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Almah - Fragile Equality
(Blistering Records) By: Joe Florez |
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Yes! I am so stoked that Blistering Records is
distributing this release. I was scared for a moment cause
this was only available as an import from AFM and it wasn’t
gonna’ be cheap. For those that aren’t in the know, this is
the second release from Angra vocalist Edu Falaschi. The first
record was more of a project, but since Angra is on hiatus
right now, Edu is now able to focus on this and turn it into
the real deal. I think that the many fans who are still upset
at Edu for replacing Andre Matos should take a listen to this
cause this is action packed power metal.
The opening salvo “Birds Of Prey” is jammed with energy that
is bursting with life. The |
drums crash through the speakers while the guitars take center
stage and shred with not only precision, but speed, muscle and
panache. As for Edu, he has really come into his own with his
voice. Hopefully if you were headbanging, that you aren’t out
of breath yet cause “Beyond Tomorrow” kicks it up a notch. The
double bass drumming is faster at times. At the same time,
this song is fleshed out more with string arrangements and
chants that come and go. First class material presented here.
After hitting you like a sonic storm, “All I Am” brings it
down several notches into a semi ballad. There is still some
heavy moments, so that it offsets the softer sections of the
song. “Invisible Cage” is a wonderful mixture of traditional
Brazilian music and melodic metal. Every track on here has a
unique and entertaining element that will hold your interest
from beginning to end if you are into the power metal field.
This one has everything that I mentioned above and beyond
that. I honestly can’t think of too many releases in the power
metal realm that has held my interest for more than ten
minutes. This one has it all. If you want energy, tender
moments, grade A musicianship, killer vocals, varying tempos
and some originality, then this is the record of the year
perhaps. No disappointments here. Above all else, this one is
even better than the original…and that was good.
www.blisteringrecords.se |
www.almah.com.br |
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Battlelore - The Last
Alliance (Napalm) Review by Strawb |
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Here we go again. This site has numerous reviews whereby CDs
based around operatic female vocals contrasted with grunting
male vocals are slated. Tool back from the sharpeners, a few
practice swings and we will commence the hatchet job then.
Or not. Let us take The Last Alliance, slap the gimp mask upon
it, and spank its fifty-three minutes and eleven songs to see
how it screams....
The actual gap of the contrast here is larger than others I
have heard; the female vocals of Kaisa might not reach the
screeching heights of some of her contemporary's but are more
than adequate, and the much lower growling of Tomi remains my
preferred side of the |
vomit line. The five instrumental members of the band all
appear to be accomplished in their individual fields, and
blend in well throughout this, the group’s fifth album. As is
often the case with Finnish bands, the English is excellent.
The subject matter is that of fantasy fiction: warlords,
dragons, but surprisingly, no dungeons – or maybe that could
be a good thing on the copyright front. A couple of listenable
to, but somewhat lightweight tracks open proceedings, but it
is with The Great Gathering that I begin to pay more
attention. A transformation has taken place and heaviness has
arrived, the gimpy small car is now a fully fledged battle
boat, and all weapons are giving it some. And although a
slight weight loss has occurred, this is continued into
Guardians. I would say that this is my favourite part of the
album for the reasons stated; however, there is nothing
anywhere on it that has me reaching for the skip button [other
than the usual Napalm Records voiceover telling me what I am
listening to, but I refuse to repeat that rant, deep breaths,
move on]. When I visited Finland earlier in the year, a number
of things impressed me, the cleanness and crispness of the air
spring to mind, and both of these attributes are clearly
transferred to the production values here. The digipak
version, so the website tells me, includes a bonus DVD from a
2007 show. It wasn’t included in my review pack, but based on
what I have heard here, I would go for that version because I
want more Battlelore; they are a credit to the genre.
So, unused tool back in the shed. And the screams? Jumping on
the recent bandwagon, they do credit to the last prostitute to
be led in to the living quarters of a sinister-looking
trucker.
Website entry page is to be found at
www.battlelore.net |
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Bible Of The Devil -
Freedom Metal (Cruz Del Sur) By: Joe Florez |
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Hailing from Chicago, these underground rockers are on a
mission and that’s to rock your ass off. Their last record was
my introduction to the band and for the most part I was
thoroughly impressed with their energy and unique style. To
those that don’t know about them, they are pretty much a rock
band with flashes of metal infused in their style. It’s very
old school, but has a unique flair and while it may partially
come off as sounding dated, there is enough of a modern sound
to keep them going and holding your interest. “Hijack The
Night” starts out in the intro as a 70’s stoner rock/riff that
is mid paced, but after a minute it, the octane kicks in once
and for all as the riffs pick up the pace and the drums |
also begin to move faster. The vocals from Mark Hoffman are
rather unique. They are a cross between sounding gruffy and
croony with a tinge of a higher pitch. Using the word “Hijack”
is appropriate here cause they will take over your ears.
“Night Oath” is really killer cause it makes good use of a
rhythm section that has a lot of groove, but then they switch
over to Maiden-esque galloping strumming. The guitars add more
of a distorted feel, but all for the better. Damn, I thought
these guys were only worried about tearing shit up with a raw
and abrasive approach. “Heat Feeler” has a totally different
vibe that comes out of left field. This one has a clean sound
and is more melodic and passive. It still contains a good beat
with an infectious groove, but the vocals are clean and the
guitars have a more acoustic feel. Think of a Thin Lizzy tune,
but with higher range singing. Well, for those that like it
hard and heavy fear not for the simple fact that things get
plugged in and turned up several knobs toward the middle.
Overall, a jam nonetheless. This is truly a unique listening
experience for those of you that are into the hard rock sound.
They take their cues from the likes of Sabbath, Lizzy and
other that rocked out back in their day and put a spin on it.
If you are into Slough Feg, then this will be up your alley.
Not everyone will get this, but if you can break away just for
a minute from the typical sounds that crash through your
speakers with agro riffing and million mile an hour beats I
would say that you’re in for a treat. It’s not everyday that
you get an overall package that sounds like this. Good stuff.
www.cruzdelsurmusic.com |
www.www.bibleofthedevil.com |
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Blindead - Autoscopia: Murder In
Phazes (Foreshadow Music) Review by Steve Green |
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Boy, does the accompanying biog build this baby up for a major fall.
Luckily, for whoever wrote this biog, that Post-Metal isn't a genre I
really know anything about, so I can't tell you if it's all bullshit or
not, but here's the deal. The new album from Poland's Blindead
is being compared to Cult of Luna's Eternal King opus and the usual
suspects of Isis and Neurosis are also thrown into the ring.
I think whenever you compare your band to the leaders of a certain genre
and claim your band is as good, if not better than a band that everyone
likes, then you really are on to a hiding to nothing, because you've just
given someone the easiest possible opportunity to |
throw shit at your album or band. That argument is null and
void here as, although I've heard said bands, I don't really
listen to this style of music, but for what it's worth, this
album is simply good, from my point of view. I'm not hearing
anything here that I've never heard before. Slow brooding
atmospherics, explosions of energy, moody as hell intensity
and long drawn out passages of concentrated chaos.
But you know what? The more you hear this album, the more it draws you in
and before you know it, you're in the zone and the rest of the world has
been shut off. So yes, this album is good, but if it's good as the label
says it is, then that's something you'll have to find out for yourself.
I'd suggest starting here:
www.myspace.com/blindead |
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Byfrost - Byfrostmetal
(Self Release) Review by Crin |
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Black Thrash from Bergen that follows in the wake of many
other Norwegian Thrashing warhogs, The Batallion, and Dead to
this World. From the first track, Night of Damnation, it is
apparent that the full on speed attack is not the primary source on
here. The plodding riffs drive this track through a mid-tempo
path with gruff vocals croaking their utterances into the mix.
The subtle guitar solo’s and clever song structures are pure
axe wielding moments and a far cry from the low-fi distortion
of their fellow Nordic comrades. The whole sound reminded me
of that great thrash act Wargasm where speed was never the key
to making great accelerated Heavy Metal music. Byfrost are
exactly like that with their deployment of sustained melodies
and great guitar improvisation. So overall a masterful 4 |
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tracker that just grows each time its played.
www.myspace.com/byfrostmetal
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Dagoba - Face The
Colossus (Season Of Mist) By: Dave Schalek |
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Dagoba are just another one of those bands that seem to get
lost in the shuffle, at least in my case. I had heard a song
or two from their last full-length, entitled “What Hell Is
About”, and generally liked what little I had heard, but I
never really followed up and sat down to give Dagoba a serious
listen. That opportunity arises with the arrival of Dagoba’s
new full-length, entitled “Face The Colossus” on Season of
Mist.
Probably the best categorization that I can come up with for
Dagoba is American-style post thrash with a mish-mash of other
influences ranging from nu metal, a trace of industrial |
(mostly in the band’s aesthetic look, rather than anything in
the music), and, worst of all, the sort of “boy band” shit
music that the morons that man the front desk at my gym play
all the time. “Face The Colossus” starts out well enough, with
some serious post thrash reminiscent of Machine Head and so
forth. The riffs are frenetic, there are bursts of speed, the
vocals are guttural, and the production is gigantic with
heavily over-emphasized guitars that threaten to flatten the
listener with the serious heft being presented. There are a
few keyboard melodies that do somewhat fit the album early on,
and do not really detract from the crushing wall of sound
rushing at you.
Unfortunately, just when you think that Dagoba are really
going to kick it up a notch, “Face The Colossus” completely
falls apart and devolves into nu metal wankery and the sort of
shit spewed from the orifices of boy bands like Linkin Park
and the like. I nearly threw up in disgust. A total downshift
from serious post thrash to melodic hard rock seems to happen
virtually all at once on “Face The Colossus”, and never
returns to the promising sound of the album’s first few
tracks.
Needless to say, “Face The Colossus” is not recommended.
www.dagobaonline.com |
www.season-of-mist.com |
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Dead Shape Figure - The
Grand Karoshi (Season Of Mist) By: Dave Schalek |
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Yet another newcomer out of Finland in the form of Dead Shape
Figure, a five-piece playing Bay Area thrash metal with a bit
of a Sunlight Studios-era crunch to the guitar. The debut
full-length from this outfit, entitled “The Grand Karoshi” on
Season Of Mist, doesn’t really break new ground, but the
musicianship is tight as Hell, the songs are engaging and
catchy, and the production is crisp; that is, everything that
you would expect from modern thrash metal is present in
spades, ultimately resulting in an album that has every
intention of beating you down with a frenetic pace, makes no
bones about it, and succeeds in doing so with gusto. In
addition, Dead Shape Figure throw in some rather traditional
guitar soloing, |
but keep it brief, and are mainly concerned with galloping,
thrash metal speed and crunch. That is just fine with me as
“The Grand Karoshi” succeeds with Dead Shape Figure’s
intention.
Yeah, you could possibly label Dead Shape Figure as yet
another outfit concerned with the current retro-thrash
bandwagon; however, there are some notable differences. First
of all, the trappings of 80s-style thrash are thankfully
absent; that is, no high tops, jean jackets, mullets, you name
it. In addition, Dead Shape Figure adopt a thoroughly modern
sound in terms of production and do not go out of their way to
emulate German thrash metal, although the Bay Area sound is
definitely the template.
What else is there to say? “The Grand Karoshi” is a well done
Bay Area thrash metal album with a modern sound. No more, no
less, and worth the effort.
www.deadshapefigure.fi |
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