Wij - Dziwidlo (CD Review)

Wij - Dziwidło

01. Żmij

02. Dziwidło

03. Czarny Lew

04. Czerw

05. W Przymierzu Z Diabłem 

06. Wielki Martwy

07. Peperuda

08. Kat

09. Madame

10. Łapacz Snów

11. Tyrania Trupa

Maria (Vocals)

Grzegorz (Guitar)

Miko (Drums)

Something different grabbed my attention, a minimalist heavy metal styled band without a bassist from Poland.

It is suggested that we "imagine the White Stripes if Jack White had learned his blues from Tony Iommi instead of Son House", pretty sure White owed his style to Jeff Beck however I get the point being made.

Wij (pronounced ‘veey’) is the Polish spelling of “Viy”, the title of a supernatural horror story by Russian writer Nikolai Gogol. It is also the Polish word for Myriapod, a centipede-like species which thrives in darkness and lives off decay.

‘Dziwidło’ (pronounced ‘gee-vee-dwoh’), on the other hand, is a monstrous tropical plant called Amorphophallus titanum, common name being the 'corpse flower’.

This is their first full-length release, featuring ten band originals plus a cover of 'In League with Satan' ('W przymierzu z diabłem'), by legends Venom, all produced by Haldor Grunberg known for his work with Behemoth, Dopelord and Moanaa.

 Blasting off with 'Zmij' and I do mean "Blasting", one helluva sound is crashing through the speakers, raw, heavy and powerful, the vocals, oh wow, full of screaming power!

The title track is a different beast, dirty proto doom meets some sludge, slow, brooding and the screaming vocal is toned down to some beautiful tones.

After some heavy blues with 'Czerw' comes the utter madness that is 'In League With Satan', a freaky intro and then that drum pattern kicks in, the vocals are crazed, in Polish the words seem even more angry and dare I say 'Venomous', oh and some killer riffing in there as well.

'Wielki-Martwy', another proto doom monster and then with 'Kat' its full on thrash assault and that guitar, at times it sounds like a distorted bass.

For a perfect mix of Doom, Psych and Heavy Metal then crank up 'Lapacz Snów' another superb vocal rings out! And the final song does the same.

To sum up: It may be sung in Polish that makes no difference, the performance is such that it can be enjoyed at full volume!

Rating 9/10

For Fans Of: Lucifer, Pusron, Octopus, The Sabbathian, Cathedral, Electric Wizard, Death Penalty

Record label Bandcamp Page

Rocking Corpses - Death Blues (CD Review)

Track Listing:

01. There Will Be Death (intro)

02. Body

03. Buried

04. As High as You Can Get

05. Rocking Corpses Part II

06. Derailed

07. Drinking With the Dead

08. Another Day in Casket

09. Losing Day

10. Necrophilove

11. Death is Something to Die for

12. War for Doom

Leper Laze (Vocals)

Tony Decay (Guitar, Dirty Vocals)

Pestilence Pete (Guitar)

Maggot Mike (Bass)

Tom Bones (Drums)

Finlands 'Rocking Corpses' were born at the end of 2007 out of Tony's passion for all things horror, death metal, blues, injected with some very dark humour. Some months later Laze got also excited about the idea and joined the project on vocals. Eventually, in 2009 two demo songs were recorded and finally in 2011 the first full album "Rock 'n' Rott" was finished and released a year later.  

By 2017 Mike and Pete had their own project called Grit going on and needed a guitarist and a vocalist. Tony and Laze joined and very soon realized that the feel of Grit was very similar with Rocking Corpses and the band were "re-animated".

Collaboration of writing new songs was only held back by constant 'Spinal Tap-esque' problems with drummers, finally the issue was resolved and the band was complete.

Once we get passed the intro the rockin fun starts, great riffs epic death metal vocals which are shared with a Danzig style clean vocal, awesome mix of Death and Rock 'N' Roll.

The blues influence is present with 'Buried', one of those great riffs that just bounce along.

After another full on on rocker, comes 'Rocking Corpses II', very much in the Danzig area again, solid riffs, fun lyrics and a killer guitar solo.

'Drinking With The Dead' an acoustic C&W tune! Followed by another? well sort of because the Ghost of Johnny Cash is very much coming through my speakers and then the song explodes to some seriously heavy riffing!

We end with some full on Thrash/Speed Metal and 'War For Doom' completes a very enjoyable album with clever mix of styles and vocal work.

 Rating 9/10

For Fans Of: Toxic Holocaust, Matron, Municiple Waste, Danzig, Motorhead

Book Review: The Necromancer of Rock: The Origins of Death SS (1977-1982)

The Necromancer of Rock: The Origins of Death SS (1977-1982)

By Steve Sylvester

      with Gianni Della Cioppa

Paperback with French flaps, 224 pages loaded with images from every step of the band's early history, 16 of those in full colour.

The English edition of the insane story of the legendary Death SS.

In addition to Steve’s story and version of the history of the band, the book includes interviews with all living members from the time of the “First Seal” as it has been termed: Danny Hughes, Thomas Chaste and Thomas “Hand” Chaste, Claud Galley, and even words from the enigmatic Paul Chain appear in the book, along with remembrances of the contributions from Aldo Polverari  and Sanctis Ghoram.

 Superb book, well put together and illustrated to tell the story from influences through to the music and stage presentation.

Nice forward by Mortiis to set the tone.

As with any good biography we get the good with the bad, the tales are told as they were.

By far one of the best music books I have read in a long time.

Not much of a review I hear you say, well, here is the thing if you are a fan you MUST own this book and I have no intention of giving anything away regards to contents, Just read it!!

ORDER HERE

Tourniquet - Gazing At Meduza (CD Review)

01. Sinister Scherzo
02. Longing for Gondwanaland
03. Memento Mori
04. All Good Things Died Here
05. The Crushing Weight of Eternity
06. The Peaceful Beauty of Brutal Justice
07. Can’t Make Me Hate You
08. One Foot in Forever
09. Gazing at Medusa

Tim Ripper Owens (Vocals)
Chris Poland (Lead Guitar)
Aaron Guerra (Guitar/Vocals)
Ted Kirkpatrick (Drums/Bass)

Guest:
Deen Castronovo (Lead Vocals on title track)

Tourniquet was formed in Los Angeles in 1990. Nine full length studio albums later, (plus EP's, live album, acoustic release) the members of Tourniquet remain committed to creating intense music.
Co-founder, drummer, main songwriter, and mastermind Ted Kirkpatrick’s passion for classical music and technical metal lead to the music described as “Beethoven Meets Frankenstein”.

Many musicians have graced Tourniquet albums – including guitarists Marty Friedman, Frank Marino, Pat Travers, Chris Poland, Karl Sanders (Nile), Scotti Hill (Skid Row), and Bruce Franklin (Trouble).
Vocalists include Chris Jericho (Fozzy), Tim Ripper Owens (ex-Judas Priest), Michael Sweet (Stryper, ex Boston), Dug Pinnick (King's X), and Corey Glover (Living Colour).
Due to the classical nature of the music, members of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra have made contributions.

The latest album, which was successfully funded by the band’s ultra-loyal fan base, features vocals by Tim Ripper Owens (ex- Judas Priest, ex-Iced Earth) and lead guitar by Chris Poland (ex-Megadeth, OHM). The title track has guest vocals by Deen Castronovo (ex-Journey, GZR).

I confess to not being aware of this band before, when it arrived from the PR people, I was a little bit put off by the lengthy biography and was of the opinion that I was about to listen to some technical power metal album loaded with Christian themes, something which I have very little time for.

I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the kind of overblown twaddle that has been killed by over production and endless bloody technical guitar work.

No, in fact this is a full on heavy metal assault, almost retro in sound, though with a superb and crisp modern production.
Very much driven by numerous timing changes and stunning drumming that retains perfect rhythm and brutality in equal measure.

To the vocals, well lets face it Ripper Owens can scream out with the best of them and here his vocal prowess is utilised to perfection, some great multi tracking and backing vocals also add to the overall majesty of the performance.

Guitar playing, a bit technical in places, but at least this has “Soul” it is not that cold and flash “look at me aren’t I clever” but more we are here to play and we mean business.

The songs are at times anthemic, symphonic and progressive but most of all it’s a superb heavy metal album, something which is getting harder to find these days.

Rating 9/10
For fans of: Iced Earth, Judas Priest, Megadeth, Queensryche, EdGuy

The Deep - Watching You (EP Review)

The Deep – Watching You EP

01. Prepare To Rock
02. Dead Man Walking
03. Watching You.
04. Taking Over

Live at the British Steel Festival in Fisme, France 2016
05. Premonition
06. The Rider
07. All I Want
08. Night-Stalker

Tony Coldham (Vocals)
Paul Smith (Guitar)
Mick Feleppa (Guitar)
Phil Reeve (Bass)
Alan Mogg (Drums) (Tracks 1 to 4)
Fraser Powell (Drums) (Tracks 5 to 8)

Cannot believe it was March 2015 when I reviewed their last album, the band have grown a lot since then, played all over Europe and UK. Tony also spent a brief spell with Tytan.
Initially, the band were intending to simply start writing for the next album after Premonition. However, during the writing process, it became apparent that some of the tracks linked very well into a specific theme. After some discussion, it was decided by the band that this theme should be developed for the entire second album in the form of a concept album.

The other songs that didn’t fit with this theme could be released as an EP.
Recordings began in 2016 at Vatican Studios, the same studio where their previous album ‘Premonition’ was recorded.

However, due to re-development of the site, Vatican had to cease all recording projects and the EP was put on hold. In addition, drummer Fraser Powell left the band at the end of 2017 and so auditions for a new drummer had to be held.
A replacement, Alan Mogg (Ghostfire), joined the band in 2018.
The band started rehearsing and looking for a new studio.
Recording of the EP resumed at HVR Studios in Ipswich, with Danny B mixing and engineering. The Deep are delighted with the results and intend recording the second album there. All being well, recording for the next album will begin in April 2019.

Written as a reaction to the terrible events at the Bataclan, ‘Prepare To Rock’ is full of positive fire and fury.
Soaring vocals delivering heart felt lyrics over a full on drum assault, accompanied with powerful and melodic riffs.

‘Dead Man Walking’ , has a slick swagger, moving at a slightly different pace it manages to deliver rhythm and a superb guitar solo.
Starting off suspiciously like a power ballad, ‘Watching You’ quickly turns into quite a dark and moody mid paced rocker.
Have to mention that the vocal delivery here is just superb from the high pitched screams to the very deep and moody almost spoken parts.

So technically this new EP ends the way it started with ‘Taking Over’ delivering another full on metal assault.
Yet again it is both vocal performance and lyrical content that carries through, I am loving the line “This world has gone insane and we know who to blame”.

Sometimes it is hard to find anything good to say, this is an example where it is hard to find anything bad to say.
It simply delivers high quality British Heavy Metal, yes it nods back to the glory days of NWOBHM, But this is totally “Now!”

Of course the next best thing to any decent studio recorded heavy metal album or single is a live disc.
So twenty minutes of The Deep live is just the ticket, if you want to know if what they create in the studio is all about production and multi tracking then these live recordings are a perfect reminder that those vocals are all Mr Coldham and the band really are that good!

Rating 10/10
For Fans Of: Amulet, Saxon, Diamond Head, Weapon UK, Tygers Of Pan Tang

Alunah - Amber and Gold EP (CD Review)

Alunah – Amber and Gold

01. Mangata
02. Amber & Gold
03. Awn
04. Wicked Game

David Day (Guitar)
Sian Greenaway (Vocals)
Jake Mason (Drums)
Daniel Burchmore (Bass)

Midlands based Doom band, formed in 2006 by vocalist and guitarist Sophie Day.
Over the next decade they toured constantly and released four albums and a couple of singles.
In November 2017, Day decided to leave the band and was replaced by Greenaway.

New line up has just released their debut EP and first up to blast my speakers is, ‘Mangata’ which acts as an “intro” to ‘Amber & Gold’ and a chance to hear what’s on offer.
It is good, typical slow pounding rhythms, solid bass work, great guitar playing and a deep, dark and enchanting vocal delivery.

‘Awn’ is more of the same; they have a great sound with a production that allows the music to sound live.

Just hoping that this is not the Chris Isaak song as the last track is called ‘Wicked Game’.
Unfortunately it IS that song, so I do like the original and always thought that HIM gave it their “Love-Metal” treatment to update the sound, but a Doom version?
So (as with any review) I have to take a personal view, I really don’t think it starts off well, the guitar almost sounds out of tune trying to replicate the higher notes of the original, BUT, oh yes suddenly it all goes quiet and then when the vocal comes in, suddenly they have doomed the song (Err “Love-Doom” anyone?) with slow almost ambient backing, then when the guitar comes in the rhythm and style is based more on the Him version and somehow they manage to bring it all together for a crescendo of superb playing at the end.

Neat little EP, look forward to a full length album sometime next year.

Rating 9/10
For Fans Of: Death Penalty, Lucifer (Gaz Jennings), The Slow Death, Blood Ceremony.


UK Tour Dates for the rest of the year:
03 November - The Green Room, Welwyn Garden City
17 November - Asylum 2, Birmingham
01 December - The Rigger, Stoke
08 December - The Swan, Ipswich

Septic Tank - Rotting Civilisation (Album Review)

Septic Tank - Rotting Civilisation

Track Listing:

01. Septic Tank

02. Who

03. Victimised

04. Social Media Whore

05. Divide & Conk Out

06. Treasurers of Disease

07. Fucked

08. Whitewash

09. Death Vase

10. You Want Some

11. Digging Your Own Grave

12. Danger Signs

13. Walking Asylum

14. Lost Humanity

15. Never Never Land

16. Self Obsessed

17. Living Death

18. Rotten Empire

Lee Dorrian – Vocals (Cathedral, With The Dead)

Gary Jennings – Guitar (Cathedral, Death Penalty)

Scott Carlson – Bass (Cathedral, Repulsion)

Jaime Gómez Arellano – Drums (Blutvial)

Originally a side project for Cathedral in 1994 as a low-key chance to play with some Discharge style punk/metal as opposed to the Doom laden sounds that Dorrian & Co mixed up with some added Psych and prog.

Septic Tank’s original line-up featured Dorrian & Jennings from Cathedral with drummer Barry Stern (ex-Trouble) and Repulsion’s Scott Carlson on bass.

“We talked about doing it again many times, but it took us 20 years to make a record,” Lee Dorrian explains. “As you know, Scott re-joined Cathedral for the last few gigs and the last album. We were recording (final Cathedral record) The Last Spire at the end of 2012 and we’d done all we needed to do and had some spare time in the studio. So we revived the Septic Tank idea and literally bashed out an entire EP, writing and recording, in an afternoon, in just six hours.”

The result of this brief resurgence was 2013’s self-titled seven-inch EP, released only in Japan and limited to 900 copies.

With Lee, Gaz and Scott now joined by drummer (and legendary producer) Jamie ‘Gomez’ Arellano it seemed only a matter of time before something new happened, so after 20 years they finally recorded an album in just five days.

“It’s quite mad that we’re finally releasing an album,” Lee concludes. “I don’t think most people know that this band exists! But you never lose your passion for this stuff. It’s just in our DNA and our veins, really. Like with most things, we’ll put it out there and see what happens, but we’d like to do more records and I’m sure there’ll be more shows too. We’re chuffed to be doing it!”

So take the opening track and it’s a full on assault of super fuzzed out hardcore death metal, yep you can see the punk influence and even dare I say harking back to those early Napalm Death days, yet even in this opening number there is a hint of doom lurking!

Next couple of tracks do the same thing really, then up comes ‘Social Media Whore’, now this one has a definite Hellhammer meets Discharge feel, great bit of noise really.

‘Divide & Conk Out’ sounds like Tank and Motorhead, neat little guitar solo thrown in just to top it off.

Great doom intro to ‘Death Vase’ and have to say Mr. Dorrian does a great impression of Tom Warrior! Fucking awesome crushing, slow and pounding, definitely my favourite track thus far.

Then with ‘You Want Some’ some proper old school skuzzy punk metal, this style continues on for the next few tracks until we arrive at some proto thrash punk with ‘Never Never Land’ and right to the last song continues in this vein.

To sum up I have to once again commend Mr Dorrian for his talent, ability and knowledge of all things “Rock ‘N’ Roll”  and finding the right musicians to be able to take something that is essentially retro/old school and make it fresh, modern and bloody enjoyable!

Rating 9/10

For Fans of:  Discharge, Warfare, Ravens Creed, Hellhammer, Charged GBH, Venom

Weapon UK - The Rocker/Set The Stage Alight(2017) Review

Danny Hynes (Vocals)

Jeff Summers (Guitar)

Darren Lee (Drums)

Tony Forsythe (Bass)

1. The Rocker

2. Set The Stage Alight (2017)

So yes it has been awhile since the review was posted, but there are very few bands in the world that can being me out of health forced retirement and one of the most important to me is Weapon!

So let’s have a quick catch up and go back to 2014. They of course released the stunning album 'Rising from the Ashes’ this was followed by a brief UK tour. Towards the end of the year their drummer Ian Sweeting left and was replaced by Darren Lee (Ex Midnight Messiah).

The following year was another packed diary of live dates in the UK and an appearance at the Matarock festival in Barcelona, then another European tour taking in Holland, Germany and Belgium.

After the tour bassist PJ Phillips decided to leave the band.

In 2016 Angelwitch/Tytan bassist Kevin Riddles steps in to help the band out whilst they continued to search for a permanent replacement.

In August saw the re-release/repackaged '35 Anniversary Edition' of the 'Set The Stage Alight' album on Blood & Iron Records, which contains all the bands material from 1980/1 plus two live tracks from their appearance at The Headbangers-Open-Air Ball, Germany in 2005.

So at the beginning of this year a new bassist joined in the shape of the very talented Tony Forsythe, a name I knew well as he had worked with Gerry Laffy from Girl and had also played in a band with Rudi ‘The Boss’ Riviere from Sapphire.

After rehearsals they set off for a series of Swedish dates and not long afterwards entered the recording studio, which brings us right up to date.

The Rocker.

Cover versions can at times be a dangerous choice. On the one hand you have to capture the essence of the original and show total respect and at the same time you have to add your own sound and vision.

This version of The Rocker fits both those criteria; firstly they have bridged the original album version of 5 minutes and the single version of just 2 ½ minutes and created a fresh and crisp production of 3 minutes of aural perfection.

Set The Stage Alight.

This could also be considered a dangerous choice. Bands can often make the mistake of re-recording one of their own classic tracks and then manage to ruin the song’s legacy.

I confess I was a little reticent at hitting play; my original treasured vinyl copy still sits in my collection to this day and is interconnected with my love and respect for the band.

Any doubts were blown away from the intro onwards, the power of the original was not only respected but frankly updated to remind us that maturity does not mean watering down or destroying a legacy but re-nailing to the wall for all to see and hear.

Superb drumming and bass work power through the speakers, the guitar sound is alive and furious, the vocals are even, well produced and as soaring as the day the song was first conceived.

I have said this before and it still remains the case, Weapon are not a band who bask in former glories of the NWOBHM era and attempt to replicate a youthful sound, they are a band who never stood still or looked backwards, this is a relevant now to today’s rock and metal music scene as it has always been.

Let me put it this way; The Rocker is 44 years old, Set The Stage Alight (like the band) is 37 years old. Yet this release has the punch of a fresh faced teen heavy metal band! "

Rating: 10/10

The tracks will be digitally released on Thursday, 28th September 2017.

Available through CD Baby, ITunes, Amazon.

For more information go to:  http://www.weapon-uk.com/index.php

Bliksem - Gruesome Masterpiece (CD review)

01.Crawling In The Dirt
02.Kywas
03.Room Without A View
04.Mistress Of The Damned
05.The Hunt
06.Morphine Dreams
07.Twist The Knife
08.Barbaric Nation
09.Fucked Up Avenue
10.Out Of The Darkness



Peggy Meeussen (vocals)
Jeroen De Vriese (Guitar)
Toon Huet (Guitar)
Jan Rammeloo (Bass)
Rob Martin (Drums)

Shockwaves radiating out in all directions. In Dutch, this deadly natural phenomenon
is called “bliksem.”  A fitting name for an electrifying five-piece thrash band from Antwerp, Belgium.

Formed in 2007.The storm began brewing when Jeroen De Vriese, Toon Huet, Rob Martin and Jan Rammeloo, began crafting their high energy thrash 2.0.
Their quest to find a singer on par with Chuck Billy or Dave Mustaine took an unexpected and brilliant turn with the arrival of Peggy Meeussen. Her commanding razor-edged vocals slicing through the existing legions of goth or guttural female-fronted bands.

Thrash Metal? Not quite sure what their idea of said genre is, dont think its melodic ballads and mainstream 80's euro metal with a few punchy riffs thrown in occasionally.
For some reason the vocalist reminds me of Cher and a song like 'Out Of The Darkness' could even be one of her songs (though not as heavy).

So not thrash, just metal and as such a very good example. The music is powerful, even the ballads come over well, lots of good guitar solos, plenty to get your head banging.

Rating 8/10
For fans of: Crystal Viper, Warlock, Znowhite

Running Death - Overdrive (CD Review)

01.It Begins
02.Hell On Earth
03.Psycho
04.Remote Controlled
05.Close Minded
06.Raging Nightmare
07.Deludium
08.Mercenary
09.Pray For Death
10.Reduced
11.Overdrive
12.I See A Fire

Simon Bihlmayer (Vocals/Guitar)
Julian Gruber (Guitar)
Max Bauer (Bass)
Jakob Weikmann (Drums)

German thrash metal band first got noticed back in 2012 with their speed tinged thrash metal EP 'The Call Of Extinction', the follow up to 2010 debut 'Raging Nightmare'.
Since then the band have gone from strength to strength, now having taken their live experience and new writing into the studio they have unleashed their debut album.

'It Begins' with a pointless intro, yes another fine example of a band who decide that the beginning of an album should have as a first seperate track the beginning of the second track. So 'Hell On Earth' starts us properly and is a very good song! Displaying an understanding of the genre and its roots this is a high energy, part speed metal, old school thrash metal workout, solid bass and drums, excellent riffing and a good vocal delivery.

Up next is the very rhythmic 'Psycho', the drums really drive this one creating the background for some great melody and expert riffing.

Have to say that 'Remote Controlled' has a touch of the NWOBHM about it, a much more mainstream early 80's sounding classic heavy metal song, reminiscent at times of those great British bands that influenced the original thrash genre.

'Close Mided' is a slower and darker sounding song, again not a great deal of thrash going on here but another solid heavy metal tune.

After the last two songs seemingly taking us on a different route the next song 'Raging Nightmare' nails the Thrash Metal colours to the wall, a full on thrash/speed hybrid that totally powers through the speakers!

It was all going so well then comes 'Deludium', again seriously? a one and a half minute acoustic intro to 'Mercenary', its one fucking song not two!
A shame in some ways because it turns into a near symphonic style of thrash at one point and possibly deserves more than im gonna say.

'Pray For Death', 'Reduced' and 'Overdrive' all return to the classic early thrash sound and then finally comes 'I See A Fire'.
This last song really ends the album in style, a superb mix of thrash/speed and those nWOBHM influences and manages to have an intro as part of the song!

So aside from my "Intro" issues this is a really good album, well sung, well played and well produced.

Rating 9/10
For fans of: Megadeth, Amulet, Toxic Waltz, Annihilator

Against Evil - Fatal Assault (CD Review)

01.Battle Call
02.The Enemy Within
03.Speedbreaker
04.Wings Of Steel
05.Bulletproof
06.War Hero


Siri Sri (Vocals/Bass)
Sravan (Vocals/Guitar)
Shasank (Guitar)
Noble John (Drums)

Against Evil is a heavy metal band from the Steel City , Visakhapatnam. Formed in late 2014, the band members are also part of a successful hard rock cover band called Echo.

Influenced by the early heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest, Accept, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, etc, the band intends to unleash its own breed of heavy metal - Old School Heavy Metal Sound with Modern Age Production and Quality!

So forget the sodding intro, pointless as ever, but 'The Enemy Within' is a surprisng slice of good old fashioned heavy metal, no grunty vocals or noise or blast beats, just straight forward metal.

'Speedbreaker' is by far the best here, solid, powerfull drum driven, full of agressive but clean vocals, nice guitar work and a perfect headbanging song.

'Bulletproof' also stands out thanks mainly to the melodic breakdown with harmony vocals and then finally 'War Hero' with its touches of classic early european power metal.

Rating 7/10
For fans of: Chainsheart, Soldier, The Deep, Hamerex, Hellion Rising

Soldier - Defiant (CD Review)

01.Conquistador
02.Leaving
03.Kill Or Cure
04.Concrete Wilderness
05.Fight Or Fall
06.Dead Man's Curve
07.Bullet Belt Blues
08.Six Hundred
09.A Light To See The Darkness
10.Dont Come Crying To Me Defiant

Ian Alan Dick (Guitars)
Miles Goodman (Guitar)
Steve Barlow (Bass)
Richard Frost (vocals)
Tim Churchman (Drums)

Formed by Ian Dick in Northampton in 1979, the band soon built up a strong following, after releasing a demo early in 1982 they were signed to Heavy Metal Records and release the single 'Sheralee, a year later after a live album the band split.

Returning in 2003 with a new Ep titled 'Infantrycide' followed by a compilation album 'Heavy Metal Force' in 2004 and a single 'Murderess Night'.A year later they released a new album 'Sins Of The warrior'.

We now jump to their 30th anniversary of the single 'Sheralee' and live appearences at the British Steel and Hard Rock Hell festivals, this lead to a determination to return to the scene and the band set about recording a new album.
The result was 2013's 'Dogs Of War', following year drummer Alex Smith was replaced by ex IQ man Tim Churchman and the band released a 2-cd compilation of mainly unreleased tracks from 1980 to 2007 and a bonus disc covering more recent recordings.

Opening with a seven minute epic called 'Conquistador' this sounds like a young progressive metal band creating clever layers and throwing in timing changes to make one helluva statement, add to this the experience of the musicians and what we have here is a stunning piece of music, full of melody, controlled agression and multi instrumental passages.

Next up is 'Leaving' a solid drum driven mid paced rocker, melodic vocals soar through the riffs, the next one 'Kill Or Cure' is more of the same, good quality hard driving music and some nice bass playing coming through my speakers as well.

Now 'Concrete Wilderness', a song i have played 3 times in a row, why? well first time i wasn't sure about it, second time i started to get used to its style and third time (now) whilst i'm writing this.So starts with a simple guitar riff then suddenly gets all "Judas Priest" riff wise, just as you start to get used to that, it slows down and gets all serious, then goes even slower with just a bit of guitar and a passionate vocal, then (keep up with me here) it bursts into life again all heavy and anthemic, nice guitar solo and crashing drums, speeds up again keeps a steady pace, then slows down again, then gets all epic towards the end.Right then by far the most intresting multi layered song so far and one of the best rock songs i have heard this year!

'Fight Or Fall' and 'Dead Mans Curve' are both solid rock songs, great riffs, great drums, pounding bass and excellent vocal delivery, nuff sed.

I wonder if 'Bullet Belt Blues' will be a blues song? No its not its another anthemic rocker and its not lyrically what i expected either, i thought it may be a homage to heavy metal fans, but instead its about the politics of war.

Love the phase effect on the drum intro to 'Six Hundred' which turns into another riff lead driving rocker, yes i know i've said that before in this review, but hey this music just drives along at such a great pace, its the best way i can describe it.

Please dont let 'A Light To See The Darkness' be a ballad, coz it sure as hell sounds like one so far, slow and moody guitar riff and nice vocals, but wait the tempo increases, there is life here (and some nice acoustic sounding guitar in the mix), so yes okay its a kinda ballad but there is enough structure here to avoid the cliche.

Finally wild riffs and frantic drumming introduces us to 'Dont Come Cring To Me Defiant', the vocal is at a different pace to the music, this works really well and it all comes together during the chorus, after which it goes crazy full speed on the drums again.

This is an album by a band who have clearly moved forward from the retro sounds of many a NWOBHM band, its a modern heavy rock album, well thought out, executed and produced.

Rating 10/10
For fans of: Neon Fly, Amulet, Saxon, Judas Priest, The Deep, Weapon (UK)

Chainsheart - Leaving Planet Hell (CD Review)

01.Soul Kingdom
02.Breeze
03.Flames That Rise
04.Mystery
05.Final Destination
06.Return To The Stage
07.Points Of You
08.Never Stand Still
09.Dangerous Drop
10.Journey
11.The Spell



Yiannis Savva (Vocals)
Kikis Apostolou (Guitar)
Alex Chamberlain (Guitar)
Paris Lambrou (Guitar)
M.G. (Drums)

Guests:
Bob Katsionis (Keyboards)
Nicholas Leptos (Vocals)

Classic hard rock/heavy metal band from Cyprus comprised of seasoned musicians, all of whom are extremely passionate rockers and this is clearly evident throughout their music and performances. The band began in 2011 as the solo project of vocalist Yiannis Savva who soon after decided to form a band, thus CHAINSHEART were born.

In late 2012 the band self released their first album “Just Another Day”, a purely hard rock album, it received positive feedback from press and media. The band however underwent several line-up changes and has finally found its true sound and style - classic heavy metal.


First three songs, really do fit that classic heavy metal style from the 1980's, full of melody and powerful vocals, nice guitar solos etc, then comes 'Mystery' which reminds me a bit of that bloody awful Scorpions ballad.

We get back on track with 'Final Destination', pounding drums, great riffs, it all moves along at a great pace, as do all the rest of the songs, see the thing here is that its all sounding nice and "Retro" but this is 2015, it doesn't seem to have any modern elements, in all fairness this is an 80's euro metal album and if you look back with fondness at those days and have everything ever released and want to add something new to the collection i suggest you rush out and grab a copy.

Rating 7/10
For Fans Of: Scorpions, Dio, Dokken

Lucifer - Lucifer I (CD Review)

01.Abracadabra
02.Purple Pyramid
03.Izrael
04.Sabbath
05.White Mountain
06.Morning Star
07.Total Eclipse
08.A Grave For Each One Of Us



Johanna Sadonis (Vocals)
The Wizard (Guitars)
Dino Gollnick (Bass)
Andrew Prestidge (Drums)

Following the premature demise of The Oath, Johanna Sadonis formed Lucifer.  Whilst The Oath was a much-celebrated band, she wasted no time in creating a new beast to go beyond previous limitations.That beast is Lucifer and this is their stunning debut album titled Lucifer I.
Having released their debut single, Anubis earlier in 2015, there has been a significant buzz generating around Lucifer. The anticipation for Lucifer I is high and it will not disappoint.

With the addition of Garry Jennings (ex-Cathedral/Death Penalty) as co-songwriter and studio guitarist, Lucifer have moved forward into a realm of rock music which is very rare and very special in this time. Genuine, classic, heavy, studied and passionate are just a few words that instantly spring to mind upon first listen. Lucifer's instinctive take on the very soul of early heavy metal is the electrified essence of rock’n’roll at its nascent purest. This is Magic Rock – heartfelt and holistic.

Eschewing the now well-worn clichés of the ‘occult-rock explosion’ in favour of a truthful and tempestuous re-imagining of classic 70s proto-metal and turbocharged blues, the eight songs on this band’s debut album crackle and fizz with burgeoning energy and the compelling conviction of music made for all the right reasons.

Although still firmly rooted in the fertile soil first cultivated by Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Blue Oyster Cult, Lucifer exist in a proudly liberated and limitless sonic realm, where the heaviest blues rock is a mere starting point for the band’s skyward creative trajectory.

So 'Abracadabra' is not quite the breathtaking start i was expecting, seems more like a continuation of The Oath, which was good mid seventies hard rock but pretty mainstream.

Again with 'Purple Pyramid' its just The Oath with a slightly heavier guitar sound, really not what i was expecting at all, look im not saying this is bad, far from it, this is great stuff with awesome vocals, but, ahh wait towards the end of this track im starting to get a different sound come through, more doomy, so maybe.....

'Izrael' quite a Sabbath like intro into some great bass and drum rhythms, nice harmonic vocal over it all, then it all comes together, this is more like what i was expecting, like Heart jamming with Sabbath.

And now a song called 'Sabbath', bells, slow pounding music, pure old school proto doom, stunning vocal ringing out through the speakers, oh yes this is the stuff!

This style does not last as we return with 'White Mountain' classic hard rock all the way and a killer solo at the end.

Really like the slow and slightly psychedelic/doom of 'Morning Star', half way through this one picks up the pace with a speeded up riff akin to 'Children Of The Grave' and more killer guitar work.

The doom returns with a vengeance on 'Total Eclipse', slow, pounding and pure, that vocal once again really sings through the speakers, love it when it goes all quiet and just a simple guitar riff is playing, then the drums start up and all of a sudden the pace picks up, creating happy doom sounds!!

Having finally got into this album i find myself at the last song, 'A Grave For Each One Of Us' nice acoustic start then a doom pattern appears, but just as it gathers pace they bring it down with the acoustic again, so its up and down all the way to the end.

So i may have had some doubts, writing this review as i go along, track by track for the first time, i then went back and listend to the whole thing again and it was even better.

Rating 10/10
For Fans Of: The Oath, Cathedral, Death Penalty, Bloody Hammers, Jex Thoth

Albatross - Fear From The Skies (CD Review)

Story 1: Children Of The Cloud
01.Intro - Advance
02.The Raptorsville Fair
03.Jugglehead The Clown
04.Children Of The Cloud
05.Outro - Fold

Story 2: The Assassin's Flight
06.In The Lair Of Dr.Hex
07.A Tale Of Two Tyrants
08.The Empire Of Albatross

Dr. Hex (Bass)
Biprorshee Das (Vocals)
Vigneshkumar Venkatraman (Guitar)
Nishith Hegde (Guitar)
Varun Singh (Guitar)
Jay Thacker (Drums)

Mumbai-based traditional heavy metal quintet Albatross formed in 2009 and are a band that combines bone-chilling stories with bone-crushing metal. The band started out as the solo project of bassist Riju Dasgupta (Workshop, Old Monks) who wanted to marry his love of literature with his other love: metal.

Later on, a lineup of like-minded musicians was standardized and Albatross was born. The band released the critically acclaimed 'Dinner is You', a concept EP about cannibalism and the Kuru disease, which was mastered by Grammy nominated Swedish producer Andy LaRocque from King Diamond, in September 2010.

In 2012, Albatross released ‘The Kissing Flies’ EP as part of a split CD with American doom metal band Vestal Claret to critical acclaim. This EP features contributions from famed luminaries such as Niklas 'Viper' Stalvind (Wolf), The Demonstealer (Demonic Resurrection) and Murari Vasudevan (Rat King).

Albatross has supported legendary bands like Kreator and Wolf in the recent past and besides being a regular in the Indian live circuit did a successful three-city tour of Australia in 2013.
Since then they have been working on their debut album.

Are you sitting comfortably? then lets begin with our first story, and yes the intro starts us off with a spoken story and then 'The Raptorsville Fair' starts and it sounds like something from Nightmare Before Xmas, a very theatrical vocal over some silly fairground style rock music, then a more technical progressive metal sound kicks in, but it returns to that strange but quite awesome other style.

'Jugglehead The Clown' is more traditional heavy metal, pounding drums and maidenesque guitarwork and a more "serious" vocal, very rhythmic and catchy.

Next up is 'Children Of The Cloud' this one throws everything in from prog, death and thrash metal, lots of intresting timing changes and a fantastic vocal performance that ranges from Bruce Dickinson to Dani Filth!

The story ends on the outro with some church bells and a bit more story telling.

So from what appeared to be a light hearted first story the next one seems to be a bit darker, 'In The Lair Of Dr Hex' has this slow powerchord driven rhythm and more vocal gymnastics, the quality of the guitar solos matches anything any euro power metal player can offer, very very impressive.

The pace picks up with 'A Tale Of Two Tyrants' and once again it is the vocalist that takes centre stage here, another stunning and diverse performace from dark bass to near soprano, all over solid heavy power metal.

Opening with some beautiful acoustic guitar comes our final piece 'The Empire Of Albatross', this one is very much influenced by Iron Maiden, but this has some very good modern elements in the mix, as ever the vocalist does what he does best and also tells us a little bit of a story as well.

Rating 10/10
For fans Of: King Diamond, Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Dream Evil, Iced Earth

Hamerex - The Last Ride EP (CD Review)

01.Calm Before The Storm/Natures Wrath
02.Ride On Ruin
03.Reign Of Fire
04.Apophis


Steve Blower (Guitar/Vocals)
Andy Firth (Guitar)
Simon Brooks (Bass)
Darren Kelsall (Drums)

The latest offering from the Wakefield band formed in august 2004 who have so far notched up 4 demos, 2 ep's and two albums; 'Rites Of Passage' which got a 9 out of 10 from me in september 2011 (though not actually released till feb 2012) and IX in August 2013 which got a 10 out of 10.
Now with a new bassist Simon Brooks and mainman Steve Blower handling the vocals after the departure of singer Chris Moules they are back with a brand new ep, cant wait to hit play!

Starting with an 8 minute melodic thrash/power metal epic ;'Calm Before The Storm/Natures Wrath', first thing to really notice here is the amazing vocal range of Steve Blower, real power part Bruce Dickinson, part Niklas Isfeldt.
From the melodic opening of gentle guitar it moves into a clever mix of Thrash and Power metal, switching pace and timings to perfection, add to this some great backing vocals and the love of a Maidenesque riff and a blasting solo, and this is just track 1 !

'Ride On Ruin' is much shorter, this one is pretty straight forward, driven as it is by some excellent pedal work, it's one of those heads down no noncence rockers.

Up next another 7 minutes of metal with 'Reign Of Fire', ahh but wait this one gets dangerously close to a ballad, one helluva passionate vocal full of power, hits the high notes and then oh yes ballad nightmare overted and the band kick in with some punchy riffs.
Overall a much slower paced song, love the dark guitar riff that breaks up the song to allow the vocal to fill the speakers.

'Apophis' little guitar intro then into another mid paced thrash piece, really nasty sounding riff powers through, more superb vocals reign out, then that killer riff returns, slow and pounding, just waiting for a screaming solo and i am not let down, it comes and it is good.
Just to nail the point home the songs ends on some full on hi-speed thrash.

Strikes me that this band just want to keep pushing forward and each time they do they produce something worth listening to time and again.

Rating 10/10
For fans of: Iron Maiden, Helloween, Metallica

Midhaven - Spellbound (CD Review)

01.Lunar Blessing
02.Seeking The Divine
03.Spellbound
04.Tales From The Tide
05.Ascension
06.Fall Of Olympus
07.Third Eye
08.Whitewash
09.Death Row


Karan Seven Kaul (Guitar/Vocals)
Shreyas Rane (Guitar)
Abhishek Sawant (Bass/Vocals)
Viraj Saxena (Drums)
Aviraj Kumar (Drums)

Guest:
Jordan Veigas (Vocals on Death Row)

The band met outside HR and KC college back in early 2011, where they started a project called 'Temple Smoke' where they had a lighter sound.
By 2012, They had played gigs around the city of Mumbai, and started venturing out to other cities such as Pune and Bangalore. By early 2012, the band dropped the name 'Temple Smoke' and went with the name 'Midhaven'.
Karan, Abhishek and Shreyas dropped out of college in the same month to be full time musicians.

By May 2013, they launched their EP 'Tales From The Tide' with much acclaim to fans, which was a mixture of what they used to play with 'Temple Smoke' as well as the heavier side of music which then led to metal.
After a couple of festivals in Pune and Mumbai, Midhaven went back into the studio for a full length album entitled 'Spellbound'.
They went back to the studio to work with their long time producer and friend Jordan Veigas (Jordan Veigas Music Productions).
While in the studio, the band has ideas for at least 14 tracks, some near completion, while some were going to be in the final album.
A tough decision based on their new sound made them cancel 5 tracks including 'Maelstrom' and 'Altaïr', both of which have been played live before.
Their new album consisted of 9 tracks, 6 of which were completely new and written in the studio itself.
The song 'Death Row' has guest vocals by their producer and long time friend 'Jordan Veigas'
During album recording, there was a new face in the studio, Viraaj Saxena.
He, along with Jason D'souza, was a sound engineer for Jordan Veigas Music Productions.
Once the album was over, Viraaj Saxena moved to being a session drummer for Midhaven by replacing Aviraj Kumar, the band's previous drummer who drummed on 'Spellbound' as well as 'Tales From The Tide'.

Usually I hate intros with a passion, but have to say 'Lunar Blessing' is a really great little instrumental with some amazing keyboard work and prog guitar, this then goes into 'Seeking The Divine' (which still kinda proves my point that intros are not needed), its a strange song amazing dual vocals one clean and one death style, the music has a definate modern neo-prog feel.

The next few seem to stick with this sound, but at times does lean towards that metalcore crap, then 'Ascension' comes in at 59 seconds of pointless filler which could have just been tacked on at the beginning of the next track 'Fall Of Olympus' which is stunning slab of brutal (dare I say) Nu-Metal is the vein of Mushroomhead but blended with some prog elements of Mastodon.

Then what a turn around for 'Third Eye' a weird song yet again blending so many different styles I'm not sure where to begin, starts out like Placebo, then gets this melodic death metal thing going before entering into eastern style prog, towards the end it borders on thrash metal!

'Death Row' again mixes it up with modern neo-prog and death metal.

All in all a great mix of styles (except the metalcore bits!) a very intresting and well thought out album.

Rating 9/10
For fans Of: Opeth, Mastodon, At The Gates, Mushroomhead

Ymir's Blood - Blood Of The Ice Giant (CD Review)

01.High And Mighty
02.Sworn To The Sea
03.The Chosen Slain/We,the Bersrkr
04.Ritual For The Invocation Of Thunder
05.To Immortal Master Obscure
06.Witch Beast

Konsta (Vocals/Guitar)
Teppo (Bass)
Jesse (Drums)

Trio from Helsinki, formed in 2011 to play what they call "Beerbarian metal!"
Here's the blurb:
"Epicness in metal is becoming replaced by using ridiculous amounts of cheap synth pads, academically trained musicians playing fiddles and pipes and singing about dragons and midgets. Fuck that. YMIR'S BLOOD is all about the roots - making guitars, bass, vocals and drums sound epic and crushing like they did back in the days of the Metal Gods."

ell i have played through the tracks and i hear heavy metal in the style of say Manowar being covered by Amon Amarth, it does not set the world on fire nor does it harken back to the days of the metal gods, which in itself is a pretty stupid thing to say anyway.
So it's basically heavy metal with songs based of viking mythology and not "Viking Metal".

So tracks one to five, pretty average stuff, track six 'Witch Beast' not a bad tune at all, nine minutes long, starts with some crushing powerchords, doomy bass and drum patterns to match and then just bludgeons its way through the speakers, superb vocal delivery throughout.
Throw in some timing changes and this has classic NWOBHM/Proto doom band Witchfinder General written all over it, stick with this style, cut the attitude and we may just have a great 3 piece metal band worth taking notice of.

Rating 6/10
For fans of: 3 Inches Of Blood, Amon Amarth, Bathory

The Deep - Premonition (CD Review)

01.The Rider
02.You Take My Breath Away
03.Night-stalker
04.Cold Hearted
05.All I Want
06.Out Of Touch
07.Premonition
08.Spellbound
09.Saga
10.Turn Me Loose

Tony Coldham (Vocals)
Paul Smith (Guitar)
Mick Feleppa (Guitar)
Don Whiberley (Bass)
Steve Kingsley (Drums)

Way back in the days of the NWOBHM there was a band called Deep Machine, by 1982 they were on the brink of splitting up after guitarist Kevin Heybourne (Ex Angelwitch) had just quit the band along with vocalist and drummer to reform AngelWitch.
This left guitarist John Wiggins and bassist Andy Wrighton the task of finding new members, which they did in the shape of ex-Minas Tirith vocalist Tony Coldham and ex-Burn guitarist Tony Harris, however just as the band were getting sorted out Wiggins was invited to join Paul Di’Anno’s new band Lonewolf.
Open auditions were then held and guitarist Paul Smith (ex-Janine) and drummer Steve Kingsley (ex-Omega) were brought into the fold. Within weeks the band had recorded a demo and was gigging. The 1982 line up of Deep Machine quickly developed a reputation for excellent song writing and musicianship and, most importantly, for dynamic and exciting live shows.
But as is the way of bands this line up soon went their seperate ways, Coldham, Harris and Smith went on to form Strutt, Wrighton joined John Wiggins in Tokyo Blade and Kingsley joined Rogue Male.

Now lets jump forward to 2012, some thirty years after they had last played together, the members of the 1982 line-up of Deep Machine got together again for a blast in a rehearsal studio. They were all amazed at how good it still sounded and four of the members decided to re-form the band with the exception of Wrighton who had commitments to Tokyo Blade.
At this point the band members were now unable to use the name Deep Machine because it was already taken, so they instead adopted the name The Deep. Sadly, Tony Harris was also forced to pull out of the project because of an ongoing physical illness which prevents him from being able to play guitar. However, Tony’s contribution to the band in terms of song writing has been immense and he remains, in many ways, the band’s ‘sixth member’.

Coldham, Kingsley and Smith auditioned bass players with the intention of working as a four piece, for a while another ex-AngelWitch band member Kevin Riddles joined the band. Eventually, Mick Feleppa, a guitarist Coldham knew from his days in Strutt was recruited together with comparative new-comer Don Whiberley on bass. Then, near the end of 2013, the band proceeded to record a self-financed, self-produced album, Premonition, at The Vatican recording studios in the east-end of London.

Talk about authentic NWOBHM and this would be the defination, the opening song 'The Rider' is pure old school, part Saxon and part Black Axe, but and its an important "but" this is all The Deep, solid guitar playing, polished vocals and up to date sound (think Amulet) but wearing its Colours proud for all to hear and see.

Slightly more restrained is 'You Take My Breath Away' a mid paced hard rock song with excellent backing vocals.

'Nightstalker' another great song with its perfect mix of old meets new, kinda waiting for this one to go in a different direction and it does not dissapoint about half way through it changes pace and gets heavier and a great solo as well.

Slower and near rock ballad 'Cold Hearted' follows, have to say its the passion in the vocal delivery that just saves this one for me.

'All I Want' is quite anthemic, good chorus, one destined for fist punching in the air and mass headbanging down the front row at the next gig i think!

I'm sure the band wouldn't agree, but to me 'Out Of Touch' has an american radio rock feel, tinges of Van Halen and Motley Crue lurk here, really good song especially blasting out of the radio on the motorway.

Title track 'Premonition' starts with some excellent fretwork from the guitarist and then explodes out of the speakers, a real solid rocker for 6 awesome minutes.

Oh yes, hell is this one good, 'Spellbound' a blues laden slab of classic british hard rock, driven along by the drums this one is an instant hit for me.

'Saga' whilst overall another great song, does tend to lean towards the rock ballad, and thats a style not for me, but excellent vocals and for once a non slash like guitar solo, mean that i can just about listen to it without having to click next on the player.

Final track is 'Turn Me Loose' nice guitar opening, followed by some great twin guitar action and looks like we are heading for another ballad type, but wait, oh yes, its suddenly kicks in, boy does this one leave you wanting more and what a guitar solo, absolutley screaming!

Welcome back guys, fucking awesome album!

Rating 10/10
For Fans Of: Saxon, Amulet, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Soldier, Weapon, Legend