Album Review – Van Canto / Dawn of the Brave (2014)

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This a capella Power Metal band from Germany proves why the human voice is the most powerful music instrument of all.

Rating5

vancanto_dotbWhen German Power Metal band Van Canto presented their a capella Heavy Metal to the world for the first time back in 2006, especially their cover version for Metallica’s Battery, I thought it was a fantastic and unique idea, but I wasn’t sure if that project was going to make it through the years. As we all know, the absence of music instruments implies many limitations to the sound a band can produce. However, here we are many years later with Van Canto’s brand new studio album, named Dawn of the Brave, the fifth in their career and another prove that the human voice is much more powerful and versatile than we think.

There’s nothing new when comparing Dawn of the Brave with their previous albums, but it’s still a lot of fun to listen to their own compositions, as well as their always much-anticipated versions for different classics from all types of artists and bands.

The intro Dawn of the Brave sounds like they’re just warming up their voices for what’s about to come, and it’s already a good sign of the overall quality of the album. One thing I really enjoy about Van Canto is their “made for battle” lyrics, mainly because they don’t let us forget that despite the absence of real guitars, they’re still a Power Metal band, and that’s exactly what happens in the heroic song Fight for Your Live, which could have easily been recorded by Manowar (“We are at your side / Day by day, and night by night / Fill your soul with pride / Reminding you to fight for your life / Fight!”). It’s one of the top moments of the album, with a great performance by all members.

To the Mountains focuses on Inga’s powerful voice, with a more melodic approach that sometimes reminds me of Within Temptation or Epica, and it will surely sound amazing when played live, while it’s impossible not to sing along with Badaboom, the first single of the album, with its strong rhythm and addictive chorus. The following track is the first cover version in Dawn of the Brave: thousands of bands have already recorded a cover version for Europe’s biggest classic of all time, The Final Countdown, but I’m pretty sure none was able to do it a capella as Van Canto, and believe me, the result is marvelous.

Dawn of the Brave goes on with Steel Breaker, an average Hard Rock song not as interesting as the previous tracks, and The Awakening, a faster and more melodic track that will surely be enjoyed by the fans of the band. Then come The Other Ones with its powerful atmosphere and strong lyrics, and the second cover song of the album, Holding Out for a Hero from Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, another excellent heavy version for a song that’s not Heavy Metal at all.

vancantoTheir last two own compositions in the album are called Unholy, a song with good lyrics and a nice rhythm, and the sensational My Utopia, which sounds like a mix of Stratovarius and Iced Earth (without the real shredding, of course). And finally, the album ends with two excellent cover songs: Into the West, an Annie Lennox cover taken from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King soundtrack (which in my opinion is one of the best soundtracks ever), and the one and only  Paranoid, from Heavy Metal icons Black Sabbath, with Ross taking the lead on vocals. The limited mediabook edition includes interesting orchestral, acoustic and other versions for some of their own songs, while the earbook edition comes also with a bonus DVD containing some of their own songs and awesome versions for all-time classics from Nightwish, Grave Digger, Blind Guardian, Manowar and Iron Maiden.

Alright, they’re not 100% a capella: they use a full real drum kit, played by the good Bastian Emig, but that doesn’t make the final result less impressive. Sly and the beautiful brunette Inga do an amazing job on vocals, but it’s the sound of guitars and bass produced by the trio of Ross, Stefan and Ike that gives Van Canto that “it” factor, in other words, that makes them so unique when compared to all other Power Metal bands in the world. I still can’t believe those guys are able to do those fantastic guitar solos just by using their voices!

In summary, Dawn of the Brave is a very creative album that everybody who enjoys some good singing should listen to and appreciate. The band surely proves to us all that no music instrument in the world can be compared to the human voice, which is the idea of the album art, don’t you agree? It’s an instrument so powerful it can even turn calm and smooth a capella music into pure Power Metal.

Best moments of the album: Fight for Your Life, Badaboom and My Utopia. Among the cover songs, the best ones are definitely The Final Countdown and Paranoid.

Worst moments of the album: Steel Breaker and Unholy.

Released in 2014 Century Media

Track listing
1. Dawn of the Brave 1:08
2. Fight for Your Live 3:59
3. To the Mountains 4:05
4. Badaboom 3:31
5. The Final Countdown (Europe cover) 4:55
6. Steel Breaker 3:40
7. The Awakening 4:13
8. The Other Ones 4:18
9. Holding Out for a Hero (Bonnie Tyler cover) 3:51
10. Unholy 3:28
11. My Utopia 5:13
12. Into the West (Annie Lennox cover) 4:25
13. Paranoid (Black Sabbath cover) 3:04

Limited Mediabook Edition bonus tracks              
1. If I Die in Battle (Orchestral Version) 4:45
2. My Voice (Orchestral Version) 5:29
3. Take to the Sky (Orchestral Version) 4:24
4. Neuer Wind (Jovian Spin Remix) 3:48
5. Lost Forever (Acoustic Version) 5:01
6. Last Night of the Kings (Choir Version)  4:11

Band members
Dennis “Sly” Schunke – lead vocals
Inga Scharf – lead vocals
Ross Thompson – higher guitar vocals
Stefan Schmidt – lower guitar vocals, solo guitar vocals
Ingo “Ike” Sterzinger – bass vocals
Bastian Emig – drums

Album Review – Orisonata / Orisonata (2014)

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Beautiful vocals, superb saxophone solos, classical guitar, jazz, piano and many other elements make this Progressive Symphonic Metal album a very fresh and attractive alternative in the world of heavy music.

Rating4

orisonata-cover-artIf anyone asks you about Symphonic Metal, you automatically think of bands from countries like Finland, Netherlands, Italy, Germany or any other European country, but never of American bands, right? Well, that’s about to change with the self-titled debut album from American Progressive Symphonic Metal band Orisonata, a project by composer and guitarist, Jason Lee Greenberg, and his wife, vocalist Jennifer Grassman.

Orisonata can be compared not only to bands such as Nightwish, Within Temptation, Kamelot, Tarja Turunen and Blind Guardian, but also to the progressive musicality from Dream Theater and even to the Pop/Rock from Evanescence, Sarah Brightman and Muse. And the band was able to generate that high quality mix of classical guitar, jazz, and heavy music in a very solid and professional way, which in my opinion is the biggest strength of this project: being so diverse without losing their value proposition. In other words, Orisonata deliver what they promise, which is some very creative and unique heavy music.

And as the music is what really matters here, let’s get down to it. The album might have only 7 songs in total, but together they are responsible for over 50 minutes of music, highlighting the band’s progressive vein. The first track of the album is also the longest one: with almost 9 minutes, Journey to the Center of the Earth is a pleasant Heavy Metal voyage the likes of Nightwish, with amazing saxophone solos, changes in tempo, breaks and everything else you want to see in a progressive heavy song. Then come Once And Future King, a very progressive tune with interesting riffs and guitar solos, and The Great Baptism, a song that mixes the sonority of Dream Theater and Tarja Turunen in a way that would make both band and artist very proud of Orisonata.

The following track, Unholy Creation,  can be considered the most Heavy Metal one of the album with its fast drums, heavy riffs and many hints of Nightwish from their Oceanborn times, accompanied by the amazing piano from jazz artists Pamela York. Furthermore, the vocals and lyrics fit the song perfectly, making it the best track of the album in my opinion.

Oath Breaker keeps the energy level up with the great singing done by Jennifer, together with some awesome solos and music variations, while Robin Hood offers us more delightful saxophone solos amidst pure Symphonic Metal. The album ends with the beautiful ballad The Muses, a very “medieval” tune with highlights to the amazing contribution by Cynthia Butler on flutes.

orisonata-jennifer-grassman-photo-by-laughlin-photographyRegarding the lyrics, they’re all based on literature, legend and ancient mythology, and remind me of some old Nightwish songs such as “Sacrament of Wilderness” (you can check the lyrics from Onisonata’s “Unholy Creation” in the video at the bottom of this review), and in terms of the album art, it is also very well-done and matches with the album’s proposal and musicality.

And finally, all musicians involved in this project are extremely talented, but we have to salute the couple Jason and Jennifer for their brilliant work with all instruments and beautiful operatic vocals, respectively. Although they’ve been on the road for quite some time and won many awards for their previous music creations, it’s amazing to see the amount of passion they still have for composing new material. Besides the “dynamic duo”, I would say the most important piece of the music found in Orisonata are the stunning solos by world-renowned classical saxophonist Todd Oxford. What this guy does with his saxophone is unbelievable and adds so much value to the music that it’s hard to imagine any of the songs without it.

So far, the album as had a soft release on CD Baby and on Orisonata’s official website, but will shortly be available through Amazon, Spotify, and other major retailers, and you can also check more information about the band on their official Facebook page and on Twitter.

Of course, the band has yet a long way to go and only time will tell if they’ll succeed or not, but two lessons can already be learned from Orisonata: for all other independent bands in the world, this is the level of work, professionalism and creativity you need to put on your music in order for it to be successful, otherwise you’ll be just “one more band” in the market; and for heavy music lovers, Orisonata show how good the indie scene can be and that we should support it as much as we can if we want to keep the flame of Heavy Metal alive.

Best moments of the album: Journey to the Center of the Earth, Unholy Creation and Oath Breaker.

Worst moments of the album: Once And Future King.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Journey to the Center of the Earth 8:42
2. Once And Future King 6:35
3. The Great Baptism 8:04
4. Unholy Creation 7:18
5. Oath Breaker 5:01
6. Robin Hood 7:55
7. The Muses 5:07

Band members
Jason Lee Greenberg – all guitars & instruments
Jennifer Grassman – all vocals

Guest musicians
Todd Oxford – saxophone
Wade Vandesande – bass on “Oath Breaker”
Brad Shearhart – bass on “Robin Hood”
Pamela York – piano on “Unholy Creation”
Cynthia Butler – flutes on “The Muses”
Marco Bayarena – synth solo on “Journey to the Center of the Earth”

The Walking Dead Review – Episode 409 (Mid-Season Premiere): After

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Carl is growing up, while Michonne goes shopping for new pets.

***WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS***

If you haven’t seen After yet, I suggest you scroll down to the end of this post first and watch the entire episode before reading the rest of the text.

twd_409_01“After” all the killing and devastation from the previous episode, and of course after Rick’s whole crew was split in smaller groups of maximum three people, it was more than expected that the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead yesterday was going to show us what happened to some or all of our beloved characters. Well, the first ones selected were our sheriff Rick, his son/savior Carl, and the badass Michonne, each one going through a complete different journey even being almost in the same place.

Although Rick was almost killed by the Governor and lost Judith to the walkers (or maybe someone else?), I believe Michonne’s path was the most arduous one here. First, our katana girl goes back to the prison in search for either a zombie Governor, a zombie Hershel, or any other zombies or survivors that might still be there after the war. The Governor was dead for good, and any glimpse of hope we might have had to see him as a walker was gone thanks to Lilly shooting him in the head (unfortunately , she didn’t miss the shot). However, Hershel’s head was still there, moving, trying to bite some fresh meat from a living person: a superb job done by Greg Nicotero’s team I should say, but another extremely sorrowful moment in the show. I don’t know which moment was more melancholic: if Michonne having to kill Hershel’s zombie head, or Daryl having to kill his zombie brother in the last season. Anyway, in the middle of all that suffering and destruction, Michonne chose to get back to her basics, which was symbolized by her two new “pets” and by her walking among the living dead as if they meant no danger at all.

That was the original Michonne we all got to know during the show, but then we were able to see a side of her character that everyone has been eager to know since day one: how she became Michonne. Not that she wasn’t Michonne before, but through her nightmare (which was a lot stronger than any flashback) we could see somehow what happened to her, how her life was before the zombie apocalypse, her child, her lover becoming a zombie, her katana mixed with regular kitchen knives, everything showing us how human she used to be. After that nightmare, she was about to go crazy, just wandering around like any walker, but fortunately the vision of a “zombie Michonne” (a zombie walking beside her that kind of resembled her) made her get back to reality, slay a whole herd of walkers, cry a lot, and choose to get back to her previous path with Rick and the others. It was amazing to see her “road to recovery”, and kudos to the awesome Danai Gurira for an outstanding performance.

twd_409_02And then, we have Rick and Carl. Or should I say an almost dead man walking and his angry son? Rick was horribly wounded and beaten, but even so he was worried about Carl and wanted to protect him. The problem is Carl didn’t see that: for him, his dad was pretty much dead, and every atrocity that happened to them and all the others was Rick’s fault. It was sad to see Carl blaming Rick for everything, while the guy was trying to stay alive with all his injuries, but that’s how a relationship between father and son has always been, right?

Anyway, Carl is growing up and becoming a man, facing zombies by himself and fighting as an adult even being just a kid. When he said “I win” to that pile of zombies he killed I’m pretty sure he was saying that to himself and to life in general, trying to prove to the whole world a new man was born. Of course there was that incident with that zombie that got his shoe, and that huge can of chocolate pudding, but we cannot blame him for acting like a teenager sometimes, even if it’s in the middle of a zombie outbreak.

And last but not least, that final scene with Rick moaning and crawling as a walker after being asleep for hours and hours, and Carl crying for not being able to shoot him, was really touching. Of course Rick was not dead and was not a zombie, we all knew that, but the mere thought of having to kill his own father was too much for a kid trying to be a man. Well, some people might ask why he was able to shoot his dead mother in the head, but not Rick, which is a damn good question. In my opinion, Carl couldn’t do it for a very simple reason: Rick is not only his father, but his hero, his protector, and his reason to live. Without Rick there’s no Carl, and vice-versa, and it will be really exciting to see how their relationship will grow in terms of loyalty, respect and love. And that, my friends, is how a boy becomes a real man.

After (FULL EPISODE)

Album Review – Ektomorf / Retribution (2014)

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A very good “primitive” album from a relatively new Eastern European Groove/Thrash Metal band.

Rating5

ektomorf_retributionAlthough Retribution is already Ektomorf’s 9th studio album, it’s the first one from this Groove/Thrash Metal Hungarian band founded in 1993 I’ve ever listened to, and to be honest with you I felt really happy to know there are still some new bands in the world doing this more primitive and aggressive type of music, even though it’s not totally original.

I read somewhere that due to the gypsy background from lead singer/founder Zoltán “Zoli” Farkas (he’s from Mezőkovácsháza, a small Hungarian city near the border of Romania), he faced a lot of racism and prejudice that held back Ektomorf from an international career. Fortunately, it seems all this bullshit is being expunged from our society and replaced by wise people willing to listen to good heavy music, no matter where it comes from.

Retribution starts in a very brutal way with the excellent song You Can’t Control Me, whose intro, heavy riffs and constant pounding already remind me of the musicality from Sepultura, Soulfly and even Slipknot. One characteristic found not only in this track, but in the whole album, is Zoli’s pronounced Eastern European accent: it’s not bad though, just different, and ends up adding something more rudimentary or “primeval” to the overall quality of the album.

When I listened to the next track, the groovier Ten Plagues, I immediately thought about Max Cavalera being probably one of Zoli’s biggest idols, as well as Anders Fridén, from Swedish Melodic Death Metal icons In Flames. The following track, Face Your Fear, sounds like a heavy sequence to the previous track, while Escape has a more modern sonority and it’s the closest one to the American Nu Metal. Then comes Who The Fuck Are You, the most Thrash Metal track of Retribution, and probably the one with the angriest lyrics of all too.

The album goes on with Numb And Sick, with its great riffs and the clean vocals from Cris Machado (Ill Niño) complementing Zoli’s guttural, making it one of the best of the album. In my humble opinion, this type of partnership with some established North American bands like Ill Niño is extremely important, as it’s usually what opens the doors in the United States and Canada to bands from different parts of the world, like Ektomorf, something that North America is in desperate need due to the amount of prefabricated junk we have to swallow down every single day while watching TV or listening to the radio here.

ektomorfGetting back to Retribution, Lost And Destroyed is for me the weakest track of the album, mainly due to the lack of violence, while Souls Of Fire is totally based on the music from Sepultura, especially from Against or Sepulnation, with its awesome rampant rythym. Then Ektomorf offer us an excellent and damn heavy version for Verbal Abuse’s I Hate You: although I still prefer the version from my Thrash Metal heroes Slayer, I must admit Zoli and his crew did an astounding job here too. Another very good track is Watch Me, which is even more inspired by Sepultura, more specifically in the song Dusted from the classic album Roots.

The last part of the album has Mass Ignorance, another violent track with great riffs and vocals; Save Me, which is a lot slower than the rest of the album, but as heavy as hell anyway; and  Whisper, a song with a very interesting riff and many music elements from bands such as In Flames and Soilwork. The CD version also contains a bonus track called Collapsed Bridge, a nice semi-acoustic ballad where it’s possible to notice the band’s gypsy influences.

The very inspired album art is also another highlight of Retribution, and again it might be just me but I can see a high influence from Sepultura’s Roots and Against there too. In summary, a very good album from a band not many people know about, and a great step for a band that should gain more respect and grow musically and creatively speaking in their path to success.

Best moments of the album: You Can’t Control Me, Numb And Sick, Souls Of Fire and I Hate You.

Worst moments of the album: Lost And Destroyed and Save Me.

Released in 2014 AFM Records

Track listing
1. You Can’t Control Me 2:15
2. Ten Plagues 3:20
3. Face Your Fear 2:23
4. Escape 3:24
5. Who The Fuck Are You 2:32
6. Numb And Sick (feat. Cris Machado) 2:42
7. Lost And Destroyed 4:09
8. Souls Of Fire 4:26
9. I Hate You (Verbal Abuse cover) 2:08
10. Watch Me 3:23
11. Mass Ignorance 2:42
12. Save Me 2:50
13. Whisper 5:56

CD bonus track
14. Collapsed Bridge 3:07

Band members
Zoltán “Zoli” Farkas – vocals, guitar
Tamás “Tomi” Schrottner – guitar
Szabolcs “Szabi” Murvai – bass
Róbert Jaksa – drums

Guest musicians
Cris Machado – clean vocals on “Numb And Sick”

Album Review – Behemoth / The Satanist (2014)

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Vile, obscure and impressive: these are just a few words that can be used to describe  the new album by Poland’s most influential Heavy Metal band of all time.

Rating3

Behemoth_TheSatanistIf anyone asked me “what’s the darkest and most obscure Heavy Metal band in activity today?”, I would probably point to the infamous Polish Blackened Death Metal band Behemoth. And with the release of their new album, The Satanist, they totally corroborate my opinion: from their Black Metal back in 1991 when they started in Gdańsk, Poland, until their current Blackened Death Metal, it’s easy to see their evolution to a more devilish music approach, which makes me think we should call it an “evil-lution”.

The Satanist is Behemoth’s tenth studio album, and the first after the band’s mastermind Adam “Nergal” Darski was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2010. It’s amazing to see how well he has been recovering from this fearful disease and how he was able to canalize all the pain and suffering into Behemoth’s music, proving to ignorant people he’s not being “punished by God” or any other stupidity like that just because he plays extreme music, but that he’s only a normal human being, a talented musician that had to fight for his life. Besides, if you were one of those people that got “happy” to see him being “punished” with leukemia just because of the type of art he creates, well, you’re A LOT worse than the creature you think Nergal is.

Anyway, let’s get back to the music, which is what really matters here. If you have a weak stomach or suffer from any heart disease, do not even begin listening to this album: The Satanist starts with the extremely heavy song Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel, with its brutal lyrics (“I saw the virgin’s cunt spawning forth the snake / I witnessed tribes ov Judah reduced to ruin / I watched disciples twelve dissolved by flame / Looked down on son ov god snuffed in vain”) and creepy pace. In case you love horror movies like I do, you must take a look at their music video for this song: it reminds me of some great movies such as The Omen, Hellraiser and especially The Ring. You can check the censored version at the end of this review, or the uncensored one HERE, but let me just inform you that the only difference I noticed between both are the girl’s blurred nipples in the censored version, nothing else.

behemothThe next track, Furor Divinus, is more Black Metal, especially the drums by Inferno, while Messe Noire gets back to their later Death Metal with some amazing guitar solos at the end. The second single extracted from the album, Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer, is another tenebrous fast track perfect for live performances, with great riffs and an excellent job done by Nergal on vocals. Amen is as heavy as hell, an evil sonic massacre that fans will love, while the title-track The Satanist doesn’t reach the same level as the previous tracks, despite having an interesting atmosphere.

The album continues with Ben Sahar, an average track with good drums and riffs, and In the Absence Ov Light, another heavy track where Inferno pounds his drums mercilessly. The last track of the album, O Father O Satan O Sun!, is the perfect soundtrack for a horror movie, with its strong lyrics, frightful atmosphere, and the “speech” in the final two minutes of this song are more than amazing.

I guess I don’t need to say anything about the controversial lyrics, or about the superb album art by Russian artist Denis Forkas Kostromitin. Those are “extras” to a great work done by Nergal and his band, which becomes even more impressive due to the thin line we all know that exists between being awesome or totally ridiculous in the world of Black Metal. Let’s hope Behemoth continues on the awesome side, and that their evil empire of music keeps blowing our minds for many years to come.

Best moments of the album: Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel, O Father O Satan O Sun!, Amen and Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer.

Worst moments of the album: The Satanist and Ben Sahar.

Released in 2014 Nuclear Blast Records

Track listing
1. Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel 4:25
2. Furor Divinus 3:06
3. Messe Noire 4:04
4. Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer 5:35
5. Amen 3:49
6. The Satanist 5:33
7. Ben Sahar 5:34
8. In the Absence Ov Light 4:58
9. O Father O Satan O Sun! 7:13

Australian/Japanese edition bonus tracks
10. Ludzie Wschodu (Siekiera cover) 4:11
11. Chant for Ezkaton 2000 E.V. (Japanese version only) 5:10
12. Qadosh (Japanese version only) 5:00

Band members
Adam “Nergal” Darski – lead vocals, guitars
Tomasz “Orion” Wróblewski – bass guitar
Zbigniew Robert “Inferno” Promiński – drums and percussion
Patryk Dominik “Seth” Sztyber – guitars

Additional musicians
Krzysztof “Siegmar” Oloś (Vesania) – samples
Michał Łapaj (Riverside) – Hammond organ

Metal Chick of the Month – Agnieszka “Nera” Górecka

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nera01

Nera, prawdziwa polska księżniczka!

Our Heavy Metal goddess this month is the perfect representation of all the beauty and finesse of her home country:  Agnieszka “Nera” Górecka, or simply Nera, is a gorgeous Polish singer and songwriter from the city of Katowice (Silesia), known for her potent vocals in the Polish Symphonic Black Metal band Darzamat, and more recently for her own solo project called NeraNature.

Nera started her career in 1997 with the Gothic Metal band MidnightDate, from the city of Gliwice, about 30 minutes from Katowice. Then after a few years she finally joined Darzamat, in 2003, with whom she has recorded so far three studio albums: Semidevilish (2004), Transkarpatia (2005), and their latest one Solfernus’ Path (2009), as well as a live DVD called Live Profanity (Visiting the Graves of Heretics). In one of her interviews, she explained the meaning of the band’s name, saying it comes from the Latvian mythology and it denotes garden goddess ( dārzs = garden and māte = mother, in Latvian). In her own words, “I really like it as it seems to me very “organic”, close to the nature and paganism”, showing her passion for everything related to Mother Nature.

Due to Nera’s powerful voice, astonishing looks and sexy onstage moves (and of course, the overall quality of their music), Darzamat reached then some status, gaining respect from Heavy Metal fans all over the world, being invited to play in festivals with exceptional bands such as Arch Enemy, Carcass and Stratovarius, and even in a special Heavy Metal festival in India, which is something rare to see in heavy music today. Besides that, the band also featured in the 2009 edition of the amazing Metal Female Voices Fest. Nera’s mesmerizing performance with Darzamat can be seen in the videos In Red Iris, from the album Semidevilish, and The Burning Times, from the album Transkarpatia.

In 2009, Nera founded her own solo project called NeraNature, completely different from Darzamat. The music is more like some Gothic Rock, with Nera using her voice in a smooth and charming way, and according to Nera herself, “this project is more intimate, private and sometimes bizarre and freakish.” The name of the band is a combination of her own nickname and the word “Nature”, as a reflection of her deep connection with the environment. This connection can be easily seen in the lyrics, which are all about Nature itself, life, and a more feminist outlook of the world. She released a full-length album in 2011 called Foresting Wounds, which includes a pretty cool cover version of Garbage’s The World Is Not Enough, and has recently released a new single entitled Drifting (available on iTunes and Amazon.co.uk), which probably means there will be a new NeraNature album pretty soon.

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Apart from her career with Darzamat and NeraNature, she appeared as a guest singer in the albums Arcane (2010), by the Portuguese Gothic Metal band Dark Wings Syndrome, and Ordo Bellictum Satanas (2010), by the Ukrainian ex-Black Metal band Semargl.

Regarding her musical influences, Nera said the most important bands and artists in her life, which helped define her singing style, were The Gathering, Tiamat, Samael, Ulver, Bathory, Arcturus and Opeth. Furthermore, it seems she has a very eclectic taste for music, as she usually listens not only to Heavy Metal, but also to several kinds of rock, ambient, smooth jazz and some classical music. In her free time, Nera enjoys listening to music from the bands Peccatum, Emperor, Ulver, Opeth, Pink Floyd, Leszek Mozdzer, Satyricon and some soundtracks such as Twin Peaks, Requiem for a Dream, and Dracula. She also mentioned she has a special admiration for the music of the Norwegian Black Metal band Emperor, and that she would love to perform live one day with them.

And finally, when talking about her voice and technique, Nera said that your emotions, experiences and own interpretations are much more important than any singing classes you might take in your life (by the way, she has never taken any), and that the most exciting thing for her is that your voice is unique, it’s like your fingerprint, and it helps define each person in the world, not only singers. We have to agree with her, but let’s be honest and also admit that the voice of this gothic polska księżniczka, as well as her beauty and charm, are way above the average.

NeraNature Official Facebook page

“Nature is life, truth, beauty and power.” – Agnieszka “Nera” Górecka

Album Review – Within Temptation / Hydra (2014)

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As the name of the album says,  Within Temptation show all their “heads” with an interesting mix of Symphonic Metal, Pop, Rock, Rap and other musical variations.

Rating4

CoverLess symphonic, but a lot more eclectic: that’s a good definition for Hydra, the brand new studio album by the Dutch Symphonic Metal band Within Temptation, with so many special guests that it makes me wonder if they asked Pitbull or J-Lo for some tips on how to sell more albums. Anyway, 39-year old Dutch princess Sharon and keyboard player Matijn were responsible for almost all songs, all full of different elements from other musical genres, and it’s even hard to keep calling what the band does as Symphonic Metal after listening to it.

I’m not sure if the diehard fans of the band will enjoy it due to all the new stuff added to the music, but one thing I have no doubt about: the professionalism and talent of all members of the band. Hydra doesn’t have a single moment where it sounds amateur, showing how much the band cares about the final result of their material, and that becomes 100% clear with the opening track, Let Us Burn, an awesome start with its symphonic atmosphere, excellent keyboards and chorus, and Sharon’s voice as beautiful and potent as ever.

The next track, Dangerous, has an interesting duo on vocals with Howard Jones (ex-Killswitch Engage) together with Sharon and a more Heavy Metal approach, while And We Run, despite following a similar formula with rapper Xzibit on vocals, sounds too pop for me, but might be interesting for part of the fans. The next song is also the best track of the album undoubtedly: Paradise (What About Us?), featuring the one and only goddess Tarja Turunen with her unique perfect voice, has some great guitar solos and was born to become an instant hit. Not only that, this amazing song also has a music video made for our pure delight, with a “green” message against technology and, of course, all the beauty of Tarja and Sharon together.

Hydra continues with the semi-acoustic Edge Of The World, a beautiful song where Sharon shows a smoother side of her voice, and Silver Moonlight, another strong moment of the album with a very enjoyable pace and with the keyboards giving it all that special atmosphere. The next song, Covered By Roses, lacks creativity and it’s one of the albums weakest tracks (despite Sharon’s performance being beautiful again), followed by another nice song, Dog Days. The regular version of Hydra ends with the good song Tell Me Why with its strong chorus and keyboards, and Whole World Is Watching, featuring Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum), a nice ballad but nothing special if compared to the other songs of the album.

Within-Temptation-2014However, if you acquire the digital premium or the deluxe album box version of Hydra, the total running time of the album goes up to over 90 minutes of music with all the bonus tracks. There’s a bunch of cover songs and alternate versions, including the music video for Paradise (What About Us?), but the best one by far is their version for the song Radioactive, from the American alternative rock band Imagine Dragons. This version is way better than the original (which by the way is not bad), and the same can be said about Summertime Sadness, from Lana Del Rey, and Dirty Dancer, from Enrique Iglesias.

The album art is simple but very effective, representing well the Hydra and what the band is delivering with the album. Regarding the musicians, as I previously mentioned, they’re all very professional and know what to do with their instruments, but it’s impossible not to get addicted to Sharon’s voice and “forget” the instrumental parts sometimes. And yes, she will be the “Metal Chick of the Month” one day for sure.

To sum up, Hydra might not be a wonderful album, but it’s pretty consistent and a good choice for the road, the gym or anytime you don’t want to get too heavy. Don’t worry, Within Temptation is still Symphonic Metal, and it’s totally entertaining to see how they were able to add so much unusual stuff to their music without losing their identity. Maybe Hydra will grant them the so desired ticket to stardom, who knows?

Best moments of the album: Let Us Burn, Paradise (What About Us?) and Silver Moonlight. Among the cover songs/bonus tracks, I would say Radioactive is the best one by far.

Worst moments of the album: Covered By Roses and Whole World Is Watching.

Released in 2014 Nuclear Blast/Universal Music

Track listing
1. Let Us Burn 5:31
2. Dangerous (feat. Howard Jones) 4:52
3. And We Run (feat. Xzibit) 3:50
4. Paradise (What About Us?) (feat. Tarja Turunen) 5:22
5. Edge Of The World 4:55
6. Silver Moonlight 5:17
7. Covered By Roses 4:48
8. Dog Days 4:47
9. Tell Me Why 6:12
10. Whole World Is Watching (feat. Dave Pirner) 4:03

Digital Premium/Deluxe Album Box bonus tracks
11. Radioactive (Imagine Dragons cover) 3:15
12. Summertime Sadness (Lana Del Rey cover) 4:07
13. Let Her Go (Passenger cover) 3:44
14. Dirty Dancer (Enrique Iglesias cover) 4:15
15. And We Run (evolution track) 5:41
16. Silver Moonlight (evolution track) 6:05
17. Covered By Roses (evolution track) 4:43
18. Tell Me Why (evolution track) 5:00
19. Paradise (What About Us?) (feat. Tarja Turunen) music video – iTunes Premium Version 5:51

Band members
Sharon den Adel – vocals
Robert Westerholt – guitars, vocals on “Silver Moonlight” and “Tell Me Why”
Ruud Jolie – guitars
Martijn Spierenburg – keyboards
Jeroen van Veen – bass guitar
Mike Coolen – drums
Stefan Helleblad – additional guitars

Guest musicians
Howard Jones – vocals on “Dangerous”
Xzibit – vocals on “And We Run”
Tarja Turunen – vocals on “Paradise (What About Us?)”
David Pirner – vocals on “Whole World Is Watching”

Album Review – Caliban / Ghost Empire (2014)

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A decent Metalcore album from one of its biggest exponents in the European scene.

Rating6

Caliban_Ghost EmpireWe all know Germany is a very Heavy Metal country, with tons of important names such as Gamma Ray, Helloween, Kreator, Primal Fear, Destruction, Doro, among others, and almost all of those German bands have something in common: a very traditional approach in terms of their musicality. However, in the middle of this “cradle of tradition” there’s a band called Caliban playing a completely different type of music that people like to call Metalcore or Melodic Hardcore. Even being a band so different from their countrymen, they managed to survive through the years and gained a respectful legion of fans (you might have already seen some YouTube videos of their “Wall of Death” mosh pits in their live concerts), and now in 2014 they’re launching their 9th studio album, called Ghost Empire.

If you’re a very traditional Heavy Metal fan and do not accept anything different from what was done in the 80’s or 90’s, do not even waste your time giving Caliban a chance. What they do is more like the contemporary American Heavy Metal, with some similarities to bands like Five Finger Death Punch or Killswitch Engage, but I would say their music is a little bit more melodic than those. The first track of the album, called King, is a very good example of their modern heavy music, with singer Andreas Dörner doing a pretty decent job with his guttural vocals. It’s a good song for mosh pits, albeit I don’t like the clean vocals from Denis Schmidt at all. The next track is quite weird: Chaos – Creation starts really heavy then becomes kind of pop, but at least the riffs keep the energy high; on the other hand, Wolves And Rats is 100% heavy, especially its vocals and drums, and sounds good for some circle pits.

CalibanThe next track, nebeL, which has Bastian Sobtzick (from the band Callejon) on vocals, is a pretty cool song with an interesting chorus, while I Am Ghost has the best start of all songs and pretty heavy riffs, but gets really boring after a while. Devil’s Night has some cool lyrics and vocals and is one of the highlights of Ghost Empire, as well as yOUR Song with its awesome rhythm. These two songs should work well live and will probably be included in their future setlists. The same cannot be said about the next few tracks:  Cries And Whispers is the fastest song of the album, but the chorus sucks so bad it gets boring; Good Man is just a generic song that doesn’t make any difference to the album; and I Am Rebellion has a horrible smooth chorus. These songs explain why many diehard metal fans hate this type of heavy music with all their strength.

Fortunately the next two tracks put the album back on track: Who We Are is a lot better than previous tracks, especially due to its excellent heavy riffs; and My Vertigo is another “mosh pit” song that will please all fans of the band and even some people that know nothing about Caliban. The deluxe edition of Ghost Empire brings a very weird song called Falling Downwards, with Matt Heafy (Trivium) as guest vocalist. Matt kind of saves the song, in other words, without him it would have been the worst track of the album by far.

Last but not least, one of the best things in Ghost Empire is the album art, especially because it’s done by hand (and not by the use of a computer) and totally connects with the album name and its musicality. Maybe someone who is more into this type of heavy music would have given the album more than 2.5, but for me it lacks that punch only traditional Heavy Metal has. I wouldn’t mind checking Caliban out live at a festival here in Canada, but it’s far from becoming one of my favorite new bands.

Best moments of the album: King, Devil’s Night and yOUR Song.

Worst moments of the album: I Am Ghost, Good Man and I Am Rebellion.

Released in 2014 Century Media Records

Track listing
1. King 4:02
2. Chaos – Creation 3:30
3. Wolves And Rats 3:59
4. nebeL (feat. Bastian Sobtzick) 3:11
5. I Am Ghost 3:46
6. Devil’s Night 4:23
7. yOUR Song 4:26
8. Cries And Whispers 3:55
9. Good Man 5:07
10. I Am Rebellion 4:21
11. Who We Are 4:09
12. My Vertigo 3:15

 Deluxe edition bonus track
13. Falling Downwards (feat. Matt Heafy) 3:48

Band members
Andreas Dörner – lead vocals
Marc Görtz – guitar
Denis Schmidt – guitar, clean vocals
Patrick Grün – drums
Marco Schaller – bass guitar

Guest musicians
Bastian Sobtzick – vocals on “nebeL”
Matt Heafy – vocals on “Falling Downwards”

Album Review – Primal Fear / Delivering the Black (2014)

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Primal Fear once again deliver the awesome.

Rating2

Primalfeardeliveringtheblack2014I remember back in the 90’s when Ralf Scheepers left Gamma Ray to form Primal Fear together with bassist Mat Sinner and that some people started calling them a “Judas Priest tribute band”, especially after Ralf not being called to replace Halford in the Priest itself. Well, I’ve always disagreed with that theory due to the fact that you cannot judge a band just because of their music style or type of vocal. In my opinion, you have to see the big picture and analyze the overall contribution of the band to the world of heavy music. Otherwise, we can say every band is like a “Black Sabbath or The Beatles tribute band”, right? Anyway, this incredible German band has always provided us some high quality Heavy Metal, with amazing albums such as Jaws of Death, Seven Seals and 16.6 (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead), and now the “metal eagle” has landed one more time with Delivering the Black, their tenth studio album and I dare to say their best since Seven Seals.

Why not starting the album with a ferocious kick right in the middle of your face? That’s exactly what the band does with the fantastic King For a Day, an epitome of pure Heavy Metal with its perfect riffs, fast drums, amazing solos, and a Ralf Scheepers singing better than ever. It seems he’s following the same path of some of the greatest vocalists of all time like Bruce, Halford and Dio: the older he gets, the better his voice is. Moreover, this track will be perfect as the opening song of their upcoming world tour, as it’s impossible not to bang your head from the very first second.

Primal FearWhy not continuing with the headbanging massacre? It looks like Ralf, Mat & Co. were tired of so much annoyance in the world of music and decided to counter-attack with the heavy and fast song Rebel Faction, where Canadian drummer Randy Black “kindly” reminds us that Canada is still a Heavy Metal nation, and not the pop garbage we see on TV. It’s indeed another track fans will love to see the band playing live. Then comes the first single of the album, When Death Comes Knocking,  which despite not being as incredible as the two initial tracks, is still very powerful and has some good lyrics to sing along with the band (“When death comes knocking / I stand my ground / And I won’t go down / My name stays immortal”), followed by another amazing track called Alive & On Fire, a very traditional Primal Fear track with a Hard Rock approach, perfect for Mat and his strong bass lines. And have I already mentioned that Ralf is on fire in this album?

Primal Fear keep on rockin’ with the title-track, Delivering the Black, another fast tune with great solos, riffs, drums, chorus, in other words, it has the full package! By the way, when you reach this song you’ll already be able to notice how direct their music is in the whole album, with no additional elements or any other bullshit: it’s pure Heavy Metal, just the way we love it. And this metal feast continues in Road to Asylum, with a beautiful combination of Ralf’s powerful voice and Randy’s rhythmic drums. The next track is the longest of all, One Night in December, which is a song with a somber intro, beautiful piano and excellent guitar lines, making it sound as if it had only 3 or 4 minutes, followed by Never Pray For Justice  with its “chainsaw” intro and 100% Heavy Metal sonority.

PRIMAL FEAR DTB deluxe edition

Delivering the Black deluxe edition

The last two tracks of this Heavy Metal avalanche are the lovely ballad Born With a Broken Heart, which gets even better in the Japanese edition of the album as it has the gorgeous Norwegian singer Liv Kristine (Theatre of Tragedy, Leaves’ Eyes) also on vocals, and the fierce Inseminoid teaching us what traditional heavy music must sound like. And if I were you I would purchase the deluxe edition of Delivering the Black, as it also contains a couple of interesting bonus tracks, as well as a DVD containing two music videos and the making of the album. The album art is as good as usual, with Primal Fear’s own mascot, the Metal Eagle, spreading its wings ready to soar, just like the band is ready to rock the world once again.

To sum up, the partnership between Ralf and Mat, which has always been amazing, is definitely getting better and better and Delivering the Black is the perfect representation of their total synergy together. Primal Fear is one of those bands that remind us why METAL IS FOREVER, and I can’t wait to see them live here in Toronto on May 3 “delivering the black”. By the way, I wouldn’t complain if they suddenly played the new album in its entirety, because it’s fuckin’ awesome. Long Live Primal Fear!

Best moments of the album: King For a Day, Rebel Faction, Alive & On Fire and Delivering the Black.

Worst moments of the album: Never Pray For Justice, but not because it’s a bad song. It’s just the less awesome of all.

Released in 2014 Frontier Records

Track listing
1. King For a Day 3:44
2. Rebel Faction 4:41
3. When Death Comes Knocking 6:58
4. Alive & On Fire 4:48
5. Delivering the Black 4:01
6. Road to Asylum 3:48
7. One Night in December 9:18
8. Never Pray For Justice 4:23
9. Born With a Broken Heart 4:36
10. Inseminoid 5:01

Deluxe edition bonus tracks
11. Innocent Man 4:12
12. Man Without Shadow 4:03
13. When Death Comes Knocking (single edit) 4:25

Japanese edition bonus track
14. Born With a Broken Heart (edit version) 4:13

Band members
Ralf Scheepers – vocals
Mat Sinner – bass, backing vocals
Magnus Karlsson – guitars, keyboards
Alex Beyrodt – guitars
Randy Black – drums

Guest musicians
Liv Kristine – vocals on “Born With A Broken Heart” (Japanese edition bonus track)

Album Review – Chrome Division / Infernal Rock Eternal (2014)

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Not a great disappointment, but not a great album either from a band that can deliver a lot more than this.

Rating6

CoverWhen the Norwegian band Chrome Division started as a side project from Shagrath, the leader of Dimmu Borgir, and Lex Icon, founder of The Kovenant, releasing the awesome album Doomsday Rock ‘N Roll in 2006, and Booze, Broads and Beelzebub after that in 2008,  the world of heavy music opened a big fuckin’ smile with their interesting mix of Heavy Metal, Hard Rock and pure Rock N’ Roll, or as the band itself likes to call it, “Dirty Doomsday Rock and Roll”. However, after vocalist Eddie Guz left the band in 2008, the quality of their compositions went down and it doesn’t look like they will recover from that fall in the short-term. Their following album, 3rd Round Knock Out, from 2011, wasn’t as good as its predecessors, and now with Infernal Rock Eternal once again they release an album way below their musical capacity.

Good Morning Riot is just an acoustic intro, similar to what Volbeat have been doing lately in their albums, that prepares the listener for what comes next: Endless Nights was the first single released by the band for this new album, including a very well-produced music video with a huge mistake: where are the famous half-naked sexy girls in the video? And what’s with all the Bon Jovi-ish wah-wah’s? Anyway, it’s a good and direct Rock N’ Roll song that will please even who’s not a fan of the band. The following track, (She’s) Hot Tonight, despite being good and with a hint of Motörhead in it sounds too commercial for what Chrome Division usually does, while on the other hand The Absinthe Voyage shows an excellent work with the guitars and a heavier approach similar to what they used to do in their previous albums.

BandHowever, after that the problems with the album get really serious: Lady Of Perpetual Sorrow has a pleasant acoustic intro, but lacks a lot more creativity and energy, getting too boring after a while; the same happens with the uninspired The Moonshine Years with its generic heavy riff. Fortunately the next song, No Bet For Free, is a lot more more Rock N’ Roll, full of interesting solos and a good performance by Shady Blue, but the quality goes down again with On The Run Again, which is just a regular song with a good rhythm. Then comes Mistress In Madness which has a very decent start, but then gets back to the same generic level until the end. Reaper On The Hunt has that dirty sound we learned to enjoy from the band’s old songs, and it suits Shady’s voice a lot better, while You’re Dead Now is another slow-paced generic song. The album ends with the awesome Ol, a very “Motörhead” track that is way better than most of the other songs, and if you get the digipak you can also enjoy the good bonus track called Dirty Dog, which is worth the investment in this special version of the album.

In summary, although Infernal Rock Eternal cannot be considered a bad album, it’s not even close to the awesomeness of Doomsday Rock ‘N Roll. Shady Blue is not a bad singer, not at all, but he lacks more punch and so far hasn’t been able to add the same value to the band as Eddie Guz used to. Honestly, I was expecting a lot more from a band that has already created such masterpieces like Serial Killer, Breathe Easy, The Angel Falls and Booze, Broads and Beelzebub, but it looks like Chrome Division cannot get to that same level of music again, or maybe they do not want to, as a more polished and commercial approach might mean more money in their pockets. I really hope that’s not the reason for what the band is doing nowadays, and that they can get back to that dirty old music we like so much soon.

Best moments of the album: The Absynthe Voyage, No Bet For Free and Ol.

Worst moments of the album: Lady Of Perpetual Sorrow, The Moonshine Years and You’re Dead Now.

Released in 2014 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. Good Morning Riot 1:28
2. Endless Nights 4:44
3. (She’s) Hot Tonight 3:46
4. The Absinthe Voyage 5:05
5. Lady Of Perpetual Sorrow 5:33
6. The Moonshine Years 5:59
7. No Bet For Free 4:37
8. On The Run Again 4:42
9. Mistress In Madness 5:07
10. Reaper On The Hunt 4:07
11. You’re Dead Now 5:17
12. Ol 3:24

Digipak edition bonus track
13. Dirty Dog (Bonus Track) 3:28

Band members
Shady Blue – vocals
Shagrath – guitar & backing vocals
Damage Karlsen – lead guitar & backing vocals
Ogee Ferrari – bass guitar & backing vocals
Tony White – drums