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Michael Harris - Ego Decimation File (Lion Music)
By: Joe Florez |
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Anyone who is a guitar aficionado, has surely heard of this
man. Since 1991, he has served up numerous records from his
solo material to Arch Rival. I am quite sure that some of the
releases made it onto the Shrapnel label. Despite knowing the
name, I never heard his musical style until earlier this year
with the band Thought Chamber and I must say that the man’s
playing is unique. Well, this disc is actually a re-release
from 1996. What Mike did was take the Dave Mustaine route and
not just re-master and re-issue it. He gave it the overhaul.
The disc is completely remixed to get that extra edge that was
missing the first time and new artwork was created for this
instrumental. With that said, onto the music. |
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“Forewarning” leads the way with a brief acoustic guitar
composition before everyone not only gets plugged in, but
livens things up as well. There is a bit of neo-classical
action going on thanks to the steel strings. The drums are
tight and technical as hell while there is some keyboard
action taking place. Mike’s showmanship is outstanding and
what makes it stand out is that he doesn’t go over the top by
getting all artsy with his talent. I think he is very careful
in making sure that he doesn’t get too wild. It seems like he
accomplished that because everyone goes apeshit. This is a
classy piece that has some epic soundtrack elements included
as well. A nice, short and sweet number that could have gone
on infinitely, but avoids it successfully. “Vicious Uppercut”
gets a wee bit more revved up than the beginning as there is
some double bass
drumming going on with the uptempo jam. The guitars get a
little flashy here, but you can tell that they are called for
at the appropriate times. This is high impact and energetic
creativity being utilized perfectly without ever bogging you
down. “Stratus-Fear” is a combination of progressive metal
with a dash of rhythm thanks to the rich bass pluckings that
also gives it a jazz ambience. The impressive riffing
continues to amaze me as “Julius Seizure” shows Mr. Harris
throwing down some jazz licks to this already fired up tune
that will keep you awake. Basically, there is plenty of
variety on here which keeps you from hitting the skip button
like I tend to do on many instrumentals nowadays. Michael has
taken great pride in crafting music that is not only
accessible to anyone that isn’t a guitar nerd, but making sure
that you have fun with it as well. I’m not sure how the
original version sounded, but you can hear everything on here
nicely. The drums are crisp and precise while the guitars are
bright, rich and full of color and the bass is just dynamic.
In the end, this was a wise decision on MH part by fixing this
one up. I am not sure what his back catalogue is like, but
thanks to this release I am now more than interested. Time to
investigate.
www.lionmusic.com
| www.michaelharrisguitar.com
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Oblivio - Dreams Are Distant Memories (My Kingdom Music)
review by Sam Thomas |
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Oblivio are an Italian band who started out as a Katatonia
covers band, specifically of the Brave Murder Day album. I
didn’t know this the first time that I played the CD (I prefer
to make my own mind up about music, rather than to be told by
PR people what I should be comparing their darlings to) but
the first few notes were so definitely in the style of
Katatonia that it was really a no-brainer. After that, the
references to Katatonia were less overt, but still present.
There’s a nice balance on this album between the delicate dark
gothic style and a more full-blooded style, heading towards
the fringes of death metal with some powerful distorted |
vocals. And again, that isn’t a million miles away from Katatonia: early Katatonia at least. Possibly my favourite
track on the album is the second track, “Overcome” which
manages to successfully meld the heavier side with the more
Gothic side pretty successfully.
The clean vocals put me in mind of a French band, The Old Dead
Tree, who also sing very much the same kind of overwrought
lyrics which I (on occasion) can really get into. I have to
admit that they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, having been
described by Steve as “wussy”. On the other hand, if you want
to get in touch with your inner wuss, you really can’t get
much better than this as a soundtrack.
Ironically, this release is supposed to have left some of the
“bitterness of the previous release (a demo charmingly titled
“Songs for Unforgettable Suffering”)” behind. I would have
said that this was dripping with melancholy, but then again it
may just lack the taint of bitterness that is so often
unattractively associated with self-pity. Because there is
nothing self-pitying about Oblivio – they have put a lot of
effort and energy into producing a rather good piece of dark
gothic metal.
Personally, I’d prefer to hear a bit more of the distorted
vocals (a bit reminiscent of fellow-countrymen Novembre), but
as a debut CD this is a fine release, which cleverly avoids
the pitfalls of becoming too self-absorbed and spilling over
into indulgent whiny bollocks.
www.oblivio.org
| www.mykingdommusic.net
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Orient Express - Illusion (My Kingdom
Music) Review by Steve Green |
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Psychedelic Dark Rock from Italy! Well that leaves plenty
of scope for interpretation, especially with the hippyish/acid
induced cover. I have to say that the first track, Eternal
Child is a bit too laid back and quite frankly, is boring.
Thankfully, Madness kicks it up a bit and at least there is a
sign of life, as the guitars start to take control.
Ok, now the warning bells are starting to go off in every
direction as the title track follows and it's another coma
inducing, slow burner and I've a feeling this album will be
slow, heavy, slow, heavy until the very end. Wrong... the next
song is slow, and boring too.
Just like when you see a moody teenager that you just want to
shake some life into, this
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album makes me feel exactly the same as it does not deliver
what it promises. Slow and aimless is not dark rock, and the
psychedelic quota is practically non-existent. I was brought
up on 70s music and a lot of it was drug influenced and I
don't see any connection with what I'm hearing on this album,
with what I heard back then. My only conclusion is that the
band were extremely monged out
when they recorded this. What else can explain the lack of
soul? This is dreary beyond belief.
www.mykingdommusic.net
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Rosa Antica - Seven (My Kingdom
Music) Review by Steve Green |
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Wow. The aggression of Pantera one minute and a soaring
style, almost like Eddie Vedder doing Power Metal, direction
the next. Damn unusual combination, but it does have a certain
appeal. Unlike dodgy Metalcore vocals that kill a song dead in
seconds, this rather offbeat formula really does add a new
take on things as it flows so naturally, and the power isn't
diminished in the slightest. I guess it's not that different
to what King Diamond does, admittedly in a complete different
style.
As each new track begins, the differing styles gets bigger and
bigger and things just get crazier. Imagine the outlandish
rhythms of System Of A Down, the odd Black Metal burst,
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mellow atmospherics, tribal drumming and even Middle Eastern
flavours, and you can begin to imagine how difficult this
album is to explain. The vocals change styles as much as the
music and it is impossible to keep up with this one.
Some listeners will be baffled by the varying styles and the
audacity of Rosa Antica to attempt such a mixture of styles,
others will be impressed with what they've achieved on Seven.
It's a smorgasbord of nearly every single genre of Rock and
Metal and one that they've managed to pull off, although I
think in the future they'll need to keep a tighter rein on the
experimentation.
www.mykingdommusic.net |
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Sean Malone - Cortlandt Re-issue (Laser’s Edge)
By: Joe Florez |
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Most bass aficionado’s will recognize this name as he is a
world class bass player that is probably up there with the
likes of Tony Levin and Billy Sheehan, but in a different way.
Those who have no idea who he is well, shame on you. He was in
the 90’s death prog band Cynic and in Gordian Knot. He’s been
in other bands and projects and you can go to the site for
more info. Well, I had no idea about a solo record, but
apparently he initially put this together 1996 after the
demise of Cynic. It was pressed on a small label and due to
poor promoting and distro it quickly fell to the wayside. Just
for fun, I looked it up on Ebay |
and the original pressing of
the disc sells for ten to sixteen U.S. dollars. Now on the
other hand, this same disc on Amazon will have an asking price
of no less than $78.00 U.S. Wow! I had no idea that this was
such an in demand product. Well, Sean has seen fit to
re-release and re-master this disc and slap on a one time
bonus track for Japan on here. So, what is this CD about. For
starters, it’s anything but metal and yes it’s an
instrumental, but there is a lot of character on here.
“Controversy” is a full fledged jazz/fusion love affair that
has bass pluckings running amok while the guitars are light,
but intense. The drums are supplied by fellow Cynic member
Sean Reinert and ex-Death member who shows off his chops. The
timing is fantastic and he’s tight as hell as well as his
ambidextrous ways. The synths on here add a nice touch as we
shift from jazz to fusion as the song progresses. ‘Splinter”
gets a little heavier thanks to the distorted guitars. This
one is a little faster, but remaining classy at all times and
there is percussion work being performed on here to give it a
little diversity. This one is bad ass. Just to show you where
the man’s influences come from, Sean has covered a John
Coltrane cut “Giant Steps”, a Pat Metheny tune “Unquity Road”
and a J.S. Bach classical composition “Sinfonia.” So, it’s
obvious that the man has been inspired by more than one style
of music which shows that not only is he diversified, but
willing try new things other than metal. This isn’t a metal
release, but there is some flavor in here. You just have to
listen closely. This is an adventurous listen if you are brave
enough to step up to the plate. This is jazz/prog utilized to
the max and a joy to listen to.
www.lasersedgegroup.com
| www.seanmalone.net |
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Slik Helvetika - Krypt Kicker 5
(Screaming Ferret) Review by Metal Mark |
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Former Destroyer member Mikhall Myers returns with this latest
offering from his current band. Philadelphia based Slik
Helvetica once again sound a whole lot like Accept between say
81-84. They also have some hints of Judas Priest and early
Overkill is well. The music is steady and heavy enough with
some nice rough vocals that lend themselves well to this type
of metal. It’s not a whole different from the debut as they
attack the same style with similar results. I enjoyed it, but
I had a nagging feeling that there was some problem below the
surface. Too often the songs get about a minute or so in and
they feel like they are falling apart. I think there is a
distinct lack of rhythm on many of these songs. It’s almost
like they |
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had problems developing their hooks and keeping the flow
going. I just kept getting a sense that the music was going to
crumble before the end of the song and several times it kind
of did. Having spoken word and intros to almost every song got
a little old as well. It’s still a decent effort and fans or
classic mid-80’s metal might be all over it, but they need to
tighten up and maybe work on the writing some as well.
www.myspace.com/slikhelvetika |
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The Sun Of Weakness - Trompe L'Oeil
(My Kingdom Music) Review by Steve Green |
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I think My Kingdom Music might be on to a bit of a winner
here. The name The Sun Or Weakness hints at a Doom or another
similar dark art. And while I would place them within the
realms of Katatonia and to a lesser degree, Anathema, their
approach is very uplifting. Although I'm not directly
comparing them with their fellow compatriots Lacuna Coil, they
do have a similar structure in producing catchy songs and
their choruses are pure ear candy. Were it not for Alesandro
Cammilletti's downtrodden vocals, I could see them easily
breaking into a more mainstream market. His tones, to these
ears at least, is a mixture between Depeche Modes, Dave Gahan
and Katatonia's Jonas Renske, which should come
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as no surprise as My Kingdom Music are big fans of this
gloomy, yet accessible style.
Because of the melodious nature of their sound, I could still
see them reaching out to a broader audience. Yet at the same
time, there's plenty of moodiness here to please those that
prefer their tones a little more miserable, with the harder
hitting Chemical Frustration being a prime example. It's a
perfect blend of melancholy and splendour and it could be the
one song to unite all parties. You can never please everyone,
but this is song that could do it.
The Sun Of Weakness are a very classy band and of all the
bands I've heard from the My Kingdom Music recently, this is
one that I think could go the furthest. Check them out at:
www.thesunofweakness.com |
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