This is the second album from Tothem, an Italian gothic/heavy metal band.
This is the band’s follow up to their début album Beyond the Sea, which was a polished collection of gothic metal tracks.
As with their first release; no matter how enticing the female vocals are, Tothem still remember that they’re first and foremost a metal band. This means that the music is just as important as the singing, and the guitars are present and correct as they should be.
I Am Noah are a metalcore band from Germany. This is their début release.
Metalcore is somewhat of a much-maligned genre, rightfully so in many ways. Regardless of what its detractors say though, there have been, (and are), some great bands playing the style that have left an impression on me at one time or another.
I Am Noah walk the same path as those who actually know what they’re doing with this kind of music. The familiar elements are all here, (backed up by a slight djent feel in places), but the band bend, burn and crush them into their own image. Continue reading “I Am Noah – The Verdict (Review)”
This is the latest EP from Austrian Symphonic Power Metal band Visions of Atlantis.
This is bright and energetic music with a strong Power Metal base that the band build symphonic elements onto. It’s relentlessly upbeat and mercilessly colourful, so much so that it’s hard to dislike a band playing with Continue reading “Visions of Atlantis – Old Routes – New Waters (Review)”
Grimner are a Swedish Viking/Folk Metal band and this is their second album.
Grimner play upbeat and melodic Metal that uses folk instruments such as flutes, mandola and Swedish bagpipes, as well as keyboards to add a rich layer of feeling and atmosphere to their aggressive Metal.
This is the second album from this US Metal band.
Tenth Amendment play modern Metal with groove and aggression. Back in the 90s when this kind of thing was just called either Metal or Hardcore rather than groove Metal or Metalcore, (usually due to how the band looked more than anything else), bands like Pantera, Fear Factory, Machine Head, Merauder, Skinlab and Pro-Pain we all staples of my CD collection, and Tenth Amendment very much remind me of that time.
Coming across as a combination of the aforementioned bands, we get song-based aggression with an industrial undercurrent that leans towards the heavier end of the spectrum. The album is very riff-based and there’s a purity of intent inherent in this kind of approach.
Death Lullaby are a Canadian Metal band and this is their début album.
This is modern Metal/djent that takes no prisoners with its heavy assault.
Stylistically the band are somewhat of a crossbreed between djent and NWOAHM. This is to their benefit; djent by itself is a very easy sub-genre to do badly, but here the limitations of the style are made up for by the more Metal influences of the modern/NWOAHM elements. The end result is songs that still might be a bit too much for some naysayers of djent, but for me strikes the right balance.
This is the début album from US industrial Metal band Surgical Meth Machine.
Headed up by none other than Ministry’s Al Jourgensen, this is 40 minutes of mostly speed and aggression, just the way we like it.
Kind of taking what Ministry did only ramping it up to the nth degree, this is the sound of an artist unburdened by expectations of past achievements and just plain going for it.
Continue reading “Surgical Meth Machine – Surgical Meth Machine (Review)”
Synthetic are a Metal band from the UK and this is their début album.
This is modern melodic Metal that features a EuroMetal style with aspects of Scandinavian melodeth. There’s a bit more depth involved to these songs than you might expect from the description, however, as the band also incorporate elements of classic and progressive Metal, allowing them to stand out from the pack a bit more than the average proponent of this type of music. Continue reading “Synthetic – Here Lies the Truth (Review)”
This is the latest release from Bangladeshi Thrash Metallers Exalter.
Featuring three new songs and four older ones, this release showcases what Exalter have produced up to this point in their existence.
After being suitably impressed by some recent Thrash releases, (Artillery, Crisix and Exumer, for example), I’m in the mood to be wooed once more by Thrash Metal, and I’m pleased to say that Exalter don’t disappoint. Continue reading “Exalter – Obituary for the Living (Review)”
This is the second album from Swedish Metal band Mindshift.
Mindshift’s latest album is 56 minutes of downtuned aggression in the Metalcore style that pushes the tried-and-tested style of heavy verses and melodic choruses, à la Atreyu, Killswitch Engage, Soilwork and the like.
The singer’s harsh voice reminds me of the singer of Atreyu, and he provides a good performance for the most part. The clean vocals do what they’re here to do, with decent melodies and hooks, some of which are really quite tasty.
The songs are, overall, a bit heavier and more aggressive than some that play this style, which I like, although the radio-friendly choruses clearly show their aspirations.
Although this style has been done to death, with some catchy choruses and good songwriting this is still an enjoyable release if you’re partial to the style. I probably would have loved this about 10-15 years ago. Nowadays I still quite like it, mainly due to the fact that it’s done well and sticks to basic song structures that are as familiar as they are pleasing in their simplicity.
Despite all of the things that are stacked against a band playing this style, I like that Horizon doesn’t play it completely safe and doesn’t just take the easy option of completely regurgitating stuff that’s been done a million times before. This is mainly down to the guitars and clean vocals – the former sound like a lot of consideration has gone into their structuring and layout, while the latter really do add a lot to the tracks and are performed with a passion that’s apparent.
There’s some good riffs and emotive melodies knocking about here too, and the electronic component to their sound is infrequent and used lightly, adding what is needed to the songs without getting in the way.
Ultimately Mindshift have put together an album that is easy to sit back and enjoy. The decent riffs and vocals do their job well and the songs pass by in a quite personable way. I can easily imagine myself listening to this a few more times in the future, despite a slightly over-long playing time.
Have a listen and check them out.
Wonderbox Metal 