…ok at what Lutharo achieves song by song? Shipperbottom: For sure. Especially, its really great to have someone recording you that knows exactly what you want. Knows exactly how the sound is going to be, knows exactly what you are trying to say. Having someone behind the boards like that that knows exactly what to do, and what they want to make out of this, is a huge thing. Also, once again, having them there when I was recording and having (guita…
…ar, or more – but at this point in time, it’s an energetic effort full of varied anthems plus memorable songs, living up to its namesake Invincible Shield. Who would have ever expected bands like Accept, Saxon, or Judas Priest to be still vital and as creatively fruitful as they are in the 2020’s – let’s enjoy these recordings, as if it’s the final studio full-length, they will have finished out brilliantly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLPaGqG…
…d strong in Invincible Shield. Hopefully we try to push somewhere differently sonically, or whatever way we can to make the album sound like it’s own animal with its own two legs. The writing and recording, we were able to get together and lay the groundwork for these songs before the lockdown hit. I, Glenn, and Rob, we hashed out these song ideas in demo basic form. Then the lockdowns hit so we couldn’t get together to record it, but it allowed u…
…/bass infusion between the musicians where you can tell they love those early Maiden efforts equally. Spitting out tales of blasphemy, anti-religious themes through titles like “Bestial Rites” and “Necromantic Lust”, bassist T. Nachtghul uses his nasty, raspy screams plus gruff mid-range to convey sinister words, reverb/echo effects only enhancing that edge tenfold. The versatility engages listeners to commit track by track. A love of Motörhead ap…
…ould like to make it so that bands could afford to go on tour. That is really, really hard right now. $200 a night on hotels, $100 a night with gas and food. You have to be rich to go on tour, or you have to be prepared to take a massive hit. It’s not cool. Dead Rhetoric: Do you think that’s where a major difference occurs in festival support in Europe or other parts of the world versus the USA? Coming down to the sponsorships that offset the cost…
…groove rhythm component, allowing David to sail in his mid-range to slightly higher range capacity comfortably. It’s evident these musicians possess great knowledge of many subgenres across hard rock and metal – venturing into even Latin / cultural angles during “Payback’s A Bitch” or flamenco acoustic guitar prowess for the final bars of “My Heart Burns”. Bluesy-based riffage in stunted juxtaposition weaves around the seductive phrasing and note…
Although the releases have been spread out a bit compared to the early / mid 2000’s, one can always rest assured that there is a supreme benchmark aspect to the melodic heavy / power metal present from Firewind. With vocalist Herbie Langhans firmly ensconced in the lineup, Stand United as the tenth studio record keeps the four-piece alignment to great songwriting with stellar melodies as well as a bevy of musicianship-oriented tricks front and ce…
…s a lot of snow and such. It was easy. The recording thing went very smoothly. The only thing I would never, ever do again is mix the album during the summertime. In Finland, our summer is so short, it’s basically two months. Spending that time mostly indoors, working on an album and having your mind inside that whole time, it’s not super relaxing. We didn’t have too many festival shows last summer set up, we played six shows which is absolutely n…
…ased in 2015 on AOR Heaven, the band felt a remix could give these songs a bit of a ‘facelift’ to touch up some of the production flaws that may not have stood up well this many years later. Those of you who love solid performances in a Scandinavian context where the songwriting shines will delight in these eleven tracks – as aspects from old Europe and Rainbow to a more streamlined Masterplan come to mind when you take in the material. The versat…
…hat people can expect when they hear your music? Codfert: I have to talk a bit about the lyrics. Everything came from the lyrics. Zaher the singer, told me on this album he wanted to talk about what we have been facing for twenty years now: discrimination, racism, speak about war, speak about climate change. The cover art is not for a concept album, we are digging into many different topics. When it’s a matter to choosing the cover for this, you h…
…es, the war in the Ukraine affected a lot, the production of vinyl especially. You usually have to deliver the master three or four months before the release – due to the war in the Ukraine, we had to wait for almost a year. We were not being lazy; we were just waiting in line until it was our turn for the factories to produce the album. We are super excited about the whole thing and the final result. We are looking forward to going back into the…
…ith Peaceville Records for the fifth album Wounds Deeper Than Time. Currently only vocalist/ guitarist Dave Gregor remains from the original days – but he has a great group of younger musicians rounding out the quartet to fire up the creative embers through this latest opus Creation Undone. The savage nature to the riffs combined with a natural energetic presence in when to shift the tempos or push into upper gear ensures numerous highlight moment…
…cific mindset or atmosphere to channel these 80s influences best – especially in terms of the lyrical content? Durbin: Not necessarily. My studio is pretty 80s in here. I have The Lost Boys, I’ve got the comic books from there, vampires, Star Wars, whatever else, E.T., all this random shit from my childhood. And then I have my Harry Potter stuff in here, costumes. Lots of retro and 80s influence everywhere I look. I also live in a beautiful place….
…ck in the best moments of their sound and attempt to perfect them, The Catalyst is simply continuing further down that path. The band’s cybermetallic mix of modern, heavy riffs, danceable beats, and the bombastic tri-vocal approach is one that people have truly come to ‘love or loathe’ over the years, and the inventive spirit of it shouldn’t be understated. At the end of the day, it’s hard not to state that those who listen to and enjoy Amaranthe…
…lot of my experiences and what was going on around me in my life for not only the lyrics but as far as inspiration for writing the material. It’s kind of like one of those things where you are an underdog fighting against whatever entity, it makes you want to be more ferocious and fight a little bit harder. Dead Rhetoric: And when it comes to the writing process, has that differed a lot from the early days of the band when you were crafting materi…
…listeners who seek out something a little different from expectations. Boldly “Die Hard” starts the proceedings in epic fashion – an almost eight-minute track containing a plethora of textures, occasionally veering into extreme meets theatrical angles across the arrangement where everything from piano to crunchy, heads down metal riffs command the stage while Jeff’s soulful, multi-octave abilities shine. The guitar work of fellow guitarist Jon Vot…
…great palate cleanser of a track, and one that allows the foll0w-up “My Only Regret” to really shred with strong momentum, even with it’s gorgeous leadwork. The final song (“Goddess of War, Give Me Something to Die For”) successfully merges melody and aggression, with another somber opening that leads into some galloping riffs and drum battery that serves as a rather epic conclusion to the album. Darkest Hour showcase a full album of what they do…
…e oldest song that we recorded back in the day. I thought to myself, I really would like to write a song with lyrics that are similar to the first part, because it has an interesting chorus with the guitar chords. Maybe there will be a part three on the next album, too. Dead Rhetoric: What sort of topics do you like to tackle with the lyrics for Surgical Strike? Do you pull from a mix of real-life situations, social/political injustice angles, or…
…”. Concise arrangements keep the focus on stronger hooks, even adding in a bit of a thrashier penchant when amping up the speed for sections of “Blazing High”, while elevating the art of the cultural, hypnotizing gallop in a Thin Lizzy / Iron Maiden atmosphere for back half highlight “Beyond the Night” (kudos to Mike sneaking in a subtle yet very effective bass solo). Clichés abound when it comes to the lyrical content – its meant to be over the t…
…its some similar notes in its goosebump-inducing atmosphere and Erni’s lovely vocal performance. Certainly one of the highlights at the latter end of the album is that of “Hummingbird,” which utilizes some elegant piano alongside Erni as the mood builds up slowly to a rumbling groove in the track’s back half. One more highlight on the back end is that of “Riptide,” an electronically laced banger of a song that ranks as one of the most hypnotic and…
…roup, the prospect of this Mark II lineup is beyond exciting! And that really jumped out at me with “Will I See You Again”! Not surprisingly, this was my favorite. This is one I keep going back to. Elsewhere there is greatness afoot with “Show Me Your Light”, the high octane “Save All That Remains”, and opener “Against the Winds.” The bottom line is this: Revolution Saints are here to stay, and let’s hope we have many more albums that I get to rev…
…e and Amaranthe. Then its time to prepare for summer festivals, and hopefully a really nice tour in autumn…maybe even two. We are trying to see if we can make it work. But we have a lot of shows coming up, the new album comes out in February, and a lot of music videos after that. There’s a lot going on! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7t9SspFWKA&pp=ygUNaW5mZWN0ZWQgcmFpbg%3D%3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-JGQgnwpGE&pp=ygUNaW5mZWN0ZWQgcmFpbg%…
…do it. Dead Rhetoric: Did you take more risks with where you wanted to go lyrically as well for the album? Lenny B.: We took some risks… I didn’t think about it. I felt like I was always hiding behind some typical metal metaphors, metal lyrics, words and stuff. If this album is 100% honest in what I feel, then I should start writing down what I feel and be brave enough to share it with people. The lyrics are the theme – a reason. If I scream into…
…t can be beefy as well as muscular, enjoy the work of Tamino Bosse especially on “Mind Free”, a mid-tempo outing that has a bit of modern touch in terms of the screams or supplementary chord progression choices. Add in a killer logo / cover art combination to encapsulate EXA as a contender to keep thrash alive when the veterans die off (or retire) through Left in Shards. Tough as nails, strong as steel – beating bodies into submission one riff to…
…e time as well, but unfortunately, I’m a bit slow with it. Flys: I personally really enjoy practicing yoga and martial arts – I recently got into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and I’m loving it – reading fantasy novels, playing video games (I’m mostly into Souls-like games and shooters) and simply spending time with my family and loved ones. Dead Rhetoric: What kind of music have you been enjoying as of late? Anything under the radar that you think folks sh…
…ith no letdown across its swift 40-minute playback. The record cover probably will spark a bit of conversation (or controversy) given the anti-hero holding weapons with animals poking out in the background – yet the musical contents showcase Dymytry as an impressive quintet for those that love commercial-oriented modern metal. Five Angry Men isn’t necessary breaking the mold – more so keeping in line with a sound that may have developed stateside…
…d “For the Fallen”. The former features crunchy, heads down rhythms with a bit of a menacing angle, the quick twin harmony lines an added hook touch next to some thrash-oriented rhythm section mechanics – while the latter leans into Iron Maiden meets Blind Guardian territory musically, the vocals of guitarist Daniel Cordón forceful with the occasional melodic high note propensity to match the exciting, driving anthem components. Influences encapsu…
…a new wave of thrash metal. We got good reviews, we played live a lot, mostly locally. When it was time to write the follow-up to Thrashing, other things came in the way. Our vocalist took over his family’s business, another one started studying classical music to become a music teacher, I had kids. We didn’t really want to throw in the towel, so we continued to jam, write some songs in the rehearsal room. One of the guitarists went off to Civil W…
…dings, while “By the Throat” is a more mid-tempo offering that showcases a bit more of the crossover, gang-like mentality that can elevate the mood when frustration settles into your average day. Thirty-two minutes of metallic hardcore, Night Fever with Dead End prove that they’ve lost no intensity, scrappiness, or sheer determination to shove their songwriting into tight windows of explosive madness. In the end, it’s a wonderful sound that hopefu…
…k appears in specific riffs or chorus work – “Heavy Metal” one of those rally cry numbers sure to induce gang audience participation, be it vocally or hurtling oneself stage diving, head banging with abandon. Then there’s the piercing high range nature of Dave vocally. It can be hit or miss depending on your preferences, as at times the screech-like screams could be nails on the chalkboard hard to handle. But you can’t deny much like Skull Fist or…
