Lykaion - Heavy Lullabies (CD Review)

01.Heavy Lullaby
02.For Love
03.Anthem
04.I Don't Love you Anymore
05.Waitin'
06.Smile
07.End Of Time
08.Out Of My Heart
09.Animals
10.Accept Yourself
11.Till The End


Alessandro Sforza (Vocals/Guitar)
Fabio Valentini (Guitar)
Valerio Lippera (Bass)
Andrea Alberati (Drums)

Lykaion are an Italian Dark metal band formed back in 2000.Their style links to the interrupted project of '90s gothic metal bands, re-reading it in a unique way, including influences from new hard rock/sleaze Swedish sounds and the romantic/decadent vision of bands like Him, To Die For and Katatonia. "Heavy Lullabies" is the band's second album, and it represents a firm step forward compared to the debut album "Nothin' But Death".

I find it strange that the opening title track should be nothing more than a glorified 4 minute instrumental intro, and it is an intro as it goes right into track 2 'For Love' which is a way better way to start the album, but you cannot get away from the HIM influence here, it has the melody in both music and vocal delivery and then the heavier chorus, what lets this down is that awful shouting vocal that keeps appearing like one of those shitty post emo/hardcore bands.

'Anthem' is not "anthemic", but it is a way more agressive song than i was expecting, solid riffs over some powerful drumming and some sing-a-long melodys.

The ballad makes an unpleasent appearence next with 'I Dont Love You Anymore', shame really because the guitar solo is awesome.

The bass/drum patterns are very "Nu-Metal" in 'Waitin' and then adds some very quiet and melodic passsages which build quite well.

'Smile' is a slow and quiet song that has some great keyboards that just save this one.

The pace picks up with 'End Of Time' which returns to HIM territory, as does the next one 'Out Of My Heart'.

'Animals' is almost another ballad, but some good pedal work on the drums and excellent guitar solo lift this one just enough.

Unfortunatley 'Accept Yourself' is shouty metalcore crap for emo's.

'Till The End' seems to not be much better, again just conforms to music for scene kids.

Rating 6/10
For Fans Of: Emil Bulls, HIM, AFI, As I Lay Dying, Bring Me The Horizon

Various Artists - Let's Start A War Vol 1 (Cassette Review)

01.Bewitcher- Speed ‘Til You Bleed
02.Infernal Execrator- Daemonicult Patheosodomization
03.Infernal Execrator- Singatheos Regimentum Mastema
04.Phantasmal- The Reaper’s Forge
05.Terra Caput Mundi- We Are The Tank Crew
06.Bastardizer- Enforcers Of Evil
07.Seven Sisters- Onward They Ride
08.Wolfshead- Division Of The Damned
09.Angel Sword- Gamble Or Die
10.Angel Sword- Louder
11.Chalice - Witchfynder

"WAR ON ALL FRONTS is a print fanzine from Belfast, Northern Ireland which grew out of the ashes of the previous Northern Blaze zine in 2010. In early 2014 we unleashed the mammoth WOAF A.D.MMXIII edition which in 112 content-packed pages aimed to summate a whole year in the Metal underground via our in depth interview and review style (focussing on but not limiting itself to the Heavy, Speed, Doom, Black, Death, Thrash, Occult Rock and Crossover/Metalpunk sub-genres.)
In early 2015 they are seeking to top previous accomplishments with a retrospective of 2014, with even more writers and content than before and a challenging and unique approach to structuring interviews (influenced by, among other things, Plato’s dialogues and Gnostic mathematics) in order to break even more boundaries in the realm of Occult zinestry. Our multi-faceted approach will be complimented by the good cheer of our first time ever real-ale/craft beer section, and by a sombre dedication to humanity’s darkest hour on the centenary of The Great War 1914-1918.

For the first time as well WOAF is branching into releasing new music, firstly through Let’s Start A War... Vol. I compilation tape, which will be expanded with new bands and tracks for the covermount CD edition, and through further cassette and possibly vinyl releases on our new record label division. We are fighting a war- ON ALL FRONTS!"

Bewitcher are a duo from USA  featuring "Unholy Weaver Of Shadows & Incantations (guitars, vocals, drums) and Infernal Magus Of Nocturnal Alchemy (bass, drums)".
Seriously frantic punk/metal in the vein of Motorhead and Toxic Holocaust.
"
Infernal Execrator hail from Singapore and consist of Lord Ashir (guitars/vox), Shairan (guitars), Antichristo Xul (bass), Christslaughter (drums)".
They create an intresting mix of death and black metal and would appeal to fans of bands like Angelcorpse.

Phantasmal are another american duo clearly set in the ancient ways of 1980's blackend thrash metal.

Terra Caput Mundi are yet another duo, this one has a weird way of looking at things and a skull crunching sound to match.

Bastardizer from Austrailia offer Venom influenced Black and Thrash metal.

Seven Sisters from london feature Josh Winnard ex Wytch Hazel, this band continue to fly the flag for the resurgence of modern NWOBHM influenced bands, one for fans of Amulet.

Wolfshead are a Doom laden band from Finland in the style of Pentagram and Pagan Altar.

Angel Sword are also from Finland and take their influence from the likes of Tank and Tygers Of Pan Tang.

Finally Chalice, whose EP i reviewed last week, another old sounding band who play traditional 1970's style heavy metal

Rating 10/10

Bestial Invasion - Silent Wonders (Single Review)

01.Silent Wonders
02.Damien

Unknown Nastya (Vocals)
Metal Priest (Bass)
Evgeniy Maestro (Guitar)
Ivan Semenchuk (Drums)

Bestial Invasion from Ukraine were formed last year by the ex-bass player of VIOLENT OMEN.
The info supplied states "real old school technical thrash metal in keeping with the best traditions of MEKONG DELTA, ATHEIST, CORONER. The microphone stand is possessed by the charming Anastasia, whose voice reminds Dawn Crosby (FEAR OF GOD) or Melanie Bock (MEGACE), and it distinguishes her in favorable manner from sterile ARCH ENEMY copies, which flooded the scene recently. On the threshold of a full-length album’s release, the band makes their first appearance with a vinyl single 'Silent Wonders', whose B-side assigns MORBID SAINT’s cover version. Produced by Don Doty (ex-DARK ANGEL)."

The music on both btracks is really good, definatley does have that authentic old school feel, great raw drum sound, crushing basswork and quality riffing and solos, but the vocals? Well they really dont suit at all, maybe if she had gone for a Arch Enemy style would have fitted better, but still cant really base everything on 2 tracks will have to wait for the album.


Rating 7/10
For Fans Of: Otep, Raven, Voi Vod, Mekong Delta

Violent Sky - Critical Mass (CD Review)

01.Take Your Time
02.Nobody
03.Shadow Man
04.Frances (In The Gallery Of Stars)
05.Cargo Cult
06.Cold Blue Fire Part 1
07.Cold Blue Fire Part 2
08.Vertigo Feeling
09.December Dew
10.Nadsat Boys
11.Freedom
12.Gulf (Between You And me)
13.Under The violent Sky
14.Thanks Tom

Win Smith (Vocals/Bass/Guitar/Keyboards)
Steve Good (Guitar)
Al Mogg (Drums)

Violent Sky from London feature members of "Seventh Seance", "Black Poets" and "Ghostfire".
In june 2014 they announced that after a recent session with "Ghostfire" (A steampunk styled band in case you dont know) they were going to go into the studios to record "a selection of the most righteous dark prog metal possible".

I first heard them on the GASP Radio show, where on the facebook page i made a comment that the track playing sounded like David Bowie fronting a Hendrix tribute band, they then sent me a copy to review, i wonder what to expect?

'Take Your Time' is a fairly straight forward indie tinged rock song with a vocal that reminds me of Robert Palmer, i wonder if every song is going to remind me of a different vocalist?
Guitar solo at the end is quite stunning!

The next track is 37 seconds of pointless filler, again an example of a band making a seperate track out of something that should be tacked on at the beginning of the next song.

However that little mistake is soon laid to rest as 'Shadow Man' kicks in with a dirty/grungy blues styled rocker with more inspired guitar work, great solid bass work and drum beats to match.The vocals seem to be all Mr.Smith and very good they are too.

In terms of song structure, 'Frances In The Gallery Of Stars' is not a million miles away from Black Sabbath's Heaven & Hell, this one is slow, brooding and very anthemic, great vocal delivery again almost folk rock tinged and more of that excellent guitar work.

Up next is another bloody filler, so onwards to 'Cold Blue Fire Part 1/Part 2' , slow moody start with some early Bauhaus sounds lurking, in fact quite a lot of Bela Lugosi's Dead and Hollow Hills detected by my braincell.No vocals on Part 1, Part 2 changes the pace with some modern gothic rock music and with rhythms not unlike The Mission God's Own Medicine era.Gets frantic towards the end with the drums and guitar!

'Vertigo Feeling', now this was the track i originally heard, still has that Bowie style circa Scary Monsters and have realised that the music is not so much hendrix but the legendary Jeff Healey Band.Still a brilliant track, full of rhythm and power.

That 'Heaven & Hell' vibe returns for 'December Dew', this however is more haunting complete with some nice synth and an emotive vocal performance, nicely mixed to create an intresting mix of melody and agression.

The album is now becoming increasing more intresting following on from the last few tracks 'Nadsat Boys' retains a dark ambience to start with, then turns into a hard rock/goth song, this one is driven by the vocals, dark and dangerous yet the level remains the same over both quiet and heavy musical backing.Really nice f/x on the guitar sound.

Third strike for another filler, oh dear, but hey ho after 47 seconds comes 'Gulf Between You And Me' with some more of that screaming hendrix/healey guitar work.
This one really is a guitar workout, backed with some pounding bass lines.

'Under The Violent Sky' is more of that modern blues rock, more of that guitar sound which i love and another solid track.

You know the last track, well its another filler, this one seemingly more pointless that all the others!

Quite an album all in all, apart from the fillers, one thing this is not though is dark progressive metal, in fact the only word to take from that is "Dark", if anything this is a fine example of a modern take on classic rock blended with gothic rock, except the ones that are blues.
I like stuff like this, it doesn't fit into any obvious genre, its a mixed bag and highly listenable again and again.

Rating 8/10
For Fans Of: Jeff Healey Band, The Cult, The Mission, Ghostfire, Godzilla Black, Joy Division

Gypsy - Twisted Levity EP (CD Review)

01.Gimme Your Load
02.The Shoemaker
03.New Boy In Town
04.Turned Into Stone
05.Judgment Day


Soumalya Das (Guitar)
Soumya Basu (Bass)
Shibaji Bose (Drums)
Sankalan Samaddar (Vocals)
Swarnabha Gupta (Sitar)
Sayandip Pahari (Vocals)

From Kolkata in India, formed in may 2013, the band describe themselves as a hard rock meets glam metal band with a sitar player!

While 'Gimme Your Load' certainly has touches of the american glam style of early motley crue, it has to be said that this has more in common with mid 70's hard rock, endless riffs and some high pitched vocals, all with a radio friendly swagger.

I dectect some old Saxon riffs here on 'The Shoemaker' in fact the overall feel here is NWOBHM, then comes 'New Boy In Town' a funky little rocker that has some stunning and dirty sounding guitarwork thrown in over a great "live" sounding drum pattern, kinda Red Hot Chili Peppers style, except could that be a sitar solo through some f/x pedals? just WOW!

'Turned Into Stone' returns to the NWOBHM style of say Diamond Head, its a fast moving solid piece of classic rock.

Finally comes 'Judgement Day' (No pun intended), a slow melodic near ballad, this one builds then falls back to allow some john sykes style guitar work and then a sitar solo, it works well, just like jim sullivan did with his Lord Sitar crossover album way back in the late 1960's.

Rating 9/10
For Fans Of: Classic Rock, Deep Purple, Diamond Head, NWOBHM

Apocryphal Voice - Pain & Pleasure (CD review)

01.Underneath The Mask
02.A Failed Species
03.As Fire Itself Dances
04.Tonhue Of Kali
05.Muddy Trail
06.Inner Turmoil
07.Rebel Angels
08.Waves Of Transparency
09.Megalomaniac Euphoria


Juhani Jokisalo (Guitar/Bass/Vocals)
Ville Salonen (Drums)

Apocryphal Voice is a metal duo from Finland formed in 1999.
The roots of Apocryphal Voice come from around '98-'99 when Juhani felt compelled to create something very different from the conventional and soothing styled Absent Silence he was as a bassist in at the time. Something dissonant and intense art demanded to come forward due to emotional turmoil. He left the old band and found out that finding musicians driven for rebellious unconventional form was nearly impossible, so a drummer Ville Salonen landed as the only other member for this new band.

"The Sickening", a strange and anguished burst of 3 songs, was recorded in late 2000 to be merely a demo, and it was sent here and there to numerous small labels. A label called Rage Of Achilles somehow got hold of the demo and was willing to release it as an official mini-cd.

During following years the album "Stilltrapped" was composed, with the unflinchingly sincere overall theme of personal depression. Little by little, it was self-produced and recorded, with the exception of drumtracks recorded last and in an actual professional studio.

'Underneath The Mask' may have a "nice" little piano opening but it soon becomes a raw yet melodic take on black metal in the style of early darkthrone and satyricon.

The speed increases with 'A Failed Species', very much a drum driven piece with frantic double pedal work, some intresting and clever timing changes keep this one less predictable.

Up next is an 8 minute monster called 'As Fire Itself Dances', straight forward riffs and more frantic drumming are tempered with some quality vocals with that perfect blend of agression and harmony.

'Tongue Of Kali' sticks to the same idea, then comes 'Muddy Trail' a slower and at times almost confusing sounding song, seems to be a bid muddled with none of the instruments really following obvious chord structures, with these strange timings at the forefront the high speed pace of the double pedal work seems to be the only constant, throw into this some near industrial synthlike breakdowns and you have a very intresting piece.

'Inner Turmoil' is another raw song, this one goes for a rough vocal and sounds more like a demo than a finished song, whilst the next song 'Rebel Angels' has an early death metal sound.

An epic 11 minutes of awesome is next 'Waves Of Transparency' just has it all, slow and fast, weird and normal, various vocal styles and endless timing changes.
This one is the first to really stand out as "Avant-garde", the obvious choice of band to say this sounds like is early Celtic Frost.

'Megalomaniac Euphoria' ends with some fast and venomous vocals with drumming to match, this song seems to carry on the feel of the previous song without the quiet bits!

Rating 9/10
For fans of: Darkthrone, Satyricon, Celtic Frost, Mayhem

Chalice - Chalice EP (Cassette Review)

01.Witchfynder
02.Gaudete
03.Merlin's Lament
04.Raise Your Chalice


Joshua
John
Matthew
Hagthorn


Traditional heavy/doom metal band from the misty mountains of Vermont, there is little information on them, in fact i recieved none at all and their facebook page was no help either, still this is a limited edition cassette release of just 95 copies from the 'War On All Fronts' label.

Coming out with some pure NWOBHM sounding music on 'Witchfynder', solid riffs, pounding drums and some quality screaming vocals.

'Gaudete' is a mixture of neo pagan folk and NWOBHM doom, beautiful vocals really make this one something a bit special.

At 11 minutes 'Merlins Lament' starts with a slow and simple guitar strum, soon turning into another occult/folk song, the heavy side of things is more up to date, a crushing but melodic heavy metal workout that towards the end borderlines some proto thrash.

Finally a symphonic beginning greets 'Raise Your Chalice', this one is reminiscent of early 70's guitar lead rock blending the power of say Blackmore and the dual guitar sounds of early wishbone ash, then somehow ends up like Judas Priest.

Totally brilliant little EP, sure they are looking back for their influences but have produced a solid modern heavy metal record (err sorry tape).
One to look out for this year.

Rating 10/10
For fans of: Amulet, Blood Ceremony, Cathedral, Crystal Viper, The Oath

FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/ChaliceMetal