Elephants In Paradise-Wake Up

Edelstahl Records
2018

Elephants in Paradise is a four-piece heavy metal/rock band from Vienna, Austria that was formed in 2015 by veteran bassist Christoph Scheffel. The forthcoming "Wake Up" is the exciting full-length debut for this up-and-coming outfit that features two members of Jacobs Moor within it's ranks: guitarist Rupert Träxler and drummer Rainer Lidauer. Exceptional lead vocals come courtesy of Cara Cole and so far two singles have been released from this highly-recommended album, "Breaking Bad" and "Feeding A Lie". While these two numbers are remarkable in their own right, "Wake Up" has more in common with the grand long players of yesterday. Full of elegant and engaging numbers from an exceptionally talented and bright quartet, "Wake Up" is one of those rare modern day rock/metal albums that is better played in all it's entirety! It holds your attention from start to finish and that has everything to do with the performances of everyone involved. Lead Singer Cara Cole is a haunting presence on the microphone while her band-mates play with precision, power and passion. "Wake Up" is as much a heavy rock and roll release as it is a red hot melodic metal/power metal one. As far as debut albums go, "Wake Up" is a perfect example of how things should be done. Strong material and top-notch performances matter more than ever in a scene where heavy metal/rock bands are a dime a dozen. Based solely on the material of "Wake Up" the band Elephants in Paradise should experience lots of critical acclaim and plenty of fanfare. Unlike a lot of the terrible music that seems to be flooding modern rock radio these days, "Wake Up" is deserving of all the praise it gets!

Jacobs Moor-Self

Self-Release/Independent
2017

Jacobs Moor is a progressive power metal/thrash metal band that has been active since 2010. Self-produced by the band members themselves (Richard Krenmaier-vocals, Rupert Träxler and Johannes Pichler-guitars, Stephan Först-bass, and Rainer Lidauer-drums), "Self" is the latest studio album from Jacobs Moor. It was sent my way courtesy of drummer Rainer Lidauer. Having covered the band's 2014 debut album, "All That Starts", and the 2015 EP, "The Evil in Me", I looked forward to diving straight into this recording. After a brief instrumental introduction ("March of the Flies") we cut right into the heart of the matter with "Watching Atrocities" (see video below). This powerful piece rips the album wide open and leaves little doubt as to the fact that this five-piece band is back and as killer as always! Not that there was any doubt whatsoever. Given the strong effort that was was "The Evil in Me", "Self" merely reaffirms the mad skills of this technical and precise power/thrash unit. Making our way through the heavy thrash of "The Absence of Me" and the sick title track (progressive metal with muscle and might!), "Self" proves to be a remarkably consistent album. Not so much in a style kind of way. It's actually impressive songwriting and the overall performances of everyone that wins the day. It seems pretty obvious that the material on "Self" has been re-written and re-worked to maximum efficiency. When it comes to "Self" there is also a lot of variety to be found. While technical power metal is primarily what is on display, "Self" goes a long ways towards adding a little bit of everything to the mix. It's all here from the blues to modern day extreme metal. There are touches of classic metal and hard-edge thrash. Harsh and clean vocals give way to sensational drumming while the stringed instruments are nothing short of dynamic! "Self" is the rare kind of album where every song gels together and yet each track could work on it's own. Opening with the shortest track on the album ("March of the Flies"), Jacobs Moor ends "Self" with the longest cut of the bunch. Clocking in at over eleven minutes(!), "Hopeless Endeavor" shows of the many talents of this veteran act. Now in their seventh year together (it's almost eight years really), Jacobs Moor should be a household name by now. The fact that they are not is a tremendous shame. Maybe "Self" will end up being the band's winning ticket? Let us hope so. Because quite frankly this Austrian metal band has sat on the sidelines for far too long.



Video for "Watching Atrocities":

Jacobs Moor-The Evil in Me

BleedingStar Records
2015

Active since 2010, Jacobs Moor is a five-piece band that is based in Vienna, Austria and now has one full-length album and an extended EP to it's name with the release of "The Evil in Me". Having previously covered the group's full-length debut album, "All That Starts", I had high hopes for this extended EP and thankfully Jacobs Moor didn't let me down! Issued back in late November of 2015, "The Evil in Me" is just over 35 minutes in length and it includes two new studio tracks (the speed metal-tinged (hack & slash) killer title track and the equally awesome (and strangely hypnotic) "Away"!) and a handful of live cuts. For this highly-skilled/tech-savvy progressive power metal/thrash metal act this proves to be a damn wise move as it showcases the band's strength in both areas. The new studio material offers everything that I loved about this band's (independently-released) 2014 debut album only with more teeth and a greater sense of urgency! All at once melodic and menacing both of these numbers, "The Evil in Me" (5:47) and "Away" (7:28), present a clear and clean portrait of one band that has not only found it's sound, but has nearly perfected it!! Meanwhile the aforementioned live tracks (which are songs from the group's first release) are nice and punchy and offer great alternatives to the original source material! In other words it's a win-win situation for this up-and-coming progressive power metal/thrash metal act that is currently composed of Richard Krenmaier (vocals), Johannes Pichler (guitars), Rupert Träxler (guitars), Stephan Först (bass), and Rainer Lidauer (drums). Even though Jacobs Moor has always flown slightly under the radar fans and critics alike are finally starting to notice this group thanks to strong efforts like this EP. You can find "The Evil in Me" over on iTunes and Amazon and let's all hope that 2016 finds this Austrian metal collective hard at work on album number two!

Jacobs Moor-All That Starts

Bleedingstar Records
2014

Self-produced by the band members themselves, "All That Starts" is the full-length debut album from Austrian metal act Jacobs Moor. Founded in 2010 by Richard Krenmaier (Speed Limit, ex-Stygma IV, ex-Surrender, ex-Big Heat, Della Street), Johnny Sommerer and Rainer Lidauer (ex-Far Beyond Innocence, ex-Marcin Suder), with both the studio line-up for "All That Starts" and the live line-up of this Vienna-based act listed below*, Jacobs Moor is another relatively new band whose sound and style covers many different genres. Influenced by the likes of Machine Head, Devil Driver, Leprous, Slayer, Testament, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Pantera and Lamb Of God and being the benefactors of lead singer Richard Krenmaier's all encompassing voice this Austrian stretches modern metal and progressive/melodic power /thrash metal into all kinds of unusual shapes! As dark and oppressive as the music might be at times (and also as gloomy as the band members themselves intended the art-work above to convey!) it's also strangely illuminating making "All That Starts" a record well-worth visiting from time to time. Available pretty much wherever fine music is to be found these days ( iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc), "All That Starts" is a fine start for Jacobs Moor. Especially seeing as it does the band members and the metal community as a whole proud by offering up another much-needed soundtrack for this crumbling world for which we are all to blame...

 * Jacobs Moor's studio line-up included:
   Richard Krenmaier-vocals
   Johnny Sommerer-guitars, bass (except "Faceless Man") and cellos
   Rainer Lidauer-drums

  Along with the following guests:
  Werner Taus-bass on "Faceless Man"
  Günther Maier-2nd guitar solo on "Final Sound"

  Meanwhile the live band features:
  Richard Krenmaier-vocals 

  Johannes Pichler-guitars 

  Rupert Träxler-guitars 

  Stephan Först-bass 

  Rainer Lidauer-drums