Stälker-Shadow of the Sword

Napalm Records
2017

Stälker is a (raw) speed metal band from New Zealand that is lead by bassist/vocalist Daif king (Blood Knight) and features two former members of Razorwyre within it's ranks: guitarist Chris Calavrias and drummer Nick Oates (Numbskull). The 10-track "Shadow of the Sword" serves as Stälker's full-length debut. It was released back in November of 2017 and has a run-time of over 38 minutes. In addition to nine original compositions (most of which completely shred!), "Shadow of the Sword" includes a sick cover of Death's "Evil Dead". Primarily influenced by the eighties speed metal scene (think early Slayer crossed with early Exciter!), this New Zealand trio is not for the fate of heart or anyone who might be looking for clean, crisp, and crystal-clear metal. Instead this is rough & raw speed metal that leaves no prisoners and offers no apologies for the damage that it has done! In a very cool way, Stälker brought back fond memories of the underground speed/thrash scene of the late eighties as well as the tape-trading days of old. For those of you who might not be old enough to remember such things, fear not! This album might be geared towards fans of retro speed metal, but it has more than enough muscle to wreck the competition!!

Free Music Monday: Nervous Jerk-Ditch Life

Self-Release/Independent
2016

Nervous Jerk are a New Zealand-based band with a couple of releases to it's name. The group's latest one, "Ditch Life", came out in late December of 2016 and it features 12 fucking fantastic slabs of garage-worthy punk with various sub-genres (pop punk, power pop,etc.) tossed in for good measure. Available as name-your-own-price download by clicking here, "Ditch Life" is snotty and a little bit ugly. In other words I absolutely LOVE it!

Fallen Order-The Age Of Kings

Self-Release/Independent
2014

Active since 2005, with the current line-up having been completed with the arrival of guitarist Kieran Gallagher some four years later in 2009 (a move that likely served to benefit second guitarist Ben Jays given the epic duo guitar solos that reverberate throughout "The Age Of Kings"!), Fallen Order are a Lower Hutt, New Zealand-based five-piece band which plays "Metal of the heavy kind"! Need a translation of that last part? Yes? Sure thing then. Translated that means that New Zealand's Fallen Order, which simply rules on the mic thanks to the powerful vocals of one Hamish Murray (think along the lines of Queensrÿche's Geoff Tate, but with Demon's Dave Hill thrown in for good measure!), play eighties metal (Iron Maiden/Judas Priest) with a modern twist. Now, I can already hear what you are all saying out there. I gather it's something like "But Andy, how is that any different then say the hundreds, no, let's make that thousands(!), of other nostalgia-lovin' modern day metal bands trolling about out there looking to part me from my hard-earned money?". Well, first of all let me just say that your question, which was rather insightful(!), is a legitimate concern. Every day it seems as if new bands like Fallen Order are coming down the pipeline. Ones that seem as if they are content to come onto the scene with one foot firmly planted in the past and one foot settled in the present. So, how do you separate the legitimate contenders from all of the lousy pretenders? As a (seemingly) life-long metal fan you could just take my word for it when I say that Fallen Order, which lists it's influences as being Iced Earth, Manowar, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Gamma Ray, Dio, Grim Reaper, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy and Helloween, is the real deal. On this 5-track EP* we find ourselves staring into the eyes of a band that merges some old familiar names (to my ears it's mostly Iron Maiden and Manowar although even bands as far-ranging as Omen and (early) Metallica seem to stop by to say hello!) with more "modern" day acts (Iced Earth, Gamma Ray, DragonForce and, execution-wise, Amon Amarth) and, in much the same way as a band like Death Dealer has manged to skillfully combine the past and present, do it all while sounding as if that is just the natural order of things! With the talented duo of Tooley and Nikki Terror rounding things out for Fallen Order (on bass and drums respectively**) this band and their self-recorded and self-produced debut release begs to be heard by a larger audience. Still, should you want a sneak-peak for yourself (something that I would understand all too well) then you can hear the track "The Age of Kings" right here: http://onlinemetalpromo.bandcamp.com/album/hello-tokyo-omp-armed-and-ready Afterwards, as I'm sure you'll want to know more about this killer heavy metal collective and how to get a copy of this five-track EP for yourself, be sure to head over to the band's Facebook page and "like" them so that you can be kept up to date on what will likely be one of your (newest) favorite epic metal bands! Here's hoping that "The Age Of Kings" is just the first of MANY fine moments for Fallen Order!

Fallen Order's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/FallenOrderBand

*Even though it has "only" five-tracks (length-wise) "The Age Of Kings" is more like a full-length release as it runs slightly over thirty minutes! I mean look at the (epic) title cut. "The Age Of Kings" alone is over nine minutes long so there is more then enough BANG for your buck!

**Hamish Murray, who has the perfect name to be fronting a kick-ass traditional heavy metal outfit like this(!), was kind enough to send me a bio to go along with the MP3's to "The Age Of Kings". In it it mentions how Fallen Order benefits from "Bulgarian-tinged drum fills" and "fast fingered bass lines". I couldn't agree more especially when it comes to the bass playing of Tooley! Why it is that more traditional heavy metal bands don't employ this kind of bass playing I'll never understand, but a mere two tracks into "The Age Of Kings" and I was thanking the metal gods above that not only was this style of bass playing present, but it was mixed in such a fashion that you could actually make out said skilled-performance! 

Mistress-Loveteaser

Demon Doll Records (US) Hitman Records (Japan)
2013

Calling New Zealand home, Mistress, not to be confused with the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania band of the same name (whose self-released album, "Heavy Mental", inexplicably did not make my "Best Of" list for 2013), are a melodic hard rock/hair metal band whose "Loveteaser" was released this past summer. Formed back in 2008 by lead vocalist/lead guitarist Siggy Signal, with CC Xander (bass/vocals) and Isaac "Rikki" Proctor (drums/vocals) filling out the ranks, this is another up and coming new band that, while (thankfully) more modern in there approach then a lot of similar-styled "Glam, Bam Thank You Mam!" acts trolling the airwaves, draw their influences from the days when it wasn't just women that got all doled up in make-up and hairspray for the Friday night rock shows! Up front that means lots and lots of Mötley Crüe worship with Ratt and Kiss following closely behind! To that end the band was able to secure the services of a certain Beau Hill (Ratt, Winger, Twisted Sister, Europe, Warrent, Kix, Alice Cooper and many more!) who, for those of you who know your hard rock and hair metal history (especially in regards to the mid-late eighties/early nineties) was heavier involved with said scene(s), remixed two tracks from the band's 2009 debut EP! Beau, having caught wind of the band thanks to their Myspace account (anyone remember those?), helps give the album's closing number "She's A Sinner" (which was also featured on was featured on the 272 Records heavy metal compilation CD, "Kill City 20", in 2010) a nice glossy finish. Unfortunately the eight tracks that proceeded "She's A Sinner" are not given the same consideration. And that is the big drawback of an album like "Loveteaser". Musically-speaking Siggy Signal and his cohorts in Mistress (who apparently are new to the game as there was some line-up changes between the group's 2009 EP and 2013's "Loveteaser") are spot-on in their love and appreciate for the days of old and that transfers over rather nicely into the the music on hand here. Opener "Rock It Tonight" sets things in motion as it pays homage to likes of Autograph and Kiss while the title cut recalls the likes of Def Leppard, Warrent and Extreme. From there we're treated to some nice White Lion ("Turn It On" and "Don't Stop Now"), Mötley Crüe meets Winger ("To The Top") and even some Ratt love ("Mystery Child"). For what they do (ie: playing hair metal and melodic hard rock inspired rock and roll) Mistress does it quite well. Talent-wise it's all there and Siggy Signal (who, incidentally, shines as a lead vocalist as well as being a great guitarist with some slick leads) has the ability to turn Mistress into something special. What holds this album back though is the paper-thin production. Other then the Beau Hill mixed "She's A Sinner" the tracks on "Loveteaser" sound as if they were plucked from various demo tapes (as in cassette tapes) and then randomly grouped together in an album setting. While that might sound harsh it's more disheartening in my eyes as Mistress has all the potential in the world. If they can secure the services of a really good producer and are afforded proper studio time then Mistress has all the tools at their disposal to shake up the modern hair metal revival scene and step forward as a reliable option for those who prefer actual talent over a lot of the novelty, big hair and even bigger egos, "fluff" that's clogging up the scene! Hopefully time will rectify that situation and down the road we'll simply be talking about how far Mistress has come as a band.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mistress/128006420553275