Unisonic are from Germany and this is their second album. They play Power Metal.
Confident and mature Power Metal floods the speakers when you play this album. It’s the product of absolute veterans who know their genre and know their roles. Even more importantly, however, they also know how to write good songs.
This is the kind of Power Metal that’s distinctly European in flavour and is powered by upbeat drums and high vocals provided by Michael Kiske of Helloween/etc. fame, no less. Also featuring other past members of bands such as Helloween, Gamma Ray, Pink Cream 69 and Krokus; you can see the calibre of the people involved in this project.
The vocals, as would be expected, are typically professional and flawlessly delivered. The choruses soar. The musicianship, also as would be expected, is tight and proficient. The sound is professional and slick, and nothing is left to chance.
For the most part the songs are in the 5 minute mark, with each track feeling like an epic-in-miniature. These are rocking, catchy tunes with highly memorable sections and hooks aplenty. In their competent hands, even the dreaded “power ballads”, (Blood, You and I), are handled well.
This is an album of greater depth than some might credit it with; on first listen it’s obviously highly accomplished and very good, but the more you listen the more the melodies seep into your consciousness and the more you want to listen to it. It’s downright addictive! The vocals in particular are deceptive. Michael Kiske is known for his exceptional voice of course, and Light of Dawn is no different, but the impressive thing is that there’s no showboating or ostentation with his voice; his talent is born from simply being a great singer and having a voice that flows smoothly like the finest wine.
Light of Dawn is an exemplar of the European Power Metal style. There are no surprises here but if you’re a fan of European Power Metal then there’s a wealth of treasure contained in this album.
Johnny Touch have recently unleashed their stunning début album to the world. Inner City Wolves is the kind of throwback to a bygone era in Metal that has no business being as good as it is. It has the timeless appeal of pure, original Metal, however; that and the fact that it’s just a great collection of songs mean that this is an album that everyone should be getting their grubby mitts on. Determined to find out a bit more about this seeming anachronism, I grilled Denimal about the wonder that is Johnny Touch…
For those of you unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
There’s 4 heavy metal maniacs in JT; Ramrod Hodgson on vocals, Jamie Whyte on guitars, Inphiltrator on bass guitar and Denimal (me) on drums/cowbells.
Give us a bit of history to Johnny Touch…
I started JT sometime during 2009, effectively a mere project at that point. I had collated enough material of the heavy rock/metal ilk since the late 90’s, to warrant some form of project at the very least. Along with a couple of session members, I recorded a demo called ‘Fight For It’, which was released on pro-cassette by Abysmal Sounds Productions.
It was soon thereafter that the primary band members wove their wicked ways towards JT! From that point on we became a focussed and deadly laser beam, having wrought 2 more split 7 inch records released and more recently the début album.
Where did the name of the band come from?
I think I construed this name on a whim, it kind of stuck! It is inspired by 80’s street gangs, the leader of such bearing the name, Johnny Touch.
What are your influences?
Rock, metal, martial arts, classic action films, big haired ladies.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
Rainbow – ‘Long Live Rock n’ Roll’ Realmbuilder – ‘Blue Flame Cavalry’ Pariah – ‘Blaze Of Obscurity’
That’s what I’ve been listening to this week, and heck, I’d recommend them all!
So, a bunch of Australians manage to faithfully recreate the glory days of the NWOBHM in style and with quality. How did that happen?
Hahahaaaa jesus man! They were the ‘glory days’ for a reason. We aspire and work hard! Simple. Whether that be in relation to our skill level, performances or song writing.
In my review I also state that if this album had actually been released back in said NWOBHM glory days, you’d probably be very big indeed and famous to most Metal fans. Discuss.
Maybe, it’s hard to know, but I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless mate. It seems to me, the biggest ‘metal’ bands worldwide are still the traditional heavy metal bands. The music appeals to a broader range of music lovers due to it’s quality, catchiness, conviction, and less extreme nature. Though I remember hearing Twisted Sister’s track ‘I Wanna Rock’ when I was a kid, and seriously believed that to be the heaviest song in existence! There’s a more extreme perspective nowadays, but that song is still really fucking powerful, no doubt. If you doubt, watch them play it live!
Unfortunately many of the great metal bands are disbanded so there may be necessary voids to fill in the near future!
What did you want to achieve with Inner City Wolves?
We wrote and recorded what we would want to hear from a new heavy metal band. There’s no good reason why traditional heavy metal should be dead. So we took our own high expectations and forged something that vintage metal and rock fans would froth at the mouth for. Interestingly we also have a large cross section of extreme metal fans into JT. Especially when we play live, is the power of classic heavy metal most apparent.
And that album cover! Tell us about that…
A fantastic artist called Andrei Bouzikow painted that up for us. It’s a vista of earth in post nuclear/war ruin. Fallout having altered the local flora and fauna, huge wolves are abound. The scantily clad warrior-ess has claimed this one from a pup, riding down men for mating and food.
Are you happy with how the album turned out?
Pleased enough. It’s a snapshot of that time I doubt we could really improve on without destroying the feel of it. Everyone whom we have spun it too has thought it was an album from the late 80’s…mission accomplished.
Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.
Jamie and I write about 50/50. So either he or I will demo the tune, give it to every member to get acquainted with, then we work on that sucker until everyone has made it their bitch! I think songs should age a little bit too. Nothing like Father Time to weigh in on the formation and depth of a song.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
In all ways one could respectfully imagine. We’ll produce speed metal songs, some 60’s/70’s sounding rock ballads, some overtly technical tunes. It really comes down to what the album needs to keep it interesting from start to finish.
What’s next for Johnny Touch?
JT had a quiet year in 2013 due to Inphiltrator being in hospital, so there were no live shows we could play. With the album fresh out we are now playing select live shows nationally and booked some shows outside of Australia. Hopefully ‘Inner City Wolves’ will earn us some invites to any of the myriad traditional metal festivals the world over. New material is currently being put together, we have a title and album cover concepts for this album, but who knows when we’ll be ready to record. Why rush?
The Order of the Solar Temple are from Canada and play Heavy Metal/Rock.
This is Old-School with elements of Classic Rock, Doom Metal and Psychedelic Rock.
The band have a very warm, laid back sound that instantly makes you feel at ease like a welcome old friend.
The singer has an excellent voice; he’s soft and exquisite, or ultra-high and maniacal, or deep and melodramatic…He has character and personality that’s for sure and puts in a stellar performance.
Coming across as a mix of Blue Öyster Cult, (who they also cover), Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Merciful Fate, this is an enjoyable way to spend 45 minutes when you’re in that retro mood.
There really is some great material here! The singer has a forceful presence and some of these riffs are just epic in scope and feeling.
I thoroughly recommend you listen to this and experience the band first-hand. May you be drawn into their world…
Favourite Track: Aeon of Horus. Everything from the vocal delivery to the tense guitars to the understated bass…a stunner of a song.
This is the début album from Australian Heavy Metal band Johnny Touch.
Just look at the album cover. I mean really – just sit and look at it. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Well, the music had better be something pretty damn good to match up to that cover I tell you.
So what do we have here then? Heavy Metal that sounds straight from the 1980’s? Yes. This has a good streak of NWOBHM about it and when you think about it it’s kind of odd that a bunch of Australians in 2014 can so faithfully recreate this kind of music from this era.
But recreate it they do, and faithfully, and well.
The band all play their parts perfectly and the solos/leads are particularly enjoyable. The vocalist has a very good voice that probably would have seen him become a superstar decades ago. In fact if this album was actually released in the era it hero-worships then it’s likely Johnny Touch would be a famous name to all Metal fans the world over. Unfortunately however it’s now 2014 and the market for this style of Metal is much, much smaller. Which is a crying shame as this album kicks serious behind.
By today’s standards this is relatively relaxed and not very extreme, but that’s missing the point. This is Heavy Metal to the blisteringly molten core and I doubt there’s a Metal collection anywhere that wouldn’t be improved by including this in it.
This isn’t a perfect album by any means, but it’s a bloody good one. It has an honesty and passion about it that’s just plain infectious, and that’s before you consider the catchy riffs, memorable choruses and top tunes contained within.
If you’re allergic to anything older than a couple of decades then this is not for you. However, if you appreciate the style of Metal that helped start it all off then you should definitely check out Johnny Touch.
This is the début EP from Polish Blackened Death Metallers Morthus.
This is a 3 track EP that contains such wonders in its short playing time!
It starts with the track Torment; suitably titled, it seems to be the usual kind of perfunctory intro until it redeems itself with some actual music about halfway through. This segues into the second track Beast from the Abyss and it’s clear that although this is their first non-demo release, it’s impressively professional and has a great sound.
The band play with a Death Metal core while adding some melodic Black Metal influences to the riffs and the occasional scream that enhances the main growling vocals. Merging the two genres of Black and Death can sometimes create mixed results, but they have distilled their influences into the right measures it seems.
The guitars take the Death Metal base and throw in some tricks from both Black and Classic Heavy Metal, including some duelling guitars and some excellent leads/solos.
Stylistically they remind of Hypocrisy in the sense that they combine these three elements quite naturally and seamlessly, although it should be stressed that they don’t actually sound too much like Hypocrisy except in a very superficial way.
The third song is named In the White Wolf’s Kingdom and is another master-crafted combination of the various Metal styles. It slowly unfolds with a Blackly melodic Metal riff into a mid-paced jog before introducing faster elements. They also add additional choral elements to their repertoire and these work very well. It’s another win for Morthus who suitably demonstrate their talents on this all-too-short EP.
Morthus are a perfect example of why the Extreme Metal underground deserves so much support – there are hidden gems tucked away everywhere in plain sight, all you have to do is go looking for them and you will be rewarded.
This is an absolute top-notch release and I cannot wait until they release a full album. If it’s even half as good as this it will be better than most.
This is the second EP from Portugal’s Hard Tension.
The band play Heavy/Power Metal with plenty of steel and melodic edge.
The guitars are a mixture of Rock-y riffs, Iron Maiden-esque licks and lots of well-played solos.
The band court an almost spaced out aura on occasion with the keyboards and synthesizers, and use these in both prominent and subtle ways depending on what they believe the song needs.
The singer has a good voice. Not as clean as a pure Power Metal vocalist; he has a rougher edge to his voice that lends his voice an authority that it might otherwise lack.
Overall the songs are a good collection of rocking Metal tunes with added effects and keyboards that play to the bands strengths of simple songs and good beats, all backed up with some old-fashioned fretboard wizardry.
Although the band could do with polishing up their sound in a couple of places this is not a band release at all. The more I listen to it the more I enjoy it. Hopefully their début album will be even better.
Check them out.
Favourite Track: Heading for the Light. Reminiscent of a mix between early Queensrÿche and Iron Maiden; it’s got a strong chorus and is just a great tune.
SuddenFlames are from Canada and play Power Metal. This is their second album.
Opening with an instantly catchy riff, I have high hopes for this release from the outset. My fear, as is always the case with this kind of band, is that they’ll ruin things by having a sub-standard singer. I’m pleased to report that this is not the case and SuddenFlames have a very, very good singer who has charisma and capability. Top stuff.
Bands like this live or die by the quality of the songs – judging by this standard SuddenFlames should have a very long life indeed.
The tracks are catchy, Metal and written to a high standard. Predominately of the Euro-Metal Power Metal style, they also have elements of Thrash, Heavy and even a bit of Progressive Metal incorporated into their sound. They don’t do things by halves; this album is the full Metal package.
Emotive and stirring, heroic and edgy; the band dip into all manner of feelings in their songs and the overall experience is of a fine collection of tracks that put to shame many of the more established names in the genre at the moment.
Double-bass leads the charge and melodic guitars duel and Thrash their way around the playing time. There are so many vocal hooks that you can do yourself an injury and the solos are free-flowing and played with fervour.
This reminds me of the kind of quality Power Metal that Angel Dust did so well, and I also hear a bit of Gamma Ray in there as well.
A sharp production and punchy sound seals the deal; this is one band who I’ll be enjoying for some time.
Canada seems to be unleashing a whole clump of talented Power/Progressive Metal bands on the world at the moment, and I love that they are as each one I hear is a pure joy. SuddenFlames are no exception.
Corrosion of Conformity are from the US and this, as the title suggests, is their 9th album and it’s chock full of tasty Southern Metal.
For many though this band need no introduction. This is Southern Metal that combines elements of Heavy Metal, Doom Metal and Punk Rock into the 42 minutes playing time.
The songs exude confidence and walk with a cocky swagger. In some ways you could call this “feelgood Metal”. This is good-time Rock-and-Roll that’s the Metal equivalent of easy listening. Almost.
The album has an organic, earthy feel to it with the sound matching.
There’s a very relaxed vibe to most of these songs, with the band sounding loose, almost like it’s a rehearsal. They sound very much at ease with the material and even the more up tempo songs don’t seem hurried in any way.
The vocals are lazily melodic and have an ease of delivery where it feels like his voice just falls out of the speakers.
Ultimately Corrosion of Conformity have a lot of charisma and the songs are easy to like. IX is a good listen.
Insense are from Norway and play a highly developed form of Modern Metal. They combine elements of multiple genres of heavy music, from Djent to Thrash to Sludge to Progressive Metal and others in between.
Well this is very nice indeed. Heavy, emotive and not afraid of striding boldly into territories avoided by a lot of bands.
The vocals are agonised cries, soft crooning, semi-cleans, powerful melodics, gruff shouting…essentially whatever the song needs; it’s a very personal and distinctive performance that immediately makes apparent the man’s talent. The moment his vocals make an entrance on the first track Part I- Conception I’m hooked straight away. This keeps up for the rest of the album and his vocals bleed charisma and character.
The music doesn’t slack behind either; none of the songs are especially long but every one of them seems committed to ringing out every last drop of emotion and feeling from the guitars. The tracks are all tightly focused balls of energy and in the hands of this clearly talented band there’s no need for longer songs – there’s absolutely no filler here.
Reference points? Wide ranging really; I can hear bits of In Flames, Fear Factory, Devin Townsend, Meshuggah, Mnemic, Slipknot, Darkane, Nevermore…I could go on, but you get the idea; polished, diverse and heavy whilst retaining melodics and soul. A smattering of modern European Power Metal; a bit of Djent in the riffs; wildly energised heavy riffing; stirring and memorable vocals…so much about this recording can be praised.
The sound is suitably huge and massive with everything coming through crystal clear and every sludgy riff sounding crushing and effective.
Quite frankly this album is an absolute revelation. If you were to cut it open it would have the words QUALITY stamped all the way through it in big letters.
Hard Charger are from Canada and play Crossover/Thrash Metal.
Thrash Metal raped by Punk. Or the other way around? Who cares; either way this is raw, underground and Metal.
The songs are short and full of confidence and have an Old-School Hardcore feel to them whilst also having sufficient metal licks to keep the mosh-crowd happy.
This reminds me of a more Hardcore-influenced Brujeria more than anything else actually. There’s something about the vocals; the fact I keep thinking the singer’s going to start shouting La Ley de Plomo at any given point.
Regardless, this is a decent listen and unlike a lot of bands who play this genre it’s slanted more to the Hardcore side than the Thrash side, which, as much as I love Thrash, works in the band’s favour.
Some of the tracks have a more rock and roll feeling to them as well, adding a cocksure swagger to the proceedings which shows that the band know how to have a good time. The solos are a welcome addition also.
A band to watch out for. A couple of refinements here and there, as well as upgrading to a fuller, bigger sound and their next release will be a monster.
Unisonic are from Germany and this is their second album. They play Power Metal.
Wonderbox Metal 