Axxion-Back In Time

Self-Release/Independent
2016

Active since 2011 (and featuring some top-notch musicians who have spent time in such group's as Skull Fist, Cauldron, and Phantom!), Axxion* is a (simply stellar) four-piece Canadian heavy metal/speed metal band with one EP, a single, and two full-length albums to it's name thanks to the forthcoming "Back In Time". The band, which is based in Toronto and lead by crazy mad vocalist Dirty D Kerr** (ex-King, ex-Midnight Malice), offers up one hell of an appealing vintage sound on their soon to be released sophomore album and with nine tracks of pure metal love going on here it's all but impossible to go wrong! The all too brief "Attakr" opens things up on "Back In Time" and from there it's just one blazing hot cut after another until the totally kick ass number that is "Sinner" finally burns everything around you to the ground!! As this highly-energetic group takes it's cues from not only 80's metal, but N.W.O.B.H.M., Swedish traditional heavy metal, and the early days of the U.S.P.M. moment (!) there is more than enough nostalgia to go around. Does that mean Axxion's newest album won't appeal to modern heavy metal fanatics? Thanks to the outstanding lead work of Sir Shred (ex-30 Years Too Late, ex-Carpadium, ex-Skull Fist ) and the overwhelming display of power that is Axxion's rhythm section*** the answer to that question is a resounding "Hell No!". True heavy metal thunder runs through the veins of this hard-hitting & high-flying Canadian band and it's almost as if it is a matter of principle that their particular take on the "subject" should be as universally accessible as humanly possible. Or to put it another way, "Back In Time" should easily find it's way into the loving hands of older and younger' metalheads alike and that is thanks in no small part to the album's overall sense of enthusiasm and this young band's keen ability to craft memorable material that makes you long to hear more! When the only downside to be found on your sophomore release is it's short length (Dammit(!), I needed way more heavy metal goodness than this album's mere 34 minute time limit allowed!!) you know your band is onto something special. But, that's Axxion for you in a nutshell! This Toronto tornado of a heavy metal band is something truly and the same goes for this gem of a release! Here in the U.S. this album is due out on October 15th so be sure to grab a reliable highlighter and circle the date! This is one album that is not to be missed!!

 


*Pronounced "action" and it is a fitting moniker for this Canadian act!


**Dirty D Kerr does all kinds of wild and crazy things on the mic and at times you do have to wonder if some of them are even possible in this realm of existence that we call life on planet Earth! Sometimes his high pitch notes reminded me of Steve Grimmet (Grim Reaper) while other times I wasn't sure what the hell was going on LOL! Either way it was always enjoyable and at the end of the day it made this album come alive for me!!


***Axxion's drummer is Alison Thunderland  (Phantom, ex-Skull Fist) and she is all kinds of wonderful on this heavy metal platter. This impressive musician provides some outstanding fucking awesome drumming on "Back In Time" (it is just too damn hot to handle folks!) and if that wasn't enough she also steps up to the mic when called for! That's right my fellow metal maniacs, "Back In Time" has both male and female vocals and that kind of coolness is all thanks to the one and only Alison Thunderland!! I can't help but wonder how much heavy metal would benefit from having more exceptional musicians like her, but really that is another story (and a worthwhile one at that!) that is best saved for some other time. Anyway, the bass duties on "Back In Time" fall to Axxion's newest member, Jason Decay. Well-known for his work in the group Cauldron, Jason Decay (ex-Forcefed, ex-Goat Horn, ex-Thor, ex-Ash Lee Blade (live), ex-Corpsebike, ex-Kïll Cheerleadër) brings a shit lead of talent to Axxion's latest release and in his role as the group's new bass player he does not disappoint! The bass work on "Back In Time" is nearly perfect and when it is combined with the other unique elements that are at play here it gives this 9-track album a very nice edge.

G.O.T.H.-Glam On Thy Hell

Musicarchy Media
2016

Formed in 2005 by co-vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Ivan Prim, G.O.T.H (Glam On Thy Hell) is a rock-solid hard & heavy gothic metal band whose vast array of influences seem to range from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Slayer*! Originally released back in 2015 in digital format only, "Glam On They Hell" is the first full-length studio recording from this up-and-coming American/Portuguese band and it is a highly-atmospheric walk on the dark side of the moon! Well, it's either that or it is a calm, cool & collected sneak peak at the other side of the life's door. You do know the spooktacular place that I am talking about right? If not then it is where you can expect to find death just sitting there nice and comfortable as he waits to greet you after all of the lights have been turned out!! Given the mysterious narrative that is this album's lyrical content** (mystic metal anyone?) I suppose it could go either way. From that point of view it isn't a easy task pinpointing the exact origin of "Glam On Thy Hell". Mind you it's not as if it actually matters. For you see whichever way you choose to slice it and dice it the end result will always be the same. From it's lyrics to it's actual music "Glam On Thy Hell" is a winner! You don't often get hear that when it comes to a band's first album, but somehow all of the stars were able to line up just right and G.O.T.H. pull it off. Produced by Ivan Prim and João Pereira at Requiem Studios in Wolverhampton UK, G.O.T.H.'s debut outing is truly something special, but then again so are the two people that were involved with it's creation. Yes, you heard that right. Despite it's grand scheme there were only two people at work on "Glam On Thy Hell"!. In addition to G.O.T.H.'s main-man and founder Ivan Prim (lead vocals and backing vocals, drums, guitars, bass, and orchestration!) you have Kate Prim (lead vocals and backing vocals). Working together with co-producer João Pereira the pair of Ivan and Kate created a bang-up goth metal release that musically covers a lot of ground and should help set this band apart from it's peers. Somewhat fittingly "Glam On Thy Hell" includes 13 tracks (one of which is nothing more than an intro but still....) and these different tracks all line up in such way that you can't help but be reminded of a time when albums were just that-actual, honest to goodness albums and not just a collection of random numbers just tossed together. There's a nice even-flow about G.O.T.H.'s debut album and the vintage vibe of this disc's production merely adds to the overall appeal of "Glam On Thy Hell". With this only being their first album there's no doubt that this will be a good band to keep an eye on. And now that they are teamed up with the great folks over at Musicarchy Media the members of G.O.T.H. will finally get a chance to put out their debut album on a physical format***! That's a win-win in my book!!



*Even if it has more in common with heavy glam metal than it does thrash this album's somewhat eerie title track, "Glam On Thy Hell", features the same kind of familiar guitar riffs that Slayer in known for. And to answer your second question, yes, the song "Glam On Thy Hell" is all the more awesome because of these killer riffs!

**Despite the fact that you can take the album's well-written lyrics and interpret them in a variety of ways the end result is always the same. There is a strong sense of unity between the lyrics and the actual music on G.O.T.H.'s first album and it makes for a damn fine listen! 

***While it is technically just for the European market, "Glam On they Hell" will at least see a CD release. And that is all that really matters when it comes to fans of this underrated gothic rock/metal band.

The New Jacobin Club-Soldiers of the Mark

Manticore Music Group
2014

Well Toto it seems as if we've lost our way again. It's not just that we're not in Kansas anymore. I've got this strange feeling that we're not even in this dimension anymore! Where oh where should we begin? With The New Jacobin Club it's a sure bet that all bets are off. That's a given, but when it comes time to add another Canadian act to overgrowing collection of odds and ends is there at least a starting point? The band obviously owes a huge debt to all things Glenn Danzig. From The Misfits to Samhain and of course Danzig itself this bohemian collective of musicians, poets, painters and performance artists adds it all up before knocking the whole house of cards over thanks to additional elements with far-ranging kitsch appeal. While  opener "The Mark" could have served time on the "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" TV series's soundtrack "Champagne Ivy" takes the Misfits and gives it a psychedelic once over in Black-era Metallica! But then again so does "Garthim" with the only difference being that where the first relies on front-man The Horde's ghoulish voice a number like "Garthim" instead leans heavily on Sci-Fi samples! With influences that run wild and free (Horrorpops, The Ramones, B-52s, Alice Cooper, Christian Death, ELO, The Cure, The Smiths, B.O.C., Jane's Addiction, etc.) and band-members that willingly go out of their way to go into the great unknown "Soldiers of the Mark" defies strict genre definitions, instead choosing to go at it alone wherever the next beat takes it! Psychedelic death rock hopped up on Jesus Chrysler transforms itself into post-Soundgarden rock where The Cramps dance about with glee and it all makes perfect sense here!

 

(Clockwise starting from the top right)
The Horde - vocals/guitar , Mistress Nagini - backing vocals/keyboard, The Ruin – bass, The Luminous – cello, Rat King – drums, Poison Candi - Vocals/theremin/percussion
Photo credit: Kathryn Trembach

 

Using both male and female vocals, The New Jacobin Club (a band that has actually been active since the late nineties!) excel at their craft. The music of  "Soldiers of the Mark" is as catchy as it is devilishly charming. And it's care-free attitude only adds to the appeal! The New Jacobin Club act as if they have no limits and no boundaries. Anything and everything really is fair game! It's funny how a band like this can remind you of The Misfits one minute and then The Rezillos the next! And yet, during all that time and amidst all the rapid musical changes of this Matthew Facca-produced album where crazy is the new normal, they sound exactly like The New Jacobin Club! And that's a damn fine thing! Due to be released on the second of September, "Soldiers of the Mark" makes for a fine addition to one's music collection. And that goes for punks and bangers alike! For more information be sure to head over to the group's Facebook page posted below.

Protokult-No Beer In Heaven

Self-Release/Independent
2014

Calling Toronto, Ontario home (even if we are talking about a group with Polish, Irish, Russian and Czech members!) we have the band Protokult and their (horrific prophesy masquerading as an album title) release "No Beer In Heaven". Initially formed as a three-piece (Martin Drozd-Vocals, Guitar, Synthesizer, Dawid Slowiak-Bass and Mike Matveev-Drums) and having had more than it's fair share of shake-ups (the ex-members list being a half-mile long and all!) this Canadian collective features the following musicians on this, the group's sophomore outing:
Martin Drozd- Vocals, guitars, darbuka, jaw harp, synthesizer
Ekaterina – Soprano and traditional vocals, recorders, psaltery, zhaleika & sopilka.
Dawid Slowiak- Bass, group chants
Jeremy Jackson (Vodnik) – Guitars, group chants
Mike Matveev- Drums
Now, if you are looking at that line-up and thinking to yourself  "Gee, with that line-up I'm betting that we're talking about a folk metal something or rather metal band" then give yourself a great big pat on the back!
Protokult, whose lyrical interests include history, paganism and folklore, are every bit a folk loving band. The only difference between these "Canadians" and similarly-themed acts is the way in which everything is executed! First things first. I'll throw this info out so that there is NO mistaking where I'm coming from with bands like this. When it comes to folk and metal it's not a particular genre that I'm terribly familiar with or even comfortably reviewing. But, I'm always open to whatever crosses my path music-wise and this one came from a wonderful individual so I'm jumping head fist into these waters friends! With that said we're talking about folk metal or metal folk (!), but with this group there's some interesting black metal elements  and there's even a bit of an attempt made at adding ambient overtures!  As the follow-up to 2011's "Marzena", with the band's full-length debut album, "Ancestral Anthems" having dropped in 2010 (seven years after the band first formed!), "No Beer In Heaven" apparently started off as a collection of material intending to fill out an EP. Or at least that's how it sounds going by the promo material. Whatever the case may be this one benefits greatly from Ekaterina Pyatkova's lovely voice (a lovely voice to match a lovely front-lady-how can you go wrong?) and the fact that it seldom wanders off two far off of the beaten track! All-around atmospheric (dark and eerie!) and defiantly living up to the whole "pagan metal" thing (as well as showing a love for alcohol which is something I can always appreciate!) Protokult's creative "No Beer In Heaven" has it's own level of heaviness to go along with it's adventurous song-constructions. Even if I'm not the best person to review these kind of LPs I do know what I like and what I find enjoyable and this one hit both of those targets! While I simply cannot give any recommendations (in so far as who this group sounds like) I do recommend "No Beer In Heaven" as a release. From it's dark vibe to it's semi-inventive (to these ears) take on folk metal (and not to mention it's construction and overall execution!) "No Beer In Heaven"  is a cool release and one that I will be partaking off at my next earliest convenience!

Helms Alee-Sleepwalking Sailors

Sargent House
2014

It's all been one big lie friends. Ignorance is most assuredly not bliss. You'd have a hard time convincing me otherwise as I tragically unaware of Seattle, Washington's Helms Alee (bassist/vocalist Dana James, guitarist/vocalist Ben Verellen and drummer/vocalist Hozoji Matheson-Margullis) until only just recently. And with "Sleepwalking Sailors", the third full-length album from a band that has had a long history of releasing EPs and splits since only 2007, this is true bliss. As such, how can one claim to experience a feeling of bliss outside of the sounds of Helms Alee? That is a troubling question and one which may never be answered in a satisfactory fashion. Thankfully we can all move on and treat this as a learning experience. For those no sense in drowning in our tears about what could have been, time we might have spent in the comfort of this unheralded trio with shared vocals, female and male, when we can now embrace the expansive collection of textures and sounds that make up this featured full-length attraction! Blessed with an uncanny ability to maneuver emotional material over a vast and ever-expansive sonic landscape, which (somehow) is atmospheric without actually transcending into some sort of  "atmospheric" rock and/or metal sound, the members of Helms Alee carefully mask their own roots/personal desires so that the music at hand beautifully meshes, note for note, into one perfect creation! And that's exactly what amazes me most about "Sleepwalking Sailors". It's truly something how Helms Alee (playfully) goes about stretching rock's boundaries, covering everything from stoner rock, post-grunge, alternative rock and math metal to indie rock, post-punk and even doom metal(!), in a (seemingly) carefree fashion and yet, upon further investigation (over repeated listens which is an essential component of the whole "Sleepwalking Sailors" experience!), the material present on this Seattle rock band's latest is not just technically-sound, but in reality expertly-constructed in order to get the most out of every moment! To say that I was blown away by this recording would be a understatement as "Sleepwalking Sailors" is superb in just about every way that you can imagine! From production to content it's easily to see that everything about this band's third album has been touched up and tweaked. Even so, "Sleepwalking Sailors", is colorful and personal. Helms Alee has graciously extended an offer for each and every listener, one that encourages you to walk alongside this trio as they explore a world of creativity and imagination where anything and everything is possible! I would encourage each and everyone of you who reads this piece to join Helms Alee on this journey of discovery. It's well worth the time. You can find out more about Helms Alee on their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HelmsAlee) while you can hear this remarkable recording for yourself right here:

http://helmsalee.bandcamp.com/album/sleepwalking-sailors