Metal – Page 99 – Wonderbox Metal

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.

Lalu – Atomic Ark (Review)

This is French Progressive Metal group Lalu with their second album Atomic Ark. Helmed by just one man, the album boasts a plethora of well known names from the Progressive/Power Metal genres as both band members and guests.

Big sound, big songs. It’s like Threshold and Kamelot have collaborated together with the express purpose of making an album to please just me.

It’s also heavier than you might expect. The drums are solid and the guitars are thick. When they’re not being used for lightning molten-Metal solos of course.

A huge amount of talented people are involved in this album, and it would be a disappointment, (to say the least), if it was all for nothing. I’m pleased to say that all the hard work, years of development and obvious enthusiasm and ability of the contributing musicians has paid off handsomely and this is as fine a slab of Progressive/Power Metal as you’re likely to hear.

With the exception of the final track, (the hugely epic 19 minute extravagance that is Revelations), the songs are all relatively short. The vast majority barely worry at the 4 minute mark, but not a single second is wasted. Efficient and concise; the songs are instant hits yet retain enough meat to the bones to satiate for some time.

The vocals are highly accomplished, as you would expect, and the melodies and harmonies of the songs are very pleasing.

The keyboard-work on this album merits special mention and is more than just an atmospheric addition; certainly they fulfil this purpose admirably but they are also integral to the songs themselves.

One interesting thing about this release is that for all of the calibre of the musicians who contributed to it, the technicality is never too overt or flashy. It’s there of course, just beneath the surface, enhancing the songs and playing its role. Rather than attempting to play centre stage and steal all of the limelight; the playing never attempts to upstage the actual songs.

Achieving the rarest thing of being both catchy and full of depth, this is an exemplary example of just how brilliant and life-affirming Progressive Metal can be when done right.

Mahogany Head Grenade – Return to the Point of Departure (Review)

Progressive Metal from the US; Mahogany Head Grenade offer us 31 minutes of virtuoso Instrumental Metal.

This is a very guitar-driven release played by people who obviously know how to play; and play they do.

The guitar sound is crisp and precise, which goes for the rest of the instruments also. The songs mainly hover about the 6-7 minute mark and are well thought-out compositions. There are some good flourishes in the songs and interesting parts aplenty.

The melodies used are easy to listen to and the band, (a trio), gel together nicely so that everything seems to be moving as one, even when there is a lot going on.

There are a multitude of samples used on the tracks, which in some way are used in place of a vocalist. They do the job well enough and fit the style of the music.

The songs hold attention and are full of enjoyable Progressive Metal that is written well enough to not need a singer to be the anchor point. Here’s to more of this in the future.

Agrimonia – Rites of Separation (Review)

Agrimonia play a magnificent and fairly unique mix of Sludge, Post-Metal and Crust all crushed up in a darkened Metal palette ready for the artist to use in the creation of something astounding.

The band are adept at channelling this proverbial artist and therefore know how to expertly build up a song into a complete soundscape full of sights and wonders. At the end of the album each of the sprawling tracks has left an impression like a different country visited. Experience and sense are everything in Agrimonia’s world of visceral sound.

This is intelligent Metal crafted with a loving hand and filled with emotive passages and feeling aplenty. Many of the riffs are alive with pulsating energy and the album almost has its own heartbeat.

The singer has a blood-curdling voice and her vocals add a level of harshness and intensity to the blackened beauty of the music. She puts in a performance to be commended and is the icing on the musical cake.

Rites of Separation is ambitious and bold, and succeeds in creating a masterpiece of shading and involvement. This is an album that everyone should have.