N.W.O.B.H.M. Wednesday: Legend-The Dark Place

High Roller Records 
2013

Just sit right back and bear witness to another N.W.O.B.H.M. act that deserved a better fate, or even a better send-off, then they initially received. Formed in 1980, and with 2 full-length LPs and an EP to their name before they closed up the ranks (all of which make for essentially purchases for N.W.O.B.H.M. fans and collectors alike), the band Legend hailed from the island of Jersey. While they were not the only exports from this one time (and most likely still?) club-deprived island, as the N.W.O.B.H.M. Encyclopedia makes mention of both Tracer and Jonah,  they would prove to be the most successful band as well as the one that people most remember. Still though the Island's own Legend ended their run way too soon. By 1994 they were done. It would be years before the group got back together. In that span two compilations would be released (one of which, 2002's "Anthology", is in my personal collection and it covers the recording output of Legend) before the group finally got back together around 2002. A new album, 2003's "Still Screaming", was the result of said reunion although I must confess to having never heard it. The same can't be said of this new album though as "The Dark Place" has been on heavy rotation since I first spied it sitting there like a blue light special in the promo department! Who would have guessed that after 10 years waiting that their latest output would be this good? The fact that Legend are back with such a strong album just goes to show you that there are bands out there who still know how to rock after some 30+ years! As for Legend's line-up these days it looks as if other then drummer Jack Pallota a lot of the same players from back in the day are here on "The Dark Place". Vocals come from Mike Lezala whose melodic voice still sounds great while Pete Haworth's lead guitar still retains it's familiar Black Sabbath-like cutting edge. Meanwhile bassist Eggy Aubert easily slips back into place as if no time has passed at all. Neil Haworth (who played bass early on for the group) is the second guitarist here and together with the other 4 musicians you end up looking at a vintage act who sure as hell doesn't sound vintage here! Well, check that as a lot of this does retain their older style, which was somewhat doom while also packing in some classic rock, hard rock, some British metal and even the jazz-like influences, but it's also modern enough to kick a little ass up and down the ranks of rock and roll! The band still knows how to lay down some monster rock moments while at the same time they can easily mix in bits of melodic rock and even some progressive rock when the mood calls for it. In the end "The Dark Place" is such a good album that even I admit to being taken off guard by it! This one is going to be a must-buy for me and if you're a fan of the group then I suggest taking the same route. Are we looking at another album to be added to the year end best of as well? Maybe we are...

Vadikan-Hydrargyrum

Metal Scrap Records
2013

The roots of Moscow's Vadikan can be traced back to 2004 when, as nothing more then a studio-project really, guitarist and sound producer Vadim Pashutin (formerly of  Gross Grolland) first recorded a handful of tracks. It would take until 2007 (and the addition of vocalist Julia Tikhomirova) before all the pieces would start to fall into place though. Even then, as two demos were recorded and released before this full-length debut album, the band (and it's style) was in a slight state of chaos as they tried to hit on that one winning formula needed to keep the dream alive. It would take a few years, but in 2011 everything would change. Enter bassist Ilya Filipyev. In Ilya Filipyev the band found the one musician who would prove to be the last missing piece of the puzzle. Once fully assembled the puzzles artwork would look something like this: Gothic heavy metal with colorful shades of traditional heavy metal, melodic metal/melodic rock and doom rock. This combination, along with pleasantly strange pop and psychedelic undertones (not to mention blues rock!), proves to be more then a little effective. There is even sprinklings of electronic and symphonic rock hidden within the album's 9 tracks as well as some European power metal and neoclassical guitar. Whew! Despite all that it's actually vocalist Julia Tikhomirova, who is as lovely in real life as her pop-sweetened vocals would suggest, that ends up being the first thing you notice as "Hydrargyrum" kicks into gear. Even with the lyrics being in Russian you'll find yourself drawn into the music thanks to her alluring voice and her keen ability to convey the different emotional feelings that this album conveys. In her you begin to appreciate just what it is that Vadikan strives for. She remains the highlight of this album even after repeated listens. Close behind her though is guitarist Vadim Pashutin whose lead work is just spectacular. Whether the music is slow and dreamy and upbeat and intense his guitar playing fits the vibe perfectly like well-loved pair of gloves. With the pair of Vadim Pashutin and Julia Tikhomirova so easily able to feed off of each others strengths, and bassist Ilya Filipyev keeping everything in check (as his bass playing remains a steady point of reference within the album's landscape) the music within this debut-album takes on a life of it's own. The material on hand swirls about in this almost dance-like routine. Is it possible for metal to be both dreamy and doom-laden? With this talented bunch the answer is yes. While no credit is given as to who played drums (or for that matter who contributed the keys) on this album, which is a shame, credit still must be given to both instrumental endeavors. The overall effectiveness of these contributing instruments can not be overstated. Dreamy keys and a rock-steady beat only add to the overall appeal of this multicolored undertaking. As for the sound? Amazingly recordings for this 9-track album took place at several different studios in Moscow ( including Vadikan's home studio) and yet everything flows together perfectly and every aspect of this group (from the vocals to the drums) is right where it should be. The album, which was mastered by Finnish producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, Apocalyptica, Sentenced, Theatre Of Tragedy, Entwine, The 69 Eyes) features artwork by artist Alla Bobyleva and a 12 pages booklet by Polish designer Marek "Ptys" Jastrzebski (Helloween, Hell:On, Quo Vadis). Those elements only serve to add to the overall appeal of this praise-worthy full-length debut album.

Skinflint-Dipoko

Pure Steel Records
2013
 
This album, the 3rd full-length release from heavy metal band Skinflint, was originally released by Metal Records (on Cd-Rom) at the tail end of 2012. Here again we see Pure Steel Records scooping up another traditional heavy metal band in order to re-release one of their albums. While I've been critical about some of their promotional decisions in the past (Tungsten Axe comes to mind, but then there's also Brute Forcz) with Skinflint I do believe their on to something. This band certainly has potential even if their is still a bit of room for improvement. We'll get back to that in a minute or two though as we have other issues to address. While I didn't do a search through the records, which I admit was laziness on my part, I'm almost 100% positive that this album presents a new milestone. This marks the first time I have covered a band from Botswana. That's not at all surprising when you stop to consider where we are talking about. The fact that there is any scene there is rather cool in and or itself. As we look at this 3-piece band then, which is lead by vocalist/guitarist Giuseppe "Juice" Sbrana, we see a group that has managed to fight off the long odds to get where they are today. When you step back and look at Skinflint then you've got to admire what they have achieved and how far they've come. So, what have they achieved music-wise then? Well, this is pretty much classic metal 101. While it does throw a curve ball or two at you with it's use of African drums, which does give the music at hand a rather cool vibe now and then, "Dipoko" is one of those albums where it's easy to pin-point the obvious influences. Band's like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest play a small part, but mostly it's bands like Black Sabbath and post-Black album Metallica that come out of the shadows on this somewhat creeping album. You get a true sense of impending doom on "Dipoko" as the production is fairly basic and most definitely dry. The overall vibe of this release is just one of creeping, it's slowing reaching out for you, death. Even when the group, which is rounded out by bassist Kebonye "Raskebo" Nkoloso and drummer Sandra Sbrana, starts to pick up the speed by employing  Metallica and Megadeth style thrash, which I wish they would have done a little more consistency, the album never really takes off. It remains grounded in a rather low-key kind of way as it is just saying "I am what I am like it or leave!". That's both a good thing and a band thing. It's good in that you have an album that's quite effective despite never growing beyond it's core roots, but bad in that too much of this suffers from the same sound/different song curse. This shows a band that knows what they're capable of, but haven't quite figured out how to put it all together effectively. Dry and musty metal is somewhat of an intriguing concept that's worth exploring more, but I'd love to see this band branch out a little bit song-structure wise as too much of it just blurs together. Still, I did enjoy this album and will be keeping an eye on Skinflint as it's obvious the potential is there to knock it out of the park.

http://www.skinflintmetal.com/home.cfm