Metal – Page 81 – Wonderbox Metal

Standing Ovation – Gravity Beats Nuclear (Review)

This is the second album from Finnish Progressive Metallers Standing Ovation.

At 62 minutes in length and featuring lofty concepts, this has Progressive Metal stamped all over it.

It’s a multifaceted release with plenty of variety of delivery throughout; everything from straight-ahead rockers to slower, more considered ballad-esque types to full-blown 18 minute Progressive workouts. It’s all wrapped up in the band’s own Metal framework, of course, but I like the fact that each song basically has its own character and personality.

There’s clearly a lot of talent and skill on this album; both the musicianship and songwriting are of a very high standard. With plenty of leads and solos, and not just by the guitars, this album has a lot to get your teeth into. This would be nothing without songs though, but thankfully there’s plenty of those.

The singer has a versatile voice that, like the music, is used in a great variety of ways throughout the album. He manages to sing in many different styles, including adding a theatrical or dramatic edge when needed.

The songs drip quite easily onto the palette, and despite the quality musicianship there’s little here to put off prospective listeners, (assuming they like the style in the first place). The mix of Melodic Metal and Progressive Metal is well-judged with the former supplying an immediate hit of catchiness and the latter allowing the band room to explore and add depth to the songs.

The album gives the impression of a vast melodic journey into far-flung worlds with these songs as the guides. It’s a very impressive and enjoyable release and I urge you to check it out.

Good songs, well played. Recommended.

Novallo – Novallo II (Review)

Novallo are a Progressive Metal band from the US. This is their second EP.

Well, there’s a lot going on here. At only 22 minutes long this features more creativity and ideas than most albums three times the length. This is Experimental Metal featuring elements of the Progressive style as well as Jazz, Funk, Djent and Electronica influences.

This EP is a like a bright, shiny beacon of exciting and interesting music. It’s like the proverbial breath of fresh air. Of course, it won’t be for everyone, (but then again what is?), but these groovy and imaginative tunes certainly can’t be accused of lacking ambition or flair.

The singer’s voice is smooth and slinky, fitting in with the ultra-modern delivery of the music with ease. He’s like a Rock version of Jamiroquai.

Try to imagine a Djent base mixed in with a Progressive edge, Electronica melodies and added Jazz/Funk. Periphery meets Incubus meets Jamiroquai? It’s not far off.

The music is like an unusual version of a Pop hit, only with added guitars. It’s quite rare these days to hear a band doing something so completely their own, but Novallo are doing this more than most others.

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to freak out to music that doesn’t care what you call it, but just wants you to feel the groove and move.

A hit, to be sure.

Veil of Deception – Tearing up the Roots (Review)

Veil of Deception are a Metal band from Austria. This is their second album.

This is Groove Metal with a Thrash edge, in the vein of Pantera, Sevendust, Breed 77 and mid-phase Anthrax, mixed with a bit of an Alternative Metal approach.

Heavy riffs and lighter leads form the bedrock of the band’s sound. Their approach is a little different to the average Groove Metal band though, eschewing the more Modern Metal approach and instead incorporating elements of Classic and Heavy Metal into their sound.

The singer is a great example of this – he has a cleaner, more Heavy Metal style than you’d probably expect from a band of this ilk. It adds an authentic edge to the music, as well as a good Rock sensibility on occasion.

Well, this is quite an unexpected turn of events. There I was, expecting Metalcore, (based on the cover, logo and band description), when what I actually got has more in common with 90s Alternative Metal than 00s Metalcore. It’s a welcome change of pace and the band are to be commended for not taking a more obvious route with their style.

This doesn’t mean there aren’t any issues with Tearing up the Roots; overall the songs are enjoyable slabs of Metal, but the songwriting could do with a bit of tightening up in places.

All in all, this is an enjoyable release though; one that makes me feel a bit nostalgic in places too. Not many bands play this kind of thing any more, as it’s too Classic Metal for the Modern Metal crowds and too groove-laden for the Classic Metal crowds. It’s an interesting release and it certainly gets better with repeated spins as the riffs, melodies and vocals work themselves into your brain.

Not bad at all. Check it out.

www.veilofdeception.com
www.facebook.com/veilofdeception

Mantric – Sin (Review)

Mantric are a Norwegian Progressive Metal band. This is their second album.

Mantric play modern Progressive Metal that favours a combination of atmospheric sections and more aggressive technical parts. Sometimes these parts are separated and sometimes they merge into one another.

The vocals consist of soft cleans and harsher screams. The cleans have a wistful, tender feeling to them while the screams are more Hardcore in nature. The cleaner vocals tend to, (unsurprisingly), correspond to the more atmospheric parts and the harsher ones to the more aggressive parts.

Mantric’s Metal hides a lot of complexity behind the atmospheric veneer that it cloaks itself in. I can imagine that it will be a bit hit-and-miss for a lot of people due to the rather unusual style they play, which combines a rather ethereal feeling of atmosphere with a more rugged technicality that is a strange combination in some ways.

I like its unconventional charms though, and Sin does have the feel of a special record due to this. It’s certainly not perfect and does have a few unpolished moments, but overall the odd feelings it creates remind me of a strange amalgam of Poison the Well, Enslaved and Drowningman.

Works for me. Check them out.

Aktaion – Throne (Review)

This is the début album by Swedish Metal band Aktaion.

This is sharp Melodic Metal that combines high-energy aggressive Melodic Death Metal with more restrained and emotive choruses. Elements of Thrash and Progressive Metal also raise their heads, (only to bang them all the harder). Continue reading “Aktaion – Throne (Review)”

Infinight – Apex Predator (Review)

This is the third album from German Power Metal band Infinight.

Having listened to it over and over and over again, it’s safe to say that I love Infinight’s previous EP The Vision. Such a good release and only a teaser really at 13 minutes in length. So when this latest album made its way to me, at a whopping 61 minutes long, I was a very happy bunny indeed.

Once again we get sophisticated, maturely-written and well-played Power Metal that just has something extra that a lot of bands of this style are missing. It’s a combination of a lot of factors; the guitars, the vocal melodies, the structure of the songs…Infinight have something intangibly special about them that just draws me in and keeps me captivated whenever they’re playing.

I think that it ultimatley probaby boils down to the fact that although all of the normal Power Metal ingredients are used, they’re just used so well and in such expert ways that the end result is the tastiest of treats. The songs are intelligently-arranged and the band seem to excel at doing things in such a way that their sound is instantly recognisable as Power Metal, but with enough individuality and style to stick out.

Songs, songs, songs. It’s all about the songs for Power Metal and there’s no lack of these on this release. Catchiness and hooks abound, powered by a band that understand dynamics, pacing and song-structure.

I can’t help but fawn and gush over this, really. I love Power Metal when it’s done this well and is infused with such quality. It’s not over-the-top and ostentatious, but nor is it timid or lacking in confidence. Apex Predator strikes the perfect balance between the flashy European style and the more modern American one. Add to that a singer who really knows what he’s doing and this is a top rate album.

My advice? Listen to this, and then listen to it again. And again. And again. And again…

Devil You Know – They Bleed Red (Review)

This is the second album from US Modern Metal band Devil You Know.

Featuring ex-members of such high-profile bands as Killswitch Engage, Divine Heresy, All Shall Perish and Bleeding Through, you know there’s a wealth of experience and talent behind this album before you even press play.

When you do press play, I like that there’s no messing around with pointless intros or anything like that; it’s straight into the double-bass led action, with plenty of heaviness and groove.

The singer is on fine form. Whether he was shouting at the top of his voice in Killswitch Engage or Blood Has Been Shed, he has always had a top-rate set of lungs. The majority of his work on They Bleed Red is angry and harsh shouting, although other variations are also used, as well as his clean singing voice.

The music is heavy and full of rhythmic Metal that also takes influences from both Metalcore’s beatdowns and the more extreme, faster side of Modern Metal. Although it’s all thoroughly modern and new-sounding, they still find the time to add in some more Classic Metal influences, including the odd guitar solo.

The production, as should be expected from a band like this, is huge and crushing. Bands like this need a strong sound as otherwise the power of some the riffs can easily be distilled. No such worry here, of course, and you can feel every guitar riff and drum beat.

They Bleed Red is a good combination of the more commercial side of Metal mixed with a heavier, more extreme sensibility. It’s too heavy and shouty to be as popular as a band like Killswitch Engage, but it’s got a commercial edge and songwriting-calibre that will see it snapped up by those who like some catchy songs with their heaviness.

Give it a listen and see what you think.

Ram – Svbversvm (Review)

Ram are a Swedish Heavy Metal band and this is their fourth album.

This is Classic/Traditional Heavy Metal with a solid sound and songs aplenty.

The style of the music and the singer’s commanding voice takes me back to the days when I was first discovering Heavy Metal. This is straight-ahead Metal with enough influences from the likes of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden to keep any Metal fan happy, although it should be stated that Ram have enough personality of their own to avoid Svbversvm coming across as pure hero-worship.

The songs are catchy and do have hooks, but it’s not quite as obvious an affair as you might imagine. Although these elements are here, Ram seem to take more pride in creating songs that work holistically and create a good Metal atmosphere, rather than concentrating on the specifics of individual song parts. This is not to say they don’t have decent riffs and choruses, (they do), but it’s the song as a whole that’s important rather than just parts of it. For me, this approach works and increases the longevity and depth of the songs.

Having said all that though, songs like Holy Death are just pure wonderous aural-sugar and catchy as fuck, so there you go.

The singer’s style and his performance is resolutely Old-School, with his projected attitude and confidence being almost as important as his vocal skills. He knows how to sing that’s for sure, but like the music the emphasis is on feeling and delivery, rather than shiny harmonies and sing-along choruses; after all, this is resolutely Heavy Metal, not Power Metal.

Thankfully they have chosen to present all of this in a solid production that doesn’t over-emphasise the Old-School nature of their style. It’s a thoroughly modern recording that has enough grit and dust to ensure they don’t come across as too polished, while still giving the songs the respect and power they deserve. It’s well-judged, as too much one way or the other would have been to the album’s detriment, I feel.

I like this kind of Heavy Metal; yes there’s a nostalgia factor to it, but ultimately this is a contemporary Metal band existing in 2015 and producing quality music for fans of the classic style. The fact that they do it very well is a bonus.

At 50 minutes in length, this album is a very enjoyable listen and Ram are a most welcome addition to my music collection.

Hail!

Dissident – Unleash the Violence… In Thrash We Trust (Review)

Dissident are a Thrash Metal band from Chile. This is their début album.

This is riff-heavy Thrash Metal modelled on the Old-School style and dripping with the essence of the Bay Area scene from back in the day.

In many ways these songs are all about the guitars and what they get up to – not in some form of ultra-impressive technical insanity, but rather it’s all about the riffs and the feelings the evoke. I mean, how can you not want to just bang your head and fists when listening to this?

And they sound good too, production-wise; here we have a band that have a good recording from the off – everything balanced and nicely ripping. Solos and leads are bountiful, seemingly shredded out with ease. We mustn’t neglect the drums though – these are solid and do exactly what’s required of them.

After the love that the guitars and riffs get in all of the songwriting, it’s almost as if the vocals have been included merely for completion’s sake. They’re performed adequately in a style reminiscent of old, old Anthrax, and I think once the singer develops a little more force and charisma then they’ll really come into their own.

This album rips along nicely for 46 minutes and reminds the listener that some bands are still capable of Hellishly good Thrash riffs.

Check them out and see what you think.

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/dissidentchile

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dissident.chile

Christian Mistress – To Your Death (Review)

Christian Mistress are a Heavy Metal band from the US. This is their third album.

Taking influence from Traditional Heavy Metal and 80s NWOBHM, Christian Mistress play easy-listening, Hard-Rocking Classic Metal.

The singer has a smooth, charismatic voice that slips effortlessly out of the earthy music. Her voice carries feeling and depth without lacking in force and power where necessary.

In some ways this album really is like stepping back in time. Quite simply, they don’t make this kind of music any more. Or more precisely, they do, but only rarely as it’s just so hard to pull off in any form of meaningful, authentic way. The fact that Christian Mistress manage to do this well and have good songs at the same time is somewhat of a miracle in this day and age.

The warm, analogue sound, the duelling harmonies, the vibrant, galloping bass, the satisfying-yet-slightly-understated drums, liquid solos…it all speaks volumes for this kind of music, one that sounds both dated and timeless at the same time.

This is a strong collection of eight honest songs that just want to Rock out and unleash the primal Metal soul in the listener. Well, it works, and I’m certainly feeling the need to bang my head and raise my fists.

Recommended.