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ALL SHALL PERISH
"The Price Of Existence" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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I still remember their first album, and I recall that I was pretty amazed by these "old school death metal" guys. But I will be honest with you and say that I had expected a little more from them. But this time they have decided to go a little bit more in the extreme direction, with way too many influences from the hardcore scene. I must break down and say oohh no, come on guys, you have too much talent to need to go into that direction, it really isn't necessary when you're already good within one genre to pull in new influences. Best thing is the guitar solo's, which provide a great balance and are really melodic. Too bad with the hardcore-influence …
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Benjamin
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ALMAH, EDU FALASCHI'S
"Almah" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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It's clear to the listener here that Edu Falaschi is a great contributor to the new era of Angra. There are a lot of similarities in the music and lines of this album to the music of Edu's main band. The biggest similarity is of course Edu's extremely pleasant and great voice. It's incredible how this man can hold such a register. It ranges from very deep and almost humming to high and clear pitchings. When you add a rhythm section of high profile musicians (Emppu Vuorinen/Nightwish, Lauri Porra/Stratovarius, Casey Grillo/Kamelot) it can't really go wrong. When you at the same time write fantastic compositions that are good for the ear to listen to, you get my full attention throughout the whole album. It would be a lie of biblical dimensions if I told you that I wasn't already a fan of Edu's voice, but he delivers one Hell of a performance here. I have listened to this album more than 5 times now, and it's one of those, I'd pull out from the shelf even after I have reviewed it. You really need to check this release out.
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Lars
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CRESCENT SHIELD
"The Last Of My Kind" (Cruz Del Sur - provided by Cruz Del Sur) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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This new US Power Metal outfit turns around ex-Onward singer Michael Grant and ex-Destiny's End guitarist Daniel DeLucie. I have never listened to Onward before, and after hearing this I have no regrets. I am familiar Destiny's End, but I never thought of Daniel DeLucie to be a great guitar hero. In Crescent Shied it is obvious that he is a very good guitarist. Unfortunately for him he just doesn't write interesting riffs or melodies. He plays a quite good, but easy-to-forget high paced guitar, with some crunchy solos. Musically this band reminds me of Archetype, Jag Panzer and of course Destiny's End. I guess there is some Onward in it as well, but I wouldn't know. The production sounds primitive and cheap. It brings absolutely no depth to the music. In short terms then this is mediocre US Power Metal with an anonymous sound and production. Quickly digested and quickly forgotten.
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Mads
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DARK LUNACY
"The Diarist" (Fuel Records / Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Ohh yeah, a new upcoming band, which will definitely be interesting to follow in the future to come. Dark Lunacy is yet another Death Metal band from Italy, and I do not know why there are so many of these coming from "the boot-land", but their way of thinking musically is really a fresh approach to the scene. Dark Lunacy plays a strange mixture of Progressive, Dark, Technical Death Metal, with an interesting use of the keyboard. The band decided to mix their product at "Fredmann Studio" with Frederirk Nordstrøm, who is known for bands such as In Flames, Hammerfall, Dimmu Borgir and Dark Tranquility, and it is really a good choice. The result is a well produced and exciting album, with lots of great riffs and rhythmic passages. If I should point any fingers at the album, it would be the vocals which from time to time becomes a slightly annoying, and doesn't always fit the music. But yet again a promising act that I'll keep an eye on for the future.
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Benjamin
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DARK TRANQUILLITY
"Fiction" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 5 out of 5 points - |
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What a great year this is for the metal community. So far we have Neal Morse, Therion, Echoes of Eternity and now the latest offering by Swedish Gothenburg based melodic death metallers Dark Tranquillity. DT is by far my preferred band within the melodic death metal scene, where bands like In Flames and Soilwork only reach DT to the sockholds. Dark Tranquillity is a band in constant evolution, and they have never been afraid to experiment, despite what the outcome have been. In 2005 Dark Tranquillity returned with their best effort since 1997s "The Minds I", and this album was called "Character". As I heard more about a new album from DT I was afraid I would get disappointed and that they would go back to the simpler sound on "Damage Done" and "Haven". But "Fiction" basically takes off where "Character" left you. One of the things I loved the most was the keyboards part in many of the songs, and fortunately they have used the keys to the same extent this time. No keyboard solos or anything. Its purpose in the sound is to complement the melody or to add an atmosphere in a specific track. On "Fiction" DT takes that sound and mixes with aggressive and sometimes nigh black metallish sound of the first 3 albums. They have maintained their melodic and simple touch that was so evident on "Projector" and "Haven" while keeping the grooves that was used quite a lot on both "Damage Done" and "Character". Basically this album is the product of many years of service in the metal scene. On "Fiction" we have an album that consists of all the best stuff from every Dark Tranquillity era, while they are still evolving in their sound and as musicians. It feels for me as like they become more and more talented musicians for each release, and all their compositions are so complete and superior to anything else in this genre. On "Fiction" DT have accomplished something very unique; and that is the fact that every part of all the songs are catchy. Not just the chorus, not jus the intro, but everything. There is so much to say about this album, but I think it can only be expressed by hearing this sublime masterpiece yourself. If it is just as good as "The Minds I" or "Character" (my two current favourites) time will tell, but I have a strong feeling that it will. All I now can wish for is that this is their major breakthrough. They deserve much more attention than they are getting.
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Mads
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DIONYSUS
"Fairytales And Reality" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Wow, what a release from this consolidation of various Power Metal artists. Damn, what a unique way of approaching this genre. Mid tempo, high tempo, great melodies and ear catchy choruses is what DIONYSUS is providing us. For me it seems like Olaf Hayer (known from Luca Turilli band) continuously develops his vocals, or maybe this time its music that suits his voice better? A great album, and only one thing is keeping me from giving this a top grade, which is that it sometimes appears a little bit too rock and roll (country like chords); but do not be intimidated, as this is truly a superb album.
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Benjamin
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DOKKEN
"From Conception - Live 1981" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Recorded live somewhere in Europe back in 1981 when the US classic metal / hard rock band Dokken was still just a young band with only 1 album in the making (the awesome debut "Breaking The Chains"), this is somewhat of a gem for those into the historic aspects of heavy metal, but probably not a live-disc that will go down in time as much else, for that the production value is simply too low. This however is a testimony of a young band in their prime, with a totally kick-ass drummer, Wild Mick Brown, a bass monster, Jeff Pilson, a shredder as cool as none, George Lynch and of course vocalist Don Dokken in front. Don is actually the weakest link here, as his voice seem to break down during the concert, and at the end of the show he is more often than not out of tune and seems short of breath. Too bad though, 'cause this disc have some quite interesting live-redentions of "Paris Is Burning", "Breakin' The Chains" and "Live To Rock" and also includes 4 songs that the band never recorded for any of their albums. But - this is a "bootleg" recording all the way back from 1981 and the sound really doesn't live up to today's standard of how a proper live album should sound. If you want to hear Dokken live from their hey-day's I suggest you get hold of "Beast From The East" which was released in '89 or '90, and is a much better documentation on one of the best US hard rock / hair metal acts from that time.
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Claus
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DRONE
"Head-On Collision" (Armageddon Music - provided by Target) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Armageddon is not exactly what I would consider to be among my favourite labels, but with Drone they have signed a very promising German thrash act. Formed in 2004 Drone has done quite good and even winning the "Metal Battle" which was held at Wacken Open Air 2006. Drone plays quality melodic thrash. Some neat riffs, some nice rock along choruses and an attitude that says these guys are in possession of some humongous ball-sacks. My problem however is that the choruses sound alike much of the time, and the album is a bit too long. Had this album only been like 8 tracks instead of 11, then you wouldn't get tired of it that easily. "Head-On Collision" however is a quality release and an even better debut, and they do know how to combine true metal attitude with great melodies.
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Mads
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ECHOES OF ETERNITY
"The Forgotten Goddess" (Nuclear Blast records - provided by VME) - 5 out of 5 points - |
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Funny thing this is. This album is a perfect example of why you should always give so many albums a second try. But only rarely you do. The first time I heard this album I was playing it on my stereo. I had it on repeat and even though it had many spins it just never did much for me, and I was thinking of giving it a 3 out of 5 score (not a bad score if you ask me). But I was also thinking there must be something I was not getting at all, so I then tried to listen to this album through headphones, and there is an entire universe in difference this time. Finally I get what this American female fronted Power/Prog metal band is all about with their first album "The Forgotten Goddess". They have a unique blend of progressive compositions, the heaviness of the US power metal riffs, gothic atmospheres and just killer melodies and musicianship. For every time I hear this album I dropping my jaw just a bit more down to the floor. Echoes of Eternity is a band that proves me wrong on more than one point. First off they show that the metal scene can still renew itself, and unique bands still come along. Secondly I never expect much from female fronted bands, and nor do I care for many female fronted bands. But Francine Boucher just does such an awesome job. Her voice reminds me a bit of Enya gone metal. Though a tiny bit monotone her performance is nothing but outstanding. The other musicians in the band are not to forget here. They are good musicians, but what is important is that they play so well together, and they accompany the vocals in such a manner that not a single song loses its catchy flow, but still keeps it interesting with acoustic passages and, dare I say this; Perfect solos. I dare not even highlight any song from the other, because this is just so damn complete as can be. The production is also nothing short of stellar, and it brings total justice to all the fine details in the music, so that something that may sound simple at first listen then comes to sound complex with a proper and deep listen. Echoes of Eternity - The Forgotten Goddess is a musical journey deep into their world, and it lets you drift away. Beautiful landscapes fill your head when you close your eyes. This album is awesome no matter what. It is uplifting, it is challenging and it is mood setting. What a joyful blow of fresh air this masterpiece is. Whether you like progressive metal, symphonic metal, power metal, Enya, atmospheric soundtrack"ish" music, doom metal, gothic metal or just are a fan of Wihtin Temptation and Nightwish and want to listen to some real music then you absolutely MUST get this album. Buy "The Forgotten Goddess" and support Echoes of Eternity. I think I will buy 5 copies and give some to my friends. They truly deserve it. Oh… and btw… I also enjoy this album quite a lot when listening to it through my normal stereo speakers now; I just had to get into this album first.
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Mads
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FALCONER
"Northwind" (Metal Blade - provided by Target) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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The wellknown power metal band from Sweden is now back with a brand new album "Northwind"! I wrote well known band, I mean well known singer Matthias Blad, (no Benjamin, it would have been brand new if it have been reviewed a half a year ago ... dud dud dud dud dud). Compared to the previous album (and the rest of their catalogue of course), there is nothing new added, the music remains the same as always. But ohh what a joy to hear the sweet voice of Matthias once again - Matthias is now synonymous with Falconer and will probably continue to be. It is a bit strange to grade this piece from Falconer, as they just provide what they always have done. In order to be able to grade this higher I would like to see some kind of development in the songwriting; something more interesting, more open … maybe a pinch of prog to spice it up a bit. But this is not bad, nor is it the best, well in the middle as graded... But welcome back Matthias :-)
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Benjamin
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HAMMERFALL
"Threshold" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Ohh yeah well, Hammerfall is back after 2 albums that I regard as failures. Now it appears that they are back on track. The music is clichee-filled Hammerfall Metal as we have known it for a decade. A good (somewhat average) release and it's nice to hear that they have decided to go back to the old Hammerfall style.
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Benjamin
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HANDFUL OF HATE
"Gruesome Splendour" (Cruz Del Sur Music - provided by Cruz Del Sur) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Handful of Hate got to be the most ridiculous name I have heard for a long time. With that said then HoH is an Italian black metal group (that's right… Italian black metal.). They play it the primitive way with lots of speed, ferocity, hate and pretty much everything you can expect from Scandinavian master such as early Immortal, Marduk and early Mayhem. To my own surprise then HoH is from 1993, which means they are almost equally as old as the giants within the genre. Why they have never become so big could have something to with bad record deals, which they have been haunted by. It could also have something to do with their geographical situation, since I don't expect Italy to have the same black metal following as you find in the north. OR it could have something to with their music not being nearly as challenging as the music of their Scandinavian colleagues. Nonetheless then HoH delivers quite decent black metal offering with "Gruesome Splendour". I am never bored, but one the hand I never at one point was overly intrigued. Just above average.
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Mads
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HARTMANN
"Home" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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I remember, or should I say I think back to, the time when Oliver Hartmann was on everybody's lips. But that was back in the days with At Vance. Well now he is back with what is a so called Hard Rock album??? Hmmm … this is not even close to sleeze rock, it is more of a boring pop-rock album, graced with the voice of a great singer :-) The music is old fashioned rock with a distortion pedal from the late 60's, I have heard The Corrs with a lot more energy that this album will ever get near to!!! Damn it is awful to get an album like this thrown in your face, MY GOD, how can it be??? How can it be a man like Hartmann ever sink so deep??? Well I will try to be fair in the grading and the 1 point is only because of his superb voice!!!
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Benjamin
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HEAVENLY
"Virus" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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The first time I listened to the French power metal band Heavenly it was their debut "Coming from the Sky". An album I thought was awful. In fact, I thought it was so awful that I completely disbanded this band and branded them as crap. The album had boring songwriting, and some dreadful vocals that gave me headache worse than the first singer of Jacobs Dream could ever give me. Apparently this band has evolved since then, because with "Virus" they are kicking some serious butt. Imagine Gamma Ray at its prime but with lots more melody. The most surprising part is that the vocals have gone from awful to very enjoyable vocals. Just imagine Kai Hansen but without that aggressiveness he has. Ben Sotto sings with melody and balls, and it fits the music perfectly. "Virus" consists of good songs only, and when a clear production is added to this melodic powerhouse of true metal band then I am no doubt about my judgement of this band anno 2007; Great album. Fans of Gamma Ray and the likes should not hesitate one second about buying this album.
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Mads
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HE IS LEGEND
"Suck Out The Poison" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Big clap to He Is Legend for creating a lot of cool riffs, but that is where the good criticism stops. The production on this album is simply so horrible that it almost becomes unbearable to listen to for more than 15 minutes (who let this can-sounding guitar through the gap?). Drums sound like they have been recorded inside a cave in a mountain and the vocals distort, when the singer is growling - or trying to…he is merely shouting as loud as possible, and it sounds appalling to my ears and directly destructive towards the music. Apart from that, he sounds so nasal that I suspect that he was down with the flu when he did the vocals for the album. There's no red thread through the album, and the guys are moving in 6000 different directions with their music. I do not mean for an album to sound the same all the way through, but on your 3rd release you ought to have defined your own style. I can't hear it here. Sorry. The points given are for the musicianship in the band, which is great.
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Lars
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JORN
"The Gathering" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Uuh yeah, the voice of voices, or perhaps better known as JORN :-) Joke aside, Jorn Lande is probably one of the best active singers to be found, with only 3 who is in my opinion as good as him: Bruce Dickinson, Matt Barlow and Russel Allen. So maybe it is as no surprise that I'm a big fan of "The Battle" featuring Lande and Allen (can you imagine is Barlow and Dickinson had also particpated in that? yummy yummy …). I have never really heard Jorn's solo projects, but I can add other bands where he have delivered a pure A+ vocal performance: Beyond Twilight, Masterplan & The Battle, and there is not one time I can say SHUT UP, it should rather be the opposite. Listening to some of his old solo material, I'm kind of surprised why I have never bought it as this is superb, it is a great mixture of Hard Rock meets Heavy Metal, nice blend and it suits his voice to perfection. Should there be any criticism of the voice-boss, it would only be the lyrics; well sometimes they do not have any meaning of all, but maybe that is the idea, it is HEAVY for crying out loud. But to end all this; if you are a fan of JORN, this is a must have disc ... Well it is a must for me :-)
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Benjamin
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JORN
"Unlocking The Past" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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A tribute album from JORN to his inspirations (Deep Purple, Rainbow, MSG, Thin Lizzy etc) - hmm well I don't know if this is good or bad ... I mean, his voice is great as always, so in that respect it's not a bad tribute, but since it's not the most exciting material (to me), it's not a "wow" realease either - somewhere in the middle. I don't have more to say really, except that this is an album you only need if you're a big fan of JORN.
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Benjamin
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KINGDOM COME
"Ain't Crying For The Moon" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Kindom Come is one of those bands I totally respect for never giving up on what they (or should I say "him", as this basically Lenny Wolf's project) do best, which of course is stealing with arms and legs from the Page/Plant/Bonham/Jones songbook … Lenny is a deadringer vocalist for Robert Plant and his songwriting really is close to what the Led Zep's came up with back in the day. I remember totally diggin' their debut album from '88 (eventhough the fan and media response back then was split between those who found it great and those who found it an insult towards Led Zeppelin's legacy), loving the second disc "In Your Face" a year later, and somewhat appreciating "Hands Of Time" from 1991. But after that I honestly can't say I've followed Kingdom Come's career much, although the band (or Lenny) has been quite consistent in putting out albums. "Ain't Crying For The Moon" is the latest output from Kingdom Come and it seems that nothing really has changed in the passing of the 19 years since the debut album, as this is still Led Zep-worship of the highest sort … and heck, there's even a 2006-version of "Get It On" from the debut to be found here :-) Not a bad album, but I think I've kind of lost my interest in this style over the years. IF I find myself suddenly wanting to hear some Kingdom Come I will pick up the first 2 discs, not this one!
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Claus
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KOTZEN, RICHIE
"Into The Black" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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Richie Kotzen released his last album under another name, (Forty Deuce), but as far as I know it's generally the same thing, namely a Kotzen solo album. Well, also this time he sounds like Chris Cornell, but the music is more in the slow rock genre. It's got a lot of attitude, but the energy level has been turned down since the last album. Richie is a pretty decent musician and definitely a good singer, but the fact that he is writing all the music himself + recording and producing it means that a lot of the music sound alike. It's not bad! However, some diversity would have made the album much better. Overall, this is a good album that needs some attention from hard rock lovers.
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Lars
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KRISIUN
"AssassiNation" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Legendary Krisiun from the beginning of the 90's, has now returned with a more brutal, speedy, technical record for all the lovers of the afore mentioned. With a discography of total 9 albums now, the band is a well-established name, mostly with the signing with Century Media. Brazilian "death metal" or "thrash metal" always have a unique sound, and yes I do compare it with Selpultura and this time it is no exception. Well to describe the music, hmm it is the same build-up in almost every song, boring riff, blast speed drums, Kerry King-like solo's, but to be added a great growling vocals. I could imagine I'm getting old, but NO! This is actually just not my cop of tea, it seems so uncontrolled in so many ways, it easily gets boring and annoying to listen to. But for fans of old school Death Metal with an up-to-date production, this is a MUST- but for me, as someone who has lost interest in the genre, this is not a turn on in any way.
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Benjamin
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LIBERTY N' JUSTICE
"Soundtrack Of A Soul" (MTM - provided by Zink) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
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Well this is an interesting consolidation of various artists from many interesting bands - such a few to be mentioned: Sebastian Bach (Ex Skid Row), Mark Slaughter (Sluaghter), Ted Poley (Danger Danger), Tony Harnell (TNT), and a lot of White Metal singers such as Dale Thomson (Bride), Josh Kramer (Saint), Mike Lee (Barren Cross), Scott Wenzel (White Cross) and Jamie Rowe (Guardian). So as you can see it is some talented guys on the vocals, to uplift the music.. And frankly speaking hadn't it been for some of the singers who makes the best out of the boring music, it would have been a really below performance record, with only a few of the songs being hits. The music is a mixture of classic Hard Rock combined with a little bit of sleeze and melodic. An average release nothing to raise me from my chair and scream WOW, neither to become totally pissed about:-)
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Benjamin
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LOVECRAVE, THE
"The Angel And The Rain" (Repo Records - provided by Repo Records) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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With their debut album "The Angel And The Rain", Italian gothic rock/metal band The Lovecrave delivers a very promising disc, that bodes well for their future. We're talking about music not far from bands such as To/Die/For, HIM and occassionally (mostly due to the female vocals with their slight Italian accent) Lacuna Coil. In other words, lots of melodies, good use of of keyboards, some heavy guitar riffs in the back, and memorable choruses. It's not earthshakingly new and original, but it's very well done, and for a debut on a small label (and most likely with only a limited recording budget at hand), it's better than most. I have to give big applause to the band for an awesome art-design on the booklet and frontcover, which is very experimental, and eye-catching (although VERY different from what we see everyday). And finally - big kudos for covering what I personally regard one of the alltime classic pop-tunes; "The Chauffeur" by Duran Duran. A great inclusion on a very cool debut album, with reasonable room for improvement.
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Claus
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MACHINE MEN
"Circus Of Fools" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 4½ out of 5 points - |
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"Circus Of Fools" is one of the best power metal albums I've heard in a very long time. It's a disc filled with awesome melodies, lots of energy, great performances from all musicians and topped by a vocalist who sounds like a young Bruce Dickinson. When reviewing their previous album, "Elegies" a year or two ago I mentioned that they probably were too close to the Dickinson/Maiden sound, and not innovative enough. To say that the band has changed their style 180 degrees around would be a lie of proportions, but still I feel that they've taken the next step towards being a band with own ideas and musical attitude. Songs like the slightly progressive "Where I Stand", the kick-ass opener "Circus Of Fools" and my personal favorite "The Shadow Gallery" are good examples of a band with a great sense of writing immediate, yet long-living songs that you won't forget right away. If there was any justice in the world Machine Men would soon be playing stadiums, as I'm sure their music would be perfect for the bigger audience - they've got the songwriting, the attitude and the playing skills. All they need now is a support tour for a band like Iron Maiden and they would win over 99% of the crowd ... I'm sure of that ...
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Claus
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MAGNUM
"Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow" (Steamhammer / SPV - provided by Target) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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It's been a great past year for fans of pomp-rock with brilliant releases from Meat Load, Pride Of Lions, Zeno, Icon … and now Magnum returns to form with a disc, that for sure will shake up a lot of their old fans for some kind of reaction. I mean, it can't just be a coincidence that they've chosen a cover artwork close to the one of their biggest hit ever, "On A Storyteller's Night" and titles that immediately reminds of old classics (heck, there's even a tune called "Dragons Are Real" - anyone else come to think of "Chase The Dragon", huh?). There are some really awesome tunes here, with the rockin' "Your Lies" taking first place in my book! But also the more laid back "Thank You For The Day", the quirky "Dragons Are Real" or the splendid opener "When We Were Younger" are great examples of what Magnum is all about - pomp, big melodies and a worldclass vocalist in front. I must admit that I was going back and forth for a long time on whether to give this 3½ or 4 points, as I really like this album, but only a few of the songs I can honestly say I love, "Your Lies", "Dragons Are Real" and "You'll Never Sleep" - however, my taste for those 3 tunes made me go all the way and give it a 4-point review … and yeah, it actually does deserve it :-)
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Claus
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MOB RULES
"Ethnolution A.D" (Steamhammer / SPV - provided by Target) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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I remember having bought "Savage Land" back in 1999, and was very pleased with it, but ever since Mob Rules have disappointed me a little. This time, however, the German Power Metallers really surprises me; they keep it simple but yet interesting to listen to. Yet again, to call Mob Rules for Power Metal might be an overstatement, as it sounds more like a Melodic Metal band, and a quite good one. The only thing missing on this album, would be to change the rhythm from time to time, so it wouldn't be so monotonous, always mid tempo and yeah slow tempo … doom-like tempo :-) An overall good album but with the tendency to become a little too boring.
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Benjamin
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MORSE, NEAL
"Sola Scriptura" (Inside Out / SPV - provided by Target) - 4½ out of 5 points - |
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With "Sola Scriptura" ex-Spock's Beard vocalist Neal Morse delivers not only his best album in many years, but also one of the best neo-prog releases I've laid my ears on ever. This one ranks right up there with Spock's Beard's "Snow" or "The Light", Transatlantic's "SMPT", Ayreon's "Universal Migrator 1", Enchant's "A Blueprint Of The World", Marillion's "Misplaced Childhood", Pendragon's "The Masquerade Overture" or Arena's "The Visitor" in my book of great releases that draw on both progressive metal, symphonic rock and old school prog-rock. Trust me, it's THAT good. What we have here is 4 worldclass musicians (Neal Morse of course providing vocals, keyboards and some guitar; Paul Gilbert on lead guitar, Mike Portnoy on drums and Randy George on bass) delivering worldclass songs with a worldclass production to back it all up. I must point out here that Paul Gilbert (yes, the guy who used to be in Mr.Big and Racer X) delivers some of the most tasteful guitar shredding I've ever heard, as he just rips out one impressive solo after the other, without compromising the melody and flow of the songs. And speaking of songs that flow, I need to mention that Neal Morse has an extremely unique way of blending so many things together in order to create this monster-disc; I can easily find parts that draw on The Beatles as inspiration, parts where it's complete Pink Floyd worship, parts that hints at Queen, Yes, Kansas and so on - it's a disc that just embraces it all, and that's part of what makes it unique. The album consists of 4 songs, all dealing in lyrical concept with Martin Luther (the protestant monk who reformed the Christian church back in the 16th century) and his life; I guess it's quite evident from this (and from his previous solo albums) that religion is a theme that inspires Neal Morse a lot, and without being too cocky, I'd have to say that it is quite a religious experience to listen to "Sola Scriptura", at least it's the closest to a such, a heathen like me will ever get :-) With that said, "Sola Scriptura" is THE neo-progressive rock/metal album of the year, and I seriously doubt there'll be anything even remotely close to this, unless of course Neal Morse finds time to deliver another disc later on in 2007.
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Claus
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MY DYING BRIDE
"A Line of Deathless Kings" (Peaceville - provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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I am a relatively new fan to My Dying Bride. Most of my previous encounters have either been unlucky, or I was simply not paying attention to the greatness that is My Dying Bride. None the less I have finally opened my eyes to this superior mid-tempo and somewhat melodic doom metal band. This time around MDB has chosen a bit more "commercial" (do not read radio friendly) approach. Where I find their very early work to be something that you have to listen to at least 5 times to really digest, I find "A Line of Deathless Kings" to strike me as a hit instantly. They don't make use of the more "folky" influences on this album, but it works perfectly, as all tracks sound as complete as can be. Even though their approach is more commercial, they have not let go of the epic touch that they possess. A track like L'amour Detruit - which is a tune that has more than 9 minutes on its conscience - is simply drawing and very mood setting. ALoDK underlines that My Dying Bride are among the very elite in the doom metal genre. I do however like their earlier albums more, as they are more challenging.
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Mads
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NOSTRADAMEUS
"Pathway" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 4½ out of 5 points - |
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Been following this band ever since back in the old millennium, and they never cease to impress me with their ultra melodic power metal. This is a band that should be so much bigger than they are. If you mix Judas Priest, Lost Horizon, Brainstorm and Tad Morose, you have the music of Nostradameus. Lead singer Freddy Persson is a hidden gem that needs to unfold his great talent to all powerhouse vocalist lovers out there. The choirs are right there on the spot, backing up the vocals, the drums are powerful, yet progressive and not to say forget, extremely tight. The guitar riffs are interesting, and the layers of guitars make sure that you experience new paths of enjoyment every time this album is in the stereo. A song like "Wall Of Anger" will bring this band into a much higher league, if it's put on various samplers in the magazines etc. It's very rare that I find a chorus line THAT memorable, and it's not the only song where the chorus is freaking me out. The fantastic ballad "Not Only Women Bleed", shows the range of Persson as a singer but also shows that Nostradameus are capable of writing good music in various tempi. The reason for not going all the way to the top here is that this album is not the masterpiece that it needs to be to get a 5 here. I believe that the band will evolve in time to make that masterpiece. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but for now, I'll put this disc on another time and enjoy. BUY!
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Lars
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ONE MAN ARMY AND THE UNDEAD QUARTET
"Error in Evolution" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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I liked the first One Man Army. While I thought it had its flaws, I figured those were something that would be corrected on the followup. What I wanted was some more crunchy grooves, and some more memorable choruses. I think those 2 ingredients are the most important when it comes to deliver a proper metalcore album. Unfortunately this band has become weaker on both aforementioned topics. The tracks are so anonymous and boring. The vocals strike me as even more horrible than on their debut. They do have some decent soloing here and there, an absolutely stellar production that gives the band a very thick and complete sound. AND… the cover track of Alice Coopers - He's Back which I think is very well done. I feared the worst, but they got away from it with a quite decent result. This album is step backwards for this band. But for some reason Nuclear Blast still hype them quite a bit… for some obscure reason. Bottomline is: Yet another promising band turns to yet another anonymous metalcore band.
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Mads
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PURE REASON REVOLUTION
"The Dark Third" (Inside Out / SPV - provided by Target) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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This is a hard nut to crack. This is progressive rock with lots of melody and atmosphere. They make use of female and male vocals, and the music is mainly oriented on those two. There is nothing drastically wrong with their music which is inspired a lot by Pink Floyd and I also hear some Spocks Beard in it. But where both aforementioned bands succeed, Pure Reason Revolution doesn't. Their music is never moving anywhere, you never feel like there is any flow or any highlights at all on this album. It is just one long drive of talented musicians playing boring tracks. The vocalists rarely vary their singing. And some songs feel like forever for them to finish. They obviously have a talent for music, but they just don't use the time needed to create a proper song. All the good parts on this album combined would make around 3 songs. But since this album counts 9, I need a lot more quality over quantity to give them more than 2. Sorry.
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Mads
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REDKEY
"Rage Of Fire" (Dockyard1 - provided by VME) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
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From the roots of Germany we find RedKey who, according to their label's info-material, has chosen to play music in the vein of US Power Metal. I do not have any clue as to why they have decided to compare it with US Power Metal?? For me it is more in the veins of Hard Rock with a bit of edge - read: Judas Priest. Nevertheless the band has some well established names such as Thomas Rettke and Sasha Paeth. Thinking about it furthermore, and with all due respect to the highly respected producer Sasha Paeth, this is really, really bad in any ways, and is all too easy!!! What do I mean by that … well give me a F and then an E, pump it a little bit, and oh oh please remember the loose E, do that over an entire album and ohh yeah - You'll have a pile of bullshit.. Sorry I'm a big fan of Sasha and I do not know how he can agree to be a part of this. Okay maybe I'm being to harsh or I'm I?? Judge yourself.
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Benjamin
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SERENITY
"Words Untold & Dreams Unlived" (Napalm Records - provided by Target) - 4½ out of 5 points - |
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Serenity is a newcomer band on the progressive metal scene, a band originating from Austria; not exactly known as a big player on the world-map of prog, huh? To be honest, I can't remember many bands from there besides Edenbridge (perhaps more "symphonic metal"), Stigmata/Stigmata IV/Stygma IV (which is more on the "power metal" side) and Nothingfaith (who made a really awesome disc called "Sigiríya" back in 1996 and then slipped into obscurity) from that country. However, a year or two ago I remember being contacted by this band from Austria, who had made a demo CD titled "Engraved Within" - the demo showed some promise, but apparently not enough for us to sign them to our management (shame on me for not recognising the talent). Now they, Serenity, are ready with their debut album, which is absolutely awesome, and shows a band that has developed 110% over the past year. Musically we're talking about very melodic prog-metal somewhere between Threshold (I'm telling you, opener "Canopus" sounds totally like a Thresh-tune), Superior, Dreamscape, Manigance - with only a single tune venturing into a more clichee-filled power metal sound; that being "Forever", which has a chorus strikingly similar to Sonata Arctica's "Full Moon", ehmmm ;-) The guys in the band are top-notch musicians, and the clear production by Jan Vacik (from German prog-metal band Dreamscape) suits the music like hand in glove. "Words Untolled And Dreams Unlived" really is a wonderful disc, filled with 10 great progressive metal songs, and not a single dull moment!
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Claus
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SILENT FORCE
"Walk the Earth" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 3 out of 5 points - |
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I really like… no, let me rephrase; I really love the wonderful voice that DC Cooper can spit out from his mouth. With that said I cannot say I have been really thrilled about anything he has done since he and Royal Hunt parted ways. The new album "Walk the Earth" is a great leap in the right direction. Here we are offered a disc with great song writing, and some great tracks that undoubtedly would work perfectly for a live show. This time around the band also offers quite a few surprises. But they just can't escape that their music is cliché and it has all been heard too many times before, and on many occasions in better versions. No melodic keyboard part, no insanely fast guitar solo or no DC Cooper can get away from that fact. Everything about this album just screams mediocrity with a few more twists and turns. I guess bottomline is: Solid effort where the songwriting has improved, but they just can't escape their role as being just another melodic metal band, no matter who sings.
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Mads
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SINNER
"Mask Of Sanity" (MTM - provided by Zink) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Once again Mat Sinner and his band comes up with a great collection of true hard rock / heavy metal, that has so much in common with Thin Lizzy that I'm sure Phil Lynnott somewhere is either turning in his grave with a happy or an annoyed smile on his face. This is a band clearly inspired by Phil Lynnott's music and I feel that Sinner nowadays are more of a band paying their ultimate tribute to Thin Lizzy than a band trying to create something new and original … and you know what? Sometimes it's good to wear your influences on your sleeve, and just kick it the good old style. Who needs bands to always come up with something new? Right … Sinner is one of those bands that just delievers great hard rock tunes, and they do it with elegance.
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Claus
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STRAPPING YOUNG LAD
"The New Black" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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Devin Townsend: a man of brilliance or a lunatic? Well, listening to this new album of SYL there is no doubt that he is a brilliant composer/songwriter, who is capable of mixing various genres into one, which I'll define as SYL genre. Devin has a great way of composing the music and blend it all together, so that it doesn't get boring at any time. Okay there is a downside to it, sometimes he (they) become a bit too experimental with various ideas, that might not work in reality. We should not forget to mention one of the best drummers ever, Gene Hoglan, I wouldn't dare to say that he has a lot of influence on the music (since it's mainly Devin's), but at least his drumming remains as good as ever :-) An overall great album if you look past some of the odd things that they have tendencies to throw in.
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Benjamin
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THOUGHT CHAMBER
"Angular Perceptions" (Inside Out / SPV - provided by Target) - 4 out of 5 points - |
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I must admit that I've had this disc for quite some time now - actually more than half a year before the release. It's a damn nice little prog-metal disc, rooted somewhere between Dream Theater and Symphony X, with fantastic vocal performance by Ted Leonard (from Enchant), lots of cool guitar solo's and plenty of cool riffs from shredder Michael Harris (ex-Arch Rival), a tight-as-hell rhythm-section in Derek Blakely and Rob Stankiewicz (both from Haji's Kitchen) and as the icing on the cake the great keyboard playing from Bobby Williamson (from Outworld). This is of course Michael's project, which the band name gives away considering one of his previous solo discs was named "Sketches From The Thought Chamber", and it's therefore a disc where the guitar is in focus, both in music and production. It also makes it a much heavier disc than what we're used to hear Ted front, but his vocals are as always a joy to listen to. From opener "Sacred Treasure", over the brilliant "A Legend's Avalon" to closer "A Mind Beyond", this album is a very good, although not exactly innovative, progressive metal disc.
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Claus
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THUNDERSTONE
"Evolution 4.0" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
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Oh yeah well I guess that Thunderstone is a band that needs no further introduction! Thunderstone is a true Power Metal band, but wow they have really developed themselves throughout the last couple of albums - they have made it possible to blend aggression with soft choruses. This is one thing that makes this album quite interesting to listen, to as it seems that the record doesn't loose it's sparkle. In order to fairly judge the music, I would like to point out that the guitars sounds a bit weak, it sounds like they are tuned in an E and the music still needs some bottom to make a bit more dark and not so descant in my ears. Furthemore I would have enjoyed if there had been a bit more keyboards to add a bit more sound to the ear catchy choruses, you can hear it but it is very very distant, and only comes into the sound picture when using disharmonies. But all in all a great POWER release from Thunderstone :-)
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Benjamin
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TYPE O NEGATIVE
"Dead Again" (Steamhammer / SPV - provided by Target) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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What we have here is a band that once could do no wrong - Type O Negative delivered 3 great albums in a row; "Bloody Kisses" (1993), "October Rust" (1996) and "World Coming Down" (1999) - and even their first 2 discs ("Slow Deep And Hard" and "The Origin Of The Feces") had their moments. But "Life Is Killing Me" (from 2003) was a let-down to me as a longtime Type O fan, and "Dead Again" does absolutely nothing to reinject some fanboyism in me, sorry. You still have the signature Type O parts; the doom-like thunder-bass and the heavy drums, the eerie keyboards, the crunching guitars and of course Pete Steele's darker-than-dark voice in front, but the songs are absolutely not memorable in any way, and although I've listened quite a bit to "Dead Again", I'm not finding anything remotely interesting about it. Sorry!
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Claus
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VARIOUS ARTISTS
"Butchering The Beatles" (Restless/Ryko - provided by VME) - 1 out of 5 points - |
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I'll begin this review with some namedropping: Alice Cooper, Steve Vai, Duff McKagan, Mikkey Dee, Lemmy, Eric Singer, Billy Idol, Geoff Tate, Michael Wilton, Craig Goldy, Jeff Scott Soto, Yngwie Malmsteen, Vivian Campbell, Doug Aldritch, John Bush, Mike Inez, John Tempesta, Steve Lukather, Tim Owens, Kip Winger, Bruce Kulick. These dudes and a lot of other guys are taking part of this tribute to the biggest band that has ever been alive on this planet. With such names, you could expect some ass-smacking, head-banging, nerve-wrecking and absolute great performances. However, this is not what you get. Out of the 12 songs on the album, only 2 of them are of a quality that would make me recommend you to even listen to them. The rest sound like something these guys have been recording in less than 2 minutes with the absolute minimum of attention to what they were doing. This could be done so much better, had the musicians been in the same studio to record the songs instead of sending files back and forth to each other across the waters. Cool cover artwork though…as if it matters.
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Lars
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VAUGHN, DANNY
"Traveller" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink) - 2 out of 5 points - |
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Danny Vaughn used to be the vocalist in Tyketto back in the glory days of "hair-metal" or "glam-metal" if you'd like … a real old-school melodic metal icon, right? :-) Danny's got one of those great voices that totally fits the style - imagine Jeff Scott Soto (Talisman, Malmsteen etc.) meets Steve Morse (Kansas), and you've got quite a good idea of how Danny sings. The music on his new solo album however is not exactly the most inspiring thing I've heard. It's plain hard rock / AOR with little of interest, besides the great vocals and the occassional cool riff. Easy listening and just as easy to forget.
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Claus
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