Category Archives: Album Reviews

Album Review – Scorpions / Return to Forever (2015)

Posted on by
3

This rock may be rolling home after so many years of good service, but it still has A LOT to teach the world on how to make true Hard Rock.

Rating2

scorpions_return to forever50 years ago, in Germany, Rudolf Schenker, only 16 years old, decided to follow any school boy’s dream and formed a Rock N’ Roll band, the Scorpions. Schenker, alongside his band mates, put together awesome melodies and great lyrics, added a bunch of exciting backing vocals, touching powerful ballads, crazy guitar solos that made everyone want to be a rock star, and the formula for perfect Hard Rock was created. It turns out that half a century later, this magic formula still works and Scorpions are still one of the most important names of all times in Rock N’ Roll history.

Since Scorpions were formed, countless musicians have joined and left the band, but for the past 11 years the group has a strong line-up with Rudolf on lead guitar; Klaus Meine – who joined the band in 1969 and recorded every Scorpions’ album – on lead vocals; Matthias Jabs on rhythm guitar; James Kottak on drums; and Paweł Mąciwoda on bass guitar. In 2010, the band released Sting in the Tail, which was announced supposedly as the last album of their career. And we are glad they have changed their minds. In 2011 they were back to the studio to work on new material, and although 2014 was not an easy year for the band, with the arrest and period of rehab of Kottak, they rejoined forces to finish the album and the result is Return to Forever, a masterclass on how Hard Rock is supposed to be, released this year to mark the band’s 50th anniversary.

The album is available as a standard album, limited deluxe CD which contains four bonus songs, iTunes version with the same songs as the limited deluxe edition plus the song “Delirious”, double heavyweight vinyl and a limited edition collector’s box set. According to the band, the songs were written between the early 1980’s and 2014 and we can notice the changes and evolution of the musicality through the tracks. The album starts in a very thrilling way: the first song, Going On With A Bang, has a lot of influences of Blues but with a lot of Rock N’ Roll, and is one of the newest songs written for this album; then comes We Built This House, the first single for this album (check the video below). This song is very meaningful and tells the story of Scorpions, the ups and downs and everything they have learned along the way. This song is really touching and beautiful and has those classical backing vocals known on Scorpions work that make all of us, in the audience of their concerts, to sing it out loud together. Rock My Car is a very exciting song: written many years ago, it talks about driving fast on the famous German Autobahn highways. And this song carries all that high-speed feeling, with a breathtaking solo.

House Of Cards, the first ballad of the album, is very deep, exploring different levels of love, until it turns into hate and fades away. All For One is all about friendship and complicity the musicians find in each other to keep the band going on. The beginning of the next song, Rock ‘N’ Roll Band, sounds just like “I Can”, an old song by their German fellows of Helloween, but then the song gets its own shape and turns into a real Rock N’ Roll anthem. Klaus Meine wrote this song in the 1980’s and found the inspiration after visiting some clubs on Sunset Boulevard, in Los Angeles, so you can imagine the environment of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll he found back then.

Catch Your Luck And Play was originally written for the 1988 album Savage Amusement. Rudolf Schenker wrote a new chorus to this nice song, the kind all fans enjoy singing together with the band while clapping their hands tirelessly. Then we have Rollin’ Home, one of the best songs of the album, with great performances by all musicians – it is amazing to notice, for example, that after so many years Klaus’ voice has not changed a tone. But what is intriguing in this song is the message contained in it. It sounds like a good-bye, especially on the chorus (“Here we go! / This rock in rollin’ home”) that, again, has an amazing work on backing vocals. Hard Rockin’ The Place is another good example of Hard Rock, with an amazing riff.

scorpionsLight up your lighters, or your cell phones, because Eye Of The Storm is the perfect song for that and to calm down a little bit before more of their fast Rock N’ Roll. It was supposed to be released in Humanity: Hour I (2007), but did not fit to the album. It has a beautiful solo, maybe the strongest of this album. The Scracth sounds like those old Rock N’ Roll songs from the 1950’s – the highlights here are definitely the drums and the bass that bring a very unique groove to the song. Gypsy Life is a ballad like no other band can do, only Scorpions. It closes the standard version of the album in a very nice way and, again, reflects Scorpions’ life style, living year after year on the road.

For those who got the deluxe or iTunes versions, there are still some bonus tracks. The first is The World We Used To Know, which somehow does not fit well to the rest of the album, although it has good lyrics and backing vocals, but, not such a strong work on guitars. Dancing With The Moonlight, on the other hand, puts everybody to dance. When The Truth Is A Lie has great acoustic guitars alongside the electric guitars, and this combination gives a calm element but still keeps the song quite heavy. Who We Are basically puts together acoustic guitars, Klaus’ amazing voice and stunning backing vocals, and the result is another very deep ballad with the band’s trademark. Delirious closes the iTunes version in a great manner: another song wtih those riffs only a band like Scorpions can do.

It is quite easy to imagine most of those songs being played live and driving the crowd crazy. Is this the very last Scorpions album? We cannot tell. If so, we know we have in our hands a very intimate album, that take us closer to the lives of those iconic musicians. If not, and we hope it is not, we know we still have a lot to learn with those veterans of Rock N’ Roll. One thing we know for sure: they did their job very well throughout the years, leaving their names carved forever in the world of music.

Best moments of the album: Going Out With A Bang, We Built This House, Rock N’ Roll Band, Rollin’ Home and Gypsy Life.

Worst moments of the album: The World We Used to Know.

Released in 2015 Sony Music

Track listing
1. Going Out With A Bang 3:47
2. We Built This House 3:53
3. Rock My Car 3:20
4. House Of Cards 5:05
5. All For One 2:58
6. Rock ‘N’ Roll Band 3:54
7. Catch Your Luck And Play 3:33
8. Rollin’ Home 4:03
9. Hard Rockin’ The Place 4:06
10. Eye Of The Storm 4:27
11. The Scratch 3:41
12. Gypsy Life 4:51

Limited Edition/iTunes bonus tracks
13. The World We Used To Know 3:51
14. Dancing With The Moonlight 3:42
15. When The Truth Is A Lie 4:27
16. Who We Are 2:33

iTunes exclusive bonus track
17. Delirious 2:58

Band members
Klaus Meine – lead vocals
Matthias Jabs – lead guitars, rhythm guitars, acoustic guitars
Rudolf Schenker – rhythm guitars,lead guitars, backing vocals
Paweł Mąciwoda – bass guitar
James Kottak – drums, backing vocals

Album Review – Heaven Abhorred / Opening The Gates EP (2015)

Posted on by
1

This promising American Black Metal band wants to open the gates of hell with their solid and raw feast of extreme music.

Rating5

heaven-abhorredIf you’re a fan of bands such as Behemoth, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth and Dissection, and if you’re one of those people that think Black Metal should sound as raw and evil as possible, you’ll have a great time listening to Opening The Gates, the new EP by American Black Metal band Heaven Abhorred. Formed in the winter of 2012 in Sayre, Pennsylvania in the United States by multi-instrumentalist Chris Marshall, the band is for the most part a solo project, occasionally joined by Josh Chacona on vocals and Jeremy Marshall on bass, but more important than that it’s an amazing fountain of dark and extreme music.

Although Heaven Abhorred sing about Satanism, misanthropy and other controversial topics, it’s their music that truly stands out. Their raw Black Metal, mixed with other sinister and violent genres like Doom Metal and Death Metal, keeps the band loyal to the foundations of extreme music and to their own beliefs. As stated by Chris Marshall about the overall progress of their music, “The quality of the work is still very much raw and original. We don’t mix any of our tracks yet and we like to keep that raw black metal feel.” When you read something like this coming directly from the leader of the band, you know the music is going to be at the same time very honest and bestial, right?

The obscure Full Moon Ritual kicks off the EP offering the listener some of those low-tuned mesmerizing riffs that are an intrinsic trademark of Doom Metal, with the visceral growling by Chris Marshall enhancing the song’s dark and diabolical atmosphere even more. Although it is far from being traditional Black Metal, no one can say it’s not as blasphemous and disturbing, which I’m pretty sure was the main objective of Heaven Abhorred with this song. After this nocturnal tune we have a wicked display of raw Black Metal entitled Opening The Gates, where the vocal lines transpire suffering and evil. Moreover, it fires those crude blast beats the exact way fans of old school Black Metal love, almost as if Heaven Abhorred were saying they really want to open the gates of hell with their sick music.

heaven abhorredFocusing on Blackened Death Metal vocals and guitar lines similar to what Behemoth do nowadays, Father Of Lies keeps up with the obscurity crafted by the band in their previous songs. Not even the programmed drums are capable of reducing the song’s rawness, and there’s even time for a pretty decent guitar solo to add an extra layer of complexity to it. And then we have Children of The Night, a 9-minute spectacle of pure extreme music, showcasing harsh vocals and blast beats in a wicked sync, dark riffs keeping up with the speed of the song, and lyrics that are obviously not about beautiful or positive topics. It’s an apocalyptical ending to a diabolical EP, leaving the listener completely disoriented when it’s over.

It’s noteworthy how Heaven Abhorred were capable of traveling through so many different types of extreme music in such a short amount of time in this EP. If you think about it, none of the songs sound the same, each having their own uniqueness and electricity, and we’re talking about only around 20 minutes of music. The band has already started working on their debut full-length album, and if this EP is any indication of how creative and skillful this band is we will soon have another awesome Black Metal album available in the market. For now, go to SixSixSix Music’s official BandCamp page to listen to and purchase Heaven Abhorred’s music and, who knows, witness the gates of hell opening right before your eyes.

Best moments of the album: Opening The Gates.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2015 SixSixSix Music

Track listing
1. Full Moon Ritual 5:53
2. Opening The Gates 3:04
3. Father Of Lies 3:41
4. Children of The Night 9:12

Band members
Chris Marshall (Q) – vocals, guitars, drums
Jeremy Marshall (J) – bass
Josh Chacona – vocals

Album Review – Ensiferum / One Man Army (2015)

Posted on by
1

Another good heavy music album by one of the most influential Folk Metal armies from Finland.

Rating5

ensiferum_one man armyWhen Folk Metal came into prominence in the early 2000’s, more specifically due to several promising bands from Finland such as Finntroll, Korpiklaani and Turisas, we all knew that was a subgenre of heavy music that was definitely here to stay. However, despite each band having their own characteristics, the nature and limitations of Folk Metal made it clear it was going to be really tough for all bands to reinvent themselves over the years and to avoid becoming stale or ostracized, a terrible curse upon any type of artist in the world. Even with this dark shadow over every band who decided to follow the path of folk and heavy music, Finnish Epic Folk Metal band Ensiferum have managed somehow to remain relevant and kept delivering decent albums like One Man Army, the sixth full-length album in their career.

Fans of the band will agree with me when I say that Ensiferum (the Latin word for “Sword Bearer” in case you don’t know it) have as their main attribute their ability to always craft melodic and epic songs, it doesn’t matter the album nor the speed or length of the song. One Man Army, featuring a great album art by renowned illustrator Gyula Havancsák, is no exception to that and will surely please most admirers of epic metal music. Far from being a masterpiece, perhaps the biggest problem with One Man Army is that some of its songs sound too repetitive and in some cases too epic (even knowing this feature is deeply rooted in their music), but that doesn’t mean you cannot grab you sword and shield or maybe enjoy a huge pint of barley wine while listening to it.

Although the intro March Of War sounds more like “Western Folk” than pure folk music, that doesn’t make it less fun nor harms the next track, the faster and more violent than usual Axe Of Judgment. Can it be called Blackened Epic Folk Metal? Anyway, the harsh screams by Petri Lindroos are quite effective, with the keyboards by Emmi Silvennoinen and its backing vocals adding more “epicness” to this battle tune. Then we have a truly awesome Epic Metal song entitled Heaten Horde, where the 100% Manowar chorus sung by Ensiferum’s “horde” is its highlight for sure and will thrill all fans during their live concerts (“All heathen hearts, / Answer the call, / God of thunder bless our swords, / Our heathen horde, / Will never fall, / We are hungry for blood, steel and war”), not to mention they even used an Old Norse poem in the lyrics as an amazing “bonus”.

One Man Army, the first single of the album, showcases riffs and double bass that couldn’t sound more Scandinavian metal, and again they abuse of the backing vocals in a good way. In addition, it’s kind of impressive how bands like Ensiferum can sing about battles and war in each and every song they record and still sound fresh in many cases. But getting back to the album, after the nice folk intro Burden Of The Fallen, perfect for enjoying around the fire pit while roasting a leg of goose and having a cold beer, Ensiferum offer us Warrior Without A War, which despite its epic start and all the band’s efforts to make it even more epic, especially the “Oh-oh-oh!” in the background, is just an average song with not much to offer to the listener.

ensiferumAnd the boring Cry For The Earth Bounds follows a similar formula: another epic battle intro done by some kind of choir, lyrics talking about war, keyboards giving it an extra touch of magic and so on, but nothing that makes the song outstanding. Quite the contrary, it gets really tiring and falls totally flat after a while. In the excellent Two Of Spades, they finally sing about something that’s not a medieval battle, but a more contemporary type of war: gambling! Its truly exciting riffs and vocals are good indicators they should invest more on this type of raw and direct metal, with its disco beats and Finnish lines being interesting elements added to the song.

The following two tracks, My Ancestor’s Blood and Descendants, Defiance, Domination , form one song name “Heathen Throne Part III”. The first song is pretty boring, with its riffs sounding too generic and its rhythm being as monotone as possible, while the second part is even worse: there was no doubt an 11-minute tune would sound epic, sorrowful and imposing, but the overall result is extremely disappointing due to the lack of energy and entrenchment. In other words, the song just goes on and on forever, with its instrumental parts being very basic, and you even forget to follow the storyline at a given point. Fortunately, Neito Pohjolan closes the regular version of the album beautifully with its awesome lyrics (“Eessä myrskytuulien / Eessä elon taistojen / Aina sydämessäin oon / Neito pohjolan”, or in English “In front of storm clouds / In front of battles of life / In my heart I’ll always be / Lady of the North”). It is as folk as it can be, with Emmi leading the singing and more important than that, in Finnish, making it a very enjoyable tune.

And if you’re in doubt about purchasing One Man Army or not, or which version of the album is the most suitable for your collection, I suggest you go for the limited edition with its four witty bonus tracks. I would say the best ones are the fun Rawhide and the violent Warmetal, which by the way are better than 90% of the songs from the regular version of the album. In summary, Ensiferum might not exactly be a “one man army” as the name of the album says nor the most creative band in the world, but they’re indeed a solid and interesting Folk Metal army that will keep you entertained and ready for battle with their epic and melodic heavy music.

Best moments of the album: Heaten Horde, One Man Army and Two Of Spades.

Worst moments of the album: Cry For The Earth Bounds, My Ancestor’s Blood and Descendants, Defiance, Domination.

Released in 2015 Metal Blade Records

Track listing
1. March Of War 1:32
2. Axe Of Judgment 4:33
3. Heathen Horde 4:12
4. One Man Army 4:25
5. Burden Of The Fallen 1:49
6. Warrior Without A War 5:24
7. Cry For The Earth Bounds 7:31
8. Two Of Spades 3:39
9. My Ancestors’ Blood (Heathen Throne Рart III) 4:30
10. Descendants, Defiance, Domination (Heathen Throne Рart III) 11:20
11. Neito Pohjolan 4:10

Limited Edition bonus tracks
12. Candour And Lies 4:11
13. Rawhide 2:35
14. Warmetal 2:54
15. Bonus Song 4:29

Band members
Petri Lindroos – harsh vocals, guitars
Markus Toivonen – guitars, backing vocals, clean vocals
Sami Hinkka – bass, clean vocals
Emmi Silvennoinen – keyboards, backing vocals
Janne Parviainen – drums

Album Review – Alienchrist / Exolution EP (2015)

Posted on by
Reply

Get ready to have your body and soul abducted by an alien onslaught of Extreme Metal.

Rating5

Front CoverIt doesn’t matter if you believe in extraterrestrial life or not: as long as you believe in Spanish/Portuguese Exocore band Alienchrist and their brand new EP entitled Exolution, your life will be spared. Well, at least in terms of an alien abduction, because if there’s one thing you will suffer for sure are the effects of this Seville-based project’s brutal sonic storm full of deep growls, unorthodox tempos and bizarre riffs. Or as metalheads would say in Portuguese about the music by Alienchirst, “É PESADO PRA CARALHO!”

Formed in 2014 by Portuguese musician Mario Rocha and inspired by names like Carnifex, Whitechapel and Meshuggah, Alienchirst have already played at various events such as the Alburock Open Air in Murcia, Spain, sharing the stage with Even When Dead, Bloodyard, Resurrection, The Fall Of Atlantis, among many others. It’s important to mention that except for Alienchrist’s architect Mario Rocha, all other members are handpicked to tour or to play live gigs, which means this cannot be considered a band per se. Nothing that will stop Alienchrist from invading and conquering your city with their unearthly extreme sounding, though.

In case you have no idea what Exocore is, think of it as the coalition of Death Metal and Metalcore, also known as Deathcore, but with a kind of primeval exoskeleton (or “external shell”) to make it even more rigid and resistant. With that said, you can get a sense of how heavy and organic it sounds, which is exactly what you’ll find in the opening track, Zimabu Eter, featuring Bryan Long from American Deathcore band Dealey Plaza. Inspired by the movie The Fourth Kind, the whole song is a brutal assault of Death Metal riffs and blast beats, led by the deepest guttural growls you can think of. In summary, if an alien invasion or abduction has by any chance this song as the soundtrack, we’re totally doomed.

alienchristSignals continues delivering savagery, with its eerie intro suddenly turning into modern and violent metal. It will break your fuckin’ neck with its badass riff, plus some special keyboard effects in the background that end up establishing an interesting and ominous atmosphere. The next track of the EP, All Seeing Eye, is Death Metal to the second power: it’s like an “alien” version of Deicide with a monster on vocals, and obviously you have to master the art of guttural singing to understand whatever Mario Rocha is screaming.

The Mind Of The Psychopath showcases low-end bass lines and hardcore riffs, adding a lot of brutality to it, as well as ghoulish long-lasting growls by Mario Rocha. What a massacre! Finally, as a bonus to the listener, Exolution has a Dubstep remix for Zimabu Eter, and even if you hate electronic music you must admit this remix is pretty cool, capturing all the main elements from the original version.

You can take a listen at Exolution in its entirety on YouTube and also listen to it and purchase it at Alienchrist’s BandCamp page. As previously mentioned, if one day the human race faces an extraterrestrial invasion (as many people are eagerly expecting), let’s hope for it to be orchestrated by Alienchrist and their ruthless onslaught of extreme music.

Best moments of the album: Zimabu Eter.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2015 Independent

Track listing
1. Zimabu Eter (feat. Bryan Long) 3:39
2. Signals 3:48
3. All Seeing Eye 3:52
4. The Mind Of The Psychopath 3:34
5. Zimabu Eter (Dubsteb Remix) 2:58

Band members
Mister V (Mario Rocha) – vocals
Mister W – guitar
Mister X – guitar
Mister Y – bass
Mister Z – drums

Guest musician
Bryan Long – additional vocals on “Zimabu Eter”

Album Review – Chugger / Human Plague (2015)

Posted on by
3

A fearless band from Gothenburg bringing forth a technical and organic fusion of Melodic Death Metal and Southern Rock.

Rating4

CHUGGER - Human Plague cover artWhenever you think of the Gothenburg Sound (also known as Melodic Death Metal), forged in the 90’s amidst the harsh climate and technological progress in Sweden, names like At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames will instantly come to your mind. Those bands were capable of creating something completely new in the world of heavy music, blending melody and violence in a unique way augmented by tons of catchy riffs and contemplative lyrics. Hailing from the same fruitful area comes the five-piece Groove Death Metal band Chugger, who after the 2013 EP entitled Scars are releasing now in 2015 their first full-length album, the heavy and modern Human Plague.

The initial idea behind the band came up in 2006 by guitarist Robert Bjärmyr, but it wasn’t until the end of 2012 that Chugger actually came to life with their progressive and aggressive musicality. Although they can be seen at first glance as just another Swedish Melodic Death Metal group, perhaps what differentiates them the most from all other Gothenburg bands is their ability to accurately add many interesting elements from American Southern Rock and Metal to their music, enhancing the level of belligerence found in every song in Human Plague. In addition, the album art designed by independent artist Sam Hayles at DOSEprod also effectively expresses the high-tech but organic fusion offered by Chugger in the album.

And all the modern music proposed by Chugger becomes clear as soon as The Grid starts, a song built of traditional Gothenburg sound pinched by Industrial Metal, Death Metal and even Metalcore, something In Flames have already done (but unfortunately got lost somewhere), as melodic as expected from a Swedish metal band and a great choice for jumping up and down with the band. The harsh growls by frontman David Dahl definitely help define the violence in their music, which is also the case in the first single of the album, Virus, where the band truly spreads their “virus” of metal. Furthermore, its short and effective apocalyptic chorus is more than perfect for screaming along with them (“One shot at glory / Ascending through the sky – Virus”).

CHUGGER band photo 2Rust is probably their most Americanized song, especially its heavy guitar riffs and vocals and its awesome headbanging rhythm (providing the listener once again another good opportunity to scream the lyrics with the band), while Never Alone showcases a melancholic slow intro followed by a dense atmosphere, an amazing “devilish” duet between David and Swedish singer Maria Strandén (ex- Therion), and inspiring lyrics about unity and never being alone in our society.

Feed The Fire follows similar lines as “Rust”: it’s another excellent raw and direct metal track with its main riff made for breaking your neck. Not only that, it’s important to say those guys know how to craft addictive choruses (“Burn! You feed the fire / Burn! With everything you do / Burn! You’re feeding the flames / Burn! Time to pay the price”). The following tune, Ignorance Divine, has a strong Gothenburg vibe with lots of rhythmic breaks, from a faster metallic sounding to Southern Metal/Rock riffs and Melodic Death Metal guitar solos, thanks to the great job done by guitarists Robert Bjärmyr and Fredrik Carlstedt; whereas Five Feet Down reminds me of some of the best songs by In Flames and Soilwork. The heaviness of the chorus is at the same level as the most violent Southern Metal, with kudos to drummer David Pergament for smashing his drums during the whole song.

CHUGGER - Spreading the Disease Tour FlyerIn Cut Out From Hell, which despite all its violence is a very harmonious 6-minute song, David offers some deeper guttural while the rest of the band keeps kicking ass at a high level, and after a short display of some nice riffs in The Pendulum Swing the band presents us Endgame, with its Arch Enemy-ish sonority and uprising vocals. Besides, maybe if this song was a little shorter it would have been a lot more effective. And finally closing the album with razin’ guitars and piercing vocal lines we have the title-track, Human Plague, a song that was born ready for Chugger’s live performances where the bass lines by Henrik Östlund are more solid and ferocious than ever.

There are many places on the web where you can find more information about Chugger and listen to their excellent music, such as their Facebook page, YouTube channel and ReverbNation, as well as enjoy an interesting reading about how Human Plague was brought forth with their online studio diary. And of course, don’t forget to purchase their music and witness their furious metal live, as their Spreading The Disease Tour 2015 is just about to take off with many dates around Europe. As the band states, “We are the voice of the voiceless. We do not fear what lies beneath. We are Chugger.”

Best moments of the album: Virus, Feed The Fire and Five Feet Down.

Worst moments of the album: Endgame.

Released in 2015 Rambo Music/Gain Music Entertainment/Sony Music

Track listing
1. The Grid 4:32
2. Virus 4:14
3. Rust 4:20
4. Never Alone 5:51
5. Feed The Fire 4:35
6. Ignorance Divine 5:21
7. Five Feet Down 3:37
8. Cut Out From Hell 5:56
9. The Pendulum Swing 1:24
10. Endgame 5:46
11. Human Plague 6:17

Band members
David Dahl – vocals
Robert Bjärmyr – guitar
Fredrik Carlstedt – guitar
Henrik Östlund -bass
David Pergament – drums

Guest musician
Maria Strandén – female vocals on “Never Alone”

Album Review – Apostate / Time Of Terror (2015)

Posted on by
1

It’s time for some old school Doom Metal with this nefarious Ukrainian band.

Rating5

FrontCover620pxIn case you have no idea what an “apostate” is, it means an individual who renounces, abandons or betrays a religious or political belief or principle, as for example a Catholic person who chooses to violate the Ten Commandments without any remorse. That’s an excellent definition for the massive and dark music found in Time Of Terror, the new album by old school Ukrainian Doom Metal band Apostate. If you are a fan of the eccentric heavy music by bands such as Anathema and My Dying Bride, you’ll love the eerie fusion of Doom, Death and Black Metal delivered by those guys.

Formed in the year of 1993, Ukraine’s oldest protagonists of old school Doom Metal, who started as Black Moon Frankness but quickly changed their name to Apostate, are back with more of their damned musicality after a long pause since the release of their debut full-length album Trapped in a Sleep, from 2010. Not only that, although Time Of Terror looks like an EP at first glance mainly due to the fact it comprises only five tracks, each one of its songs easily surpasses the nine-minute barrier, resulting in over 50 impressive minutes of epic and doomed metal.

Starting with a “classic horror movie” intro, Solar Misconception opens the album offering us primeval Doom Metal riffs and slow-paced beats dictating all obscurity developed in over 10 minutes of music. Furthermore, Lead singer Bohdan Kozub makes sure his vocals are truly inhuman, which together with some interesting background voices and sounds make the whole thing even more macabre than usual. When the following track Pale Reflection begins, full of melancholy and sorrow, you know nothing joyful will come out it: this is the type of song that blackens your mind, with highlights to the relentless guitar lines by Vlad Filimon and Yuriy Savchuk maintaining the song at the darkest level possible, the cavernous vocals by Bohdan, and the Death Metal breakneck speed at the end of it.

ApostateBandPhotoPain Served Slow doesn’t make things any lighter or less horrid. Let’s say the name of the song pretty much summarizes what Doom Metal is in its true essence, with an amazing mesmerizing riff complemented by the traditional drumming by Nikita Holovin. In addition, the second half of the song sounds totally apocalyptical, coming to a crescendo of despair that gives an awesome finishing touch to this excellent track. In Memory Eclipse, darker notes, wicked guitar solos and deeper growls take the listener to a sad world where the entire band also seems to be; followed by the last track of the album, World Undying, which starts with an ominous religious narration before the bass guitar by Alexander Kostko initiates another feast of darkness, with highlights to another killer performance by Bohdan with his somber growls. Also, the faster excerpts and some extra religious narrations amidst the low-tuned riffs are very effective, with the message in its lyrics lacking any sign of hope. That feeling of pure disheartenment was probably what the band wanted to transmit in its 13 minutes, and when this song and consequently the entire album are over you won’t feel quite well.

Highly recommended for metalheads with a true passion for Doom Metal, Time Of Terror can be purchased at Apostate’s BandCamp page and at the Ferrum Records’ webstore, and you can also visit their official Facebook page for more information on the band, check out their tour dates, listen to their music, among other cool stuff. Get ready to have your hellish heart darkened to a new level, because it’s time for some old school Doom Metal with one of the oldest and most nefarious bands from Ukraine.

Best moments of the album: Pain Served Slow.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2015 Ferrum Records

Track listing
1. Solar Misconception 10:03
2. Pale Reflection 10:54
3. Pain Served Slow 9:05
4. Memory Eclipse 9:35
5. World Undying 13:32

Band members
Bohdan Kozub – vocals
Vlad Filimon – guitar
Yuriy Savchuk – guitar
Alexander Kostko – bass
Nikita Holovin – drums

Album Review – Gian / All Life Erased (2015)

Posted on by
Reply

A cohesive and aggressive mix of Thrash and Death Metal by a band with only one objective in mind: erasing all life from this toxic world we live in.

Rating4

gian_cover2255pixThe story of Finnish Death/Thrash Metal band Gian is not uncommon in the world of heavy music: lots of dreams and a gigantic amount of effort put together by the band in their beginnings in Finland in 2005, many live performances which I’m pretty sure didn’t result in any decent money for them, the inevitable conflicts of interest that ended up splitting up the band a couple of times, and so on, including a “hibernation” period between the end of 2013 and mid-2014. However, after all those years of blood, sweat and tears, struggling to survive and to make their Heavy Metal dream come true, Gian are now releasing their debut full-length album, All Life Erased, and based on the music those guys brought into being in this album their golden years seem to have finally arrived.

The band members themselves like to call All Life Erased a “mutated and demented nuclear freak”, and let’s say they’re not exaggerating when describing the album with such lovely words. What you’ll witness during the entire album is a cohesive and aggressive mix of Thrash and Death Metal that will pierce your ears and strike your mind without a single drop of mercy. The album art also tells you so, with the gas mask being one of the best contemporary symbols of our violent and noxious society, providing the whole album an extra touch of brutality.

The gas mask also appears in the opening track, Trauma, represented by a heavy breathing sound right before lead singer Jampe Honkonen begins growling directly in your face amidst a melodic sonority that reminds me of the music by many famous Swedish Melodic Death Metal bands, followed by a true metal storm entitled Bloodstorm. There are many elements from different metal genres in this song, from its Black Metal blast beats by drummer Konsta Vehkala to its Metalcore clean vocals, turning it into a first-class choice for both headbanging and slammin’ into the circle pit. The title-track All Life Erased is another fast and furious assault by Gian, where its Slayer-ish guitar lines by Lassi Pollari and Tuomo Laulainen guide the listener through all the band’s sonic madness.

And there are more fuckin’ razing riffs to make you want to crush everything around you in ZombieChrist, where it’s interesting to notice how guitars and bass guitar follow almost the same notes, while Self-Immolation Party shows us Gian are also good at selecting the names for their songs. This time, instead of nonstop riffs and drums, the band focuses on more consistent beats and especially on the anarchic vocal lines by Jampe, with a great chorus tailored for pepping the fans up during their live performances. Burn presents a band on fire once again, and despite being a violent track there’s a lot of harmony in it, just as expected from any European band.

ryhn1____1pienempiSounding like a hybrid of Cavalera Conspiracy and Slayer, the band offers more of their rousing modern metal in the following track, A Perfect Shot, with highlights to Konsta for his performance on drums and to the guitar duos by Lassi and Tuomo, and in the amazing Pain and Pleasure: it’s indeed a pleasure to listen to this track, but be warned it leaves a huge pain in your neck so hardcore it is, similar to the old school Punk Rock played by Black Flag.

Aggression Unleashed is another good song with interesting tempo changes, huge doses of cruelty in the vocals, and dense riffs inspired by 80’s Thrash Metal, whereas when the music starts to grow slowly but steadily in No Absolution you know hell is about to break loose, sounding even more modern than its predecessors with elements from Industrial Metal and some melancholic passages halfway through it. And as the band’s final blast of animosity we have Capital Punishment, a very metallic and thrilling song where Jampe lays much more emphasis on his harsher screams than his usual guttural vocals.

If you want to know more about this diehard Finnish band and purchase a copy of All Life Erased, visit their Facebook page, YouTube channel, SoundCloud, BandCamp or the Inverse Records Store. Those guys want to erase all forms of life from this toxic and wicked world we live in with their metal music, and with our support they will surely succeed in their crazy and audacious mission.

Best moments of the album: Bloodstorm, All Life Erased and Pain and Pleasure.

Worst moments of the album: Aggression Unleashed and No Absolution.

Released in 2015 Inverse Records

Track listing
1. Trauma 4:58
2. Bloodstorm 4:41
3. All Life Erased 2:14
4. ZombieChrist 3:07
5. Self-Immolation Party 3:10
6. Burn 3:03
7. A Perfect Shot 2:53
8. Pain and Pleasure 2:12
9. Aggression Unleashed 4:12
10. No Absolution 4:41
11. Capital Punishment 3:47

Band members
Jampe Honkonen – vocals
Lassi Pollari – guitar, vocals
Tuomo Laulainen – guitar
Henri Rahm – bass, vocals
Konsta Vehkala – drums

Album Review – The Agonist / Eye of Providence (2015)

Posted on by
5

Veni, Vidi, Vicky.

Rating3

the agonist_eye of providenceAfter a really long and disquieting wait, and obviously after one of the most impactful changes in their entire career, Canadian Melodic Death Metal/Metalcore icons The Agonist finally return with a brand new album, the highly anticipated Eye of Providence, their fourth full-length studio album and, more important than that, the first with the stunning Vicky Psarakis on vocals. But were they able to deliver something as remarkable as their previous releases? Well, not only they nailed it, but Vicky also proves why she was the perfect choice to be the new frontwoman of one of the most influential bands in the recent history of Canadian metal.

With songs revolving around technology and how it affects modern society, as well as some other intimate topics, the whole album has a pleasant and smooth flow that allows the listener to thoroughly sense an interesting interconnection between all songs and, even more important than that, focusing less on melodic metal music and more on raw contemporary Heavy Metal and Rock N’ Roll than their previous albums. In addition, maybe due to the release of the album being delayed for a few months (it was originally scheduled to be released mid-2014), the band added a few extra songs to it, resulting in expressive 13 songs and over 58 minutes of music, around ten seconds longer than Prisoners, from 2012.

If you’re a longtime fan of this Montreal-based band and keep updated with everything they do you already know the opening track, Gates of Horn and Ivory, and you also know how awesome Vicky sounds. Besides, this song has extremely catchy lyrics that will stick deep in your mind for a long time (“With fire at my back / I will tame the waters / I will learn to swim / Fear is not my master”). Would that be a message from Vicky to the world, telling how she’s dauntlessly braving the rough waters of The Agonist? In My Witness, Your Victim, which by the way has a really entertaining and kind of disturbing official video, Vicky’s clean vocals are very solid and match perfectly with the music while her growls give it a fair dose of violence, with the final result sounding robust and gripping.

the agonistHow did they manage to blend Swedish Melodic Death Metal with North American Metalcore so beautifully like in the awesome Danse Macabre? Danny Marino and Pascal “Paco” Jobin deliver some thrilling guitar lines while Simon McKay keeps his beats totally in sync with them, and of course, Vicky’s vocals full of passion and feeling are outstanding in this song. I Endeavor reminds me a little of their classic song “Business Suits and Combat Boots”, especially its drumming and vocal lines, with highlights to the soulful guitar solo at the end of it; while Faceless Messenger is maybe one of their most “European” songs in terms of melody, and I would love to see them playing this song live. Vicky does such an amazing job during this track, ranging from light and smooth vocals to the harsh screams of an evil entity, it doesn’t even sound it’s the same person singing.

Although Perpetual Notion has a promising start, where an acoustic intro suddenly turns into melancholic and violent metal, the rest of it is nothing special, lacking more creativity and depth; while A Necessary Evil is an incredible display of “old school” The Agonist (well, not that old) with a very intense and solid sounding. The whole band is on fire during the entire song, with Simon and Vicky being the sergeants leading the squad. Then we have Architects Hallucinate, which sounds like filler compared to the others despite not being a bad song, and the mighty Disconnect Me, one of the fastest and heaviest of all tracks. It’s Metalcore at its finest, boosted by its futuristic lyrics (“Initiate the procedure to transform my body / Into a greater form to serve your gain / Access the brain to eliminate / The source that constrains us to be humane”) and some great riffs provided by Danny and Paco, while Vicky delivers the goods once again with a brilliant vocal performance.

But The Agonist are not finished yet, as there’s a lot more to come in Eye of Providence:  in The Perfect Embodiment we can see how wide Vicky’s vocal range is, convincing me (and probably all listeners) she can sing pretty much anything she wants to. In addition, it’s interesting to notice how the guitar lines seem to mimic Vicky’s vocals and vice-versa so connected they are. If A Gentle Disease gives us all a chance to see the band in an acoustic version, with Vicky using all the finesse in her clean vocals to help it become a true love ballad, the fiery Follow the Crossed Line, a song full of melody, rhythmic breaks and effective guitar solos, showcases some Black Metal-ish growls by Vicky, adding even more obscurity to it. And lastly, we can savour almost eight minutes of pure professionalism and emotion in As Above, So Below, with highlights to the passionate performance by Vicky who relies almost 100% on her clean vocals to give more life to the song.

I believe you’ll agree with me when I say the album art expresses everything the music in Eye of Providence is: futuristic, aggressive, organic and distressing, which is exactly what we all want to hear from a band so captivating as The Agonist. In regards to the length of the album, I’m more than happy with the fact there’s a lot of The Agonist in all shapes and sizes for us to absorb and enjoy in the following months and years in Eye of Providence until they release a new album again. And at long last, Danny might still be the one to lead the band’s musicality with his passionate guitar lines, but as already mentioned we must admit Vicky is the breath of fresh air the band needed so much. If I was asked to summarize her overall performance in just a couple of words, I would adapt the famous phrase used by Roman general Julius Caesar to inform the Senate of his victory in his war against Pharnaces II of Pontus at the Battle of Zela around 46 BC: “Veni, Vidi, Vicky”.

Best moments of the album: Gates of Horn and Ivory, Danse Macabre, A Necessary Evil and Disconnect Me.

Worst moments of the album: Perpetual Notion and Architects Hallucinate.

Released in 2015 Century Media Records

Track listing
1. Gates of Horn and Ivory 3:25
2. My Witness, Your Victim 4:47
3. Danse Macabre 4:01
4. I Endeavor 4:08
5. Faceless Messenger 5:00
6. Perpetual Notion 4:34
7. A Necessary Evil 3:44
8. Architects Hallucinate 4:30
9. Disconnect Me 3:32
10. The Perfect Embodiment 5:13
11. A Gentle Disease 3:45
12. Follow the Crossed Line 4:11
13. As Above, So Below 7:57

Band members
Vicky Psarakis – vocals
Danny Marino – guitar
Pascal “Paco” Jobin – guitar
Chris Kells – bass
Simon McKay – drums

Album Review – Void Creation / Deadnology (2015)

Posted on by
Reply

A perishing and decaying world in the form of extreme music by an outstanding Death Metal band from Austria.

Rating4

void creation_deadnologyDo you love happy and cheerful music? Do you feel deep affection for bands and artists who sing about butterflies, unicorns and other cute animals? If so, stay away from Deadnology, the brand new studio album by Austrian Death/Thrash Metal band Void Creation. Deadnology is a heinous feast of extreme music which will crush your body and soul, leaving you totally beaten and bruised rolling around in your own blood, but also with an awesome feeling of “mission accomplished” when the war spearheaded by Void Creation is over.

Founded in Vienna, Austria in 2006 by ex-members of Diabolica and Saviour, and having already participated in events like Wacken Open Air 2010 and supported bands like Nile, Gorguts and Possessed, Void Creation are back with their second full-length album to tell us the confusions of a perishing and decaying world along 10 tracks of utter savagery, and they do it in such an impressive way that not only your neck will break, but also your jaw will drop after listening to this excellent release.

It doesn’t take more than two seconds for Void Creation to start fuckin’ slaying everything around them with their technical and totally brutal Death Metal in the opening track 1984, a song full of variations and breaks where the deep bloodcurdling guttural by lead singer Alex will infect your ears while drummer Börni delivers some fast and complex drumming perfect for this type of music. Following that carnage we have Devoided, with guitarists Gilli and Piz making sure we do not stop banging our heads to the sound of their sick heavy riffs inspired by bands such as Deicide and Cannibal Corpse, and Sepsis, with its even more diabolic vocal lines and its violent but melodic guitars and drums maintaining a good flow of the music.

MMA01_photo_voidcreation_promo_01We Give You Hell Tonight is an awesome exhibit of old school Death Metal from the 90’s, very Deicide-ish, and with a name like that we couldn’t expect less than that level of devastation, right?  In addition, Börni once again is an unstoppable beast on drums, and you’ll feel impelled to scream “HELL! HELL! HELL!” together with Alex for sure. Then we have an impetuous track named Ruthless, where the band gets even faster and heavier with the intricate bass lines by Berna giving it even more substance; Symbols From The Soul, the shortest song of all which demonstrates absolutely no mercy for our necks thanks to more of Void Creation’s relentless and technical riffs and beats; and the magnificent Dystopia, which focuses on slower and heavier headbanging riffs strengthened by its dark and hopeless lyrics perfectly vociferated by Alex.

The last part of the album keeps annihilating everything, starting with The Plagues and its harsher screams nicely mixed with deeper guttural vocals. Moreover, it’s simply amazing how skillful this band is, capable of crafting such aggressive music with so much harmony in it. The next song, Thelema, is another good old school Death Metal track with hints of the music by Sepultura in its guitars, with its end being a raid of sheer brutality, before Earthlings 2.0 closes the album in a unique way: this song is completely different from the rest of the album, with more introspective and melodic passages, as if the band wanted it to represent a horribly melancholic end of the world with their music.

Lastly, isn’t the fetus/unborn baby in the album art cute? Of course not, but unfortunately that’s the world we’re living in and we have to deal with that, and nothing better than some extreme music to help us face this brutal reality. Thus, go visit Metal Music Austria’s official BandCamp page or their official online shop to get ahold of your copy of Deadnology. And may God or any other deity of your choice have mercy on your cursed neck.

Best moments of the album: 1984, We Give You Hell Tonight and Dystopia.

Worst moments of the album: Sepsis and Earthlings 2.0.

Released in 2015 Metal Music Austria

Track listing
1. 1984 3:09
2. Devoided 2:49
3. Sepsis 2:57
4. We Give You Hell Tonight 2:49
5. Ruthless 3:44
6. Symbols From The Soul 1:57
7. Dystopia 4:08
8. The Plagues 3:49
9. Thelema 3:02
10. Earthlings 2.0 4:16

Band members
Alex – vocals
Gilli – guitar
Piz – guitar
Berna – bass
Börni – drums

Album Review – ShadowIcon / Smoke & Mirrors EP (2015)

Posted on by
Reply

This Slovenian band proves an opera singer is not always needed to make great Symphonic Metal songs.

Rating5

SHADOWICON_SmokeMirrors_coverFounded in 2006 in Ljubljana, capital of the mysterious Slovenia, ShadowIcon possess the perfect features to make a Symphonic Metal band: heavy riffs, killer drums, powerful keyboards and orchestrations and a very talented and charismatic female vocalist. What makes them different from other Symphonic Power Metal bands we know is that the beautiful Ana Prijatelj Pelhan is not a lyric soprano like other European divas such as Tarja Turunen, Simone Simons or Floor Jansen. Instead, her vocals are a lot more Pop Rock than Metal, something closer to Gwen Stephani’s voice, which makes the whole difference in their sound.

After four years of the release of their debut album, Empire In Ruins, the band is releasing this year the EP Smoke & Mirrors, containing six tracks and with many special guests such as Sascha Gerstner, guitarist of Helloween; Stefan Schmidt, member of the a cappella metal band Van Canto; Olaf Senkbeil, guest studio musician of Blind Guardian; Betty Lenard contributing with backing vocals, among others.

shadowiconThe EP starts – and also ends – with the powerful and exciting (Now I See) Through a Mirror Darkly, full of imposing orchestrations and keyboards. The opening track also has a wonderful vocal duet between Ana and Sascha Gerstner, with its chorus being really catchy (which I consider one of the things that make a great metal song), and after days I have heard this song for the first time I was still singing “I’ll step into your dreams, I’ll find out where you’ve been, I’ll make you wish you were already dead”. The following track, If I Was the One, the first single of the EP (check its official video below), is a really nice track with several different layers, starting in a smooth way and ending a lot heavier. In addition, its backing vocals and keyboards are great, especially when combined with the guitar solos. By the way, the keyboards seem to be a crucial piece of their music, supporting all the heaviness and the drama throughout the EP.

The Edge is a good song, but not as heavy as the previous ones, just like The Beauty of a Rose, a very nice ballad which shows all the beauty of Ana’s voice – her vocals are definitely the highlights in both tracks – with an awesome work done in terms of backing vocals too. My Plea starts in a cool and calm way, with Ana singing accompanied only by a piano before all that symphonic thunder comes back, showcasing more heaviness and focusing a lot more on the guitar lines and orchestral moments than all previous songs. And finally, a version of (Now I See) Through a Mirror Darkly without Sascha closes this good EP. It is still a cool and intense song, but I hope during their live concerts one of the guys from the band can reproduce the amazing vocal duet with Ana because it really makes all the difference in the track.

Smokes & Mirrors is available on several online channels, such as iTunes, Amazon and others, being a solid preview of what can come next on their future full-length albums. Also, don’t forget to check their Facebook page for more news and updates: it’s indeed worthwhile to follow their growth and evolution, as ShadowIcon are a band that definitely proves Symphonic Metal is not a thing only for Northern European bands.

Best moments of the album: (Now I See)Through a Mirror Darkly and If I Was the One.

Worst moments of the album: The Edge.

Released in 2015 Independent

Track listing
1. (Now I See) Through a Mirror Darkly (feat. Sascha Gerstner) 5:35
2. If I Was the One 3:42
3. The Edge 3:42
4. The Beauty of a Rose 4:54
5. My Plea 3:26
6. (Now I See) Through a Mirror Darkly (reprise) 5:35

Band members
Ana Prijatelj Pelhan – vocals
Tomaž Lovšin – guitars
Bojan Kostanjšek – guitars
Matej Ravšelj – bass
Peter Smrdel – keyboards
Žiga Ravšelj – drums

Guest musicians
Sascha Gerstner – additional vocals in “(Now I See) Through a Mirror Darkly”
Stefan Schmidt – vocal choirs
Olaf Senkbeil – backing vocals
Betty Lenard – backing vocals
Jeffery Hayat – additional orchestrations and programming
Matthias Ulmer – additional orchestrations and programming