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Album Review – Monolith / Against The Wall Of Forever (2015)

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A remarkable album of pure heavy music that will take you on a journey back to the glorious early days of Heavy Metal.

Rating3

cover1400x1400There are bands that are born to play more progressive or introspective music, with thoughtful lyrics that will make you reconsider some aspects of your life. Other groups focus on a more theatrical side of business, relying heavily on their outfits, makeup, corpse-painting and/or stage production to differentiate themselves in the market. And there are American Heavy Metal saviors Monolith, which had only one thing in mind while crafting their superb brand new full-length album Against The Wall Of Forever: 100% pure Heavy Metal.

Founded in 2013 by guitarist Doug Walker (The Hookers, Nixon), with current and former members of MF Ruckus, The Embalmers and Zombie Cartel and having already played with names like The Dwarves, Sepultura and Electric Wizard, Monolith do not want to start any revolution in heavy music. What those talented guys from San Diego, California really want to offer us all headbangers is honest and electrifying heavy music inspired by their idols from the mid-70’s/early-80’s era of Heavy Metal, such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Metallica, and they simply nailed it with their new album, a serious contender for top metal album of 2015.

Against The Wall Of Forever is a huge kick in your face right from the start with the spectacular old school Thrash/Heavy Metal anthem The Emperor (The Suffering Of Fools), especially due to the excellent vocals by Aaron Howell and the exciting guitar duo comprised of Doug Walker and Jared Bliss. Their traditional riffs and solos remind me a lot of some Iron Maiden classics from the 80’s, and I don’t need to say how positive that is. Following that metal music havoc we have the title-track, Against The Wall Of Forever, which showcases more influences from the NWOBHM such as its thrilling galloping rhythm thanks to the great job done by drummer Ben Pincock and bassist David Ortuno.

The next track, Caravan, comes with a very simple question: are you ready for some intense circle pits? It’s amazing how they managed to create such polished music without losing that rawness needed in classic Heavy Metal, and you’ll feel pumped for screaming the name of the song together with Aaron during its chorus. Furthermore, none of the guitar solos sound out of place in this song (nor in the entire album). And can we call the dark ballad Kindly Dr. Jest (The Interrogator) as “Blues Metal”? Well, call it the way you prefer, as long as you acknowledge the incredible job Aaron does by impersonating the character of “Dr. Jest”, which based on my online research is an alchemist and chief interrogator of Melnibone who is a connoisseur of torture, and his life’s work is to elevate the infliction of pain in to an art form. It can’t get any better than this!

Monolith PicDie With Your Master, another of the top moments of the entire album, is a terrific tribute to the good old times of Metallica, inspired by masterpieces like “Whiplash”, “Metal Militia” and so on: it’s as raw and fast as it can be, and more than perfect for some furious mosh pits with your friends. Then a more progressive vein arises in The Prophet, with lots of breaks and variations nicely inserted amidst all the sonic madness.

The heavy music celebration  goes on with another very solid track named The All-Father And The Chaos Lords, which focus heavily on its headbanging riffs blended with the screams by Aaron. If you’re a fan of frantic metal music, the last part of this song is tailored for you. And last but not least, sounding even more Iron Maiden-ish than ever (apparently inspired by the all-time classic “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” or any other track from the flawless album Powerslave), Monolith offer us the excellent Elusive Prey (The Hunter), where Doug and Jared are kicking some serious ass on the guitars with their awesome riffs and solos.

Even the album art, by illustrator Matthew Haas, transpires Heavy Metal and perfectly represents how impactful the music by Monolith is. So go like them on Facebook, visit their YouTube channel, listen to their music on their SoundCloud page, and order your copy of Against The Wall Of Forever at the official Funeral Noise Records webstore (they have some cool bundles available). Although we’re already in 2015, Monolith will take you on a journey back in time, more specifically to the early 80’s when heavy music was beyond glorious and mighty.

Best moments of the album: The Emperor (The Suffering Of Fools), Kindly Dr. Jest (The Interrogator) and Die With Your Master.

Worst moments of the album: Honestly, it’s really hard to find something bad or uninspired in the whole album. Maybe The All-Father And The Chaos Lords?

Released in 2015 Funeral Noise Records

Track listing
1. The Emperor (The Suffering Of Fools) 5:02
2. Against The Wall Of Forever 3:34
3. Caravan 3:11
4. Kindly Dr. Jest (The Interrogator) 4:27
5. Die With Your Master 3:22
6. The Prophet 4:21
7. The All-Father And The Chaos Lords 3:54
8. Elusive Prey (The Hunter) 3:41

Band members
Aaron Howell – vocals
Doug Walker – guitar
Jared Bliss – guitar
David “Gordo” Ortuno – bass
Ben Pincock – drums

Attraction Review – Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum (Thal bei Graz, Austria)

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You want to know what is best in life? To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to visit the Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum in Austria!

Rating1

Arnies_Life_ThalIf you’re a fan of Heavy Metal, you’re probably a fan of the one and only Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger too. Also known as the Austrian Oak, the Styrian Oak, The Governator or simply Arnie, he is unquestionably the greatest action movie actor of all time, the most successful bodybuilder in history and, of course, a hero for millions of people all over the world. Movies like The Terminator (I, II and III), Predator, Last Action Hero, Conan the Barbarian, The Expendables II, among others, are either an inspiration for many heavy music bands such as Austrian Death Machine, with awesome songs like Get To The Choppa and I Need Your Clothes, Your Boots, and Your Motorcycle, or their soundtracks are full of powerful Heavy Metal/Hard Rock tunes like AC/DC’s Big Gun, Megadeth’s Angry Again and, of course, one of Guns N’ Roses’ greatest hits, the awesome You Could Be Mine. Who doesn’t love when Arnold stares at Axl Rose, grins and walks off in the official video for this song?

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“I’m a cybernetic organism. Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton.”

That’s why the third (and last) installment of my recent trip to Europe will be dedicated to reviewing one of the coolest museums in the world, and by far my favorite one of all: the Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum (or Arnie’s Life) in Thal bei Graz is not just a regular museum with some of Arnold’s old stuff and memorabilia, but a place where you can live his life and truly breathe all his accomplishments as a Hollywood star, his work as a the Governor of California and his exceptional achievements in bodybuilding. And the location of the museum was not chosen in vain, as it’s the actual house where Arnold grew up and spent a great part of his life, including his childhood and adolescence, and where he started his path to glory in the world of bodybuilding. Moreover, the overall quality of this amazing collection of documents, awards, props and everything else you can imagine about his bodybuilding, acting, political and personal life is enhanced by all the beauty and peace of the sorroundings of Thal. Arnold himself said many times how all the nature and peace in Thal inspired him to be a protector of the environment, especially during his years as “The Governator”.

In regards to the museum itself, I would say the top must-see items available are everything related to his role as the T-800 terminator, including his totally awesome Harley-Davidson from Terminator II, all his bodybuilding equipment (which by the way are all original from when he started working out), and many documents and other items related to his years as a politician. In addition, things like the sword used by the mighty Conan, the jacket and gun used by Sheriff Ray Owens and the costume used by Mr. Freeze make the whole experience even more fun, and of course, the Arnold statue at the entrance of the museum, just outside the front door, is truly inspirational for anyone, even if you have never been a fan of Arnie.

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“Conan, what is best in life?”

Finally, although many people say the museum is located in the city of Graz, it’s not that easy to get there from the city centre, especially walking. Arnie’s Life is actually located in the city of Thal, which is about 20 minutes from downtown Graz if you’re driving. I went there by car and used my GPS, typing in the museum’s postal code (8051) instead of the city name as it wasn’t finding Thal in the list of cities, and that worked perfectly. However, if you’re backpacking and travelling by train or bus only, there are some options available by public transportation from Graz which you can see HERE.

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“The best activities for your health are pumping and humping.”

To sum up, instead of “getting to the choppa”, get to Arnie’s Life and enjoy all your moments there: it’s such a pleasant and entertaining environment you won’t even notice time quickly passing by. In a world where pretty much all blockbuster movies are pure garbage and the actors and actresses have zero charisma, it’s good to “go back in time” and admire the history of a man that has always helped change the world for better, no matter what he does. I just loved the museum, and when I left it the only sentence I could think of was, of course, I’LL BE BACK!

Opening hours
Monday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm (last entrance: 4:30 pm)

From June 1, 2014 on: every Saturday and Sunday guided tours through the museum (start: 11 am, 3 pm)

Admission charge
Adults: € 6,50
Concessions*: € 5,00
Children from 5 to 14 years / school groups: € 3,00
Regular guided tour: € 10,00 (unique for a group)
Audioguide (German or English): € 2,00

* Valid for groups of 10 or over, children up to age 15, teens, students up to age 27, senior citizens over 65 or on presentation of a valid pensioners´ ID, challenged people, military and community service conscripts, unemployed persons.

Contact info & location
Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum
Linakstraße 9
A – 8051 Thal, Austria
+43 (0) 316 571 947
http://www.arnieslife.com/

 

Album Review – DevilDriver / Winter Kills (2013)

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Get ready for some insane heavy tunes by Californian circle-pit masters.

Rating5

Winter_kills_devildriverI know it’s a little late to talk about an album launched back in August, but the problem is that I didn’t have time to listen to Winter Kills carefully until now, and to be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of the band and the only DevilDriver album I previously had in my files was the awesome The Last Kind Words. However, I’m starting to enjoy their music more and more, especially among the “new” heavy bands available in the market, and I also noticed I’m not the only one to think like that: DevilDriver has became one of the most accepted new bands by old and demanding headbangers due to its violent lyrics, excellent instrumental and crazy on-stage performance.

The melodic opening track Oath of the Abyss has intense dark lyrics and it’s a good start to the album, albeit not as good as for example Not All Who Wander Are Lost. The following track, Ruthless, is undoubtedly the best song of the album with its amazing riffs, ruthless lyrics (just as the name of the song), and Dez’s voice in this track is as heavy as hell, which by the way is a constant in the entire album. Desperate Times can be used to explain why the mosh pits at any DevilDriver concert are so brutal, while Winter Kills, the title-track, keeps up with the speed and violence and it’s impossible not to get addicted to the chorus. “Mark my words/ There’ll be a change in the guard! / There’s frost on the sill / So now winter kills!”

DD2013Another strong track is The Appetite, which despite the stupid vide sounds ideal for crazy mosh pits, and the final solo is awesome. Your appetite for more DevilDriver will just grow after listening to this song. The weakest track of all in my opinion is Gutted: it has an extremely heavy intro, but I didn’t like the rest of it until the end. Curses and Epitaphs is more melodic than the previous tracks, with drummer John Boecklin doing an excellent job behind his set, while Carings Overkill is just filler, not a creative or interesting track at all. The last songs of Winter Kills are terrific: Haunting Refrain has a slow intro that turns into a heavy tune later on, with a magnificent guitar solo; Tripping Over Tombstones is another song that can easily take part on a “circle-pit soundtrack”; and finally Sail, a cover song from the indie band Awolnation, is a billion times better than the original song. The guitars and drums are just perfect!

The bonus tracks are also worth listening to: both Shudder and  Back Down to the Grave  are pretty heavy, and they even remind me of some songs from In Flames. The front cover is not very original, neither are the lyrics, but everything works fine when put together with the music. Frontman Dez Fafara keeps singing like a wild animal and has a very talented group of musicians with him, producing some high quality material for all generations of metalheads.

In summary, if you hate Facebook, Instagram and cameras during a Heavy Metal concert, you should be listening to this new overpowering album by DevilDriver and getting ready for monstrous circle pits in their next concert in your city. Winter Kills might not be what we call revolution in music, but it will crush your neck for sure.

Best moments of the album: Ruthless, The Appetite and Sail.

Worst moments of the album: Gutted and Carings Overkill.

Released in 2013 Napalm Records

Track listing
1. Oath of the Abyss 5:36
2. Ruthless 4:09
3. Desperate Times 4:08
4. Winter Kills 4:54
5. The Appetite 4:46
6. Gutted 3:28
7. Curses and Epitaphs 5:04
8. Carings Overkill 4:33
9. Haunting Refrain 4:59
10. Tripping Over Tombstones 3:38
11. Sail (Awolnation cover) 4:04

Bonus tracks 
12. Shudder 4:03
13. Back Down to the Grave 4:44

Band members
Dez Fafara – lead vocals
Jeff Kendrick – guitar
John Boecklin – drums
Mike Spreitzer – guitar
Chris Towning – bass