Metal – Page 100 – Wonderbox Metal

Thoughts Factory – Lost (Review)

Thoughts Factory are a Progressive Metal band from Germany, and here we have their 8 track album Lost, which contains 65 minutes of accomplished music.

It’s instantly apparent that this is a superior release. Superficially all of the Progressive Metal boxes are ticked, (bright keyboards, technical playing and leads, soaring vocals), but the quality of songwriting is plainly above average.

An ambitious release; the band know what they want to achieve and do everything in their power to achieve this. The musicianship and production is faultless and the songs are clearly in skilled hands.

This is quality Progressive Metal with plenty of variety; heavy, light, slow, fast, ostentatious, minimalistic – it’s all here. The songs are complex and show good structure and pacing. They have an ear for a catchy riff, and the guitars work with each song as a whole instead of trying to be the focal point as some bands make the mistake of having them as.

The singer has an extremely capable voice capable of belting out the powerful sections but also capable of frailty and nuance as necessary. His vocal lines are generally effective and emotive, and he knows when he’s onto a good melody.

The album is based around a central concept and accordingly the lyrics are more personal and emotional than the subject matter that a lot of Progressive bands deal with, and this further differentiates them from the pack.

Lost is likely to be one of the best Progressive Metal albums we’ll hear in 2014. A bold claim I know, especially as it’s only just turned February, but I’m confident that Thoughts Factory have what it takes to compete in the big leagues.

A top quality Progressive Metal concept album – time to add it to your collection don’t you think?

Devoid – The Invasion (Review)

India appears to be a hotbed of Metal talent these days. Devoid are another such band, but can they stand up to the high-standards of their countrymen? Let’s have a listen shall we…

After a short instrumental sets the scene, the band launch into the title track of the EP at speed. This is Thrash Metal with a strong Death Metal edge to it. They successfully manage to play both styles, and just when you think a song like The Invasion is essentially an out-and-out Death Metal track with a bit of Thrash, they slow things right down for the end and it goes all melodic and fades out slowly.

Aspects of the Old-School and the New- collide in Devoid’s songs, resulting in compositions that are a bit of both.

A good EP that promises much for their next album.

A Breach of Silence – Dead or Alive (Review)

This is the début release from Australian band A Breach of Silence.

The band play a nice line in modern Melodic Death Metal combined with the huge sweeping chorus-style Metalcore that bands like Killswitch Engage popularised.

The singer has a very good voice; his growls are deep and enthusiastic and the clean vocals are passionate and a bit different from the usual of this type as they incorporate a little bit of Power Metal into their delivery, giving them a bit more of an edge.

The music has plenty of bite and aggression with the band playing their hearts out and preforming with gusto. Although they do have breakdowns and whatnot, they don’t completely abuse and over-use them as a lot of these kind of bands have a tendency to do; they seem to have struck the right balance. The songs are largely both heavy and catchy.

Ultimately this does fall into the more commercial end of the Metal spectrum, and won’t be to everyone’s taste. I haven’t listened to a new band of this style for some time and I think A Breach of Silence are very good at what they do. If you’re a fan of heavy modern Metal and don’t object to more commercial melodic clean choruses then check them out.

Thalion – Dawn of Chaos (Review)

Canadian Power Metal with a liberal sprinkling of Speed Metal for good measure.

This won’t win any awards for innovation but it is highly melodic and highly infectious; the band can play, write songs and have a singer who can actually sing. What more is there to say?

Also; solos. Always important to note.

I enjoyed this album, especially as the band throw in a few more modern touches and riffs, (in To Hell and Back for example), thus showing they’re not completely bound to the rule book laid down by the likes of Helloween and Judas Priest.

With the double bass flying, the guitar licks licking (?) and the vocalist singing his heart out it’s hard not to smile and get carried away by their enthusiasm.

A very good début album, and with some small refinements to their songwriting the next one could be great. If you like Speed-influenced Power Metal this is recommended.

SystemHouse33 – Depths of Despair (Review)

Indian band SystemHouse33 play a forward thinking brand of Metal.

After a typical perfunctory intro we get a nice brand of heavy modern Metal with speed, bounce and vocals that sound like they’re going to jump out of the speakers and beat you to death.

There are some good riffs on this album that take some of the best parts of modern Metal but manage to avoid all of the riff-recycling and At The Gates-pillaging that a lot of modern Metal bands end up doing. The drums underpin everything with a relentless backdrop of pounding and punchy beats.

Across the album the band use tools from the Metal, Thrash and even Death Metal toolboxes to build their sound. This is then combined with quasi-Industrial sounds and effects to spice up their music, meaning that a lot of the time there’s more going on than just the Meshuggah-heavy guitars trying to alternately flatten or slice you to death.

A diverse and effective album that is over far too quickly at only 22 minutes. The band seem to have plenty of ideas and no shortage of inspiration in how to apply them.

A quality release that promises bright things for them in the future. For a good blast of non-cliché Metal you can do a hell of a lot worse than this. Listen up.

Tothem – Beyond the Sea (Review)

Italian Gothic Metallers Tothem have released their début album Beyond the Sea.

This is a stirring and spirited album, with angelic female vocals layering a solid Metal base. Sometimes with this type of genre, with so much focus on the vocals, the underlying music can seem left behind a bit; the guitars especially can be left to sound quite weak. Not so for Tothem; thankfully they have kept the guitars nice and loud and pleasantly thick.

Musically we have a modern Power Metal foundation with liberal keyboards and sweeping feminine harmonies soaring over the top of everything.

If you have heard bands such as Within Temptation, Evanescence, Nightwish, et al then you know what kind of songs are on offer here. Of course it’s easy to say that we’ve heard this all before, but if you like this kind of music then that’s no barrier to enjoyment. The differentiation comes of course from the nicely heavy music and above all from the songs themselves.

This is an enjoyable album with good songs and where the music doesn’t play second-fiddle to the, (admittedly impressive), vocals. Try them out and see if they can win you over.

Leviathan – Beholden To Nothing, Braver Since Then (Review)

Leviathan are a Progressive/Power Metal band from the US; this is their fifth album.

This is an ambitious release; 76 minutes of Metal, broken down into multiple interludes and the actual songs themselves.

Leviathan have a strong, full sound from the outset. The band are skilled musicians and make good use of all of the instruments available to them, while the production ensures that everything sounds clear and crisp.

The singer has a good voice that is not quite full on Power Metal but neither is it unrestrained. He can belt out the powerful notes when he needs to.

The songs are involved and have plenty of instrumentation, which may be slightly ostentatious but not gratuitously so; there’s a lot of technical flashiness but the ultimate aim is always to enhance rather than just for the sake of showing off.

Check out Leviathan and give them a try.

Eclipse Prophecy – Days of Judgement (Review)

This is Canadian Power Metal from Eclipse Prophecy and Days of Judgement is their début album.

This is proper Power Metal in the epic, heroic vein in which it is experienced best. Traditionally I think of Europe when I think of this kind of music but Canada seems to be holding their own in this arena these days.

This is not going to be to everyone’s taste, but as an avid fan of Freedom Call I’m a sucker for this kind of fantasy Metal. I particularly enjoy the added keyboards and effects that Eclipse Prophecy use to add extra flavour to what are already flamboyant songs.

Speed, double bass drums, soaring vocals; it’s all there, only with heavier involvement from the aforementioned keys.

I feel compelled to mention once more that it won’t work for everyone, but for me…what can I say? I like this a lot. Sometimes Brutal Death Metal or scathing Black Metal just won’t cut it; sometimes you want something heroic, positive and larger than life! For times like these Eclipse Prophecy hit the nail squarely on the head.

Bang. Great fun.

Our Last Enemy – Pariah (Review)

Our Last Enemy play Industrial Metal and this is their second album.

Coming off as a modern Metal band with industrial elements and keyboards the band peddle their aggressive brand of music with passion and fortitude.

If you take all of the heavy bits of early-noughties bands like Spineshank, Slipknot, Downthesun, etc. and take out pretty much all of the clean singing you’ll have a reasonable starting point for Our Last Enemy. Plus guitar solos.

The industrial and atmospheric parts of these songs are more subtle and understated than you might think, the main emphasis instead on the heavy guitars and scathing vocal attack. With enough double bass and blasting drums to ensure the listener knows they mean business, the guitars churn and turn their way through the songs while the singer barks out vicious diatribes.

Each song contributes to the whole and on the final analysis this is an enjoyable album that has a perhaps surprising amount of depth to the compositions.

Chaos – Violent Redemption (Review)

A ripping Thrash Metal début from India.

Solos!

Oops. Sorry. Excuse me; got all carried away then.

Solos!

There we go again…

Apparently this record was almost a decade in the making. I would say it has been time well spent as this is a quality album by a band who are paying homage to the best of the genre and simultaneously paving the way for the future.

This is breakneck Thrash forged in the fires of Slayer and given teeth with a production that lets the talent of the band shine bright.

The songs are mainly short, mostly not even breaking the three minute mark; but who needs longer songs when you can go Metal Thrashing Mad in half the time it takes other bands to get up to speed? And did I mention they have solos? I think I did.

The singer comes across as the bastard love child of Tom Araya and Mille Petrozza, (if you can imagine such a thing), and he does both of his spiritual fathers justice. A voice like nails on a blackboard.

An appropriate soundtrack to accompany you into the pit.