S.A. Adams-A Murder of Crows

Self-Release/Independent
2016


It's been a long time in the making, but the recently-released "A Murder of Crows" is a brand new solo offering from New York City's own S.A. Adams. The full-length album, which was recorded in S.A. Adams' home territory and is only available in digital format*, comes along some 12 years after Adams' last solo recording, "Mutated". Of course in-between 2004's "Mutated" and S.A. Adams' latest release there was 2010's "Unearthed" and the 2016 digital EP, "Sins of Your Flesh", but as far as brand new  full-length albums of the fist banging metal variety are concerned this particular recording is the real deal. Having first started his solo career way back in 1992 after leaving  The Fury , S.A. Adams has managed to roll out some of the best (if sadly underrated) power metal/thrash albums out there. In that same time-frame (and really it's thanks in no small part to his absolutely praise-worthy ability to construct solid material and then (often times) handle all of the vocals and instruments himself!) he has also impressed plenty of critics and built himself up a small (if not completely loyal!) following. All it takes is one listen to S.A. Adams' all-powerful "A Murder of Crows" to understand why both his fans and the critics continue to heap praise and admiration onto this New York native! Not only has "A Murder of Crows" been well worth the long wait (and then some!) it is one of Adams' finest moments! For a top-notch metal musician like S.A. Adams' that's saying quite a bit. Especially as we talking about one hell of an exceptional musician that has made a career out of having one solid gold moment after another! Speaking of solid gold moments, the terrific number "The Rising" opens things up on the must-have "A Murder of Crows" and for fans of head shaking & body slamming heavy metal it is nothing short of a strike it rich moment! Of course the exact same thing can be said about this power-packed album as a whole, but in all honestly listeners can find that much out for themselves should they decide to pick up this release that is being touted as one the heaviest albums of S.A. Adams' career!! I for one am not going to argue with that assessment. Granted I might mention how this album oddly enough comes across as one of the most sincere and enduring releases from S.A. Adams to date, but there again listeners can make up their own minds as far as that statement is concerned. Available for purchase over at at Amazon and CD Baby, "A Murder of Crows" is real heavy metal** from S.A. Adams and some very special guest musicians. Unfortunately this digital album did not come with any kind of line-up information so I am afraid I can not name any of those guest musicians other than Raven's John Gallagher. He shows up to play on the second to last track ("Samurai") and just like every cut on this new recording it is stone cold sick! I only wish that I could name every other guest on this digital delight, but at least it's something to think about (as is the fact that S.A. Adams actually has guest musicians to begin with on one of his solo releases!). Needless to say, "A Murder of Crows" comes highly-recommend....




*Or at least it is as of this writing


**As with other recordings from S.A. Adams there is nothing fancy or pretentious about this release. At the end of the day S.A. plays honest to goodness heavy metal that picks apart everything from seventies punk to nineties thrash and then super glues the whole thing back together with some ass kicking hard rock that would have made Lemmy proud! In other words, "A Murder of Crows" shreds! 

Free Metal Monday: Tower-Tower

Self-Release/Independent
2015

For today's Free Metal Monday feature we have Tower from New York City. The band is expertly fronted by Sarabeth Linden and the name-your-own-price "Tower" looks to be the group's first studio recording. Produced, mixed & mastered by Jeff Filmer and the band-members themselves, "Tower" features three cool tracks in the form of "Flames", "Mountains", and "Hold on to Me". That last number is arguably the best of the lot and on this EP the line-up looks to be Sarabeth Linden (lead vocals), James Danzo (guitar),
Zak Penley (guitar), Philippe Arman (bass guitar & vocals), and Joey Bouchard (drums). Tower is every-bit as real and rock-steady as the city it hails from (after all this city gave us everyone from The Ramones to Nuclear Assault)! and because I believe in giving credit where credit is due this is yet another fine suggestion from the one and only Paul Rote! There are a lot of  good reasons why I follow Paul on Bandcamp, but the biggest one would have to be the fact that the two of us share similar tastes in music. In the case of  Tower that would be heavy rock/heavy metal with a none-to-subtle eighties tint! Paul was more or less spot on when he said "This lies somewhere between Mötley Crüe and Accept", but let's make sure to clarify that comment by adding the word "early" to Mötley Crüe and rewriting the last bit so that it says "Restless and Wild" through "Metal Heart"-era Accept. Otherwise that is Tower in a nutshell and on this three-track EP these New Yorkers want nothing more than to share their love of old-school hard rock and heavy metal with the old and young alike! As this is (potentially) the band's first recording there is obviously room to grow, but from what I hear on "Tower" this is one group that could do some serious damage if given a fair shot. I'd love to see what this band could do with a legit budget and hear how they would fare on a full-length album. For now this EP is a great addition to any one's personal collection and I will eagerly be hyping it to friends and fellow collectors!