REVIEWS |
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ABANDONED
"Thrash You" (Dockyard1 - provided by VME) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Abandoned is a thrash metal band from Germany, who have their roots in Slayer, and other fast thrash metal acts from the 80'ies and 90'ies. They are pretty damn good at what they do, be it drums, guitars or bass work. Everything is pretty tight and there are an abundance of riffs that function good with the frantic drumming. My only complaint is the vocals. Hoarse shouting, disguised as singing is not really cool for this album in my opinion. The lead singer simply doesn't have the ability as a singer to make the album interesting the whole way through - he's too flat and monotone for that. I am sure this band kicks severe ass live, as their music needs to be heard very loud and with some alcohol in the veins. Sadly, it doesn't give the same kick, on a sober Monday afternoon.
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Lars
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ABORTED
"Slaughter & Apparatus - A Methodical Overture" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 4½ out of 5 points - |
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ABORTED RULES!!! I want to scream my lungs out when I listen to this album because I love it so much. Well, this should be enough but allow me to go a bit back in time, more precisely 2002 where I as a young and prosperous (!) teenager got word about a new up-and-coming band called Aborted. As I was heavily into death metal at that time, and I adored bands like Death, Deicide and Morbid Angel. I still enjoy that genre, but I have gotten much pickier since. Back then I pretty much liked anything that was brutal and evil, but when I listened to the album "Engineering The Dead" from the year before, 2001, I was completely turned off. This was nothing but pummelling drums and muddy riffs. I then disbanded the band as being mindless (as if Deicide and Morbid Angel aren't? HAHA) and I never wanted to dig into it again. Then when I got this new album for review I was definitely not thrilled. Why did I get the drag of reviewing all the bad death metal acts? But now that I finally thought I might as well get it over with and threw the disc on my stereo I was taken completely by surprise. I did not expect this to be good at all, but damn it, how wrong could I have been? Aborted anno 2007 is definitely not the same band that I listened to 5 years ago; This is grindcore with a technical edge to it. My enthusiasm grew with each track that blew out through my speakers and as I cranked up the volume for my neighbours to take part of the joy and pleasure I had - and still have - with this album - this piece of ruthless art - I came to think that this is probably one of the best death metal albums out this year. Every track separates from the other, and while grind normally gets very repetitive this album kept me interested all the way through, and when it was done I wanted more. The rhythm section of Aborted is in the top of its league, and no wonder since it is led by none other than David Haley from one of my favourite tech death metal bands Psycroptic. His drumming is all over the place and where there is a crunchy and groovy riff he goes out of himself, develops horns on his forehead and delivers some of the most outrageous drumming this planet has ever experienced. How can this guy keep a groove while doing what he does? He is simply put a God behind the kit, and it shows on "SaA-aMO" as he constantly does something special without getting too far off from the composition at hand. The vocals are demonic and make a perfect use of varied growling. The twin guitar riff attack is merciless and is strongly backed up by a colossal and damn fast bass line. My favourite parts on the album however are the solos. Have you ever fantasized about the guy from Decapitated to become a bit more melodic? Well… I have, and here it is, and when the solos are supported by awesome riffs and drumming you simply can't go wrong. All this combined with tons of twists and turns, rhythm changes and pure groovy and crunchy madness you have a masterpiece at hand. It also helps when production has been done by the Danish sensation Tue Madsen, as he is simply one of the best when it comes to this kind of metal. There you have it folks, I simply don't have anything bad to say about this album… or well… it is not really original, but I wouldn't expect them to be. All in all this is a masterpiece within the genre but to get a 5 rating I just need a bit more originality.
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Mads
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AFTER FOREVER
"After Forever" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Floor Janssen and After Forever are a welcomed fresh breath in the extremely overcrowded female fronted metal scene. Floor is able to sing in many different styles, combining both rock, metal and opera with a touch of genius sometimes. There's so much balls in the vocals that you could mistake Floor for being a wanna-be male. The music is laying a good and solid foundation for her, though not being the most innovative and fantastic music I have ever heard, and her duelling with the male growling vocals are giving a sense of a wide and varied spectrum. All corners are visited here. After Forever is using a lot of string arrangements on the album, and at several points where the trumpets and other brass instrumentation sets in, it seems as if it's almost too much, but then the band obviously knows that they need to move on, thereby taking their symphonic elements to the limit, but not beyond. If you are fond of female vocals in metal music, this is absolutely one of the top acts within the genre (and I'm sorry for generalising so many different bands, but it is obviously the same genre these days, no matter if it's a hardcore band w. female vocals or a grunge band w. female vocals). Floor Janssen almost reaches the level of Anneke Van Giersbergen, but she is WAY ahead of all the rest of the she-metallers out there today. By the way: Top-dollar production on this one.
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Lars
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AGHORA
"Formless" (Season Of Mist - provided by VME) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Let me start out by saying that you really have to listen to this album if you are a big fan of Cynic. Also, if you liked the music in Cynic but didn't like the vocals (for some obscure reason) then you should really dig into this band. "Formless" is the second album by Aghora which is the latest project from Sean Reinert (Cynic, Death, Gordian Knot) and it can be heard on the music. If you didn't get it in the first three lines of this review then this band really reminds me a lot of Cynic. Take Cynic and mix it with South American folk music, fusion, gothic metal and a tiny bit of latter day Angra and you pretty much have Aghora. The music is really good; diverse, catchy and full of cool ideas. Sometimes the riffs drags out a bit too long and the songs get quite repetitive after several listens, but this doesn't change the fact that there is a lot catch on to for the patient listener to pays a lot of attention to the music at hand; The instrumental parts especially are very cool and I actually think the album would have been a lot cooler if half of it was instrumental, especially because singer Diana Serra's vocals are absolutely horrible. To my ears it hurts when she tries to hit the high notes and just whenever she pushes herself just a little bit. She is definitely the weak link in Aghora and she ruins a lot. I miss a good vocalist, someone like Roy Khan (vocalist in Kamelot) as an example, to do his thing during the long dragged out and boring parts where nothing happens. Anyways, a solid effort by Aghora, but I just think they need to cut off like 15 minutes of pure musical boredom and get a new singer, who can rightfully claim to be one. I think a male vocalist would be much more suiting, but maybe there is just something in the music I don't get at this very moment?!
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Mads
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AGONIST, THE
"Once Only Imagined" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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From Montreal comes this new band called The Agonist, fronted by the charismatic voice(s) of Alissa White-Gluz. Ranging from death growls to beautiful clean vocals, Alissa is a find for any band, and she's what makes this album so special; because, to be totally honest, the album really isn't much different from a lot of other modern day metal-core bands, that cross the line between powerful thrashy riffing and ultra melodic choruses with the added 2 vocalist-role (shared between 2 singers or sometimes just one guy with a versatile enough voice). The other things that counts in favor for The Agonist are the great guitar solo's and the nice flow of the melodies, (without ever loosing the aggressive edge). This band should appeal to those who like such diverse acts as Arch Enemy, Chimaira, Into Eternity, Lacuna Coil and Killswitch Engage. I for one am really positively taken by "Once Only Imagined", and I truly believe that if the band gets the right push from the label and a strong video for MTV, they could become really big - let's hope for that to happen.
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Claus
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ALCEST
"Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde" (Prophecy Productions - provided by VME) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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I'm sure this one-man band will find it's fans out there, and I'm sure there's a lot of good things included in this album, but unfortunately I'm not one of those fans, and I'm really not able to sit down and appreciate the songs on display here. It all gets too moody and too soft for my taste. When I want to hear dark wave / neo folk stuff I put on some Empyrium, Tenhi or Of The Wand And The Moon. A band like Alcest just becomes too "happy" and mellow, and it's more like a pop-band that suddenly found their dark side, than a black metal band gone poppy (hmmm, actually, Alcest used to be black metal according to their biography - so there goes that theory, haha). Eeventhough I'm sure there's a scene for this kind of music and I believe this album to be great for what it is, this just isn't for me.
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Claus
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ANTIMATTER
"Leaving Eden" (Prophecy Productions - provided by VME) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Duncan Patterson (Anathema, Íon) was to me the driving force behind Antimatter, and on his own Mick Moss (the other half of Antimatter) isn't really capable of taking the band any further. This is laid back alternative rock with a few doom hints here and there, not unlike what Anathema's been doing lately, and the inclusion of Danny Cavanagh from that band on lead guitars and piano doesn't make the Anathema comparisons any less. Musically the album seem to be threading in still water and doesn't move me one single bit, but it's obvious that there's musicality and vision involved (the violins in "Another Face In A Window" comes in at the right time and totally lifts the song) and for that I will reward it with a 2½ out of 5 point rating even if the rest of the album almost brings me to sleep.
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Claus
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BEARDFISH
"Sleeping In Traffic: Part One" (Inside Out / SPV - provided by Target) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Beardfish is quite an interesting Swedish progressive rock band, that I never heard of before. Musically they are running around in the territory between Gentle Giant, Camel, Kansas, Led Zeppelin. King Crimson and Frank Zappa … yup, plenty of diversity here. With multi-instrumentalist Rikard Sjöblom in front (vocals, accordion, percussion, guitars and keyboards) the band has a lot of personality, as Rikard's voice is very charasmatic and ranges from a more laid-back style, almost jazzy, to a Robert Plant like aggression in places. From the brilliant Gentle Giant reminding opener "Sunrise", through the Kansas like "Roulette" to the soft ballad "Without You", Beardfish really makes a good impression. Beardfish proves once again that Sweden is the current hotbed of progressive rock, and although they aren't quite as cool as Anekdoten, Pär Lindh Project or Änglagård, they still fit in nicely with Kaipa and Black Bonzo (and sure as hell are a lot better than the heavily overrated Flower Kings, Paatos or Ritual).
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Claus
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BECK, ROBIN
"Livin' On A Dream" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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This is really good AOR - just the way I like it :-) Vocalist Robin Beck (who shot to stardom back in 1988 with the Coca Cola jingle "First Time - sorry, I had to mention it, hehe) has one of those rough chick voices like Ann Wilson, Pat Benetar Alannah Myles and the like, and backed by some really good songs, "Livin' On A Dream" is a brilliant album, that in no way breaks the boundaries of rock or is gonna change the way we look upon the world around us, but an album that delivers the goods and that's really all we can ask for, right? Listen to the ballad "Always" and tell me Robin Beck is a horrible vocalist, and you'll see me kicking your ass from here to eternity. Or go listen to the great rockers "Runaway", "Magic", "Love Me Like A Man" (hmmm, there's something scary about that title, aren't there?) and the final song "Love Lies". Good stuff!
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Claus
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BLOOD STAIN CHILD
"Mozaiq" (Dockyard1 - provided by VME) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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I also reviewed the last album "Idolator" by Japanese Blood Stain Child, and I really enjoyed it just like I do with their new album "Mozaiq", but they simply haven't gotten anywhere. The music is exactly the same. Nice grooves, decent melodies and a very good attitude. In-your-face death/thrash metal with some nice surprises popping up once in a while. Sorry for not writing more, but I said all that needs to be said in my review of "Idolator".
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Mads
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CLAWFINGER
"Life Will Kill You" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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I listened to the first Clawfinger quite a lot when I was younger, and I still think it has some undying classics, but since that album the quality of their releases has dropped significantly while hitting an all time with "Life Will Kill You". We are here dealing with 11 totally uninspiring songs without any nerve at all which I believe was something they had a lot of on their two first albums. From the very first songs "The Price We Pay" to the last song "Carnivore" we are listening to one riff songs with some industrial elements here and there, but they never make anything interesting at all. The album is horrible, very horrible. But they have a product out and I cannot argue that there is no other band sounding like Clawfinger despite their huge success in the mid 90's and this sound along with a decent production brings me to give them a bit underserved (meaning they should have gotten lower) 1 out of 5.
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Mads
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CORONATUS
"Lux Noctis" (Massacre Records - provided by Massacre Records) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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Coronatus is a new German goth-metal band, that really wants to be the next Nightwish, Edenbridge or whatever they are all called within this style. Fair enough, nothing wrong with setting your ambitions high - but damn, you really need to have something interesting and better to offer than what Coronatus delivers here. No real songs, boring riffs, anonymous production and worst of all, 2 horrible female vocalists, where one tries to be the "opera" chick (and her opera skills are truly bad) and the other one is more "standard" female singing (who suffers from a thick German accent). I'm trying to think of anything positive to say, but just like the band fails with their music, I completely fail in the "nice-department".
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Claus
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CURSED, THE
"Room Full Of Sinners" (Locomotive Records - provided by Target) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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Hey….Bobby Blitz Ellsworth on vocals….can't go wrong then, can it? Yes it can! This is 2007's worst release yet. Horrible sound, boring songs and a singer that sounds as if he just couldn't care. I can't believe that no one put a finger in the air and stopped this album in the process, while mixing it, and said: "Guys, this is not good enough"! The nerve that has always been present in Overkill, no matter how good or bad their albums have been is not present here, and the cool vocals of Alan Tecchio in Hades (where the guitarist Dan Lorenzo is from) will definitely not be overshadowed by Mr. Ellsworth's performance here. I have to look far back to find a release that sounds as un-inspiring as this.
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Lars
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DARKTHRONE
"NWOBHM - New Wave Of Black Heavy Metal" (Peaceville Records - provided by VME) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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A short appetizer before their next full length release (which will be aptly titled "F.O.A.D" - Fuck off and die) is what "NWOBHM" is. Included are 4 songs, of which 1 is a cover of late 70's US punk band Testors' "Bad Attitude" and 3 new songs "Wisdom Of The Dead" (that basically sounds like a great Bathory meets Hellhammer tune), "Canadian Metal" (that's probably more of a tribute to such underground acts as Blasphemy, Infernal Majesty, Piledriver, Sacrifice or Slaughter rather than the more wellknown Canadian acts as Exciter, Annihilator or Anvil :-)) and "Hedninger Fra Helvete" (this song sounds more like the Darkthrone we know - and for that very reason my least favorite of the bunch). All in all a pretty cool mini album for fans of old school black metal, which is quite an interesting fact considering Darkthrone themselves think of this as the new wave of black metal … hmmm!
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Claus
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DEADSOUL TRIBE
"A Lullaby For The Devil" (Inside Out / SPV - provided by Target) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Once a favorite of mine, Devon Graves (or Buddy Lackey as was known in the early days), who used to front San Diego's prog metal kings Psychotic Waltz - now just a pale immitation of himself. With the first DST disc 5 years ago, he managed to escape the trap of sounding like a pure PW-continuation, but instead carved his own little niche in the progressive metal world. Unfortunately the following 3 discs have all been really boring, and with the 5th disc, "A Lullaby For The Devil", now available to the public, I myself, a true fan of Devon's earlier outputs, really am hard pressed not to start hating what the great vocalist is delivering nowadays. Melancholic "metal" with influences from alternative rock, aggressive dark metal, a bit of progressive stuff here and there, and even an instrumental tune (The Gossamer Strand) which sounds like a left-over from an old Jethro Tull album. The good parts on this disc are few, very few to be honest, and so far between that it's the dull atmosphere of the disc that's my final impression of "A Lullaby For The Devil". So at the end of the album when Devon's vocals leads off the title song with the words "Close your eyes and try to sleep …" it's no problem for me to follow his advice, in fact I was hard pressed not to fall asleep any earlier. What a shame.
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Claus
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ELVENKING
"The Scythe" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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A great release horribly ruined by an annoying vocalist … ahh, we've seen (or heard) this scenario so many times before, haven't we? Lots of great bands have ended up sounding like crap just because they couldn't find the right singer, and unfortunately it's the same with Elvenking. Musically they have sooooo many awesome elements that could make them a force to be reckoned with; lots of attitude, melodic solos, powerful riffing, inspirations drawn from both power metal, progressive parts, melo-death and folk music. Seriously, what more could one need? Oh yeah, a good singer who can carry the tunes and make the music flow. But no … in the case of Elvenking we get a vocalist who's borderlining out-of-tune on most of the album, turns the overall impression of the songs into a big mess, and has no balls or attitude whatsoever. High points: great music, wonderful artwork. Low points: boring production (not bad, but the drums sounds like shit and there's no real power in it), stupid "names" of the musicians (Damnagoaras, Elgphane, Aydan, Gorlan, Zender?????? Come on …) and a really weak vocalist. On a good day I might give this a 2 point rating, but today I'll give it a 1½ point. Kick out the vocalist and start using your real names.
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Claus
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EPICA
"The Divine Conspiracy" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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This is one of these albums where I don't really know what opinion I should have - on one side I really believe the disc is quite strong and extremely welldone (both composition-, playing- and production-wise), and on the other side I think it's a big bunch of corporate crap to see this disc released. Okay, it's quite obvious why I think it's a good album: the songs are memorable, has a lot of power, the band is tight and Simone's voice is quite angelic. The downside is not as obvious though, as it's probably more of a "poltical" issue than a pure musical issue - I honestly believe that Nuclear Blast picked up this band in order to have as many of the big ones in female-fronted symphonic metal as possible on their label (Nightwish, Sirenia and After Forever being the other 3 on NB, and Evanescence, Leave's Eyes, Theatre Of Tragedy, Tristania and Within Temptation the remaining "big" ones) and not really because NB were overly enthusiastic about the release. They did the same thing when the Gothenburg death metal sound exploded with In Flames - suddenly they signed Darkane, Gardenian, Soilwork, Scar Symmetry and more, and since then they actually achieved huge success with Soilwork, and perhaps they hope that either After Forever or Epica will become just as big as Nightwish, and then it's not all bad, is it? Now, the next point I want to critize is the fact the Epica (no matter how good their songs actually are) really aren't that original. In fact, most of this album sounds too much like Within Temptation and Evanescence, and the first single "Never Again" has a chorus dangerously close to that of WT's "The Heart Of Everything" with Simone sounding a LOT like Amy Lee from Evanescence. Oh well… once we get the corporate bullshit out of the way, and just focus on the disc itself, it's really a strong album and one that I like very much. I'm sure you would do to.
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Claus
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ERA VULGARIS
"What Stirs Within" (Open Your Ears - provided by Open Your Ears) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Hailing from Ireland storms forward a new band called Era Vulgaris. A band that can best be described as if Burst and Mekong Delta got melted together into one band. Burst is evident in the raw approach that the band has along with the hatefilled screams or growls if they qualify as that. The Mekong Delta elements are in the quirky and odd thrashy compositions; which are mid-tempo all the way through, but always go down some obscure and interesting paths. "What Stirs Within" is the debut of Era Vulgaris, and what we have here is what can be the first big extreme metal name to ever come out of Ireland, because a great album this is. Great musicianship is on display all the way through and everything is delivered with such joy and enthusiasm for it all. Or so you feel when you listen to the music. I can clearly see a bunch of boys playing this and just do their thing, not thinking about anything but what they are doing at that very moment. "What Stirs Within" suffers from a poor production and about 10 minutes too much running time. The production has its charm, but it could have improved the quality of the album so much if it was properly done. The music is not easily digested and the tracks are quite long; which is equivalent to an album that needs many spins to fully comprehend, but since the album is a bit too long I find it very hard to really get into each track. None the less we have a very promising act at hand here, and I will surely follow this band very closely for their hopefully forthcoming releases.
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Mads
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FLAGELLATION
"Incinerate Disintegrate" (Last Entertainment - provided by Last Entertainment) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Swedish Flagellation is a new band which includes the extremely busy supertalent Teddy Möller (from a.o. Loch Vostok, Wuthering Heights, FKÜ and many other bands - here on guitars and vocals). With that said you can add that any band adopts a name that means "whipping" it can only mean we have something that is not gentle at hand. And that is exactly what Flagellation is. They play symphonic death/black metal but with some ferocious rhythms that both appeal to tech freaks and to those who just enjoy their Dimmu Borgir. I am in total awe of the musicianship at hand and they manage to maintain perfect balance between brutality, listener friendly compositions and still have a lot of mindblowing small details and awesome rhythm changes, just stellar musicianship. The EP (I don't think 5 full tracks counts for a full length album) gets better and better for each listen and it really grows on you. Flagellation can best be defined as the music you get when you mix Dimmu Borgir, Emperor and Psycroptic with a handfull of Loch Vostock weirdness. This is pretty freaking awesome, if you want to know my opinion? The problem is the production and the length of the EP, but besides that you can't put your fingers on much else. Great piece of music this is.
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Mads
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FREEDOM CALL
"Dimensions" (Steamhammer / SPV - provided by Target) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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I guess I can't postpone this review any longer. I have had this album lying in my "to be reviewed" stack for quite some time now, but since I have never been a fan of Freedom Call before I have just postponed it again and again. The reason for why I am not a fan is basically because I have never spent much time with the band, and now that I have finally gotten myself together and started listening to it I can only say that I got what I pretty much though I would get. Power Metal delivered in a way only the Germans can do it. Pompous, grandiose and straightforward metal with power chords and double bass drums on parade with some nifty lead melodies along with some mediocre vocals. "Dimensions" reminds me quite a lot of the debut from Danish power metallers Iron Fire, which is not bad, but not good either. This is Hammerfall and Helloween worshipping and it has absolutely nothing special to offer. But for what it is this is quite decent. Power metal fans should like this.
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Mads
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GOON MOON
"Licker's Last Leg" (Ipecac Records - provided by VME) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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As with all albums coming from Ipecac you never really know what to expect; sometimes it's pure crap (Mondo Generator, Tomahawk) and sometimes it's pure genious (Fantomas, Peeping Tom) - but the common factor for all releases is "weirdness". Of course the reason for this is that Ipecac is owned by Mike Patton (frontman of Faith No More, Mr.Bungle, Fantomas etc) and Greg Werckman (former boss of classic punk-rock label Alternative Tentacles), two guys who never go on compromise with their musical horizons. Goon Moon is the latest addition to the evergrowing Ipecac release schedule, and is a band put together by Chris Goss (vocalist and songwriter of the stoner rock band Masters Of Reality that released the awesome "Blue Garden" album almost 18 years ago) and Twiggy Ramirez (from Marilyn Manson/Nine Inch Nails) with a little help from such people as Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) and Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle/Nine Inch Nails). Musically this is one of those bands where it's just impossible to put down in words what it is they are playing, but if I had to try explaining it, then it would probably be some strange mixture of the vocal-melodic music of Beatles and King's X, with a psychadelic rock groove (not too far from Masters Of Reality), some pop-influenced trippy stuff and a little bit of metal here and there. I'm not sure if this is genious or crap, as it quickly tends to become too "strange", but for a few songs they get my attention and a little smile do appear on my face.
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Claus
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GREAT WHITE
"Back To The Rhythm" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 4½ out of 5 points - |
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Ever since their beginning back in the early 80's Great White has been true to their blues-based roots, and alongside Tesla and Badlands they've to me and lots of fans around the world stuck out as the very best in bluesy hard rock. So, why the band has decided to call their new disc "Back To The Rhythm" is a bit of a puzzle as I honestly don't think Great White has went too far away from the rhythm&blues based style over the years. Oh well - at least this is a heartfelt "welcome back" to some of the members that went out of the band through the years, as the current line-up now consists of what many have seen as the ultimate GW line-up: Jack Russell on vocals, Mark Kendall and Michael Lardie on guitars, Audie Desbrow on drums and Sean McNabb on bass (okay, in their "prime" it was actually Tony Montana on bass, but Sean's been with the band for a longer time). Musically "Back To The Rhythm" is 100% Great White, it's an album that has everything from the bluesy-ballads, the stomping rockers to the mid-tempo tunes. In fact, I feel this album could have come out right after 1992's "Psycho City" (which is probably my favorite of all their discs). "Back To The Rhythm" is one of the best hard rock albums of the year and if you want to talk about bluesy hard rock, it just doesn't get any better than this.
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Claus
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HELL WITHIN
"Shadows Of Vanity" (LifeForce Records - provided by Target) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Hell Within has been very hyped by their label LifeForce, and since I like almost everything they put out I was really looking forward to dig into this relatively new band from Massachusetts. "Shadows Of Vanity" is their third album, but only second on a real label, and after hearing I don't feel I am missing out on anything. When the first song kicked in I thought this was right up my alley with its crushing guitarriffs and pounding rhythms in the best metal core way. But then the vocals kicked in and the band suddenly wanted to add a rock'n'roll attitude and sound very commercial while still maintaining the raw sound. This does not suit the band AT ALL. I do not doubt their superior skills on their instruments, but the vocal melodies and just the vocals overall are *really* annoying and ruins the entire experience. The songs drop in quality as the album progresses, and the solos get more and more repetitive. The production is positive aspect though and brings total justice to the crunching sound that this genre HAS to have, but what else could be expected from a prominent producer such as Tom Morris. I am disappointed in this release as I had expected something more, something mindblowing, not revolutionairy, but… devastating. But if you are really big fan of the genre and want to hear it with a rock'n'roll attitude then check them out. I personally can just not recommend them that highly.
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Mads
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HIMSA
"Summon In Thunder" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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US thrash metal band Himsa has now released its 6th album "Summon In Thunder", and although I've heard the band name before I must admit I've never listened to their albums before this one. My guess is that I'm probably never going to bother picking up those earlier releases either, as "Summon In Thunder" doesn't really peak my interest for the band in any way whatsoever. It's not that the band is bad - they are actually quite good musicians with a good ear for melodies and some really nice guitar solo's here and there - but the overall product just doesn't appeal to me. It's standard "modern" thrash metal with the usual influences from the Gothenburg melo-death scene, not too different from such acts as The Haunted, Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, Devildriver and Chimaira, although all of the abovementioned are much more inspiring to listen to. The end result is "acceptable" but nothing more than that.
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Claus
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IRON SAVIOR
"Megatropolis" (Dockyard1 - provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Iron Savior has never really been my cup of tea, as they have always sounded like the left-overs from bands like Gamma Ray and Blind Guardian, but I must admit that this new album has moved me towards their style of metal (or maybe they have moved towards mine?). Megatropolis is the album that takes over, with a raw and clear attitude of "In your face" metal. Piet has never been the best singer in the world, but he seems to know what he can and what he can NOT do. Staying true to himself and his limits, he delivers a solid effort in the vocal department. The rest of the band pound away as if they have had in mind to blast away the dust that has settled on German power metal these days. There are some very strong songs on this album, but also a couple of tunes that doesn't really make the quality mark. Anyway, you'll not go wring with your aggressive power metal on Megatropolis, so take a dive into the giant city where Iron Savior rule.
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Lars
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KAIPA
"Angling Feelings" (Inside Out / SPV - provided by Target) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Roine Stolt is an overrated musician, coz' apparently Hans Lundin (mainman in Kaipa) feels the same and decided it was time to kick out Stolt from Kaipa (okay, that's my take on the situation without knowing what really went down, hehe). Anyway, what on the previous disc really dragged the album down (the too obvious Flower Kings influences), this time has completely disappeared in exchange for a more mature and suiting sound, which is undeniably the sound of Kaipa. Enarmed with new guitarist Per Nilsson (yes, the guy from metal band Scar Symmetry) Kaipa 2007 is a top-class neo-progressive rock band with great songwriting skills, good guitar parts, lots of keyboards, brilliant bass playing (by Jonas Reingold from The Tangent, Karmakanic, Flower Kings and more), superb drumming (by none other than Morgan Ågren - Flesh Quartet, Zappa, Mats/Morgan etc) and wonderful male/female vocal harmonies. I like this, and I'm sure most other fans of neo-progressive rock infused with a bit of jazz/fusion will feel the same.
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Claus
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KING DIAMOND
"Give Me Your Soul… Please!" (Massacre Records - provided by Massacre Records) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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First things first; I hate it when labels talk over the promos. They turn down the volume of the music to tell you what you are listening to. This is done to annoy the music pirates, and while I am all pro anti-pirating then I believe this is wrong way as this also annoys the reviewer and spoils a bit of the pleasure when listening to the album at hand. In the case of the new and for me eagerly anticipated new album by one of my all time favourite artists King Diamond it doesn't spoil anything since the album is weak in its own right. The style is the same as with the last few albums, but on "Give Me Your Soul… Please!" the songs are weak. Boring riffing and soloing, boring song structures and the drumming is simply beyond me. Since Mikkey Dee left King Diamond I have not been that impressed with the drumming on the King Diamond records, but this album takes the price for the most boring drumming EVER on a King Diamond disc. I believe King Diamond has never released a bad album; not with Mercyful Fate and not solo, or well, "Abigail pt. II" was only saved by a few awesome tracks, but was all in all a bore to listen to. The same goes for the new one, and it pains me a lot (being the fanboy that I am) to say that there is absolutely NOTHING of interest on this new offering, even the title and the cover cries out for help to get the tiniest bit of quality in it. The production is absolutely horrible and the whole sound is as non-lethal as can be. And I have always counted on King Diamond to bring me neck crunching riffing and soloing along with horrorfying vocals, but even the King himself has lost it, he runs on the routine and he just can't go as high or low as he did on old masterpieces such as "Them" and "Abigail". I don't know what else to add because this is the biggest let down I have had this year. One of my very idols; King Diamond has made an album I will never listen to again if I can avoid it; all that is trademark about King Diamond (catchy spooky melodies, horrorfying vocals and daring compositions) have all been brought to utter shame on this album. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I give it 2 points simply because it is King Diamond and hearing him sing always brings a smile on my face, no matter how bad the album is.
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Mads
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LOS ANGELES
"Los Angeles" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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I am a very big fan of the last few Vision Divine releases, and a big reason for that is because of the voice of Michele Luppi. So now he has made his own side project with some extremely prominent musicians such as Greg Giuffria (House of Lords), Tommy Denander (Radioactive among many others) and Fabrizio Grossi (Glenn Hughes and Starbreaker). Now that I have mentioned those it shouldn't be necessary to say what kind of music which is on display here? This is AOR as delivered by so many acts before but without the nerve. The songs are tame and without a nerve; and to that come the fact that Mr. Luppi doesn't have the voice for this kind of music at all. His voice is perfect for Italian power metal where he can just high pitch his way through it all, but when trying to deliver a power ballad like the song "Thanks To You" he falls through. He is out on thin ice where his thin (meant in the best way possible) voice just can't handle it. I am sorry Mr. Luppi and co. but to my ears this is a project that should never have been. I will still look forward to hear the new Vision Divine though.
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Mads
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MACHINE MADE GOD
"Masked" (Metal Blade - provided Target) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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I heard many good things of Machine Made God, and after finally listening to them I can't say I don't understand the good things said about them. Musically they remind me of a mixture between In Flames and Mercenary with lots of good melodies and aggressive parts. They have a very good understanding of what they want to do and what it takes to make it good. Unfortunately the band doesn't get anywhere with their music, there are no absolute highs, very few surprises just an overall good flow in the album as a whole. Fans of melodic death metal and just fans of really great melodies should buy this album, especially since it will be released under the banner of "new hate cool price" which means the album will be a lot cheaper on its release.
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Mads
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MEHIDA
"Blood & Water" (Napalm Records - provided by Target) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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This is a new progressive/power metal project from keyboardist Mikko Harkin (ex-Wingdom, Kotipelto, Sonata Arctica). Musically it's however not really close to any of those earlier projects as it has a more "progressive" sound with many more technical breaks and twists. That doesn't mean it's gonna be anything exciting though, as this sounds too abrupt and lacks the flow that t.ex. the new Sonata Arctica has (and that also went into a more progressive sound). It sounds forced and has no real nerve, and even brilliant vocalist Thomas Wikström (ex-Candlemass, ex-Stormwind and now in Therion) can't really save this. I need melodies and a flow in order to appreciate the music I'm listening to - this one has got neither.
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Claus
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MELIAH RAGE
"The Deep And Dreamless Sleep" (Locomotive Records - provided by Target) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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American melodic thrash metal from the days when Testament still counted their pubic hair (no musical comparison btw). Meliah Rage sounds like a mixture of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Megadeth and the more melodic kind of thrash metal. There are some diffuse growls to underline the clean vocals, but it doesn't function fully here. The music is the most interesting part, especially the guitar riffs and the melodies + the well placed bass lines underneath the layers of shredding. Unfortunately, the drumming sounds un-inspired and at some times directly boring. The album starts off pretty well, but it is evident that these songs could have used more twists and turns, to make them interesting to listen to all the way through the album. Get rid of the drummer.
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Lars
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NEAERA
"Armamentarium" (Metal Blade - provided by Target) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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German thrash/death/black act Neaera is a band I first became familiar with on their second coming "Let The Tempest Come" from 2006, and I was not blown away by it, but I did find it quite enjoyable. Armamentarium however is an album that just never gets anywhere. There is a lot of energy, but not a single great idea is to be found on the album. Everything is done by the book and not a single time during the album do you feel that Neaera really is as angry as they want themselves to sound like. I am not saying this album is straight up bad but no matter how big a fan you are of brutal metal I don't think this album is worth spending hard earned cash or valuable time on.
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Mads
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PARADISE LOST
"In Requiem" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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It has taken me far too long to review this album, but it's simply due to the fact that I have been unable to decide about it. In the beginning, it didn't really give me a kick, and I assumed that I'd be ending up on 2½ or 3, but every time I have heard the album, I have begun to hear things that have enlarged my musical vision so to speak (and to assume makes an ass out of you and me, as Stephen King so boldly states). I have finally come to the conclusion that this album deserves 4/5, due to the fantastic songs that have been written for it. With a top notch production and a band that is able to write a song for the sake of the song, you can't really go wrong. There's something about these brits and their screaming guitars that no one else does, and it sticks to the mind as glue. The reason that I'm not giving an even higher character is that the band would have had to top Icon and Draconian Times, which I still don't think they have done - but ask me in a year, and I might look differently upon this. For now, I can only (strongly) recommend you to go out and buy this brilliant album.
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Lars
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SALTATIO MORTIS
"Aus Der Asche" (Napalm Records - provided by Target) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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The medieval rock/metal genre is really getting on my nerves - I'll never understand it. In Extremo, Subway To Sally, Corvus Covax, Haggard, Morgenstern, Qantal and all that crap - now we can also add Saltatio Mortis to the evergrowing list. Horrible music based on German folk songs from the 13th Century (or whatever) mixed with celtic folk instruments and lyrics in German … arghhh. Sorry, but I really can't figure out what else to say that this is godawful.
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Claus
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SAMAEL
"Solar Soul" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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I am not a fan of Samael. Mostly because I am not a big fan of the genre Industrial/Gothic Metal and except for a few artists I pretty much stay clear of the genre, but despite that I can certainly hear why Samael is regarded among the leaders in the genre. They create solid songs that are very memorable and they just have a very unique sound that is crunchy and filled with original and interesting compositions for the patient listener. The production is stellar and all in all I can just say we are dealing with a very solid release within the rather limited genre. I am very positively surprised and I liked to listen to this album, maybe just because it was refreshing to hear something else than I normally listen to or maybe because it really is good craftsmanship? The odds for me picking this one up again will probably only happen rarely, but when I do I will be sure to listen to tracks like "Western Ground" because of its very commanding and party like rhythm and melody, and also "Alliance" which is a song that has a certain progressive feel over it while still maintaining the overall gothic and industrial sound. Stellar album, that I won't give more than 3½ due to my lack of appreciation of the genre.
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Mads
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SIEGES EVEN
"Paramount" (Inside Out / SPV - provided by Target) - 5 out of 5 points - |
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Sieges Even is one of the most "pleasing" bands to listen to. It's like pure medication for the soul and the mood. Their music is technically complex but without being busy and too self-indulgent and -involved. I like all their albums, from the Watchtower-like debut album "Life Cycle", the übercomplex "Steps", the jazzy "A Sense Of Change", the happy-freakout disc "Sophisticated", the somewhat simpler, yet still proggy "Uneven" till the previous album "The Art Of Navigating By The Stars", this is one of those bands that haven't done anything wrong in my book. "Paramount" is yet another blueprint of a band that moves comfortable around genres and still manages to carve their own little niche. Opening with the brilliant "When Alpha And Omega Collide", which sounds like it could have been the sequel to some of the songs on "A Sense Of Change", with its jazzy elements in a metal-setting. Followed by the quirky "Tidal" that sees the band take on a groovy King's X approach (also evident in the computerized vocal parts) and then opens up in a beautiful and simple chorus. There's even a ballad here, "Eyes Wide Open", which serves as a stage for vocalist Arno to stand upon and showcase his talent. The title song is another examply of how the band embraces every kind of genre, not just in the duration of the entire album, but also within the single song itself - from the heavy parts to the laid-back atmospheric and dreamy parts that even includes a saxophone solo! To me this is what the phrase "thinking man's metal" is all about: great songs with good hooks and lots of melodies, yet still tons of technicality that can match any band in the so-called "progressive" genre out there. In many ways they are to prog-metal what The Police was to the pop-scene in the late 70's and early 80's - a band pushing the box, but never forgetting the easy recognisable tune. Actually, The Police is not a bad act to compare Sieges Even to - listen to Markus Steffens melancholic guitar sound or Arno Menses beautiful and expressive voice, and tell me you aren't thinking about Andy Summers and Sting; not to mention how the 2 Holzwarth brothers (Alex - drums and Oliver - bass) have the same funky and jazzy approach to their instruments as Stewart Copeland and Sting had back then. Now you might ask why I'm talking about The Police in context with a heavy metal album … well, that's the thing; Sieges Even isn't really metal anymore (and besides the debut album I'm not sure if they've ever really been that metal). It's just really good music, regardless of genre, and "Paramount" is one of those albums that should sell millions, but unfortunately never will, unless someone clever at Inside Out gets the album into the hands of some big-shot A&R guy at a major label and convinces him to license the disc under the pretence of it being a modern pop-rock album.
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Claus
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SLAVIOR
"Slavior" (Inside Out / SPV - provided by Target) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Slavior is the latest project with Mark Zonder on drums, Gregg Analla on Vocals and Wayne Findlay takes care of everything else. This time we are dealing with Hard Rock delivered with a fresh approach; the music circles around the drumming and it has a very modern sound to it, which gives a really unique sound. The first half of the album is relatively boring, but as the album progresses and you get to the two best tracks on the album; the ballad like "Dove" and hard hitting titletrack the albums peaks with some high quality songs and Gregg Analla really shines on those two tracks. I really like this album and I love the idea of making the drum parts first and then compose the rest of the song on top of that, but many of the songs are simply too anonymous, and not even the big hits mentioned above can pull the overall grade of the album much higher. I enjoyed this album quite a lot and I am confident that fans of prog and hard rock will as well.
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Mads
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TANKARD
"Best Case Scenario: 25 Years in Beers" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Germany's classic thrash metal band Tankard have now reached their 25 year birthday … congratulations!!! Not many bands are able to be on top of their game after 25 years in the business, but as the last disc "The Beauty And The Beer" proved, Gerre and his band of happy drunkards haven't lost it at all. On "Best Case Scenario" Tankard takes on the tough task of re-recording some of their most classic tunes, such as "Maniac Forces", "Space Beer", "Alien", "Freibeer", "Zombie Attack" and "(Empty) Tankard", and without really changing the songs too much the result is a great album with high-energy and high-alcohol level included. Disc 2 of this set is a bonus disc where 18 bands pay their tribute to the Tankard classic, and while some are better than others (F.K.Û., Courageous, Paradox and Hyades are among the good bunch, while Solicitude, Sacred Steel and Paragon are on the other end of the spectre). Oh, and for those who care about stuff like this, my 15 minutes (or 5 seconds rather) of fame are in the intro to Manticora's version of "Total Addiction" - yup, I'm one of the guys burping :-) Nevermind, what matters is that Tankard is an amazing thrash metal band, who've made some great music over the years, and the fact that 18 bands wanted to jump on-board and pay tribute to the guys are what makes this one special disc that all thrashers out there should rush out and grab. Congratz Tankard - here's me raising my beer to another 25 years!
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Claus
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TURNER, JOE LYNN
"Second Hand Life" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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This isn't the best Joe Lynn Turner offering we've ever got, let that be said right away. He has done better solo albums, better albums with Deep Purple, Sunstorm, Brazen Abbott and of course some fantastic stuff with Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen in his past. However, this album does have a few great tunes on offer, such as the Rainbow-sounding "Blood Red Sky", which is a total ass-kicking song, the Blackmore/Peterik/Glover-cowritten bluesy song "Stroke At Midnight" or the rocking opener "Love Is Life". Joe Lynn Turner is one of the greatest voice in hard rock and for that he has my full support, I just wish he could take the time and write one 100% brilliant disc (or get someone to do it for him) instead of releasing a lot of half-hearted stuff every year.
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Claus
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V/A
"Reincremation" (Nihilistic Holocaust - provided by Nihilistic) - no points possible - |
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French underground label Nihilistic Holocaust (http://site.voila.fr/nihilistic) has released a compilation CD of 4 demo bands - French Impureza, Swedish Arsonist and the two German bands Sudden Death and Ingurgitating Oblivion. Impureza starts off with some grind-death metal which is infused by some classical guitar parts to give it a bit of originality (oh and the song titles seem more Spanish than French, so perhaps they are from the Basque region on the border between France and Spain). Arsonist continues with some brutal death metal not unlike Deranged or Cannibal Corpse. I'm not into this style so for me this is the most boring band so far. Sudden Death kind of continues in the same vein as Arsonist, but with a bit more speed added, making them more akin to Immolation in style. Now, if you take the style of Sudden Death and add a few technical breaks and a more versatile vocalist you have Ingurgitating Oblivion (huh???); brutal death metal with faster-than-the-speed-of-light drumming and a good deal of technicality. Not bad! Overall this compilation CD is probably wasted on someone like me who isn't the biggest death metal fan around, but I can appreciate the idea behind it, and I think it's really good that a label like Nihilistic Holocaust picks up some demo/self-financed recordings from underground acts and release them like this.
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Claus
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V/A
"Rock The Bones - Voume 5" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - no points possible - |
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Another compilation from Frontiers Records showcasing their new releases. It's a great introduction to the variety of the label, and considering the disc is sold at mid-price it's definitely a worthy purchase for those who'd like to get to know more about what's on Frontiers Records current release schedule. Starting off with the brilliant song "Everytime It Rains" from the upcoming Primal Fear disc (including a duet between Ralf Scheppers and Epica-vocalist Simone Simons), the compilation takes us through great hard rock/AOR/progressive metal/heavy metal tracks such as Allen/Lande's "Master of Sorrow", Pride Of Lions "Language Of The Heart", Great White "Back To The Rhythm" and Circus Maximus "Wither". For me personally the only songs I don't like at all are Marco Mendoza's "Let The Sun Shine", TRW's "Rivers Of Paradise" and Los Angeles' "I Must Be Blind" (and luckily for me those 3 tracks are the last ones on this compilation).
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Claus
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WALKER, BRETT
"Spirit Junkie" (NL Distribution - provided by ArtistWorXX) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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Oh boy, guitarist/songwriter/vocalist Brett Walker have decided it's time to release an album of his own instead of just being contend writing songs for other musicians to perform … Known for having written songs for such acts as Alias, Jimi Jamison, Jeff Paris, Snakes In Paradise, Steve Thompson Band, Brett apparently has quite a good name in AOR circles, and that's all fine. But when it comes to composing and performing on his own, I really don't see any great things about Mr. Walker. Boring songs in laid-back AOR territory, that basically could come across as some thirdrate bar-singer getting to perform his own material when he late at night has run out of good cover-material to play and people are so drunk they don't even care what they are listening to anymore.
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Claus
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WIDOW
"Nightlife" (Cruz Del Zur - provided by Cruz Del Zur) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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I have never made an acquaintance with Widow before, and after listening to "Nightlife" I don't feel like I have been missing out. They play heavy metal with a big influence from Iron Maiden. This is done in an American manner with a lot of the 80's sound attached, and I am sorry to say this doesn't appeal to my taste. It has been done before by bands like Zandelle and Steel Prophet, but where those does a quite solid job Widow falls flat to the floor. The musicianship is quite decent and the songs are quite catchy but they are too generic and I am not able to point out one single song that stands out. The production is poor; the drums are too loud and the guitars are too low, which is quite weird, because the guitars are the only quality point here. When you have an album that doesn't have any really good songs, a bad production and quite frankly nothing that makes them any better than others you won't get far. It might seem like I hate the album which is not true, it is okay, but the moment it is done you remember nothing and you feel no urge to ever hear it again.
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Mads
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