Amok hail from Scotland with their brand of thrash which for this reviewer brings back memories of all the old bands I used to listen to Whiplash, Wargasm, Triphammer, Laaz Rockit, Faith Or Fear the early days of Destruction and others great bands. According to their bio, this is their second full length disc, ontop of their 5 demos as well. So with Amok, you'll be jumping in the pit and getting ready to thrash to their tunes. At times their vocalist hits a pitch similiar to Tom Araya from Slayer which if you don't know who Slayer is you need to dig out the history books of metal and learn... Also goes for the bands I mentioned above.
Hard to pick out a favorite track, as they all sound great, although track 4 "Creature of Habit" hits a sweet spot, and it's true we're all creatures of habit in one way or another some good/some bad. Before I digress, in any case the production on the music is clear and everything pops out at the listener. Certainly no muddy production on this disc to say the least. The disc consists of 10 songs, they're the average 4 to 5 minutes for most. The tracks are as follow below.
Tracklist:
01. 1885
02. Somewhere In The West
03. No Faith
04. Creature Of Habit
05. Lawbreakers
06. Uprise
07. Cover Your Tracks
08. Sixty-Eight
09. Make Time To Kill Time
10. Lost Generation
Total Playing Time: 0:46:15
Guitars are crisp and gritty sounding, bass has some kick and of course the drums are pretty killer too. I would definitely recommend Amok to any and all fans of metal, the old school thrashers, even the newer fans of metal and let them know this is how it's supposed to be.
I'd give this disc an 8.
So go check them out at the links below, and buy their tunes, well worth the money.
Band: Brood of Hatred Album: Skinless Agony Label: Crime Records Genre: Death Metal Country: Tunisia (North Africa) Release Date: March 2014
To start out this review, my geography sucks I actually had to look up Tunisa didn't know where it was honestly. Now I do.. it's part of North Africa. At first I thought Brood of Hatred was going to be one of those cheesy everday generic clone death metal bands that spring out like termites from rotted wood. I was completely wrong on that assumption. But I still enjoy all those cheesy death metal clone bands, so not shooting them down either by any means.
Brood of Hatred have some good and heavy riffs, not to mention quite melodic too. Definitely one of the more progressive death metal bands I've heard lately. Will definitely add them onto my list of favorites to keep in my mp3 player to say the least. Love the heavy bass on this, it doesn't over power like say Overkill or some others, but it does stand out quite a bit. The guitars and drums sound good as well on this, the disc certainly has a live feel to it in my opinion. Haunting atmospheres abound on this cd, along with some soundclips placed here and there for a good touch of atmosphere. They fit into the music to say the least, which is a good thing to say the least. They have some videos up on their YouTube page scope out the link below as well as the video below.
Like alot of the international bands this reviewer tends to listen to I can always tell the music is much more solid and unique sounding compared to say most US based bands which quite a few sound generic and sound the same. The disc is just shy of 42 minutes, the songs are all a decent length as well.
Tracklist:
01 Deconstruction
02 The Mind That Emerged
03 Technological Genocide
04 Cacophony In The Creation
05 The Singularity Is Near
06 Skinless Agony
07 Predestined Suicide
08 Obsession
09 Disbelief Grows
Total Playing Time: 0:41:45
I would highly recommend this band to anyone who listens to say Beheaded, Internal Suffering among other heavy hitters like Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, etc. Go check them out, I give this disc an 8 out of 10, could of been longer and I'd of been a happy camper.
Band: Cynic Album: Kindly Bent To Free Us Label: Season of Mist Genre: Progressive Metal Country: US Release Date: February 2014
Now I've been a fan of Cynic since their first disc "Focus" was released back in 1993. Which of course got the remastered treatment by the original label Roadrunner Records in 2004... They hail from Florida, but they're not you're every day death metal band from Florida. Back then they had the label "Progressive Death" slapped on them. They are so far beyond that label especially now with their new disc "Kindly Bent To Free Us". They certainly haven't lost their technical edge they've had since the beginning, gone are the growly vocals they used to have. But that certainly doesn't detract from their music. The only band that closely relates to Cynic is fellow labelmates Athiest both are amazing bands and ahead of their time.
Musically their still at the crossroads of a metal and jazz fusion, so obviously they're not for everyone. So yeah, those death metal, black metal freaks and the "Hot Topic crowd" expecting breakdowns, blast beats and all that.. can go jump in a muddy pit elsewhere slamming into each other.
Back to the review, if you like your music technical, and perhaps experimental at times you'll enjoy this disc. The regular edition of the disc falls just short of 42 minutes. The music is crisp and clear, every instrument is clear sounding as it always is. If you want to read up more on Cynic as a whole and on their history visit their Season Of Mist page linked below this review, it's quite a good read.
Tracklist:
1. True Hallucination Speak
2. The Lion’s Roar
3. Kindly Bent to Free Us
4. Infinite Shapes
5. Moon Heart Sun Head
6. Gitanjali
7. Holy Fallout
8. Endlessly Bountiful
Total Playing Time: 0:41:51 (before the bonus track)
Bonus track (Deluxe Edition)
9. Earth Is My Witness
Certainly one band I give a solid 10 for, due to their originality, and forward thinking in regards to music. Not many bands can touch the areas that Cynic reach and travel. Honestly at times it's hard to describe their sounds, so it's best just to give them a listen. Pretty sure you'll enjoy what you hear.
Band: Adrenaline Mob Album: Men of Honor Label: Century Media Genre: Hard Rock Country: US Release Date: 2/18/2014
What we have here with Adrenaline Mob with their 2nd disc is your standard hard & heavy rock. The opening track which is an instrumental sounds like the ending to the cd honestly. After that exit track, oops I mean intro.. The music itself begins, and what I hear isn't half bad to be honest. Obviously like some discs, you'll have a few clunkers that could of been tossed into a well like old change like the 5th song "Let It Go" should of been one of them.
Anyways, the music itself is crisp and clear and you can hear all the instruments without them being drowned out by one another. To me that's always good as I hate muddy production on any album regardless of music genre. For a roughly 47 minute disc, it goes by pretty fast. As the music sets a pretty quick pace, other than one ballad. The tracks are as follow below...
Tracklist:
The Mob Is Back
Come On Get Up
Dearly Departed
Behind These Eyes
Let It Go.mp3
Feel The Adrenaline
Men Of Honor
Crystal Clear
House Of Lies
Fallin' To Pieces
Total Playing Time: 0:46:36
Now I like hard rock as it has that old school feel to me. This does at time as well. Is it on par with say Benedictum's "Obey" cd (http://metalb0x.blogspot.com/2014/01/benedictum-obey-cd-review.html) Also it doesn't have the certain kick that say Chrome Division has in my opinion which they're more of a grittier hard rock band as well. Like one place I ran across which I tend to agree, the lyrics on Adrenaline Mob's disc are kind of cheesy at times. Not sure if it was done on purpose or accident. The song "Come One and Get Up".. The main verse starts with saying "I hear you took one in the face" What should that be a punch or slap to the face? a moneyshot? Just what really. I automatically thought of the latter.. Maybe my mind is just in the gutter but who knows.
But anyways, it doesn't sound like a band that had a former Dream Theater member in it in my opinion. Anyways I give this disc a 6 out of 10. Like I said it's decent cd, it's worth a listen for those wanting to get more into hard rock and away from the mainstream radio tripe. I love the cover art, granted it's not the most unique though.
Band: Benedictum Album: Obey Label: Frontiers Records Genre: Metal Country: USA Release Date: December 2013
Benedictum hail from San Diego, CA. They're one band that is a staple in my collection, as they reminds me of alot of great 80's rock and metal bands like Accept, Manowar among other heavy hitters. Oddly enough they covered Accept's "Balls To The Wall" as well which is pretty killer. Benedictum have have 3 other albums under their belt and those are Dominion, Season of Tragedy and Uncreation all of which are heavy hitting albums. And they all hit a sweet spot with me of all the music I grew up with most of those style bands mainly.
Their singer Veronica Freeman has an extremely powerful voice, and it fits great with the music. Going by her bio page on their official site, it shows her influences being Ronnie James Dio, Tina Turner among others. Comparing her vocals to others can't really be done fairly as she blows most other vocalists out of the water. But a close comparison would be Joey DeMaio from Manowar and maybe Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden for vocal ranges.
The rest of the band's influences are just as impressive. Such as Peter Wells on guitar, he has some impressive influences.. Randy Rhodes and John Sykes being just two of them according to his bio. The bassist Aric mentions, Geddy Lee, Geezer Butler, etc.. As for the drummer Rikard mentioning King Diamond/Mercyful Fate with their talented drummers all that needs to be said. Anyways the cd is about 10 minutes shy of an hour, and every track is good, can't really pick a favorite out of them. The guitars, bass and drums all stand out clearly and they certainly don't over power the vocals at all. Nor do the vocals over power them.
If you like powerful clean vocals, and classic sounding heavy metal then this is for you. Oldtime rock fans will most likely love this band to say the least. Newer fans of metal you should listen to bands like this preferably over whatever is "hot for metal at Hot Topic".
Anyways I give this disc 9 out of 10, could of been a full hour and I'd be a happy camper. It remains at a consistent speed/tempo throughout and never a dull moment.
Tracklist goes as follows:
01. Dream Of The Banshee
02. Fractured
03. Obey
04. Fighting For My Life
05. Scream
06. Evil That We Do
07. Crossing Over
08. Cry
09. Thornz
10. Die To Love You
11. Apex Nation
12. Retrograde
Youtube Video:
Band Contact:
Official Website: http://www.benedictum.net/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Benedictum.Official Frontiers Records: http://www.frontiers.it/
Band: Caliban Album: Ghost Empire Label: Century Media Genre: Metal Country: Germany Release Date: January 2014
From reading their CM bio it shows that this is their 5th cd since 2007, and their newest since 2012.
Haven't listened to this band too much, as most of the newer bands on Century Media are more mainstream than most. Now on this advanced version if you will. Caliban seems to be heading that way in my honest opinion. They may not not be to some.. Feel free to blast me if you want, but this is my opinion. At times the music kind of remind me of Denmark's Mnemic back when Michael Bøgballe was Mnemic's original singer. But that's where those similarities end. Also sometimes it kind of hints towards Pantera at the Far Beyond Driven era occasionally too from what my ears pick up.
Anyways, the heaviness of the music is what I'm focusing on mostly. As it's top notch in the guitars/bass and drums. Some technical parts to it ala Fear Factory on occasion gives it an added dimension. They have some catchy riffs, and beats which I enjoy. The mellow/slow parts of the music seem a bit out of place in my opinion, but with any band they're always changing styles, directions, etc. This would of been a perfect release in my book if it stayed at heavy/brutal spectrum to say the least. Musically they sound as tight as any band I tend to listen to, as musicianship is what's key for any band. If you don't have that in a band, might as well give up at the starting gates. Gang choruses seem to be a bit over used, they have their place but really in every song and every couple of verses? I could pass on that.
Track list goes as follows:
01 - King
02 - Chaos - Creation
03 - Wolves And Rats
04 - nebeL
05 - I Am Ghost
06 - Devil's Night
07 - yOUR Song
08 - Cries And Whispers
09 - Good Man
10 - I Am Rebellion
11 - Who We Are
12 - My Vertigo
For newer fans getting into metal and such sure this is perfect for the Hot Topic crowd as I'm sure this is what's blasted in the stores at the malls. But these
I myself would give this a 6 out of 10, as I read elsewhere which I agree with, they're trying to think outside the box, but it's not that far from the box though.
Band: Crimson Blue Album: Innocence Label: Self-Released Genre: Nu Art Metal Country: Russia Release Date: December 2011
Crimson Blue hail from Russia they're a good sounding band, although not as heavy as what this reviewer typically listens to. But they'll be going on my list of favorites. If you go to the Jamendo link below they have 3 releases available, this one Innocence (11 tracks), Iceland (5 tracks) and Road to Oblivion (Single - 2 tracks). Anyways the band classifies themselves as Nu Art Metal. It is experimental and sort of avant garde so it might not be for most average listeners.
Listening to the vocals I hear various styles from Evanescence, Kimberly Goss' band Synergy among a couple of others I've heard in the past. It suits the band in my opinion. The music itself is solid between guitars, bass and drums. Also the singer is the keyboardist as well. I'll also add that the way most of the tracks sound, haven't heard anything similiar as of yet honestly so that is a bonus.
The cd clocks in just under 55 minutes for 11 songs, some have ballad parts, others are constant crunchy guitars and kicking bass. The bass sometimes tend to remind me of Primus at times, and Overkill at other times, as it stands outs quite a bit in my opinion and makes it unique sounding. I like the drums on this too, obviously it's not all blast beats, etc unlike others bands I listen to.
I'd certainly recommend this band to others that like different styles of music, and unique sounding bands. I give this 7 out of 10 stars, like I said it's a great cd, but just slightly too mellow, but not so much so that I wouldn't have it in my pile of constantly listened to cds.
Go check them out, support them and enjoy the music.
Tracklist:
01 Iceland
02 L.M.A.
03 Clouds
04 Flax
05 Ave Sensorium
06 Nagual
07 Forest (Atonement)
08 H. U. Lab Experiment I - The 6th Sense
09 September
10 Haesitaio
11 Innocence
Youtube Video:
Band Contact:
Website: http://crimsonblue.ru/ (web browsers will sadly give you a malware warning when you go to that link. So I'd check them out on the other links preferably)
Since I'm on a run of foreign bands quite a bit lately, especially Russian which is fine by me. And I typically find foreign bands usually have a better sound than most domestic bands most times. Bog-Morok hail from exactly that country as some other bands I listen to like Biopsyhoz, Hammerforce (see that review here ). Anyways since I'm accustomed to the industrial metal sounds of the latter Biopsyhoz , Bog-Morok hit a sweet note with this reviewer. Granted vocals styles are differnt. But Bog-Morok sound impressive to say the least.
Had to do some research on them, the bio sheet that came with the release was somewhat of a help. They started out as a one man project back in 1997 by Morok wanting to make fast, loud and technically sophisticated music. Anyways, they have 4 or 5 other studio albums. And a live release available for free as well from what I read. They've had numerous line-up changes, musical style changes like so many bands do over the years, which is natural.
Back to the review itself, it has industrial/electronica elements, some mellow moments in it going back to the heavier parts. It has clean vocals in parts, etc. Somewhat in the style of what Fear Factory does, they do share similiar elements on their music styles. And by some chance you aren't familiar with Fear Factory or never heard them... you've been living under a rock sad to say. Time to dig out the metal history books and do some research kids. They also somewhat remind me of a couple of local bands in my area, which the names escape me currently. But it's all good.
Anyways, the music itself sound top notch, guitars are heavy, drums kick ass, bass is heavy when needed. And the soundclips, and keyboard elements fit perfectly where they need to. Vocals are pretty solid and clear. Some are in english, some in russian. They alternate on different songs, are one song then the other. Nothing is drowned out in the mixing/production of this recording. Obviously as technolgy keeps getting better, so do the recordings usually. There's a decent batch that stuck with me, the opening track Industrialypse, track 2 Glisese 581d, Track 4 Niezbezhnost' among a couple of others.
The 12 tracks are as follow, just clocks in just under 55 minutes -
1. Industrialypse
2. Gliese 581d
3. Не Вижу Зла (Stadiae III)
4. Neizbezhnost'
5. Hellstarter
6. Shapeshifter
7. Bloodsucker
8. Свет В Конце Тоннеля
9. Звездопад
10. IDDQD
11. Undream
12. Der Golem (Fantomas cover)
I give this review, 7 out of 10 stars could of been a little longer in my opinion, it goes by quite fast I think. The somewhat mellower parts don't stand out as much as the rest of the cd in my opinion. Could of kept it heavy throughout I think. But in anycase, for those that like industrial music like this, I would recommend it to them without a second thought. So go check them out, what contact pages I could find are listed below. Enjoy.
Band: Switchblade Album: Heavy Weapons Label: Killer Metal Records Country: Israel Release Date: November 29, 2013
Switchblade hails from Israel and so far only two other bands I've actually listened to from that country are Salem and Melechesh which are both top notch bands in my books. Obviously all 3 are different genres from metal Salem being more death/thrash and Melechesh being black metal. Switchblade is more your standard 80's rock/metal band.
As Switchblade's bio says they're not trying to reinvent metal but keep the fires burning of the old 80's styles. Going by what this reviewer's ears pick up it's very apparent. Their singer Lior "Steinmetal" Stein reminds me of a cross of Bruce Dickinson (If you don't know who he sings for, go crawl back under your rock.). Also I hear hints of Michael Kiske from Helloween mixed in as well especially for the higher vocal parts. There are some decent gang choruses mixed in as well. Certainly refreshing to say the least compared to all the death, black and grind metal bands out there.
Far as the music goes, it's classic 80's metal like the above mentioned bands. The music doesn't overpower the singer, though sometimes the singer does overpower the music in the mix, but not by much. Did hear a few riffs that sounded similiar to the band Salem. For those that enjoy the 80's rock/metal like all those diehards that grew up with bands like that. You'll instantly fall in love the tunes, and be dragging out your denim jackets/vests with Priest/Maiden patches strewn about the back of it. Though save yourself some embarassment, leave the denim in the closet/chest you put it in, probably 10 times too small for you now though. The solos, fit in where they should and of decent length, the drummer sounds pretty skilled behind his kit. The bass sound clear, and on some of the mellower/slower songs, has a good sound.
The tracklist goes as follows below. It clocks in at just over 39 minutes. It just about average as most cds goes these days.
Tracklist:
01 - Heavy Weapons
02 - Euphoria
03 - Metalista
04 - Lost Lovers Unite
05 - The Lost Kingdom
06 - Infernal Paradise
07 - Curse Of The Father, Sins Of The Son
08 - Into The Unknown
09 - Endless War
I would recommend this album to pretty much anyone that loves the 80's metal. Or to some of the newer fans that want something a bit more modern before I go digging out the older Maiden/Priest collection. Mainly for me, I'd just be lazy, and wouldn't feel digging out my old cassettes of those classic bands. Yes, I grew up in those days of cassettes and vinyl. So bands like Switchblade do make me miss my junior high and high school days. But also makes me realize how old I am too... They will bring back nostalgia for fans. I'd give it 8 out of 10 score.
Well I've been waiting for "Of Unsound Minds" for a bit now since I first heard "Mission of Aggression" from the Lost in Chaos #5 Female Front Death Metal compilation/digitalzine earlier this year (free cd 24 tracks & pdf mag) I wound up inquiring as to the release of the full disc and was told sometime in November. Few days ago found via AfterBlood’s Facebook, it was coming out on November 22nd. So I decided to inquire about doing a review a few days prior, to which I temporarily forgot I asked about. The good ol C.R.S (Can’t Remember S**t) kicking in. Release day, zero funds in PayPal, that ruled out BandCamp still wasn't on Amazon/Google Play as of yet. I avoid iTunes like the plague as it is. Google Play had it the next morning, I billed it to my carrier, T-Mobile. Thank you carrier billing! Then a few minutes or so later I get an email back from their vocalist Hel Pyre with the version from BandCamp with the hidden 12th track. So Christmas came early for me... And yet supporting the band as well via the Google Play purchase. The things we do for metal.
Enough of my rambling, onto the review shall we. There’s more and more all female, or female-fronted bands surging ahead of the pack. And some even blow the guys out of the water vocally. Just some of the ones I do listen to Demonic Christ, Cerebral Bore, Frantic Amber, Arch Enemy, etc. Now I have AfterBlood added to that list with vocalist Hel Pyre as the frontwoman. So due to the above mentioned compilation, I got hooked on “Mission of Aggression” that features Tom Angelripper from Sodom doing some guest vocals. I checked out the band’s site soon after and, was drawn in even more seeing Waldemar Sorychta was working on it. Pretty much just about anything he works on is pretty killer, Grip Inc, Samael, etc. AfterBlood’s site had two tracks for everyone’s listening pleasure “Mission of Aggression”, “Take”. So onto the full disc, it opens with “Take” which is a pretty killer track. Hel’s vocals at times reminds me of Dana Duffey from Demonic Christ, with a mix of Angela Gossow. But certainly not copying either one of them at all and doing her own thing and I enjoy that. Couple of songs, she sounds like this demonic child which I like.
The music itself is solid, and clear as all the instruments can be heard in the mix and none of them overpowers the other, or the vocals. The guest vocals all fit great within the songs as Angelripper’s on “Mission of Aggression” and Antony’s on “The More I Lie”. I especially enjoy Angelripper’s vocals alongside Hel’s on “Mission..” certainly sounds like a good pairing and very fluid between both. There’s several tracks on here that stick out to me as favorites, obviously like I mentioned, “Take, “Mission of Aggression”, “Beyond”, “The More I Lie”, and “Psychonic” the Kreator cover “Phobia” is a good cover and a good bonus track to be had. I know there's always some fans that are like or will be “nothing beats the original”. But I've heard some cover songs that beat the originals over the years. .
The songs do flow smoothly from one to another, a couple of tracks have keyboard parts added for some atmosphere, either in the opening or in the middle of it. As quoted on their site “The perfect blend of aggression and darkness - Waldemar Sorychta” I certainly agree, there’s a lot of good dark parts and certainly some good melody/rhythm sections. The solos, are pretty good too, they fit the structure of the music and are not ridiculously long like some bands go for.
The tracklist is as follow:
1. Take
2. Before Time Runs Out
3. Mission of Aggression (feat Tom Angelripper/Sodom)
4. Thoughts of Black
5. Play Dead
6. Beyond (feat. Waldemar Sorychta)
7. Calling the Dead (Seance)
8. Helheim
9. The More I lie (feat Antony Hamalainen/ex-Nightrage)
10. Psychonic
11. Goodnight
12. Phobia (Bonus Track/Kreator)
Overall I find this cd good and solid I highly recommend it and give it an 9 out of 10 stars. Only reason I didn't give it a 10, was it wasn't long enough, well it was, but 42 minutes flew by faster than I realized. Anyways, go buy it and support the band they deserve it.
Band: Deicide Album: In The Minds of Evil Label: Century Media Country: United States Release date: November 25
Keep in mind this is a preview/promo version I'm listening to. The good ol' internet and it's vast resources. As everywhere from what I gather the release date is November 25th according to the Century Media's site it's the 26th. Probably due to Thanksgiving coming up for most retailers, other than Amazon who will have it on the 25th. So go get your pre-orders in for it if you want it asap. Go here for CM Distro - http://smarturl.it/inthemindsofevilCMD This cd being their second release for Century Media. And considering I own every other release of theirs, I can't wait to get my hands on the actual version.
The new Deicide "In The Minds of Evil" starts out with a good quote which is so true about politics and religion. But I'm not delving into those arenas as I avoid both with a passion. But the quote is "Some men just want to watch world burn", it's true though. Anyways, the cd clocks in just under 37 minutes which is a record I think as most of their cds fall under 30 minutes. Not only do you have the blazing guitars and the machine gun drumming.
On this cd, there's actually some melody mixed in with the music this time on some of the tunes.
Although I've heard melody creeping in since Owens and Santolla signed on. One band I would love to see live, but would require me leaving the state, as they can't tour Massachusetts unfortunately. Sucks though. Haven't seen them hit Rhode Island either oddly enough lately either.
Benton's vocals are still as sick as ever, and I don't see that changing anytime soon at all. Plus he is the band basically besides the drummer Steven Ashiem. Without them, it wouldn't be Deicide. Musically this cd is as brutal as their prior releases and certainly bypasses some of the releases a few albums before. Granted nothing beats that claymation "Conviction" video, as perhaps the worst video of all time, it was also the funniest (obviously unintentional) in my opinion for music videos. But all their other videos certainly kick major ass.
For me stand out tracks are the title track and last one End the Wrath of God. But they're all good songs with some good music in them. All in all it's another solid Deicide release, and it's good that their not sounding like their earlier albums. Granted I still love "Once Upon the Cross". I think that's mainly due to the amazing artwork on the foldout booklet. If you have it. You know what I'm talking about on the artwork.
There's 11 tracks on the disc, the production certainly sounds clear, though you really don't hear Glen's bass too much unlike some of the older work where his bass would stick out in the mix. Anyways if you want your blasting and semi-melodic anti-christian death metal I recommend with and 7 out of 10 stars. Musically it's killer as always, just lyrically it tends to rehash the same content as prior albums.
They are leaders of the Florida death metal scene along other acts such as Death, Obituary to name some bands. Strangely enough like I read years ago, I'm surprised they haven't retired yet as Mr. Benton said in one interview in the past. But Heck, look at Ozzy he keeps coming out of retirement every year just about. It's the power of metal that draw people back to the folds.
Tracklist:
1 In the Minds of Evil
2 Thou Begone
3 Godkill
4 Beyond Salvation
5 Misery of One
6 Between the Flesh and the Void
7 Even the Gods Can Bleed
8 Trample the Cross
9 Fallen to Silence
10 Kill the Light of Christ
11 End the Wrath of God
WindRunners hail from Ukraine, I haven’t heard of them before until now. Then again so many bands out in this extremely huge metal world of ours, hard to keep tabs on every country unfortunately. But as most metal-heads know, least the more open ones. It’s always good to learn about new bands that haven’t been heard of before. As there's so much to choose from for music out there.
So on WindRunners platter we have a cross between old school thrash and power metal mixed together. Not bad at all from what I’m listening to between this and their Lifeless ep and few youtube videos they sent over as well. One of which is below for their track Lifeless. At first listen the vocals on the cd kinda hit the style that Whitfield Crane did back in Ugly Kid Joe. But with more range definitely, Like some bands you have the entire band doing the chorus which is good.
Going by their live videos and their music, definitely a band to keep fans moving and interested in their music. Probably this reviewer getting a bit older, the old school their type of music is a breath of fresh air compared to all the death/grind bands. Granted I love those bands too, but after awhile change is always good. WIndRunners will definitely be a keeper in my collection right next to bands like Warbringer, and other such bands. I give this disc a 7 out of 10.
Tracks as listed -
1. Undead
2. Lifeless
3. First
4. Time
5. Prisoned in Stone
6. Eternal
7. Evil Potion
8. Cold as Ice
9. Goodbye My Darling
Definitely give them a listen and support them, energetic band and some good tunes.
Just like every other Carcass fan I practically did a backflip on the news that there was a new cd being released after 16 years. Obviously I didn’t as my back is bad enough as it is. Anyways the first single to hit the web via their Facebook and by their label Nuclear Blast’s Youtube page was “Captive Bolt Pistol”. Personally I wasn’t overly crazy about that song when I first heard it. Once I acquired the actual disc when it was released I was blown away pretty much. Definitely a blast to listen to.
Depending on what country/region you’re in you’ll get one or maybe even two bonus tracks. Thanks to Amazon, etc you can buy whichever version you want or all of them if you wish. I know the band & label would love that. The tracks on what I have go as follows.
1. 1985 (Instrumental)
2. Thrashers Abattoir
3. Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System
4. Congealed Clot of Blood
5. The Master’s Butcher Apron
6. Non Compliance ASTFM 899-12 Standard
7. The Granulated Dark
8. Unfit For Human Consumption
9. 316L Grade Surgical Steel
10. Captive Bolt Pistol
11. Mount of Execution
12. Intensive Battery Brooding (Bonus Track)
Musically the disc goes back to earlier days as Necroticism and Heartwork. Just like Heartwork it’s just Jeff Walker on vocals. Why they don’t do dual vocals anymore, nobody knows but them. Jeff is a good vocalist in his own right though in my opinion. The musicians on this album, all but Bill Steer are new, but they sound even tighter than than the they were on Heartwork. Lyrically it’s tongue in cheek as always, the artwork as pictured above goes back to the Necroticism and Tools of The Trade ep. There’s only one or two mediocre songs the above mentioned Captive Bolt Pistol and the bonus track Intensive Battery Brooding was kind of slow as well. Otherwise it’s a solid disc in this reviewers opinion.
Oddly enough the band and label said on Facebook there was a leak, which quite possibly they knew of before hand. But who’s to say what transpired during recordings of the album. So all of you in the metal community, well the cheapskates flocked to find it via torrents, etc, you know who you are. You can get it online for purchase via Amazon, iTunes, Google Play even had it for $5.99 US at one point as a promotion.
Definitely a disc that will be steadily listened to for awhile in my collection. I’m sure in due time they’ll re-release it with all the bonus tracks and singles that came out with magazines, maybe even packaged with a dvd with it. (Take the hint Carcass boys & marketing execs). It’s highly recommended for all Carcass fans new and old. I give it an 8 out of 10 for a rating as it’s that good and solid of an album. Carcass official Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/OfficialCarcass Band Page @ Nuclear Blast - http://www.nuclearblast.com/en/music/band/about/3025043.carcass.html
Band: Hammerforce
Album: Dostup Zakryt
Label: N/A
Country: Russia Release Date: October 2013
This review is on Hammerforce hailing from Saint-Petersburg, Russia. A country I know I want to visit eventually, for various things including some killer vodka. Before I go off track on other topics. To familiarize myself with the band and their history I went and checked out their site, which is pretty impressive covering their history, discography, etc you can view that here at this link hammerforce.ru it’s in English and Russian. If you can’t read either, I suggest using Google’s Translate. Now since that’s out of the way, onto the review.
As mentioned they’re from Russia which brings two other bands to mind that I listen to. One from the early 90’s Gorky Park and another more recent Biopsyhoz. Both extremely talented bands, and I’ll include Hammerforce in that grouping as well. It might just me but when bands sing in their native language, I find it very refreshing. Sure, even if you don’t know what they’re saying as you may not know the language. The music itself will still get you moving, one thing that drew me to Dimmu Borgir in the early days singing in their native Norwegian as opposed to English as the words sometimes lose their meaning in translation. Or it may not fit into the music properly if it’s in any other language but the native one.
The album consists of the following 9 tracks, which range from almost 4 to 6 minutes.
1. Твоя война (Tvoya Voyna) 04:51
2. Стереотипы (Stereotipy) 03:43
3. Никто (Nikto) 05:16
4. Масс-медиа (Mass-Media) 05:17
5. Беглец (Beglets) 03:55
6. Вторая земля (Vtoraya Zemlya) 05:41
7. Смена поколений (Smena Pokoleniy) 04:16
8. Размышления (Razmyshleniya) 03:52
9. Доступ закрыт (Dostup Zakryt) 04:19
To further familiarize myself with the band, I checked out their earlier releases 2009’s “Dice” and March 2013’s English version of “Access Denied”. As this review is on “Dostup Zakryt” the Russian language version of “Access Denied” which I heard was received quite well per the band’s site.
Now I did notice the English version of “Access Denied” had a bit of a heavier mix, compared to the newer “Dostup Zakryt”. Maybe it was due to the change in languages as well as singers. But it takes away nothing from the newer release. Somewhat reminds me of Dream Theater at times which is a good thing.
Anyways, as Nikita (their singer, manager, producer, and keyboardist) states that they’re Power Progressive Metal. I have to agree with that, it is highly keyboard and synth influenced, by no means taking away from the music as it fits in cleanly. At times they remind me of Dragon Force sound-wise without the over the top guitar solos. The production is very clear, sometimes the guitars get drowned out, not by a huge margin though. The vocals, are of the clean variety, so if you’re looking for deathly growls, it’s not here. I happen to enjoy any kind of vocals in metal, clean vocals included.
Band: Gorguts
Album: Colored Sands
Rel. Date: August 2013
Label: Seasons Of Mist
Country: Canada
This year the metal community saw new releases by two legendary metal bands, Gorguts and Carcass. I’m focusing on Gorguts on this review currently. Gorguts is back with Colored Sands their first in well over 10 years. Longtime fans of the band will be divided with this new disc, as I’m sure they were with 1988’s Obscura and 2001’s From Wisdom To Hate. Both of which are good solid albums. Although, in parts they seemed like Apple Maps, all over the place with numerous fans lost. Plus die-hard fans are possibly disappointed they haven’t gone back to the Considered Dead or Erosion of Sanity sounds. But as well all know, numerous bands evolve where others stay the same. Obviously I’m not going to be pointing fingers at which ones.
Colored Sands has 9 tracks and weighs in at just over the hour mark. Only track 5, the instrumental, falls in under 5 minutes, rest are 6 minutes and up. Not sure if any other countries had bonus tracks off the top of my head. But feel free to let me know if they did.
Track list is as follows
1. Le Tuit Du Monde
2. An Ocean of Wisdom
3. Forgotten Arrows
4. Colored Sands
5. The Battle of Chamdo
6. Enemies of Compassion
7. Ember’s Voice
8. Absconders
9. Reduced to Silence
Le Tuit Du Monde starts out the disc with a massive wall of sound, then it slows down to a mid-range part with Luc Lemay whispering some lyrics, then it builds back up to the heaviness, and it alternates between both segments. Most of the following tracks all have similar variations in sound, from the mid-range/mellow parts to the wall of metal. It goes by at a steady constant pace all around. Some call it avant garde tech death or some such nonsense genre. It’s death metal plain and simple.
The production on the album sounds crystal clear, the instruments all have their own place, none of which overpower the others. Luc’s voice is just as impressive as ever, the new members to the band are extremely tight in sound. The Battle of Chamdo (track 5) is the only instrumental on this cd, and it’s mostly cellos, violins. It’s fits in good with the atmosphere on the disc. Kind of reminds me of the old black & white horror movies.
Anyways if you’re looking for something new and different to listen to, I recommend checking it out. I’d give it an 8 out of 10.
Wild Card is a 2nd studio album by ReVamp, a
symphonic metal band from Netherlands formed by the lead singer Floor Jansen,
after the split up of her former band After Forever,
and it is rather strong album.
The band’s style can be described as female
fronted melodic metal with symphonic elements.
The sound is constituted mainly by the
contrast between heavy low-tuned guitars (the tuning works well to support the
music instead of just muffling the sound) and the lead singer, who floats above
the guitar floor and is in the center of the focus; this is encapsulated by the
keyboard work that adds a lot of “melodicness” to the music by dynamically
getting smaller and bigger without drawing too much attention and also
occasionally supports the feeling of rhythm by synthetic sounds.
The whole machine is powered by a
uncompromising drum work that sometimes can be reminding of power metal bands. (Last minute edit: I almost forgot to mention the bass work, which in itself can give an idea - it's a classical nowhere-to-be-heard-unless-missing bass that delivers a standart performace, nothing less, nothing more)
The songwriting represents a balance between
simple melodic mayhem and prog complexness, which does not mean that this is
some kind of math metal - it is pretty straightforward metal, but rarely
remains the same for too long, it changes often enough to keep you interested
what is lurking behind another corner - you’ll find that every corner is a step
up on a stairway of gradation that is often released straight in your face.
As you may have guessed from the statements
above, the album is very energic, which is clear right from the beginning with
the opener “The Anatomy Of A Nervous Breakdown (TAOANB from now on)- On The Sideline”, that serves you a refrain
catchy enough to prevent you from switching to something else. The djentish
riffing of the following track “TAOANB - Limbic System” introduces somehow darker
feeling of melancholy that becomes more apparent as the album progresses to the
2nd half, until then you will hear the title track “Wild Card” that carries
somehow comforting feeling, but also one thing that is not positive on the
album - sometimes it feels a bit homogenous, if you don’t concentrate on
certain tracks, it becomes quite all the same - just a heavy locomotive
transporting a singing woman and some guys playing metal. It is partly the case
of the title track, that doesn’t really become that interesting until about the
middle, the highlighted piano during the chorus doesn’t save it. Luckily
enough, just the following track “Precibus” is one of my personal faves and
combines calmer, even romantic passages where Jansen shows that opera singing
is not a problem for her (along with harsh vocals after the 2nd half), with a
very catchy chorus. “Nothing” works on a similar base and then comes the last
“TAOANB” track, named “Neurasthenia” and where is introduced Devin Townsend,
who sings in the role of a darker half of the self. Another personal fave, this
one really kicks __s, it is like an invitation to headbanging that accumulates
tension in calm moments and releases it into an epic chorus; both singers go
nuts and show a bit broader emotional spectrum than on the rest of the album
(no, not biaised at all, haha). Following “Distorted Lullabies” catches by
calmer verses that lead into a relatively satisfying chorus and orchestral
bridge to a nice guitar solo. “Amendatory” is one of the rare songs of the
album where the guitar riff is kind of constituting part of the song for a
while, instead of making just a distorted floor as usually; the 2nd half of the
song makes you aware of the dark feeling that is hidden behind a good part of
the songs and gets more noticeable since the duet with Devin Townsend.
“Can I Become” is a decent one with a catchy
chorus and an awesome solo part.
Then comes “Misery’s no crime”, which stands
about on the same level as the duet. It’s not just because of the
grunted verses by Mark Jansen, it’s very dark and monumental especially during
the chorus and it works well with the contrast of Mark’s grunt and Floor’s
clean singing. Following track “Wolf and dog” again stands out because of
a noticeable djenty riffing, grading ambient passages and nice proggy part
after the 2nd half. The bonus track “Sins” doesn’t really stand out but is
pretty decent, though would not be a better finisher than “Wolf and dog”.
To sum it up, this is pretty strong album and
if you like female fronted metal, you will probably not regret getting it. It is pop enough to attract and metal enough to maintain. The
downside could be occasional homogeneity of the songs, but this is balanced by
the kickass songs found across the album.
