Metal – Page 79 – Wonderbox Metal

Serenity – Codex Atlanticus (Review)

This is the fifth album from Austrian Symphonic Power Metallers Serenity.

This is a bombastic, larger-than-life album that boasts impressive orchestration and bucketfuls of sugary melodies.

Bands like this can so easily lose track of the Metal component of their sound, but Serenity remember this and include plenty of tasty riffs alongside the symphonic feast that they serve up so well.

The songs are enjoyable and well-written, making the most of the European style. Featuring all kinds of catchy and memorable hooks, melodies and harmonies, it’s an easy-to-like album, as long as you’re a fan of the genre, of course.

The singer has a strong voice that carries the tunes well. I like that he has a personable, charismatic side that is almost at odds with the flashy nature of the music in some ways. It has an earthy quality to it, even when he’s belting things out in true Power Metal style.

Production-wise, an album like this can really suffer without a suitably huge and ostentatious sound, but it’s clear that Serenity have spared no expense in this department. Everything sounds bright and shiny, polished and professional.

I really enjoyed this. In a genre that is well past its saturation point, Codex Atlanticus has enough personality and character to hold interest and is performed well enough to keep it.

Highly recommended.

Avantasia – Ghostlights (Review)

This is the seventh album from this German Symphonic Power Metal band.

At over 70 minutes in length, there’s a lot of music on this release. Also, featuring guests from such notable bands as Queensrÿche, Twisted Sister, Nightwish, Within Temptation, Unisonic, Edguy and many others, this lives up to the title of Rock Opera with very little effort.

For all the different guest singers, the album has a coherent feel to it, partly due to the cohesive songwriting and partly due to the brains behind the outfit’s voice, which is a near-constant of these tracks in some capacity or other.

The music is bombastic, dramatic, emphatic, symphonic and suitably epic in nature. Unless you just don’t like this kind of thing it’s extremely hard not to enjoy Ghostlights. Great musicianship, high production values, quality singing and well-written operatic Metal…it’s a feast for the ears and proudly espouses the most extravagant side of European Power Metal.

Combined with the effervescent guitars, the orchestral elements are ever-present and a big part of what makes Avantasia so epic. These tracks have such a flair for the theatrical that every song seems to tell a story in bright, colourful pictures, writ large against a suitably ostentatious backdrop. Although the album does have darker elements it’s largely a performance of colour and fantasy, providing the listener with ample opportunity for escapism via the very textured world that the players portray.

Returning back to the guitars; it’s important to remember that this is, ultimately, a Metal album. Thankfully the band remember this too and have included a fair amount of tasty riffs among the orchestration.

Ghostlights evokes various different emotions, as all good operas should, but ultimately I’m left with the feeling of being uplifted and happy. Such larger-than-life music should be celebrated and it’s only appropriate that its lasting impact is a positive one more than anything else.

70 minutes of pure escapist showmanship. Loved it.

Favourite Track: Seduction of Decay. Geoff Tate, (Queensrÿche), has always had one of my favourite voices, and on this track he shines. The music backs him up to the hilt and the entire song is glorious.

Mano Humana – Sombras (Review)

Mano Humana are a Metal band from Chile and this is their début album.

Mano Humana play modern Metal that fuses aggressive Thrash Metal with the cold machinery of Meshuggah and the groovy heaviness of Soulfly.

The harsh shouted vocals are barked out in quite an abrasive, anti-social way. Mano Humana are not really on the commercial end of the Metal spectrum at the best of times, but these vocals really tip them over the edge into harsher territories. In my mind, of course, this is only a good thing.

Occasionally the brutality shifts up a gear too, and the vocals descend into deep growls and the entire thing is one hair’s breadth away from Death Metal at these points, recalling some of Brujeria’s work.

There’s some interesting parts in the music, with the band trying out all manner of different ideas to keep things from becoming formulaic as they tear through the 45 minute length. They take the time to add plenty of experimentation with the bass and guitars to their songs, resulting in relatively long tracks, (for the style), that keep their core Thrash Metal from becoming dull or one-dimensional.

This willingness to go that little bit further for some added depth ensures that Sombras is a more enjoyable listen than I was expecting, based on what most bands who can be described as Groove Metal offer.

Sombras is a very good listen and much more of a grower than you might think for the style. It’s brutal, heavy and full of good ideas and riffs.

Highly recommended.

Stigmata – The Ascetic Paradox (Review)

Stigmata are from Sri Lanka and this is their fourth album. They play Heavy Metal.

Wow, okay, so here we have a bit of everything from Death to Nevermore to Iron Maiden. The band play technical and involving music that’s as varied as the influences suggest, all within the overarching template of Heavy Metal.

At 58 minutes in length, and touching on a wide-range of Heavy Metal bases, there’s a lot going on here.

It’s clear that the band are Hellishly talented and have grand ambitions for their art. Frequent musical sidesteps are taken so that you never quite know what’s just around the corner. Some of the playing on this release is jaw-dropping.

Full of grand melodies and even grander ambition, The Ascetic Paradox is a wild ride through various corners of Heavy Metal’s map, paying tribute to the greats while also spinning the threads of the Metal fates to their own ends.

The vocals are equally as varied, taking in everything from shouts, slithering screams, cleans to air-raid siren howls.

The production is a little uneven in places – I could do with the guitars feeling a little fuller and larger, but it doesn’t spoil the songs, just doesn’t let them reach their full potential I feel.

This is very impressive, but I feel would benefit from being re-recorded and tightened up in a few places. Don’t let this put you off though as Stigmata have produced an album that wins more than it doesn’t.

A flawed masterpiece.

Rebel Wizard – Invocation of the Miserable Ones (Review)

Rebel Wizard is a one-man Black/Heavy Metal band from Australia and this is his latest release.

This is a combination of Black, Thrash and good old Heavy Metal. It’s a rollicking and boisterous listen that boasts a strong sound, a lot of catchiness and plenty of hooks. Think traditional Heavy Metal, only with a Black/Thrash influence.

The music is sleek, energetic and sharp. This is what you’d imagine Iron Maiden sounding like if they were brought up on a staple diet of Black Metal.

Screeched vocals scrape like nails down a blackboard as the music powers along at a frenetic pace. The high-energy leads never seem to stop as the music reaches greater and greater heights of Metal devotion. The riffs are infectious and the music sticks in the mind almost instantly.

These songs are well-written and damn enjoyable. Before you realise it you’re tapping your foot and getting carried away with the tunes.

This EP is only 18 minutes long, so I can’t think of a single reason why you shouldn’t check it out. Off you go.

Pokerface – Divide and Rule (Review)

This is the début album from Russian Thrash Metal band Pokerface.

Pokerface play Thrash Metal with a modern sheen that nonetheless takes its cues from the early, aggressive style of the genre. Think a modern take on older Kreator and Slayer via a bit of Dew Scented.

The singer has an impressive snarl that she uses to great effect. She varies her attack and includes higher and lower screams, as well as even the odd bit of spoken-word.

The musicianship is tight and first-rate without being flashy. There are solos aplenty and these are very enjoyable.

The production is strong enough to showcase the band at their best but not polished enough to give them that manufactured feeling. Pokerface are the real deal and Divide and Rule is 36 minutes of ferocious underground Thrash Metal.

The songs are sharp and fast, going straight for the jugular with lethal intent. Songwriting ability is clearly valued highly and there are lots of hooks and catchy moments across these 10 tracks. The songs are well-written and the performance is energetic. There’s a lot of content on this album and the band offer up a meaty feast to be hungrily devoured by Thrash fans everywhere.

It’s really nice to hear this kind of Thrash Metal. In an age where a lot of Thrash bands seem to be take the retro/comedy route, seem compelled to have some form of nonsense gimmick, or blend their Thrash with other styles, it’s great to hear a band like Pokerface who play no-nonsense aggressive music, backed up by talent, skill and confidence.

I could easily imagine this band being snapped up by one of the larger labels and given wider exposure. Let’s hope that happens, eh?

If you’re looking for a bit of satisfying Thrash Metal with good songs and a killer instinct, look no further.

Highly recommended.

Aterra – All Born in Pain (Review)

Aterra are from Poland and this is their début album. They play modern Metal.

This album is full of heavy guitars and enough beats to dance to. This is distinctly from the modern school of Metal that fuses Metalcore with elements of Thrash and even Nu-Metal.

This is quite a varied release, with plenty of different styles and flavours touched upon over the 37 minutes of music here. There are frequent small interludes between the main tracks and these take a wide variety of different forms, adding texture as the album unfolds.

How to describe the band…take a bit of Sepultura, (Chaos A.D./Roots-era, vocals and music), a pinch of Korn’s funkiness, some of the Metal stylings of Darkest Hour and Killswitch Engage, the added electronic parts of Rammstein…it’s quite a melting pot of influences that makes me quite nostalgic for this kind of music during the late 90s and early 00s in some ways.

This has the variety and pop-Metal foundation of Nu-Metal, hardened up by Metalcore’s grittier influence. And, unless you’re completely allergic to this kind of thing, it works well. This is helped greatly by the fact that the vocals, (for the most part), are mainly barked out at full volume throughout. Yes, there is the odd spoken-word and clean vocal, but for the most part they’re uncompromisingly un-radio friendly, which is always a bonus.

Very good. Loud, brash, unapologetic and shamelessly enjoyable. All Born in Pain works well.

Recommended.

Rectified Spirit – The Waste Land (Review)

This is the second album from Indian Metal band Rectified Spirit.

The band play Thrash Metal with a modern edge and both Progressive and Power Metal influences.

Clean vocals that are reminiscent of the singer of Nevermore are twinned with harsher screeching shouts that recall the singer of Soilwork if he had a less-deep voice. There are lots of very memorable melodies and the singer has considerable vocal talent.

Musically the band’s songs take a modern view on aggressive Thrash which they then add Progressive/Power Metal flourishes to. The resulting tracks are very enjoyable and have a lot to offer the discerning Metal fan.

The Waste Land is a well-written slab of Metal and owes equal debt to both the American and European Metal scenes, taking cues from both and combining them effectively into their own identity.

The band know their way around their instruments, but this is never at the expense of the songs themselves. There are boatloads of decent riffs that are arranged well; the band firmly concentrate on their songsmithing and the album greatly benefits from this focus.

This is a quality release with a lot of mileage in it.

Last Frontier – Theta Healing (Through the Poison) (Review)

This is the second album from Italian Heavy Metallers Last Frontier.

This is Atmospheric Heavy Metal with keyboards and a modern delivery that still pays homage to the classic style. There are elements of Power Metal here, although Heavy Metal is the main genre out of the two.

The songs are enjoyable Metal anthems that pass the 51 minutes quite pleasantly. They’re easily absorbed and digested and don’t cause bloating.

Ever-present keyboards accompany the tracks, but tend to enhance rather than annoy. The modern sheen of the riffs and the delivery in general is well-judged so that the band come across as polished, but not overly so.

The singer has a decent voice that effortlessly carries itself well. To my ears he comes across as a curious mix of the singers of Queensrÿche and Kamelot. With some good melodies it’s clear he can carry a tune well.

I enjoyed this. Give them a listen and see what you think.

Shotgun Justice – State of Desolation (Review)

Shotgun Justice are a German Heavy Metal band and this is their début album.

Shotgun Justice play a personable brand of Heavy Metal that incorporates elements of both Hard Rock and Thrash Metal into its upbeat delivery.

Despite a logo and album cover that might lead you to believe that the band play some form of contemporary Metal, this is music that’s resolutely Old-School and couldn’t care less. The songs reflect this, as does the low-key production.

Shotgun Justice have the feeling and attitude of the early-Metal era firmly nailed down, managing to reproduce the essence of the time quite faithfully. Although this can be slightly deceptive, as the Old-School swagger and production sometimes masks the more interesting and sophisticated elements of their sound, such as added female vocals and some nice moments of introspection, (such as The Scales of Justice), as well as some almost Progressive Metal influences, especially on the latter part of the album.

The male vocals have some presence and do their job nicely. On occasion these are joined by the aforementioned, and very impressive, female vocals, adding a different facet to the band; it’s a really nice touch.

If you’re in the mood for what is, (largely), a throwback to simpler times with some rocking good tunes then you could do a lot worse than this. Check them out and see if they hit the spot for you.