabbath being charmed by funk music and hanging around with members from Orange Goblin (whom Walrus have supported) and The Hellacopters. Yes it is a kind of groovy rock, fun to listen to and with quite interesting ideas. I think that if they don't get carried away with extremities (like in "The Time is Now" with the "brutal" vocals) they have a good future ahead of them. At least this is implied by song-dynamites like "Circus", "Sorry" and "A Place to Call Home". The whole album without being innovative is interesting and promising.

A.S. 7,5/10


WATCHMAKER
“KILL.FUCKING.EVERYONE”

(Earache)


The second album for Watchmaker is released after two years from their debut album from a different label. As you can understand from the title of the album the band is for sure very extreme... The music style of Watchmaker is a mixture of grindcore, black and death metal and of course there are many thrash metal influences. There are influences from bands like Darkthrone, Napalm Death, Slayer etc... The album contains 19 songs and lasts only 30 minutes... The vocals are closer to the early black metal era, but you will not understand anything from what the vocalist says. I am about to believe that there are not lyrics, just some black metal growls, because I couldn’t catch even a word of what the “vocalist sings”... The guitars are very fast in the whole album and reminded me of grindcore music apart from some solos coming from the thrash metal scene and some black metal riffs. The rhythm section is ultra fast and you will not be able to follow it, because of the dirty production and the chaos that reigns in this album. I am not a big fan of this kind of music and I didn’t understand the meaning of this release. Maybe the fans of this sound could appreciate them more than I did... On the other hand if you want to kill someone’s brain or fuck his ears this is a very good album.

G.K. 3/10


W.A.S.P.
“THE NEON GOD: PART I – THE RISE”

(Sanctuary)


After the magnificent “Dying For The World” album in 2002 Blackie Lawless and his band strikes back with the first part of the concept album “The Neon God”! The line up remains the same (Blackie on guitars and vocals, Mike Duda on bass and vocals and Darrell Roberts on guitar and vocals) except the new drummer Stet Howland. The new album is in the common style of Wasp, but it has so many influences from the masterpiece “The Crimson Idol” that you will have to compare these two albums… From the first instrumental track (“Overture”), you are going to love this album, but “The Crimson Idol” will come straight into your mind even if you have heard this album only once! Apart from the above-mentioned album you will find influences from the entire band’s different eras and especially from “The Crimson Idol” and “Dying For The World” era. Anyway, Blackie still sings with his touching and sick vocals and he can still compose wonderful tracks! The power, aggressiveness and the theatrical moments are all here as always! The production is very clean, tough and dark (Blackie made the production). Finally, the lyrics are excellent again, but the dark concept reminded me much of “The Crimson Idol” album… For me, if Wasp had never recorded “The Crimson Idol” album, this new album would become one of the most mature and popular albums of the band. Now, it’s a simply good album for this excellent band. The best moments are: “Wishing Hell”, “Sister Sand”, “Asylum #9”, “What I’ll Never Find”, “The Running Man” and “The Ranging Storm”.

G.K. 6,5/10


WAYNE CHARLIE
“THE BEST OF CHARLIE WAYNE – THE METAL YEARS 1985- 2005”

(Independent)


Many of you may know more things than I could find on the Internet about the guitarist Charlie Wayne Morrill, since I didn’t know him at all... As I found out
Wayne had played in rock and country/southern rock bands. The most popular bands are: Bulletboys Hawk and The Charlie Wayne Band, but he has also played together with great musicians such as: Scott Travis, Ron Keel, Lonnie Vincent and members from bands like: King Kobra, XYZ, Kelly Keeling, Poison, Guns n’ Roses and more! This compilation includes 14 tracks (plus 4 bonus tracks) from the rock years of his carrier and is dedicated to his fans all over the world. The first four tracks are coming from the middle 80’s when he played with Hawk, but the vocalist is without question unacceptable... The next four tracks are coming from the personal band of Wayne and are the best on this compilation, despite the country influences... After these you will be able to listen to tracks that he had composed with The Ticks band and are just nice to me and should not become parts of a compilation... The four bonus tracks consist of three live recordings and a good new song (“Come Home With Me”) together with Ron Keel. Generally, I didn’t like the tracks of this compilation, apart from 3 or 4 exceptions and I can’t find a reason why should anybody buy it... If you are Charlie’s fan you will probably have heard most of the tracks included here...

G.K. 5/10       T.A. 6/10


WEST LESLIE
“BLUE ME”

(Provogue)


Leslie is a well respected musician as he used to be a member of the great 70s band Mountain. Then he followed a solo carrier and he’s still alive till today where he offers us his latest album which is a collection of well-known blues rock songs that Leslie and his gang are covering. The covers are close to the original ones and Leslie indeed has done a good work here. The Leslie fans should take this album right away... but I believe  that “Blue Me” will also please the blues-rock fans as it offers some very good covers of some great artists such as: Leroy Carr, Graham Barnes, Ida Cox, Muddy Waters, Percy Mayfield etc among others. This is a well produced album that will introduce you to some great blues rock artists/songs and will remind you some nice tunes of your youth (that’s for the older ones).

T.A. 7/10  


WETTON / DOWNES
“ICON II – RUBICON”

(Frontiers)


Although, I liked “Icon”, I wanted it to be more up-tempo… thankfully the successful Asia’s duo Wetton/Downes offering a second more mature and up-tempo album that could have easily been the new Asia release, especially now that the guys have re-united with the original line up. “Icon II – Rubicon” has all those elements that “Icon” had… nice orchestrations, awesome production and excellent performances from both Wetton and Downes. The opener song (“The Die Is Cast”)of the album is a great synth/rocker like the one that Asia has offered us in the three first albums… but although that this album, as I have already told, is more up-tempo than “Icon” still does not offer to many rockers as I would like to. Alternatively, maybe Wetton/Downes have are keeping the rockers from the new
Asia album… who knows? Furthermore, this album will totally satisfy you especially if you liked the first album… this one is much better.

T.A. 7,5/10  


WETTON/DOWNES
“ICON”

(Frontiers)


This is an album that many Asia fans were waiting for. It really seems that when Wetton and Downes are together can really make good things! I still can’t understand why this is not the new Asia album or why Wetton is not back on Asia but that’s another big story. Anyway, talking about this album I can say that it satisfied me a lot. It will bring on your mind the first three terrific albums of Asia (“Asia”, “Alpha”, “Astra”) and especially “Alpha” and “Astra” as it concerns the feeling of the songs and the orchestration. The truth is that “Icon” is more laid back album, than the aforementioned ones, and is based on keys and on Wetton’s fantastic vocals. I love rock songs but I also love keyboard driven mellow tracks and Wetton and Downes are offering a bunch of nice, melancholic mellow tracks here. The production is soft and crystal clear and helps you to get into the album’s atmosphere. I enjoy very much listening to songs like: “Let Me Go”, “God Walks With Us”, “I Stand Alone”, “Hey Josephine”, “Far Away” and “In The End”, ‘cause they touch a different side of me... my soft one. I do not know if Asia’s fans will appreciate this work more than they did with Asia’s last studio album, but as I consider myself as an Asia fan I can’t find any reason why someone will not like this album. Yes, pop and prog A.O.R. influences are well combined in this album too. Even though, “Icon” is a very good album, is not for every time of the day. I like listening to it by night under the moonlight or the candlelight. A very atmospheric and gloomy album!

T.A. 7/10  


WETTON JOHN 
"ROCK OF FAITH"


I'm telling you the webmaster has gone bananas!!! There's no other way to explain the reason why he gave me this cd for review. Ok, we are an open-minded website and we are not only stuck into metal/rock. Ok we have presented jazz, latin, pop-rock albums, but this is beyond belief! I really cannot understand what has Mr. Wetton to do with this site. The thing is that I am not suitable to criticize such a record. Anyway, let's see: this is a pop album, dressed in some electronic sounds. Too slow, mellow, full of ballads etc. The funny thing is that pop music is supposed to be "happy". However this one is bathed in melancholy! Pianos here, synths there etc. and everything played in minor. There are some good songs like "I've Come To Take You Home", but again the whole outcome is so mellow, that becomes boring. I think that only girls suffering from boyfriend lack can use this album. Ah it might also be useful for when making love... but again I prefer something more up tempo for such circumstances...

A.S. 5/10


WHITE SKULL
“THE XIII SKULL”

(Frontiers)


The label has spoiled us with some great AOR releases in the past year, but this one is a whole different story. The Italian band exists since 1991 and has released a few albums. However this is the second with a male vocalist (Gustavo Gabarro), as in the past the band had a female singer. The band here follows the latest Italian trend of power metal. It is something like the New Italian Wave Of Power Metal. Get a mixture of Labirynth, Domine, Rhapsody and you get more or less the picture. The thing with this band here is that it adds some more German power elements, especially in the vein of Blind Guardian in the bridges and multi vocals. Sometimes I feel that I’m back in 1988 and I listen to Helloween, but this is not necessarily bad, as it is done in a good, creative way. You see the compositions here are interesting and present a satisfactory ensemble. My only problem and objection is that the whole CD turns to be kind of monotonous at the end. However I cannot ignore some amazing melodies it contains. Being kind…

A.S. 6,5/10


WICKED SENSATION
“EXCEPTIONAL”

(MTM Music)


“Exceptional” is the second release of the German hard rockers Wicked Sensation. This time they managed to release a more mature album with better songs than their debut. Their music style remains in the German hard rock side but this time they have also put some European heavy/power elements in their music and the result is very satisfying. The production as very good a well and the vocalist of the band the well known Fernando Garcia (ex-Victory) seems enjoying singing in Wicked Sensation. The best songs of the album are the heavy opener “Shining Light”, the hard rock anthem “Back To My Bed”, the sensitive rocker “Your Beat Inside My Heart”, the melodic rocker “The One You Love Ain’t Me”, and the melodious semi-ballad “Dying With The World”. Therefore, I will only say that the fans of the band and of course the fans of German hard rock music will like “Exceptional”.

T.A. 7/10


WIDOW
“MIDNIGHT STRIKES

(Tribunal)


Widows were formed in 2000 by Cristof (lead guitars/vocals), Joshua (bass) and John E. (lead vocals/guitars). The line-up was completed when Tim (drums) joined the band. Their main purpose, as they claim, is to express the horror feelings and darkness through their music and lyrics. Their music is heavy/power metal with some neo-classical heavy metal and death metal influences in order to become more violent and scary. When you listen to his CD many great groups will come on your mind at once, such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Crimson Glory, Children Of Bodom and King Diamond. Their main characteristic is their excellent playing and their passion for what they do! The mixture of the above styles sounds very natural, if the music is played by Widow, although that their influences can be clearly seen… The songs seem to have been worked very hard because the conclusion is very good. The guitars are heavy and technical and so the rhythm section is. The vocals can be mainly characterized as power metal except some death metal parts. The lyrics are good enough and are refereed to scary situations… The production is wonderful and I think that they are ready for their second strike! The best tracks are: “The Pleasure Of Exorcism” (you can listen here a part from the theme of the movie “The Exorcist”!), “Witch Way”, “Nightchild”, and “No Stone Unturned”. Fans of the 80’s metal will surly find this album interesting enough!

G.K. 7/10


WIG WAM
“HARD TO BE A ROCK N’ ROLLER... IN KIEV”

(Voices Of Wonder)


Wig Wam grabbed everyone’s attention when participated in the Eurovision song contest in Kiev in May. The band had released its debut album almost a year ago under the title of “667 The Neighbor Of The Beast”. Now that they signed to a new label, and due to the participation in Eurovision, they re-released their debut album by adding the song “In my Dreams” and the video of that song as well. The truth is that “In My Dreams” did quite an impact in whole Europe the night of the Euro-contest and made the band more popular in every corner of the world. “In My Dreams” is an excellent melodic rock song with a great hookline and full energy. It’s the big hit of the band and opened them the doors for success. The rest of the album is also very good including some very good hard rock songs (in the way that were played in the late 80’s), some nice melodic rockers and two good ballads. The production of the album is flawless and shows that the band is on the right way in order to go big. After all there was not better way to promote their work than to participate in Eurovision song contest. Songs like: “Crazy Things”, “Bless The Night”, “No More Living On Lies”, “Out Of Time”, “Tell Me Where To Go”, “I Turn To You” (a very smart cover of Melanie C’s song ), and “Hard To Be A Rock N’ Roller” are very good samples of European and American melodic hard rock music. Those who love bands like Bon Jovi, Poison, Sha-Boom, Def Leppard, Kiss and Motley Crue will enjoy this album as well. As for those who have the first edition of the album I really do not know if it’s worth buying again only for a new song... but they know better than me. To sum it up, this is a very good melodic hard rock album from a band that we are waiting to hear many good things in the future.

T.A. 8/10


WINGER
“IV”

(Frontiers)


Who would ever think that Winger would get back in action after 13 years? That was a distant dream for many of the band’s fans… and now after the album’s release it has been a nightmare for some of the die-hard fans. Those who were waiting for an album back to the basics… you know commercial melodic hard rock with hooks etc… should better forget it. After all Winger showed with “Pull” that they have chosen a more experimental way to move on and that’s what they exactly do here with “IV”. “Pull” is still considered as the band’s best album. Either you like it or not, it’s not a typical melodic hard rock album in the way that were released back in the late 80’s/early 90’s. Those who like the band’s two first releases, I’m sure that they have stopped listening to Winger since the release of “Pull” and that ain’t gonna change with “IV”. I must also admit that I was little biased the first time that I listened to the album. Yes, I didn’t like it at all, and I was considering not reviewing it at all. Then one night something changed when I decided to give it one more try and to listen to it carefully in order to get into it… and I must tell you that I found the key to this album. Yes, the key is that this album needs a lot of spins and you will totally get into it. Try it… we are talking about music here and not about fast food. If you wanna buy an album that you are gonna hear it once, twice or three times and then you will be starting playing the 2-3 best songs of it… then in my opinion this album was only there to give you a temporary pleasure…after a while you will get bored with it. In our days that everything happens so damn fast… we should at least give a little more time to music. If you like “Pull” or Kip’s solo works then you will totally like this album. After all they haven’t modernized their sound as others, but they have delivered a very good mix of prog, heavy, hard, dark and modern music… and they have done it very well. If you still want some melodic rockers like in the old days then try out “Your Great Escape”, “One Day Like Today” and you won’t be left unsatisfied. As for others, that like variety in music, songs such us: “Right Up To The Head”, “Blue Suede Shoes” (not the Carl Perkins song-it’s not an Elvis song for God’s shake!!), “Four Leaf Clover”, “Disappear” and “Short Fly To Mexico” will please you as well.

T.A. 8/10


WINTERDOME
“WELTENDAMMERUNG”

(Massacre)


Well when I came across WinterDome I truly didn’t know what to expect. The name of the band and the artwork make me believe that this would have been another power-epic-or something band… but I was totally wrong ‘cause I really couldn’t imagine that WinterDome would play a mix of Gothic, dark Epic with folk and some death metal elements. The final result is quite good and when I was listening to the album bands like Crematory (old), In Extremo, Haggard, Paradise Lost (old) crossed my mind. No do not expect to listen to a music work that is near to any of the aforementioned bands. Just keep in mind that WinterDome has taken some elements from all those bands (and others of course) and mix them together in order to present their own musical work… and they managed to present a very good album I must say. The album is concept and the basic idea is about the people of Elasaj that open up a gateway to a different, as yet undisclosed world. The album flows very nice we have narration-songs and the story goes on… the only negative for me is that I didn’t understand a single word from the story ‘cause it’s all in German language. Anyway, those who like dark epic goth-folk stories should give WinterDome a chance.

T.A. 6,5/10


WINTERLONG
“WINTERLONG”

(Lion Music)


Winterlong is coming from Sweden and this homonymous album is the third work of the band. The guys here play heavy/power metal music, which has more to do with European power metal than with American. The first thing that I noticed and liked on this CD was the very powerful and heavy production. They really seem to have worked a lot on this part of the CD and the result is more than good. But what about the songs? Well... the band has been influenced from bands like Judas Priest, Stratovarius, Helloween, Sonata Arctica etc. and stays true to its roots. I mean that I have heard many albums like this one during this year and the very good skills of the band’s members didn’t manage to impress me a lot. They have some good ideas on some songs but I’m tired of listening to fast double kick drums and flash solos any longer. If I haven’t had enough with this kind of music maybe I would appreciate more this effort but I’m not a power metal fan anymore and only very few bands can impress me from this genre. Generally, this is not a bad album and if you are into this kind of music then you will like it. Unfortunately, I can’t give ‘em more than...

T.A. 5,5/10


WINDS
“THE IMAGINARY DIRECTION OF TIME”

(The End Records)


Winds is a unique case. It is a band that no one can predict how far it can reach. I was totally surprised by its debut album and I have spoken for them with the best of words. So, after almost two years Winds is back with a new release that shows the way to desperately lonely paths of human mind! There is nothing obvious here… except the atmosphere that the album exhales which reminds their debut. From classical calm parts, to dark moody atmospheres, and from heavy rhythms to paranoid black epic melodies. Well what do you think? Do you dare to enter their world? The album is not an easy-listening one with hit songs and nice catchy melodies. You’d better forget about that. “The Imaginary Direction Of Time” is a very “weird” album which needs many hearings and to be totally focused when listening to it. The production is just excellent… and can easily drag you to the path of Winds. On the other hand the music of this album balances between classic, heavy, rock, gothic, and atmospheric tunes. This is what I call an excellent combination of all those different kinds of music. Do not try to compare it with anything else. There are not many bands that can combine so successfully all those music kinds. Once again the band hired some musicians on violin, viola and cello in order to create a more appropriate and realistic atmosphere for the needs of the album. Music can be so complex and so simple at the same time! It is needles to refer to each member’s capabilities separately cause you all know them and I have also done it in their debut review. The guys have grown not only as musicians but also as songwriters during the period from their debut album. You can understand it, if you listen to the album at least ten times! I cannot really separate one song from the album as “The Imaginary Direction Of Time” has been made in order to be listened at once and with no interruptions! Just push the “play” button and let Winds take care of everything else! This is not an album for musicians only but especially for those who love music in general and they like to spend many hours listening to an album. I have listened to the album so many times and still can’t find which are those elements that make me wanna listen to it again and again and again. Every time that I listen to it seems like I’m discovering new elements on its music. I cannot say if this album is a must for every one of you, but I can only say that if you are bold enough and you truly love music then buy it! Winds is not like other bands… Winds is the art of music itself!

T.A. 8,5/10


WINDS
“REFLECTIONS OF THE I”

  
Winds for those who not know them are an excellent and talented band from Norway and the “Reflections of the I” is their second (they released a mini cd in May 2000-and this is, officially  their debut full lenght album) release. They officially formed back in 1998 from members that they used to play, or they still play, in other famous bands such as Arcturus, Mayhem, and more. Their executive abilities are out of question (Hellhammer on the drums is a guarantor for real strange-progressive-heavy music!!!) and the music that they play is a combination of many metal styles along with classical music. They remind me the other great Norwegian band Arcturus (only as a feeling -not in the music part) but Winds push their music to the edge! They don’t hesitate to utilize stringed instruments in their songs for more depressive atmosphere, inviting members from the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, to put classical piano, and to combine all those elements with paranoid progressive guitar riffs and clean majestic vocal melodies! The good thing is that they manage to create some really dark - emotional hymns like “Realization”, “Existence”, “Continuance”(with the fantastic epic bridge) and the extraordinary, dark-sentimental and progressive super-song of the album “Passion's Quest” (where the use of cello and violin creating dark emotions!). This album will impress anyone who will listen to it for the first time, and as long as you keep listening to it, you will find out many more musical-surprises that this release hides! Maybe it will sound strange to all of you if I say that this album is a masterpiece but it is the truth and… I can’t tell more than the truth!!! A must for the metal funs. Don’t miss the chance to travel into strange and dark places by listening to this album!

T.A. 9/10


W.I.N.D.
“GROOVIN’ TRIP”

(Just For Kicks)


Return of the hard rock trio after a couple of years. I think this is their third discographical effort of the Italian band. Without having heard any previous work the new CD leaves me with a mixed feeling. The band plays well the old-fashioned hard rock, which is rooted back to the 70’s. But to my ears half of the songs are copy-paste work, with a few improvisations (quite good I can tell you). Indeed the band here at times seems to get carried away by its influences, forgetting to put it’s own mark on the songs. Setting aside the opening track which is literally stolen from Led Zeppelin, the first 4-5 songs of the album follow suit the path of what Bad Company, Allman Brothers Band and similar groups have played long ago. However in the middle of the album things change drastically: we get more original compositions where we can admire the capabilities of the group in delivering solid hard rock songs. In the second half of the album one can distinguish a personal stigma which if cultivated can deliver more original things in the future. Songs like “Can You Feel Me?”, the jazzy “One In A Million” or the wonderful closing track “Trieste Wind” leave many-many promises. I really don’t know how to grade this album... the first part is a 4, the second part is an 8...

A.S. 7/10


WIND WRAITH
“THE FORTUNE TELLER’S GAZE”

(Massacre)


Wind Wraith is a band that was formed by Patrick Blair in the year 2000. The band first recorded this album in 2001 with another vocalist, bassist and drummer. This CD is a re-recording of their debut album, in order to “reflect the current line-up and the true sound of Wind Wraith”, as the band claimed. Wind Wraith sounds like a mixture of the last Iron Maiden albums and the personal releases of Bruce Dickinson. Some other influences are Iced Earth and Running Wild. In fact, the vocalist (Scott Oliva) sounds like Dickinson, but this is not the only reason I mentioned that, but they are also much influenced from Iron Maiden... Their music sounds exactly as I described it above! I love Maiden and Dickinson, but I can’t find any reason why should I listen to this album, adding that it is just a re-recording of their debut CD... To be honest, their music isn’t bad at all, but I prefer the original band that plays this kind of music and this is Iron Maiden. The production needs to be improved and the band must find it’s own music identity in order to survive in the music industry. In case they can’t add any personal elements in their music, I believe that they would become an excellent Iron Maiden tribute band...

G.K. 4/10


WINE SPIRIT
“FIRE IN THE HOLE”

(Sacred Metal)


This is what I’m talking about: the world at the moment seems to be full of bands that play various mixtures of hard rock. One gives more attention to the heavy part of it, the other more on the r-n-r part of it, the other on something else. Wine Spirit belongs among those bands, which sees its hard rock under the prism of the US sleaze/glam scene. Motley Crue, Poison, Extreme and Skid Row. It also makes clear references to bands like Van Halen, Tesla but also Deep Purple (a lot). This is the second album of the band, which presents huge potentials for development in the future. The whole outcome is interesting because out bears an “old-fashioned” scent that works really well. I also have to mention that at some point the band doesn’t hesitate to bring in some harder-metal elements (listen for example to “Hide And Kill”), that give a variety to the album, help it “breath” and modernise it a lot. We might hear more from this group in the future.

A.S. 7/10


WINTER PARADE
"MIDNIGHT IN PARADISE"


"Midnight In Paradise" is the debut album of Winter Parade. Although the band is coming from Norway, they are an exception, as they don't play black metal (!). What they play, is melodic rock music, with many pop and hard elements from song to song. Even if the band in the technical part is playing really good, in my ears it sounds a little bit expected and uninteresting. The songs that they compose are not so genuine and also their vocals melodies are very predictable. The album has some good songs like "This Game Of Life" (which will remind you a lot "Jump" of Van Halen), the "Steamin'" and the "Valentine's Day". Winter Parade's debut album is simply a good album, but with nothing more to give. Let's hope that the next steps of the band  will take. They seem to get some capacities but they must also to turn to advantage for their own good of course! 

T.A. 6/10


WINTERS BANE
“REDIVIVUS”

(Metal Heaven)


Winters Bane are back with album number 3 and who would have thought that the band would come back to life after Tim “Ripper” Owen’s leaving. So, never say never. Now the guy behind the band’s microphone is Alexander Koch (
Spiral Tower , Powergod), who is a good and well respected singer but unfortunately is not Tim Owens…. although that he tries very hard and his performances on this album are indeed very good. The band still plays that American heavy/power metal with attitude and freshness, although I found some Nevermore elements on it… and as you know this is not good for me.. This album is well produced and well played and I’m sure that the heavy/power fans will enjoy songs like: “Seal The Light”, “Spark The Flame”, and “Remember To Forget”. It’s not at all a bad album but on the other hand you will find any groundbreaking music here… just well performed heavy powerful songs that will make you bang your head to the end. The die-hard fans of this genre will probably enjoy it… but I’m sure that there many better albums than this one out there. Try before you buy.

T.A. 6/10


WITCHCRAFT
“FIREWOOD”

(Rise Above)


Kill me, kill me now! Kill me for neglecting this band! When the webmaster gave me this CD for review, and without knowing anything about the band, I thought that it was one more power/true metal group and so I kept avoiding listening to it, as I was sure I would be bored again! How wrong was I! The Swedish band here offers us one of the best dark, gloomy heavy rock of the past few years! The ghost of Black Sabbath has risen and haunted the group (for example in the opening track “Chylde Of Fire” marches the legacy of the first 4 albums of heavy metal godfathers). Gloomy atmosphere, riffs that creep out of the grave to conquer you and give substance to your most macabre nightmares. Witchfynde, meets Witchfynder General, meets Black Widow, meets Demon, meets Deep Purple given under a rock prism, an “old-fashioned” production and mystique lyrics. A record that will satisfy all pure rockers, all lovers of the “dark” groups of the late 70’s, early 80’s. Nothing more to say! You have to listen to this one!

A.S. 8/10


WITHIN Y
“EXTENDED MENTAL DIMENSIONS”

(Karmageddon Media)


When I got the promo CD in my hands, I thought that I would listen to progressive metal music or something like that, because of the strange band’s name and the enigmatic artwork. Most of the times I guess right, but this time I was completely wrong! The band from Sweden plays Swedish death metal with many thrash and hardcore parts! The band was formed in 2002 and this is their first full-length album. The is been influenced from bands like In Flames, At The Gates, Dark Tranquillity, The Haunted and maybe Soulfly. So, as you can understand, this album is very heavy and aggressive. The guitars (Mikael Nordin and Niklas Almen) are very heavy and they never stop playing nice riffs. The rhythm section [Thim Blom-drums (ex-Gardenian) and Mattias Wanerstam-bass] is very tight and will make your head banging! The vocals (Andreas Solvestrom) are aggressive and brutal, something which is not my favourite style of singing… The production is crystal-clear and very heavy. Anyway, the fans of melodic death metal can check them out, but I don’t think they will find something really different from the other Swedish death metal bands… Listen to the following tracks in order to decide: “Lost In Solitude”, “Remains Of A Shattered Illusion”, “Silently Leaving” and “Injection”.

G.K. 5/10


WOLTERS JOOP
“SPEED, TRAFFIC AND GUITAR ACCIDENTS”

(Lion Music)

Joop Wolters is probably known as the guitarist of the Dutch band Arabesque and he is an incredibly skilled player. This is his second solo album. Many instrumental rock fans will love this one! Those people who were disappointed by the length of the previous album, “Workshop”, which lasted only 35 minutes, will now be surprised to listen to “Speed, Traffic And Guitar Accidents” that contains 17 tracks and it lasts 61 minutes. Joop Wolters is heavily influenced by the likes of master guitarists Alex Lifeson, Al Dimeola and Gary Moore. Joop Wolters has progressive roots and a predilection for melody and tension within the framework of emotionally drenched instrumental compositions. This album is a mix of a variety of musical styles that range from progressive, funk, fusion, shred and classical. “Meka Dance” track is a Satriani like funk romp that burns from start to finish and contains a jazzy rhythm background. Joop incorporates almost every guitar technique available to make this tour-de-force a strong showcase for his over all ability.

A.X. 7/10  


WYCKED SYNN
“THE VISION”
(Chavis Records)


Wycked Synn is new band that comes form the U.S. “The Vision” is the debut album of the band and it seems that they know exactly in which music way they wanna go. To tell the truth, I didn’t except something so good and powerful as I haven’t heard something of this band before and to be honest, didn’t know their existence. But I was wrong cause we never know what we will listen to, from a band (either it is a “big” one or a new one) and we must always be prepared also for the best and as well for the worst! To be more specific, Wycked Synn plays hard rock/melodic metal which is rather influenced from bands like Dokken, Queensryche (in the first era of the band), and a little bit from Leatherwolf. As you have understood Wycked Synn’s music style is in the vein of (the 80’s) American metal music, with melodic heavy guitars, soaring clean vocals, steady rhythm section and very good hooklines. The production of the album is very good and heavy and of course all the members of the band are excellent musicians. Some songs that the fans of melodic metal will like are the heavy rocker “Tell The Tale”, the melodic up-tempo “The Vision”, the rocker “If You Said Goodbye”, the emotional ballad “Let It Rain” (Grant’s duet with a female singer is very interesting), the Dokken-like “In My Mind” and the guitar driven “Unchosen Path”. To sum it up, Wycked Synn is a very good band, and I believe that has all those elements to be a famous name in the metal community. Although their debut album is a good album I’m sure that they can release (and they will) a better one next time and that’s a thing that I’m eager to see. Till then…

T.A. 7/10


WYKKED WYTCH
“NEFRET”

(Demolition/Dreamcatcher Records)


The sinful Wytch from Florida together with her band recorded their third album “Nefret”. Nothing innovative in this album. Sick extreme black metal music that can easily break your nerves in a few seconds. The psychotic tuneless screams of the band’s front woman (or something) Ipek, a Dani Filth wannabe, provide an irritating freakish result that sometimes made me laugh. Imagine the Goloum from The Lord Of The Rings trying to throw up. That’s how the vocals of the album can be described. Isn’t hilarious? Anyway, there’s nothing interesting or worth listening in this CD. Nine tracks of uninspired guitar riffs and monotonous repeated female roars. Does this sound exciting to you and still wanna buy this album? Then I pity you my friend…

A.A. 3/10