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.
This is the début album from Greece’s Warcode, who are a Death Metal band with a Thrash influence.
This is well-recorded Death Metal with a good ear for catchy riffs and songs that probably go down a storm live.
Warcode have a nice Thrash Metal influence to their riffs which means that the songs have high energy levels and plenty of hooks.
Rather than generic riffs simply strung together, thought has gone into progression, pacing and the general dynamics of the tracks; this shines through repeatedly.
These songs feature some good playing and some really nice solos. It always comes back to the rhythm guitars though for me as there are some really choice riffs going on here. Pick pretty much any song and almost straight away you’ll encounter some quality riffing and catchy tunes.
The drums are solid and it’s always good to be able to hear some bass as well. The vocals are deep, dark and sound like the singer is gargling gravel. Nice.
Warcode have put together a good collection of tracks that should hopefully see them increasing their profile.
In the Company of Serpents are from the US and this is their latest EP. They play Doom/Sludge.
Just three tracks and over 21 minutes of heavy, heavy music; In the Company of Serpents play tar-black Doom with an emphasis on riffs and a crushing delivery.
The vocals sound anguished and tormented, like some damned soul released from Hell just long enough to tell everyone how bad it is. Rough and mournful.
The fuzzy guitars propel the tracks forward and the band know a good riff when they hear one. The colossal weight of the guitars drowns everything else out; the rest sound like a mere afterthought.
The songs sound like demented Black Sabbath tracks that have been left to fester and then, when they’re at their most ripe, covered in a layer of Sludge so thick that only the guitars are recognisable.
In the Company of Serpents are always an enjoyable band whenever I encounter them and this EP is no different. Like a car crash of Black Sabbath, High on Fire, Generation of Vipers and filthy Sludge Metal in general; they deliver the goods, although they may be a bit reeking and despoiled by the time they get to you.
Born Undead feature members from both the UK and France. They play Death Metal and this is their début EP.
Taking influences from bands like Autopsy, Born Undead play their particular brand of Death Metal with bloody abandon and gore-stained clothes.
The music is primitive and reeks of corpses, but the simplicity of their attack is no less lethal for it. This is ugly music for ugly people.
They have a non-standard sound which differentiates them a bit from so many other Death Metal bands. They’re riff-oriented but not in a flashy way and the deep growling vocals appear to have been dredged up from the remains of a huge daemon, at least that’s what it sounds like to me…
The first song Violator of Humanity has a good energy to it, with a mechanistic-marching quality to the main riff that unexpectedly erupts near the end into grand melodics. Nice.
Second track Revenge of the Necrovore starts faster and features riffs plucked from the bowels of Hell. Once again the band show that they have the ability to write guitar parts that are full of energy and feel like they’re going places rather than just filling time until the next riff comes along.
After this we have Splatter Fuck, which is the longest track at just over 4 minutes. This slows the pace again, mostly, and Born Undead get to show off their grasp of dynamics and pacing. A tasty main riff once again powers everything whilst the vocals chew and belch their way through the carnage. Some dark melodic guitar work also rears its ugly head here.
The EP closes with Undead Torment which rounds up everything in a suitably brutal fashion. It has a merry old time of it, chugging and thrashing around all over the shop, beheading with glee. Most enjoyable.
A very promising release from a very promising band.
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.
Disinterred are a Death Metal band from Belgium and this is their latest EP.
Ahhh I do love a bit of Swedish Death Metal. Yes they’re from Belgium but who cares? Your general tolerance levels for this much loved/maligned genre, (depending on your viewpoint), will dictate how you get on with Disinterred.
If you like Grave, Dismember, etc. then Disinterred should be right up your gravestone-lined alleyway.
The songs are short, heavy and full of quality Death Metal riffage. They have that classic chainsaw sound and all of the requisite parts are in place, including the sinister melodies.
The vocalist has a very nice voice indeed. Dark, deep growls are barked out with precision and hatred. Nice work that man!
At only 13 minutes in length there’s no messing around here; straight to the point Death Metal in the Old-School Swedish style.
Assumption are a Doom/Death Metal band from Italy. This is their début EP.
Assumption sound grim, dark and evil. Featuring members of the gruesome Haemophagus it should come as no surprise that The Three Appearances is full of mouldy and decomposing delights.
Cavernous, echoing Death Metal growls seem to be generated through an abyssal fog of misery and pain. Surely something like this can’t be good for you?
The music is murky and ancient, lumbering around like a forgotten, decaying god that’s slowly transformed over the millennia into some form of shambling horror.
Reminding of recent albums from the likes of Encoffination, Ævangelist and Sempiternal Dusk, this is the latest album to blend both Death and Doom into an absolute terror of an album that’s designed to loosen the bowels and scar the soul.
As rotten as what’s left in the sewer and as black as the void, Assumption do a great job of describing the essential futility of life; decay always sets in, entropy will get everything in the end and ultimately there’s very little point. So why bother? Why bother at all?
Well, paradoxically Assumption themselves have given us a reason to continue; their music. This is worth taking the time to listen to.
What a glorious, rancid, noxious find this has been. All hail Assumption!
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.
Sarpedon have just released their début album Anomic Nation, an album that takes Progressive Metal and drapes it in Extreme Metal influences with dramatic, powerful vocals. Definitely a band to watch out for. I wanted to find out a bit more about this impressive band…
Give us a bit of background to Sarpedon
Carl, Eirik, and myself started the band a few years back, to be honest I don’t remember exactly but I think it was in 2006. The line-up was a bit of a mess at times but we released two demos and were gigging quite frequently around Norway, and began eventually recording what would later be “Anomic Nation” around 2009-2010. However, due to several fuckups with former members, different priorities, other bands, day jobs etc., things stalled “a bit” (several years, to be honest) – but in 2013 we together with Børge Finstad finally managed to get the mixing done, and after the mastering from Peter in de Betou was finished it didn’t take too long before the deal with Inverse was in place.
What are your influences?
For songwriting – Savatage, Nevermore, Queen, Rainbow, Blind Guardian, Symphony X, Emperor. For guitar playing – Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Brian May, Nuno Bettencourt, Ritchie Blackmore, Criss Oliva, Eric Johnson, Andy Timmons, Jeff Loomis, Dimebag Darrell, André Olbrich (etc etc etc).
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
The new Blind Guardian album (and very much so) – other than that I’ve had a Swedish kick lately with Lefay and Tad Morose, Extreme due to Nuno being in Oslo for the Nobel Prize concert. It’s a shame he only did “More than Words” on that occasion, but I don’t think Malala would appreciate “He Man Woman Hater” or “Mutha (I don’t wanna go to school today).
What did you want to achieve with Anomic Nation?
Lifetime sponsorship for Burgundy red wine and maple syrup pancakes! No seriously, it’s actually a slight sense of relief to finally have the album out, due to former frustrations and the way too long time it took. The reception has been very good, and hopefully we’ll be able to continue in a more constructive manner this time around, have a bit of fun, do some gigs, and eventually make a new album.
Are you happy with how it turned out?
YES! 🙂 Haha, no but we are. The songs had been with us for so long so we had almost lost the ability to hear if the music was actually any good at all – but the response has been so good that it gave us back the belief in what we are doing. Even when we got the record deal and decided to release the album the plan was basically to release it, do a gig or two and then call it a day. But now we will make (at least) one more album, do as many gigs as possible and really have some fun with it all.
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
There are different subjects, but also some recurring themes. A few songs are about specific incidents – “Dead Birds”, for example, is about a horrific series of suicides in a certain area of Wales a few years ago. The number “17”, which is sung several times, is the number of young people that had committed suicide in Bridgend in Wales at the time of recording, the number has increased since. “Lusk Letter” deals with the Jack the Ripper mystery, which has always fascinated me – George Lusk was the man who received the infamous “From Hell” letter in October 1888. One recurring theme is the little man against the big society – “Anomic Nation”, “The Claustrophober”, “My Mysteries…” 1 and 2.
Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.
I do most of the music – although the only songs I’ve written entirely on my own and then presented to the band as complete pieces of music are “A Seed of Evil” and “My Mysteries Unwind Pt. 2”.The rest of the band are also heavily involved in the arrangements and also contribute both riffs and melodies for several of the songs, and of course Eirik comes up with most of the vocal stuff himself.
In my review I comment on the Black Metal influence on your sound. Can you expand on this?
There is definitely a black metal influence – Emperor is one of my favourite bands, and Carl and Andreas have basically only played in black and death metal bands until Sarpedon came about (and still do – Endezzma, Unspoken, and others). In a way Sarpedon is about incorporating all the different influences we have and musical styles we enjoy into one band, and it’s definitely refreshing for me as a guitar player and songwriter to be able to use riffs and harmonies which maybe belong more in other genres than in “traditional” prog/power metal.
How do you see your position in the wider Metal musical framework/genre?
It was Eirik who came up with the slogan “Declaring war on progressive metal as we know it”. And without trying to be overly arrogant or anything we try to create our own little twist on progressive metal – which is a genre which, inevitably, is not very progressive any more. We’re not the most technical band out there, but we try to put heavy riffs and drumming with both thrash and black metal influences, into a context with strong melodies which might hint at Broadway/West End influences, atmospheric synths and huge choirs.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
To quote one big hero of mine – “MORE IS MORE” 🙂 We will begin working on our next album next year, and I think we will use “Anomic Nation” as a starting point and then try to do a bit more of everything. The choirs will be (even) bigger, the riffs will be heavier, the melodies will be catchier, we will incorporate more dynamics –
What’s next for Sarpedon?
We have our release party in Oslo on February 14, celebrating Metal Express Radio’s 30th anniversary – then we’ll see what more gigs show up before we begin writing songs for the next album. It’s been a blast to finally hold a proper Sarpedon CD in our hands, and to hear that people actually enjoy what we have come up with. We’re really enjoying playing together, and hopefully there’s more fun to come in the upcoming months and years. And thanks to you Nigel for taking the time to do this interview and for the review you gave us – we sincerely appreciate it! 🙂
Vihaan are from the US and this is their début album. They play Progressive Metal.
Are you happy with how it turned out?
How do you see your position in the wider Metal musical framework/genre?
Wonderbox Metal 