Steel Prophet-The Goddess Principle (LP Re-release)

Pure Steel Records
2014

Originally released in 1995, which (as previously mentioned) was a fateful year for yours truly, "The Goddess Principle" helped set the stage for L.A.'s Steel Prophet and their long-running reign atop the power metal  scene. Or at least in regards to the quality of one's product if not necessarily the quantity sold. Years before the band would emerge from cult status thanks to 1999's legendary "Dark Hallucinations" (although they still seem to be sadly overlooked by many when it comes time for discussions as to who reins supreme within the ranks of exception power metal!) the band, which was/and currently is lead by the Bruce Dickinson-like vocals of Rick Mythiasin (Mystic-Force, Agent Steel (live), ex-Taraxacum, ex-Masters of Metal, ex-Pantera, ex-New Eden, ex-Redemption, ex-All in Vein, ex-Mythiasin, ex-Psycho Twin), released "The Goddess Principle" and now (in celebration of the band recently signing on to Pure Steel Records) it will be seeing an LP re-issue. Limited to a mere 500 copies, which seems far too little an amount for a classic release like this one, "The Goddess Principle" is a must for fans of power metal and/or heavy metal collectors! Mixing in elements of (early) Fates Warning and Queensrÿche along with the likes of Iron Maiden and Metal Church this release is enduring thanks in no small part to it's epic embrace of U.S. power metal at a time when U.S. power metal was not in vogue. While we wait to see where Steel Prophet goes from here this is a good re-release that shows us exactly where it is they came from and why they are still so important to today's scene!

GTS- Tracks From The Dustshelf

Avenue Of Allies
2012

 "Tracks From The Dustshelf" was the debut-album from GTS. It was originally released in 1995 (a bad year for me as I did something that would haunt me for the rest of my life, but I won't hole that against this album...or at least too much!). The band was formed by three fellow London musicians-Greg Hart (guitarist in Moritz and, a fave group of mine now, If Only), former YAYA vocalist Sam Blue and ex-Samson, White Spirit and Mrs Loud bassist, Toby Sadler. If your wondering, no this does not bear any resemblance to any of those bands as this sounds more like Tony's other previous band Airrace. Or the band FM. If you love AOR then you'll want to hear this one.The album was recorded in the UK during 1995 (again, that year ugh!), when the members each had "down time". The one thing of interest from the promo is this tidbit: "The album was, at the start, a batch of unused ideas from their previous bands, hence the title of the album, but they quickly found a spark to their writing, and the new songs came thick and fast". Be that as it may this still does sound like a dash of this and a dash of that of other bands especially what I've heard of Airrace. With it's ballads and pure AOR-style keyboards and guitars this one actually sounds more eighties in nature then anything else. It's sort of hard to believe that this album features two guys who were in Samson (drummer Charlie Mack came to the party as well) given how much it sounds like typical AOR. It is what it is and, as AOR, it's fairly solid. The one down side though is that the production sounds thin...paper then in fact. It just lacks any sort of punch. I am kind of at a loss as to why they didn't do a re-master job on this one so that it would really POP OUT! With a bit more BANG this would really be sweet music to my ears. As is it is a solid AOR album that is held back by it's flat production as well as the fact that it sounds a little too much like Airrace to me. Of course if your a Airrace fan is that a bad thing? 

Death-Live in Japan 1995

XXL Media
DVD
2010


This concert was filmed in Tokyo for television back in 1995. Chuck Schuldiner's band was touring in support of their outstanding "Symbolic" album and they present 13 tracks. The visual quality isn't the greatest as the band often just wrapped in fuzzy hues of various colors. The camera angles are limited, but steady. I guess I have to take their word for it that this show is filmed in Tokyo because we never get to see the crowd except the backs of some heads in the dark. The sound quality however is quite decent and consistent. Schuldiner himself comes across as rather between songs and he keeps the banter to a minimum mostly just saying thank you and announcing song titles. Then when the songs begin he goes through a Jekyll and Hyde transformation as he becomes this seething, growling metal monster. The band as a whole are extremely tight, but Schuldiner is undoubtedly the center of attention as his hands are all over his guitar as he rips and tears out chunky riffs while belting out some beastly vocals. Death were not just one of the originators of the death metal sound because unlike a number of bands Death progressed over the years. They not only defined the death metal sound, but pushed the boundaries of the genre as well. This show is a testament to that fact as they knock out simple straight forward killers and more complex musical assaults as well. Just a few of the highlights include Crystal Mountain, Flattening of emotions, Empty Words and Open Casket. Really all the songs are tremendous. Definitely a DVD worth checking out.

Cathedral-The carnival bizarre (Earache Classic re-issue)

Earache
1995/2008

I remember being curious about Cathedral when they popped in the early 1990’s. I liked the tone on albums like “The forest of Equilibrium” and “The Ethereal Mirror”, but they always seem to wander around without enough structure to really make them that interesting. Heavy sludge is all and well and good, but Cathedral seem to be drowning in it rather than being able to manipulate their sound. However by “The Carnival Bizarre” they seemed to be realizing the need for some real direction and they kept the same rich tones they had been doing for several years and plugged them into a much tighter format which is a whole lot easier to take. Maybe this wasn’t their original vision, but the flow on this album was steady and interesting. This change in approach was a far cry from the almost unbearable crawl of their earlier releases. Lee Dorian’s vocals were a bit more level and actually more effective here because they compliment the music instead of just kind of floating around. The Sabbath influence was more recognizable here, but Cathedral were making their own path to some extent with a pitch that was very much doom yet different as well. This album sounds as intriguing now as it did 13 years ago and holds up rather nicely. This re-issue also includes a DVD which has “Our God has landed” which includes 8 promo clips and five songs from a show in 1992 of “The gods of Grind tour”.