Tag Archives: power metal

Concert Review – Wacken Metal Battle Toronto Round #4 (Bovine Sex Club, Toronto, ON, 03/27/2015)

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The battle for a place among the Gods of Heavy Metal rages on in Toronto.

INTRODUCTION: Wacken Metal Battle Canada

wacken metal battle_toronto_round4This Friday, March 27 lots of metalheads showed up at the iconic Bovine Sex Club (probably the worst nightmare for a claustrophobic fan of heavy music) in Toronto, Ontario, to show their support for five promising Canadian metal bands during Wacken Metal Battle Toronto Round #4. I guess I don’t need to explain in details what a Wacken Metal Battle is, but in case you really don’t know anything about it simply go to their official website to check the RULES of this competition and the DATES AND LOCATIONS of all qualifying rounds, provincial semi-finals and finals, and the great Canadian final, as well as their official Facebook page for more details and updates on all the battles raging on across Canada. If you’re craving for fresh and electrifying heavy music, a Wacken Metal Battle is what you need.

Guest judges for this round were Jon Asher (Asher Media Relations), Oscar Rangel (Annihilator), Dan Hand (Underground Operations) and Andrew Epstein (FlinkTO), who had the privilege of watching five kick-ass bands ranging from blasting Death Metal to the most inspiring form of Power Metal: Rivers Run Red, Black Eve, Apokalyptik Warrior, Call Of The Wild and Olde. I honestly cannot say which one was my favorite, as they all delivered top-notch Heavy Metal much better than what several renowned bands haven’t been able to do in a long time. And the winner is… Well, let’s save it for the end of this review. First, enjoy a quick but candid review of each of the metal “infantries” fighting for a place among the Gods of Heavy Metal at the 2015 edition of the one and only Wacken Open Air in Germany. And sorry for the horrible photos, I had some issues with my camera.

RIVERS RUN RED

This straightforward band from Woodbridge, Ontario, was responsible for opening the night with those traditional Death Metal eviscerating vocals and demonic riffs perfect for mosh pits and brutal headbanging while enjoying a cold beer. If you want to listen to what Rivers Run Red are capable of when armed with their instruments, visit their SoundCloud page for a taste of their music. And of course, we can rest assured old school Death Metal will keep haunting Canada while talented bands like Rivers Run Red are out there.

Band members
Silvestro Lo Presti – vocals
Massimo Taglieri – lead guitar
Andrew La Porta – rhythm guitar
Matthew Trojan – bass
Anthony Ricci – drums

BLACK EVE

Led by frontman John “Deadman” Davis and delivering high amounts of energy, violence and obscurity through their music, Melodic Death Metal band Black Eve had a very professional and fun show that entertained everyone at the venue. Obviously, their evil gear and corpse paint are important elements of the band’s live performance, but it’s the music itself that stands out, with highlights to the excellent guitar duo composed by Mario Syposz and Reuben Pereira. You can take a listen at Black Eve’s demonic music at the band’s ReverbNation page, paying attention to their interesting lyrics inspired by classic horror movies and slasher flicks.

Band members
John “Deadman” Davis – vocals
Mario Syposz – lead guitar
Reuben Pereira – rhythm guitar
Cody Stanley – bass guitars
Trysten “Tragedy” Mclellan – drums

APOKALYPTIK WARRIOR

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Apokalyptik Warrior @ Bovine Sex Club, Toronto, ON, 03/27/2015

If you have no idea of what Street Metal means, the crazy bastards from Apokalyptik Warrior will teach you a lesson in that form of Heavy Metal. They do not aim at reinventing metal nor at being thoughtful or philosophical. All they wanted to do this Friday was driving the fans wild with their assault of metal riffs and harsh screams. Listen to this song by this nice Street Metal band and you’ll understand what I’m saying. In addition, it was really cool to see the guys from Black Eve slammin’ into the circle pits during Apokalyptik Warrior’s performance, showing us all that it was not actually a battle of bands happening at the Bovine Sex Club, but it was simply a gathering of friends and fans of heavy music.

Band members
General SS Ramsay – vocals, guitar
Baroness Denise Samuelson – bass
Battery Sergeant Adam ‘Mortal’ McLaughlin – drums

CALL OF THE WILD

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Call Of The Wild @ Bovine Sex Club, Toronto, ON, 03/27/2015

The third band of the night was a sign that the Heavy Metal gods are more powerful than ever, delivering their message through the music by awesome bands like Call Of The Wild. What an amazing and cohesive five-piece Torontonian Power Metal band, with songs such as Voyager being a beautiful tribute to everything we learned to love in the music by Iron Maiden, Helloween, Iced Earth and so on. And do I need to say anything about the stunning guitarist Cyndi Zhang? Her guitar lines are outstanding, not to mention that her true Asian beauty adds an extra touch of awesomeness to the band’s live performance. She deserves to be a “Metal Chick of the Month” here at The Headbanging Moose one day for sure. Anyway, what are you waiting for to heed the call of the wild?

Band members
Power Serg – vocals
Cyndi Zhang – guitar
Tom Stanley – guitar
Mark Nicholson – bass
Chris Maniac – drums

OLDE

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Olde @ Bovine Sex Club, Toronto, ON, 03/27/2015

Closing this amazing night of heavy music, it was time for some low-tuned riffs and deep growls with Doom/Sludge Metal band Olde, directly from Malton, Ontario. Olde are indeed another exceptional band with such a professional and heavy sounding it’s hard not to bang your head to their doomed music. Frontman Doug McLarty has a strong voice that helps the band deliver all the despair they want with their music, but it’s the work done by guitarist Greg Dawson and  drummer Ryan Aubin that truly maintains Olde’s music quality so high. Go to their SoundCloud page and also to their BandCamp page to listen to their debut full-length album, entitled I, and you’ll see why they were one of the chosen bands for this round of Wacken Metal Battle in Toronto.

Band members
Doug McLarty – vocals
Greg Dawson – guitar
Chris Hughes – guitar
Cory McCallum – bass
Ryan Aubin – drums

AND THE WINNER IS…

As a matter of fact, there were two winners that made it to the next round of Wacken Metal Battle in Toronto: APOKALYPTIK WARRIOR with their sick Streel Metal, and the power metallers from CALL OF THE WILD. Congratulations! It was indeed a well-deserved win for both bands, and I cannot wait to see how far those two excellent groups can go in the competition. Who knows, maybe Wacken Open Air this summer? There are still other battles to go in Toronto and everywhere else in Canada, so they better get ready for a lot more of this healthy and fun metal war if they want to gain their place among the Gods of Heavy Metal in German territory this year.

And just as a final note, if any of the bands above (or any other indie band all over the world) read this review and are about to release new material, you can always get in touch with us through our CONTACT US page and have your new album reviewed at The Headbanging Moose, as well as have your music sent to The Metal Moose Radio. How about that, eh!?

Album Review – Blind Guardian / Beyond The Red Mirror (2015)

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Are you ready to explore what’s beyond “The Red Mirror” with one of the most influential Power Metal bands of all time?

Rating4

blind guardian_btrmBeyond The Red Mirror, the tenth studio album by German Power Metal pioneers Blind Guardian, their first since 2010’s At the Edge of Time (the longest gap between two studio albums in their career) and the first without bassist Oliver Holzwarth since their finest work to date, 1995’s Imaginations from the Other Side, might not be a true masterpiece, but it’s good enough to keep those Teutonic veterans going and also a perfect example of how to effectively combine metal music with a great concept, creating what some people like to call a “Metal Opera”.

Blind Guardian’s iconic lead singer Hansi Kürsch has already explained himself this album is a sequel to Imaginations from the Other Side: the two worlds have changed dramatically for the worse since then with only one gate left now between them, The Red Mirror, with the storyline revolving around the young protagonist we first met in the 1995’s classics “Bright Eyes” and “And the Story Ends”. Add to that the fact that three different classical choirs (from Czech Republic, Hungary and the United States) and two grand orchestras, each featuring 90 musicians, are part of the album, and you can imagine how grandiose the musicality contained in Beyond The Red Mirror is.

blind guardianThe almost 10-minute epic track The Ninth Wave, with its choir intro, kicks off the album proving once again Hansi’s voice is not only unique but also so powerful it’s impossible not to follow his vocal lines in their entirety. Although I loved its harmony and storyline, it lacks a little heaviness, making it more Metal Opera than Power Metal per se. Twilight Of The Gods sounds a lot more traditional than the opening track, especially its fast drums and guitar riffs and solos. Moreover, Hansi guides the rhythm here thanks in part to the song’s awesome straightforward lyrics (“Witness the twilight of the gods / Will they ever return / A storm will take us / And then wipe us out / There’s no retreat”).

The most interesting aspect in Prophecies, which despite not being outstanding at least maintains the album at a decent level, is how well we can understand each and every word Hansi pronounces, even when he does his stronger/harsher vocals; while At The Edge Of Time, with its eerie intro and a more melancholic atmosphere, doesn’t really decide if it’s a metallic or a symphonic song, hurting the final result. On the other hand, Ashes Of Eternity is the true Blind Guardian we all have learned to love, with its exciting vocal lines and beautiful guitar solos by André Olbrich making it one of the top moments of the album. Keeping up with this awesomeness we have The Holy Grail, the perfect soundtrack in the quest for the Holy Grail itself where not even a single second is boring or out of place. Moreover, the top-notch Power Metal drumming by Frederik Ehmke will definitely sound amazing live.

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Beyond The Red Mirror Limited Edition Digipak/Earbook Deluxe

The Throne is another symphonic-centered tune with lots of elements from traditional Blind Guardian, with highlights to the great job done by André Olbrich with his inspired solos once again. The following track, the dark Sacred Mind, showcases solid instrumental lines despite not being very creative, albeit it gets a little tiring after a while; and the piano ballad Miracle Machine focuses on a superb vocal performance by Hansi. Closing the regular version of the album we have another imposing progressive 9-minute song, Grand Parade, which in my opinion gets too symphonic sometimes, even knowing it was meant to be this way. In other words, it’s not a bad song, but it won’t probably work really well live nor become a classic or anything like that. Furthermore, the special versions of Beyond The Red Mirror come with an amazing bonus track, Distant Memories, a melodic and symphonic old school semi-ballad curiously inserted in the middle of the album (as track number 6) instead of at the end; and if you purchase the earbook there’s another Power Metal bonus track for you entitled Doom.

In summary, although some moments in Beyond The Red Mirror lack more intensity and power, there are lots of excellent songs, with a couple of them deserving a 5 out of 5 so amazing they are, augmented by all the majestic orchestral passages perfectly inserted amidst the band’s unmatched Power Metal. Some fans will end up comparing it to Imaginations from the Other Side due to the existing connection between the two albums, but I prefer to keep them separate and enjoy their own elements and musicality one at a time. Although we all know there’s never going to be another Imaginations from the Other Side, we can rest assured Blind Guardian is still capable of delivering Power Metal at its finest like in Beyond The Red Mirror, and that’s the bottom line. With that said, are you ready to explore what’s beyond “The Red Mirror”?

Best moments of the album: Twilight Of The Gods, Ashes Of Eternity, The Holy Grail and the bonus track Distant Memories.

Worst moments of the album: At The Edge Of Time, Sacred Mind and Grand Parade.

Released in 2015 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. The Ninth Wave 9:27
2. Twilight of the Gods 4:49
3. Prophecies 5:24
4. At the Edge of Time 6:53
5. Ashes of Eternity 5:38
7. The Holy Grail 6:02
8. The Throne 7:53
9. Sacred Mind 6:21
10. Miracle Machine 3:02
11. Grand Parade 9:27

Limited Edition Digipak Bonus Track
6. Distant Memories 5:51

Earbook Bonus Track
12. Doom 5:51

Band members
Hansi Kürsch – lead and backing vocals
André Olbrich – lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
Marcus Siepen – rhythm guitar
Frederik Ehmke – drums, percussion

Additional musician
Barend Courbois – bass guitar

Album Review – Battle Beast / Unholy Savior (2015)

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Battle Beast want the world and everything in it, and they’re definitely on their way to conquer it all with their brilliant brand new album.

Rating2

battle beast_unholy saviorIf what Finnish Heavy Metal warriors Battle Beast wanted with their 2013 album, the self-titled masterpiece Battle Beast (which was left out of our 2013 top 10 list by a huge and inexcusable mistake), and their brand new album, the mighty Unholy Savior, was conquering the world of heavy music, I must say they are on the right path to reach their goal. Their third full-length album sounds even more professional and polished, always with that magic aura from the 80’s supporting their musicality.

Just like its predecessor, Unholy Savior is an endless feast of heavy riffs, catchy melodies and straightforward Heavy Metal boosted by the inspired performances from all band members, led by guitarist Anton Kabanen and especially the stunning bombshell Noora Louhimo, the “Janis Joplin of Heavy Metal”. Honestly, I cannot think of a band that’s been playing such captivating heavy music nowadays, and things get even more exciting as Battle Beast have the whole package, from their music to their looks. In other words, what else do you need in a Heavy Metal band that those “unholy saviors” from Finland are not offering us?

Unholy Savior has a very simple rule: hitting “play” and banging your fuckin’ head until the end, which becomes obvious from the very first notes in the opening track, Lionheart. This “fight song” focuses on a solid and traditional instrumental with a strong Stratovarius vibe, with Noora’s amazing voice and its inspiring lyrics (especially its chorus) making it one of the best of all songs without a shadow of a doubt. The title-track, Unholy Savior, has that 80’s intro similar to what was done in some songs from their previous album, with its drumming by Pyry Vikki and keyboards by Janne Björkroth dictating the rhythm. Moreover, pay good attention to its backing vocals as they add a lot of electricity to the chorus.

The following track, I Want The World… And Everything In It, is beyond spectacular and the best of the whole album, with its powerful riffs and solos working flawlessly. Besides, it’s quite impossible not to raise your fists and scream the chorus with Noora, whose potent voice perfectly flows through the song’s harsher lines. But before you listen to it again and again, take a listen to the rest of the album starting by the next song, the Power Metal tune Madness, certainly one of the best choices for their live performances with highlights to the nonstop Pyry on drums and, once again, to the gorgeous Noora. As she screams during the song, her name is madness!

battle beastIn order to slow things down a little and let us recover our energy, the band provides us a beautiful “medieval” ballad entitled Sea Of Dreams which focuses 100% on Noora’s voice, and let me tell you her performance and the song lyrics will surely warm up our hearts during the coldest nights of winter so pleasant this song is. After that short break, it’s time to break our necks again with Speed And Danger: with a name like that I don’t need to say it’s as fast and heavy as it can be, right? I would love to get into some circle pits while the band plays this song, with highlights to its great lyrics paying a tribute to several of the band’s Heavy Metal idols.

Touch In The Night, with its 80’s keyboard notes and its lyrics talking about love and passion (“I’m gonna feel the wrath of the king / ‘Cause touching you was a sin / I’m a victim of my own desire”), might not be a bad track, but it gets so pop sometimes (including Noora’s vocals) to the point it’s annoying. The next two tracks are a bit “weird”, but that doesn’t mean they’re not good at all: The Black Swordsman is a nice and short ballad that works as a bridge to Hero’s Quest, an instrumental track tailored for playing video game or drinking beer with your friends, with its guitars and keyboards in total sync.

The last part of this awesome album begins with Far Far Away, a very consistent song about the journey of each and every Heavy Metal fan in the world, with its riffs inspired by classics such as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, especially by the unique riff from “Two Minutes to Midnight”; followed by the touching ballad Angel Cry, with kudos to Noora for another outstanding performance. To be fair, if anyone still thinks our Metal diva shouldn’t have become the frontwoman of Battle Beast, this song will easily prove why she was indeed the chosen one. And finally, as a more-than-welcome bonus track, we have Push It To The Limit, a Metal version for Paul Engemann’s classic from the 1983’s masterpiece Scarface that will put you to dance.

In short, while Battle Beast keep roaring and spreading their thrilling heavy music all around the world with albums like Battle Beast and now the incredible Unholy Savior, we can rest assured Heavy Metal will stand strong and relevant for many years to come. Those Finnish metallers are getting closer and closer to dominating the entire world of music, and when they finally do so I’m sure everyone will just love it. Who doesn’t want to be ruled by a screaming queen like Noora, right? All hail to Battle Beast!

Best moments of the album: Lionheart, I Want The World… And Everything In It, Sea Of Dreams, Far Far Away and Angel Cry.

Worst moments of the album: Touch In The Night.

Released in 2015 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. Lionheart 4:53
2. Unholy Savior 5:37
3. I Want The World… And Everything In It 4:37
4. Madness 4:02
5. Sea Of Dreams 5:01
6. Speed And Danger 4:39
7. Touch In The Night 4:32
8. The Black Swordsman 1:15
9. Hero’s Quest 2:31
10. Far Far Away 3:47
11. Angel Cry 3:34

Bonus Track
12. Push It To The Limit (Paul Engemann cover) 3:20

Band members
Noora Louhimo – vocals
Anton Kabanen – guitar, vocals
Juuso Soinio – guitar
Eero Sipilä – bass, vocals
Janne Björkroth – keyboards
Pyry Vikki – drums

Album Review – Neverworld / Visions Of Another World (2014)

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An exciting music journey to a “different world” created by this talented Heavy Metal band from the UK.

Rating4

Front CoverFormed in 2009 from the ashes of several local bands in Bedfordshire, UK, comes a Heavy/Power Metal band that offers fans of the genre a very professional and entertaining music feast, with all the traditional and melodic elements found in the music by giants such as Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Helloween, Gamma Ray and Savatage. After the release of an EP entitled Welcome To…, in 2010, British band Neverworld is back with their first full-length album, the interesting and solid Visions Of Another World.

According to the band members themselves, “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.” They also say it’s a place where metal dreams come true, inspiring all of us to use our imagination while listening to their music, and let me tell you this is the best thing you can do while taking a listen at Visions Of Another World: not only this is a very technical album, but it’s just a matter of closing your eyes and following the story told in each and every song for a unique experience that will stimulate all your senses.

In order to properly kick off the “journey” proposed above we have Tempus, an intro that blends the sound of a clock ticking together with some smooth piano and keyboard notes, as if the band wanted to musically hypnotize and transport the listener to another world, before the title-track, the amazing Visions Of Another World, fills our ears and souls with that Symphonic Power Metal vibe, speed and energy the likes of Helloween and Judas Priest, with highlights to its guitar solos blended with some background keyboard notes. Simply raise your fists and sing the chorus along with vocalist Ben Colton, you’re going to love it.

band picThey Live focuses on more old school heavy music, like a mix of Deep Purple and Gamma Ray, with its ending showcasing a very harmonious and progressive side, creating an intense and fun atmosphere for the listener, while Blood And Romance, invigorated by the stunning vocals by guest musician Christina Gajny, is so delightful I would like to see more of that Ben/Christina duo in their future releases. It’s such a beautiful Power Metal ballad, with almost 10 minutes of powerful melodies and atmospheric passages transpiring pure emotion, it’s hard not to listen to it several times before moving on to the next song, Ghosts, with its “angrier” and more rhythmic musicality. Even the vocal lines by Ben are more aggressive here, providing a good balance with all its nice breaks and variations before culminating in a 100% Power Metal ending.

The band “spins the wheel” in the next track, The Wheel Of Misfortune, which has in its powerful keyboards and the amazing guitar solo “battle” during its last part its greatest strengths, followed by the more serious and introspective Eminent Reprisal, where Neverworld slow down things a bit and let the guitar lines guide the music. Each of the band members’ skills are truly noticeable here, with so many good solos and riffs it’s difficult to pick just one or two. Finally, we have Salt Water Bandits, which starts in a very mighty way, enhanced by an atmospheric break halfway through it and all the great sounding the band has to offer us, including many creative riffs, soulful solos, accelerated beats, high-pitched vocals and so on; and the very progressive This Fire, which sounds like a hybrid of Dream Theater and Gamma Ray with the band’s own touch, ending with the same clock from the intro to wrap things up in a very consistent way.

Visions Of Another World is available on CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon and other locations, and it’s a more than welcome addition to your list of metal albums. Let the energy and atmosphere generated by those British guys invade your mind and soul, and you’ll be more than happy to follow them to this new world of heavy music.

Best moments of the album: Visions Of Another World, Blood And Romance and Eminent Reprisal.

Worst moments of the album: This Fire.

Released in 2014 Dreamdemon Recordings

Track listing
1. Tempus 2:27
2. Visions Of Another World 5:53
3. They Live 4:44
4. Blood And Romance 9:13
5. Ghosts 6:40
6. The Wheel Of Misfortune 5:37
7. Eminent Reprisal 7:24
8. Salt Water Bandits 8:16
9. This Fire 8:33

Band members
Ben Colton – guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals
Jack Foster – guitar
Gary Payne – bass
Daniel Potter – keyboards
Mike Vaughan – drums

Guest musician
Christina Gajny – female vocals on “Blood and Romance”

Album Review – Viathyn / Cynosure (2014)

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The new album by this outstanding indie Power Metal band from Calgary has everything we love in progressive metal music and more.

Rating4

Album Cover - Viathyn - Cynosure - 2014There was a time when my playlist was pretty much composed in its entirety by the anthem-like songs and sing-along choruses of many Power Metal bands such as Gamma Ray, Stratovarius, Blind Guardian and Angra. Although years have gone by and my taste for heavy music has expanded considerably, listening to some thrilling Power Metal tunes always touches my heart no matter what, and seeing this genre of heavy music is alive and well in the hands of awesome indie groups, such as Progressive Power Metal band Viathyn, truly makes me hapy. By the way, the name of the band has no real definition in English, it’s just something the band members came up while playing off the word “Leviathan”.

After the EP Demagogue in 2008 and their first full-length album The Peregrine Way in 2010, this Calgary-based band returns with more of their powerful and progressive music in Cynosure, which according to guitarist Jacob Wright means “a focal point or an object that serves to guide”. Also, when explaining the meaning of the songs, which by the way are full of virtuosity and emotion, he mentioned each track focuses upon a character that is either affected by or acts as an agent of chaos, in order to express how small and insignificant our actions are within the grand scale of the universe and to show that we as humans should be humble and respectful to each other. In other words, Cynosure also has a good storyline to add even more value to its music, which is already excellent by itself.

Get ready for a metal journey with the opening track Ageless Stranger, which right after its “Hobbit-ish” intro turns into nonstop Power Metal with lots of progressiveness, riffs and drums à la Gamma Ray, and awesome guitar solos by Jacob Wright, followed by The Coachman, which sounds like a heavier version of Jethro Tull and Sonata Arctica, especially the vocal lines by Tomislav Crnkovic and the harmony found in the lyrics, with highlights to its great chorus (“And in the shades of nightfall, riding swift, he steers to your call / Step into the coach and find your broken oaths are inside / By sleight of hand and wake of fate, speak his name, he’ll be your guide”). I might be wrong, but is it some kind of tribute to Helloween on one of the last guitar solos and at the end of the song, sounding like a live version of “Future World”?

Viathyn Press Photo 2Edward Mordrake gets back to that breathtaking traditional Power Metal with its flawless instrumental, awesome guitar riffs and all rhythmic breaks. It’s definitely one of the best songs of the whole album, especially its second half which would put a big smile on Mr. Kai Hansen’s face. The heavy and symphonic  Shadows In Our Wake has a more badass attitude and it’s impossible not to get excited with the energy this track emanates, with highlights to its nice guitar duos and speed similar to Gamma Ray (but a little more progressive), followed by the superb Countess of Discordia: it has that Power Metal vibe we all love, with “Brothers Crnkovic” absolutely on fire and in total sync. Moreover, not only it has best lyrics of all songs (“Eris, the Countess of Discordia / Behold her kingdom of strife and chaos at your door / Mother to false oaths and daughter to the void / Her fortress stretches high up to the weeping moon”), but it’s impressive how despite being lengthy it’s not tiring at all (and I’m sure you’ll start tapping together with its double bass wherever you are).

Cynosure goes on with Time Will Take Us All, which has a more serene intro and slower rhythm, with part of its musicality inspired by British Progressive Rock and the addition of some guttural vocals in the background being its special element, and Three Sheets To The Wind, a song that takes Folk and Power Metal to the next level, making me want to start dancing and prancing with a mug of beer in my hand. The last two tracks of the album are Albedo, a psychedelic music voyage with interesting lyrics (“Panacea, cure all that ails me and fill my veins with life / Aqua Vitae, draw clarity to my eyes and post colour through my mind”), with highlights to the excellent job done on guitars, and finally the title-track Cynosure, as symphonic and metallic as possible in its almost 10 minutes of fast and complex riffs, guitar solos and drums. Some passages even remind me of Dragonforce, with Tomislav Crnkovic once again showcasing an excellent vocal performance boosted by the enjoyable song lyrics.

There are many places where you can listen to and purchase Viathyn’s Cynosure (SoundCloud, CD Baby, BandCamp, Big Cartel, iTunes, among others), an awesome album tailored for fans of progressive and powerful metal music. There’s no way you won’t feel really good listening to it, I can assure you.

Best moments of the album: The Coachman, Edward Mordrake and Countess of Discordia.

Worst moments of the album: Time Will Take Us All.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Ageless Stranger 7:13
2. The Coachman 5:41
3. Edward Mordrake 6:24
4. Shadows In Our Wake 7:02
5. Countess of Discordia 7:12
6. Time Will Take Us All 7:01
7. Three Sheets To The Wind 7:21
8. Albedo 6:48
9. Cynosure 9:35

Band members
Tomislav Crnkovic – vocals, guitar
Jacob Wright – guitar
Alex Kot – bass
Dave Crnkovic – drums

Album Review – Phantom / …Of Gods and Men (2014)

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With huge doses of blood, iron, sweat, steel and fire, this Canadian power trio delivers an indie Heavy Metal masterpiece for our total delight.

Rating3

Of Gods And Men v2.9Do you really love Heavy Metal? Do you not only listen to it, but feel it and live it every single day of your life? If your answer is “YES!”, screaming with your horns in the air, you MUST listen to …Of Gods and Men, the brand new album by Canadian Heavy Metal band Phantom, by far one of the best new metal bands I can think of. D.D. Murley, Necro Hippie and J.J. Blade (who unfortunately has left the band to pursue other career goals) are true Heavy Metal warriors, and they more than deliver it in this indie masterpiece.

Formed in January of 2012 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, this Heavy Metal/Power Metal trio simply masters the art of crafting catchy, dynamic and nostalgic music, inspired by the musicality of the 80’s with huge doses of energy and passion for Heavy Metal. After releasing their 2013 EP The Powers That Be, and after playing the Newblood Stage at the famous Bloodstock Festival in the UK in 2014, this promising and electrifying band sounds even more mature and more than ready to conquer the world with their first full-length album. …Of Gods and Men is a Heavy Metal extravaganza, with each and every song definitely worth our time, money, screams and horns.

A megalith is not only a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones, like Stonehenge in the UK or the Easter Island’s Moai, but also the album art in …Of Gods and Men and the album’s imposing intro, Megalith, setting the tone for the superb Children of the Stars to kick some serious ass: the name is 80’s metal, the music is 80’s metal, and it’s totally awesome from start to finish.  Vocalist/guitarist D.D. Murley has an amazing voice, he is a great riffmaker, and he will surely get you pumped to scream with him the simple but excellent chorus “Pray for us / Children of the stars”. In other words, he knows how to deliver Heavy Metal to us all.

Too Young to Die, with its awesome bass lines and drums, introduces to us the refined skills of the other band members, bassist Necro Hippie and drummer J.J. Blade. Besides, its great energy and the message in the lyrics are a delight to fans of old school metal music, making it almost impossible not to start banging our heads nonstop. However, it’s the next song that can be considered the icing on the cake in …Of Gods and Men: Blood & Iron, a song heavily inspired by behemoths like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Saxon, is the epitome of Heavy Metal, and there isn’t a single detail here that’s not 100% pure fuckin’ metal. I saw Phantom playing it live once opening for Blaze Bayley here in Toronto, and it got stuck inside my mind instantly. With its perfect galloping rhythm, Manowar-ish lyrics and also the “Oh-oh-oh-oh!” halfway through it, this is already a classic no matter if it’s a brand new song by an indie band. Why these guys are not signed yet to a strong record label is a question beyond my comprehension.

phantom-promoAnyway, the longest song of the album, The Kings Road, is more melodic than its predecessors, reminding me of old school Iron Maiden from Piece Of Mind and Powerslave with elements from 70’s Psychedelic Rock. It’s indeed a bold 8-minute instrumental track where all band members showcase their outstanding techniques as musicians. Right after that metal feast we have another intro, this time called Trinity, which invites us to enjoy the title-track, Of Gods and Men, with its beginning being a good indicator that pure metal is about to come. It’s another lesson in heavy music, with highlights to its great chorus and to the incredible synergy among all band members.

How not to headbang like a motherfuckin’ bastard to something that sounds even like old school Anthrax due to its heavier approach? Well, that’s the case in The Devil In Me, with its ressonating bass lines guiding the music while J.J. Blade pounds his drum kit. And lastly, the band offers us Beyond the Sun, a song that will leave us eager for more of Phantom’s heavy music without a shadow of a doubt. This is like Iron Maiden with Paul Di’Anno on vocals, with all its shredding, solos and insane speed making it truly outstanding.

The band will release …Of Gods and Men on December 6 at Toronto’s own legendary rock bar, the Bovine Sex Club, and if you live in Toronto or will be around the city on that day or weekend, do not miss the chance to witness one of the most powerful and exciting indie bands in Canada. There will be plenty of blood, iron, sweat, steel and fire for all fans that attend their concert, and even more to tame the entire world with the release of such an epic album. This is Heavy Metal, period.

Best moments of the album: Children of the Stars, Blood & Iron and Beyond the Sun.

Worst moments of the album: Nothing in …Of Gods and Men is bad or boring at all.

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Megalith 2:24
2. Children of the Stars 4:18
3. Too Young to Die 3:57
4. Blood & Iron 4:04
5. The Kings Road 8:20
6. Trinity 1:11
7. Of Gods and Men 5:28
8. The Devil In Me 5:08
9. Beyond the Sun 5:38

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

* Currently J.J. Blade has left the band to pursue other career goals.

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

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

OPENING ACTS: Skeletonwitch and Sabaton

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AMON AMARTH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Album Review – Selene / Paradise Over EP (2014)

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Directly from Northern Ireland, we might be witnessing the future face of Symphonic Power Metal.

Rating5

CoverAre you a fan of symphonic heavy music full of operatic vocals, Power Metal elements and a dense Gothic atmosphere the likes of Nightwish, Sonata Arctica and Avantasia? If this is your type of “party”, you should take a listen at Paradise Over, the new EP by Symphonic Power Metal band Selene. Selene was founded in 2013 by guitarist/keyboardist John Connor (sorry, not the one from the Terminator franchise) and singer Shonagh Lyons, with the band name being inspired by Sonata Arctica’s “My Selene”, one of John Connor’s all-time favourite songs, becoming his personal tribute to his Finnish Power Metal heroes.

This new band from Northern Ireland released their first EP called Among the Frozen in 2013, which already received a lot of positive feedback from heavy music fans and reviewers all over the world. However, now with the addition of Cameron Ashlund-Glass (Darkest Era) on drums and Thomas Alford (Sandstone) on bass, their music became a lot more consistent and organic, strengthening the final result in Paradise Over.

From the very first minute of the opening track Facing the Mirror, with its smooth piano intro and guitar riffs the likes of Nightwish, the whole band and the overall production of the EP sound very solid and professional, inviting the listener to keep relishing every track in Paradise Over. In addition, the song is augmented by its emotional lyrics (“If I can’t love my-self, /how can I need some-one else?”), tailored for fans of the genre, and a beautiful performance by singer Shonagh Lyons.

band promoNot Enough starts with a vibrant intro and offers us a very symphonic and dense atmosphere throughout its entirety, making me wonder how interesting it would be if it was used as part of the soundtrack for any epic or fantasy movie such as The Hobbit, followed by the even more symphonic Still Dreaming, which could easily be played in any radio station in the world due to its pleasant instrumental and melancholic lyrics (“The darkness growing deep within my mind / Feels so real to me but I’m still dreaming”).

Then come the awesome title-track, Paradise Over, with drummer Cameron Ashlund-Glass dictating the rhythm and its strong keyboards and vocals reminding me of some Symphonic Metal classics by Nightwish, Epica and other female-fronted bands; and the very epic and powerful tune Fade Away, where drums and keyboards are in total synergy, together with another great performance by the gorgeous Shonagh. Lastly, the band brings forth the sorrowful ballad Hourglass Fading, which will please the hearts of all music lovers, closing the EP in a very beautiful way.

What does the future hold for Selene? Well, give them just a few more years and I bet their music will sound so much more powerful they might even become the face of Symphonic Power Metal, because if they were capable of producing such enthralling music independently we can have a very good idea of what they could do with proper support. So go to the band’s official BandCamp page to purchase their new EP Paradise Over, visit the official Selene Web Store for some other cool stuff such as their previous EP Among the Frozen and other bundles (which include keyrings and necklaces), and appreciate the music by this promising band from the “The 6 Counties”.

Best moments of the album: Not Enough and Paradise Over.

Worst moments of the album: Let’s wait for a full-length album to choose some bad moments (if there are any, of course).

Released in 2014 Independent

Track listing
1. Facing the Mirror 5:08
2. Not Enough 5:03
3. Still Dreaming 4:34
4. Paradise Over 3:29
5. Fade Away 5:03
6. Hourglass Fading 3:16

Band members
Shonagh Lyons – vocals
John Connor – guitar, keyboard
Thomas Alford – bass
Cameron Ashlund-Glass – drums

Album Review – Kilmara / Love Songs and Other Nightmares (2014)

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An exciting Power Metal “gemstone”, full of heavy riffs, melody and all other elements we love in this type of music, nicely carved by this very competent band from Barcelona.

Rating4

kilmara_coverFor most of us, the word “kilmara” might mean only a semi-precious green stone (also known as jade) used for jewelry, but it has also become a synonym of high-quality Heavy Metal, especially in the past decade. After over 10 years of existence, Melodic Power Metallers from Spain and Germany Kilmara are releasing their third full-length album, Love Songs and Other Nightmares, another “gemstone” carefully polished and ready to shine in their discography.

Let me start by saying that the new album by this Barcelona-based band was produced by none other than the exceptional Roland Grapow (Helloween, Masterplan) at Grapow Studios in Slovakia and published by Sony Music, and by that you can already have an idea of the professionalism you’ll find in each and every track from Love Songs and Other Nightmares. Only talent itself doesn’t bring any good results if not accompanied by a huge amount of dedication and hard work, and Kilmara are a great example of how putting those elements together translates into amusing and captivating music.

From the very first heavier-than-usual riffs of the opening track, Fantasy, Kilmara showcase a modern Power Metal, focusing on smoother and clearer vocal lines (very well done by singer Christian Wolfgang Kohl) instead of traditional high-pitched screams from other bands of the same genre. Not only this song has an awesome chorus, but the addition of some harsh vocals makes everything even more entertaining. Quick question: would Fantasy (or maybe Fantasy’s) be a gentlemen’s club in Spain or somewhere else? At least that’s what the lyrics seem to be talking about.

The galloping rhythm, conducted mainly by Javi Morillo’s excellent work on drums, and the soulful guitar solos keep the energy level up in The Devil’s Eye, followed by the soaring intro and thrilling riffs of The Break Up, another top moment of the album, with lyrics about ending a relationship. By the way, this song would be an awesome way to do so (or at least the break up would happen with an exciting soundtrack). Cold Rain sounds like a sequence to the previous track in terms of lyrics, with highlights to the way the band “prepares” the listener for the catchy chorus.

kilmaraThen Kilmara slow things down with Believe, a semi-ballad with nice instrumental, but not as exciting as the previous tracks, before accelerating everything again with Nothing to Me, a heavy tune with hints of Thrash Metal the likes of Anthrax, with its riffs and double bass dictating the rhythm plus some great lyrics to sing along (“There’s nothing you can say / There’s nothing you can do / There’s nothing that can take away / The damage that you do”). A more traditional Power Metal can be found in Usual Strangers, especially due to its good guitar duo and solos, while Alpha is more melodic, flirting with Symphonic Power Metal. And pay attention to its funny/sexist lyrics, you might see yourself in that situation one day (or maybe many times a week).

And at long last, Kilmara saved for the final part of Love Songs and Other Nightmares three completely different tracks for all types of fans: Insomnia is another good Power Metal track with some interesting lyrics; Play to Win focuses on a more Hard Rock sonority, with its excellent instrumental parts mixed with another good vocal performance by Christian; and finally we have the beautiful ballad Time Flies, with  its powerful chorus as the “main ingredient”. There’s also a German/Spanish version of this song as a bonus track that sounds even more emotive than the regular one, especially the awesome Spanish parts. I myself speak Spanish and, in my humble opinion, I would love to see more Spanish songs by Kilmara: they sound so amazingly powerful when singing in this language.

I guess I could not finish this review without mentioning how gorgeous the “cover girl”, created by Montreal’s own Jessica Allain, in Love Songs and Other Nightmares is. Is she even real? Anyway, this excellent Power Metal album is available at Amazon and iTunes, among other places online and at physical stores, so if you’re a true fan of Power Metal don’t waste your time and go grab this “gemstone” by Kilmara for your collection.

Best moments of the album: Fantasy, The Break Up and Nothing to Me.

Worst moments of the album: Believe and Alpha.

Released in 2014 Sony Music

Track listing
1. Fantasy 4:41
2. The Devil’s Eye 4:20
3. The Break Up 3:59
4. Cold Rain 6:01
5. Believe 4:31
6. Nothing to Me 4:01
7. Usual Strangers 4:51
8. Alpha 4:04
9. Insomnia 4:47
10. Play to Win 5:59
11. Time Flies 6:19

Bonus track
12. Time Flies (German/Spanish version) 6:19

Band members
Christian Wolfgang Kohl – vocals
Jonathan Portilo – guitar
Kike Torres – guitar
Raúl Ruiz – bass
Javi Morillo – drums

Album Review – Accept / Blind Rage (2014)

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And we salute Accept for another wonderful metal album.

Rating3

accept-blind rageI’m pretty sure a lot of people will disagree with me, but in my opinion Teutonic Heavy Metal icons Accept sound a lot more powerful today than in their early days. Of course I enjoy their old material and acknowledge their undeniable value to the history of traditional Heavy Metal, but the music those restless warriors from Germany have been generating in the past 5 years is beyond  incredible. Who doesn’t love such metal anthems like “Teutonic Terror”, “Stalingrad” or “Kill the Pain”?

With their “six string sabers” and “breeding metal from within”, their battle for heavy music rages on with the excellent Blind Rage, the fourteenth studio album in their extensive career and an album that can also be considered the third installment in this new amazing Accept-era. Although it might not be as brilliant as the masterpiece Blood of the Nations (2010), it’s undoubtedly as great as or even better than Stalingrad (2012) and, more important than that, it keeps the band 100% alive and on fire for our purest joy.

Blind Rage kicks off with the furious Stampede, which literally means “a sudden panicked rush of a number of horses, cattle, or other animals”, and that pretty much summarizes not only this song but the whole album: it is pure traditional Heavy Metal music, full of fast and heavy riffs straight to your face. Add to that a catchy and ass-kicking chorus and an awesome performance by Mark Tornillo, and you’ll get addicted to this song without even noticing. Things get even better in Dying Breed, one of those memorable headbanging songs with great riffs and solos, absolutely perfect for enjoying with your metal friends. In regards to the lyrics, they are a beautiful ode to many Heavy Metal icons such as Judas Priest and Motörhead (“And we salute you / The last of a dying breed”), with so much feeling it’s impossible not to fall in love for this song.

acceptDark Side of My Heart, a song that emanates the same energy the band had in the 80’s, showcases another beautiful performance by Mark on vocals, reminding us one more time why he was chosen to be their new frontman, while Fall of the Empire is a much heavier tune, with melancholic lyrics and strong bass lines. The whole band sounds very cohesive and inspired in another one of the top moments of the album, the awesome Trail of Tears, a song that flirts with Power Metal and reminds me a little of “Fast as a Shark” (especially its speedy rhythm), followed by Wanna Be Free, a Heavy Metal anthem about the fight for freedom and all the horrible issues in our world. It’s almost a ballad, but with that heavy punch only Accept can provide us.

The next few tracks were also born to be classics: was the song 200 Years, with its interesting lyrics about the end of civilization, part of one of their albums from the 80’s and they just re-recorded it by any chance? What about Bloodbath Mastermind, with its 6 minutes of pure Heavy Metal? The bass lines sound awesome here, enhanced by some superb guitar solos and a high-end chorus. And we also have the semi-ballad From the Ashes We Rise, a highly recommended Hard Rock tune for hitting the road with the people you love. Finally, Accept offer us The Curse, the longest track of the album with lots of melody in the guitars and vocal lines, which kind of continues where the previous song ended but could have been a little shorter to avoid losing momentum, and Final Journey, another tune tailored for anyone who loves banging their heads, with kudos to drummer Stefan Schwarzmann for an outstanding job done in this song. In addition, the impetuous album art by Dan Goldsworthy, displaying a monstrous enraged blood red bull, ends up being the icing on the amazing cake of heavy music found in Blind Rage.

Last but not least, I honestly believe nothing Accept have done since their latest comeback would have been possible without frontman Mark Tornillo. Not only the three albums with him on vocals are 100% addictive and much better than a great part of the old material by Accept, but the “American blood” of the band proves once again he’s here to stay, with an outstanding performance during the entire album and singing even better at their live concerts as you can see HERE. With that said, let’s raise our fists and bang our heads in salutation to those Heavy Metal soldiers, certain that they will keep on rockin’ and delivering us more masterful albums like Blind Rage for many years to come.

Best moments of the album: Stampede, Dying Breed, Trail of Tears and Bloodbath Mastermind.

Worst moments of the album: Fall of the Empire and The Curse.

Released in 2014 Nuclear Blast

Track listing
1. Stampede 5:14
2. Dying Breed 5:21
3. Dark Side of My Heart 4:37
4. Fall of the Empire 5:45
5. Trail of Tears 4:08
6. Wanna Be Free 5:37
7. 200 Years 4:30
8. Bloodbath Mastermind 5:59
9. From the Ashes We Rise 5:43
10. The Curse 6:28
11. Final Journey 5:02

Japanese Edition Bonus Track
12. Thrown to the Wolves 3:51

Band members
Mark Tornillo – lead vocals
Wolf Hoffmann – guitar
Herman Frank – guitar
Peter Baltes – bass guitar
Stefan Schwarzmann – drums