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Heavens Basement - Heavens Basement
(Self Financed) By:
Julian Handley |
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Here’s hoping that it’s third time lucky for this most
unfortunate of bands, having previously existed as
‘Hurricane Party‘ they released the ‘Get This ‘EP (2004), to
critical acclaim and at a time when ‘The Darkness‘ were
riding the crest of a wave, it was expected that these guys
would follow suit. Just as the buzz was taking hold, a world
disaster occurred in the Indian Ocean with the 2004 tsunami
claiming up to a quarter of a million lives.
The band responded swiftly and as a mark of respect changed
their name to ‘ Roadstar ‘, releasing their first full
length album the excellent ‘ Grand Hotel ‘ ( 2006 ) produced
by the legendary John Kalodner, this was followed by the
equally impressive ‘ Glass Mountain ‘ |
(2007). The band was
just beginning to command the attention that they so richly
deserved, but without a whimper they mysteriously
disappeared from the scene.
Emerging in 2008 as Heavens Basement the mainstay of the two
previous guises remains with Richie Hevanz (vocals), Jonny
Rocker (rhythm guitar), Chris Rivers (drums), Rob Randell
(bass) and new addition on lead guitar Sid Glover, inspiring
a new belief. The self titled EP contains six rip snorting,
attitude enriched slabs of pure rock in its most raucous
form.
Kicking off with ‘ Tear Your Heart Out ‘ a turbo charged
assault on the senses, with the drums unleashing a
relentless pummelling, whilst sparring with the duelling
twin guitars, contorting and wrestling one another for
supremacy. All this before the raw, razor blade vocals of
enigmatic front man Hevanz rush in to infuse a caustic noise
explosion. Track two ‘ Executioners Day ‘ continues the
rampage, and at times you could be excused for thinking that
two drummers were going at it simultaneously, such is the
ferocity.
A slight reprieve is offered with ‘Graduation Day ‘leaving
the rasping vocals to deliver the angst, equally as good as
the first two tracks but without the aggression. ‘ Saint
Routine ‘ sees the energy flooding back, sounding like a
toxic mix of nineties rockers ‘ Skin ‘ and ‘ Little Angels
‘.
‘Fear of Getting Off ‘is a more laid back affair with an
infectious back beat, leading into a crowd chanting chorus
of epidemic proportions. ‘Reign on My Parade ‘closes the
show with Hevanz spitting the vocals in a hyperactive tongue
twisting frenzy, pausing only for breath between huge guitar
solos.
On this display it would be an absolute travesty if ‘
Heavens Basement ‘ don’t make the breakthrough into the big
league as they have pulled out all the stops on this one,
enlisting famed producer Bob Marlette ( Blackstone Cherry/
Airbourne ) creating a vibrant energetic statement of
intent.
www.myspace.com/heavensbasementofficial
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Immortal Remains - Everlasting Night
(My Kingdom Music)
Written by Anthony Deane |
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Immortal Remains have only one agenda, to make you feel like
hells mouth has opened and swallowed your soul. “Everlasting
Night” is the perfect title to express the bands blackened
sound and Immortal Remains’ roots lie firmly within the
realm of black metal. Their song arrangements have lots of
depth from intense, blast beat sections at breakneck
speeds, to atmospheric, melancholy passages that adds a
variety of texture to their album.
The album opens with a sinister intro that has a neo
classical feel. The combination of eerie keyboard
arrangements and dark guitar parts slip you into their
inner, evil workings. Track two “Xeper” invites you in with
a hellish scream, and it’s not long before you find yourself |
immersed in track upon track of satisfying, evil, headbanging rhythms and dual vocals attacks. The guitar riffs
range from ambient feels like the track “The Haunting” to
solid chunks of diminished brutality.
Everlasting Night is the perfect album for anyone curious
about what the black metal world has to offer. The album has
very infectious songs and the ability to grow on you very
quickly, along with beautifully created artwork, and a logo
spikier than a cactus wrapped in barbed wire. “Everlasting
Night” portrays a feeling of pure, overwhelming evil, and
could leave you hiding behind the sofa with a crucifix after
it has reached its climatic finish.
www.myspace.com/immortalremainsmetal
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www.myspace.com/mykingdommusic |
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Lionheart - The Will To Survive
(I Scream Records) Review by Steve Green |
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Not to be confused with the 80s Metal band of the same name that featured
Tygers of Pan Tang's Jess Cox and Iron Maiden's Dennis Stratton, this is
Lionheart, a face ripping Hardcore band from California.
To be honest, if I'm to describe Lionheart properly, I'm going to use
the same phrases I normally use. Brutal, gang shouts, true to life,
passionate lyrics etc... To me, someone who only has a casual interest
in Hardcore, this sounds exactly like the majority of bands whose cds
come my way. I don't hear anything on this album that sets Lionheart
apart from the pack. Yes it's a brutal, uncompromising listen, but it's
not enough to make me want to play |
it again, nor does it make me want to spend any time
discovering the Hardcore scene in general.
Perhaps this'll be more suited to fans of the genre.
www.myspace.com/lionheartbahc
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Loch Vostok - Reveal No Secrets
(Silverwolf) Review by Mat Willcocks |
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With many associated acts (Flagellation, Wuthering Heights
and Platitude amongst many others), Loch Vostok appear a
band with creative inputs from many different angles. Still
relatively unknown outside of their native Sweden, LV are a band
whose label compare them to their “Scandinavian brothers and
sisters Children Of Bodom, In Flames & Arch Enemy”. Yes,
those aforementioned bands are well-established outfits with
multiple notable outputs to their names, but Loch Vostok’s
intentions are far more progressive than that lazy
comparison suggests. Opener ‘Loss Of Liberty’ is an all too
brief way of starting the album, with its
uncharacteristically-prog sub-4 minute track time, but is
followed by the |
truly epic ‘Energy Taboo’, a metronome’s nightmare,
reminiscent of a Swedish Devin Townsend, thanks to the
layers of sounds which flood the song. ‘Blindfolds Off’,
first of the triple whammy which accommodates the end
of the album is a decent tune, not overly brutal, but comes
across all Scar Symmetry if the singer from Edguy popped his
head in for the odd moment. Listen to it to see what I
mean...
‘What Once Was’ and ‘Breakthru’ end the CD, and are perhaps
the definitive tunes for those persons seeking what Loch
Vostok are actually about, coming across all King Diamond on
the former, then very brooding on the latter.
The sad thing is that this band are not likely to even hit the
radar on even the more progressively-inclined UK metal fan,
but for those who have made the effort to read this review,
Loch Vostok offer a rewarding listening experience,
particularly to someone willing to accept something
inventive in their collection.
www.silverwolf-productions.com |
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Memory Garden - Tides (Vic Records)
Review by
Chris Davison |
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Ah, back in re-release territory! I had to think where I had
seen the name before, but as it transpires, Memory Garden
had previously had tracks on various tribute albums, which
is where the name had stuck. “Tides” was originally released
a dozen years ago, and quickly sold out. Vic Records have
unleashed this unto the world again, which is a jolly good
thing. “Tides” is an addictive album, and something of an
elusive beast. Why? Read on...
There are plenty of doom bands, of course. Many, especially
these days, concentrate on the “doom” aspect rather more
than the “heavy metal”. Memory Garden have a foot in both
camps here. From the chunky, battleship heavy riffing to the
soaring, melodic vocals, |
this owes as much to classic Dio or
Mercyful Fate as it does to the likes of Candlemass or Saint
Vitus. Of course, the tempo tends towards the slow, but
never obnoxiously so, and on the likes of the truly epic
“Dream Horizons, the guitar work is particularly tasty. The
production is absolutely top notch (which is hardly
surprising in a sense, being undertaken by the
then-ubiquitous Frederik Nordstrom), but was also recorded
in a mere ten days. This album was clearly a labour of love
for Memory Garden, and the sincerity and power of the music
seeps from every pore.
Repackaged, and now with extra demo songs tacked onto the
end, this is a re-release that is destined to obviously
become a part of Memory Gardens small cult of fans
collections, but may also find a broader audience. Crossing
over into pure heavy metal, “Tides” is going to be one for
the Saxon or Maiden fans among you just as much as the Isole
or Solitude Aeturnus acolytes. A minor, forgotten classic?
Once perhaps, though now available again, I urge you to buy
it while you still can...
www.vicrecords.com |
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Mumakil - Behold The Failure
(Relapse Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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The first of three grindcore albums released in rapid
succession from giant Relapse Records drops into my lap in
the form of “Behold The Failure”, the second full-length
from Switzerland’s Mumakil. Naming your band after
fictitious, giant war oliphants wouldn’t necessarily be the
first thing that comes to mind when searching for a
grindcore band name, but the name Mumakil perfectly fits the
music to be had on “Behold The Failure”. “Behold The
Failure” is an absolutely crushing tour-de-force of
exceptionally well done grindcore with a focus on all out
blasts while firmly rooted in brutal death metal. Simply
put, this is one of the best grindcore albums that I’ve
heard in quite awhile, and I don’t say that lightly |
given the high quality of Napalm Death’s last couple of
full-lengths.
Consisting of 27 short blasts stretched out over 35 minutes,
each track is a perfectly executed blast to your head,
loaded with catchy riffs, a nice variation in speed
(focusing on blasts, of course), and mostly guttural vocals
with a few high pitched screeches thrown in for good
measure. Mumakil themselves describe their brand of
grindcore as “Blastcore”, and that would be an apt
description as the album comes across as a hyperspeed
version of brutal death metal with a gigantic production.
Needless to say, I’m blown away by this release as “Behold
The Failure” is right up my alley. If I must find fault with
the album, it’s probably a tad too long at 35 minutes and
would probably benefit from a five minute trim, but that’s a
minor complaint, if you can call it that.
At any rate, Agoraphobic Nosebleed and the mighty Brutal
Truth are also slated to be reviewed by myself, and each has
a tall order to top “Behold The Failure” by Mumakil.
Needless to say, buy or die!
www.myspace.com/mumakil
| www.relapse.com |
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Mystic Prophecy - Fireangel
(Massacre Records)
By: Joe Florez |
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Mystic Prophecy was started out by the now popular and famous Greek
guitarist Gus G who has also created Firewind and Dream Evil
just to name a few. But in 2006, he left this group to focus
on Firewind full time. Would this be a detrimental blow to
the band? Hell no because lead vocalist R.D. Liapakis has a
strong voice that’s filled with character and would continue
to take this group to new heights along with new recruits to
fill the slots of drummer and guitarist. It’s amazing that in the
8 years of their existence that they are on album number
six. These are seasoned vets by now delivering their brand
of dark power metal that will grab you by the throat and
refuses to let go until the end. Fireangel has |
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arrived and if you haven’t heard this underdog of a band
then I suggest getting your grubby little hands on this one
for starters. “Across The Gates Of Hell” is a fierce opener
that not only is successful at walloping you over their head
with a strong rhythm section and intense guitar work, but
there’s tons of melodic riffs underneath all the meaty
guitar strumming and heavy drumming. R.D. delivers another
strong performance in his voice. It’s filled with passion
and anger all in one and no matter what direction he heads
in he gives it his all and is passionate. “Demons Blood”
delivers another one-two punch that continues with its
winning formula that’s explosive as a powder keg. There’s
plenty of shredding during the solos and the double bass
drum work that’s in here is enough to get your heart racing.
Sure, the guys are hopped up on racing fuel because their
performances on each of the compositions are rapid fire
quick, but they throw in some grooves into the mix as well
as on “ To The Devil I Pray.” There’s a tremendous amount of
crap bands out there right now who were once good, but are
really trying to cash in by altering their formula and in
the end they just sabotage their careers as fans walk away,
but MP remain true to the cause through and through. While
their formula for the most part is a copycat of what they’ve
done in the past like AC/DC or Motorhead, they do it well and perform the songs
with so much conviction that you can feel it run through you
veins. These guys never disappoint and there’s a limited
edition version with a second disc filled with goodies.
Well, if you’re like me ya gotta’ grab the limited edition.
If you are in need of a good power metal band that will
throw you from pillar to post and be unrelenting about it
then this is for you. Why, they’ve never broke out bigger is
beyond me.
www.massacre-records.com
| www.mysticprophecy.net |
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Prong - Power Of The Damn Mixxxer
(13th Planet/Megaforce) Review by Metal Mark |
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Actually Prong are no strangers to re-mix albums although it
has been 17 years since "Whose fist is this anyway?" EP was
released. It was 1990's "Beg to differ" that saw this band
establishing their own sound and pulling away from the
mediocre ramblings of their two previous albums. I was
instantly hooked by "Beg to differ", but it was 1991's
"Prove you wrong" when Tommy Victor and company really
started spreading their wings. They added some industrial
blasts and moved beyond just being a metal act. The band got
even better after that, but unfortunately they called it
quits a few years later. Eventually after |
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stints with Rob Zombie and Danzig, Victor revived the band name and has
since delivered "Scorpio Rising" and "Power of the Damager"
in recent years. Neither really approach the level the band
were at in the previous decade because I truly believe they
were one of if the best band of the 90's. There is no
denying the impact that Prong have had on heavy music either
even if they did get their proper due when they were at
their prime. That brings us up to date and leads us to this
album. A number of different artists including Rob Caggiano
(Anthrax), Virus (Dope), Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan)
and others have been given the reigns and the opportunity to
re-mix a total of thirteen Prong tracks. Re-mix albums can
be very hit and miss which is understandable if there are knob
turners from different backgrounds as is the case on this
disc. Not all the songs work completely, but if nothing else
this is certainly a refreshing collection of different translations of some
of Tommy Victor's work. Much like cover
songs, I think re-mixes are only worth listening to if the
person in charge brings something of their own to the
translation. We are in luck because this disc is certainly
filled with plenty of twists and tweaks that at best reflect
the ideas of those behind the curtains. It's not perfect of
course as a few songs are predictable or limited in their
approach, but this is a good tribute to Tommy Victor and
Prong. Everyone who hasn't been living under a rock for the
last twenty years should have already been impacted by
Prong. However "Power of the damn mixxxer" helps to
re-enforce that notion as we get to hear so many various
takes on their music. My hope now is that Victor can come
back with the kind of bare-knuckled bashing original album
that Prong have not created since "Rude Awakening" back in
1996.
www.myspace.com/prong |
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