What's coming up?

The New Year is almost upon us so I'll jump ahead and wish a Happy New Year to everyone! Hopefully it will be a good year for music as well.
Coming up this week we are aiming for reviews of the latest from Wino, Weedeater, Bruce Lamont,Damned Things, Acelsia, Axe Battler and Votum plus maybe one more. Also there will be Forgotten Gems on Europe and Malice and Clash of the album covers.

***Have a great week!

Clash of the album covers

Last clash of 2010. It is....


Accept-Blood of the nations

vs.


TT Quick-Metal of honor


***Which cover do you prefer?

Forgotten Gems-Mox Nix

Axe Killer Records 2001

Obscure Texas band Mox Nix managed only one album on Axe Killer Records in 1985. They were one of many American metal bands signed by the French label in the 80's. With a sound firmly rooted in accessible heavy metal Mox Nix went on tour with the likes of Yngwie Malmsteen, Accept, Killer Dwarves and Warlock. The future looked promising for the group before Axe Killer records folded and a follow up release got hung up by management. It's really quite a shame too as their self titled album showed a lot of promise. Musically this is pure heavy metal along the lines of Riot, Saxon or Y&T. With clean/clear vocals courtesy of Johnny Duff ( who sounds a bit like David Coverdale) Mox Nix deliver a full on classic metal assault. Tracks like "Never Again", "Steal The Show" and "Kill Or Be Killed" offer thrashy moments sure to appeal to fans of straight ahead heavy metal. Joined by guitarist Bruce Tousinau, bassist Robert Fernandez and drummer Joe Vernagallo Mox Nix had a tight sound going for them. Well worth your time to search out Axe Killer released a new version of this classic in 2001 with two bonus tracks "Red Planet" and (a great metal classic) "Lightning Without Thunder". Copies can usually be picked up for under $20 on Ebay.

Faanefjell-Trollmasj

Mayhem
2010

Faanefjell is a Norwegian mountain and the story goes that trolls were driven away by people building their houses and churches. That lead to a battle over the land between the trolls and humans as both groups thought they had rights to the land. So Trollmarsj is the story of the mountain, humans, priests, fights and the march of the two trolls, Grimtroll and Sørtroll. The music is a combination of black, folk and symphonic metal. All three styles are frequently pushed together in the telling of this story. The album also features guest appearances by Cato Arghamon (Trail of Tears, Dimension F3H, Cutthroat, Lucid Fear), Ronny Thorsen (Trail of Tears), Frank Ørland (ex-Scariot, ex-Harm), Daniel Sandén-Varg (Odd Nordstoga) and Audun Grønnestad (Imperia, Angel). Largely it's a two man band carrying out their vision on this concept album. This is certainly and involved album that requires the listener to really focus in on what is transpiring. The idea behind the storytelling element appeals to me, but the gruff black metal vocals oftentimes make it difficult to understand the events taking place. So I frequentlty felt left with just the music to set the mood. Fortunately on that level there was enough to pull me in. The music has a wide range of styles and the blend is rough, but I think that is intentional to show the conflict between the warring parties. The music maintains a certain power and beauty at the same time. Not an album I could to listen to every day, but I see myself listening to this one a few more times this winter.

Last Decendant's-One Nation Under God

Stormspell Records 2010

Judging by the album and song titles I expected this re-release from Stormspell Records to be some obscure Christian metal band in the realm of Messiah Prophet or Bloodgood. While they certainly deal with spiritual issues I'd say they fall more on the Trouble side of the fence that the Stryper side. Considered a cult classic by some One Nation Under God was released in 1988 on a small German record label. Stormspell Records offers a digitally remastered version of the album complete with Last Descendants 1986 demo World War III. And of course being Stormspell Records you get the full treatment-booklet with pictures and lyrics, band history and even an interview tossed in for good measure. Musically Last Decedents mixes elements or progressive metal/speed and thrash. It took me a few spins but One Nation Under God did eventually grow on me. The World War III demo has a real traditional metal feel to it and shows a band in search of their sound. On One Nation Under God the band shows a more mature side and offer a sound that is not too far off of Artillery or Mekong Delta. Mind you I wouldn't quite put them in the same category as said bands. That said though this is another interesting release for Stormspell Records. The label has certainly been digging around and uncovering some worthwhile bands worth a listen or two. And the nice thing about Stormspell Records is the fact they offer previews for most (if not all?) of their new releases. So you can listen and decide for yourself. While not a "must own" in my book I can honestly say I did enjoy it and I look forward to seeing what 2011 brings us from Stromspell Records re-releases.

Forgotten Gems

Few know that Mark and I became friends over a bond of not only mainstream metal but also the more obscure and hidden treasures that metal has to offer. We both enjoy the underground...the usual and the unheard of. Not every band that made it was great. And not every great band made it. Many bands were one and done. Lost in a flood of similar sounding bands or forced out of the field by changing musical landscapes these acts delivered material that was not only good (and deserving to be heard) but also better than what was being offered at the time. With that in mind Mark and I are starting a new column called Forgotten Gems. We hope to dig out albums that you probably missed the first time around. While there are hundreds even thousands of bands deserving mention we will try to stick to albums that are easy to track down. Some might be imports only but with sites like Ebay,Half.com,Amazon and the like (not to mention Itunes) most should be easily within reach.

Best and worst album covers of 2010

Ah, album covers I still love to look at them. That's not to say they are all good, but I still spend time looking at album covers and it's good to know there are still some fine covers coming out. Let's look at the not so good or bad if you will.

Here are a couple for the could have been better category.


Yeah, it's Eddie, but if a Maiden cover doesn't strike you as being cool right away then something is wrong.



The Helloween logog looks good, but the main image is like a steampunk version of a blender blade. It's okay, but not really front cover worthy.


Davie Rock Feinstein's cover is just totally bland. How much thought really went into this cover?

And...

Lethal Saint's cover is going for a DIY/early thrash cover kind of look, but it comes across as more of a "sketch on a book cover by a bored 8th grader" kind of look.



And finally...

Yngwie in his normal "I am wanker see me pose" stance. There are worse Yngwie covers, but once again this is no good.


Let's look at some of the covers that I really liked.

First some typical ideas done in likable ways.


Yeah, it's a skull and like 30% of all metal albums seem to have them slapped on their covers. I like the cover of Earthride's latest. The backgrounds colors and the blending of the object work for me.


Okay, it's a tough warrior with a weapon and we see plenty of those all over metal covers every year, but I really took to Immaculate's album cover. I only wish the music had been as good as the cover...it wasn't though.

Some different ones...


Intronaut's latest is an odd, but catchy cover.


Dawnbringer's latest uses only a few colors, but I love the depth and the mood they create.

And finally...



The Rocketchief cover plays on a definite nostalgia angle, but I loved it the first time I saw it.


***There you go. Feel free to add what covers from 2010 you liked or didn't like.

Midnight Chaser-Midnight Chaser

Heavy Artillery Records 2010

From the record label that brought Enforcer to the attention of the masses comes the debut s/t EP of Midnight Chaser. From San Francisco, California (by way of the rust belt of Pittsburgh) Midnight Chaser pay homage to 70's/80's hard rock and metal bands like Tank,Saxon and Motorhead. A limited edition release I had to check to make sure this wasn't a re-release of some long,lost 80's metal band. If it wasn't for the modern production job this could have been put out sometime in the late 70's or early 80s. It's funny the band choose to cover Turn Your Head Around by Tank. If I was to describe Midnight Chaser the band Tank would certainly come to mind. This is prime traditional metal. My only complaint was how short this sneak preview is. With a full length album scheduled for release in early 2011 Midnight Chaser has a chance to become another success story for Heavy Artillery Records. Aimed at fans of Tank and Saxon as well as bands like Judas Priest,Deep Purple and Fastway (per their bio) Midnight Chaser are metal for metal fans. No frills metal in fact. I look forward to hearing their full length release to see if the energy can carry over for these guys. I've got a feeling it can and Midnight Chaser can help us get the awful taste of the nu metal years out of our mouths. We need more bands like this not only embracing metal's glory days but reviving it.

Mutants of war-Product of corruption

Self-produced
2010

Hailing from Chino, California this band was started by former members of Stricken by evil back in 2007. They played their first show after just two weeks of rehearsals. Then they took some time to practice and began playing more shows and they have shared the stage with Exodus, Overkill, Flotsam And Jetsam, Prong, Deicide, D.R.I., Destruction and many others. In 2008 they released a four song demo. After that the band went through several line-up changes. Now with a stable line-up the band have released a new EP "Product of corruption" So let's see what we have here. Opener "Creatures" blasts straight ahead with a style similar to early Testament. It has a great pounding style and has my attention immediately. Up next is "Death Penalty" which reminds me at first of a cross between Death Angel and Exodus. What I liked most about this song were the moments towards the end where instead of just following the same rhythms they instead brought in more ideas and kept the song fresh until the very end. Up next is "Get Gnar" which has a definite late 80's DRI flavor in both the music and the vocals. I was glad to hear the crossover sound and they handled it with just as much fury and finesse as they did the thrash songs. Then comes the title track which begins slowly before taking off and becoming a hard hitting monster. This track might very well be my favorite due to the mix of pace changes and just how seamlessly they switch gears. "Kill 'em with speed" begins at a gallop before erupting full blown into a tight thrash assault. Glad to see a song live up to it's title. Of course this band isn't all about speed because they are technicly tight and not afraid to bring numerous pace changes into every song. Closer "Outbreak of death" might be the most complicated track they present on this EP. It begins with a very Exodus/Death Angel type asault as did a few other songs. Then around 2/3 of the way through we are treated to some Iron Maiden type riffs before the band bursts back into another attack that depends on heaviness as well as speed. Honestly I was impressed by this EP. Not just because it's old style thrash. No, I hear that style all the time and all too often it's presented in a very one dimensional format. What I heard here from Mutants of war is a band who isn't content to just play one style. Instead they have been working on their skills and they are not afraid to spread it out go in different angles at a break neck pace. That's the kind of approach that sets them apart apart just a little form a number of other retro thrash style bands I have heard in recent years. I hope they keep up with that approach and keep sharpening and practicing their skills. I'll look forward to hearing a full length effort from them when a label signs them and gives them the chance they deserve.

http://www.myspace.com/mutantsofwar6

What's coming up?

Merry Christmas! Hope you have a great day!

In the next week I am going to continue to try and knock out some review of some discs that have been sitting on disc for far too long including Mutants of war, Accelsia, Faanefjell and maybe others plus that death DVD that I still need to watch. Also except Clash of the album covers, Battle of the bands and maybe something on the best and worst album covers of 2010.

Merry Christmas All Ye Metalheads!

Have a very Merry Christmas and stay safe out there everyone. I hope to jump back into some more reviews after the weekend. Until then I wish you all a wonderful time with family and friends. Have a nice, tall and cold mug of season's greetings on me!

Yen Harley-The substance of things

dyingGiraffs
2010


Yen Harley are an alternative rock band from The Netherlands whose roots only go back a few years. Singer/guitarist Lukas Batteau had briefly had a band under this name,but they broke up rather quickly. With ideas in his and head and guitar in hands he kept working more on his own and wrote and recorded a demo. He played these songs accosticly at open mic nights at various clubs in 2007. He realized he was looking for a darker sound and soon he teamed up with drummer Berry Vink, bassist Josine van der Splinter and guitarist Rolf Perdok in 2008. So this band was formed and Batteau realized those songs he had written on his accostic guitar would transfer better to a rock format. His new band kept working and perfecting those songs that were now a few years old and eventually they formed the foundation for this album. Batteau was influenced by 90's bands like Alice in chains, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam and that shows in these songs. The overall sound is a melancholy style of alternative rock. The songs are smooth with a definite attention to detail and melodies. I was particularly impressed by several of the guitar solos. Now the major downside of this album because obvious rather quickly. That is the fact that so many of the songs are so similar. There is a definite lack of variation in the pace of these songs because almost every track falls into the medium slow range. The closer "By Starlight" is easily the best track on the album because they push the bounderies a little and pace changes a little. I was really hoping for one or two songs where they would really step up the tempo or have a song or two with a couple of solid pace changes within the song, but that never happened. Still fans of 90's alternative music will enjoy this one and it's always good to see a musician stick with material they believe in even it takes a few years until they get to record it like they want to.

Mass-Fighter

Retroactive Records 1982/2010



Recorded in 1982 by Tom Allen (legendary producer who has worked with Judas Priest and Black Sabbath) for A&M Mass's debut album was left to collect dust after problems arose between the record label and the band's manager. After fighting to regain the rights to the album for several years they started over and released a self financed EP. Selling over 10,000 copies of the EP the band was eventually signed by RCA. They released New Birth and moved on with their career. Finally after all these years Retroactive Records worked with Mass to re-release their debut album. Remastered from the original source material Fighter is a look back at the 1980's metal scene. In fact this is classic 80's metal. The title track is a heavy rocker which would have been one of the first singles from the record. It has a doom feeling to as well. While several of the tracks did show up re-recorded for New Birth (incl. the minor hit Do You Love Me) they were too polished taking away from edge they originally carried. Had this record come out in 1982 it very well could have made Mass more well known. Tunes like "Change Your Way" (with it's Iron Maiden feel) were made for 80's radio. These young lads showed a lot of promise and A&M messed up by allowing this to slip into obscurity. Vocalist Louie St. August really doesn't sound like any other singer. He has his own sound and really makes Fighter stand out. Retroactive Records has done a great job with this re-release. Packaged with a booklet that gives you the band's history this CD is a real find. Fan's of 80's metal take note. Mass has the right balance of heaviness, harmony and melody. There's rockers and ballads that are typical or the era. With Fighter your given the chance to uncover a lost treasure that slipped by us all the first time around.

Note: Not to be confused with the Mass from Germany.

Elvenking-Red Silent Tides

AFM Records 2011

Honestly when Mark sent this for me to review I had never heard of Elvenking. Their bio listed them as being an Italian folk/power metal band. As much as I enjoy all types of music I never thought that folk and metal would make a good fit. To be fair though from what I have read Elvenking have been moving further from a folk sound to more of a traditional European metal style (I say this even though their last album was an acoustic affair). With all that in mind Red Silent Tides really took me by surprise. I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. Produced and mixed by Dennis Ward (who has worked with Pink Cream 69) Red Silent Tides is very much a hard rock disc. There are folk moments to be sure on tracks like What's Left Of Me and Your Heroes Are Dead but it's on the heavier tracks they really caught my attention. The Last Hour and Silence De Mort are well crafted hard rock numbers. You can hear the influence of Ward on this disc. His production brings everything out and up front. The guitars are crisp. The drums are mixed perfectly. And vocalist Damnagoras sounds forceful and in charge. Just listen to the album opener Dawnmelting for an idea of the kind of presence he has. Again, this was a pleasant surprise for me. A real hidden treat right before Christmas.

Tankard-Volume 14

AFM Records 2011

Every one's favorite beer drinking German band Tankard return in 2011 to crack open another case of alcohol soaked thrash metal! Hard to believe their livers haven't given out after 30 years of being the "Kings Of Beer". It's even harder to believe that their sound hasn't changed one bit either. Tankard still play that same frenetic thrash that they did on their 1986 debut Zombie Attack. Who needs retro bands when Tankard still sound like they did in the 80s? The opening track Time Warp showed that even after all these years the band still knows how to craft those perfect speed tinged riffs. While humor has always played a role with the band (listen to Fat Snatchers(the Hippo Effect) for a chuckle) the band does get serious on Black Plague (BP) and Condemnation. But we all know that a Tankard album wouldn't be complete without an ode to the working man (and his drinks of choice). Weekend Warriors fills that bill with it's tribute to the 9-5 crowd that's just waiting on Friday to roll around. Volume 14 is like your favorite brand of beer. It's the same great taste and quality you'd expect. It's a Tankard record from start to finish. There is a reason Tankard are a legend in the field of German metal. They play no frills, in your face metal that reminds you that not every great thrash band from the 80's went flat.

Top 25 albums of 2010

Andy posted his top 25 the other day and I finally got around to getting mine together so here you go.

1-Ufomammut-EVE-Beautiful, bizarre and brilliant all at the same time.

2-Iron Maiden-The Final Frontier-It’s not a Matter of life and death, but still really good.

3-Slough Feg-Animal Spirit-The masters knock out another masterpiece.

4-Gallows End-Nemesis Divine-This was has been climbing up my list for months.

5-Stone Axe-2-Like stepping back into 1971.

6-Earthride-Something wicked-In your face mean spirited doom.

7-Kylesa-Spiral Shadow-Not quite the monster I was hoping for, but still plenty to offer.

8-Helloween-7 sinners-Still the best power metal band going.

9-Armored Saint-La Raza-Wow, they really branched out this time around and pulled it off quite well.

10-Cough-Ritual Abuse-Just heard this one in recent weeks. Glad I didn’t miss out on it.

11-Bison BC-Dark Ages-Thick and heavy metal with lots of muscle behind it.

12- Ratt-Infestation-Shocker of the year. Their last album was 11 years ago and blew hard, but they came back put out probably the second best album of their career.

13-Dusted Angel-Earth sick mind-I was blown away by their EP last year and this full length didn’t disappoint.

14-The Ocean-Anthropocentric-Now I need to hear Heliocentric.

15- Canvas Solaris-Irradiance-Normally prog metal isn’t my thing, but I have been into this band for a while now.

16-Skullhammer-Pay it in blood-Fantastic retro-thrash.

17-Enforcer-Diamonds-Good, but unlike everyone else I preferred the previous album.

18-Sister Sin-True sound of the underground-Not a great year for hard rock, but this was one of the better releases in that style.

19- Exodus-Exhibit B the human condition-Rerecording Bonded by blood a few years ago was a mistake, but they bounced back from it nicely.

20-King Giant-Southern Darkness-Southern fried hard as nails stuff that will stomp you flat.

21-Heathen-Evolution by chaos-Perhaps their best album.

22-Halford-Made of metal-How come the last two Priest albums stunk and all of his solo stuff is good?

23-Sungrazer-s/t-Heavy psychedelic madness.

24-Darkthrone-Circle the wagons-Thick, noisy and powerful.

25-Tie
The Sword-Warp Riders-Made the list, but disappointing for them.
and
Witchsorrow-s/t-Great outing from UK doom trio.

Proghma C-Bar do travel

Armoury/Mystic
2009

Poland's Proghma C really attempt to bring almost everything to their debut. We have avant garde ramblings, frenzied sounds flying left and right, a small army of twisted riffs and vocals both floating and lofty as well as frothing at the mouth growls. This results in some intense and impressive moments, but unfortunately they are few and far between. Peaking early is a phrase that came to mind while listening to this album. Almost every song has a key early on and almost every song quickly falls into a pit of repetition for the rest of the track as my eyes glaze over as I wait for the track to end. They show flashes of brilliance, but became tedious within seconds on most of tracks contained here. Seriously it's like a long distance runner sprinting with all of their might for the first mile and then jogging the rest of the race because they spent all of their energy so early. The talent is undeniable here as far as playing goes because there are quite a few ideas that made their way into this recoding and I admire the potential. However their lack of creativity as writers is all too obvious. Perhaps it's something they can work out with further practice, but I'd definitely say they need to go back to drawing board and I will be rooting for them to cultivate the sparks I heard on this album.

Spinning Chain-My Insanity

Self-produced
2010

I played this disc from Austin, Texas based Spinning Chain once and came away with the impression that it was a very well produced disc and that's due to the fact that it was done by. It's not always a good thing for the band if the most impressive aspect of an album is the production because that could me an the music itself didn't stand up as well on it's own. That's what I felt about Spinning Chain as I gave the disc a few more plays. It's a very loud album, but it's all in volume rather than heaviness which to means the producer made it loud, but there just isn't a great deal of real solid body to the music. My overall take is that this is a tribute to bands who were big a while ago and the main influence is Linkin Park. The vocals are of the shouting variety and some of the choruses are catchy there isn't a great of emotion conveyed in the vocals. They just kind of plunge forward which is alright, but what you hear in the first thirty seconds of each song is pretty much what you get for the whole song. Most of the tracks are fairly concise and they straight into it quickly. Despite repeated play of "My Insanity" I still walked away feeling kind of empty and having a time time recalling any real memorable parts. Just a very average album with few original ideas.

Clash of the album covers

Here you go.


Kamelot-Poetry for the poisoned

vs.


Lizzy Borden-Appointment with death


***Which cover do you prefer?

Grave-Burial Ground

Regain Records 2010

Formed in 1986 under the name of Corpse before changing their name to Grave in 1988 these Swedish death metal legends have been going strong for well over 20 years. Often over shadowed by the their peers Entombed and Dismember (which is really a shame) Grave return with one ugly slab of death metal glory. Ola Lindgren and company have crafted an album full of down tuned, hate filled goodness. While Burial Ground does have it's thrash tinged headbanging moments for the most part this is death sludge. It's raw and primitive bringing back an old school feeling. The production does sound like it was recorded in a dank sewer by C.H.U.D.S but that's the way death metal should be. It's dark,evil and bleak. The songs are longer and there are some different moments for Grave but it works. Not quite the masterpiece of Into the Grave or You'll Never See... ( both are must own if your a death metal purist) Burial Ground still shows today's kids the true face of death metal. Like a walking corpse back for another bite Grave returns more hungry than ever. Let the feast begin gentlemen.

Prime Suspect

Frontiers Records 2010

Made up of three members of Khymera and the voice behind Dreamtide this Italian melodic hard rock/AOR band has produced a solid debut album. Prime Suspect could be looked at as a continuation of Khymera. Certainly fans of Khymera will love this album. It is well produced and contains a sound that is both modern and classic. While honestly it is by no means Earth shattering in it's approach it should be looked at as more than a footnote in the genre. I'm sure melodic metal fan's will be rabid over this and I wouldn't fault them for it. It's good for what it is. Maybe it's not an instant classic by my standards. That said though if you love your rock with more keyboards than guitars you could certainly do worse.

Reflecting on metal in 2010

So Andy posted best albums of 2010 and I'll get mine posted later this week once I figure out the last few spots. Overall it's been a very good year for hard and metal. Maybe not as many great albums as some other recent years, but a whole lot of good ones, lots of pleasant surprises and not very many weak albums either. Okay, there are albums I avoided like Vince Neil's disc because I knew if I listened to it that would be time that I would never get back. Still it has been a solid year for music. Now 2011 is almost upon us. As far as the new year goes I have already heard a solid debut EP from NWOBHM inspired Volture and I have downloads for 2011 releases from Onslaught and Wino. For re-issues in 2011 I already have some Primal Fear discs I will be reviewing soon and I just learned that Warlock and Bang Tango re-issues are coming out early in the year. So the beginning of the upcoming new year is loooking promising already.

Skin-Breaking the silence

Self-produced
2010

English band Skin formed in the early 90's and knocked out several albums a few years later although their debut was certainly their most successful release. As we all know the mid-90's was not a prosperous time for hard rock bands. The band broke up in 1998, but last year reformed to play the Download Festival. Obviously reuniting for that show ignited a park in the band members as they decide to record again resulting in this album. Unfortunately the band decided the tour supporting this album would be their farewell tour. So their reunion is indeed short but it did produce this album. What we have here is a hard rock albums full anthems and ballads and rockers. Not too surprisingly there is a definite 80's-early 90's present on many songs with some AC/DC style grooves and Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen dominating some of the more active songs. Not original, but the music pumps along frequently. Some of the slower songs didn't pull me in nearly as much and my finger was itching to fast forward on several occasions. A bit more of a Bon Jovi feel on those tracks. Vocalist Nev MacDonald really excels and even helps elevate a couple of songs that would have been merely average without his talent helping out. Overall a decent album, not one that will knock you out but their fans will enjoy and it may be their last hurrah for good this time.

Top 25 Metal Releases Of 2010

2010 was a great year to be a heavy metal fan. From black metal to hard rock we were flooded with one great release after another. Accept released a masterpiece despite UDO leaving the band. Forbidden returned with a new album after many years away from the scene. And Slash stepped out of the shadow of Axl Rose with a star- studded s/t affair. Both Mark and I had a hard time narrowing it down to only 25 albums but we did. My list is in no particular order. Enjoy.



1) Accept-Blood Of the Nations

2)Motorhead-The World Is Yours

3)Overkill-Ironbound

4)Forbidden-Omega Wave

5)Witchery-Witchkrieg

6) Jeff Scott Soto-Live At Firefest 2008



7)White Wizard-Over The Top



8)Armored Saint-La Raza



9)Tank-War Machine



10)Early Man-Death Potion



11)Heathen-The Evolution Of Chaos



12)Saint-Hellblade



13)Iron Maiden-The Final Frontier



14)Place Of Skulls-As A Dog Returns



15)Slash-Slash



16)Mass-Fighter (unreleased album from 82 released this year)



17)Sodom-War In Pieces



18)Nevermore-The Obsidian Conspiracy



19)Exodus-Exhibit B: The Human Condition



20)Helstar-Glory Of Chaos



21)Dawnbringer-Nucleus



22)Enforcer-Diamonds



23)Striker-Eyes In the Night



24)Halford-Made Of Metal



25)Annihilator-Annihilator

Vega-Kiss Of Life

Frontier Records 2010

Frontier Records (home of Jeff Scott Solo) has a great reputation of signing quality acts. Vega certainly fits that bill. Featuring vocalist Nick Work (ex Kick/Eden), Tom and James Martin (twins and respected songwriters-House Of Lords,etc.) and drummer Dan Chantey Vega are a UK band looking to bring back melodic metal to the masses (did it ever really leave or just change names?). Citing influences such as Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Journey Vega's debut album Kiss Of Life does deliver on that promise. It's takes a lot for me to admit that despite my love of bands like Slayer and Motorhead I do enjoy some Journey now and then. Maybe it's my wife's musical tastes rubbing off on me but melodic rock can be a nice change of pace (snicker now if you must). Listening to Vega's album at first just brought to mind bands like Bon Jovi (especially on the track One Of A Kind) but the more the disc went on the more it grew on me. Tracks like A.N. other and Heart Of Glass are nice slices of AOR while Stay With Me had a nice guitar solo midway through (which I do wish they would have done a bit more on the release). Wonderland ended up being one of my favorites though with a contagious feel to it. You can hear bits of their influences on Kiss Of Life (it also brought to mind Foreigner and Nelson for some reason) but they pull it off. Recommended for AOR fans and guys like me who secretly have a softer side!

Top albums of 2010 coming soon

Some time this week Andy and I will both be posting out our lists for the best albums of 2010. So come by and check them out and here are links to other music blogs that will be posting their lists in the next week or so. So check them out too.

All Metal Resource — http://allmetalresource.com/


Bring Back Glam — http://bringbackglam.squarespace.com/


Hair Metal Mansion — http://hairbangersradio.ning.com/


Hard Rock Hideout — http://hardrockhideout.com/


Heavy Metal Addiction — http://heavymetaladdiction.com


Heavy Metal Time Machine — http://metalmark.blogspot.com/


Imagine Echoes — http://www.imagineechoes.com/


Metal Excess — http://metalexcess.com/


Metal Odyssey — http://metalodyssey.wordpress.com/


The Ripple Effect — http://www.ripplemusic.blogspot.com/


Hard Rock Nights — http://hardrocknights.wordpress.com/


Layla’s Classic Rock — http://laylasclassicrock.blogspot.com/


The Metal Minute — http://rayvanhornjr.blogspot.com/

Battle of the bands

Here you go.



AC/DC

VS.


KISS

***Which band do you prefer?

The Rex Carroll Band-That was then, this is now

Retroactive
2010

Guitarist Rex Carroll is probably most known for his time in christian hard rock outfit Whitecross and more die hard fans may know his work in King James. Even though Rex was obviously influenced by hard rock guitarists this new disc reveals to us that he was also influenced southern/blues rock as well. It's so surprising because he never allowed this style to come into in his other bands yet here it just flows easily. Not to put down hard rock but I believe many guitarists can learn basic chords and pull that style off, but takes more than just the basics to play blues rock that's really going to stick. You have to have a certain amount of groove and spirit. I don't believe every player has that, but fortunately Rex Carroll has that kinds of spirit and knows how to use it. At first I was shocked by the style, but then when I realized how good he was at it then I just sat back and enjoyed it. So now it becomes obvious that in addition to listening to the likes of Van Halen and the Scorpions that Rex was also listening and soaking in sounds from the likes of ZZtop and the Allman Brothers as well. I for one am glad he decided to share this side of his playing on this album as it has turned out to be one of the more pleasant surprises of the year.

Jeff Scott Soto-Live At Firefest 2008

As Mark mentioned in an earlier post Jeff Scott Soto has a resume that includes stints with Yngwie Malsteen, Axel Rudi Pell, Journey and Talisman (along with dozens more). He has carved out a career as simply one of the best hard rock/heavy metal vocalists around. With Live At Firefest 2008 Soto gives us a unbelievable collection of some of his best material. One listen and you can tell why he has been offered so much studio work and touring opportunities. As unreal as this might sound Live At Firefest has to be one of the best live albums I have ever heard! Hard rock standouts like "21st Century Man" and "Soul Divine" are the stuff dreams are made of. Backed by a band that is tight Soto knocks it out of the park with his singing. Honestly he sounds as good live as he does in the studio (unlike most of today's popular Hot Topic "metal" bands). The guy is amazing. The concert offered something for everyone. Yes you get killer hard rock. But there are also ballads, funk and even disco (which Soto makes work trust me).

I couldn't help but wonder afterwards why Jeff Scott Soto isn't more of a household name? Material like this makes a strong case for it. Thanks Mark for giving me the opportunity to review a treasure like this. A must have.

King James-The fall

Retroactive
1997/2010

Originally released in 1997 this was the sophomore release from the band that included former Whitercross axe-slinger Rex Carroll and singer Jimi Bennett who was also on the first King James album. While the debut was similar to Carroll's former band White Cross, the debut owed more to the musical trends that were popular a few years before this album came out. There is still a hard rock backbone, but the thick yet simple sounds of Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots are all to evident in their sound. Unlike hard rock acts who tried this switch of style in the 90's, King James do not sound completely uncomfortable with the style and they do attempt to keep in some of the hard rock touches that is more akin to their musical backgrounds. Also to their credit they didn't fall into the popular 90's trend of keeping guitar solos to a minimum. Rex Caroll is a fine guitarist and this album is no exception and lets loose on some solid, meaty solos that really helped pick up several tracks on this album. Overall the album leans on Carroll's strength as a played and benefits that. Not what everyone was expecting, but interesting enough to keep me listening all the way through.

Vision-Mountain in the sky

Born Twice
2010
Here is a band that was started when a youth pastor in Jacksonville, Florida asked his praise and worship team to do a concert series. Their first concert drew 250 people and an early line-up of Vision was born. Their second show a few months later drew 1,500 people and from there the members began to devote more time to their project. This album was originaly self-titled upon it's release in the mid-1980's, but was retitled Mountain in the sky for the re-issue. Vision included two former members of Lynyrd Skynyrd with Billy Powell on piano and Leon Wilkeson on bass guitar. Vision really s seemed to be the be lead by guitarist/vocalist Rocco Marshall. The band was rounded out by Leonard Jones on guitars/violin/flute, David Jinright on synths/organ and drummer Mike Maple. There is a definite southern rock flavor to the music not far off from what 38 Special sounded like at the time, but there some progressive passages tied into most of the songs too not far off from Kansas. The writing and playing are solid and I was floored by a few of the solos. The overall sound definitely draws from styles from the mid-70's up until the
mid-80's. The feeling is smooth and they have definite attention to details. The re-issue includes testimonies from both Billy Powell and Leon Wilkeson.

What's coming up?

Trying to to knock out some reviews of discs I have had sitting around, so some reviews coming up in the next week and I still have to watch that live Death disc and review that too. Also hope to have out a clash of the album covers and a battle of the bands. Likely going to have the top 25 albums of 2010 out at the end of the week as well once I listen to a few more discs and figure out the last ten or so spots.

Have a great week!

Motorhead-The World Is Yours

Motorhead need no introductions. Lemmy and company have been churning out high speed rock and roll fueled heavy metal since the 70s. No other band was able to bridge the gap between punks and metal heads like they did. They have influenced more bands than you can name. Simply put heavy metal owes a huge debt to Motorhead. The World Is Yours is what you would expect from Lemmy and the boys. It's fast. It's loud. It mixes blues,punk,heavy rock and thrash.Simply put it's what metal should sound like.
As we all know Lemmy never seems to change or for the matter age. From the opening of "Born To Lose" to the closing "Bye Bye Bitch Bye Bye" Lemmy sings his blues. Religion, life on the road, sex and the glory of rock and roll. It's all here. And I for one would expect nothing less than that from Motorhead. Simply put another solid record from one of metal's all times greats. Buy this and play it loud. And if you have the chance check them out in concert. Having seen them live over the years I can tell you they always put on a killer show. Sure you'll lose your hearing for a few days (from Lemmy's bass alone) but you'll also get a chance to see true icons of metal.

Top 5 re-issues/re-releases of 2010

I'll be doing my top 25 albums of 2010 next year, but am knocking a few other other best of lists this week. Here we go with re-issues and re-releases.



1-Quartz-Stand up and fight
Always heard good things about this NWOBHM classic, but finally got to hear it with a bonus track to boot this year.
2-Poobah-Let me in
Early 70's fuzzed out goodness that I never heard before this year.
3-Blind Illusion-The sane asylum
Not much in the way of bonuses on this re-issue, but a veru good and overlooked late 80's thrash album for sure.
4-Savage Grace-Fall from grace/Ride into the night
The two Savage Grace I hadn't heard were put on one set with bonus tracks. Nice package.
5-Darkness-Defenders of justice
I missed this one in the 80's, but got to hear it this year. Great old style German thrash metal.

Top albums of 2010 I have yet to hear, but want to

Continuing with some more year end lists are the top albums of 2010 that I want to hear, but just have not gotten around to getting a copy yet.

Triptykon-Eparistera Daimones
Tom G. Warrior's new band is one I would love to here, but just have not bought it yet.

High on fire-Snakes for the divine
I had my finger on the buy button a few times online this year, but never clicked to purchase.

Electric Wizard-Black Masses
Been a fan for years, but the high price tag and lack of funds have kept me from it so far.

Crashdiet-Generation Wild
Probably not missing out on much, but my occasional love of glam has me interested.

Accept-Blood of the nations
I am interested, but unlikely I'd pay much to hear Accept without UDO.

2009 albums that I missed out on

Now I am fortunate to hear lots of albums each year, but every year that either I don't hear until the next year or they come out in the final weeks of the year after I already have my top albums list prepared. So here are the top five that fall into that category.

Post Mortem-Letters from the dead
I reveiwed this one at the tail end last year, but it arrived days after I posted my top albums of 2009. Fantastic effort and if I had heard it two weeks earliers it would have made it into my top ten of 2009.
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2009/12/post-mortem-message-from-dead.html


Mean Streak-Metal Slave
I read several reviews on this one in the fall of 2009 and should have leapt at it right away, but did not here it until early 2010. Outstanding classic metal.
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2010/01/mean-streak-metal-slave.html


Dawnrider-Two
Fantastic doom that I didn't hear until early 2010.
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2010/01/dawnrider-two.html


Lord of the grave-Raunacht
More great doom.
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2010/01/lord-of-grave-raunacht.html


Behold the monolith
Yes, even more doom.
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2010/04/behold-monolith-st.html

Battle of the bands

It is...



Judas Priest

vs.



Motorhead

***Which band do you prefer?

Wooden Stake/Druid Lord-split 7"

Altsphere
2011

Two person band Wooden Stake's offering "In the godless Moonlight" is pagan/occult/witch style doom. The song is thick on atmosphere, but . It's certainly a grower, but it did click with me after a few spins. Vocalist Vanessa has a hypnotizing style that will you in once you focus in what she is trying to achieve. The overall feel is haunting, but this a song where you have to sit back, relax and really concentrate to truly enjoy all that there is to offer. It begins with a flurry of noises and sounds, but settles into more of a drone towards the last minute or two. The track comes across as a down tuned progressive entry with plenty to offer.
Florida's Druid Lord serve up"Black Candle Seance". This is wicked heavy, chunky-riffed onslaught with hints of Electric Wizard and Acid Witch. The vocals growl throughout and complement the music perfectly. The flow is terrific and adept at handling the mountain sized main riff and the slower stabbing style attacks in the middle of the track too. This is a track that is easy to get into and one you will want to play over and over because I know that's exactly what I did.
Definitely a fantastic release and highly recommended for all doom fans.

Clash of the album covers

A couple of classic covers to choose from.



Candlemass-Epicus Doomicus Metallicus

vs.



Celtic Frost-Morbid Tales

***Which cover do you prefer?

Volture-Shocking it's prey

Heavy Artillery
2011

Volture were launched just over two years ago when Ryan Waste (of MUNICIPAL WASTE) and Nick Poulos agree to join together due to their love of NWOBHM as well as obscure U.S. and European bands and their desire to channel those influences into their own project. They filled out the line-up and over the next year so they went through some line-up changes, but by early 2010 they found time to get into the studio and record this EP. "Shocking it's prey" seems to rely on the idea that the last 28 years of metal never happened. No surging thrash, no blinding death metal, no gothic metal, but instead it's the early 1980's again. This approach is nothing new because after the retro-thrash fad has come the more recent wave of bands who aspire to re-create or at least just honor those bands who created some truly classic metal between about 1979 and 1983. Volture remind me in part of Heavy Artillery labelmates Enforcer with their love of classic metal, raw production values and fairly high vocals. However while Enforcer are huge on Dianno era Iron Maiden and Kill 'em all style Metallica, Volture actually have slightly more varied influences. I hear some Diamond Head and Raven, but also some more obscure influences like Quartz and Heavy Load. Fans of any of those bands will likely be pleased by this outing. Although it's more of a tribute than anything else because they never push beyond this style that was defined nearly three decades ago. Now I do have to say that while the first four tracks were solid and consistent the last two entries seemed a bit more forced at least as far as the lyrics are concerned. "Cheap Thrillz" is about exactly what you think it is. The music is solid, but the lyrics are liked forced cheesiness which makes it slightly difficult to take. The closer Heathens Revenge again has cliched lyrics as well only this time it's three rate not so serious witchcraft/devil/demon type foolishness. It's not serious, but it had me thinking I like them better when they stick to the metal/basic monster type lyrics which are corny enough to begin with. Still the music and vocals are everything you can hope for. This album is a real celebration of one of the best times for for heavy metal. Volture also gets points for doing a song called "Heavy Metal Machine" because it's only word away from being a great name and it has a mighty catchy riff to boot like Raven and late 70's Judas Priest battling each other in a full on metal street fight. Check this album out when it's released next month and be excited because the band is also working on material for a full length review as well.

What's coming up?

The biggest news is I want to welcome Andy on board and I amd very glad he is going to be writing here. As for for what's coming up I hope to have out a review of Volture's debut today. For the next week here's hoping there will be reviews of Death's Live in Japan '95 DVD (once I find time to sit down and watch it), Wooden Stake/Druid Lord split album and hopefully 1-2 other reviews plus Clash of the album covers and Battle of the bands.

***Have a great week!

The Ocean-Anthropocentric

Metal Blade
2010

I remember hearing Precambrian from the Ocean almost three years ago and just being in awe not just by the musical styles that the band brought to their sound, but also just how easy they made it sound. The release of "Heliocentric" early this year was met with far more mixed reactions and rightly so as it brought about a definite change from their earlier efforts. The metal foundation that was such a backbone of "Precambrian" was with a lighter more subtle approach. I am guessing the bands love of progressive music became more prominent to them than did their heavy influences. Although many fans may have hoped for a return to the heavier style, "Anthropocentric" serves as more of a combination of the styles presented on both "Precambrian" and "Heliocentric". For my tastes I certainly feel that this take certainly gives the listener a huge variety of sounds. In fact the first go around it was actually overwhelming as I tried to take in all of the sounds being thrown at me. That's okay, it was a tough task and one that required several plays and some real concentration on my part to truly absorb all that the Ocean tried to accomplish on this album. Some of the metal parts make their way back into play on this go around, but we also get some vast and frequently type passages as well. The verdict is that this band is certainly accomplished enough to handle playing all of these styles, but even more importantly they know to arrange them so that they compliment one another. Maybe not the album that all of their fans were hoping for, but ultimately it's a superb showcase of their many ideas.