Heavy Metal – Page 27 – Wonderbox Metal

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.

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.

Blackhour – Sins Remain (Review)

Blackhour are a Heavy Metal band from Pakistan and this is their second album.

This is an album that embraces what True Heavy Metal is all about; attitude, passion, songcraft and pure, molten delivery.

The singer has a very good voice that carries weight and authority with it, as well as being able to bang out decent harmonies and memorable melodies.

The music is Classic Heavy Metal, frequently stretched out to epic proportions across these 5 songs. The classic Metal flavour is added to by some more modern influences too; for example, if you take a band like Iron Maiden as a good starting point for comparison, Blackhour take influence from a wide swathe of Iron Maiden’s work, both old and new. This isn’t the only band they can be compared to though, as they’re certainly not Iron Maiden rip-offs. There’s more going on here than just that.

These are well-written songs that are played by people who know their way around their instruments intimately. Importantly though it’s the songs that matter and the band have a good grasp of what makes a decent Heavy Metal tune. The involving riffs and dynamic pacing of the songs work with the singer’s impressive vocals to create songs that stick in the mind long after the last chord has faded.

And there’s solos. Lots of them.

Quality stuff, and very enjoyable. Check this out and show your support.

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.

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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!

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.

Crimson Sun – Towards the Light (Review)

Crimson Sun are a Finnish Heavy Metal band and this is their début album.

This is Modern Melodic Metal with a nice heavy sound and added keyboards. An Electronica influence is included to add flavour to the sound, as well as a few Djent-isms here and there.

The songs are catchy and full of hooks and memorable melodies. A band like this is all about the songs and Crimson Sun have some good ones here. Psuedo-Classical and Electronica-tinged keyboards add another layer to the songs and there’s a lot of meat here to get your teeth into. There’s even the odd guitar solo, which I always appreciate.

In addition to these elements though the band also need a good singer to pull everything off. Thankfully they seem to have found one; her voice is a nice combination of the powerful and the melodic, adding a formidable presence to the songs.

I like that there’s actually a bit of bite and substance to the guitars, as frequently in these kind of bands they tend to play second fiddle to the vocals so much that they almost become afterthoughts. In this way, Crimson Sun remind me of Jaded Star; both bands have a decent guitar presence and both sound like real bands and not some commercially fabricated female-fronted hit machine, or something.

Having said that though, it’s not as if any number of these songs couldn’t be a hit. With the right exposure, the right video, etc.; Crimson Sun clearly have what it takes to succeed.

Melodic Metal played well, written well and performed well. Unless you’re allergic to the style then there’s nothing to not like. Towards the Light is a strong album full of strong songs.

Tentation – Tentation (Review)

This is the début EP from French Heavy Metal band Tentation.

This is Classic Heavy Metal played in a 1980s style. Early Iron Maiden is an obvious reference point, and it’s good to hear that there are still bands playing this style.

The singer has a good voice and has no trouble with the material. The lyrics are sung in French, which adds a different aspect to their sound than is the norm.

The songs are well-written and feature plenty of melodies and memorable parts. This is an upbeat, energetic band that are obviously playing this music for the love of it, and this comes across in the songs.

The guitars have a certain relentless quality to them. Not in the way that the word “relentless” is usually applied to Extreme Metal, but in the sense that they constantly seem to be moving at, or close to, a gallop and pushing the music forward all of the time; no rest is allowed in Tentation’s world, only more headbanging!

As début EPs go, this is pretty solid. Six songs, (one of which is a cover of a band called H-Bomb), in 24 minutes. A decent recording, including a nice, punchy, analogue drum sound, means that the band get the chance to shine and the EP is an enjoyable throwback to an earlier, simpler time in Metal.

Try them out.