Boogie Hammer-Piledriver

ALO Records
2018

Do you remember Boogie Hammer? God knows I do. Based in Veinna, Austria and lead by guitarist/vocalist D. "Süpürgesi" Vacuum (Genocide SS, The Accidents), this band rocked the living daylights out of my life with their 2017 demo, "First Blood"! That 6-song EP was the shit!! Admittedly I was a little late to the party (having just covered that bad mofo last month), but hot damn kids, here we are in February and what do you suppose ends up in my lap? If you said a new girlfriend then A) I thank you for the confidence you have in me and B) you are way off (as in really folks, who is going to date my old, ugly, and disabled butt?). Nah man, I am talking about a new Boogie Hammer release! That's right ladies and gentlemen. Just when I was having a bad day, Boogie Hammer struts on it and is like "BAM!", here's "Piledriver"! Mad thanks guys!! Due to drop at some point in the immediate future, this 7" EP is as much fun as you can have in this day and age without ending up in jail! This four-track EP falls somewhere between real punk (The Ramones!) and back alley (bad to the core) rock and roll. Like the old school wrestling finisher that it is named for, "Piledriver" picks you up and then drives you straight into the ground! Actually, this EP is more like a spiked-piledriver right onto the bad streets of rock and roll. Only instead of receiving a horrible injury, Boogie Hammer leaves you will a wide grin on your face and the feeling that you want to inject this guitar-heavy drug into your veins over and over again. Good music is supposed to do that to you. It's supposed to life you up out of your slump and make you not only feel something, but make you feel as if you are truly alive. Maybe for the first time in a long time. It's bands like Boogie Hammer that keep me going on when the feeling has left me. For that I am extremely grateful. In case it isn't obviously in closing, "Piledriver" comes highly recommended.

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-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