Album Review – Endzeit / Years Of Hunger EP (2014)

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Are you hungry for some high-end old school Black Metal? These guys from the land of ice and snow are here to provide you all the apocalyptic madness and derangement you want to listen to.

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Endzeit Years of HungerHeavy music in Finland has become famous and respected worldwide due to the Melodic Power Metal by Stratovarius, Nightwish and Sonata Arctica, the Hard Rock by Lordi, the Melodic Death Metal by Children of Bodom, the Dark Rock by HIM, among other great bands and artists. However, If you want to listen to some really badass raw Black Metal, that’s not the best place to go according to what most people say. You should try your luck in other Scandinavian countries like Norway or Sweden, right? Well, let me tell you the beautiful land of ice and snow also has some high-quality extreme metal to offer you, a million light-years more brutal than any of the aforementioned bands.

Founded in 2012 in the city of Lahti, located around 100km from the capital Helsinki, Finnish Raw Apocalyptic Black Metal band Endzeit couldn’t sound more Black Metal than this, with absolutely no shenanigans or any type of soft stuff added to their musicality. Dealing with controversial subjects such as religion, the apocalypse and the absence of an optimistic future (triggered by the decay of the city of Detroit, where modern capitalism has failed), their debut EP entitled Years Of Hunger might be relatively short, but it’s a 100% ruthless metal feast that will leave you totally disoriented, which of course is a good thing in Black Metal.

And there’s no “calm before the storm” in Years Of Hunger: the intro Inception is already apocalyptic (were you expecting anything different than that?), setting the stage for the obscure Hunger, with its traditional Black Metal riffs and drums at the speed of light creating that characteristic somber and chaotic atmosphere found in extreme music, intensified by the excellent demonic vocals by singer Schwarz. In other words, it’s perfect for diehard black metallers searching for new bands but with an old school approach. Following that havoc, we have Godless, slightly heavier than the previous track due to its awesome disturbing riffs, and especially due to the insane drumming by Samuli.

Endzeit bandThe last original composition by Endzeit is the amazing song Life?, where a dark choir in the background “beautifully” complements the intense tremolo picking riffs, creating an even more frightening atmosphere. Besides, I guess I don’t need to say how pessimistic and acid the lyrics are, right? Anyway, an awesome thing about Endzeit is that they manage to play the most deranged type of extreme music you can imagine, but it’s so professional and melodic you actually feel good listening to it. That’s corroborated by their sick cover version of The Dawn No More Rises, originally recorded by Swedish Black Metal icons Dark Funeral in their classic debut album The Secrets of the Black Arts (1996). I personally find this track an awesome “bonus” Endzeit offer us in this EP, very honest to the original but with the band’s own modern and diabolic touch to make it unique.

In my humble opinion, if Enzeit release a full-length album as good as Years Of Hunger EP, available at their official BandCamp page, the “map” of Black Metal might suffer a few changes in a near future, even moving its “capital” to the city of Lahti. Years Of Hunger will surely satisfy your current hunger for high-quality old school Black Metal and, of course, leave you eager for more of Endzeit’s apocalyptic brutality directly from ice cold Finland.

Best moments of the album: Hunger and Life? are truly kick-ass songs.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Inception 1:08
2. Hunger 4:58
3. Godless 5:29
4. Life? 6:42
5. The Dawn No More Rises (Dark Funeral cover) 3:52

Band members
Schwarz – guitars, vocals
Polaris – guitars
Pyry – bass
Samuli – drums

The Metal Moose Show – Episode 2014-10-21

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MMR_logoIf you want to get more information about any of the bands featured at The Metal Moose Show, simply Google the band and/or the song name to find their official website and Facebook page and, more important than that, attend their live concerts and buy their music. Here at The Headbanging Moose you can also find detailed reviews of many other excellent underground bands. Support your local bands… AND FOLLOW THE MOOSE!

On The Metal Moose Show this week (not necessarily in this order):

1. Eternalist – Eternal
2. Vinderblott – Journeys Prey
3. Grim Jack – Damned
4. Every Hour Kills – Chosen
5. Varga – Shark Attack
6. Varga – Beginning Of The End
7. Jupiter In Velvet – Bring Me Back To Life
8. Hey Clown – Third Arm
9. Twins Crew – Last Crusader
10. Creations Tears – Another Collision
11. Zyphra – Emotional Surgery
12. Autumn Burning – This Moment
13. Across The Wall – Back To Life
14. 100 Watt Vipers – Travel N Shoes
15. Blackthorn – Necromance
16. 2 In The Chest – Reno Gang
17. Phosphene – Life On Fire
18. The Curse Within – Condemned
19. Maleficentia – Scarlet Legacy

Click HERE to listen to this week’s episode on Spreaker.

Metal Moose Radio YouTube | Spreaker

Concert Review – Blaze Bayley (Hard Rock Café, Toronto, ON, 10/17/2014)

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The Messiah blessed his loyal fans with pure Heavy Metal at Indie Week Canada 2014 in Toronto.

OPENING ACTS: Laugh At The Fakes, The Blackcloud Syndicate, Spewgore and Phantom

blaze bayley torontoOn a very pleasant not-so-cold night in the heart of Toronto during Indie Week Canada, from October 15 to October 19, Hard Rock Café was invaded on October 17 by around 150 metalheads to support four amazing local bands, with the icing on the cake being an electrifying performance by the “Messiah” Blaze Bayley, as part of the festival’s Metal Showcase.

I can’t say I was expecting more or less people than that, probably a little more due to the presence of such a great musician as Blaze, but one thing that I loved about the festival was the sense of family among all bands and fans at the venue, including Blaze himself who spent a lot of time talking to fans, taking pictures and signing stuff, as well as being able to put some faces to names like Jon Asher, from Asher Media Relations. You will read more about this great guy from Montreal, his business and the bands he works with here at The Headbanging Moose for sure.

IMG_2993The first attraction to hit the stage was Rock/Metal band LAUGH AT THE FAKES, from Toronto, Ontario. Those guys play a nice mix of Rock N’ Roll, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, very old school but with a more polished sounding, and they surely entertained everyone already at Hard Rock Café before 9pm. Although it was impossible to get or memorize the setlists of any of the opening bands, I know Laugh At The Fakes played a pretty cool song called Killing Time, from their debut album Dethrone the Crown, which will  be released pretty soon and, of course, reviewed here at The Headbanging Moose.

Band members
Everett Mason – guitar, vocals
Kevin Daliri – guitar
Galen Weir – bass
Chris Avalos – drums

IMG_2997After some Rock N’ Roll and a short beer break, it was time for Thrash Metal/Hardcore band THE BLACKCLOUD SYNDICATE, also from Toronto, Ontario, to speed things up with their visceral music, with highlights to the wicked performance by lead singer Miko Zolefrapanidis. The guy was on fire, probably inspired by Blaze’s usual performance. In regards to the songs, I truly enjoyed a song named Protest the Riot and their cover version for Billy Idol’s classic Rebel Yell, both from their 2013 release called Rage in Common.

Band members
Miko Zolefrapanidis – vocals
Giuseppe D’Angelo – guitar
Graham Scott Anthony – guitar
Shawn Davidson – bass
Glenn Novak – drums

IMG_3003And there was more violence to come with the third indie band of the night, Thrash Metal/Hardcore veterans SPEWGORE, from Brampton, Ontario. Led by vocalist Bill Brown, the band took the proverbial phrase “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” seriously, as they were able to deliver an almost full setlist in a very limited amount of time. If you enjoy fast, short and brutal hardcore songs, go after the music by this Canadian band. They truly delivered a nonstop energetic concert at the festival.

Band members
Bill Brown – vocals
Steve Macpherson – guitars
Ken Gibson – bass
Mark Macpherson – drums

IMG_3004The last attraction before the Messiah was Heavy Metal band PHANTOM, from Toronto, Ontario, and let me tell you those guys make the expression “New Wave Of Canadian Heavy Metal” more real than ever! What an amazing band, with powerful songs such as their new single Blood & Iron being the perfect warm-up for Blaze Bayley. Kudos to D.D. Murley, Necro Hippie and J.J. Blade for keeping the fire of Heavy Metal burning, and for reminding us why the 80’s were the best decade in the history of music by far.

Band members
D.D. Murley – lead vocals and guitar
Necro Hippie – bass guitar
J.J. Blade – drums and backing vocals

BLAZE BAYLEY

IMG_3015Coincidence or not, when the clock hit two minutes to midnight, BLAZE BAYLEY began his flaming performance at Hard Rock Café, accompanied by the extremely competent Iron Maiden tribute band MAIDEN QUÉBEC, from Montreal, Quebec, who were by the way supporting Blaze in all of his Canadian dates.

Celebrating 20 years of the controversial, obscure and awesome album The X Factor, Blaze and Maiden Québec presented a very interesting mix of his first solo albums (when his band was called only BLAZE) and Iron Maiden songs. And it wasn’t a perfect mix, just an interesting one, because unfortunately there were absolutely no songs from his best solo albums, the masterpieces The Man Who Would Not Die and Promise and Terror, which I can understand based on the fact Blaze is a 100% solo artist now, relying on local bands to build his setlist wherever he goes. I know it might be hard for any band to learn too many “new” songs in a short period of time, and so adding songs Maiden Québec are used to play like Running Free, Whathchild and Wasted Years was the most viable solution for all musicians involved.

IMG_3024Anyway, despite those minor limitations, it was indeed a great performance by “the man who will not die”, with highlights to songs such as The Brave, Silicon Messiah and Kill and Destroy, together with his Maiden-years songs When Two Words Collide (which I saw live only once, during the Virtual XI World Tour in 1998), Lord of the Flies, the all-time classics Futureal and Man on the Edge, and the more-than-perfect The Clansman. How can a normal person not get all fired up with this epic song, especially after Blaze’s inspiring words about living our lives, about feeling the sense of true freedom? This song always makes me want to be Scottish, I just love it!

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The Messiah is among us!

But the most important detail of the whole concert was, of course, Blaze Bayley himself. There’s an expression in Brazilian Portuguese that summarizes the state of a person when he is fearless, brave, lionhearted, and 100% ready for war: we say that person has “sangue nos olhos”, or blood in his eyes in English (not in a surgical way, of course), and that’s exactly how I see Blaze Bayley every single time he’s on stage. He gives it all, no matter if he’s playing for 50 or 50,000 people, and he literally demands each and every motherfucker from the crowd to join him in an incredible metal music havoc. You cannot hide from Blaze, he will see you standing still and kindly ask you “Hey, you, motherfucker! Come on!”, it doesn’t matter if you worked for over eight hours, if you’re fuckin’ exhausted nor if it’s already 1:30am. And that’s how true independent Heavy Metal is done.

Setlist
1. Lord of the Flies
2. When Two Worlds Collide
3. The Brave
4. Ghost in the Machine
5. Silicon Messiah
6. Ten Seconds
7. The Clansman
8. Futureal
9. The Launch
10. Soundtrack of My Life
11. Kill and Destroy
12. Man on the Edge
13. Running Free
14. Wrathchild
15. Iron Maiden
16. Wasted Years

Band members
Blaze Bayley – vocals

Maiden Québec (Canadian tour support band)
Pat Lalonde – vocals
Steven Bergeron – lead guitars
Leandro Alves – lead guitars
Math Gagnon – bass
Jef Rastoldo – drums

Album Review – Witches Of Doom / Obey (2014)

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These Italian guys bring you some awesome Doom and Stoner Metal with a unique goth vibe. They’re the Witches of Doom, yeah!

Rating4

Witches-Of-Doom-ObeyThere were so many brilliant Heavy Metal and Rock N’ Roll bands from the 80’s and part of the 90’s with a strong goth vibe it’s hard to name just a few, like for example The Cult, Paradise Lost and Sisters of Mercy. However, very few bands playing that type of music were created (and survived) in the past decade or so, which unfortunately ended up dragging such a rich genre down to the underground of music. Let’s say that this little “problem” is almost over with the blessed birth of Italian Goth-Stoner-Doom Metal band Witches Of Doom and their outstanding debut album Obey, released a couple of months ago.

Although they’re not reinventing goth, doom or anything else, the way this Rome-based band blends all the elements from those music genres, also adding hints of 70’s Hard Rock and elements of more contemporary heavy music, is beyond amazing. In other words, you’ll be able to easily identify the influence of bands such as Moonspell and Depeche Mode in their music, but it’s far from being just a “cover” band. Witches Of Doom have their own musicality, a modern and personalized goth heavy rock that will please all fans of good occult music.

The Betrayal begins with a Breaking Bad-ish intro before turning into a thrilling mix of Doom Metal and Southern Rock, with highlights to the great vocal performance by Danilo “Groova” Piludu. The last part of the song sounds a lot like American Sludge Metal supergroup Down, especially its raw riffs and soulful solo. Following that excellent beginning, we have Witches of Doom, a much heavier version of that goth music from the 80’s played by Sisters of Mercy and an excellent “business card” from the band (“We are the Witches of Doom, yeah!”), and To the Bone, a song that could be played in any radio station in the world: it’s 100% catchy with a really cool atmosphere. Besides, it’s easy to see how much guitarist Federico “Fed” Venditti loves 80’s rock music based on his guitar lines.

The next track, Needless Needle, is another interesting song full of guitar effects the likes of Paradise Lost and a nice old-fashioned keyboard solo at the end, but its main strength is how the band supports the chorus with their instruments, making it exciting and unique; while the piano ballad Crown of Thorns focus on a more melancholic feeling, especially its lyrics, getting heavier halfway through it.

DSC_0683The second half of the album starts with the awesome distorted guitar and bass lines of Dance of the Dead Flies, which can be considered the first of the two songs that sound like a tribute to the one and only Type O Negative. It’s Doom and Stoner Metal to the maximum heaviness, with kudos to singer Groova for his badass performance on vocals one more time. The second and most Type O Negative-ish song of the album is entitled Rotten to the Core: this is one of those songs tailored to be played during a strip-tease at the most underground Rock N’ Roll strip club in the world, something like From Dusk Till Dawn (and I can even imagine Salma Hayek, or I should say Santanico Pandemonium, doing her sexy dance). In addition, once again the guitar solo enhances the overall energy of the song.

Last but not least, we have It’s My Heart (Where I Feel the Cold), a heavier and a lot better ballad than “Crown of Thorns” with nice piano notes by Graziano “Eric” Corrado and some really dark low riffs, giving it an intense goth vibe; and the title-track Obey, with its tribal intro, powerful keyboards, poetic lyrics (“I was waiting for you in the sky”), and a mesmerizing rhythm. It even has some interesting sitar notes to boost its delicious eerie atmosphere. And just for your information, this song doesn’t actually have 14 minutes: it ends at around minute 8 or 9, “returning” at minute 12 as some kind of “hidden track” that contains only some weird distorted noises.

In summary, Witches Of Doom’s Obey, available at their Big Cartel page, on iTunes and other different places, brings back to you directly from Italy that awesome 80’s goth sonority, offering you everything you loved so much in that era but without sounding obsolete at all. Quite the contrary, those guys are looking to the future of music, supported by their technique, their influences and, more important than that, a lot of feeling and passion for Rock N’ Roll.

Best moments of the album: The Betrayal, Dance of the Dead Flies and Rotten to the Core.

Worst moments of the album: Crown of Thorns.

Released in 2014 Sliptrick Records

Track listing
1. The Betrayal 3:49
2. Witches of Doom 3:54
3. To the Bone 3:49
4. Needless Needle 5:01
5. Crown of Thorns 5:25
6. Dance of the Dead Flies 5:06
7. Rotten to the Core 4:10
8. It’s My Heart (Where I Feel the Cold) 4:17
9. Obey 14:45

Band members
Danilo “Groova” Piludu – vocals
Federico “Fed” Venditti – guitar
Jacopo Cartelli – bass
Graziano “Eric” Corrado – keyboards
Andrea “Budi” Budicin – drums

Album Review – Exodus / Blood In, Blood Out (2014)

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Welcome back to the family, Zetro!

Rating3

ExodusBloodInBloodOutDid any sane and healthy living creature on this planet actually expect American Thrash Metal masters Exodus would not deliver us another great lesson in Thrash Metal with their brand new album, the motherfuckin’ awesome Blood In, Blood Out? Think about it, the band has the one and only vocalist Steve “Zetro” Souza returning since their 2004’s masterpiece Tempo of the Damned, they’ve been providing us the cream of Thrash Metal for years in a row with boisterous albums such as Shovel Headed Kill Machine and Exhibit B: The Human Condition, and they have the guitar genius Gary Holt more inspired than ever with absolutely no mercy of our necks and souls. Even the sick album art is pure old school, not to say totally badass. As the band itself states in this album, “this is a fucking dynasty of thrash notoriety”.

Although Blood In, Blood Out features some very special guest musicians, it’s the “Pink Floyd of Thrash Metal” themselves (as many of their songs go way beyond the 4 or 5-minute barrier most Thrash Metal bands are used to) who truly conduct the whole album almost flawlessly, with highlights to the wicked return of Zetro, of course. I mean, Rob Dukes is a great guy, an excellent frontman and his hardcore voice was perfect for the type of music Exodus generated in the past few years (I’m not even going to say how much I love all of the Exodus albums with Rob on vocals), but Zetro kind of brings back that 80’s thrashier attitude all fans learned to love, and that became the band’s trademark.

Gary, Zetro, Lee, Jack and Tom might have thought “why not kicking things off with the past and present of Exodus in the same song?” That’s exactly what you’ll hear in the excellent Black 13,  where their first guest musician, American hip hop producer Dan the Automator, is responsible for an industrial sounding intro before all hell breaks loose with those insane Thrash Metal riffs only Exodus can generate. It follows a similar pattern as their latest albums, mixing the thrashier musicality of Tempo of the Damned with the melody and violence of Exhibit B: The Human Condition. Pay attention to Zetro’s voice and to the outstanding bass lines by Jack Gibson, those are truly amazing elements in this badass track, followed by another powerful tune, the title-track Blood In, Blood Out: I heard people complaining about its “silly” lyrics, that they’re too basic comapred to precious gems such as “Scar Spangled Banner” and “Blacklist”, but it’s lines such as “If you have the pedigree, welcome to the family” and “Tonight we’re gonna rage and make Paul Baloff proud” what make it so delightful. Can you imagine the humongous circle pits this song will generate when played live? Besides, the whole band is kicking ass here, in special Gary Holt and Lee Altus with their amazing guitar solos.

Collateral Damage once again focus on an old school sonority, and will probably cause some awesome collateral or brain damage to the fans so fuckin’ heavy it is. I simply love the backing vocals and how Tom Hunting accelerates the whole damn thing with his pounding drums. The next track, Salt The Wound, sounds a lot like some tracks from Tempo of the Damned, especially its riffs and acid lyrics (“Full of puss / You’re a Judas and a troll / Lance the boil rooted deep within”). In addition, this song has their second guest musician, albeit it’s just a guitar solo by Metallica’s own Kirk Hammett. At least he didn’t have enough time to screw up everything with his horrible technique.

The massacre goes on with the fast Body Harvest,  with Zetro’s desperate screams during its chorus adding even more violence to it, plus some great guitar solos after four minutes; and BTK, with their last guest, Mr. Chuck Billy (Testament) on vocals doing only some screams and deep growls (and nothing else). This song is based on the story of Dennis Rader, better known as the BTK killer, whose infamous signature means “Bind, Torture, Kill”. Well, I still prefer their song about serial killers Leonard Lake and Charles Ng, entitled “The Ballad of Leonard and Charles”, from Exhibit B: The Human Condition.

exodusWrapped In The Arms Of Rage is direct old school Thrash Metal, perfect for live performances, while My Last Nerve is an excellent example of how even when they slow down and get more melodic, their music is still so violent and awesome it’s impossible to stand still. This is how slow riffs and harsh vocals should be blended together to make an amazing headbanging tune, turning it into one of the top moments of the album. Exodus get back to old school destruction in Numb, a true lesson to all new bands on how Thrash Metal should be played, with a flawless and complex instrumental and with highlights to the job done by Tom Hunting, who seems pretty inspired during the entire album.

The last part of Blood In, Blood Out begins with Honor Killings, another awesome combination of harsh vocals, great backing vocals, insane riffs, and violent lyrics. The deep heavy sound of the bass lines in this song is really outstanding, thanks to a brilliant work by Jack Gibson. Then we have Food For The Worms, with another great vocal performance by Zetro augmented by the song’s dark lyrics, and it’s always impressive how these guys keep on thrashing nonstop like metal machines. And last but not least, Exodus offer us an interesting cover version for British Heavy Metal band Angel Witch’s Angel Of Death, from their 1980 debut album Angel Witch.

I guess I don’t need to mention once again that Gary Holt is an underrated beast, a billion times more awesome than most worshiped metal guitarists I know. The guy is playing with Exodus AND Slayer at the same time, crafting great music like everything in Blood In, Blood Out, and he NEVER has a bad or uninspired day on the guitar. That says it all. Anyway, you can purchase the album in several different webshops and physical stores, and if you live in a blessed city in the US you can check Exodus live touring with Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies, which is beyond spectacular for any Thrash Metal fan in the world. And if you haven’t welcomed the “Hatriot” back to the Exodus family yet (I had the pleasure to see him back live during their concert at Heavy Montréal 2014) and/or would also like to thank him for contributing to such an amazing album like Blood In, Blood Out, this tour will be a very good opportunity to do so.

Best moments of the album: Black 13, Blood In, Blood Out, My Last Nerve and Honor Killings.

Worst moments of the album: BTK.

Released in 2014 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. Black 13 (feat. Dan the Automator) 6:21
2. Blood In, Blood Out 3:42
3. Collateral Damage 5:28
4. Salt The Wound (feat. Kirk Hammett) 4:25
5. Body Harvest 6:29
6. BTK (feat. Chuck Billy) 6:56
7. Wrapped In The Arms Of Rage 4:30
8. My Last Nerve 6:11
9. Numb 6:14
10. Honor Killings 5:43
11. Food For The Worms 6:23

Limited Edition bonus track
12. Angel Of Death (Angel Witch cover) 4:39

Band members
Steve “Zetro” Souza – vocals
Gary Holt – lead and rhythm guitars
Lee Altus – lead and rhythm guitars
Jack Gibson – bass
Tom Hunting – drums, percussion

Guest musicians
Dan the Automator – industrial intro on “Black 13″
Kirk Hammett – guitar solo on “Salt the Wound”
Chuck Billy – additional vocals on “BTK”

The Metal Moose Show – Episode 2014-10-14

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MMR_logoIf you want to get more information about any of the bands featured at The Metal Moose Show, simply Google the band and/or the song name to find their official website and Facebook page and, more important than that, attend their live concerts and buy their music. Here at The Headbanging Moose you can also find detailed reviews of many other excellent underground bands. Support your local bands… AND FOLLOW THE MOOSE!

On The Metal Moose Show this week (not necessarily in this order):

1. Serafem – World On Fire
2. Going Home In A Body Bag – Dont Play Russian Roulette If You Dont Want To Lose
3. Flawed By Design – The Great Return
4. Hellspeak – My Annihilation
5. Discordant – The Herd
6. Scarlight – Curtain Call
7. The Muted Pitch – Based On The Hate
8. Shotgun Eulogy – The Modern Prometheus
9. Yakk – Bos Grunniens
10. Vengeance Within – Oblivion
11. Spirit Descending – Delirium
12. Smack Handle – Controversy
13. Saturate – In Our Own Way
14. Punch Cabbie – Sentience
15. Octave Jaw – She Said
16. Hammer Persuasion – Necropsy Of The Human Mind
17. Deadcell – Forever
18. Leeja Stark – Afterglow
19. Mindshade – Fire Demon
20. Fallen Kings – Adrenaline Junkie
21. Catalytic – Reaching The End
22. Romantic Rebel – Believe
23. From Ashes To New – Stay This Way
24. From Ashes To New – My Fight

Click HERE to listen to this week’s episode on Spreaker.

Metal Moose Radio YouTube | Spreaker

Interview – Dimenzion:Psychosphere

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Enjoy this “cold apocalyptic interview” with Norwegian Industrial Metallers Dimenzion:Psychosphere, where they talk about their career, the importance of the message in their music, the Industrial Metal scene in Norway, among other cool stuff.

DIMENZION PSYCHOSPHERE band photo 3The Headbanging Moose: Let’s start by talking about the band and your brand new album, the excellent Collapse. Can you tell us who Dimenzion:Psychosphere are, your history, goals and plans for the future? Also, how was the creative process for the new album and how did it differ from your previous releases?

Dimenzion:Psychosphere: About us first. We are five guys who’ve been playing together for quite a while, and for many years it was kind of a side project, since most of us had other bands with higher priority. But around 2010 we decided to put more time and effort into Dimenzion, first of all because we all felt this was the band closest to our hearts, and second, because we had more time. So we started working on our first full-length album DNA Phantom Effect, which was finished and released early 2012. Unfortunately we are not very good at promotion, so the album didn’t get the attention we hoped for, and we didn’t get very far. Hopefully will those who like Collapse check out DNA too, cos we still think it’s a great album. As far as the creative process goes, it has always been the same, but this time we had way more material to choose from, which made it easier to shape the concept and feeling of Collapse.

THM: As mentioned in the review of the album, songs like The Machine and Slaves deal with important issues our society is facing nowadays which can lead to some serious consequences in a not-so-distant future, maybe even to the apocalypse. However, despite all that negativity emanating from the lyrics, your music is very melodic and pleasant to listen to. How do you guys work on that balance between “good” and “evil” in your music?

D:P: It all comes naturally really. We like to work with different moods and styles. Though I think when it comes to the important issues you mention, they’re all pretty provoking. So the feelings about it ranges from anger, to sadness and to plain apathy sometimes, and the music is shaped thereafter. We are still angry even if we’re not screaming or growling all the time, and there are enough bands out there who do that already. Harmonies make everything more powerful if not overdone I believe.

afterlight (14)THM: Your “cold apocalyptic metal” sounds perfect for being part of the soundtrack of futuristic movies such as The Terminator, Blade Runner or The Matrix. I’m pretty sure you’re all huge fans of that type of movie and you probably get inspired by those (and many others) when composing new material. What else, besides futuristic movies, inspires the band to create music? Are there any specific books, movie genres or any other sources of information the band likes to go to for having some insights and fomenting your creativity?

D:P: The sound effects, the music and the dystopic feeling of those movies and others like them inspire us, yes. But lots come from documentaries, history, books and of course by watching/reading the news. The world is becoming a police state, with surveillance and new laws made to make us “safer”, which when you think about it, is just a way of limiting our rights and freedom. And it all makes you wanna fuck some shit up, which comes out musically instead of physically in our case.

THM: What about your code names and apparel, which seem to be inspired by bands such as Slipknot and video games like Call of Duty? Could you tell us something about how Dimenzion:Psychosphere decided to add those elements to the band, the original inspiration for that, and what they represent today to all of you?

D:P:  We have always tried to add something extra to our shows, and the all over black uniforms remove the focus on us as individuals, just leaving it to be this unit that is the show. The names came recently to fit the whole concept, by not drawing attention to who we are, but to the whole concept. Not inspired by anything particular, it just felt right to do.

THM: Collapse is your first release signed to a record label. How is it to be working with a record label for the first time in your career, and what can you tell us about your relationship with Crime Records?

D:P: It’s great to have someone to back us up with the promotion and stuff, since as we mentioned, we’re not so good at that. Our relationship with Crime started over a year ago when they heard the DNA album. And they pretty much followed the entire process up to the finishing of Collapse, and signed us even before the final mix. We liked their attitude, so we didn’t even bother to send anything to other labels either.

DIMENZION PSYCHOSPHERE - Collapse cover art

Album Review – Dimenzion:Psychosphere / Collapse (2014)

THM: How is the Industrial Metal scene in Norway, a country known for being the cradle of Black Metal? Do you face any issues sharing your space with Black Metal bands and/or bands from any other music genres there, or is it a very peaceful and even productive coexistence?

D:P: The industrial metal scene in Norway is very small, especially compared to black metal.

We haven’t had any issues sharing stage with black metal bands or any other bands, so I guess you could say it’s a pretty peaceful coexistence. We know several people who play black metal, and all of them have a pretty open mind when it comes to music.

THM: Who are your main influences in music? Which bands and artists helped define what Dimenzion:Psychosphere are today, and which bands would you love to have a “dream tour” together?

D:P: It might be a cliché, but we get our influences from nearly all styles of music (with some exceptions). From all eras too. So naming bands is maybe not so “us” I think. It would have to be a very long list then. A dream tour… Meshuggah perhaps. Devin Townsend, Entombed. Someone not so far from us musically.

THM: What bands and artists are part of your playlist in your free time, when you’re not with Dimenzion: Psychosphere? Do you have any new or underground bands you would like to recommend us?

DIMENZION PSYCHOSPHERE band photo 1D:P: I guess we have our different favourites within the band, so like the previous answer, all kinds of music. We can recommend some bands we work with now and then. Deafmazjiin, Ground Zero System and Among Gods. All from Southern Norway.

THM: How about your current tour plans, especially now that Collapse is fresh out in the market? Which countries are you planning on visiting, how do you choose your setlist, and can your fans expect from your live performances? And are you going to play any dates in North America in 2014, especially in Canada, or is the focus going to be solely in Europe this year?

D:P: We have no tour plans at the moment, but that is something we’re going to start working on as soon as collapse is out. Unfortunately we don’t have a management/ booking agency yet, so that’s probably going to be our next goal. We love doing live shows, so if someone invites us to come to Canada (or any other country) we’d be more than happy to come. I think if you like our albums you’re going to love what we do live.

The setlist we pretty much make before every show, depending on how much time we have. We do try to mix old stuff with new stuff, but I guess lately the majority of songs come from the Collapse and DNA Phantom Effect albums.

THM: Thank you for the interview, or I should say “takk for intervjuet”. Do you have any final words for your fans in Norway, Canada and all over the world?

D:P: First of all thank you for giving D:P some attention and we hope that the readers will check out our music. If you want to get the latest news from Dimenzion:Psychosphere you can join us on Facebook or check us out at dimenzionpsychosphere.com.

Links
Dimenzion: Psychosphere Official Website | Facebook

Concert Review – Amon Amarth (Sound Academy, Toronto, ON, 10/10/2014)

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The most powerful Swedish Viking horde in the world attacks Toronto once again, setting the city on fire on a chilly night.

OPENING ACTS: Skeletonwitch and Sabaton

Amon-Amarth-PosterAs the fans of Game Of Thrones like to say, “Winter is coming” pretty soon, which means it’s getting colder and colder here in Toronto and, of course, in the entire Canada. So why not turning up the heat with some brutality, Viking music and good beer on a Friday night at the Sound Academy? The bands chosen to make our lives a lot warmer were American Thrash/Death Metal band Skeletonwitch, Swedish Power Metal band Sabaton and the main attraction of the night, Swedish Melodic Death Metal icons Amon Amarth.

Opening the night with the same energy of a stampede of raging bulls and still promoting their latest album, the insane Serpents Unleashed, the ‘Witch were absolutely awesome from start to finish, even with very limited time to deliver all their havoc. Chance Garnette’s unique devilish vocals and Dustin Boltjes killing everything on drums were the highlights of their wicked performance, with songs like I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived), Serpents Unleashed and Within My Blood being so brutal I’m pretty sure most of the people who were already at the venue during Skeletonwitch might have an “interesting” pain in their necks and bodies until today. Chance said they’re returning to Toronto in the Spring, so I guess we have enough time to recover until we break our fuckin’ necks once again with more of their demonic metal.

Setlist
1. More Cruel Than Weak
2. I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived)
3. From a Cloudless Sky
4. Burned from Bone
5. Beyond the Permafrost
6. Unending, Everliving
7. Stand Fight and Die
8. Serpents Unleashed
9. Within My Blood

Band members
Chance Garnette – lead vocals
Nate “N8 Feet Under” Garnette – guitars
Scott “Scunty D.” Hedrick – guitars
Evan “Loosh” Linger – bass
Dustin Boltjes – drums

IMG_2975Having recently released their seventh studio album, entitled Heroes, Sabaton had the tough mission of entertaining a crowd extremely avid for Amon Amarth. Well, although I myself consider their music somewhat generic, they did a pretty good job and got a great reaction from the audience, especially during songs such as 40:1, Swedish Pagans and Metal Crüe. Frontman Joakim Brodén has a very limited vocal range if compared to many other Power Metal singers, but his interaction with the fans, in special his jokes about Canada always beating Sweden in ice hockey, were sufficient to avoid any negativity from the crowd and to keep everyone awake and pumped up for the main attraction. The only problem is, as aforementioned, their generic lyrics and musicality: how many other bands, and you can limit your analysis only to Sweden if you prefer, have songs with the words “pagan”, “warrior”, “fight” or “metal” in their names, and those more-than-generic galloping riffs? If they fix that, they can go a lot further in their career.

Setlist
1. Intro (The March To War)
2. Ghost Division
3. To Hell and Back
4. Carolus Rex
5. 40:1
6. Swedish Pagans
7. Resist and Bite
8. The Art of War
9. Primo Victoria
10. Metal Crüe
11. Outro (Dead Soldiers Waltz)

Band members
Joakim Brodén – vocals, keyboards
Pär Sundström – bass, backing vocals
Chris Rörland – guitar, backing vocals
Thobbe Englund – guitar, backing vocals
Hannes van Dahl – drums

AMON AMARTH

IMG_2983Perhaps one of the most stable band formations in the history of heavy music, with the same band members being together since 1998 (and three out of five since their beginnings in 1992), Swedish Viking horde Amon Amarth delivered almost everything their fans were asking for, except for their Viking ship and fireworks, which couldn’t be part of their performance due to venue limitations.

However, the absence of fireworks and other theatrical items was completely forgiven and forgotten when the band started playing their unique epic metal. It was pure brutal headbanging, fists and horns in the air, beer drinking and lots of singing throughout their whole concert, with everything getting even heavier and more fun during classics like Death in Fire, Guardians of Asgaard, Cry of the Black Birds, and of course the highly anticipated Viking hymns Twilight of the Thunder God (where frontman Johan Hegg entered wearing a Viking helmet and holding the Hammer of the Gods as usual) and The Pursuit of Vikings, with all fans screaming as loud as possible its famous epic chorus nonstop, for the band’s total delight. The sincere smile on Johan’s face was priceless.

IMG_2984In addition, their newer songs from their latest albums, Surtur Rising (2011) and Deceiver of the Gods (2013), also worked really well, with highlights to For Victory or Death, Father of the Wolf, Destroyer of the Universe and War of the Gods. I love metal music when it’s played as fast as the band is capable of, which was the case for all those songs. I just thought there were very few mosh pits, maybe because it was getting really late and all fans were exhausted after a long day at school or work, and after so many hours of energetic heavy music. Being a headbanger demands a lot of our bodies, especially when you have such electrifying bands like Skeletonwitch and Amon Amarth playing live in front of you, don’t you agree?

Anyway, during one of his many fun interactions with the crowd (while drinking beer from his horn), Johan Hegg also spoke about ice hockey and the NHL, which makes me wonder if this is the biggest connection between Canada and Sweden, or if Heavy Metal is indeed what makes these two cold but totally amazing countries be so close to each other. Based on the happiness and level of energy spread among all fans that attended the concert at the Sound Academy, and as a true heavy music lover, I have to go with the second option without a shadow of a doubt. And now, all that’s left for us fans is the never-ending wait for another Viking invasion of Canada.

Setlist
1. Deceiver of the Gods
2. Runes to My Memory
3. Death in Fire
4. Free Will Sacrifice
5. As Loke Falls
6. We Shall Destroy
7. For Victory or Death
8. Varyags of Miklagaard
9. The Fate of Norns
10. Father of the Wolf
11. Guardians of Asgaard
12. Warriors of the North
13. Destroyer of the Universe
14. Cry of the Black Birds
15. War of the Gods

Encore:
16. Twilight of the Thunder God
17. The Pursuit of Vikings 

Band members
Johan Hegg – lead vocals
Olavi Mikkonen – guitar
Ted Lundström – bass
Johan Söderberg – guitar
Fredrik Andersson – drums

Album Review – Second To Sun / Three Fairy Tales EP (2014)

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Dark instrumental metal for people who love fast and furious music, recommended especially for the ones that cannot stand harsh vocals.

Rating5

Album artI know a lot of people that really enjoy the vigorous instrumental parts played by most Thrash, Death and Black Metal bands and artists. However, because of the aggressiveness of the guttural or harsh vocals that go along with those types of extreme music, they end up running away from those bands. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I have a very decent alternative for you: Russian Blackened Experimental Metal band Second To Sun and their new EP, entitled Three Fairy Tales, provides you modern and avant-garde heavy metal music, with elements of Black Metal and ethnic Finno-Ugric music, without those vocals that usually give you some undesired shivers.

Second To Sun was formed in Russia in 2012 by guitarist Vladimir Klimov, having released an EP entitled The God’s Favourite Whore (when the band suffered some lineup changes) and their first full-length album named Based On A True Story in 2013, before releasing now in 2014 their new EP. Bassist Anton Danilevski and drummer Theodor Borovski truly help Vladimir in his journey to create instrumental music that doesn’t sound annoyingly technical and consequently too snobbish, neither so basic to the point it becomes stale or uninspired. And they actually succeed in their proposal as we can see in this good (but short) album.

Based on the name of the EP, each one of the three tracks represents a different fairy tale, and they even have a specific image created for them, but as there are absolutely no vocal lines in any of them you’ll have to figure out their meaning by yourself. Starting the EP we have The Trapper, which focus on a more Symphonic Black Metal sonority blended with some modern and progressive music elements, as if Dream Theater joined the “dark side” of music. In addition, its heavy bass lines follow the pounding drums really well, plus a weird Russian voice giving the song an extra touch of creepiness.

second to sunIn Merämaa, the best of the three songs in my opinion, their progressiveness reaches its limit, intensified by some Nu Metal riffs and electronic elements, with its guitar lines being a mix of traditional Black Metal and video game-ish music. It’s almost as if the guitar is “trying” to actually speak! And finally Second To Sun offer us the more traditional song Barmaley, with highlights to its amazing double bass generating a more apocalyptic sounding. They prove with this song why they don’t need a singer to create captivating music, with kudos to bassist Anton Danilevski for his extremely strong bass lines throughout the whole song.

You can find Three Fairy Tales available for purchase at Second To Sun’s official BandCamp page, where you can also check the exclusive artwork for each of the three songs (just click on their info link). If one day they’ll add a singer to the band no one really knows, but so far they have been doing an excellent job letting their instruments speak on their behalf, crafting music highly recommended for fans of extreme metal that are not really fond of guttural vocals.

Best moments of the album: Merämaa.

Worst moments of the album: As I always mention when I review an EP, let’s wait for a full-length album to choose one or more bad moments.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. The Trapper 4:02
2. Merämaa 3:01
3. Barmaley 3:59

Band members
Vladimir Klimov – guitars
Anton Danilevski – bass
Theodor Borovski – drums

Concert Review – Judas Priest (Casino Rama, Rama, ON, 10/07/2014)

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The Metal Gods descended from the sky to assault all of us with their magnificent Heavy Metal in a land far, far away.

INTRODUCTION: The Lost Civilization of Casino Rama

Judas-Priest-Redeemer-of-Souls-Tour-2014If you want to stay away from any type of civilization in this world, I suggest you go to a place called Casino Rama, located around two and a half ENDLESS hours from Toronto. In theory it should be a lot faster than that, but if you take into account the 5pm traffic to leave the city on a Tuesday (right in the middle of the week, by the way) and an annoying dose of heavy rain, the hassle of getting there is horribly extended and becomes a real torture. Who the hell decided Casino Rama on a tuesday night were the best venue and date for Judas Priest to perform in Ontario? I swear to God, Odin, Buddha and any other deity that I’ll NEVER return to that place again if not for Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. No other band can make me go there again, not even Slayer or Megadeth.

Not only that, I truly hate Heavy Metal concerts with pre-assigned seats. Why not leaving the floor section without those fuckin’ chairs? Just create a general floor area, and whoever wants to sit down while Judas Priest are playing Hell Bent For Leather (if that’s humanly possible), simply take one of the seats at the back. As simple as that, but it seems the very “knowledgeable” organizers were expecting Judas Priest to be as smooth as Kenny G or any other shit like that. Anyway, let’s try to always look on the bright side of life: at least the venue was nice and clean, parking was free, and the sound quality was beyond perfect. And of course, if you’re addicted to gambling, that’s also a good place to be.

OPENING ACT: Steel Panther

IMG_2955When the opening act are Hard Rock/Glam Metal jesters STEEL PANTHER, you know it’s going to be a memorable night. Although they’re truly funny even with 99.9% of their sexist jokes being really stupid, I believe their superb skills as musicians are what make them so awesome to watch, especially vocalist Michael Starr. In my opinion, he’s a much better singer than all hard rockers from the 80’s. Well, maybe only singer Ralph Saenz (ex-L.A. Guns) can be compared to him. Got it?

Their setlist might have been a little shorter than usual, but still full of classics such as Asian Hooker, Gold-Digging Whore, and Death To All But Metal, plus some songs from their new album All You Can Eat like the good Gloryhole, all perfectly complemented by their jokes about the age of the attendees (especially those screaming ladies in their 40’s and 50’s), their debate about Michael Starr being a fat version of Bret Michaels or a skinny version of Vince Neil, among many other “pearls of wisdom”. There couldn’t have been a better warm-up than that for the Metal Gods.

Before I talk about the Priest, I just wanted to say that it might be really cool and a huge honour for Russ Parrish to be on the road with the Metal God Rob Halford once again, even if they’re in different bands now. If you don’t get it, click HERE and you’ll understand why I mentioned that.

Steel Panther Setlist Casino Rama, Orillia, ON, Canada 2014, All You Can Eat (AYCE) Tour

Band members
Michael Starr – lead vocals
Satchel – lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
Lexxi Foxxx – bass guitar
Stix Zadinia – drums, percussion, piano

JUDAS PRIEST

IMG_2973It was around 9:30pm when Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton & Co. hit the Casino Rama stage for another flawless performance. Right after Black Sabbath’s War Pigs and the intro for Priest’s own new song Battle Cry, thunders roared, the curtain was dropped and there they were with the excellent new song Dragonaut assaulting our bodies and souls with the purest Heavy Metal in the whole universe. What can I say about those guys that hasn’t been said yet? Rob Halford is not human: he is and will always be the METAL GOD, with his unique voice being absolutely perfect for both heavy stuff and smoother ballads; Scott and Glenn were as precise and heavy as usual; Richie injected some new oxygen to the band and proves with each concert why he was an amazing choice to replace K. K. Downing; and for the first time in my life, due to the sound quality of the venue, I could listen to Ian Hill’s bass lines.

Perhaps the most curious detail of their performance at Casino Rama (and during this whole tour so far) is the total absence of any songs from the masterpiece Painkiller, including its title-track, as well as other classics like “Electric Eye” and “Rapid Fire”, from the setlist. Instead, they opted for other types of classics, a little bit more underground but just as great as any of those songs, such as Devil’s Child, Jawbreaker, Love Bites, and Defenders of the Faith (which could have been complemented with “Heavy Duty” right before it like in the studio album, but that was awesome anyway), kind of celebrating 30 years of their classic album Defenders of the Faith.

And as we’re talking about the mighty Judas Priest, there’s a lot more to enjoy than “just” their unparalleled Heavy Metal: each and every song had a different background, with highlights to the fun and exciting images of the cult movie Nosferatu (1922) during Love Bites; Halford’s famous “robot walk” during Metal Gods; their badass Harley-Davidson in Hell Bent For Leather; and Halford letting the crowd sing Breaking the Law on their own, just like he did with his solo band during his Rock In Rio III concert in 1999.

IMG_2967One thing I truly loved during this concert was the fact that all new songs from Redeemer Of Souls sounded awesome live and were perfectly blended with their old classics, especially the magnificent Halls Of Valhalla. What an outstanding performance by the whole band during this powerful song, especially, of course, Mr. Rob Halford. Just as I mentioned in my review of the new album in regards to this song, “… which I’m sure will become a fan-favourite especially due to its lyrics and chorus and will also sound superb when played live”, and I was totally right!

The encore, with anthems like You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ and Living After Midnight, was a sonic orgasm to all Heavy Metal lovers that attended the show, but in my opinion the most memorable moment of their entire performance happened a little before that, when they played the all-time classic Beyond The Realms Of Death. Honestly, Rob Halford almost made me cry so beautiful and emotive his performance was. It was one of those moments you know why you love heavy music so much, and fully understand why he is entitled the Metal God.

I must admit the long and boring journey back from Casino Rama to Toronto on the same night (I got home at around 2am) was a lot easier thanks to the adrenaline running through my veins after such a stunning concert by the Priest. Although the band members are visibly aging (Rob, Glenn and Ian are all in their mid-60’s already), does that mean it’s the “beginning of the end” for the band? I don’t think so. As far as I could see, they’re better than ever, very excited to craft new powerful music, and playing their old classics with so much passion they look like they’re just starting their careers. And, of course, I cannot wait to see the Metal Gods kicking some serious ass live again with their unique jaw-dropping Heavy Metal. JUDAS FUCKIN’ PRIEST!

Judas Priest Setlist Casino Rama, Orillia, ON, Canada 2014, Redeemer of Souls Tour

Band members
Rob Halford – vocals
Glenn Tipton – guitar
Richie Faulkner – guitar
Ian Hill – bass guitar
Scott Travis – drums

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