I am, I am all that’s inside you… I am, I am evil burning through!
Have you ever been bitten by a cobra? If not, this is probably the best opportunity you will ever have in your life to finally feel the powerful venom of a spellbinding snake flowing through your veins in the form of old school Heavy Metal, and I’m sure you’ll just love the experience. I’m talking about the stunning Canadian metaller Brittany Paige, better known for her onstage moniker Kobra Paige, the fiery frontwoman of Canadian Heavy Metal band Kobra And The Lotus. Are you ready for a metallic snake bite?
Born and raised in Calgary, Canada, Kobra is a classically trained singer and pianist, having completed Grade 8 in vocals and Grade 6 in piano with The Royal Conservatory of Music, before forming Kobra And The Lotus in 2008 together with guitarist Chris Swenson and drummer Griffin Kissack. She said she was doing classical training from when she was very young until she lost interest in it, getting into Heavy Metal and Rock N’ Roll during her high school years especially because there was something in heavy music with a strong connection to what she loved the most in classical music, allowing her to explore her true voice. “I felt it was an extremely natural progression because metal allows for that chest voice to be used”, she explained. In addition, she mentioned she was going to university without a real intention of doing music seriously, although she truly wanted to start her own metal band anyway. After starting singing and writing music she felt so passionate and alive she decided to go ahead with her music career, which also meant the end of university for her.
Despite not pursuing a career in classical music, the classical training was essential for our blonde bombshell to learn the art of singing and how to properly take good care of her voice. “I’m so scared of that because I can’t just buy a new guitar. I only have this one instrument and you don’t want to blow it, so absolutely the breath exercises and the tools that I learned from it have very much helped, made me more knowledgeable”, she said in one of her interviews. Well, she said she was blown away at a Judas Priest concert after the band played their thunderous classic Painkiller, and she also fell in love for the powerful multi-layered voice by Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, so it makes total sense for her to be so worried about her voice as we all know how demanding singing like Rob Halford and Robert Plant can be to any mortal person, right?
Still under the name Brittany Paige, she released with Kobra And The Lotus their debut album Out of the Pit, in 2009, before adopting the name Kobra Paige and releasing two more albums with the band, the self-titled Kobra and the Lotus in 2012 and their most recent full-length album High Priestess in 2014, as well as an EP with cover versions for renowned Canadian rock bands entitled Words of the Prophets in 2015, and a 7″ vinyl EP named Zombie also in 2015, released as a Halloween treat and containing the songs Zombie and Remember Me. She also took part in the Heavy Metal/Hard Rock project Tony Gabriele’s Orbynot, recording vocals for their 2012 album Try to Stop Me, and is constantly lending her voice to the metal army known as Metal All Stars, sharing the stage with iconic musicians such as Tim “Ripper” Owens, Ross the Boss, Vinny Appice and Paul Di’Anno, and more recently to the cult Melodic Power Metal act Kamelot during their latest world tour. And you better get ready, because Kobra And The Lotus announced back in November 2015 they are gearing up for their fourth full-length album, a double disc entitled Prevail, to be released in a not-so-distant future (you can pre-order it HERE).
There are several videos on YouTube where you can enjoy her electrifying vocals and looks, and more important than that, feel the remarkable shift in her voice through the years. As a “few” suggestions, I believe you can take a listen at the old school thrashy tunes Snake Pit, Ride Like Sugar and Cynical Wasteland, the thunderous Welcome To My Funeral and I Am, I Am, the sexy heavy ballad Black Velvet, the Power Metal epicness of 50 Shades Of Evil and Forever One, the band’s thrilling cover versions for Motörhead’s all-time classic Ace of Spadesand Rush’s groovy anthem The Spirit Of Radio, and their awesome performance at the famous festival Bloodstock Open Air in 2012. When asked about that change, Kobra said it happened mainly from their first to their second album, when she started following a direction where she felt more comfortable with her voice, sounding more organic, honest and authentic, and also evolving with the other band members in terms of skills and songwriting.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Based on her vocal style and the music played by Kobra and The Lotus, you might think her biggest influences come only from traditional Heavy Metal, like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, who obviously had a huge impact on her life and who she would simply love to tour with. However, our gorgeous Kobra is a fan of all types of music, from old school metal the likes of Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P.) and Iced Earth, to Folk/Viking Metal such as Eluveitie and Amon Amarth, to obviously classical music, in special German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven. As pretty much all successful musicians, she doesn’t stick to only one music genre, which helps her evolve as a singer and songwriter by expanding her horizons and bringing to her mind huge amounts of creativity and passion.
As expected for such a charismatic persona like Kobra, she was invited to take part on an interesting documentary called Soaring Highs and Brutal Lows: The Voices of Women in Metal after her performance at the famous Metal Female Voices Fest in 2013, touring then with other female vocalists in different festivals and telling their own stories in the world of heavy music. Talking about the life on the road, Kobra said once that “any person obviously has to be really into heavy metal, living and breathing for it, in order to be on the road constantly”, and in regards to being a beautiful woman among so many male metalheads, she said that one of the funniest things that ever happened to her on tour was when Kobra and The Lotus were touring around Canada the first time and she got a lot of questions like “are you the merch girl?”, surprising them all the minute she got onstage.
Her hobbies and interests are also very common for most of us, especially if you enjoy more physical stuff such as kickboxing and hiking on a mountain. Moreover, as she’s so focused on her music career and loves all things music so much, she has also nurtured an interest in musical theater, something she used to do at a younger age, looking into some Broadway scoring to improve her skills and capacity for innovation. One curious detail about her is that, even after spending so much time on the road with the band, she’s an avid traveler, always searching for exotic destinations to visit and new cultures to learn about.
Lastly, in case you haven’t noticed yet, our metal viper has the tattoo of a dream catcher on her arm, something very meaningful to her since she was a little girl. Her mom used to take her to sun dances, increasing Native American influences on her while she was growing up. Besides, she used to have constant nightmares until she was 13, when her parents put a dream catcher over her bed as a protective symbol, which ended up working really well for her. I’m pretty sure her nightmares are long gone by now, not due to the dream catcher but mainly because of her badass attitude and inner strength. In other words, I can’t think of any entity brave enough to disturb the peace of our headbanging cobra, and if anyone or anything dares to do so, they will mercilessly have their asses kicked pretty bad.
One of the most prominent and innovative French bands of all time returns with a true masterpiece of complexity, darkness and heaviness, shining brighter than the main star of the Phoenix constellation.
There’s a thin line between change and evolution several bands worldwide can’t or simply just don’t know how to walk without losing their balance and, consequently, damaging their core essence. Fortunately, this is not the case with French Neo-Metal adventurers Eths, who in my humble opinion have just released their boldest and most innovative album to date, the splendid Ankaa, but still being the Eths we all learned to love. Although I had been preparing myself for quite a while for another blast of creativity by Mr. Staif Bihl and his bandmates, I must say I was blown away by the level of intricacy, darkness and heaviness found throughout the entire album. This beautiful work-of-art crafted by this distinguished group hailing from the city of Marseille, France is the perfect depiction of what evolution in music is all about, and it will surely help spread the electricity and emotions flowing from the music by Eths to the entire world.
Ankaa, which features a unique selection of guest musicians such as Björn “Speed” Strid (Soilwork), Sarah Layssac (Arkan), Jon Howard (Threat Signal), Faustine Berardo and session drummer Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork), not to mention it is also Eths’ first full-length album with the stunning Rachel Aspe on vocals, shines brighter than the main star of the Phoenix constellation, which by the way was the inspiration for the album name. “This album is linked to the cosmos and the concept of rebirth for the band as well as personally”, said Staif, and that’s indeed what you’ll experience while listening to each one of its twelve jaw-dropping multi-layered songs, all beautifully and meticulously connected to tell a bigger story to the listener. Again, Eths might have changed their musicality in Ankaa considerably, but it was a change towards evolution that no one in their right mind should ever complain about.
One of the best compositions in the history of Eths, entitled Nefas (the Latin word for “atrocity” or “wrong”), kicks off Ankaa in a very impactful way, being insanely heavier, faster and darker than anything the band has ever done before. It’s a feast of Metalcore, Melodic Death Metal, Alternative Metal and many other subgenres of heavy music perfectly put together, and pay good attention to what our screaming diva Rachel does with her “voix incroyable”, it sounds beyond astonishing. Nihil Sine Causa (or “nothing happens without a cause”, from Latin), featuring Sarah Layssac and Jon Howard, is yet another obscure and thunderous composition where the band’s mastermind Staif showcases his always solid guitar lines, with the addition of the Arabic words by Sarah as well as the electronic effects during the song’s second half bringing a fresh taste to the music. And in Amaterasu, part of the Japanese myth cycle seen as the goddess of the Sun and the Universe, Dirk (who sounds like a beast behind his drums) makes a great duo with newcomer Damien Rivoal and his low-tuned and heavy as hell bass lines. Moreover, it’s impossible not to love this brutal Groove Metal aria, and I don’t recall coming across such a powerful triumvirate of songs like these starting an album in recent years.
All the craziness, occultism and darkness found in Ankaa keep growing with each and every song, and in Seditio (or “rebellion”, from Latin) that couldn’t be any different. It amuses me how Rachel can sound like a beauty and a beast at the same time, showcasing all her vocal skills and contributing to the song being heavier than usual but still innovative and progressive, just like we expect from such a talented group of musicians. Then we have the startling Nixi Dii, a general term applied by the Romans to those divinities who were believed to assist women at the time when they were giving birth to a child, where its eerie background effects, demonic drumming, choir-like backing vocals and lots of breaks and variations, together with Rachel growling like an evil queen, are all the ingredients you need for awesomeness. In other words, it offers you eight minutes of the best modern metal music you can find in the entire world. And just when you think things couldn’t get more alternative we’re treated to Vae Victis (Latin for “woe to the vanquished”), with Staif providing an amazing piano base for Rachel to shine once again, this time with a mix of clean vocals and visceral growls. As a side note, the production of the album is so brilliant you can clearly hear every single note coming out of each instrument, enhancing the overall experience even more.
The next song, named HAR1 (the acronym for human accelerated region 1, a short DNA region identified recently to have evolved the most rapidly among highly constrained regions since the divergence from our common ancestor with chimpanzee) and featuring Björn “Speed” Strid, gets closer to traditional Melodic Death Metal thanks to the contribution of Björn, but of course with Eths’ own touch added to it; while in Sekhet Aaru, the Egyptian reed fields considered the heavenly paradise where Osiris rules in ancient Egyptian mythology, your soul will be transported to those fields in a flawless fusion of alternative and occult music. Sarah is back with her gorgeous voice as a guest vocalist in Kumari Kandam, which refers to a hypothetical lost continent with an ancient Tamil civilization (located south of present-day India, in the Indian Ocean), perhaps the closest song to Eths’ old musicality with Damien and Dirk providing all the uproar while Rachel takes care of the song’s tranquility, sorrow and anguish.
Ankaa Deluxe Digibox
Last but not least, Eths bring forward a spine-tingling trilogy inspired by the Orion constellation, accurately representing the idea of rebirth. The first piece of this trilogy is named Alnitak, a multiple star (also known as “Zeta Orionis”) that’s part of the famous Orion’s Belt, which Staif effectively translated into an epic and vibrant chant overflowing his deepest emotions. The second piece, entitled Alnilam, a large blue supergiant star also known as “Epsilon Orionis” estimated to be 275,000 to 537,000 times as luminous as the Sun and around 34 times as massive, is an extremely powerful and aggressive tune led by a relentless Rachel, with Dirk yet again pounding his drums mercilessly. And finally, the climatic end to this trilogy comes in the form of another violent chant with esoteric passages and a pleasant ambience named Mintaka, from منطقة (“manṭaqa”), which means “the belt” in Arabic.
As aforementioned, calling Ankaa simply as a “change” in the music direction by Eths is an understatement of the actual evolution Staif, Rachel and the others reached with their musicality, as well as of the brilliant destiny that lies ahead for them. Ankaa is not just another regular metal album, and I’m sure it will shortly become a reference in contemporary heavy music. Thus, if you want to join Eths in this exciting path they are taking towards the future of Heavy Metal, I suggest you go grab your copy of Ankaa (which can be listened to in its entirety HERE), in special its top-notch deluxe digibox including a CD and an exclusive DVD “Live at Hellfest 2015” in digisleeve with a 24 page booklet, an Eths metal key ring and a pyramid folding card, at the Season Of Mist webshop or at the Napalm Records webshop. After listening to such a masterpiece like Ankaa, you will quickly realize it is no wonder Eths are considered by many the most prominent and innovative French band of all time.
Best moments of the album: Nefas, Nihil Sine Causa, Amaterasu, Nixi Dii and, from the Orion-inspired trilogy, I would say Alnilam is the most entertaining composition.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2016 Season Of Mist
Track listing 1. Nefas 3:50
2. Nihil Sine Causa (feat. Sarah Layssac and Jon Howard) 4:53
3. Amaterasu 3:57
4. Seditio 6:36
5. Nixi Dii 7:58
6. Vae Victis 5:05
7. HAR1 (feat. Björn “Speed” Strid) 4:04
8. Sekhet Aaru 4:09
9. Kumari Kandam (feat. Sarah Layssac and Faustine Berardo) 4:15
10. Alnitak 4:04
11. Alnilam 3:40
12. Mintaka 5:07
Band members Rachel Aspe – lead vocals
Staif Bihl – guitars, keyboards, programming, vocals
Damien Rivoal – bass
R.U.L. – drums (live)
Guest musicians Dirk Verbeuren – drums (studio recording)
Sarah Layssac – additional vocals on “Nihil Sine Causa” and “Kumari Kandam”
Jon Howard – additional vocals on “Nihil Sine Causa”
Björn “Speed” Strid – additional vocals on “HAR1”
Faustine Berardo – additional vocals on “Kumari Kandam”
If you want to know more about the past, present and future of Neverworld, one of the most promising Heavy Metal bands from the UK, take a shot at this fun interview with the band’s lead singer and guitarist Ben Colton. Can you guess which songs he would save for the future of mankind? You will surely enjoy his list.
The Headbanging Moose: Could you please introduce yourselves to the readers who are getting in contact with Neverworld for the first time? What’s the origin of the band, your main objectives and your dreams? And what was the inspiration for the name Neverworld?
Ben Colton: Howdy! Certainly. I am Ben, lead guitarist and vocalist of the band Neverworld. We formed in late 2009 and the plan was always to take it as far as we possibly could. We sat down and discussed at length about the music we wanted to make and it became apparent quite quickly that we would need a suitable name. A name that would give us the scope to be the audio/visual outfit that we wanted to be. So Neverworld was born and 6 and a half years and 3 releases later here we are! Our main objectives at this point in time are to keep progressing, keep pushing the boundaries, keep playing awesome shows and to keep having lots of fun doing it!
THM: I have to admit I can’t stop listening to your brand new album, the excellent Dreamsnatcher. It’s perfect for listening at home, at the gym, on the road or anywhere else. How did the whole process to compose the album go? Was there anything you think that could have worked better in the recording period?
BC: Well thank you very much that means a lot to us and I really appreciate the feedback. The recording process this time around was actually a lot of fun. We knew what we had to do and that was better than ‘Visions Of Another World’. So every week we would go into the studio and write riffs, choruses, verses, intros etc. until we felt we had 10 songs that completely summed us up. ‘Dreamsnatcher’ is an album that defines who we are right now and for that reason it was a great relief to achieve that. We learned a lot doing our first album so we didn’t make the same mistakes. All the music was written in about 8 months and then it was a case of writing the vocal melodies and lyrics. From the writing process to the demo stage to the actual release it took 18 months which was awesome. When you’re a perfectionist, and this band has a few, you will probably always look back and say I could of done that better but there comes a point where you just have to bite the bullet and leave it to the critics mercy! So far so good!
THM: Although none of your releases are concept albums, there’s a special concept behind the band as a whole. As quoted on the review for your 2014 release Visions Of Another World, you said that “Neverworld is a place of dreams, a world we all visit in our sleep and the band explore this magical realm in their lyrics and artwork.” Having said that, what’s the link between Visions Of Another World and Dreamsnatcher? Is there any type of storyline connecting both albums, and even your debut EP Welcome To…, from 2010?
Album Review – Neverworld / Dreamsnatcher (2016)
BC: Basically there are some links in certain songs like ‘Visions Of Another World’ and ‘Dreamsnatcher’ but we are yet to explore the Neverworld concept fully. We are writing and recording demos already and the plan is now to release an EP toward the end of this year and then a concept album. It’ll be our third full length album and that feels like the right thing to do. We’ve discussed it in the past and we all knew the day would come where we did the whole concept thing. It’s very early days yet but we are planning the story and will write accordingly to fit that. It’s likely to be pretty dark but all will become clear as to what Neverworld is and what can happen there!
THM: There are several details that make Dreamsnatcher a must-have for fans of traditional Heavy Metal. The guitars are heavier than ever, the overall production is a lot more consistent than in your previous releases, there are many interesting additional layers of intricacy added to each and every song, among other things. How do you see the evolution of your music so far, and what can we expect from Neverworld in the future?
BC: Evolve is a great word where music is concerned. It’s something you have to do to keep it fresh and interesting. We will never make the same album twice. You’ll always know it’s us but you won’t always be able to predict what’s coming! You are one of the first people to mention the added layers of the songs and I’m really pleased you noticed! That was a very conscious thing. I love the way certain bands build songs with layers. They can be very subtle and you may not notice them initially but take them out and the song can sound naked! The future of our music I guess will depend on many factors but for me I’d like us to add more progressive elements. Mainly for the reason that there really are no rules with progressive metal and I love that. I hate restrictions. Fortunately we have none really. If an idea is cool then we use it. We do exactly what we want and that is make music that we’d like to listen to!
THM: Before we talk about a couple of specific songs from Dreamsnatcher, I just wanted to quickly go back to Visions Of Another World, where you performed an amazing duet with British singer Christina Gajny in the powerful ballad Blood and Romance. Can you tell the readers more about how Christina got involved with Neverworld and how this beautiful song was recorded? And why are there no guest musicians in the new album?
BC: Christina was just meant to be for us. I woke up one day and just thought it would be cool to do a duet with a female vocalist. So I hit the net to seek one out. She was the first one I looked at and the last. I listened to her doing a cover of ‘Black Velvet’ and was blown away. She is an incredibly versatile singer with a staggering grip on melody. I think Blood and Romance really helped us. Christina was in a band called Interlock just prior to doing the duet and was fairly well known in London. Because of her when we started playing London there were actually people there to see us! I did want her on ‘Dreamsnatcher’ too but in the end we decided that we had the 10 songs we needed and also it was another 10 songs we could add to our live performance. We’d been playing pretty much the same set for 2 years and we desperately wanted to be able to pick from a bigger selection so we could give our die hard fans a new experience every time we played. However we are indeed working on the follow up to Blood and Romance with Christina. It’ll probably be called ‘A Gothic Tragedy’ and will be part 2 in the vampire/mortal love saga. Writing is under way and it will be on the EP release so if you love Christina’s voice as much as we do you can get excited about that! I know I am!
THM: Now let’s get back to Dreamsnatcher, more specifically to the opening track, the epic Into the Mouth Of Madness. This is not a regular opening song for an album, being more progressive, more melodic and a lot longer than the opening songs found in most Heavy Metal albums. I would say it’s a similar situation to what Iron Maiden did in their 1995 album The X Factor, when they had the 11-minute masterpiece Sign of the Cross kicking off the album. Why did you choose this specific song to be the first of the album? Aren’t you afraid it might be too complex or maybe too lengthy for the average listener who’s just getting to know the music by Neverworld?
BC: Into The Mouth Of Madness was actually the first track we wrote when we went back into the studio again. I think it was what set the bar for the whole album really and also sums Neverworld up in 9 minutes or thereabouts! It’s kinda got everything. The intro, the prog, the metal, the big chorus, the epic solo section, light and shade etc. It seemed the obvious choice to us to kick things off for ‘Dreamsnatcher’. If you don’t ‘get’ that track then I don’t think we are for you! So no I wasn’t worried about it putting anyone off because anyone who doesn’t like it probably won’t like the rest of the album either! From a personal point of view a lot of my favourite songs are long, epics. ‘Still Remains’ for example by Fates Warning is my all time favourite song. It has everything! I think every album we do will end up having a few epics on. It’s becoming a bit of a habit for us! A cool habit though I think!
THM: My favorite song in Dreamsnatcher is by far the high-octane Under The Asylum. As mentioned in the review of the album, this song has the perfect balance between aggressiveness and harmony, being highly recommended for any type of metalhead from anywhere in the world. What inspired you to write this song, and can you provide us some details on the story being told through its lyrics?
BC: Thank you! I’m glad you dig! It’s a lot of fun to play live too. The inspiration for the song comes from a couple of things. I grew up near a mental asylum. Near it. Not in it! It was a Victorian era one and only shut down in 1998. Going round the place when it was derelict was an eye opening experience to say the least. That place was dark. It had its own atmosphere and was the size of a village. It just oozed sorrow and woe. I’d always felt it was a great theme for a song anyway but then American Horror Story season 2 came out and that kicked the idea off again. So really the song is about the underground workings of an asylum and all the nasty shit you don’t see happening. Very Neverworld!
THM: What are your biggest influences in music? Do you only listen to Heavy Metal, or do you also drink from the fountain of Jazz, Blues, Pop or any other type of music? And if you had to select five albums that define who Neverworld are today, which ones would you choose?
BC: Haha well I certainly don’t drink from Jazz fountain but I listen to all sorts really. Obviously being a guitar player and a singer it’s either guitar or vocal based but of course I prefer it when it’s both! Heavy Metal was my first love as a child and that just captured my imagination. In later years you learn to appreciate different things. I love classic rock as in Blue Oyster Cult, Van Halen, Boston, The Eagles etc. I love prog, hair metal, Thrash, Motown, even Grunge era stuff too (although I don’t call Mother Love Bone, Candlebox, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam or Alice In Chains ‘Grunge’). I just like good music. Well played, well sung, well written. I don’t have any rules anymore. I just like what I like. Ok picking just 5 albums is a really hard thing to do but because it’s what influences my own part of the Neverworld sound it’s a bit easier. As much as I love Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Manowar I find that I am no longer influenced by them. It’s strange but I lean towards more progressive stuff now just because there are so many more elements going on to keep your mind occupied. Ok here goes!…
1. Fates Warning ‘Disconnected’ – Brilliant album by the criminally underrated Fates. This album is the soundtrack to my life. Love it!
2. King Diamond ‘Conspiracy’ – King seems to have got bigger and bigger over the years and that pleases me a lot. The guy is an evil genius and Andy LaRouque is one of my favourite guitar players. It’s not until you sit there trying to work out King’s music you realize how complex it is, how clever it is. Love this album. A huge influence on me.
3. Crimson Glory ‘Transcendence’ – This album is just timeless. A masterpiece by a band who should have been playing arenas. Very classy, very intelligent music!
4. Winger ‘Pull’ – I imagine a few people will shake their heads at this choice but Winger are an amazing collective of breath taking musicians. Kip Winger is one of the most intelligent song writers out there. When you really listen to a Winger song and analyze it you can hear all the magic that has gone into making it. I chose ‘Pull’ for the groove aspect. Some of the riffs on this album are jaw droppers! Also Kip is one of my favourite singers and Reb Beach is one of my favourite guitar players. Another big influence for sure.
5. Queensrÿche ‘Rage For Order’ – Geoff Tate has a pretty bad rep these days. Personally I couldn’t care less what people think of him as a person, he’s a God of a singer. Just watch ‘Live Evolution’ to see his prowess in all its glory. I adore this album. The songs are great, the vocals are soulful, theatrical, grand, unusual. A perfect album!
So there are my 5. Just want to give a quick shout out to Lost Horizon, Circus Maximus, Redemption, Megadeth and Magnitude 9 too. They are all big influences on my part of the Neverworld sound too!
THM: If you were given the task of saving only between 10 and 20 songs from any music genre, band or artist for the future of mankind, which ones would make it to that special playlist? Let’s imagine you would add those to a capsule that would be preserved for a very long time and opened only in a distant future, and those would be the only songs left on earth, just for you to have an idea of how important your mission would be.
BC: Haha that is a very important mission indeed! Ok all these songs mean something to me. They all helped me. They changed my life and the way I think about music. Here goes…
Album Review – Neverworld / Visions Of Another World (2014)
THM: Talking about what any musician loves the most, which is playing to a live audience, what are your current and future tour plans for the UK and/or any other countries? How difficult it is for you to schedule tour dates and to be on the road for long periods of time? And what has been the band’s most memorable concert to date?
BC: It is difficult to tour for long periods due to all of us having work and family commitments. However we are planning on doing a week long tour this year with scattered dates surrounding it. Playing live is very important to us. It’s a hard feeling to beat when you’re up there and the crowd are with you. We are always looking for dates in the UK and abroad so keep an eye out for us in the near future. I have several fond gig memories with Neverworld. Our home town club shows are always special. Very well attended and there’s always a great buzz but the 3 that really stand out for me are when we played with Freedom Call at the Barfly in Camden on the night we released our debut. The place was absolutely packed! We opened and went down a storm. That was awesome. The next is again in Camden but this time at The Underworld. Purely because it was The Underworld. What an honour to play that hallowed stage. I’ve seen most of my favourite bands there so it was great to be able to tick it off the list. Lastly when we played Larissa in Greece. We left this weird building in the middle of nowhere to get something to eat thinking well this is going to be shit! When we came back the place was full! Couldn’t believe it! That was a great night playing with our friends Wardrum and completed an absolutely awesome experience. We’ve actually been pretty blessed with live shows over the last 4 years. We’ve played with some fantastic bands too. Long may that continue!
THM: Thank you very much for your time, I truly appreciate that. Please feel free to send a final message to all our readers and all metalheads not only in Canada, but everywhere else in the world.
BC: No, thank you! It’s been an honour. I just want to say a huge thank you to all the good people out there supporting us. If I could put into words how much we appreciate it I would! The Neverworld family is growing all the time and that my friends is awesome! I really hope you all enjoy the new album! Peace and good will to you all \m/
Enjoy the first part of this futuristic trilogy created by the iconic Blaze Bayley, a thrilling journey inspired by science fiction and artificial intelligence that transpires first-class Heavy Metal.
Silicon Messiah, Tenth Dimension, The Man Who Would Not Die, Promise And Terror, and now Infinite Entanglement. If you consider yourself a true admirer and connoisseur of traditional Heavy Metal who’s at the same time always looking to the future with an open mind and a passionate heart, you must listen to these five amazing releases by the iconic British metaller Blaze Bayley. What this metal warrior from Birmingham, UK is capable of offering his fans with absolutely no support from any major record label is outstanding. In Infinite Entanglement, a concept album highly influenced by science fiction, artificial intelligence and quantum physics that follows on the ideas found in Silicon Messiah and Tenth Dimension (not to mention Blaze is writing a book on those themes), we’re treated to more of his first-rate metal music embellished by his flammable performance and a more-than-exciting storyline. In other words, it might not be the album of the year for many, but it’s indeed an amazing contribution from Blaze to the world of heavy music. And have I mentioned this is the first part of a trilogy?
When asked about the story told in this new trilogy, Blaze commented that “It’s about a man who does not know if he is human. It’s his personal journey, and he is on a mission to discover one of the new Kepler planets. You know, Kepler discovered all these new planets. It’s set a hundred years in the future, and he’s on a spaceship and it’s how he deals with the fact that he will be one of the first people ever to live for a thousand years because of advances in technology, and how he deals with that. And the question is: is he human or not? And that’s it in a nutshell. And the story expands from there.” The whole concept already becomes evident when you stare at the classic but modern artwork by Swedish artist Andreas Sandberg, which in my opinion seems inspired by most Sci-Fi movies from the 80’s, but it’s when you actually start listening to the album and absorbing its music that you’ll finally understand what Infinite Entanglement is all about.
Let the futuristic journey begin (or continue from where it stopped in Silicon Messiah and Tenth Dimension) with the track that carries the name of the album, Infinite Entanglement, a straightforward Heavy Metal tune with a strong epic vibe, following the musicality from his latest album King Of Metal but a thousand times more polished and vibrant. Before the song is over, a woman’s voice that seems to be from a scientist explains who our main character is and why he was chosen for this mission, introducing us to the high-speed anthem A Thousand Years, my favorite of all tracks. This is where Blaze always thrives, firing pure metallic music with thoughtful lyrics, and I dare you not to sing its catchy chorus along with him while guitarist Chris Appleton showcases a solid performance with his riffs and especially with his solos.
Does he know the truth? No one can cope with the truth, but everyone can bang their heads nonstop to Human, the first single of the album that keeps the electricity flowing (and the perfect soundtrack for the TV series Humans, by the way), with drummer drummer Martin McNee and bassist Karl Schramm providing exactly what the music demands with their respective instruments. In addition, the song’s chorus poses the main question of the entire album (“Human / Am I human? / I am man / I am machine / You just don’t know what it means / To be human”), inviting you to once again sing it together with Blaze. In the pleasant acoustic voyage What Will Come, Blaze’s vocals are perfectly complemented by the exceptional work done by his longtime partners, Belgian guitarist Thomas Zwijsen and Dutch violinist Anne Bakker, proving Heavy Metal doesn’t need to be electric all the time to be stunning; whereas Stars Are Burning, with its hints of modern and alternative music, is yet another contemplative song where it’s mandatory to follow the powerful lyrics declaimed by Blaze to better understand the whole concept. By the time you reach this part of the album, the whole storyline starts to make a lot more sense and you can actually feel the roller-coaster of emotions the main character has been going through.
If you’re a fan of pure metal music with no shenanigans, Solar Wind is for you. However, despite being a good song (in special due to its chorus), it’s below the rest of the album in terms of quality and freshness. In the sinister bridge The Dreams of William Black, where the question “where are you?” is asked to our main character numerous times (and even in different languages), I believe what is actually in question is if William is just dreaming or if this is the new reality he must face. Even if you cannot find an answer to that, you’ll enjoy Calling You Home, yet another dense and exciting metal chant with a traditional “Oh! Oh-oh-oh-oh!” added to the chorus where its backing vocals have a strong impact on the final result; followed by the action-packed tune Dark Energy 256 (or maybe I should call it “Futureal 2.0”?). The unstoppable Blaze has an absolutely amazing performance in which is one of the best songs of the album in my opinion, allowing us all to feel the so-called “dark energy 256” penetrating our skin. Besides, Martin provides Blaze the necessary vibe for his potent voice through his precise drumming, with the last seconds of the song being a beautiful massacre.
In Independence, a smooth intro turns into an energetic chant about freedom and independence (and we know how good Blaze is at singing about those topics), with Chris and Martin once again offering Blaze an awesome support. One thing I love about Blaze is how he always puts his heart and soul into his singing, which is the case in A Work of Anger, a melancholic and meaningful composition full of effective narrations. And do you think the outro Shall We Begin is the end of the story, or is it just the beginning? Well, parts II and III will obviously answer that question, and according to Blaze himself he already has half of album two and some of the music and one of the songs for album three basically finished, which means we won’t have to wait for too long for the conclusion of this awesome saga.
While we wait for more of Blaze’s powerful music, you can also enjoy the making of Infinite Entanglement on YouTube, follow the “Messiah” on Facebook, and purchase your copy of the album at his official webshop, on iTunes, or on Amazon. Is Blaze man or is he machine? We’ll never know, and in fact it doesn’t really matter as long as he keeps feeding our metallic souls with his unique and extremely sharp Heavy Metal for many years to come. Who knows, maybe even for a thousand years.
Best moments of the album: A Thousand Years, What Will Come, Dark Energy 256 and Independence.
Worst moments of the album:Solar Wind.
Released in 2016 Blaze Bayley Recordings
Track listing 1. Infinite Entanglement 4:26
2. A Thousand Years 3:26
3. Human 3:31
4. What Will Come 4:48
5. Stars Are Burning 3:48
6. Solar Wind 4:01
7. The Dreams of William Black 2:20
8. Calling You Home 5:21
9. Dark Energy 256 4:01
10. Independence 5:11
11. A Work of Anger 5:33
12. Shall We Begin 0:56
Band members Blaze Bayley – vocals
Chris Appleton – guitars, backing vocals
Karl Schramm – bass, backing vocals
Martin McNee – drums
Guest musicians Thomas Zwijsen – acoustic guitars on “What Will Come”
Anne Bakker – violin on “What Will Come”
Michelle Sciarrotta – acoustic guitars, backing vocals, narration
Emily Pembridge – keyboards, piano
Liz Owen, Joanne Robinson & Mel Adams – backing vocals
Aine Brewer, Rob Toogood & James Dunn – narration
Here we go again, another blistering cold night in Toronto when it was supposed to be already warming up, with around 15cm of snow out of nowhere just to make the beginning of this spring even weirder than the warmest winter in history. However, when you have the best Heavy Metal band in the entire world playing live in the city, who truly cares about some harmless snowflakes? My only concern was if we were going to have the same sound issues from the concert Friday night in Montreal also here in Toronto, but fortunately the sound quality at the Air Canada Centre was a billion times better than at the Bell Centre, making the whole night even more memorable.
After facing over 30 minutes out in the cold in a never-ending line where there was even an Elvis with an Eddie mask from Powerslave (would that make him the “Presleyslave” or the “Elvis High”?), I got back to the place where I belong in concerts, the floor section (and not those uncomfortable seats from Bell Centre). I might be wrong, but the floor section was quite empty for a sold out concert, even during Iron Maiden. If that’s for safety reasons, no problem, but I think they could have added at least a thousand extra tickets for that area. Anyway, my comments about the opening act, British Melodic Metal THE RAVEN AGE, are exactly the same from Friday night, which means if you read my review for Montreal you can apply each and every word to Toronto as well.
Setlist
Uprising
Promised Land
The Death March
Eye Among the Blind
The Merciful One
Salem’s Fate
Angel in Disgrace
Band members Michael Burrough – vocals
Dan Wright – guitar
George Harris – guitar
Matt Cox – bass
Jai Patel – drums
While some bands look and sound the exact same every single night, there’s something about IRON MAIDEN that makes each of their live performances unique even if they do not change anything in their setlist during the entire tour, as it’s happening during the amazing The Book Of Souls World Tour 2016. We all know which songs they’re going to play, and some people even complain about the band’s predictability, but when the concert starts Bruce, Steve and Co. manage to be different, to sound different and to always offer something new to their fans. Maybe that’s the main reason why they’re who they’re today, right?
Thanks to the almighty Eddie, there were no problems with the sound! Quite the contrary, each instrument was loud and clear, especially the pounding drums by the one and only Mr. Nicko McBrain and the rumbling bass guitar by the band’s mastermind Mr. Steve Harris, who made the epic tune The Book of Souls sound more powerful than ever. By the way, what an amazing reaction the fans had to all new songs from The Book Of Souls, especially the opening song If Eternity Should Fail and what was once again the highlight of the show for me, The Red and the Back. Of course fans went crazy when they played classics such as The Trooper, Powerslave (with Bruce wearing the same “luchador” mask from the past couple of shows due to Wrestlemania weekend), Hallowed Be Thy Name (with everyone at the ACC beautifully singing it together with the band), The Number of the Beast and Wasted Years, but it’s nice to see Iron Maiden are not trapped in the past and are still releasing awesome music for our total delight.
Now let’s talk about those special details that made last night unique, and I’m not talking about the cold and the snow. We all know how intelligent and skillful Mr. Bruce Dickinson is, and that was once again proved after the band performed the heavy and fast Death or Glory. Any other musician would have ignored the fact the song has a special importance to Toronto and to Canada, but Bruce made sure he spent the necessary time to explain the song is about Baron Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the “Red Baron”, who was shot down by Canadian air ace Captain Roy Brown in 1918, and that the seat of Red Baron’s triplane was donated by the dauntless Canadian pilot to a museum in Toronto. Bruce only forgot to mention the name of the museum, so if you’re interested in visiting it and seeing the airplane seat from the renowned Red Baron you need to go to the Royal Canadian Military Institute Museum (RCMI). As a side note, “Turns like a devil, climbs like a monkey!” (or something like that) were the Red Baron’s words about the Fokker Dr I, the most successful triplane in history. Guess where you can also find these words? And before I forget, poor Janick Gers, his guitar stopped working in the middle of the song and he had to spend about two minutes backstage trying to fix it. I’m not going to mention that most people didn’t even notice that “small” detail mainly because Dave Murray and Adrian Smith were on fire with their flawless riffs and solos, ans also because I like Janick’s performance (I think he IS important to what Iron Maiden are today), but if you also saw that you know what I’m talking about.
By the end of the show, while introducing the melodic Blood Brothers, Bruce spoke about the differences in terms of safety and quality of life found everywhere the band goes, comparing for example our always safe Canada to one of the most dangerous countries in the world, El Salvador, but also saying if there’s one thing that unites us all and helps us face any adversities in life is Heavy Metal, in special if you’re part of the MAIDEN FAMILY. On the train back to my small city, Oakville, an “old school” couple who also attended the concert sat in front of us and we instantly started chatting about Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Anthrax, Slayer, Metallica (the guy even fist pumped me full of joy when I said Metallica is the most overrated band on earth), sports, and several other topics. They even gave us a customized pair of hockey blade tapes from The Book Of Souls without even knowing us! That moment I realized how big, fun and unified the Maiden Family mentioned by Bruce is. And I’m happy to be part of it, so happy I didn’t even care I had to wipe a ton of snow from my car at the train station, at midnight, and under a frigid temperature of around -6oC. Actually, I was very relaxed while doing that, humming the “Oh-oh Oh-oh-oh! Oh-oh Oh-oh-oh!” from The Red and the Black and already thinking about when I’ll be able to watch Iron Maiden kicking some serious ass once again.
Setlist Doctor Doctor (UFO song) If Eternity Should Fail
Speed of Light
Children of the Damned
Tears of a Clown
The Red and the Black
The Trooper
Powerslave
Death or Glory
The Book of Souls
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
Encore: The Number of the Beast
Blood Brothers
Wasted Years Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Monty Python song)
Band members Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
Steve Harris – bass
Dave Murray – guitar
Adrian Smith – guitar
Janick Gers – guitar
Nicko McBrain – drums
Finally, after endless hours of rain, strong winds, sun, rain again, snow, sun again and snow again on the road, I’m back from Montreal where I had the pleasure to see for the 17th time in my life the almighty Iron Maiden at the Bell Centre. Before I talk about the concert itself, I would like to recommend the excellent Hôtel Bonaventure no matter what you’re planning to do in Montreal. Not only the hotel is extremely well located (for example, it’s only a 5 to 10-minute walk away from the Bell Centre), but the staff is very friendly, the rooms are comfortable and clean, and their heated outdoor pool is a relaxing option after a busy day in the city.
Getting back to the gig, I don’t have much to say about the opening act THE RAVEN AGE mainly because I didn’t have time to listen to their music before the concert. This London-based band plays a solid mix of Melodic Metal and Metalcore, but nothing new to the world of heavy music. If this is your cup of tea, you’ll probably have a good time listening to them, otherwise do not expect to be blown away by their music. One might ask why those guys are the opening act for Iron Maiden during their entire world tour. Well, one of the guitarists is called George Harris, son of the best and most important bass player in the history of Heavy Metal. Do I need to say more?
Setlist Uprising
Promised Land
The Death March
Eye Among the Blind
The Merciful One
Salem’s Fate
Angel in Disgrace
Band members Michael Burrough – vocals
Dan Wright – guitar
George Harris – guitar
Matt Cox – bass
Jai Patel – drums
Unless you spent the last few months or so stranded in a space station in Mars like Matt Damon in the fun movie The Martian, you already know how grandiose and special The Book Of Souls World Tour 2016 has been so far for all Maidenmaniacs worldwide. Promoting their masterpiece The Book Of Souls, Heavy Metal titans IRON MAIDEN are better than ever on stage, led by obviously Mr. Steve Harris with his galloping bass guitar and an unstoppable Bruce Dickinson proving us all that cancer can be overcome if your will to live is stronger than your fear of dying.
A few marvelous details caught my attention before and during the concert, things that only Iron Maiden can provide you and no one else. First of all, there was a group of friends a few rows below mine proudly flying a flag from the distant territory of Nunavut, in northern Canada. I have no idea if they live in Montreal or if they were there just for the concert, but just for you to better understand this, its capital city Iqaluit is located over 2,000km from Montreal, and it can only be reached by plane in a 5-hour direct flight. Iron Maiden are capable of shortening any distance in such a powerful way it’s hard to describe the feeling, don’t you agree? Secondly, about three rows below me, there was a couple where the mom was carrying a beautiful 6-month (or even less) baby who had a mini Iron Maiden flag hanging from his back (and of course a “fancy” pair of earphones to protect his tiny ears), something so pure and gracious it gives a good amount of hope to our decaying world. Although there were many other kids with their parents at the venue (another thing only Iron Maiden can provide us fans), I’ll never forget the image of that baby and his badass flag. And lastly, that was not only the first time I saw Iron Maiden from a numbered seat, but also the first time I witnessed Bruce interacting with the crowd in French all the time. I have to point out how unique Bruce is. Who else can do all the stuff he does at the same time and thrive in every single one of them?
Talking about the concert itself, nothing I say here will properly express all the passion and emotion of watching those six old school British metallers live once again. Blending old classics like Children of the Damned and The Trooper with new kick-ass tunes such as The Red and the Black (my favorite moment of the night) and Death or Glory, they offered all types of fans everything we could expect for. Not even the horrible sound quality at the Bell Centre, which almost ruined the magnificent intro in If Eternity Should Fail, could make the whole experience less superb. From the entire setlist, the aforementioned The Red and the Black, the incredible The Book of Souls, the all-time classic Hallowed Be Thy Name and the meaningful Blood Brothers (or “frères de sang”, as Bruce introduced it), where that mom was literally cradling her baby “metalhead” to the song’s lovely rhythm, were the moments where I felt in another dimension so perfect they were.
When the concert was over it was easy to see a huge smile on everyone’s faces, proving once again the positive power Iron Maiden always have on us all. And please forgive me for such a short review, but I have to get ready to see my favorite band of all time once again tonight at the Air Canada Centre, here in Toronto. UP THE IRONS!
Setlist Doctor Doctor (UFO song) If Eternity Should Fail
Speed of Light
Children of the Damned
Tears of a Clown
The Red and the Black
The Trooper
Powerslave
Death or Glory
The Book of Souls
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
Encore: The Number of the Beast
Blood Brothers
Wasted Years Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Monty Python song)
Band members Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
Steve Harris – bass
Dave Murray – guitar
Adrian Smith – guitar
Janick Gers – guitar
Nicko McBrain – drums
Mexican headbangers are famous worldwide for their deep and true passion for all things Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, being undeniably among the craziest and wildest ones when responding to their metal idols performing live in their beautiful country. So why not paying a tribute to those loyal metalheads from the land of the Aztecs and the Mayas with our Metal Chick of the Month? Obviously, the chosen one couldn’t be any random musician but a girl that truly knows how to make some good noise and intensify the beat of our hearts, the lovable Mexican drummer Yolanda Moreno Quintos, or as she prefers to be called in the world of heavy music, Yoli Moreno.
Hailing from Mexico City, or México, D.F. in her native language, the power behind the drums of Mexican all-female Heavy Metal band Mystica Girls is a woman of very few words who strongly believes in teamwork above all things. Not only that, we’re talking about another example of a metal musician who trespasses the boundaries of music, having a bachelor’s degree in Economy from ITAM – Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, and who is also passionate about Orthography and Ecology. In other words, if you’re into girls who are far more than just a beautiful face, who are the whole package, the charming Yoli might be exactly what you are looking for.
Before joining Mystica Girls, Yoli was the drummer for a Mexican Death/Thrash Metal band called Inharmonious, with whom she recorded a demo consisting of four tracks in 2007 entitled Echoes of Rage. You can check a rare footage of Yoli with Inharmonious playing one of their demo tracks, Your Death, at the old school venue La Bodega del Metal, in Mexico City, as well as a pretty interesting cover for Sepultura’s all-time classic Refuse/Resist during the Festival Cultural Zacatecas in 2009. The quality of the videos is not perfect, but it’s enough to show you how Yoli and the other girls in the band can kick some serious ass together.
It was only in February 2012 when Yoli joined Mystica Girls, together with Chilean vocalist Mon Laferte, recording right after that in April 2012 the single The Conquest, including a promotional video for it, generating more than 30,000 plays in just one month and therefore increasing the band’s popularity in Mexico and in other parts of the world. That ended up leading to the re-recording of their 2011 album entitled MetalRose, now featuring Mon Laferte on vocals, in July 2012, and the release of a brand new EP named The Conquest one year later.
Then, in the beginning of 2014, Mystica Girls released a brand new full-length album entitled Gates of Hell, their first original full-length album with Yoli on drums. Gates of Hell had a very good reception from fans and critics, opening up lots of opportunities for the band in terms of tours and new projects, with the special event called SINFÓNICO.METALLICA., where the girls shared the stage with the OFIA – Orquesta Filarmónica de las Artes on June 6, 2015, being one of the highlights of their already reputable career. Check this nice video of Mystica Girls and the orchestra playing the classic Fuel on that night, paying attention to the performance by our beloved drummer, and you’ll see how good she is when holding her drumsticks.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Getting back to when Yoli joined Mystica Girls, she mentioned during one of her interviews she was very nervous the day of her audition, even having already shared the stage with them during her years with Inharmonious in the underground scene. However, all that nervousness was not sufficient to outshine her skills, as a week after the audition she received a notification that she became then part of the group. In addition to that, although the music styles were considerably different between the two bands, with Mystica Girls playing a more straightforward Hard Rock/Heavy Metal while Inharmonious was a fast and furious Thrash/Death Metal band, she got truly happy and excited with this new challenge in her life as a musician. If you want to see Yoli live in action with Mystica Girls, my suggestions are some YouTube videos from a series called “Resistencia Modulada presenta”, especially the ones for the songs No More! and Tiny Blue Dot, and of course you can always check their official YouTube channel and their ReverbNation page, or Cinthya BlackCat’s YouTube channel.
Furthermore, despite being “una mujer de pocas palabras”, there’s a short but newsworthy interview with Yoli on YouTube done by Mexican news channel Siete24, where among other things she talks about Mystica Girls’ participation in the 2014 edition of the famous Mexican festival Hell & Heaven. The entire interview is in Spanish, as you can see, and if you do not understand it really well I can help you by summarizing the most relevant issues discussed. In regards to the festival, Yoli talks about the band’s excitement for playing in front of so many people, sharing the True Metal stage with renowned bands such as one of her favorite groups, American Death Metal icons Obituary, before linking that topic with the release at that time of their new album Gates of Hell, explaining that although it is not a concept album, there’s a special theme in it related to self-awareness and how you face your fears in life. And finally, she talks about her experience with Mystica Girls since joining the band in 2012, including the aforementioned immediate recording of the single The Conquest, how working with the band inspired her to grow musically speaking, and the recent boom of Mexican metal groups, many motivated by the music by Mystica Girls.
She might not be as skilled on drums as Quico from the brilliant TV show “El Chavo Del Ocho” (just kidding, of course), but in case you just fell in love for our talented Mexican drummer Yoli and want to take her home, let me tell you that’s something perfectly possible even if you do not believe so. All you have to do is visit the band’s official webstore, purchase their peculiar keychain Yoli Moreno model for 50 Mexican Pesos (around 4 Canadian Dollars) and voilà! There you have Yoli Moreno and her drums with you day and night 24/7 forever, isn’t that great?
Experience the butterfly effect induced by this talented Canadian band with their electrifying fusion of Industrial Metal and Rock.
If you’re an enthusiast for the unorthodox and industrialized music engendered by iconic bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Rammstein and Combichrist, who are always reinventing themselves and never go with the flow, you should definitely take a shot at the multilayered loudness crafted by Canadian Industrial Rock/Metal act Projekt F. Hailing from the city of Montreal, Quebec, the band was formed back in 2006 by lead singer and main composer Jonh M. Miller, inspired by the Industrial Rock and Metal scene of the 90’s, and since then they have been on a roll releasing their first EP named 0000 in 2009, the full-length album Skins in 2013 and the EP Under The Skin in 2014, also sharing the stage with names like Angelspit and Motionless In White and playing alongside Combichrist at the biggest industrial music festival in Canada, Kinetik Festival, in 2012.
Not only that, they also had the opportunity to perform the song “Room 13” in a TV pilot called Cause and Effect, and the song “Oophorectomy” is also in a short movie called Purple Love, featured at the 2013 Cannes Festival. Add to that their looks, blending traditional Black Metal corpse painting with a futuristic concept, and it’s easy to understand how they’re capable of blur the line between reality and imagination in a truly compelling way with their work. Now in 2016, the band chose to face an even darker path with the release of their brand new EP entitled The Butterfly Effect, a direct sequel to their previous conceptual effort Skins and another solid step in their rising career.
The distorted and resonant bass lines by William Hicks create a wicked ambience before drums enter the music in the experimental intro named The Butterfly Effect, building the aura for Tongue, a powerful composition that proves to all metalheads that Industrial Metal can be as heavy as hell when a band wants to. Moreover, the Trent Reznor-like vocals by Jonh are full of melancholy and match flawlessly with the song’s metallic instrumental, not to mention his lunatic screams during the chorus. In other words, this is indeed the perfect theme song for an obscure cult movie, just like what already happened with two other songs by Projekt F as mentioned in this review.
Their sonic production line continues to smash our ears in the electrifying Cut Your Wings, where drummer Fred Linx showcases his ability to sound robotic and organic at the same time. This is the type of composition tailored to make the audience jump up and down with the band, with the maniacal growls by Jonh elevating even more the song’s impact. In Unbegun, another disturbing tune where Projekt F offer their potent Industrial Metal with hints of Sludge Metal, the guitar riffs by Simon Sayz will pierce your brain and make you bleed so heavy they are. In addition, although it features more electronic noises in the background than the other tracks, it’s unarguably a neck-breaking tune with extremely dark lyrics that will please even the most diehard fan of Death Metal or even Black Metal.
The acoustic and low-tuned track cryptically entitled 03:47:09:08:1945 works as a demented intro to Fat Man, a brutal Heavy Metal hymn with an interesting technological aura. Jonh and Simon have insanely good performances throughout the entire song, sounding as if Nine Inch Nails decided to get darker, heavier and more demonic, therefore displaying no mercy for our necks once again. And last but not least, we have the dark aria When the Angel Fell From the Sky (it looks like a song name Judas Priest would surely use) offering the listener some contemplative piano notes, atmospheric passages and a final narration, concluding the story presented in the EP the quaintest way you can think of.
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. In music, that’s the exact outcome these talented Canadian metallers want to provoke in the metal scene, and in case you want to join them in this bizarre quest you can go visit their Facebook page for more details and news on the band, enjoy more of their music at their YouTube channel, SoundCloud and ReverbNation, and purchase The Butterfly Effect on iTunes or at the band’s BandCamp page.
Best moments of the album: Cut Your Wings and Fat Man.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2016 Independent
Track listing 1. The Butterfly Effect 1:32
2. Tongue 4:53
3. Cut Your Wings 3:46
4. Unbegun 3:49
5. 03:47:09:08:1945 1:58
6. Fat Man 4:24
7. When the Angel Fell From the Sky 4:56
Band members Jonh M. Miller – vocals, piano, synth
Simon Sayz – guitar
William Hicks – bass
Fred Linx- drums
Behold the spawn of the scalding union between Pagan Black Metal and mysticism, crafted by an old school band from Poland that has risen from the ashes like a demonic phoenix.
“I have known innumerable Gods All ethereal and infinite… the stars. And I saw God in all the world’s substance I saw that God is not the only God of the Ultimate Abyss…” – Faust, by Fernando Pessoa
Almost 20 years after the release of their debut album called Wicher, from 1996, Polish Pagan Black Metal warlocks Sacrilegium finally return with their second full-length opus, stylishly entitled Anima Lucifera. The album title, which translated from Latin means “soul of light”, refers directly to a line from a poem by Polish poet Leopold Staff, whose poetry also feature together with the works of important names such as W. B. Yeats and Fernando Pessoa in the fervent lyrics by the band’s lead singer, founder and mastermind Nantur (also known as simply “N”). With that said, you can already envision what you’ll find when you start listening to this excellent extreme music album.
Exploring occult themes which accompanied the band members at the beginning of their journey in the 90’s in Wejherowo, a town in northern Poland not far from the city of Gdańsk, but at the same time expressing the experience the band has gained over the past 20 years not only as musicians but also as human beings, Anima Lucifera offers a lot more to the listener than “just” traditional Black Metal. This esoteric content can be seen already on the artwork by underground designer Marcin Lojek (Thaw, Nadja, Sunrise), building a connection between Sacrilegium’s aggressive past and their arcane and freakish present (and future).
And Sacrilegium actually start the opening track, Preludium / Heavenwings Shrugged, in a completely different way from their 1996 debut, sounding very esoteric, but that’s just until their crude and vicious old school Black Metal feast begins, with the bestial riffs by guitarist Suclagus (or simply “S”) shining amidst the blast beats fired by drummer R. A similar pattern is found in Angelus (Anima Lucifera), where an angelical ambience brings comfort to our hearts in a less ferocious rhythm with some elements of traditional Heavy Metal and even Gothic Metal added to it. The harsh snarls by N and the awesome solos by S make this tune one of my favorites of the entire album, with its second half exploding into brutal Black Metal for the total delight of fans of the genre.
Their eccentric and occult vein keeps flourishing in Mare Tenebrarum by blending mysticism with sheer barbarism, and if you love the disturbing sound of Black Metal drumming I can assure you what R provides in this chant is exactly what you’re looking for. Also more melodic than usual, The Serpent Throne showcases a passionate and flammable performance by the entire band, with its spot-on background keyboards increasing its effectiveness. Once again, the music morphs into a violent tune and the band’s characteristic uproar returns at full force, haunting us all until its fiendish ending connects with the next track, entitled …and Soul. A solid riffage and a smooth piano lead the sounding on the first half of the song, and following the band’s distinct “formula” they fire Black Metal like there’s no tomorrow after a short while with highlights to the cavernous growls by N.
Venomous Spell Of Fate transpires brutality and despair from the very first second, with some nice breaks added to provide more intricacy to the overall result. Moreover, R is on his beast mode behind his drum set, contributing to boost the malignancy found in this bestial chant. And following that sonic massacre, dissonant noises kick off the chthonic tune named Desiderium Immortalis, where N offers some possessed screams throughout the whole song. It’s sheer Black Metal with nothing truly remarkable in it, but at least it keeps the album at a good level of quality. Lastly, how about an 8-minute feast of demonic growls, blast beats and guitar riffs played at the speed of light to conclude Anima Lucifera? This is what you’ll be able to enjoy in Anima Lucifera / Epilog, with N leading some sort of black mass so demented his harsh screams are. Thus, when the music is over we have three minutes of obscure and eerie passages similar to how the album started, closing the Black Metal circle generated by Sacrilegium.
Do you want to know more about this old school Polish institution and their rousing Pagan Black Metal? Simply go check their Facebook page for more information on the band, and buy your copy of Anima Lucifera at their BandCamp page or at the Pagan Records’ BandCamp page to truly feel how boisterous and esoteric they can sound at the same time. Sacrilegium offer the perfect marriage between Extreme Metal and mysticism, and they want you to behold the spawn of this scalding union through their devilish music.
Best moments of the album: Angelus (Anima Lucifera), The Serpent Throne and Venomous Spell Of Fate.
Once again it’s time to enter the realm of Neverworld and surrender to the power of their solid and distinct Heavy Metal.
Two years after opening the gates of their metallic kingdom to all of us with their debut full-length album Visions Of Another World, British metallers Neverworld return with Dreamsnatcher, once again inviting us to step into their world of dreams and nightmares through their more than exciting Melodic Heavy Metal. However, this time those guys from Bedfordshire, a county in the East of England, stepped up their game and got harder and heavier, but at the same time more melodic and refined. Put differently, this is the type of band that shows all diehard fans of classic metal music the likes of Judas Priest and Savatage that not everything is lost in our modern day society in terms of music.
You’ll need just a few seconds to get hooked on the music found in Dreamsnatcher so captivating it is. Not only the guitars got heavier, but especially the keyboards played by Mr. Daniel Potter throughout the entire album are a work-of-art, adding texture and intricacy to the music and crafting a unique atmosphere perfect for transporting the listener to the land of dreams created by Neverworld. Moreover, it doesn’t matter if a song in Dreamsnatcher has four, seven or ten minutes, they all have a reason for their duration and never get tiring, not to mention their storylines that, if properly followed, will make your time listening to the whole album even more pleasant than you could expect.
Reigniting the fire of metal from where they stopped in 2014, an acoustic intro is slowly complemented by heavy keyboards and an epic atmosphere until it becomes pure Heavy Metal in the opening track, elegantly named Into the Mouth Of Madness. And if Ben Colton, the mastermind behind the band, was already amazing in their 2014 release, now he goes above and beyond offering the listener a riveting 9-minute metal journey full of beautiful riffs and solos. And things get even better in the title-track Dreamsnatcher, where the band drinks from the fountains of Melodic and Power Metal, with highlights to the powerful bass lines by Gary Payne and the aforementioned keyboard notes by Daniel. Besides, it’s truly amazing the way Ben declaims the lyrics with so much passion and dedication, turning this tune into a must-listen for fans of the genre.
In the superb Armies Of The Night, the band embarks on heavier and darker paths with highlights to the great job done on guitars by Ben and his bandmate Jack Foster, especially with the song’s main riff, resulting in a very solid composition that perfectly represents what Neverworld are capable of delivering to fans of heavy music. Then we have Passion Killers, a heavy ballad with lots of feeling and electricity where its killer riffs match flawlessly with its atmospheric keyboards, inviting you to close your eyes and savor this metallic voyage; followed by Under The Asylum, an old school Heavy Metal anthem inspired by the music from the 80’s with an additional progressive touch, with drummer Mike Vaughan pounding his drums nonstop while Ben fires his potent vocals. Although we face a high level of aggressiveness all the time, the music is also very harmonious, and there are so many good guitar and keyboards solos it’s quite impossible not to get thrilled by this fantastic hymn.
Fall Forever is another beautiful semi-ballad to soothe our souls, showcasing an outstanding performance by Ben, while All I Am is Progressive Metal to the second power without sounding cheesy or repetitive in its four minutes of classy passages. And in Awakening, again sounding like a classic act from the 80’s, Neverworld bring forward a nice Hard Rock vibe with Daniel leading the musicality with his first-class keyboard notes. In addition, you’ll start singing its chorus together with Ben without even noticing so catchy it is.
It’s simply incredible how every song is unique and presents a fresh sounding to the listener, and of course it couldn’t be different with the last two tracks of the album. The Grand Illusion will put you to bang your head for sure, with its fiery guitars, keyboards and drums supporting Ben’s incredible performance on vocals. Moreover, perhaps one of Ben’s biggest qualities as a vocalist is that he never exaggerates while singing, always providing exactly what the music demands. And the icing on the cake comes in the form of Face The Fear, a bold and epic 9-minute composition that properly concludes Dreamsnatcher. It’s a high-end mix of Progressive and Melodic Metal that never gets bland or uninspired, especially due to the amazing guitar solos halfway through it and its melancholic and smooth ending.
It’s time again to enter the realms of Neverworld and surrender to the power of their sophisticated Heavy Metal, and in order to experience their magical music all you have to do is visit their Facebook page, YouTube channel and SoundCloud page, and obviously purchase Dreamsnatcher at the band’s Big Cartel page. After two sensational albums in a row, I’m beyond confident we’ll start seeing a lot more from Neverworld in the world of heavy music, with the sky being the limit for those British troopers. Or maybe even further, to a world where metal dreams always come true.
Best moments of the album: Dreamsnatcher, Armies Of The Night, Under The Asylum and The Grand Illusion.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2016 Dream Demon Recordings
Track listing 1. Into the Mouth Of Madness 8:44
2. Dreamsnatcher 4:38
3. Armies Of The Night 4:56
4. Passion Killers 5:51
5. Under The Asylum 4:54
6. Fall Forever 6:09
7. All I Am 4:04
8. Awakening 5:30
9. The Grand Illusion 6:56
10. Face The Fear 9:15
Band members Ben Colton – vocals, guitar
Jack Foster – guitar
Gary Payne – bass
Daniel Potter – keyboards
Mike Vaughan – drums
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 