|
|
|
|
|
Kermania- Ahnenwerk (Van)
By: Dave Schalek |
 |
Kermania, a German black metal project consisting of Weigand,
handling German vocals, guitars, and bass, and Alexander Von
Meilenwald on drums (I think, another session drummer is
mentioned in online resources although I believe that Von
Meilenwald is featured here), releases “Ahnenwerk”, the debut
full-length on German label Van. Von Meilenwald deserves
mention as one of the creative forces from the now defunct
Nagelfar, and the brilliant The Ruins of Beverast, so I was
naturally curious to see what Kermania would entail. Those of
you familiar with Nagelfar may recall a fast style of black
metal reminiscent of Marduk with a bit more atmosphere. The
Ruins of Beverast kept the brutality |
of Nagelfar’s efforts,
but added a great deal more ambience and variation.
Kermania, although at times very fast, is far more muted. The
four, long songs consist of long, drawn out passages and
droning, fuzzed out riffs backed by mid-paced to blastbeat
driven drumming that, at times, seems to be far in the
background. In addition, the vocals are muted howls similar to
those of Malefic of Xasthur (some very deep moans in the
background make appearances, as well). Essentially, Kermania
seems to be a slightly faster version of some of the USBM
suicidal style with the addition of some clean, soaring vocal
passages and acoustic guitar work for variation. In short,
there’s nothing here that we haven’t heard before. That said,
however, Kermania is very adept at the style and has produced
an excellent album in this style that I’ve been playing
non-stop over the last few days.
“Ahnenwerk” won’t win any awards for originality, but if you
enjoy The Ruins of Beverast and suicidal USBM, you can’t go
wrong by tracking down this debut. Excellent.
www.van-gbr.de
|
www.wod-van.de/Bands/Kermania/kermania1.htm |
| |
|
Lanfear - Another
Golden Rage (Locomotive Records) By: Joe Florez |
 |
For twelve years now, these Germans have been perfecting the
art of progressive power metal. This is my first foray into
this five piece unit, but from what I heard these guys are
amazing. Lead singer Nuno can make his lungs soar to the
heavens and beyond kind of like the air-raid siren himself
Bruce Dickinson. The musicianship is top notch as everyone
throws down as if tomorrow wasn’t going to come. They each
know their part in terms of when to shine and when to let up
and focus as a cohesive unit. A strong and fiery opener to
show off what is to come on the title track. “The
Unrestrained” is lush, powerful and fast as the boys rock the
house with this one. The drumming is tight, crisp and clear as
Gen crushes |
| though
this. The keyboard work gets a little proggy, but that’s cool and the guitars simply shred for what
is another solid composition. Like I said before, each person
knows their role. “Shades Of Black” really threw me for a loop
as not only was I getting what I expected, but the vocals get
dark, deep and sinister as in black metal style and some blastbeats have been injected into the mix along with some fancy
ivory tickling. It was cool and amazing all at the same time.
Now that’s what I call original. Just when I thought that the
power prog scene was taking a dive for the worse a band like
this comes along and changes all of the dimensions and makes
it cool to listen to. I advise anyone who is bored with the
same old b.s. and want to invest in something fresh and
invigorating then this is your ticket. It doesn’t get any
better than this right here.
www.locomotiverecords.com
| www.lanfear.eu |
| |
|
Mystic
Prophecy - Savage Souls (Locomotive Records)
By: Joe Florez |
 |
This was once Gus
G.’s baby, but has since left the fold to
concentrate full time on Firewind. Just because he’s gone,
doesn’t mean the band will suffer. Far from it. Vocalist
“Dimitri” has one hell of a set of lungs and instead of a four
piece it’s five with two guitarists and the bottom line here
is that the songs are stronger, leaner, meaner and heavy as
fuck! Look out Manowar. This is every power metal fans wet
dream including mine. “Shadows Beyond My Soul” is unrelenting
as the guitars not only shred, but provide killer melodies.
The rhythm section dishes out power like never before and D’s
lungs are just bursting with energy, passion and conviction.
It may be pretty much paint by numbers power metal, but |
it’s
done right and you can’t ask for anything more than that. You
would think that come solo time that the guitar work would be
filled with loud shred and cacophony, but instead it’s
controlled, relaxed and still effective. It’s short and sweet.
“Master Of Sins” offers darker licks with a little bit more of
a fancy mid section, but not too much. This one is slightly
less on the rapid fire double bassing and more on being heavy
in a mid paced setting. While the title track still offers
plenty of piss and vinegar, the track backs off just a bit on
the speed showing that there is more to the group than being
one dimensional. Or at least somewhat anyway. This is PM done
right and if you can accept the fact that the envelop isn’t
and won’t be pushed and take this for face value, then you are
all good. It’s a great ride to be on and in fact these guys
can show a lot of the new comers just how it’s really done. If
you hurry up and get this first pressing now, there is a bonus
concert DVD included in PAL format. Worth the trip.
www.locomotiverecords.com
| www.mysticprophecy.com |
| |
|
Saxon - If I Was You (SPV) Review by Steve Green |
 |
Saxon are to be part of a documentary series that Channel 4 are
going to show in April. The idea for the series is for
renowned promoter Harvey Goldsmith to return 6 acts to "big
time showbiz". His task with Saxon, is to get the band a hit
single in Britain. While the idea is all well and good, the
actual execution, as far as this single is concerned, is
complete and utter bollocks. I personally would love to see
Saxon back in the charts, but I'd like it to be with Saxon at
their gloriously over-the-top best, whether it be from their
And The Bands Played On heyday, to the title track of 2004's Lionheart
opus. This remix single, by Mark |
Wallis
and David Ruffy, who have U2 and Razorlight amongst their
production credits, strips away everything that is good about
Saxon and the end result is a pile of shit that is only fit
for the bin. Compared to the album version, which is also
included on this release, the single version lacks power, the
sound is distorted and muddy and the melody is buried deeper
than the hole Jade fuckin' Goody dug herself into last week.
It's also about as Metal as a chocolate teapot. Shit, I even
prefer the bands cover of Christopher Cross' Ride Like The
Wind to this.
I'm sure I'll get to like the album version, it's just at this
moment in time, it leaves a very sour taste in my mouth and
the words "sell out" ringing in my ears. I'm sure all of their
loyal fans will forgive this faux pau, myself included, I just
hope it doesn't make them a laughing stock as this remixed
single is just a joke.
www.saxon747.com |
| |
|
Slamer - Nowhere Land (Locomotive Records)
By: Joe Florez |
 |
There is an online import music store that I go on regularly
that specializes in AOR music. I saw this title and was very
curious, but never wanted to shell out the dough since I had
no idea what to expect. I also had no idea who Mike Slamer was
and some research had to be done. He is a guitarist from
Britain who started out with a band called City Boy and then
moved on to Streets. After that, he has kept himself busy by
working with artists in the form of producing, composing and
then some. Well, this could be considered his debut solo
effort and what you get here is eleven slabs of melodic rock.
The title tracks begins with a lengthy intro before the steam
really begins to pick up. The drums are spiked with some |
|
intricacy before they settle down in its rightful place. The
vocals have a strong presence as there is some bite. They’re
clear, loud and energetic. The song is sprinkled with some
dynamic keyboard that can’t be ignored. The solo work is fresh
and packed with power. This is a bombastic way to kick off the
show. Things quickly change going from a mid-paced number to a
more somber and low key tune. “Strength To Carry On” contains
some moody elements such as the axe which is played with some
emotion. Things are still melodic, but kick it up a notch when
we hit the chorus where there are harmony vocals and every
instrument seems to go from slightly drabby to happy. “Not In
Love” seems to start out like an instrumental, but after the
ninety second mark, the voice jumps in and once again we get
another action packed song that is free of the lameness. “Come
To Me” is intriguing to me simply for the fact that the voice
sounds like Steve Hogarth from the current era of Marillion. It’s
pretty wild and has to be heard. What you are treated to are
songs that are a joy to listen to if you are a fan of the
Frontiers label. AOR is one of my favorite genres and this
doesn’t disappoint. The songs on here flip back and forth from
heavy to soft. The one complaint on here is that the songs are
all too long as most of them pass the five minute mark thanks
to the ludicrous intros. Shave off the fat and get right down
to business. At one hour, it’s a tad much. Forty-five minutes
would have sufficed, but good stuff nonetheless.
www.locomotiverecords.com
| http://mikeslamer.ke0.eu |
| |
|
Taake/Gigantomachy
10” split (Agonia Records) Review by Crin |
 |
Taake, a band that needs no introduction. A Norwegian cult
underground act who have an impressive back catalogue of
albums oozing with icy cold atmospheres and very well crafted
music.
The two tracks here, one a true to form cover of
Destructions Death Trap, are injected with that distinctive Taake flair for Heavy Metal groove.
The self penned track Voldtekt, follows a similar journey to
the, equally splendid, Hennes Kalde Skamlepper, track on the
previous split 10” with Vidsyn.
It initially starts off at a fast pace but disintegrates into
a head swaying guitar frenzy, evoking the best of what Metal
music has to offer. Taake are a very important and
exceptionally good band that will grow |
from
strength to strength in times to come.
Gigantomachy, featuring ex-Taake member, C Corax, plus other
Taake members, including Host.
A relatively unknown entity with a rather bizarre name, but
the two tracks here are lengthy renditions of at times unusual
Black Metal outings with the odd twist set amongst the
swirling guitar arrangements.
The digestible music is imbued with melody and has at times a
classical flavour to the atmospheres generated by a decisive
mid tempo-fast construction.
The off key guitar chords evoke a Ved Buenes Ende flavour,
although never reaching the mind bending depths of the classic
Norse act.
Gigantomachy are an audible interesting band with some good
ideas and set their writing creativity beyond the norm.
www.agoniarecords.com |
| |
|
Therion - Gothic
Kabbalah (Nuclear Blast) Review by Marco Gaminara |
 |
This is another double album compressed onto a single disc for
promo/review purposes, and while it appears to have all the
tracks on
it, from the fact that there are 15 songs on the promo and the
double
album set. I'm guessing that some songs are probably abridged
versions, which is actually really difficult to tell as the
promo has
99 tracks, however I doubt that all 14 minutes of "Adulruna
Rediviva"
are on here for me to enjoy. Regardless, enjoy this I most
certainly did. I must admit that I really like concept
albums and if they contain
intricate stories all the better. The fact that this is Part
III of a
four part concept with 'Lemuria and Sirius B' being the first
2 parts and a fourth yet to be completed and then |
released, does make this a rather involved project. What I really enjoyed were the
lyrical
references to other songs and the characters as the story
progressed,
granted this probably would've been far easier to follow with
liner
notes and lyric sheets, but what the hell, this is all meant
to be
listened to rather than read, isn't it? Well Christofer
Johnsson has
written a masterpiece with the help of Kristian and Johan
Niemann, and
Petter Karlsson taking care of drumming duties along with a
couple
other instruments. Mats Levén returns to do the majority of
the male
vocals, with Katarina Lilja and Hannah Holgersson
taking care
of the female vocals with the latter also on soprano duties.
A
slowing
building guitar, chugging along 'til what sounds like a full
orchestra
joins in, opens "Der Mitternachtslöwe", which also contains
some
exquisite female vocals. It's actually very hard to describe
this
aural tapestry with the deserved descriptiveness that it
merits, so
I'll just have to comment rather loosely else I shan't give it
enough
justice. The title track "Gothic Kabbalah" has intricate
female/male
vocal harmonies along with to and froing. The leads are
awesome as is
the driving bass rhythm. The heady bass under the alto vocals
on "The
Perennial Sophia" makes an interesting contrast, as they do
with the
lower male vocals. A heavier, doomier feel is used for "The
Wisdom and
the Cage" with almost touches of death vocals creeping in
every now
and then, adding another layer to the choral arrangements. The
opening
soprano on "Son of the Staves of Time" sends shivers down my
spine as
the guitar opens up under it and flourishes to the epic
proportions
that only Therion are able to do. Very eerie male vocals full
of
effects give "Tuna 1613" a bit of a weird feel, while the
guitars
carry you along head banging oblivious to the timing
signatures that
are all over the place, as are the mad keyboards. "Trul" has a
trudging guitar and drum sound that has me envisioning lengthy
journeys through snowy alpine passes fraught with peril,
lyrically I
think the content is similar. Carrying on with the journey
"Close Up
the Streams" has its crescendos and nadirs. As if taken out of
an epic
retelling the vocals on "Three Treasures" are perfectly
audible and
have a spoken quality to them accompanies by slow music that
carries
the story with it far more effortlessly than something frantic
would.
Picking up the pace slightly, but then still retaining an
grandiose
aura "The Path to Arcady" is truly moving whenever the music
changes,
even when it nearly disappears into the inaudible. "Chain of
Minerva"
is going to be amazing to witness live, as the instruments are
being
used minimally allowing what sounds like a full choir to take
the
forefront, with plenty of solo performances too. Sounding far
more
80's with virtuoso guitar soloing "T.O.F. - The Trinity" is
extremely
lively and less serious than what has come 'til now. In
comparison
"The Wand of Abaris" is adagio and far more classical than
metal. I
love the way that "The Falling Stone" feels as though it's
hurrying
along as it builds its pace in its metallic grandeur. "Adulruna
Rediviva" ends so suddenly that it can only mean that the CD
ran out
of space and hence the track doesn't complete. I'm sure that
the
official release shan't have this problem, leaving you
hanging,
wanting more, but then again, it may well anyway, regardless
of
whether it fades out exquisitely or not.
www.megatherion.com |
www.nuclearblast.de |
| |
|
Thy Disease - Rat
Age (Sworn Kinds Final Verses) (Crash Music)
Review by Ryan Bartek |
 |
Thy Disease are another strong Polish death metal act that
borrow stylistically from the usual sources but hammer out a
dark Fear Factory vibe with their quasi-industrial
electronics. The industrialized quality is a more streamlined
version of ...And Oceans, where it feels more like the
symphony to a Skynet T-1000 reproduction factory than some
crazed, psyched out assault. Metal wise they are somewhere
between Vader, Biomechanical, and Centinex. The production has
a solid metal feel than a more savage DM orientation, where
everything is one corrosive wall of sound like a mechanized
juggernaut rampaging it's way through skyscrapers (i.e. a less
sound-freak oriented version of Chaosphere.) The riffs are |
|
generally solid and cohesive in the way of change-ups, the
drumming is tight, the bass lines are slamming. Anyone into
harsh slabs of industrial DM will be down.
www.thydisease.com |
| |
|
Trail of Tears -
Existentia (Napalm Records) Review by Steve Green |
 |
Trail of Tears are a band on the brink of collapse. The whole
band, apart from vocalist Ronny Thorsen walked out after a
tour of Mexico in November last year. Not a great situation
for any band, but pretty bad timing as it was 2 months before
the release of this, their 5th album. And if this is an
epitaph for the band, in all honesty, it's a bit of a damp
squib to go out on.
Existentia isn't a bad album by any stretch of the
imagination, but on the other hand, it's not the most exciting
of releases either. I'm probably in the minority here, but I
preferred the bands earlier work with Helena Iren Michaelsen,
particularly Disclosure in Red and I still |
have
fond memories of their explosive performance at Dynamo in
1999. And while I don't find this album stimulating, I can't
really pick any holes in it either. It's simply (to these ears
at least) a competently played album, that lacks a certain
spark. She Weaves Shadows and The Closing Walls are probably
the best songs on offer, yet they are no better than your
average Euro-Goth band.
I've no idea why this album didn't click with me, I guess you
can't win 'em all.
www.trailoftears.no |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
