Jacobs Moor-Self

Self-Release/Independent
2017

Jacobs Moor is a progressive power metal/thrash metal band that has been active since 2010. Self-produced by the band members themselves (Richard Krenmaier-vocals, Rupert Träxler and Johannes Pichler-guitars, Stephan Först-bass, and Rainer Lidauer-drums), "Self" is the latest studio album from Jacobs Moor. It was sent my way courtesy of drummer Rainer Lidauer. Having covered the band's 2014 debut album, "All That Starts", and the 2015 EP, "The Evil in Me", I looked forward to diving straight into this recording. After a brief instrumental introduction ("March of the Flies") we cut right into the heart of the matter with "Watching Atrocities" (see video below). This powerful piece rips the album wide open and leaves little doubt as to the fact that this five-piece band is back and as killer as always! Not that there was any doubt whatsoever. Given the strong effort that was was "The Evil in Me", "Self" merely reaffirms the mad skills of this technical and precise power/thrash unit. Making our way through the heavy thrash of "The Absence of Me" and the sick title track (progressive metal with muscle and might!), "Self" proves to be a remarkably consistent album. Not so much in a style kind of way. It's actually impressive songwriting and the overall performances of everyone that wins the day. It seems pretty obvious that the material on "Self" has been re-written and re-worked to maximum efficiency. When it comes to "Self" there is also a lot of variety to be found. While technical power metal is primarily what is on display, "Self" goes a long ways towards adding a little bit of everything to the mix. It's all here from the blues to modern day extreme metal. There are touches of classic metal and hard-edge thrash. Harsh and clean vocals give way to sensational drumming while the stringed instruments are nothing short of dynamic! "Self" is the rare kind of album where every song gels together and yet each track could work on it's own. Opening with the shortest track on the album ("March of the Flies"), Jacobs Moor ends "Self" with the longest cut of the bunch. Clocking in at over eleven minutes(!), "Hopeless Endeavor" shows of the many talents of this veteran act. Now in their seventh year together (it's almost eight years really), Jacobs Moor should be a household name by now. The fact that they are not is a tremendous shame. Maybe "Self" will end up being the band's winning ticket? Let us hope so. Because quite frankly this Austrian metal band has sat on the sidelines for far too long.



Video for "Watching Atrocities":

Steel Inferno-Aesthetics Of Decay

Infernö Records
2016

Every bit as metallic as their name implies, Steel Inferno is a up and coming/super buzz-worthy group from Copenhagen whose full-length debut album, "Aesthetics Of Decay", is scheduled for release on October 20th. This five-piece band, which was formed back in 2012 and is lead by the simply exceptional Karen Collatz, is apparently made up of musicians from not only Denmark, but Greece, France, and Poland. In addition to the forthcoming "Aesthetics Of Decay" this female-fronted heavy metal band has a back catalog that includes one demo and a 7". Having shared the stage with the likes of Cauldron, Encyrcle, Night Viper, Ranger, and Savage Master (to name just a few!), Copenhagen's Steel Inferno looks as if it is more than ready to make the leap from hometown heroes to word-wide icons! That's assuming the band's "Aesthetics Of Decay" gets the proper press it so rightly deserves. Well, that and plenty of spins on any/all stations that specialize in hard rock and heavy metal. God knows the fan-base is out there just waiting for a record like this! The truth is I can't help but get extremely excited about not only this band's stone-cold killer debut album (and mark my words friends it is damn fucking fine!), but Steel Inferno's potential impact on the scene at large! Seeing as this wicked as shit heavy metal band combines some of my all-time favorite things into one tidy little package (more on that in a second!) it's easy enough to wager on Steel Inferno's future success. Especially when you've got someone as good as Karen Collatz standing up front on the mic! That right there is golden brown deliciousness, but really there's a tad bit more to the story of Steel Inferno than just it's talented front-woman. I mean what happens when you surround a great singer with such top-notch musicians as Lars Lyndorff (guitars), Patrick Mantzouridis (guitars), Thierry Zubritovsky (bass), and Krzysztof Baran (drums)? Well, it's a two part answer. First you've stacked the deck in favor of this Danish heavy metal band as there's honestly enough talent on display here to fill a couple of projects! These guys (and gal!) really know how to put together a record that hits all the right buttons and that even includes the big read one that says "Maximum Devastation"! Musically and lyrically this one simply destroys the competition and that brings us right back around to the second part of this question. Frankly-speaking when it comes to this female-fronted heavy metal group you have one of the best new bands that Infernö Records has to offer (and yes, the irony that a band called Steel Inferno is on a label called Infernö Records is not lost on me!!). For a record company that has more than a few great bands on it's roster that is certainly saying something, but pound for pound this one definitely stacks up to it's new label-mates!! As for what Steel Inferno brings to the party? For the intoxicating drink called "Aesthetics Of Decay" you are going to want to start off with one lean and mean five-piece band that is equal parts dirty speed metal, classic heavy metal, and punk-flavored N.W.O.B.H.M. (Iron Maiden's first two albums will do just fine in a pinch). In a blender combine that with a heaping spoonful of high-octane 80's metal (up to and including the early U.S. power metal movement!) and a dash or two of "Master Of Puppets"-era Metallica. Last, but not least finish things off with a splash of furious women who know how to rock. Once you have all of the necessary ingredients together be sure to add in plenty of ice and then blend it on high until you have a rich and smooth consistency. That right there is how you end up with a recording like this one and yes, it is just as fucking radical as it sounds!  Geared up and ready to go with it's eleven powerful moments, "Aesthetics Of Decay" is hopefully just the first in what will prove to be a long-line of epic recordings for Steel Inferno!!


 

Jacobs Moor-The Evil in Me

BleedingStar Records
2015

Active since 2010, Jacobs Moor is a five-piece band that is based in Vienna, Austria and now has one full-length album and an extended EP to it's name with the release of "The Evil in Me". Having previously covered the group's full-length debut album, "All That Starts", I had high hopes for this extended EP and thankfully Jacobs Moor didn't let me down! Issued back in late November of 2015, "The Evil in Me" is just over 35 minutes in length and it includes two new studio tracks (the speed metal-tinged (hack & slash) killer title track and the equally awesome (and strangely hypnotic) "Away"!) and a handful of live cuts. For this highly-skilled/tech-savvy progressive power metal/thrash metal act this proves to be a damn wise move as it showcases the band's strength in both areas. The new studio material offers everything that I loved about this band's (independently-released) 2014 debut album only with more teeth and a greater sense of urgency! All at once melodic and menacing both of these numbers, "The Evil in Me" (5:47) and "Away" (7:28), present a clear and clean portrait of one band that has not only found it's sound, but has nearly perfected it!! Meanwhile the aforementioned live tracks (which are songs from the group's first release) are nice and punchy and offer great alternatives to the original source material! In other words it's a win-win situation for this up-and-coming progressive power metal/thrash metal act that is currently composed of Richard Krenmaier (vocals), Johannes Pichler (guitars), Rupert Träxler (guitars), Stephan Först (bass), and Rainer Lidauer (drums). Even though Jacobs Moor has always flown slightly under the radar fans and critics alike are finally starting to notice this group thanks to strong efforts like this EP. You can find "The Evil in Me" over on iTunes and Amazon and let's all hope that 2016 finds this Austrian metal collective hard at work on album number two!

Gang-Inject the Venom

Emanes Metal Records
2014

Slightly over a year ago I did a write-up on Gang as part of my French Metal Friday series. To refresh everyone's memory (including my own I'm afraid) here was a band which originally went by the so-so moniker of Gush X (ugh) before making the switch over to the much-improved Gang in 1990. The band's full-length debut-album, "1993"*, ended up appearing some three years later and for this Fismes, Champagne-Ardenne-based band it was only the beginning of what would prove to be a productive career. With a host of good albums ("Unknown But Surely Evil", "Piece Of War", "Dead Or Alive" and "V"), a demo, one (fucking fantastic!) EP of covers and a live album all hanging in this French band's past the first true "taste" of 2014-era Gang would come courteous of the March single, "Dying World". With ten new tracks, the "Dying World" number and one delicious choice of a cover in "If Heaven Is Hell" (Tokyo Blade), "Inject the Venom" is the latest (and greatest?) release from French band Gang and the first full-length LP since 2010's "V". It is also a surprisingly strong statement that not every band that is twenty plus years old has as to suffer the ravages of time (hear that Metallica?). To that end, bands such as Gang actually grow wiser, stronger and (as evident here on album number five for Gang) more creative, technical and downright memorable! Sure, times do change and naturally so do bands. But, here's the thing that threw me about Gang's latest. "Inject the Venom" (which I ended up breaking speed to!) ended up hitting so many different cords that I wasn't even sure it was the same band! Or at least compared to the band I heard on "1993". In a way it is the same band that I obsessed over back in 2013, but they have drastically changed for the better! So, whose who in Gang then? Well, bass player Phitty and rhythm guitarist Steve (aka Sylvain Cotté) are left over from the "good old days", but then you've got "young guns" like lead guitarist Biggy (aka: ex-Gloomy Gherkin' /current Adlib-7 member David Fasquelex) and drummer Malo (ex-Spasmophilius, ex-Gloomy Gherkin, ex-Anarmaniak, ex-Black Caps). To be fair to Malo and Biggy though both of these musicians have been with Gang for sometime now and this is not even close to the first album that the pair has worked on. The same can be said of lead vocalist Bill (ex-Spasmophilius, ex-Gloomy Gherkin, ex-Days of Yore, ex-Dehumanised) as this is not his first rodeo with Gang. It's simply that for Gang it's only bass player Phitty and rhythm guitarist Steve left over from the early days. A small detail yes, but one that I felt inclined to point out. Seeing as "Inject the Venom" is so kick ass and all! Could "Inject the Venom" be the one release that finally brings worldwide attention to these French heavy metal merchants? I'll just say one thing on the subject. If "Inject the Venom" does not present Gang with the breakthrough hit that they so desperately deserve then maybe it's time to reexamine the metal scene as a whole! Gang's new album is an absolute banger! There is just no other way around it and no better way to describe it. "Injecting The Venom" is as good a heavy metal album as they come and for a band that has been going at it since the early nineties it is simply incredible how vibrant it all is! In a way Gang's latest reminds me of Serbian band Annathema and their self-titled 1989 effort. And yes, that is a good thing! For those who do not know the name (or that particular album) Annathema was very much a product of their period. So much so in fact that "Annathema" (another recommend release) was an album with reference points to Judas Priest, Ozzy, Van Halen, Motörhead, Anthrax, Megadeth and Iron Maiden. And yet the band had their own distinct identity! And the same goes for Gang and this highly-recommended album! Early on in "Inject the Venom" you'll find yourself blown away by a band that references the likes of Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and even some Bay Area (Metallica/Megadeth) thrash. As the album moves on you are treated to elements of traditional heavy metal, N.W.O.B.H.M, power metal and thrash and while all of that is cool it gets even better. If you are like me in the slightest you will be left in awe as Gang is one of those well-rounded acts that uses rock formulas in their music in order to give everything that extra special edge. It add finesse to everything and when you are blessed with a lead singer like Bill (aka Laurent Bocquet, founder of Thundering Records who sounds quite similar to Harry Conklin ) it all adds up to a listening experience to be treasured and shared! As pleasantly surprised as I was to hear from Gang out of the blue I was even more surprised to find out far this French outfit had come! "Inject the Venom" is highly memorable and moves easily between melodic passages and more upbeat, speed-tinged movements and it's reminiscent of the way classic heavy metal albums used to be. As I'm throwing my horns in the air I'm also slamming down my stamp of approval as "Inject the Venom" is excellent metal for collectors and fans alike!


*"1993" was the album that I previously talked about in my first article on Gang. The monumental difference between "1993" and "Inject the Venom" is beyond unreal. This new album from Gang is truly worthy of praise!


PS: I really dug this album. Wow. From their slick cover of "If Heaven Is Hell" to an original number like "State of Disgrace" Gang's latest simply cannot be beat! I've listened to it now countless times over and I have it on now as I type this! Oh, speaking of "State of Disgrace" it is just unreal how epic this one feels! At about a minute and fifty seconds in a smashing solo kicks in that is out of this world! As metallic as the number is it's amazing how powerful the lead guitar work of Biggy is at this point. Frankly it flat out ROCKS!!!!!

Skinner-Sleepwalkers

Dead Inside Records
2014

San Fransisco's power thrashers Skinner return with their first full-length release and for those that liked what they did on "The Enemy Within" let's just say that you're going to LOVE what it's store for you with "Sleepwalkers"! Everything from production to performance has been tweaked and while the song-writing was good on the band's 2012 EP it's even better here! Lead singer Norman Skinner brings his A Game to the party and, as usually thanks to his absolutely commanding presence on the mic, it's his voice that provides the driving force behind Skinner! The very cool and kick ass title cut, which can be previewed below at the link thanks to it's official video, is just one of several cuts to have made it's way over from the group's previously released EP (the others being "Miss Agony", "Hell in My Hands", "Breath the Lie" and "The Enemy Within"). But, in this context (with six other cuts and fleshed out into a full-length release) these numbers work better and reverberate more with the listener. While they have been slightly tweaked to get the most out of them it's more a matter of having re-recorded the cuts so that they flow perfectly with the new cuts and have the same amount of metallic impact. Of the new cuts "Orphans of Liberty" is superb (heavy) power metal with plenty of speed, but then again so is "Blind Lead Blind" (not so much speed-wise, but HEAVY-wise!) and "Guilt-Ridden". Meanwhile opener "Firebird's Lament" isn't much more then an intro in actuality, but "Bound" offers plenty of CRUNCH and STAYING POWER as it's bound (pun intended!) to stick around in your head for sometime afterwards! All told Skinner's first full-length album sounds great and it gets passing marks in all the necessary areas from song-construction to actual execution and for fans of Norman Skinner it's a must have! With that power thrashers would also do well to give "Sleepwalkers" a spin as it a great example of U.S. metal done right! Mostly it resides on the HEAVY power metal/borderline thrash side of the fence, but there's some splendid surges of speed metal within that simply cannot be overlooked! And truth be told that's why releases like "Sleepwalkers" are also such a joy to welcome into one's metal collection as they are releases that one could listen to any day of the week! Will it make my 2014, year end "Best Of" list then? Time will tell but all signs point towards that very possibility!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p00zG_H-2jY