OvO-Cor Cordium

Supernatural Cat
2011

Italian avant/extreme duo OvO's sixth album Cor Cordium (the title translating to "heart of the hearts") is an epitaph to the memory of idolized English Romantic poet and adventurer Percy Shelley. That's the quick and dirty background information on this band. As for the music it ranges from deep moody doom to outright insane explosions that are more noise than music. I mean that last part in the best part possible. Some experimental/avant bands are more subtle about their sounds, but no OvO. They kick down the doors of normal expectations and stomp all over any preconceived ideas you may have. Despite being a two person band they frequently come across like an army pushing forth a wall of multiple sounds. Every instrument makes itself known with crazed guitar riffs, thick bass lines and powerful drums all being important parts of every track. The vocals are even more important as screams, growls, snarls, whispers and every other sound in between gets fired into the mix. Sometimes the unique vocals result in a sound like a square peg being driven into a round hole, but that seems to fit in with this band's approach quite well. More than anything else everything OvO comes across as sound very much genuine. It may not be what you expect, but it's what they truly believe should be part of their musical landscape.

Rock and roll children by Michael LeFevre

2010


Rock and Roll Children is the first novel from Michael LeFevre Michael D. LeFevre although he has published articles and book reviews in the “Times Education Supplement.” Most of Rock and Roll Children is based on his experiences during the 1980’s. The 80's were certainly the golden era of metal in many people's minds including mine. It was great time to be a fan of the music because there was so much material coming out and many great bands hit their peak during the decade. LeFevre's book follows friends Frankie, Bob, Rick and Jeff through the mid late 80's with an emphasis on their love of many different metal acts of the day. Concerts are a major focus of the story and in the introduction LeFevre states that he attended all but three of the concerts mentioned in the book. So he recalls some personal experiences for those parts of the book. The concerts mentioned are many and include a number of top acts of the day including Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dio and many others. I am actually jealous of the author for getting to see so many great acts of the time. Fans of metal who were living for the music back then will be able to relate to being so excited over these bands and the albums that are mentioned as well those who were fortunate enough to hear the Metalshop show on the radio back in the day. However there are some real problems with "Rock and roll children". It's a very slow read because of several reasons. There is some build-up for every concert the friends attend and the first few times this happens I even felt kind excited. Then they get to the concert and it just reads like a bare bones account. These should major events in the book and they tend to lack the kind of description and detail that would build them up. After each concert was mentioned I felt an empty feeling like there just wasn't enough going on. The same empty feeling hangs over the characters ever more so. They are enjoying the music and following these bands, but it's all rather flat with pages and pages of he did this and he did that. I just never felt attached or very interested in the characters. There is no doubt that the author was a fan because his love of the music comes through right away, but the characters and the story just have the depth to sustain one's interest for 400 and some pages. I think if these entries had been written say in a blog form with each concert being an entry and more details had been provided then I may have been far more interested. The author has real memories and hopefully he keeps writing and working at expanding his ideas and developing his style. As it was this was a tough read to get through.

Black Spiders-Sons Of The North

Dark Riders 2011

Sons of the North is the debut album by English rock band Black Spiders. Formed in early 2008 the band released two EPs and were dubbed a band to watch by magazines like Kerrang! and Classic Rock. In fact it was through the magazine Classic Rock that I first came across Black Spiders. A sampler featured the rocker "What Good's A Rock Without A Roll" and after tracking down a friend who not only had the album but said "you must review this" I decided to give Sons Of The North a listen. Musically the band draws upon groups like Motorhead, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, The Stooges and Kiss (in the band's own twisted way they give a shout out to the band in tongue in cheek track "Kiss Tried To Kill Me"). "Stay Down" opens with some thunderous rock that actually brought to mind Soundgarden. "Just Like A Woman" is somewhere between Lenny Kravitz and Led Zeppelin. "Easy Peasy" is equal parts Aerosmith's strut and stoner rock. "Blood Of The Kings" again reminded me of a sleazy Soundgarden. They are cut from the same Black Sabbath and Stooges loving clothe. As is "St. Pepper". But this isn't grunge. Far from it in fact. This is more foot stomping rock than the Seattle boys have every attempted. "Mans Ruin" is biker rock. Dirty and greasy you can smell the burnt motor oil all over it. "Medusas Eyes" shows just why the group has got so much praise in the press. It's raw rock and roll. I can see why this band would be huge in their native Europe. While over in America we tend to draw the line between metal and rock in Europe your just as likely to see White Lion on a bill with Slayer as Deicide with The Scorpions. In a world where bands (and fans of said bands) can not only co-exist but intertwine a band like Black Spiders would appeal to just about everyone. Do I personally think they will be the next big thing? Hard to tell here in America. I will tell you thought that I wasn't expecting to be as caught off guard by this as I was. I'm not much for the current rock revival going on but Black Spiders could give me cause to reexamine my views. Sons Of The North is good place for me to start.

Feral-Dragged To The Alter

ibex Moon Records 2011





Entombed's "Wolverine Blues" introduced the world to the sound that would be known as death n' roll. And while Entombed themselves dismissed the notion that it was anything more than a natural progression of their sound the fact is that the combination of death metal and hard rock is pretty cool to these ears. Sweden's Feral are the latest band to embrace this sound and on Dragged To The Alter they pull it off with flying colors. Formed in 2003 as a "joke band" by vocalist Hook and bassist Valmer the band would go through numerous line up changes before settling on right line up. After touring with Master and Six Feet Under (and releasing the acclaimed Welcome To The Graveyard demo) the group caught the eye of ibex Moon Records and the rest is history. Rounded out by Damien - Drums,Svarte Petter - Lead Guitar and Markus "Big Mac" Lindahl - Guitar the group have crafted a promising debut. Start to finish this is a fast and furious (and rocking) piece of metal. I loved "Howling", "Welcome The The Graveyard" and "The Curse Of The Casket". Check it out for yourself when it's released in April.

Clash of the album covers

Some of those late 80's covers were not exactly subtle with imagery or colors. Here are your choices this time around.


Laaz Rockit-Know your enemy

vs.


Toxik-World Circus

***Which cover do you prefer?

Forgotten Gem: Ript-Ript Digital Re-Release

IODA/SONY via Dark Star Records 2011

I'm going to let you in on one of the best kept secrets in rock and roll. In 1991 a bunch of hard rock musicians broke into the studios where Guns N' Roses were recording Use Your Illusion I & II. After stealing some of the better leftover tracks they recruited Axl's illegitimate younger brother Ian Serrano to sing for them. Ian as it turns out had been given up for adoption years earlier and had been raised by the members of Kiss on their touring bus. The album was hastily recorded over a month's time during which the band lived and breathed the rock and roll lifestyle. Released in 1992 it quickly sold over 15,000 copies before lawyers for G N' R stepped in and destroyed every known copy except for one which was stolen by the group.The band was forced to disband and the album would have been lost forever if not for Dark Star Records! Obviously the above story is made up except for the fact that this lost gem did sell over 15,000 copies and the band did break up before stardom could find them. Ript were from Rockford, Illinios and tore up the local club scene in the late 80s and early 90s. The band released their s/t album in 1992 and should have been the next big thing. Indeed vocalist Ian Serrano does sound a lot like Axl as the band tears things up with the opener "This Is Your Brain On Rock N' Roll". Guitarists Mike Nelson and PK Ripper lay down some of the tastiest hard rock licks this side of G N' R and L.A. Guns. With it's catchy chorus this song just screams eighties rock. "Skull Storm" is gritty bar room hard rock with enough pissed off energy to knock Axl's socks off. Now as far as their next song let me start off by saying that there are three songs I've always wanted to see done up heavy metal style. They are "One Less Set Of Footsteps" by Jim Croce, "Solitary Man" by Neil Diamond and finally "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis. Ript's cover of the Elvis classic is a fun one. Not classic or anything but a real fun tune. "Prelude" had me thinking about the beginning of the Accused's cover of "I'd Love To Change The World". "Nicole" is a beautiful ballad reminding me a tad of L.A. Gun's "Ballad Of Jane". Another lost song that should have been a huge hit on 90's radio. "Can't Take Away Our Rock N' Roll" and "She Loves It Loud" are monster rock tunes the likes of Motley Crue or Ratt. "Spit On It" is a sleazy little number that would have fit perfectly on Appetite For Destruction. "Vomit" reminded me of a slowed down more rock oriented Alice In Chains. Love the guitar solos throughout it. Special props should also be given to drummer Wally Houck and bass player Greg Utley who keep the group grounded. Simply put a great rhythm section makes or breaks a band and these two work their butts off on this killer album. "I Don't Like You" is obviously not a love song. It is another slap in the face rock number as is the punkish "Huh?" which packs enough anger and F-Bombs to make a drunk Charlie Sheen seem downright tame. It puts Ugly Kid Joe's "Everything About You" to shame. This s/t release is the reason I do Forgotten Gems. Until about 2 weeks ago I had never heard of Ript. And now that I have I can't stop playing their album. My only regret is that this is a digital only re-release. I wish Dark Star Records would have put this out on CD with a nice booklet covering the groups history with lyrics and pictures. As is it is very hard to find any information about the band. I did e-mail Dark Star Records about doing an interview with the band so if the record label (or the band members themselves) is reading this please contact me. In the meantime you can grab this lost masterpiece of hard rock through digital retailers such as Itunes.

Uncanny-MCMXCI - MCMXCIV

Dark Descent
2011

Sweden's Uncanny were active in the death metal scene in the early 90's and released one full length album with 1994's "Splenium For Nyktophobia". The band faded away not long after that album and unfortunately that album was it for the band until now. The kind people of Dark Descent have gone back and packaged up all of Uncanny's work into this 30 track package. We get "Splenium for Nykorophoibia" plus their two demos-1991's Transportation to the Uncanny and 1992's Nyktalgia and a split release in 1993 with Ancient Rites. We get all this on a two disc set. Uncanny played straight up brutal death metal not far off from the likes of Entombed or Dismember. Uncanny didn't see the kind of impact in their day that they may have hoped for, but there is no doubt that their material is still impressive by early death metal standards. Some of the demos are not of the same sound or performances quality as the LP, but they are just just that demos so that's somewhat expected. They still show the raw talent this band had and how they improved over a rather brief period of time. It's a shame that has taken so long for all of this material to be released. However many thanks to Dark Descent for doing this right and getting these songs out there for the fans.

Bullet-Highway Pirates

Black Lodge Records 2011

From the country that brought us ABBA comes hard rock/heavy metal act Bullet. Highway Pirates is album number three for vocalist Dag Hell Hofer and company. With song titles like "Stay Wild", "Blood Run Hot" and "Heavy Metal Dynamite" you should already have a pretty good idea at what your looking at here. Given the fact that Holfer sounds like a cross between Bon Scott and Udo it's no surprise that the rest of the band would follow suite. Get some AC/DC, mix it with Accept and toss in some hard rock circa mid eighties (Judas Priest/Scorpions and The Cult will do) and you've got Bullet. Now if your like me and "Shake Your Foundations" was a battle cry then tracks like "Back On The Road" will make you want to break out your denim jacket and ripped up jeans. If your tastes are a little more highbrow then a band that has the word "dynamite" in two song titles will probably make you cringe. I don't know what it is but this album reminds me of the 7th grade when "Highway To Hell" was still the most evil album I'd ever heard. It takes me back to hanging out with my friends at our local amusement park, trying to get older kids to buy us beer and failing miserably to pick up girls. It has that rustic charm and as long as there are still guys like me (and a shout out to my friend Tim who will love this album) who still embrace old fashioned hard rock then groups like Bullet will find their niche.

Do yourself a favor and crack open a cold one and blast "Into The Night" for old times sake. It will be good for you.

Dirty Filthy Mugs-Up in the downs

DC Jam
2011



The sophomore album from Dirty Filthy Mugs is a mix of numerous. Tracks like like "Intro", "Bodkin Downs" and "She's a riot" call on a bouncing pumped out style not far off from Dropkick Murphys and Rancid (minus the reggae bits). There are plenty of fist pumping poppy punk romps on this disc. Also several songs like "Blocked up and smashed" and "In walked the devil" have a definite early AC/DC groove leading the way. This isn't a deep, involved album, but that wasn't their intention. This simple, but fun punk rock with lots of choruses to sing along with. The greatest strength for this band is not just that they know to create hooks, but they also know to sell them. It's a little more sugar coated than I wished at times, but their concise bursts and knack for catching your attention are enough to make it worth checking out.

At No End-Urban Holocaust

True Metal/Blastzone Entert. 2010

My friends and I have this saying in regards to sports teams in my home state of Ohio-"Jesus hates Cleveland". Sometimes I suspect it isn't just the sports teams either. Indeed Cleveland is a city forever perched on the edge of death. It's gritty, dirty and filled with very little hope. It's no wonder that such a city would produce the self described "rust belt metal" band At No End. Formed in 2004 the band would record it's first demo a mere three months later. Fast forward several years later (during which time the band developed a loyal following and received tons of positive press) and the band entered the studio with producer/guitarist Curran Murphy (Shatter Messiah/Nevermore) to record Urban Holocaust. Featuring Jack Sabolich on vocals, Tom Packard-guitar, Don Forrestor-bass,vocals and Kenny Easterly(Delusive Dream, Institution (USA)) on drums the album is a throw back to old school hardcore/metal such as the Cro-mags. If real hardcore is not your thing then I would stop reading right now you and walk away because this is not the trendy Hot Topic hardcore. Your not going to be dancing to it or singing a-long to catchy Fall Out Boy nonsense. This is growing up down and out street metal. It's real and as ugly as the streets it came from. If your like me though and you love your hardcore with broken bones and shattered teeth then Urban Holocaust will please your savage thirst. As a side note Kenny Easterly's father was the drummer for cult power metal bands Purgatory and Mystik. That's quite a legacy to have. The disc should be available shortly on Itunes and is already available as a download on Amazon. More info can be found on the groups page below.
http://www.myspace.com/atnoend

What's coming up?

For the next week we hope to have out reviews of albums from Bullet, Uncanny, Ript, Brian Robertson, The Black Spiders, Stone Axe, Feral, Mincing Fury and guttuaral clamour of queer decay, Dirty Filthy Mugs and Cynthesis. Plus a book review and Clash of the album covers.

Withering Soul-No Closure

Mortal Music 2011


No Closure, the new album from Chicago's Withering Soul (following 2004's Apparitions of the Surreal ) is a wicked blend of symphonic black metal and Scandinavian melodic death. Recorded and mixed by Chris Wisco (Novembers Doom, Michael Angelo Batio, Soil, Lazurus A.D.) at Belle City Sound (Racine, WI), and mastered at The Cutting Room (Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir) in Sweden the album displays a maturity you normally wouldn't expect from a band who have so far only released a handful of demos and the one album mentioned above. It probably helps that the band has been kicking around the local Chicago scene since their formation in 2000. The album feature backing vocals by the incredible Melissa Ferlaak (Aesma Daeva, Adyta, Echoterra, Voidwork) and has some goth overtones as well. "Phantasmal Chaos Divinity" was an early favorite right off the bat. With it's chunky death metal riffs it really got the album off on a good note. I would have loved to have heard all of "The Sequitor" but my promo copy kept cutting off what sounded like a promising track. Regardless "Tides of the Accursed" was up next and featured some great black death with insane drumming from Marek. "Possession of Deception - Part II" again showed off Marek's prowess all the while assaulting the senses with more death metal riffs. I am in awe of the way the group can easily shift from their brutal black metal to it's symphonic side at a split second notice. They do it as easy as flipping on a light switch. "Sadistic Redress" is another favorite of mine. It openly flirts with goth before destroying everything in sight with some seriously abusive death thrash. The fact that vocalist Mykil can deliver black death growls while at the same time you can understand him is cool. I agree with what Mark wrote in an earlier review that it is nice to be able to make out some words when listening to extreme music rather than everything sounding like the cookie monster gargling razor blades. On "Unquiet" your treated to the lovely Melissa singing over top some of the technical guitar wizardry of Krystofer. Bass player William does a good job throughout the album as well. He is offered a small solo in "Requiem of Sorrow" and makes the most of it. All in all No Closure is a stunning achievement in the field of USBM (United States Black Metal) and is sure to create a well deserved buzz for the band when it is released in March.

Forgotten Gem: Tobruk-Wild On The Run Reissue

(Parlophone / EMI) 1985
Majestic Rock 2007


Andy's view-

Tobruk was formed in 1981 in England. A demo was released by the band and it brought them exposure on BBC's "The Friday Rock Show" in 1982. They played out as much as they could in an attempt to promote their debut single "Wild On The Run" with "The Show Must Go On" which was released on Neat Records around 1983. In 1984 the band was able to secure a record deal and after playing some dates with Diamond Head and UFO they headed into the studio to record Wild On The Run (the album). Recorded at the Warehouse Studios in Philadelphia the album was co-produced by Lance Quinn (Lita Ford/Bon Jovi fame) and Tobruk. Despite the fact that the band had released a single on Neat Records and are often associated with the NWOBHM movement Tobruk had more in common with American arena rock than anything else. Wild On The Run is melodic hard rock in the mold of Y & T, Europe, Autograph and Bon Jovi. It is flashy and keyboard driven. It is also quite a catchy album. "Wild On The Run", "Falling" and "Running From The Night" are as good as anything Treat or Europe every put out. "Hotline" is a fine little slab of rock while "Rebound" reminds me of a more pop AC/DC. "Poor Girl" rocks hard and features flashy AOR guitar playing. "She's Nobody's Angel" is one of those songs that has eighties rock written all over it. "Breakdown" features more of the fabulous guitar work the band had to offer melodic rock fans of the early eighties . "Going Down For The Third Time" starts off slow sounding more like Journey before it picks up and rocks. "The Show Must Go On" is tacked on as a bonus cut on current releases (along with the single version of "Wild On The Run") and while it was a B side cut for a reason it is still a good little rock number. Majestic Rock did a good job with the remaster of this album. It sounds nice and clear. The version I have features only the two bonus cuts ( as it is a download off of Itunes) but Majestic Records did release this album with a second disc of live material. Since I have not heard it I can't comment of it's quality. As for the band themselves they were unfortunately dropped by Parlophone in 1987. They had failed to chart in the UK where fan's accused them of sounding too American and by the time their sophomore record "Pleasure + Pain" came out they were pretty much done. Whether or not an ill suited tour with Manowar following the album's release had anything to do with their lack of success is any one's guess. Sadly vocalist Stuart "Snake" Neale died on December 20th, 2006 at the young age of 43 from congestive heart failure. If the band had been blessed with better fortune and found themselves more embraced by American audiences they could have been huge. As is they were at the wrong place and the wrong time it seems.

Metal Mark's view-

I never heard of Tobruk until I saw theirs discs listed from an eBay seller six or seven years ago. I frequently considered buying one of their discs without hearing a track figuring I'd like them, but for whatever reason I never did. I never heard them until the other week when Andy let me hear this disc. This album very much in the AOR style that was so poulare here in the mid-1980's. They do it very with catchy melodies, smooth vocals and songs that are instantly likable. It's not overly original or brilliant on any level, but certainly an album I could listen to multiple times. I had wondered before why AOR was so big here in the states in the 1980's and we had so many acts playing that style yet you didn't hear a lot of bands from other countries throwing their hats into the AOR arena. As for the the UK Def Leppard added an AOR feel around Hysteria and Shy started out with that style. Yet there sure were not many bands from the UK going that route. Teens over here were blasting the likes of Journey and Foreignor over here as they were staples of American radio in the 1980's, but I guess that style didn't appeal to everyone everywhere. For Tobruk they couldn't find and audience in their country. However today in many circles fans of this style hold this album in high regard. Their work may not have gotten the notice they wanted when it first came out, but there are still fans today that recognize their talent on this disc.

Nekromantheon-Divinity of death

Vendlus Records
2011

Every time I turn around another old-school early death metal or retro-thrash act pops up. Like any other style there's both good and bad acts. Not to be too dismissive, but I can normally tell if one of these bands is worth or not after just a few minutes of listening to them. Norwegian trio Nekromantheon impressed me seconds into their full length debut. It's like a long lost album from 1986 that's equal parts pre-Reign in blood Slayer, Kreator and Whiplash. Lots of primitive swirling riffs and painfully simple, but still explosive drum beats. The vocals are scratchy and raw yet still reminiscent of a time when bands thought it was okay to play but still have vocals where you could understand the lyrics. Not the lyrics are all that original because it's generally run of the mill, death and killing type material. Still Nekromantheon play up the over the top twisting and bending blazing riffs kind of approach as well as anyone else going today. Yes, they are still stuck in a style that was left behind over twenty years ago. Still the bottom line for me is it's enjoyable and they play it with a great of energy and power. Old style thrash hounds will be loving this one.

Pollution-Limited Promo Edition

Bologna Rock 2011

I might be repeating myself with this story (something I do all the time now that I'm older just ask my wife!) but when I was in high school I had to attend one of those anti-drugs presentations where they had a cover band come in and play for us. As the band preached about the evils of drugs and alcohol ( right off the bat you have to question how a bunch of guys in a rock band would be against partying but I digress) they butchered their way through covers of Metallica, Guns And Roses and Poison. Pollution are what I would imagine that cover band would have sounded like if they had played original music. That's not a good thing. However if a second rate, watered down Guns And Roses sounds like your thing then look no further than this Italian five piece. Find out more at the groups MySpace page below.

http://www.myspace.com/pollutionweb

Cruachan-Blood on the Black Robe

Candlelight Records 2011


On paper the combination of black metal, folk metal and Irish music seems odd at best to me. What is it then about Ireland's Cruachan that is so magical? On album number six the band- Keith Fay (vocals/keyboards/bodhran/bouzouki/mandolin/percussion), John “Fay” O’Fathaign (tin whistle/flute), John Ryan (violin/banjo/bouzouki), John Clohessy (bass) and Colin Purcell (drums/percussion) create a sound that should appeal not only to the metal audience but those embracing Celtic folk rock. Well, maybe that is a stretch as "I am the Warrior" and "The Column" are heavy enough to stop a charging Nessie. "They Kingdom Comes" has metal riffs that remind me of Carcass's Swansong (in fact Keith Fray sounds like Jeffrey Walker at times). "An Bean Sidhe" features guest vocals from ex-member Karen Gilligan (she actually sings on three songs on the disc) and is quite lovely. The title track is one of the albums better numbers. It's also one of the few tracks where black metal vocals don't come into play. Instead there is a cleaner heavy metal voice which works really well. Really there wasn't a song on this album I didn't care for. My only complaint would be that while the folk and Irish music parts are exceptional the actual metal riffs sound an awful lot alike on several songs. While the metal might be taking a backseat with Cruachan I would have really loved Blood on the Black Robe if they invested as much time on it as the Celtic influences. That said though this should be a big hit with the now popular pagan/viking/folk metal genre and all those crazy kids who embrace it!

Stratovarius-Elysium

Armoury
2011



Power metal is a genre I freely admit to liking, but I always tend to have a lot of if's added to that admission as in I like power metal if it doesn't too over the top or too caught up those soaring melodies that so many European bands seem to love. So inevitably I don't like every band that falls under power metal label. There just tend to many bands that lost site of the metal part of power metal, but there are quite a few bands I like that play this style too. Now I'll step off my soapbox and get to the review at hand. Stratovarius are a band really take their songwriting seriously. That doesn't mean that's it perfect, but the effort they put into this is quite obvious in the finished project. This albums isn't completely different they have done in the past. There are plenty of epics, soaring melodies and neo-classical styled passages. Yet the solid arrangements and their commitment to really building and shaping the song is what makes this such a fine album. It takes some patience and a few play to really enjoy this ecologically themed release, but it's worth it to do so on the listener's part. I enjoyed the last album "Polaris" well enough, but I think that is immediately obvious that the band is far more comfortable with "Elysium". It's a bit softer around the edges at times and not always my cup of tea, but for the most part they are always moving forward and they keep it interesting. A fine effort indeed.

Monsterworks-The God Album

Casket Music 2011

Formed in the late nineties in New Zealand the band Monsterworks went the usual route of releasing demos and building up a local following before releasing their debut album in 2000. The God Album is lucky number seven for the band and (as the title implies) is a concept album about religion and mankind's dependency on it. While I do have some questions about the groups shaky (at best) take on theology the music itself is interesting. Comparisons have been made to Strapping Young Lad. Honestly as this was my first introduction to the group I really thought this would be Devin Townsend 101. At least that is what I had been lead to believe by reading up on the band in anticipation of this review. While I can see why people would say it I think the band is more than a clone. What you have here is traditional metal mixing with modern metal and the odd vocal styling of lead singer Jono (death growls, shrieks and clean singing). Tracks like "Everything You Believe Is A Lie" and "The Enemy Of My Enemy" offer up good old fashioned two fisted metal. They pummel you helpless and showcase how heavy the band can be. "Reprieve" on the other hand is acoustic guitars and shows off the softer side of the group. The band handles both sides effectively. That said though for a band that has been called "thinking man's metal" and is supposedly progressive on earlier efforts the album does tend to sound quite similar after awhile. Towards the end too it seems to run out of steam. It wanders around like a chicken with it's head cut off. If I could trim some of the fat off this bad boy it would be one hell of an album. As it stands though this has the feel of a "download certain songs" release.

Bang Tango-Dancin' On Coals 2011 Limited Edition Re-Release

Metal Mind 2011 Re-Release


In 1991 Blood Sugar Sex Magik was a guitly pleasure of mine. Sure I loved my Slayer and Metallica. I loved Guns, Motley and Ratt as well. Somewhere though inside this white boy loved his funk. I had the Chilli Peppers and Faith No More. I had 24/7 Spyz. Had I known though that Dancin' With Coals was more funk than rock I could very easily have had another favorite. Yes, it isn't all funk going on. "Midnight Struck" is an underrated gem of a balled. So is "Last Kiss". The two songs have more in common with Faster Pussy Cat than 24/7 Spyz. I have heard many people complain that the ballads slow down what would otherwise be one hell of a party album. I don't agree. "Midnight Stuck" for example is nothing short of hair metal greatness. I really don't understand how it didn't get more airplay on rock radio back in the day. Anyway, back to the funk. All I can say is man this CD kicks. "Soul To Soul" opens and honestly it was fun watching my kids dance around the house to this hit. "United And True" is a smooth little rocker. "Emotion In Gear" is probably the one misstep in my mind. It's either not enough hard rock or not enough funk. It also can't decide if it wants to be a slow love loss song or a harder hitting rock number. It frankly just sounds odd. "I'm In Love" though is a fun funk rock love jam. It probably helps if you've felt that rush that being in love brings. "Big Line" is Chilli Peppers through and through. The title track "Dancing On Coals" is Faster Pussycat if Faster Pussycat dug funk. "My Saltine" adds some horns to the house party. "Dressed Up Vamp" was a hit the first time around and honestly still sounds good. "Cactus Juice" is a sleezy little number and closes of the regular album in an upbeat mood. The re-release tacks on the bonus cuts "20th Century Boy" and "Futurama (live)". Both are great cuts. Considering the fact that there have been other bands who have attempted to merge funk and hard rock (Electric Boys,Mindfunk)

I have to say Bang Tango pulled it off the best. The fact is they were just a solid outfit and obviously had a lot of fun doing what they did. Metal Mind offers up another limited edition (only 2000 discs) gold CD with a nice booklet filled with lyrics and pictures. Certain to sell out it is a welcome addition to my CD collection.

Nidingr-Wolf Father

Vendlus
2011

It's been five years since the last album from Norway's Nidingr, but they roar back with their latest brutal assault. We get six songs of mythology themed black/death metal that's big on churning fury and there are even a few guitar melodies lodged in there as well during their speed picking attacks. Although the vocals are slightly less typical for the style because I can actually make out far more words than normal for this style. That's actually an asset for their overall sound. The drums are the typical tappa-tappa-tappa style that annoys the crap out of me because they don't allow for rhythm, heaviness or much of anything except flying forward with a steady, but paper thin sound. Four of the six songs are five minutes long so most of the tracks are very straight forward without a great deal of build-up. So this is an effort that's very raw and basic, but that works fairly well for Nidingr. Nothing new here, but slightly more stylish than others of this genre.

Burzum-Fallen

Full-length, Byelobog Productions
2011



"Fallen" is the eighth studio album by the one man project Burzum. Formed in 1991 by the notorious (and sole member) Varg Vikernes Burzum are elders in the field of Norwegian black metal. I'm not going to get into all of his history and my feelings on it because the story has been told many times before. If your curious why some call Varg Vikernes (aka Count Grishnach) one of the most infamous musicians of all time you can just do a quick google search and find out for yourself. On "Fallen" (the follow up to the 2010's "Belus") the word is primitive. Raw and primitive black metal. In fact musically this is similar in sound and structure to "Belus. In other words ambient and drawn out passages mixing with tradition black metal sounds. It is again very dark in feeling relying more of emotion than the actual music. By that I mean there are very simplistic metal riffs which sound like something you would hear from your local teen metal band down the road. While I will admit that it does give it a very D.I.Y. charm it is far from brilliant. The production? Well, it's not a Phil Spector wall of sound or anything. It's just...there. Actually more than anything it just sounds fairly atypical in nature. Nothing wrong with that I guess. I tend to think the appeal of Burzum at this point in time is the emotional hold the music could have on a person. "Budstikken" for example is pretty much the same guitar riff over and over so it's not like this is epic black metal by any stretch of the imagination. So my best guess would be that "Fallen" (as with the album "Belus") would appeal more to the darker side of human nature than to those seeking musical brilliance. While Burzum helped shape the early black metal scene honestly at this point I feel like people are more likely to tune in due to the notoriety of the back story. For me at least this pails in comparison to other black metal releases I've heard this year such as "The Burial Tree (II)".

Heavy metal thunderdome

The year 1982 was a very good year for hard rock and metal. So I selected two of the best from that year for you to choose from. For Heavy Metal Thunderdome you are picking based on the music you prefer. So it is...


Judas Priest-Screaming for vengeance

taking on


Scorpions-Blackout

***Based on the music which album do you prefer?

Clash of the album covers

Here you go.


Accept-Russian Roulette

vs.


Van Halen-Woman and children first

***Which cover do you prefer?

What's coming up?

If you are in one of the areas that is enjoying unseasonably warm weather then enjoy it while you can. If you get a three day weekend then enjoy that as well. For next week we plan to have out review of Bang Tango's Dancin' On The Coals re-issue plus albums by Burzum, Stratovarius, Cruachan, Necromantheon, Brian Robertson,Monsterworks,Ndinger, Withering Soul and a book review of Rock and roll children. Plus Forgotten Gems, Clash of the albums covers and Heavy Metal Thunderdome. So a packed week indeed.

Enjoy!

Arkhum-Anno Universum

Vendlus
2011

Hailing from Oregon this band managed to secure Jason Walton (Agalloch, Self Spiller, Sculptured) as their mixing and mastering engineer for this their debut album. I never heard of these guys before, but after hearing this album I'll never forget them. It's hard to give them one label because they are over the place. The have elements of both death and black metal and hit on the melodic and technical sides of those styles. Yet everything is going on so fast that they really seem to be doing in numerous directions all at once yet they still hold it together. Your head will be spinning trying to pull in all of the chaotic sounds. Still they never come across as sloppy and every note and beat builds the song up. Now it's just a shame the vocals are not on the same page. The music pushes boundaries while the vocals are very standard even at times a generic style of death metal vocals. The growling tended to be more distracting than anything and that's a shame because the music really needs a style that compliments it. There are some brilliant ideas on this disc, but until they get vocals that on the same level I can't enjoy the music as a whole.

Cauldron-Burning Fortune

Full-length, Earache Records 2011

In what has to go down as one of the most frustrating moments in promo history for me so far Earache Records provided Mark and I with a "beeped" copy of Burning Fortune. While I have stated in the past that curse filled rants get tiring after awhile I am against censorship in any shape or form especially when it comes to music. Trying to listen to an album with LOUD beeps in it is frustrating and frankly rather irritating. Just a future head's up for bands or labels looking to have their material listened to here- PLEASE submit it as is curse words and all. It doesn't matter so much to me as I listen to promos either in an empty house, the car or on my Ipod . Let me be the one to censor what is best for my children's ears! Now that I'm done with my little rant Cauldron's follow up to "Chained to the Night" is just balls to the wall heavy metal! This three piece band from up north had already won me over with their song "Chained Up In Chains" from the "Heavy Metal Killers" compilation. As part of the NWOTHM (new wave of traditional heavy metal) movement these lads play it all out on the killer opener "All Or Nothing". "Miss You To Death" has that 80's embrace all over it. Mixing the best elements of 80's metal and NWOBHM in their sound Cauldron never take themselves too seriously. "Frozen In Fire" and "Serpent Sorceress" are cheese fests for sure. But, despite my gout I really do love cheese and this variety of cheese I'll eat by the handful any day! "Tears Have Come" is more of a Dokken like emotional love rock number which sounds odd at first until you hear how well they pull it off (from reading other reviews I seem to be in the minority about this track but since when do I care about what other people think?). "I Confess" is a Halloween cover and the band make it their own. "Rapid City / Unchained Assault" is just that-an assault. A lovely heavy metal assault. "Queen Of Fire" is probably my favorite cut. The guitar playing of Ian Chains really shines on the track which sounds for the world like a long lost classic metal song. "Breaking Through" isn't anything to write home to Mom about honestly and neither is "Taken By Desire". They are not horrible just so-so. The limited edition album though comes with the bonus track "Serpent Sorceress" and allows "Burning Fortune" to end on a high note. I know there are people conflicted about how to take Cauldron. Are they too retro for their own good? They do borrow styles from Motley Crue,Accept, Ratt, Scorpians and Riot without directly ever sounding like any of the above. The music is a throwback. It's meant to be that way just like it is meant to be fun and an homage. Personally I find they have enough "kick" to sound fresh. It just depends on where you stand with it. Either way this is a welcome follow up for the guys and a great spin for your everyday metal fan. I liked it so much in fact that I shelled out for a regular version to add to my collection!

Thinking of backpatches and buttons

After weeks of snow, ice and just nasty cold weather it's great to have a nice sunny day even it will get cold again because it is still Winter. I even abandoned my heavy coat for my denim jacket today. I have a few buttons on my jacket and no backpatch, but I had more on denim jacket back in the day. Today's weather definitely had me thinking of backpatches and buttons on denim jackets. Here are some past posts that deal with those topics if you would like to check them out.


http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2008/05/big-back-patch.html

http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2006/02/big-back-patch.html

http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2010/08/buttons.html

http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2007/12/my-button-collection.html

Baptists-s/t

Southern Lord
2011


Vancouver's Baptists features members of Sports and Ladyhawk and this is also the band's debut 7". This is just pure grindcore with no apologies. Don't expect melodies of well thought out solos, but instead it's just insane noise. Opener "Good Parenting" is a spitting snarling attack that will beat you senseless. Next up is "Farmed" which is only seconds longer, but actually feels much longer and isn't nearly as exciting because half through it just meanders around for a while before finding a direction to head into. "Bachelor Degree Burn" comes on at a much slower pace, but with massive pounding beats and a steady twisted guitar rhythm leading the attack. At 4 minutes and twenty-five seconds it's the longest track on the album, but also the best as all their anger and spirit come out. Last up is "Life Poser" which has a galloping drum beat with a warped guitar riff winding it's way here and too. Despite the contrast of sounds it makes perfect sense here and closes out a brief, but exciting disc. It's only about 12 minutes of music, but Baptists to establish themselves as a band to watch out for.

Bang Tango-Ain't No Jive...Live! Limited Edition Re-release

Metal Mind 2011

"Ain't No Jive... Live!" is a live EP originally released in 1992. It was actually Bang Tango's second live material as the group had already released "Live Injection" in 1989. Right off the bat the thing that struck me about this EP is how much heavier their material is when played live.
"Dancin' On Coals" is just gritty and raw live. It's also faster and gives the band more of a metal sound. I've noticed this before in other hard rock/pop metal acts. I remember seeing a live show of Warrant (right around the time their debut was to released) and thinking to myself how cool it was to see another old fashioned metal act. When I heard the album I was disappointed with how toned down it was. In a nutshell this happened a lot with hard rock/ glam metal bands during the eighties. As soon as the label got a hold of them and gave them a "makeover" it took the edge from them and the rest is history. Fact is Bang Tango play with more intensity on this EP and shine in a live setting.. Best song has to be their cover of T.Rex's "2oth Century Boy" (the song is also a bonus track on the re-release of "Dancin' On Coals"). Sure the song has been covered by hundreds of others and isn't the most original choice. That said though it just flat out rocks. This EP is just a good live rock album. Metal Mind does another good job on the re-release. Again it is a limited edition gold disc. There isn't much of booklet with it though. I would have liked to have seen a few more live pictures with it. A minor complaint for sure. Otherwise a good portrait of Bang Tango in their natural element.

Clash of the album covers

It is a battle of live (or looks live) photos on the cover of studio albums. It is...


Ted Nugent-s/t

vs.


Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force-Marching Out

***Which cover do you prefer?

Bang Tango-Psycho Cafe' Limited Edition Re-release

Metal Mind 2011

Originally released by MCA Records in 1989 Bang Tango's Psycho Cafe' spawned the band's MTV hit "Someone Like You". A big hit on Headbanger's Ball it introduced the world to the infectious groove of funk/glam metal act Bang Tango. At the end of 1980s there were scores of watered down Poison and Motley Crue clones. Bang Tango would have been just another forgotten cast off if it hadn't been for the band's funk take on hard rock. Wrapped up with their Guns and Roses vibe was a healthy dose of Red Hot Chilli Pepper's funk. From the opening of "Attack Of Life" there is enough swagger to make Mick Jagger smile. With it's huge hooks and slap bass (Kyle Kyle is a beast on the bass and plays with an abandonment that reminds me of Flea at times) it showcases a band who had no doubt they deserved to be on the stage with the big boys. "Someone Like You" was a hit for a reason. It's catchy and showcases the talents of vocalist Joe LeSte. At times he hits the screams that guys like Axl Rose and Sebastian Bach made famous. He also channels his inner Steven Tyler on the Aerosmith inspired "Wrap My Wings". "Breaking Up A Heart Of Stone" showcases the playing of guitarists Mark Knight and Kyle Stevens as well as drumming of Tigg Ketler. "Shotgun Man" and "Don't Stop Now" are infectious numbers with a sleeze metal appeal to them. The fact is Bang Tango were ahead of their time. 1989 was not ready for funk fueled Aerosmith. "Love Injection" is the New York Dolls with George Clinton. While Bang Tango did find enough fan's among the Aerosmith and G-N-R crowd their funk would have been a bit much for long haired white America of 1989 who were more into Warrant than Faith No More. Had they been more universally accepted maybe things would have worked out better for them. Who knows for sure. One thing is for sure though the album had it's fair share of good rock numbers. "Just For You" is an acoustic rock number that has a Cinderella blues feeling to it. It's a nice diversion from the group's funk and should have been a bigger hit. That funk though is in full swing on the gritty "Do What Your Told". "Sweet Little Sister" closes things out with a Rolling Stones moment before LeSte does his best Axl Rose snarl and reminds you that Bang Tango were a hard rock group at their core. It's a dirty little rocker and a great choice to end the album.Psycho Cafe' deserved a good re-release and Metal Mind delivered the goods. This new digipak edition, limited to numbered 2000 copies has a nice booklet inside with lyrics and band pictures. It's also a gold disc which in and of itself is cool. Honestly it sounds as good (and fresh) as it did the first time around for me. As it is a limited edition I would strongly suggest fan's who have been looking for this great album on disc snag a copy as soon as it is released in March. I have a strong feeling it will be sold out in a very short amount of time.

Made of hate-Pathogen

AFM
2011


I listened to this album Poland's Made of hate four times before feeling like I could review it. Not because it was that outstanding, but because the volume and initial intensity had me hooked. However on many of the songs those sparks occur right at the beginning then most of the songs tend to lose their gloss as they go along. Also a number of tracks sound very similar to one another. They can shred, no doubt about that yet they frequently seem content to ride on one or two riffs. They know how to dig their teeth in and make an initial impact, but they lost my interest all too quickly. The vocals from Radek Polrolniczak were just alright. They left me feeling slightly empty. They frequently across as depending on lots of volume from the production, but they lacked much in the way of depth. Now I realize that he just switched to this position after their debut on which he played rhythms guitars, but he didn't help their efforts on this disc. Really this a slightly above average outing, but there just isn't enough going on that really impressed me.

The Beast of the Apocalypse - Henosis

Transcendental Creations 2011


To steal a line from Spinal Tap-"It's like, how much more black could this be? and the answer is none. None more black." If primitive black metal in the vein of Beherit,Samael and Archgoat is your bread and butter or if you like voluntary dental surgery without the aide of anaesthesia then be sure to snag a copy of Henosis. Included with each CD is a download card for the band's unreleased The First Four Trumpets full-length.

Top Of The Heap-Def Leppard

Time again for Top of the heap. Andy and I tell our favorite album by a band and then you can comment on your favorite. This time around we are talking about Def Leppard.

Andy's pick-

Mercury Records 1980


While I am very tempted to write about how Hysteria shaped a young 14 year old into the metal fan you see before you in all honesty Def Leppard's 1980 debut is more to my liking. Yes it's true that Hysteria was a road map for my hormone driven teenage years but it doesn't have the lasting impact that On Through The Night had. Before the group exploded into rock and roll stardom (and became the envy of every guy with their unrivaled sex appeal) they were just another New Wave Of British Heavy Metal band trying to break their way out of England. After renowned British BBC DJ John Peel played"Getcha Rocks Off" (off of the group's 3 track The Def Leppard E.P.) the band's popularity soared and the group was signed. Produced by Tom Allen (of Judas Priest fame) On Through The Night is far removed from the overly produced and snyth crazy Hysteria. In fact it owes more to bands like Saxon and Diamond Head than to the pop metal craze they are now known for. It's been said that this is the band's least favorite album. It is raw hard rock. That's what makes it appealing to me. It does have it's share of singles like "Rock Brigade", "Wasted" and "Hello America". But it's more than that. Listen to "Rocks Off" and you'll see a band playing balls out rock. "Sorrow Is A Women" is bluesy rock and roll with shades of Led Zepplin running through it. "Satellite" is a nice mixture of melody and metal. Sure, "When The Walls Come Tumbling Down" is Iron Maiden without the all the charm but, the closing number "Overture" is an epic rock and roll number not unlike something Boston or Journey would write (only more rock and less syrup). A great way to close off this underrated debut. While it was a hit in their home country it didn't make the waves that future albums would. To me though it's a classic hard rock disc and shows how a band can start off being rough around the edges before the music machine gets hold of them. I would have loved to have seen the band continue on this road more than the glitz and glamor of later releases.

Metal Mark's pick-



This is another band where I switch back and forth on my favorite and in this case it's between Pyromania and High n' Dry. Pyromania was the first Def Leppard album I ever heard and I was crazy about it right away. High n' Dry was the second one I heard when I checked out a scratched up vinyl copy from my local library ( one of the maybe five actual rock albums they owned at the time). Pyromania was smooth and catchy, but so was High n' dry although it was a little more rough around the edges in places. Those edges are what made it appeal to me a little more than Pyromania. They still retained some of their NWOBHM grit, but the writing was stronger and the hooks were sharper on High n' dry than on the debut "On through the night".High n' dry is definitly the top album from these guys that I can listen to from start to finish and have on many occasions over the last 25 plus years. I actually like every song on this, but if forced to pick a few favorites I would say the ripping "Another Hit and Run", the great to sing a long with"High 'N' Dry (Saturday Night)" , the haunting "Lady Strange" and the head noddin' "Mirror, Mirror (Look into My Eyes)". Back in the days of cassette "High n' dry" could frequently be found in my walkman ( really dating myself now). Nowadays I frequently listen to it when I get out of work on Friday on my way home, but actually I could certainly listen to it at almost any time.

***So what is your favorite Def Leppard album and why?

Stryper-The Covering

Big3 Records 2011


I've sat on this review now for a few weeks. Let's just say Stryper and I have a love/hate relationship and leave it at that. While cover albums are nothing new (one of my favorite discs is the original Garage Day's EP by Metallica) for a Christian band to record covers from Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden does raise some interesting questions. We'll save those for another time and get to the heart of the matter. Fact is for me this has been the strongest release Stryper has ever done. Yes, it is all covers with the exception of "God". It doesn't change the fact that I really enjoyed their covers of "Carry On My Wayward Son", "Shout It Out Load" and "Lights Out". "Breaking The Law" would be a great song if I didn't have the image of yellow and black in my head. "Over The Mountain" and "The Trooper" have charm as does "On Fire". "Immigrant Song" was the one cover I didn't get into. As I'm not a huge Led Zeppelin fan to begin with the cover does little for me. It does seem odd to me that a cover album would be my favorite Stryper disc to date. Is it technically a "Stryper" album? No. It is a covers collection. But the band choose some good tunes to cover and the album is fun. It might end up causing the band more harm than good in the long run considering the song choices. It remains to be seen if their Christian fans will embrace the group playing secular songs. It's going to be hard singing "The Hell With The Devil" when you've danced with the group responsible for "The Number Of The Beast".

Hemoptysis-Misanthropic Slaughter

Self-produced
2011

Tempe, Arizona's Hemoptysis return with their full length debut. The style isn't terribly far removed from what they doing on their 2009 EP "Who needs a shepherd". In fact two tracks from the EP "And the world dies" and "Shadow of death" are also on this album. Hemoptysis are old school thrash relying very much on German influences like Kreator and Sodom, but there are definite touches of classic style metal too. Tracks like Impending doom and Shadow of death both begin with simple yet solid riffs that remind me of Judas Priest before the band takes off. There are some winding passages and solos that remind me of Iron Maiden and perhaps even Mercyful Fate as well. Vocalist Masaki Murashita sounds quite a bit like Mille Petrozza of Kreator. The music as a whole benefits from the bands patience and their willingness to build the mood before exploding. The changes in style since their EP are subtle, but certainly noticeable and the changes are mainly in the writing. They are becoming stronger songwriters and they sure have the playing skills to back it up. So many bands today old style thrash settle for playing a very simplistic straight forward approach. Hemoptysis can certainly handle that style, but they go the extra mile instead and really give some meaty parts and far more change ups for the listeners to grab onto. They never settle for going in just one direction and that's why this album certainly more interesting than the bulk of material from younger thrash acts today. I do a few negatives though. The drumming seemed a bit ordinary at times, not off, but just seemed like there could have been more of a punch to it at times. The production is better than the EP for sure, but still seemed a little low in spots. Still check these guys out because they are with it and here's hoping some smart label gives them a chance too.

Myspace
www.myspace.com/hemoptysismetal

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/hemoptysis

My review of their debut EP.
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2009/01/hemoptysis-who-needs-shepherd.html

My 2009 interview with the band.
http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2009/02/hemoptysis-interview.html

Volturyon- Coordinated Mutilation

United Guttural 2011


I'm going to skip commenting on the album cover by Polish artist Lukasz Jaszak. It is what it is.
With that said this sophomore release from Swedish death metal act Volturyn is really good. Recorded at Black Lounge and Abyss studios by Jonas Kjellgren ( Scar Symmetry, Centinex, World Below) Coordinated Mutilation reminded me of the works of Entombed and At The Gates. Merging technical death metal with thrash the band slash their way through these ten tracks with a maturity befitting a more experienced and mature act. Sweden continues to amaze me with the quantity and quality of death acts they have. Easily some of the best death metal I've heard so far in 2011.

The Bronx Casket Co.-Antihero

eOne Music 2011

The Bronx Casket Co. was formed as a side project by bassist D.D. Verni in 1998 to explore his other musical interests outside of Overkill. A studio only project the group has already released three full length albums. On the first three D.D. employed guest vocalists. Antihero is the first disc on which he handles lead vocals himself. Joining D.D (bass,acoustic and rhythm guitars) is Jack Frost (Seven Witches,Metalium,Marshall Law)-guitars and b.ground vocals, Charlie Calv-keyboards and Rob Pallotta - drums. The lead guitar work was handled by Sympnhy X guitarist Michael Romero. While The Bronx Casket Co. has been described as goth metal in the past it seems that with each passing release they have branched out into a more commercial metal sound. While Antihero still retains that goth feel that I've enjoyed from the band in the past it is more metallic overall. Gone is vocalist Myke Hideous (Misfits) who had an almost cartoonist vibe going on. The first thing I noticed on the opener "Antihero" is how much D.D's vocals come across like a cross between James Hetfield and Rob Zombie. In fact "Antihero" sounded like something out of the Load/Reload era of Metallica interpreted by Rob Zombie. While that might sound bad on the surface it works for them. It's heavy end rock and roll metal. On "Bonesaw" the band continues to flirt with this sound. It's nowhere near as techno as Rob has gotten on his latest releases. If anything this is what White Zombie would have sounded like if they would have kept the electronics out and listened to more Metallica and Megadeth than Ministry. "You Look Like Hell", "I Never Loved You Anyway" and "I Am No One" have that foot on the pedal/ sunroof down groove to them. "Memphis Scarecrow" is dreary blues with it's slide guitar. "Selling My Soul" offers up more hard rock era Metallica before the band takes on the Queen song "Death On Two Legs". While it isn't bad I enjoyed Heathen's take on it better. "Let Me Be Your Nightmare" made me wonder if this it what it would have sounded like if Glenn Danzig had fronted Metallica in the later part of the 90s. I have no clue where that image came from but it sure made me ponder it. "NYC (Devil's Playground)" is fist in your face New York pride. "Alive" is a cool little slab of "Highway To Hell" rock and roll damnation before the band lays waste to a cover of Paul Anka's "My Way". It seems to fit right in as Verni's side project is nothing like the thrash of Overkill. The Bronx Casket Co. allows D.D. to show off another side of his personality. "Antihero" might see D.D. showing his Overkill colors as it is more metalic than goth overall. That said it seems like more of a natural progression for him. It works and that is all that matters. It is just too bad that the band is nothing more than a studio gig. It would be really interesting to see D.D. get down on this stuff live. I bet it would be a blast.

Madlife-Angry sonnets for the soul

RBE/60 Cycle
2011

On their third album LA based outfit Madlife offer up a platter of songs mostly guided by the aggressive vocals of frontman Angry Phill. Most of the songs get too the point quickly and in fact only one track goes past the four minute mark. The music alternates between heavy and sometimes they bring in some very poppy choruses. "Feeling alone" for example begins with a Prong type riff, but quickly works it way to into a catchy but more mellow chorus. "I think I'm dead spends a few seconds in a growling mode that has me thinking of Rob Zombie, but the melodies kick in and they take a slightly safer route. The album reminds some of late 90's music. They are certainly comfortable with their direction and there is no doubt they know how to crank out bouncing rhythms and create instantly catchy songs. However I they seem to bring their heaviest punch within the opening seconds of each song which is understandable, but many of the songs drop off from that heaviness level so quickly. That may help them get more airplay and be more accessible, but it left me feeling a bit empty. They handle the pounding bits so well that it's a shame they push in that direction more. As it is this a likable album that you'll be familiar with after one play.

Clash of the album covers

Here you go.


Overkill-The years of decay

vs.



Testament-Practice what you preach

***Which cover do you prefer?

Solipsist-The Human Equation

Self Released 2010


There is a scene in Lucio Fulci's 1979 movie Zombie in which actress Olga Karlatos has her eye gouged out by a splintered piece of wood. As a zombie hand grabs hold of her hair and slowly pulls her towards it you get an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. Watching Olga's character squirm as it plunges in is unnerving. It gets to me every time I watch the movie. Listening to The Human Equation had that effect on me. Produced by Solipsist front man Noah Buchanan The Human Equation is 10 tracks of brutal (and I mean BRUTAL) death/thrash. Sounding a bit like Randy Blythe (Lamb Of God) Noah leads the band (Steve Sinko & Mark Witherspoon-guitars, Dave Vezdos-bass and Dave Chojnacki-drums) into battle serving up a platter full of brute force trauma. Fans of Death and early Sepultra should feast upon this metal meal. Again, Solipsist show why it is important to get out there and discover the music in your backyard. I know I am repeating myself here when I say that there is great talent to be found on the local scene. But, it is so true. These type of bands play for the love of it all leaving their blood behind on the stage. It was by word of mouth that I found out about Solpsist (thanks Aaron!) and I'm glad I did! Ohio metal is alive for sure. And I'm willing to bet it will be groups like this that will lead the way for metal's rebirth. Find out more for yourself at the group's myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/solipsistohioIt

What's coming up?

I am sure that I will be suffering from football withdrawal this week. Here's hoping both management players eventually reach an agreement and that there is a season next year. Anyways for the coming week we will aim to have out reviews of Volturyon, Madlife, The Beast of the Apocalypsye, Made of hate, Bronx Casket Company, Hemoptysis and Uncanny. Plus Forgotten Gems, Clash of the album covers and Top of the heap.

***Have a great week!

Warlock-Triumph and agony

Metal Mind
1987/2011

After getting some notice in the mainstream circuits from 1986's True as steel Warlock seemed ready to take the next step up the ladder. I remember seeing ads for this one in every metal magazine and seeing the video the opener and big time anthem "All we are". I am sure I bought it cassette around the time it was released and played it over after school for several months at least. Even though I hadn't heard it a while until recently I was quickly reminded by why I took this one so quickly. You get fired up songs like "Three minute warning" and straight up rockers like "I rule the ruins" with it's faintly haunting chorus. Still there's no denying the band decided to stick to the slightly more melodic style that also dominated the previous release "True as steel". Tracks like "Kiss of death", "East meets west" and "Metal Tango" all have very simple song structures and much of the weight relies on Doro's vocals. She delivers of course, but the music is slightly more restrained on numerous songs this time around. We even get multiple ballads with the slow winding ballad "Make time for love" and the march-like heart wrenching attempt of "Fur Immer" (Forever). Not the band's heaviest effort, but probably their most polished. Unfortunately the end for the band was near. After successful opening and then headlining tours both Michael Eurich and Niko Arvantis both left the group leaving Doro as the sole original member. She hired drummer Bobby Rondinelli and guitarist Jon Levin and was set to record Warlock's fifth album when the band's ex-manager claimed the rights to the band name. Unfortunately he won and with pressure from the record label the band changed to the name "Doro" and continued on under that moniker. This re-issue includes a lyric book, band biography and four bonus tracks. Still a powerful album.

Benedictum-Dominion

Frontiers Records 2011

Fronted by the extremely beautiful Veronica Freeman this San Diego, California heavy metal band will be releasing Dominion (their 3rd full length release) within the next month or so. Produced by Ryan Greene (Megadeth,Alice Cooper, Mr. Big) Dominion features guest appearances by Jeff Pilson (Dokken,Dio), Craig Gordy (Rough Cutt,Dio) and Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot,Ozzy Osbourne). Judging by the album cover and the fact that the band are on Frontiers Records I was expecting this to sound like Nightwish or Within Temptation. Thankfully that is far from the case. Benedictum play heavy metal. Not the currently trendy symphonic metal that I can only take so much of but honest to goodness heavy metal! Obviously influenced by bands like Accept,Dio and early Warlock this was just what I had been looking for to review (thanks Mark!). Starting off with the title track your treated to some wicked solos courtesy of guitarist Pete Wells. "At The Gates" is next and is straight up heavy (think Megadeth meets Accept-in fact vocalist Veronica could be Udo Dirkschneider's long lost sister) as is "Seer". In fact it's one first pumping metal tune after another up until "Beautiful Pain". Yes, "Beautiful Pain" does morph into the fired up "Dark Heart" but it starts off slowly in a haunting and beautiful way. "Bang" (featuring bass player Rudy Sarzo) is old school hard rock/metal with some meatly Pantera riffs going on. "Loud Silence" shows off Veronica's range and sounds like a heavier Lita Ford. "Epsilon" has a great sense of melody to go along with the shouted chorus. It features more incredible solos from Pete Wells. The bonus cut "Sanctuary" is probably the softest track on the disc and is both dark and charming. The last track on the disc is the very Dio/Rainbow sounding bonus track "Overture/The Temples of Syrinx". It's a great way to close off this superb disc. Again, I can't tell you how nice it is to hear some female fronted heavy metal that actually sounds heavy. I'm going to have to check out the group's other two discs.

Forgotten Gems: Skew Siskin-Skew Siskin

Giant 1992


I hate to admit to this people but I had this in my collection for years without every listening to it. If my memory serves me correct this gem of hard rock goodness was a bargain bin pick up. The album art wasn't a selling point for me at all. I had seen it sitting there for a few weeks at my local Mom & Pop record store collecting dust and had never thought about buying it. I only got it after the store owner gave me a deal on a whole stack of CDs and threw it in for free. It wouldn't be until several years later that I dug it out of storage and gave it a listen. I was looking to unload a ton of music and thought I should really give it a listen to see how bad it was. Man, was this ever a shocker! In the same way that great album art hid some truly awful heavy metal acts (especially in the 1980s) this horrid piece of album art hid some great hard rock. Yes, Skew Siskin did get a few listens in the 90s thanks to "If The Wall Could Talk" (a minor MTV hit) but otherwise I never knew of anyone who had heard this album. Fronted by the gritty sounding Nina C. Alice (who incidentally still has one set of lungs on her after all these years) Skew Siskin are a German hard rock/heavy metal band who are musically in the vein of AC/DC. Featuring the mad guitar skills of Jim Voxx (his solo work in the 12 minute track "In Another World" reminds of Jimi Hendrix at times) Skew Siskin is still kicking up dirt all these years later. They are a favorite of Lemmy from Motorhead (Skew does draw comparisons to Motorhead when they really get going) and often tour with his group in Europe. On this debut they go from heavy rockers like "Out Of Control" to the Heart sounding "I Gotta Go Away". "Sniffin' The Dirt" is sleeze rock through and through. "Thank You For The Time" and "Cheap Trick" offer up catchy hard rock while "Shake Down And Roll" has a bluesy twang running through it. The group even offers up a heavy metal version of the Kinks classic " All Day & All Of The Night" which is pretty good. As I said the band is still going and has gotten better with each release (which isn't easy to do in this day and age). Skew Siskin the album though is a good place to start if your new to the group. It can be readily found online at sites like Amazon(really cheap if you don't mind used copies). Don't let the hideous cover fool you as to the tasty treat that awaits you once you put this disc on.

Warlock-True as steel

Metal Mind
1986/2011

After the tour for 1985's "Hellbound" Rudy Graf left and was replaced by Nicko Arvantis (ex-Stormwind). Then the band signed with Phonogram and the stage was set for album number three. "True as steel" was released late in the summer of 1986 and this was the first album I heard by them. I can't remember if I heard the whole album or if I saw the video for "Fight for rock" first, but either way I was impressed right away. Dore Pesch's tremendous vocals are the same as during their previous outings, but the music took a slightly more melodic turn. "Speed of sound" is a barn burner and "Mr. Gold" and the title track are spine rattlers for sure. However other songs like "Love in the danger zone" and "Lady in a rock n' roll hell" are a little closer to say Dokken than the Accept/Judas Priest level of heaviness that much of Warlock's previous material was at. However that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. Quite the contrary as the band handles the hard rock approach just as well as they do the metal sound. No filler to these ears and they branch out their style a little more on tracks like "T.O.L". Overall I probably prefer the early material a little more, but this was the album that got their name out there. This was due to the radio/video play for the aforementioned "Fight for rock" plus they played the Monsters of rock festival in Germany opening for the like of Def Leppard, Scorpions and Ozzy. After a tour and some more line-up changes they were on to record their forth and what would unfortunately be their final album. That's a story for another day (hopefully tomorrow). The re-issue includes lyric booklet, band biography and three bonus tracks. A nice package and as with "Hellbound" this album has stood the test of time as well.