…is the ability to pull off multi-part vocal harmonies, as a band, especially in live settings… Cleary: That’s always been something we love. We love a lot of hair metal – Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, they’ve always had those big vocal harmonies. It’s not a question for us, we have to do this live. We’ve been lucky enough that most of the people we’ve had in the band, they are pretty good singers. Even Pete our bass player, he’s a fantastic singer. At o…
…ns in their titles, while waxing poetic about wild tales of culinary-based lyrics, it unfortunately may lead to a portion of the audience to dismiss them as a bit of a gimmick. But truth be told, At the Plates may have very punny song titles and some crazy yet fun lyrics, Omnivore is a ‘melodic’ death metal release that’s going to start your 2024 off in very satisfying ways. While it’s quite fun to look at the titles, such as “Punish My Waistline”…
…ease. As previously stated, this was our first time seeing Gost, having sadly narrowly missed other opportunities to catch a live set. Gost’s stage presence has changed throughout the years – from a skull mask adorned by a hoodie, to black metal-ish corpse paint – and we were treated to the full skull mask, which was super cool. Thus, we were also treated to varied set from his impressive discography, with songs spanning each full-length, resultin…
…running with it for now). Dead Rhetoric: Where did you want to come across lyrically for this effort? Do you place an equal amount of importance on shaping the melodies/lyrics in a certain way to match or mirror the musical atmosphere present track by track? Bell: Most of the melodies/lyrics were written in this kind of assembly-line fashion AKA melody first, lyrics second. There was some variability but mostly that’s how it came together. A littl…
…e a bit of culture shock and adjustment that had to be made? Zaks: Absolutely. Simply because I didn’t speak the language. When I moved here, I was seventeen. I didn’t study English at school, I studied German. It wasn’t really helping me. Even when I tried to apply some of my German knowledge, it was nonexistent. I had to learn English from scratch. I could start communicating after a year, maybe even longer. It was one of the biggest challenges…
…vocals fit the track like a glove and it’s a real rousing song (particularly having witnessed it in the live setting last month). Isiliel seems to be setting up for an even stronger 2024 if we continue to get gems like this one. (Isiliel official website/Isiliel on X) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZVlg1yYPJo Ketulo “RIOT/Ringside” Continuing strong after this fall’s excellent self-titled 3-song release, Ketulo quickly return with two new songs…
…ven employing it effectively in some of Akane’s vocal performance. Truthfully, this chorus is probably her strongest in terms of sheer power of the EP. “Mujuryokuhiko” feels the most epic of the bunch, with the playful violin giving it an almost jovial feel that effectively contrasts the more rock-driven nature of the rest of the group. Ayasa’s solo in this song is a real stunner. Last in the mix is “Hanabi,” which has the most fun and rock-ish at…
…Whitesnake atmosphere feel that finishes the record in grand style. Probably a record that many ardent followers of the band will treasure more than newcomers – as this is not exactly the style to make consumers want to part with their hard-earned money in a hurry. Silver R.I.S.C may just be happy to be back on the scene – and as such, its not time wasted as this has an interesting melodic hard rock meets AOR in a heavy metal kind of context effo…
…nza: We always work remotely because some of the band is from Spain, and I live in Italy. The pandemic affected the record, but more so it affected Triumph & Tragedy, because we were without a drummer at that time. A good friend of ours Marco Prij, the drummer from Cryptosis, the thrash metal band from the Netherlands, helped us and did a hell of a job. He had to record it in his own studio, we couldn’t bring him to a very good studio because ever…
…ges to hit an impressively wide spectrum, all of which is executed flawlessly. Finally, “Procession” concludes No Dawn for the Caliginous Night on a forlorn note, with haunting narrations by Samantha Alessi, and additional vocals by Misery Index’s Jason Netherton adding to what is a colossal build of strain and aural anguish. It’s absolutely the most funeral of all of the variations of doom on the record, yet contains a bit of everything laid out…
…d all of the best facets of PassCode and ramps them up to 11. Bouncing and lively synths, clean/harsh vocal dynamics, punchy breakdowns, and a high energy sound that never stops. Each song stands out on its own, really putting the listener through all the motions of wanting to start a mosh pit, happily dance around, or raise your fist, or just enjoy the music happily. 5. Dying Wish – Symptoms of Survival (SharpTone Records) A step-up in every way…
…berate to unfurled ferocity. Fans of either death and/or sludge metal need Warcrab in their lives, with The Howling Silence being further proof of a band who do it better than pretty much everyone else. They’ve gotten more experimental with their songwriting, and the dividends are obvious, resulting in a package that is both cleverly composed and a smashing wooden crab mallet to the exoskeleton. This is the band’s best work to date, and the proof…
…r expanding pit. Vocalist Devin Swank is an imposing presence both physically and audibly, with monstrously deep growls and abundant energy, urging the crowd to slam along. Stringed warriors Ced Davis and Drew Arnold form an imposing duo, along with skin pounder Cody Davidson providing wild rhythmic calamity. The band clearly relish being on stage, and it shows with every note. What was the most noteworthy and viciously amusing moment of the eveni…
…eatest Sorcerer song delivered to date. Elements of the devil himself vocally as well as musically creep in to segments of the title track, while vocalist Anders Engberg uses his resourceful bellow in lower to mid-range capacity for the majestic “Unveiling Blasphemy”. Consciously focusing on shorter or faster material next to the expected epic doom traits gives a bit more explosive energy when taking in songs such as “Thy Kingdom Will Come” as wel…
…ut any sense of ear fatigue. The finale “Twilight of the Gods” possesses a bit of a Tony Martin-esque Black Sabbath flavor musically, while the operatic choir parts extend the throwback nature – hundreds of years of influences all converging as one. For this scribe, Therion were at their best during the Theli through Secret of the Runes studio album period – since then, certain releases have been as strong while others a bit weaker. Leviathan III…
…I don’t know what I would do. Try to stop world starvation, first of all. War is really horrible, but to starve to death, it’s nothing you would wish even on your worst enemy. Maybe just take away all the guns, I guess! Dead Rhetoric: What would be some of the best memories over the career of Axenstar? Winterwild: Every time that you do a show in some other country, you meet the people. When they’ve been listening to you for years, that’s always…
…not looking in the right places, or I’m in an older crowd, we were completely unaware, and it was cool. It made us feel old, but in a good way. It’s satisfying to see that the genre has grown and been handed down to new generations. It was cool to play for a crowd who kind of didn’t know High Spirits too, and draw them in. Dead Rhetoric: What’s on the horizon for anything related to High Spirits or Chris Black-related output over the next year or…
…ith “The Hunger”, it’s evident that these musicians are well-equipped to deliver powerful tracks that have that x factor to cement themselves deeply into the heads (and hearts) of headbangers everywhere. As a singer Clau Violette possesses that multiple threat angle of serene, clean melodies plus ripping screams to tear limbs as much as captivate in capable, memorable ways. When they wish to add a bit of djent, stunted work into the normal alterna…
…long period of time. We were able to work on this for a long time, obviously separately because of the time period. Because of the pandemic, it necessitated how we went about writing the songs over lockdown. We made a great album previously with Sea Savage, so we were happy with this new way of writing. I think before Sea Savage was out, we even started working on songs for this record. Philly: We had done a demo. We’ve been very lucky with these…
…nd layout was a fit as well – in all details! Horrend was recorded absolutely live in three hours, and mixed in less than twenty days! The new album was made in two days, recorded live again, except for the vocals, and mixed in five months! We didn’t sit back. Also, some gigs were performed here and there in Italy and it was amazing! Everything happened so damn quickly, our new label came out at the beginning of this tear, we just signed the deal…
…, the band explores moodier, epic angles for the almost ten-minute closer “War of the Ages”. This song featuring at times calmer, clean voices, doom-like riffs, a lengthy instrumental sequence that shifts between crunchy guitar harmonies and pounding rhythm section mechanics as well as a finishing, hypnotic musical sequence that reaches a peak to fade out into oblivion – it’s a versatile effort that hopefully these musicians will engage in on futu…
…cts. We viewed this record as an opportunity to firm that stuff up and really apply cinematic moods and instrumentation in the presentation of it – to make those elements more of a defining feature. Having this short film experience, in a track that really is so about the mood and scoring of it. You don’t hear drums for like 5-minutes! So that was a big part of the driving motivation – to have something out in that time period that suited the musi…
…kfully the organic nature to the tones and production gives the material a bit more warmth – incorporating aspects of older Blind Guardian for “As We Fight” just as easily as the militant march components of say a Scottish-oriented Sabaton during the 6:26 “Proud to Defend”, although vocally Paolo Ribaldini possesses a bit more of a comforting, bard-like lilt to his delivery. The symbiotic relationship between classic power metal and folk/Celtic st…
…o and cleaner guitar passages within “Letters of Life” allow Sandro to really belt out the melodies in his best light – the man certainly has aspects of Bruce Dickinson and Geoff Tate within his wheelhouse, capable of rearing back for that key money note signature to mesmerize when need be. The additional sound effects, be it dragon sounds or synthwave spots never deter from the metal proceedings – they only add dynamic contrasts to color the song…
…ry important. The video director understands where we want to go artistically. To me that’s really important, that the vision I have in my head comes out better than I expected. That’s why you have to work with very professional people, because they will translate this even better. We recorded these videos in Berlin, Germany. We recorded a total of three music videos in two days, it was a lot of hard work and a lack of sleep. It was also done in t…
…me out in 2006, it’s not as if the band faded away into oblivion – playing live shows and festivals when they could. Bassist Steve DiGiorgio has moved on, leaving main members guitarist/vocalist Darren Travis and drummer Jon Allen to forge ahead for this sixth studio record The Shadow Inside. According to Matt Coe, the album showcases Sadus’s virtuosity between shifting tempos, stellar musicianship, and adequate hook/groove parts and will be rewar…
…increasing the hook factor for tracks like “The Great Escape” or the slightly folk-influenced “Libra One Hundred Dragons Force”. What helps Trick Or Treat stand near the top of this style is the engaging, vibrant voice of Alessandro Conti. He escalates proceedings to cheerleader fervor as needed, beyond hitting those serious Kiske-like falsetto notes or mid-range personal quirks during “Have a Night Judgement” or humorous “Like Donald Duck” that a…
…ic: What are some of the biggest concerns you have about the world that we live in currently? If you could help the average person live a better life, what sorts of ideas or thoughts would you like to get across that could be beneficial? Kokko: That’s a big question! (laughs). You can listen to the album, we talk about concerns like warmongers, and what’s happening in Europe now. Religious freedom, there is crazy stuff happening. How would I bette…
…itiate call to arms action through his lyrics. Hungering Inside won’t exactly win originality awards – but Miara has executed through this record a solid grasp of the mechanics within this style. Now it’s more a question of band chemistry, live performances, and natural seasoning to take shape so that we can hear a bit more originality / growth for the next effort. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIJ7O1qelTs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LoD6ln…
…y, I think the most important thing in this style of metal is not necessarily the lyrics, but they are important, it’s more about the melody and the music itself. The vocals and lyrics in the process come afterward, the way it plays with the music, they have to be complementary. For the lyrics even, I derive that from the sound the songs have. It’s the way it makes me feel when I listen to it, I gain inspiration from that. Dead Rhetoric: How do yo…
