Showing posts with label blackened power metal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blackened power metal. Show all posts

Monday, February 12, 2024

The Lightbringer/Seven Thrones/2024 Full Length Review

 


  The  Lightbringer  are  a  band  from  Quebec,  Canada  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2024  album  "Seven  Thrones"  which  will  be  released  in  March.


  Keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Operatic  female  vocals  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  blast  beats.


  The  cleat  male  vocals  also  bring  in  elements  of  power  metal  while  the  harsher  vocals  are  mostly  black  metal  screams.  Tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.


  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  one  song  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts,  death  metal  growls  and  clean  playing  are  also  added  on  some  of  the  tracks.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  are  a  concept  album  that  explores  mythology,  light  and  darkness.


  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Lightbringer  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black  and  power  emtal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Worlds  Beyond"  "Pillar  Of  Creation"  and  "Mystic  Places  of  Dawn".  8/5  out  of  10.


  https://thelightbringermetal.bandcamp.com/merch

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA7skqQQUfCRXwQh9g2oKGQ/?sub_confirmation=1
https://www.facebook.com/thelightbringerofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/thelightbringerband/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/42vunlIXOg69YegQhmFG05

Saturday, July 29, 2023

ORCumentary/Self Titled/2023 EP Review

 


  New  England's  ORCumentary  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for a   mixture  of  folk,  death  and  power  metal  with  a  musical  style  they  refer  to  as  being  'orc  metal'  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  and  self  released  2023  ep  which  will  be  released  in  August.


  Folk  instruments  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  Symphonic  sounds  can  also be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  vocals  being  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams.


  Keyboards  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  The  songs  also  mix  in  influences  from  power  metal  into  the  more  melodic  side  of  the  music  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats,  spoken  word  parts  are  also  added  on  the  closing  track.   


 On  this  recording  ORCumentary  goes  for  more  of  a  mixture  of  symphonic  black,  death,  folk  and  power  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  fantasy  and  humor  themes.


  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  ORCumentary  and  if  you a re  a  fan  of  folk,  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blood"  and  "Into  The  West".  8  out  of  10.


  https://youtu.be/fc1Pf7dcwY4


https://open.spotify.com/artist/71XpqE5MgSFHgSSs6TLBFA

https://orcumentary.bandcamp.com/album/orcumentary-2 

Saturday, October 8, 2022

Antipope/Rex Mundi/Moribund Records/2022 Full Length Review

 


  Finland's  Antipope  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  more  of  a  melodic  and  progressive  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Rex  Mundi"  which  will  be  released  on  October  28th  by  Moribund  Records.


  A  very  epic  sounding  synth  orientated  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  also  introducing  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  onto  the  recording.  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also b e  hear d in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can b e  heard.


  Melodies  are  also added  into  a  lot  of t he  guitar  riffing  while  the  vocals  bring  in  a  mixture  of  first  wave  style  black  metal  screams  and  power  metal  style  singing.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of t he  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.


  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  progressive  sounding  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  clean  playing.  Some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  some  death  metal  growls  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  the  Albigensian  Crusade  and  Cathar  Wars  in t he  1200's.


  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Antipope  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  progressive  black,  death,  doom,  power  and  heavy  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Rex  Mundi  Aeternum"  "Glory  Of  Slaughter"  "Twilight  of  The  Grey  Gods"  and  "Hell  On  Earth".  8  out  of  10.


    


        

Friday, June 24, 2022

Forsaken Eternity/A Kingdom of Ice/Rottweiler Records/2022 Full Length Review

 


  Forsaken  Eternity  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Oregon  that  plays  a  melodic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "A  Kingdom  Of  Ice"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Rottweiler  Records.


  A  very  heavy,  melodic  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.


  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  couple  of tracks  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts.


  The  music  also  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  power  metal  elements  along  with  some  clear  vocals  also  being  utilized  briefly  as  well  as  one  song  also  being  an  instrumental  and  also  introducing  classical  guitars  onto  the  recording  and  the  album  also  closes  with  a  cover  of  Yngwie  Malmsteen's  "Rising  Force".  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  time  travel,  fantasy,  dreams  and  misanthropy  themes.


  In  my  opinion  Forsaken  Eternity  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  power  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Skywards"  "Endless  Light"  and  "A  Kingdom  of  ice".  8  out  of  10.


www.facebook.com/forsakeneternityban


https://youtu.be/HHgQtPEP9gc 

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Stellagen/From Dying Stars/2022 Full Length Review

 


  Stellagen  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death,  thrash  and  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2022  album  "From  Dying  Stars".


  Heavy  riffing  starts  off  the  album  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  power  metal  style.  Black  metal  screams  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  bringing  in  blast  beats  and  thrash  metal  elements  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  


  At  times  the  vocals  also melodic  sounding  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Death  metal  growls  are  also  added  on  some  of  the  tracks  along  with  some  clean  playing  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  one  song  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars,  as  the  album  progresses  a  couple  of  instrumentals  can  also  be  heard  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.


  Stellagen  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  melodic  black,  death,  thrash  and  power  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction,  fantasy,  literature  and  real  life  experiences.   


  In  my  opinion  Stellagen  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death,  thrash  and  power  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Die  in  my  Mind"  "Beowulf"  and  "The  ENd".  8  out  of  10.


https://youtu.be/mp8cbi-1AYg


https://stellagenmusic.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/stellagenmusic
https://www.instagram.com/stellagenmusic/
https://stellagenmusic.bandcamp.com
https://open.spotify.com/track/5Rd0DxKN822DTn6dSQnbkx
https://music.apple.com/au/album/freedom-single/1606551564

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMJNRQBQzup0VKT0CY7pwSA     

Saturday, July 3, 2021

Wizardthrone/Hybercube Necrodimensions/Napalm Records/2021 CD Review

 


  Wizardthrone  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  with  embers  from  Alestorm,  Gloryhammer,  Aether  Realm,  Forlorn  Citadel  and  Nekrogoblikon  that  plays  a  symphonic  and  technical  mixture  of  black,  death  and  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Hybercube  Necrodimensions"  which  will  be  released  on  July  16th  by  Napalm  Records.


  A  very  heavy,  technical  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.  Black  metal  screams  are  also  a  very  huge  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.


  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  and technical  style.  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  some  melodic  chants  also  being  utilized  briefly.


  Death  metal  growls  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  the  faster  riffing  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  at  times  as  well  as  the  music  also  having  its  progressive  moments.  Some  of  the  melodies  also  add  in  touches  of  power  metal  and  a  later  track  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts,  the  closing  track  is  over  13  minutes  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album based  upon  traversing  vivid  sci-fi  multiverses  with  some  inspirations  from  the  writings  of  H.P  Lovecraft.


  In  my  opinion  Wizardthrone  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  technical  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Frozen  Winds  Of  Thyraxia"  "The  Coalescence  Of  The  Nine  Stars  In  The  System  once  Known  As  Markarian-231"  and  "Beyond  the  Wizardthrone  (Cryptopharmalogical  Revelations  Of  The  Riemann  Zeta  Function)".  8/5  out  of  10.


Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Website

Thursday, June 3, 2021

Numenor/Colossal Darkness/2021 Full Length Re-Issue Review

 


  Numenor  are  a  band  from  Serbia  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  an  epic  mixture  of  black  and  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Colossal  Darkness"  which  was  re-issued  in  2021  by  Elevate.


  A  classical  music  influenced  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  symphonic  elements  are  als  mixed  in  with  the  heavy  sections  of  the  songs.  Grim  black  metal  screams  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.


  Power  metal  style  vocals  are  also  utilized  on  a  couple  of  songs  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  remain  true  to  a  classic  and  traditional  style  of  metal  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  also  being  utilized  on  a  few  tracks.


  When  the  music  finally  speeds  up  on  a  couple  of  tracks  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  as  well  as  a  couple  of  songs  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  whispered  spoken  word  parts  and  the  album  closes  with  some  Iron  Maiden  and  Rainbow  covers.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Fantasy,  Literature  and  the  writings  of J.R.R  Tolkien.


  In  my  opinion  this  was  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Numenor  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  epic  and  symphonic  black  and  power  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Eternal  Champion"  "The  Alchemist"  "While  the  Gods  laugh"  and  "Stargazer".  8  out  of  10.


https://www.facebook.com/N%C3%BAmenor-130231620372144/   


    


    

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Numenor/Draconian Age/Elevate/2021 CD Review

 


  Numenor  are  a  band  from  Serbia  that  plays  an  epic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black,  death,  power  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Draconian  Age"  which  was  released  by  Elevate.


  Melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  and  are  done  in  a  classic  metal  metal  while  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and power  metal  clean  singing.  Most  of  the  music  is  heavily  rooted  in  both  the  80's  and  90's  era  but  modern  at  the  same  time  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.


  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  one  of  the  tracks  is  a  cover  of  "Hall  Of  The  Mountain  King"  and  introduces  keyboards  and  symphonic  elements  onto  the  album.  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.


  Some  of  the  riffing  also  shows  an  influence  of  the  more  melodic  death  metal  style  along  with  the  songs  also  capturing  an  epic  atmosphere  as  well  as  one  track  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  back  up  shouts,  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  a  mid  tempo  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  based  upon  the  writings  of  Michael  Moorcock,  J.R.R  Tolkien  and  H.P  Lovecraft.


  In  my  opinion  Numenor  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black,  death,  power  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Make  The  Stand"  "Arkenstone"  "Twilight  Of  The  Gods"  and  "The  Last  of  Wizards".  8  out  of  10.


Bandcamp
Facebook
Homepage



Monday, February 8, 2021

Lunar Shadow/Wish To Leave/Cruz Del Sur Music/202 CD Review

 


  Lunar  Shadow  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  melodic  black  and  power  metal  with  some  elements  of  post  and  indie  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Wish  To  Leave"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  Cruz  Del  Sur  Music.


  Rain  and  thunder  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  before  adding  in  some  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  are  very  heavily  rooted  in  traditional  metal.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.


  Synths  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  the  vocals  are  done  in  mostly  in  a  power  metal  style  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  a  great  amount  of  melody.  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  parts  also  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.


  The  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  post  and  indie  rock  elements  along  with  the  music  only  retaining  a  small  amount  of  the  black  metal  touched  that  where  present  on  the  previous  releases  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction  as  well  as  the  closing  track  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while t he  lyrics  cover  a  wish  to  leave  everything  behind.


  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Lunar  Shadow  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black  and  power  metal  with  some  touches  of  post  and  indie  rock,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Serpents  Die"  and  "The  Darkness  Between  the  Stars".  8  out  of  10.


https://www.facebook.com/lunarshadowband 


https://youtu.be/-xbqB8KsRys

Friday, October 2, 2020

Aeolian/The Negationist/Black Lion Records/2020 CD Review

 


  Aeolian  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  blackened  form  of  death  metal  with  some  elements  of  folk  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "The  Negationist"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Black  Lion  Records.


   A  very  fast  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  angry  sounding  blackened  metal  screams  while  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  in  a  lot  of  melody  as  well  as  adding  in  some  touches  of  classic  metal  and  death  metal  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times.


  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  When  acoustic  guitars  are  utilized  they  also  bring  elements  of  folk  metal  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  some  clean  chants  also  being  utilized  briefly.


  Some  of  the  heavier  riffing  also  shows  an  influence  of  thrash  metal  along  with  a  later  track  also  introducing  power  metal style vocals  onto  the  album  and  as  the  album   progresses  some  songs  also  add  in  stringed  and  folk  instruments.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  damage  earthlings  are  dong  to  their  own  planet.


  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Aeolian  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black, death,  folk,  thrash  and  power  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Momentum"  "Unseen  Enemy"  "The  Flood"  and  "Reborn".  8/5  out  of  10.


http://www.aeolianband.com
https://www.facebook.com/aeolianmetalband 
https://twitter.com/aeolianmetal 
https://www.instagram.com/aeolian_official 
https://www.youtube.com/aeolianofficial 

       


   

Friday, July 10, 2020

Blood Of Angels/Failure Of Faith/Sliptrick Records/2020 CD Review


  Blood  Of  Angels  are  a  band  from  Florida  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Failure  Of  Faith"  which  will  be  released  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Classical  guitars  and  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  will  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.

  Vocals  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  while  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  A  touch  of  groove  metal  can  also  be  heard  during  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs  and  some  of  the  vocals  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  some  elements  of  thrash  metal.

  Throughout  the  album  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  introducing  clean  playing  and  spoken  word  parts  onto  the  recording  and  they  also  bring  in  a  cover  of  Motorhead's  "I  Don't  Need  Religion",  power  metal  style  vocals  can  also  be  heard  on  the  closing  track.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  anti  religion  and  historical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Blood  Of  Angels  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black,  death,  thrash  and  groove  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Monotheism"  "Blood  Of  The  Lamb"  "Crusader"  and  "America's  Mythologies".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp
Facebook
Official website
YouTube
   

  

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Ensiferum/Thalassic/Metal Blade Records/2020 CD Review


  Finland's  Ensiferum  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  the  epic  folk  metal  style  of  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Thalassic"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Metal  Blade  Records.

  Water  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  vocals  and  acoustic  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  music  also  brings  in  some  symphonic  sounding  keyboards  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  are  also  utilized  at  times.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  some  tracks  also  adding  in  some  back  up  shouts.

  The  clean  vocals  also  add  in  some  elements  of  pagan  and  power  metal  when  they  are  utilized  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  as  well  as  some  tracks  also  adding  in  some  folk  instruments  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  history,  myths,  legends  and  heathenism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Ensiferum  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Seafarer's  Dream"  "The  Defence  of  The  Sampo"  "One  With  the  Sea"  and  "Cold  Northland  (Vainamoinen  Part  III".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.facebook.com/Ensiferum
http://www.ensiferum.com
http://www.metalblade.com/ensiferum 
   

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Skylord/Frostcraft/Soundage Productions/2019 CD Review


  Skylord  are  a  band  from  Russia  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  viking,  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Frostcraft" which  was  released  by  Soundage  Productions.

  Keyboards  start  off  the  album  while  also  using  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times.  The  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  when  the  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  symphonic  sounding  while  death  metal  growls  and  clean  pagan  vocals  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording.  The  music  also  has  a  lot  of  90's  influences  as  well  as  sounding  very  modern  at  the  same  time  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  faster  riffing  along  as  well  as  some  of  the  clean  vocals  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  power  metal.

 Some  of  the  tracks  also  mix  in  elements  of  folk  metal  as  well  as  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  also showing  some  influences  of  goth  and  doom  metal  and  as  the  album  progresses  whispered  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Nature,  Fantasy,  Paganism  and  Russian  History  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Skylord  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black,  viking  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Drained(Emberdreams)"  "Enchanted  Forest"  "Scarlet  Winter"  and  "Wintertears".  8  out  of  10.


      

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Tanagra Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
The recording was a really long process, close to 3 years, and that took a lot of time that'd be spent writing and practicing, but we still played some shows in the meantime, and have continued to write and practice. We're currently working on a couple EP's with a narrower focus on each one, as well as some more general writing for the 3rd album.

2.In April you have a new album coming out, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
While the first album had a relatively narrow focus of European Power Metal with a dash of prog influence, Meridiem is much more full and composed. Not only does it embrace a lot of prog elements (and some black and doom metal elements); but it's just sonically bigger. Lots more synths, multiple guest musicians, heavily layered vocals, and all the extra experience our producer/engineer Sacha has had come to bear on this album. I believe Witness was over 250 tracks by completion.

3.The band started out with more of a power metal style but on the new album mixed in some symphonic black metal influences, what was the decision behind going into this direction?
The previous album had much less influence from Chris since it was mostly written by the time he came on, and he didn't directly write much of the music. Chris's more direct influence on the new album brought with it more doomy, neo-classical, and black metal influences. Additionally; Erich dabbles in this realm so it's an easy sell. It was a semi-conscious decision, inspired by bands like Forefather, Ancient Rites, and Caladan Brood who all have hints of a power metal / black metal hybrid, it became a fun challenge to combine them together with a heavier emphasis on the cleaner parts. It's a relatively rare combination which is surprising, as they actually combine incredibly well. There were quite a few times when we'd come up with an intense riff and Chris would be like "Oh man, I gotta blast over this and we'll have some big choral vocals!" One of the songs Chris took the lead on, Across the Ancient Desert, was very much intentionally putting the black metal aspect front and center as he was experimenting a bit with just how much he could get away with.

4.While you have some black metal elements you also keep your vocals all in a clean style, are you open to experimenting with some harsh vocals or do you prefer to keep the traditional power metal style?
A lot of material for future albums has already been created, and I don't think any of it has a hint of such vocals. I wouldn't close the door entirely on it if it was thematically appropriate for a song, but I have a distinct feeling it won't come up for a while. Though in line with the black metal influence a bit, I do see us drifting a bit more towards the kind of low-choral vocals you'd hear in Caladan Brood and occasional Summoning song as the soaring resonance of that style is beautiful over fast aggressive music.

5.Your lyrics also cover a lot of science fiction and fantasy themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interests in those subjects?
I think everyone but Josh is some form of a nerd if I'm frank. Erich is into all kinds of gaming including 40k and Magic The Gathering; Steve is into a lot of video games, Star Trek and anything involving the concept of time, Tom is a big Board-game and book/science guy who is big into Star Trek; and Chris on top of being a Malazan fanboy and total weeb I'm not sure there's a nerdy thing he would avoid.  For the most part though future references to these subjects will still be using it as a conduit for whatever the message of the song is; it's about capturing and delivering the feeling of the story to the listener rather than saying "Hey, we like that thing that you like!"

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Tanagra'?
The first major song of the band (never released, has been torn apart, maybe rehashed in the future) was a very long epic called "At Tanagra"; a reference to a Star Trek episode: Darmok (Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra is the classic phrase). When stewing on possible names for some number of weeks, Scott mentioned Tanagra as a name; and it stuck... Steven once described the meaning: The particular episode, Darmok, which has a theme of coming together to work towards a common goal and working together to create new experiences that exist as a metaphor in history for the future to build upon, and as a band, we try and take in multiple influences to create something new out of, and the name was a reflection of that.

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the album cover?
We once again had the pleasure of working with the incredible Gary Tonge, who did the panoramic cover art of our first album as well. This time the process was a little different; rather than Tom describing a specific composition, he just gave Gary some ideas about what kind of atmosphere the new cover should have and listed some elements that should be included. What followed was several weeks of discussions and refinements that resulted in the cover art you see now. We made a conscious choice to go with a completely different color palette compared to the first album and wanted the atmosphere of the cover to reflect the undercurrent of drama and melancholy that permeates this album. The artwork aims to illustrate the album's overarching theme of transition-- A long journey has been made, but there's still a long way to go. The distant temple represents dreams yet unrealized, with many different paths leading there. The album's name means "midday" in Latin. Conceptually, this represents a crucial pivot point in the band's journey, which we feel this album is. Our first album's art depicted a sunrise; this time the sun is high in the sky. There are several significant numbers present in the artwork as well: The two massive columns (this is our second album), the five spires of the temple (five members in the band), the seven monuments in the sky (seven songs on the album), and nine paths through the valley (this one is a bit of a musical joke-- part of what gives this album its overall vibe is the repeated use of ninth chords). Each of these numbers has other significance as well (for example, a total of seven people have been in the band at this point, it's been nine years between the start of the band and the release of this album, and two original members on this album aren't coming back).

8.So far there has been a 4 year gap in between the 2 full  lengths and demo you have released so far, can you tell us a little bit more about it?
Both records took substantially longer to finish than expected. One aspect of Meridiem's delay was an injury that occurred to Tom's voice during tracking a particularly difficult part for us baritones. I don't think the full details are necessary, but it caused a substantial 8-10 month delay. This album also underwent a lot of "debugging"; where we rehashed sections, re-performed parts, rewrote parts, etc. The album definitely ran away from us a little bit. We consistently had this idea of "bigger and more epic" every step of the way so we were always wanting to add more. For example, we decided to have 2 songs with heavy orchestral influence. Well, then the other 5 would feel a little bare, so we decided to write some basic backings to those, but then that quickly turned in to every song have a ton of backings, and then that gave birth to some beautiful melodies where we decided to bring in live musicians. Or at times we'd have an amazing vocal melody and decide "you know what, now we need a 5 part harmony behind that." Things like that happened in every song, and while it really drew the recording process out, the end result is that every song has a huge amount of effort and focus and refinement put into it. Chris always described it like "I've always wanted to do a crazily huge over-produced album, this is awesome!"

Finally, there was a substantial delay in figuring out the logistics of the majority of the cost of the album. Once we made some decisions regarding that we started plotting a lot more points on the calendar to get things done.

9.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
The first show was amazing; since the crowd was rather larger than expected due to Josh's local popularity and the intrigue of this new project. There was a particularly good show downtown in a venue called Slabtown ( that no longer exists) but it was packed, we covered a Blind Guardian song, the crowd was happy, we had an encore we weren't prepared for.  The encore ended up being like 20 minutes and the crowd just kept wanting more, it was a good time, but our poor drummer just wanted a beer after that, power metal's tiring. Playing at the first Hyperspace show (in Vancouver BC) was pretty sweet, if nothing else because it was a decent venue and crowd; and they were mostly new ears. The Blaze Bayley show also went well.

Our stage performance is largely focused around delivering a truly accurate rendition of the songs you hear (which can be quite difficult with the parts we write haha) and usually shows some new material that is a year or two out (or more!). We have our drummer plugged into a click track so we can have all of the backing symphonic and synth elements included in our show over the PA as well. It makes for a pretty huge full sound, and if with a good lighting guy and a fog machine, it's quite the experience and not something you usually see/hear live. We try to write many of the choruses or parts to have sing-along style crowd engagement; much like many European power metal bands (such as Blind Guardian.) We want you to have a good time and we want you to hear what you came for. If you want to hear new material you'll be ahead of the curve if you can see us live!

10.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
Probably not at the moment; but were the album successful enough we could maybe pull it off. It'd definitely be fun to get out there, but as always, things like real life and money get in the way, and this album was quite expensive, so we're trying to catch up with ourselves in affordable ways. Ideas are hatching about how to move forward optimally, but first things first, gotta finish getting this album out there!

11.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
There is a bit of a mixed sentiment on being signed in the band. It's a bit of a tricky proposition these days with how many good tools are out there for self-promotion and how even most signed bands have to pay for their own tours and make most of their money from merch anyways. We're open to hearing all offers though, and we'll shop this album around and see what happens but if there's not a good offer our lawyer signs off on we'll continue being self-funded and self-released.

12.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of metal?
Even on the last album, we had random orders all over the world, from the coldest parts of Russia to Europe, to South America, to Japan, to Polynesia; etc. We've had a nice response in Germany, Canada, the UK, and Denmark in particular, but I think we've mailed CDs to over 20 countries!

13.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I think we're going to play around with some more focused concepts (both lyrically and audibly) on an EP level. Erich's working on some Bolt Thrower sounding stuff, Chris is working on a 4-part epic based upon a certain character in the Malazan book Memories of Ice that will sound more like Summoning or Caladan Brood, and Steven's working on something that's a bit closer to None of This is Real. Our next full length will most likely be a natural progression from Meridiem though. We're all really happy with the sound on that and want to build upon it as our "main" sound, but we still are having fun dabbling in other soundscapes as well.

One major thing is integrating the vocals earlier in the writing process which has been something we've struggled with getting figured out on the released material. The hope is that they fill more of an instrument's role; and another hope is that it helps with the "debugging" mentioned earlier; that the album will be much more complete before heading into the studio.

14.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Erich listens to a lot more symphonic black metal, atmospheric stuff, and dark/synthwave than before; but still runs the gambit from Dio to Melechesh. Chris primarily listens to atmospheric black metal, funeral doom, and uplifting trance as his 3 favorite genres that primarily inspire his writing (we actually have a full-on trance build-up and bass drop on Meridiem if you listen for it!).  Steven's always had a knack for video game music (Megaman, Chrono Trigger, etc) and later found Iron Maiden to be his biggest influence both musically and as a model of how a band should be.  Nowadays he also listens to synthwave and prog.

15.What are some of your non musical interests?
Erich plays a lot of games, paints models, runs D&D sometimes, gardens, hosts BBQs.
Chris is an anime web and video game shut-in, mostly playing Final Fantasy XIV at the moment with some Monster Hunter World on the side. Also on my re-read of Malazan: Book of the Fallen.
Steven plays old video games and goes to Magfest, a video game music festival held once a year to hang with his internet family theshizz.org/fourm.
Tom is currently surviving under a heavy school workload but likes to spend time reading.

Erich and Chris are also both software engineers professionally and dabble in hobby programming from time to time.

16.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
There's lots more to come and the next era of Tanagra already has a lot of cool stuff ready to go. We'd like to thank all of the fans who were patient with us recording this album through the delays (Meridiem! Dropping Feb. 2016!), yourselves for the interview, and your readers for making it this far. It's hard to put in words how excited we are for people to hear this album, we've put a lot of heart and soul into it and unleashing to the world is a huge moment for all of us. We hope everyone enjoys it!

Bandcamp
Facebook
ReverbNation
Twitter
YouTube

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Tanagra/Meridiem/2019 Full Length Review


    Tanagra  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Oregon  that  plays  a  mixture  of  progressive  power  metal  and  symphonic  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019  album  "Meridiem".

  Epic  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  classical  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times.  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  symphonic  elements.

  Clean  power  metal  vocals a re  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  brought  into  the  music  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  music  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  progressive  elements.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  elements  of  black  metal  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  as  well  as  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Stringed  instruments  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the recording.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  self  released  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction,  fantasy,  history,  time  and  dreams. 

  In  my  opinion  Tanagra  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  progressive  power  metal  and  symphonic  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Meridiem"  "Etheric  Alchemy"  and  "Across  The  Ancient  Desert".  8  out  of  10.

 https://www.metal-rules.com/2019/03/08/portland-power-metal-tanagra-reveals-enticingly-epic-meridiem-off-new-album-via-metal-rules-com/ 

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Heidra/The Blackening Tide/Time To Kill Records/2018 CD Review


  Heidra  are  a  band  from  Denmark  that  plays  a  mixture  of  folk,  viking,  black,  melodic  death  and  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "The  Blackening  Tide"  which  was  released  by  Time  To  Kill  Records.

  Acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  epic  sounding  synths  a  few  seconds  later  before  adding  in  some  heavy  riffs  and  power  metal  style  vocals  while  black  metal  screams  are  also  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Death  metal  growls  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  elements  of  folk  music  as  well  as  some  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length and  at  times  the  music  also  gets  very  symphonic  sounding  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard.

  Heidra  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  folk,  viking,  black,  melodic  death  and  power  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  crate  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover Scandinavian  Tales.

  In  my  opinion  Heidra  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  folk,  viking,  black,  melodic  death  and  power  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dawn""Lady  Of The  Shade"  and  "Hells  Depths".  8 out  of  10.

Bandcamp
Facebook
Myspace
Official website
Spotify
Twitter
YouTube