Letallis are from the US and play Progressive/Melodic Death Metal. This is their second album.
Originally a full band; for this release everything was performed by just one person, showing a large amount of talent in doing so.
Scandinavian Melodeath is the main point of comparison for Letallis, as well as a smidgen of Metalcore and a pinch of Modern Death Metal. Imagine a band like Lamb of God with a higher level of musicianship and Progressive Metal tendencies.
Vocals occasionally venture into the territory of screams but are largely deeper affairs that aren’t quite full growls, more like guttural shouts. Clean vocals do appear but these are a rarity.
The songs are very guitar-oriented, heavy on the leads, solos and melodics. Good riffs are frequent and the direct Melodeath-influence merges with Progressive Metal tendencies to create a long, ambitious album, totalling 68 minutes of music.
I have enjoyed this. It veers into the more commercial end of this style of music without going too far into that territory as some of the originators/followers of the Melodic Death Metal style have done. Resonate is further saved from this error by the incorporation of the Progressive Metal elements which give the songs more depth and longevity than they would otherwise have if they were absent.
For fans of Lamb of God, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, etc.
White Arms of Athena are from the US and play Technical/Progressive Metal. This is their second album.
The album starts with harmonies upon harmonies. From here, the band launch their brand of Metal and the album as a whole shows that White Arms of Athena are nothing if not interesting and varied.
This is technically-minded, expressive Progressive Metal that has a distinct personality all of its own and a will to deliver the goods. The band clearly know how to play but they also know how to write; these are songs first, and ones that are distinctly above-average at that.
There’s a lot going on here. The songs are complex and engaging with depth, creativity and longevity stamped into them.
If you take the less extreme/chaotic parts of The Dillinger Escape Plan/Between the Buried and Me and add a plethora of Progressive Metal and Post-Metal influences then you might start to have an idea of the treasure trove of delights that this album holds.
Plenty of ideas and interesting enhancements are included in these songs. Ambient/Drone sections, Psychedelia, heavy riffs, technical wizardry, atmospheric build-ups; White Arms of Athena use all of these tools and more to create impressive soundscapes filled with moving music.
The singer has a charismatic voice that’s somewhat stony in flavour and very emotive. The vocals are very assured and confident and do a great job of providing colour and nuance to music that’s already very coloured and nuanced in its own right. The term rich tapestry could have been coined for White Arms of Athena.
Shockingly good and dangerously individual, this is an album to threaten the average band’s mediocrity. White Arms of Athena have raised the bar with this album. You’d better pick this up immediately.
Vihaan are from the US and this is their début album. They play Progressive Metal.
Vihaan combine Progressive Rock, Metal and Jazzy technicality into 48 minutes of listening pleasure.
This is a band who aren’t afraid to embrace the Metal side of their sound, so as well as their expressive Progressive music and the exploratory Rock we also get heaviness and deep vocals.
As you would expect of a band like this, the music is first rate. Everything is clear and played well; even the bass is audible and makes a valuable contribution to the songs.
Vihaan have struck the perfect balance between complex technicality and accessibility. Think Opeth meets Between the Buried and Me.
These tracks are artfully composed and have enough variety and interest to engage for the full listening time. The fact that they have a firm Metal base means they never go wandering too far into experimental territories and the integrity of the song is always kept intact.
Added effects and sounds complement the base collection of instruments well. This gives each song an added flavour. Inflection has a part near the end, for example, that sounds really 70’s Prog sci-fi. It’s enough to make my hairs stand on end!
This is a very accomplished and enjoyable album. It’s full of rich textures and has a refined palette. A highly recommended listen.
Repulsor are from Poland and play Thrash Metal. This is their début EP.
This EP is a little over 21 minutes long and Repulsor make every second count. This is high speed, high aggression Thrash.
A good sound means that the band make the most of the time given to impress. This is Old-School Thrash Metal that would have been comfortably at home in the 80’s.
Megadeth are the most obvious reference point, although splashes of Testament and Exodus are also to be heard.
The band play the music well and the tracks are nicely written. The guitars are a particular high point and there are some tasty riffs thrown out, especially on R.M.D.H.
I still feel kind of saturated on Thrash Metal at the moment, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this; Repulsor have enough talent to be eminently listenable and Trapped in a Nightmare is anything but nightmarish.
Overall, I’d say good work. A nice sound, good solos and some catchy songs mean Repulsor are welcome to visit any time they like. Good band logo too.
All Seeing Eyes are a Power Metal band from the UK and this is their début album.
Well this is a whopper. 18 tracks, 1 hour and 48 minutes of music. So prepare yourself; get some snacks and disconnect all lines to the outside world. When you’re ready, press play…
First thing’s first – this is a band put together by the main chap from Neverworld, and if you enjoyed their spectacular début, (go get it now), then you’ll already have a good idea of the quality that you’ll find in All Seeing Eyes.
This is a very ambitious album, and one that could have fallen short of expectations if it wasn’t for the stunning musicianship on display and the advanced level of songwriting the band show.
This is a very strong collection of songs, something that’s a hard enough feat to attain if you’re doing a normal album, let alone what is essentially two in one go.
The flashy playing, complex guitarwork, swathes of keyboards, etc. only add sparkle and glamour to the tracks rather than deflecting form their quality in any way. This is clearly the work of musicians who are confident in their ability to deliver the goods.
For such a long playing time I’m very pleased to say that the band never sound stale, repetitive or samey. Everything they do fits within the Power/Heavy Metal framework, but within this framework there is a lot of variety and all of it is pulled off seemingly with ease. Oh I’m well aware that countless hours of preparation, writing, practice, rehearsals, etc. must have gone into the making of this album, but when you listen to the finished product…it just sounds effortless.
Some of the melodies on this album go beyond hooks and catchiness…captivating would be a very good word. I’ve said before that a good singer can make or break a band, and All Seeing Eyes have a great singer. This frees up the rest of the band to be able to play some mesmerising Power Metal with full knowledge that whatever they do the vocals have the strength to match up to it.
This is an album full of top guitarwork, be that solos, leads, acoustic parts or just plain solid rhythms; it’s all polished to a high degree but not so much that it doesn’t drip with emotion. A hard balance to strike but again, seemingly effortless in this instance.
The abundant and omnipresent keyboards could easily sound smothering in lesser hands; as it is though they simply complement, enhance and merge with the rest of the music to create a fluid whole.
If this sounds like an overly positive review, that’s because it is. Trinity Road is so far beyond what most bands are capable of it’s almost embarrassing. The feeling when you hear such a good Power Metal album like this…almost nothing can top it.
This is a stunning album and I absolutely love it. What more can I say?
Confident, emotive Power Metal never sounded so good.
Alkira are an Australian Thrash Metal band. This is their début album.
The album starts off unexpectedly, with a 2 minute instrumental that gently builds and sounds more in-line with a Progressive Metal band. The next song brings the Thrash so hard and heavy though it’s straight into the meat of things.
Taking their cues from the harsher side of Thrash, there’s no retro, humorous nonsense here; this is Thrash Metal to kill to.
If you’re a fan of Kreator, Slayer and Sepultura’s brand of Thrash, (and who isn’t?), then Alkira should scratch that itch for you.
Sharp riffs and jagged guitars infest the songs. Old-School Thrash Metal has rarely sounded so barbed. A meaty production rounds off the package.
The songs are well written and the longer nature of some of the tracks allows the band to fully explore their chosen style. Tasty solos, solid drumming and vocals that sound like lacerations make for an engaging listen.
There are 11 tracks, including a good Sepultura cover. All in all, 57 minutes of Metal. I can imagine this band being amazing live.
If you’re tired of bands taking the stupid route to this style of music and yearn for some good, old-fashioned, honest, killer-Thrash; look no further than Alkira.
This is the début album from German Heavy Metal band Involution.
This is galloping Heavy Metal with a good production and a singer who knows who to use his voice.
As I’ve opined about before, the singer can so easily make or break a band like this for me; a bad/sub-standard voice can easily let down what might otherwise be good music. No worries here though.
The singer of Involution has a clear, strong voice that fits well with the music. It’s largely more Heavy Metal than Power Metal, although the band do stray into Power Metal territory on occasion.
The songs are solid slabs of Metal with plenty of good riffs, leads, solos and energy. The band play like they really feel it and the overall songwriting is of a high standard. This is a band that seem to peel off hooks and catchy melodies with ease.
Involution seem to have an Old-School base for their brand of Metal but still manage to come off relatively fresh and exciting at the same time.
A focus on classic songwriting and song structures means that Involution have all of their bases covered; everything shines brightly on this album and Evolution of Thoughts is a bit of a stormer.
I love it when you find a really decent Heavy/Power Metal band like this. Involution have quality written through them in large, metallic letters.
Astrakhan are from Canada and play Progressive Metal. This is their latest EP.
This is powerful music with plenty of dynamics and personality.
Think Progressive Metal with a modern edge; kind of in the vein of what Mastodon do but without really sounding like them too much. Couple this with elements of bands as diverse as Alice in Chains, High on Fire and Metallica…
Hard Rock mixes with a Sludge feel and strong clean vocals dominate everything. Stoner simplicity and technical complexity merge together. They are at once cohesive and divisive; multiple influences congeal into a coherent whole and result in four very impressive songs.
The sheer force of charisma generated by the singer is draw-dropping. To further muddy the waters of genre-definition, he sometimes sounds like he could easily front an Avant-Garde band like Arcturus or Manes with ease.
The distortion feels alive and the riffs have a vitality to them. Each of the songs flexes its musical muscles and exudes feelings that are both epic and emotive.
Their music is textured and rich with riffs that propel the songs onward with real passion and vigour.
Top quality. If they can translate their obvious talent into a full length album they’ll be on to a real winner.
Primordial are from Ireland and this is their eighth album.
A new Primordial release is always a bit of an event to be greeted with great anticipation. They’re a band who have carved out their own niche in the world of Metal and can rightfully say they’ve achieved what they have through their own hard work and individuality.
The first thing that always comes to mind when thinking of Primordial is the talented and dramatic vocals of their singer. This is not to belittle the musical content in any way, but this has always been the focal point of the band for me.
On Where Greater Men Have Fallen he’s on top form as always; power and passion are the cornerstones of his delivery. His performance is first-rate and he still has a great turn of expression and a strong theatrical presence.
The music, as always, is bold and striking whilst simultaneously having nuance and depth. The driving riffs will be instantly familiar to Primordial fans and the colourful, emotive world the band exist in is welcoming from the get-go.
The songs cover upbeat charges and more atmospheric, considered parts. Primordial do both very well and both get equal consideration on the album.
Primordial’s Black Metal background has allowed the band to retain a certain edge to their songwriting, even though these days there’s only a few Black Metal traces left in their sound. For the most part this is roaring, passionate Heavy Metal through and through, but without a cliché in sight.
Nobody really sounds like Primordial, and Primoridal don’t really sound like anyone else. A lot of this is down to the singer, but musically this is true as well. When you hear them you just know who the band is.
This album is a jewel in the crown of Primordial’s considerable back catalogue. Their previous album, (Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand), was good but not quite up to the usual Primordial standard for some reason. With Where Greater Men Have Fallen they’ve corrected this slight dip in quality with an album that sits alongside the best of their work.
If you already know Primordial then you’ll need little convincing to get this album. If you’re new to the band then this is a perfect introduction.
Devil Sold His Soul are from the UK and this is their latest EP. They play Progressive/Post-Metal.
I’m a big fan of Devil Sold His Soul’s early work, but somehow I never kept up with them and this is my first exposure to them in a while. I was interested to hear this EP for this reason, especially as this is their first release with a new vocalist.
As always their music is impassioned, expansive and very heavy when it needs to be. Their songwriting has become even more developed than their older work, however.
It’s immediately apparent that their new vocalist fits the band like a glove. Scathing screams seem to spike painfully into your mind, but you like it anyway; soaring cleans rise gracefully from the emotive riffs whilst cascading leads swell up around them. Replacing a vocalist can be a very tricky thing to do successfully, but I’m immediately sold.
These tracks, (of which there are five), combine crushing guitars and soothing, sombre tones to create a collection of songs that pluck at the heartstrings as well as trying to pull them out.
The combined fiery melancholic nature of the guitars mix with vocals that veritably drip with emotion; these songs reveal a band that are at the height of their powers.
It’s like the power and passion of Year Of No Light, the dynamic energy of Deftones and the flawless delivery of Cult of Luna all rolled into one exciting package.
Letallis are from the US and play Progressive/Melodic Death Metal. This is their second album.
Wonderbox Metal 