…(think Tales from the Twilight World-era here), the former alluring musically on its cleaner intro that builds into a tremendous, headbanging force of a song. Long-time producer Christoph Brandes at Iguana Studios keeps the sound overall primitive, so that the natural studio to live aspect won’t throw people for a loop. The artwork of Timon Kokott contains the right mixture of expected and deeper details one would want in a metal album during any…
…o rhythm claps appear in the softer ballad “Those Eyes”, where Terence really grabs the key verse / chorus moments to showcase his versatility as an emotionally captivating vocalist. On other occasions the musicians of Holler get a chance to showcase a bit of their musical interplay abilities, adding some funk/jazz sections a la Toto in the 80s to make “Falling Apart” very engaging, beyond its memorable melodies or soothing background vocals. What…
…n outing that is “Full Paranoia”. Any band that makes a namesake song usually delivers something special. That’s what you’ll get for the almost ten-minute closer “Critical Defiance” – a modest supply of tempo shifts, killer dual rhythm runs, savage vocals, and just the right amount of melodic hooks that appease those into Sadus, Dark Angel, Megadeth, and Kreator. Expanding their record to an ideal 45 minutes for vinyl sake (Dying Victims Productio…
…w delivery from vocalist Kai Hagemann. He has a tendency to inject a slightly whiny or warble nature in specific verse components, almost sounding a bit more epic/folk-ish versus your Halford, Dickinson, or Dio-styled powerhouse singer. Additional chimes make the ending of “This Is the Way” charming, settling the stage for the next double kick / power barrage within “Evil Dead” – a personal favorite featuring some killer Mercyful Fate-like riffs a…
…hallenge to try to write in between tours, stuff like that. Dead Rhetoric: Lyrically you often tackle psychological horror fiction-related themes – especially the work of Stephen King. What fuels the word outlook to match up so well to the furious music on display – have you always believed that heavy music and shock/horror-style themes go hand in hand? Moate: Yes, I think that’s always been a classic thing. But I also think of our lyrics as like…
…the rapid-fire chorus plus grunts/growls an ideal match for the relentless proceedings. Sons of Alaheim allows Miehala to establish themselves as another newcomer worthy of investigation if you enjoy an old school form of thrash given a bit of life in some death, doom and groove textures. Hopefully the second full-length hits the streets in 2025, as it could be a barnburner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHcQLbZTAO8 https://www.youtube.com/watch…
…more for the Grim Reaper Fest with Weedeater. Following that, we are actively booking a tour for July on the southeast – North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, back up the coast to Virginia, Pennsylvania, things of that nature. We don’t have anything on the books, and we want to be on the West Coast for September/October. That’s about it for right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deQwH7NN03A https://www.youtube.com/watch?…
…attempt to spice it up here and there with some new tricks and techniques. Warp Speed Warriors is about what you’d expect from the monster shredders, but it doesn’t make it any less endearing. Embracing that same sort of retro-esque aesthetic that 2019’s Extreme Power Metal seemed to capture, the ‘have a good time’ factor stays consistently high as you move through Warp Speed Warriors. Opener “Astro Warrior Anthem” hits those traditional triumphan…
…g because there’s so many different things going on. That’s what I personally really like about the scene. Dead Rhetoric: If you were to teach a class on something that wasn’t music, what would you teach? Wolf: Drawing maybe? I do a bit of drawing, but I would like to dive into that more. Erni: I think something like meditating would be good for me, and the whole world. I’m sure about it [laughs]. Dead Rhetoric: What are your plans for 2024? You h…
…s once again for the lyrical scope – everything from brainwashing by major news networks to the insurrection, as well as daily struggles for the common man that most ardent metal followers can easily relate to. Legacy groups struggle with reclaiming status as fans prefer revisiting the past versus accepting new products from these artists. In the case of Atrophy through Asylum, this scribe believes they’ve maintained the right attitude to deliver…
…ve just as much, if not more at times. Bands like Anathema and the criminally underrated ShamRain (seriously, listen to them and try not to be moved) are a constant, especially when the often unpredictable monster known as depression rears its suffocating shadow. My wonderful wife and – somewhat ironically – sad, downtrodden music are my most important things to lean on when that crushing feeling in my chest is ever present. Another act who ticks…
…iece for Aborted to pull off with their veteran status. The band know exactly how to mold and meld their groove-friendly death metal into caustic levels of aggression while still keeping it relatively memorable. Nothing has changed here, and some of the guests bring an added bit of depth or variety to the fold. “Death Cult” is probably the biggest stand out with its staggering grooves and wall of sound approach to aggression, with Sven trading voc…
…y 2022, it was depressing. That was a negative thing, I was feeling it. Early 2022 when things slowly started opening up, we jumped at every opportunity. And it snowballed from there. Everybody in the band felt similar feelings, we had to get out of the house. Dead Rhetoric: What has Gus G. learned about himself as a person and a player in your early 40s that may have grown or differed from who you were as a person going through your 20s and 30s?…
…fans of Kalidia, but of anyone looking for some well-done power metal. Of War and Flames soars triumphantly from beginning to end, full of a variety of tempos and melodic touches that are sure to catch your ear. The best part, is that they avoid the usual power/symphonic metal ‘more is more’ philosophy and keep things short, sweet, and full of energy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfPDijUzgqM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLlu54XVvVc Alterium…
…mie taking in a bit of reverb-heavy trickiness on his vocals to give his delivery a bit more Celtic Frost-like punch especially on the grunts for early highlight “Revel In Dissidence”. Quality doom possesses that slow into painfully dreary variation song to song – which is what you’ll get here, feeling every guitar note bend, plodding bass line, or heavy-handed snare hit. The weak will stray away from Saturnalia Temple – the faithful already welco…
…you find you have to be in a specific mindset to create the best material lyrically and musically for this band – or does inspiration strike at various times that you just capture and develop as it comes? Habeeb: Music-wise, I’ve always found that we are best when we are in a room collaborating together. Throwing ideas around – even though in the modern day it’s easier to just email each other with ideas and tracks, that’s awesome and I am on boa…
…ts sprinkled in when necessary, the rhythm guitar foundation of Tuomas deadly while the melodic chorus runs concurrently next to a stunted, circular riff parade. “Run To You”, the blockbuster Bryan Adams hit from the Reckless album, is given a Before the Dawn transformation – Paavo’s natural melodic register perfect for this style of song, the extra level of distortion girth and Saku Moilanen’s reflective keyboard approach difference makers to the…
…o around. The combination of emotionally driven hooks on all fronts musically plus vocally allows the listener to dive deep into the heavy-handed, hypnotic chord progressions that lead to bigger payoffs through the choruses. Check out “Dig Deep” in that regard, the stunted riffing of Lex Vlad cascading next to an addictive vocal refrain, shifting into some tranquil passages before the next heavy charge barrels down from the sky. The contrasts cont…
…k-like musical progressions, the guitar work of Elias Viljanen taking on a bit of Viking/Thin Lizzy-esque textures especially when he garners the spotlight hook-wise. The quintet also excel in reflective ballad pieces – “The Best Things” probably one of their best in quite some time, Henrik Klingenberg setting the stage through his piano, keyboard, and orchestration angles along with Tony to give this arrangement an alluring power rock meets class…
…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…
…of a proper riff/vocal combination, another wild lead break, plus chilling lyrics where ‘for your soul to rest, no rest from the reaper’ occurs. Usually artists twenty-plus years into their career start to shift gears or go for greener pastures as they become bored with their art. Not so for Midnight, as Hellish Expectations keeps the foot firmly on the gas – unleashing another killer set of tracks sure to add to the live show experience when the…
…e Venus Baroness I” and “The Venus Baroness II”. Both tracks work well together and wrap up this journey perfectly. Again, I didn’t know these guys before, yet love them now. The album is out now on High Roller Records. So go get yours – especially if you live for a crushing hard and fast sound that straddles the lines of death/thrash. Standout Tracks: “Centipede Bite”, “Acid Bath’, “Soul Observatory” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOPQLkohyrs ht…
…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…
…h album. Comparisons will probably abound as to whether the newer act will live exclusively in the realm of what’s already been established – or choose to follow their own musical desires. Epic metal would most assuredly be an accurate tag for these nine tracks – although the performances and musicianship expand into different facets of doom, power, and thrash often within the same track to convey the best emotional atmosphere at hand. Bryan as a…
…/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…
