2014
"I'm Alex, guitar player with the heavy metal band Lonewolf (https://www.facebook.com/lonewolfdivision). Here is the other project I've joined and I'm playing in: My Doppelgänger". Thus began the e-mail from Alex Hilbert inquiring as to whether or not Heavy Metal Time Machine took submissions from unsigned acts. Of course the answer to that question has been and will always be a resounding "Yes!" with any and all small print as to the matter (if there actually was any!) simply stating "All submissions (from pop rock to black metal!) are welcome whether you are signed or unsigned"! With that, Alex went on to say that the band's sound (unlike the more traditional, power metal leanings of Lonewolf) is like "Guns N' Roses meeting Metallica with a touch of Lynyrd Skynyrd and with a kind of Hellhamer on the drums ! No musical boundaries , but still very metal...". And from that point on I was off and running, downloading the album and plugging myself into the (D.I.Y.) concept album that is "God is a lie" (http://mydoppelganger.bandcamp.com/album/god-is-a-lie). What's it all about you might ask? Well, straight from their mouth to this page: "The album is meant to describe the degeneracy of a being, lost in a world he can only feel through its violence and its perversion. The unequal fight between the conscious man and his baleful double will bring him to the end of a life that was eventually sauntering on the sinuous road of insanity". Not to far-fetched if you ask me as one only need look out his window to see the truth in it all. But, heavy-message aside, this French is more then words. For this newish (as in 2012 or so from the sounds of things) French band has planted it's roots down deep into rich soil from where their various influences and inspirations* can sprout up and fully blossom! With "God is a lie" the band, gracefully lead by singer Will (or a French James Hetfield disguised in "rock and roll" sheep's clothing!), takes nothing for granted as the whole project, from "the recordings the mix and mastering (with Powerwolf's guitar player in "Studio Greywolf" Germany) to the 16 pages booklet", might look and sound professional, but it is indeed a 100% D.I.Y. affair. And it's that same sense of self-assured passion that moves these musicians involved and has resulted in a genuine rock record! Sure as the air we breath there's a metal essence to this French collective and there's a real blues mindset to be found within some of the song-construction that appears on "God is a lie". Even so, as you slowly pull away from this album and reflect on the overall riches that it possesses, it's rock, real rock and roll (even classic rock friends) that you end up taking with you. But, don't take my word for it as each and everyone of you is certainly sensible enough to stream this album and take from it what you will. Just remember though that it's not enough to just have ears. No, you have to learn to really listen. And an album like this deserves one's full listening ability so that all of it's riches can be yours! For more on My Doppelgänger be sure to head over to the group's Facebbok page here: https://www.facebook.com/my.doppleganger.official
*For My Doppelgänger it's not just about the obligatory "metal" role models (Metallica, Iron Maiden, Guns N' Roses, etc.) as the likes of Uriah Heep, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Mark Knopfler, The Rolling Stones and Blackfoot are referenced as well! And yes, it does show in the band's blues-based, hard rock/heavy metal approach to riff-happy rock!
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