Live 4 Metal - Reviews

Hyadningar - The Weak Creation (Total Rust Records) Review by Steve Earles
	I have a lot of time for most "products" from France. I love their cheese, their red wine, their cinema and my latest French obsession is the fantastic police series, Spiral, or Engrenages, to give it its French title. Its Metal scene ain't too shabby either. Hyadningar seemed to have been labelled "Black Metal" by all and sundry and although there are obvious Black Metal traits within their sound, from the vocals to guitar tones, I'm more inclined to think of them as a Progressive Black Metal band. The production is infinitely better than your average lo-fi blast fest, in-fact the whole structure of Hyadningar has a superior feel to it. And that's probably because I'm not much of a fan of typical Black
Metal. I much prefer the atmospheric side of the genre, or a style that has few twists and turns and a bit of something about it. Hyadningar fall into the latter category, with just a touch of the former and that keeps it interesting for someone like myself, who only flirts around the boundaries of the genre. I have a sneaking feeling that is a love it or hate kind of album, and with in mind, I suggest you try before you buy, starting at the bands Myspace. www.myspace.com/hyadningar

Monsterworks - Singularity (Casket) Review by Steve Green
	So as Live 4 Metal moves into its last week of normality, it's appropriate that one of my final reviews is for Monsterworks, who we've been reviewing since practically the birth of the site. And it's appropriate that I get to review a band who defy categorisation and have what I describe as a kitchen sink mentality. Because if you ask me what style of Metal Monsterworks are, well I'd have to tell you that they include everything but the kitchen sink in their sound. So where in the hell do I begin? Ok, let's go with the vocals. Frontman Jon likes to mix things up with a variety of guises. Be it a Death Metal growl, a high pitched style that reminds me of Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell with his balls on fire, or a more soothing Progressive style, which is blissfully
beautiful, the man has a great range. And the music follows a similar path of many styles. One minute they sound like Rush, the next it's more laidback Progressive style, there's a bit of Space Rock floating around somewhere and the band aren't scared to crank things up with a more Alternative sound bouncing along with more Thrash based leanings and a blasting Death Metal free-for-all, and not forgetting a huge groove that most Stoner bands would kill for. No matter how hard I try, I cannot pin Monsterworks down to any set formula. I guess the main question has to be as to whether this mish-mash of styles actually works... and you just know the answer has to be a resounding yes. It's refreshing to hear a band who don't give a fuck about trends and are content to blast out whatever the fuck they want. Recommended. www.myspace.com/monsterworks

Mourning Dawn - For The Fallen (Total Rust) Review by Steve Green
	From the deepest, darkest depths of the French underground, for your listening pleasure, may I introduce Mourning Dawn... although I'm not sure if "pleasure" is really the right terminology. This is a dark, depressing slab of utter desolation and is the perfect soundtrack for those with suicidal thoughts and also for those that like their music to be, well, depressing. Without a single chink of light to be found, this brooding Blackened Doom is about as miserable as it gets and I find that a perfect companion for this (miserable) time of year, when the weather is constantly shit and the warmth of the summer seems to have been an age ago. That is, if we ever had a summer. So put all thoughts of
Christmas to the back of your mind and indulge in some of the best suicidal Metal I've heard in a long time. www.myspace.com/dawnmournsagain

New Generation Superstars - Raising the Stakes (Underdog Records) by Julian Handley
	Having been heralded in the hallowed pages of Kerrang magazine as a ‘serious hope for British Rock,’ it was with eager anticipation that I loaded the cd. Firstly I must confess that I absolutely hate the name by which this Nottingham quartet have pretentiously christened themselves, but it is up to them to win over the cynics and let the music do the talking, so here goes. The roar of a beefy motorbike revving and racing away kick of proceedings with the opening track ‘I Won’t Stop,’ initially offering promise although when the motorbike fades out the whole affair loses any lingering hope of a full throttle rampage, indeed the track trundles along in trademark glam fashion with heavy chunky bass and
jungle beat drumming assisted by safe guitar chops and uninspired vocals delivered in a breathless hurry. It is quite obvious that these guys are giving it their best shot at reviving the glam scene and it’s easy to detect that they are heavily influenced by Guns N Roses and Hanoi Rock’s whilst unfortunately sounding like a poor man’s version of The Wildhearts. It is without offence, but I was wholly disheartened by what has been heavily touted as the next big thing, and as each song is an amalgamation of the opener I can’t find any positives to be derived from this lacklustre effort. www.newgenrocks.co.uk \| www.myspace.com/newgenrocks

Pyramido - Sand (Total Rust Records) Review by Steve Earles
	Opening with the sound of howling wind, and an epic rising guitar riff giving an atmosphere reminiscent of Holst’s ‘Mars-The Bringer of War’, the bellowing vocals add a genuinely sincere atmosphere of sludgey doom, with a real groove beneath the surface. Elsewhere the band channel the spirit of Coffins, Electric Wizard, Grief, Fistula and Graves At Sea, in places a Crowbar influence sneaks through, but overall this is almighty stuff, and I totally recommend it to anyone who likes the aforementioned bands. Beardy sludge metal from the depths of total doom! www.myspace.com/pyramidodoom

Sound Storm - Twilight Opera (Rising Records) Review by Steve Green
	I normally associate Rising Records with the more modern side of Metal, but every now and then they fire over a curveball, this time with the Neo-Classical/Power Metal splendour of Italy's Sound Storm. Let's be honest here. This album is about as cheesy as it gets. Pompous, overblown symphonics, crazy keyboard and guitar histrionics, ball-crushing vocals, you name the cliché, then Sound Storm have thrown it into the mix, but boy does it have a fantastic feel-good factor to it all. All true metalheads need a little cheese in their diet and I am occasionally a sucker for an album like this, despite any health warnings it may (or should)
carry. The album has theatre as its conceptual focal point and the inclusion of strings, a choir and Valerio Verderosa's wonderful piano work give this a very authentic feel. And despite my cheese detector working overtime, the more you hear this album, the more you realise what a very good piece of music it is. From the production, the playing and of course the song writing, everything is well thought out and the end result is thoroughly enjoyable. www.myspace.com/powerofsoundstorm

Threat Signal - Vigilance (Nuclear Blast) Review by Steve Green
	My only recollection of Threat Signal is that they sound like Pantera. And that thought is verified straight from the off on opening number, Afterlife. Two minutes in though, a very melodic chorus kicks in and the dynamics are changed completely, and for the better, it has to be said. I'm not normally a fan of such drastic changes in sound and tempo, but it does work rather well here. Commercial as hell it may be and it is a style I've admittedly spent the last couple of years bitching about, but fuck me, I love it.... well I do on this song. Unfortunately, the same style and the same melody, make frequent appearances throughout the album and to be honest, I tire of it very quickly. I can live with the Pantera
comparisons as they (Pantera) are a band I like, I just the feel the more melodic parts need a bit of expansion and invention. www.myspace.com/threatsignal