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Johnny Burning - Get Up,
Get Loose, Get Off (Street Symphonies) Review by
Metal Mark |
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In recent years, Sweden has become a hotbed of sorts for
producing glam/sleaze bands, but even more recently Italy has
been producing some bands that are playing that style as well.
Johnny Burning are one such act and they have been working at
honing their craft for a few years and now have their debut
disc out. Like many other artists following this path they
sound for the most part like a mixture of Motley Crue, Skid
Row, Guns N Roses and a few others. The part of this band that
took me off guard was the vocals of Manuel. They took me off
guard because they were high, very high, way up there like
Vince Neil on helium. Now he did bring it down some on later
tracks and when he goes for the more mid-range parts he does
alright. However it’s just that his voice is really high most
of the |
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time and it’s hard to summon up any grit or real hard hitting
rock moments with this kind of vocal approach. The music
perhaps is more consistent, but I would say that they have
quite a few mediocre moments where the music just doesn’t do
enough to reel anyone in. On maybe half of the songs the music
steps up and push out some decent twists and hooks. After
multiple plays I was left knowing they had some potential, but
they also have a lot of holes and just too many moments where
they are just going through the paces. |
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New Renaissance - New Era
(Blistering Records) By: Joe Florez |
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Swedish label Blistering Records is a fledgling label that is
pumping out the goods right now and you will see many more
from the company posted here in the coming weeks. Everyone in
the power metal world knows about the Stratovarius debacle and
what it has now turned into. Lead guitarist Timo Tolkki
decided to flee from the band and created this outlet. Is this
the new Strato or a new band all together? Well, that depends.
For starters, he does have a concrete line-up of musicians,
but on here there are guest vocalists and what happens on the
live circuit is beyond me. Back to the album, first up is the
charismatic Edguy frontman Tobias Sammat. No introduction is
needed. Right off the back when you |
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hear the power metal riffs and his voice, you would think it
was a new track from the Edguy catalogue. It’s simple and to the point. Double bass
drumming is intact and haunting atmospheric keys are added for
extra depth. Yes, Timo shreds when necessary, but we have
heard it all before. It’s upbeat and satisfying. Ha! We next
hear from a man who said he was done with Metal. Michael Kiske
from Helloween fame participates the most on here doing five
songs. Hmmmmm, sounds like someone needs a paycheck. I have to
admit as a fan of his voice, he still has the golden throat
and the music that accompanies him works perfectly. “I Did It
My Way” is a mid paced number that works perfectly with his
voice. Very enjoyable to the max and all fans should be
pleased with his performance on this track as well as
everything else on here. Finnish neighbor Pasi Rantanen from
Thunderstone lends his scratchy voice to three of the songs.
Again, nothing special, but very satisfying. Leave it to Kiske
to handle the ballad “Angel.” It’s slow and cheesy, but it
works, I guess. Yes, this is very Strato like in sound, but
that’s because Timo is creating the music. The riffs are
happy, but I think that if you can strip away of what went on
up until the recording of the disc and just take it for face
value that it’s an entertaining record that doesn’t disappoint
no matter what even if everything on here is rehashed. Quite
frankly, fans have been clamoring over this project for a
while. So, here it is. Now, eat it up.
www.blisteringrecords.se |
www.myspace.com/revolutionrenaissance |
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October Falls - The Womb of
Primordial Nature (Moribund
Cult) By: Dave Schalek |
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Excellent pagan/ folk metal from Finland arrives in the form
of “The Womb of Primordial Nature” by October Falls. The
second full-length from this trio, “The Womb of Primordial
Nature” is released on the ever reliable duo of Moribund Cult
Records and Debemur Morti Productions. I do somewhat recall “Marras”,
October Falls’ previous full-length from 2005, as a much more
melodic take on the genre, but “The Womb Of Primordial Nature”
has a much harsher, metallic edge while still retaining plenty
of melody, all without the use of keyboards.
Combining a muted rasp with raw-edged guitars, a very
prominent, fluid bass, and |
excellent variations in tempo, “The Womb of Primordial Nature”
features some fantastic songwriting
that really makes this effort a standout of the genre. Worth
noting is the excellent bass work, which really stands out and
enhances the songs tremendously. In addition, October Falls
will undoubtedly draw comparisons to early Opeth and
Moonsorrow (October Falls are not nearly as fast, though), as
each of the four numbered songs on “The Womb of Primordial
Nature” begin and end with acoustical guitar passages, giving
the album a bit of a progressive touch. Plenty of mournful
guitar soloing is present as well, allowing the music to take
on a bit of a melancholic tone.
October Falls have delivered an excellent album in the pagan/
folk genre with enough quality musicianship and songwriting
that should provide a serious boost in exposure to the band.
This one comes highly recommended.
http://koti.welho.com/mlehto4/of/of.html |
www.moribundcult.com |
www.debemur-morti.com |
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The Haunted - Versus
(Century Media) review by Sam Thomas |
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Why is it that when I’m asked (as I often am) to name my
favourite bands, The Haunted never spring to mind? I don’t
know, but it does mean that every time I listen to The
Haunted, be it a new album or an old friend, I’m always
stunned by how good they are. Which is undoubtedly a good
thing, but I’m still puzzled that in between times I forget
about them. Let’s just hope this isn’t the beginnings of
senility… Somehow I don’t think I’ll be ringing up Age Concern
and asking them if one of the early signs is not being able to
remember The Haunted…
“Versus” is the sixth album from Sweden’s finest (and possibly
thrashiest), maintaining the |
line-up that’s been unchanged since 2004’s “rEVOLVEr”. Having had the pleasure recently of
reviewing new boys on the block All Shall Perish, it’s quite
interesting to see how the masters compare. The difference is
mostly one of maturity (not surprisingly) – The Haunted are
just so comfortable doing what they do. That doesn’t mean that
they’ve gone soft, this is still just as edgy as ever, still
far out in their own urban wasteland, waiting for the rest of
the world to catch on or catch up. In fact, it’s not a million
miles away from “rEVOLVEr”, which, as my favourite of their
work to date, is definitely a good thing. There are the really
thrashy bits, but there’s also the dark brooding menace of
tracks such as “Skuld”. This includes parts spoken in (I
assume) Swedish and manages to be simultaneously short and
impressive. That’s really the thing about The Haunted that
impresses me most: they can go from breakneck thrash to moody
and atmospheric without either seeming out of place. Oh, and
of course there’s the shredding guitar…There’s also the
plaintive anguish at the beginning of “Iron Mask”, which
metamorphoses into a real thrash rant, and then into heavy
menace. You just have to love the structure of this kind of
track, it’s so well-crafted.
This is one of those releases where you get pretty much what
you’d expect: anguish and torture in a mostly thrash setting
with some exquisite darkness thrown in for good measure. The
Haunted are a band that deserve to be congratulated on
producing yet another superb release in a field which they
have so thoroughly defined and conquered.
www.the-haunted.com |
www.centurymedia.com |
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Unsun - The End Of Life (Century Media) Review by Steve
Green |
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Unsun feature guitarist Mauser, and this project is a million miles away
from his last gig, which was with Polish Death metal legends Vader. This
is ultra-lite female fronted Gothic Pop-Metal. I say ultra-lite as this is
a watered down version of early Lacuna Coil. I'm not denying that the
melodies are very catchy, the musicianship is top notch, with plenty of
interesting rhythms and ideas, but the vocals aren't strong enough and to
be honest, this isn't a patch on what Lacuna Coil were producing a decade
ago. This is simply Senzafine part 366 and is completely bereft of any
soul. And as I touched upon before, the vocals aren't good enough to turn
this band into a household name.
Unsun's blonde frontwoman
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Aya may have a couple of striking attributes,
but singing at world class level isn't one of them.
Look, it's obvious why Century Media signed Unsun. They achieved great
things with Lacuna Coil. But Lacuna Coil had the right the look and the
right sound, and more importantly, the timing was also right. The music
industry was looking for something new and refreshing, but that time has
gone and the kids have moved onto pastures new, so I feel this sound has
now become obsolete. Make your own mind up via:
www.myspace.com/unsunmusic |
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Woe - A Spell For the
Death of Man (Stronghold Records) Review by Crin |
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From behind the roach-infested walls and bloodstained concrete
of West Philadelphia comes Woe, the solo venture and main
musical outlet for C. Grigg (Veerungaar, Unrest, Near Dark).
That’s what the biog reveals and now for the music. This album
follows hot on the heels of the impressive, split offering
with, Infernal Stronghold, titled - Land of Piss & Poison
[2007]. Here we have a rising smog of raw original Black Metal
that is both groove enhanced and downcast in its writhing
bleakness.
The lazy guitar strums lure you in to the pre-empted strike
that is, Solitude, a nine minute raging furnace that in its
first awakenings seems like any other air hacking extreme USBM |
blackened release. Oh, how wrong can first impressions be.
Like looking at a fat slag from a distance to discover on
closer inspection she’s a gorgeous harlot wearing four fur
oats. This is the deprived nature of this band. The guitar set
pieces that separate the rampant snare attacks are pure metal
magic. Melodies ooze from the chaos in moments of great
uplifting riffs and solos. It is a primitivism tempered in
sustained creative finesse.
The following Alone With Our Failures, crawls from its lair to
hypnotize you with wondrous riffs and a heads down, no
nonsense Black Metal onslaught in the framework of early
Emperor [without the keyboards]. It’s a truly rib cracking
song a fluency that reveals a great unison of the instruments.
And so the rest of the album follows pretty much the same
goose bump guitar attack, feeding from the great melodic
majesty of those early Norwegian masters. Sure, there’s
nothing new to change history here, but in a genre of the
mediocre, this will stand above the many as a prime example of
how Black Metal can move across the years and still sound
relevant.
www.strongholdrecords.net |
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