adg211288 Resilience is the second full-length album by Swiss power metal act Trophallaxy. It was released in 2013 through Brennus Music. Their previous album was DawnFall (2009), which was a self-released effort. It’s a good thing in my opinion that Trophallaxy have now got a label behind them because Resilience shows that they have quite a lot to offer the power metal genre.

Trophallaxy promote their music as symphonic power metal, only I haven’t found that to be an entirely accurate description of the music they have produced on Resilience. While their take on power metal is certainly a keyboard dominant type, which also utilises a cello, actual symphonic aspects are few and far between during the release, being used mostly for occasional flavour within what I think is better described as a progressive power metal album. When they are there the symphonic sounds can be quite dominant in the sound and be used for quite a while, but they do withdraw a fair bit to allow other aspects of the band’s music to take the lead. For example out of the early tracks, Living Dead, Dying Alive is primarily symphonic power metal, while the following Scar Me to Death is much more piano led, still with a few symphonic aspects, but overall much more of a progressive power metal song. It’s this sort of setup that follows during the rest of the album, giving it I’d say roughly a half and half split between symphonic power metal and progressive power metal music.

The keyboard and piano work of Jonathan Pellet is one of the strongest features in the release, and easily the key ingredient that makes Trophallaxy something special within the power metal genre. They are keyboard dominate without the cheese that usually comes with it. That’s quite a major achievement really. I don’t want to downplay the role the guitars of Yannick Rey play in the sound though. While not as aggressive as USPM or some of the German power metal bands his riffs add quite a heavy edge to the music and there are even a couple of times within the album, such as in The Condemnation, that his riffs move closer to thrash metal. The cello is another nice addition to Trophallaxy’s sound, especially during the lighter sections of music that they throw in, which sound very classical based.

Trophallaxy also have quite a modern power metal sound featuring a beauty and the beast vocal setup, although it’s nowhere near an equal split between the two vocalists, more like, at a rough estimate, 85% clean to 15% growls. The growls, also by keyboardist Jonathan Pellet, are quite deep and powerful which gives the album a slight death metal feel during the times they come in, but since the majority of the album is sung cleanly by female vocalist Joëlle Graz, who also plays the cello on the album, the growls feel like they’re there for flavour rather than to be the main focus of the songs they appear in, much like the symphonic elements in that respect. I quite like Pellet’s growling and the way he adds an extreme metal edge where needed in the release but Graz steals the show with a performance which blends in very well with the music. Resilience is one of those truly rare cases of a band getting everything in their sound just right to achieve maximum impact on their listeners.

With their decidedly non generic take on power metal coupled with a very high consistency of writing it’s pretty clear to me that Trophallaxy have produced one of the best power metal albums of 2013 in Resilience. A top tier rating is easily deserved. If you like power metal you should be getting this one now!

95/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/trophallaxy-resilience-t2959.html)

adg211288 The Existential Frame (2013) is the debut solo album by US musician Tony C. Tony is involved in a number of projects such as Judicator (power metal) and Sedulity (progressive thrash metal) and The Existential Frame is just one of a few releases he’s put out during 2013. Like many solo albums by guitarists The Existential Frame is an instrumental album. It has been released as a free download through Tony’s own Masters of Metal Productions label.

The style of music is best described as the genre hopping style of progressive metal. While there are some pretty clear examples of both traditional and power metal style guitar riffs Tony works his way through a number of different influences, some which are made subtle by the lack of vocals on the album. So in a roundabout way you could also say that The Existential Frame has death metal influences. Tony’s playing focuses more on riffs, melody and overall atmosphere than attempting to showcase how well he can play, which actually makes The Existential Frame seem a much more tasteful album to my ears than those that focus on excessive lead/shred playing. The album maintains a consistent level of quality but the star tracks for me would have to be Zenith and Declination.

I can’t say I’m much of a fan of fully instrumental metal music, but I’d enjoyed the work that Tony has done with bands, especially Sedulity and their debut The Valley of Dying Stars (2013) so I decided to check his solo effect out. As a matter of personal taste I can’t say I like it quite as much as his other work, but I can tell that The Existential Frame is another great album from a man who’s fast becoming one of the busiest men in metal. This is well recommended if you like instrumental metal music.

80/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/tony-c-the-existential-frame-t2958.html)

UMUR "The Great Bear" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US, Denver, Colorado based heavy metal/thrash metal act Silencer. The album was released through Vanity Music Group in September 2012. "The Great Bear" is a concept album evolving around a fictional take on the US versus Soviet space race of the 1950’s/1960s.

Musically the band have changed quite a bit since their last album and instead of beating our heads with aggressive thrash and distorted harsh vocals, Silencer have chosen to look deep in the bag of inspiration and have come up with something that sounds like a mix of vintage Metallica (the voice of lead vocalist Chad Armstrong bears a slight similarity to the voice of James Hetfield), (contemporary) Mastodon/Baroness and a load of traditional heavy metal elements. There´s even an obvious nod towards Pink Floyd in the short instrumental "Star City Pt. II". Tracks like "Star City Pt. I" and "Great Bear" stand out, but the album deserves to be listened to as a whole. It´s only then the listener will get the full conceptual experience of the album, and I dare say that shorter instrumentals like "Sacred War" and the above mentioned "Star City Pt. II", are just as important to the atmosphere of the album as the longer "regular" heavy metal tracks.

The sound production is a slight weakness to my ears. It´s not bad sounding or distracting but the drums sound a bit thin and a bit more power could have helped the music shine even more than it already does.

The album is only about 30 minutes long, but this is a band who understand the importance of quality over quantity and as a result "The Great Bear" is both an entertaining and adventurous release all the way through it´s playing time. The first couple of times I listened to "The Great Bear", I actually didn´t think much of it. But it´s a grower type album and given enough spins the melodies begin to unfold, the many great ideas are discovered and personally I´ve begun to really appreciate how the concept of the album works. How the tracklist is put together, the lyrics and of course the memorable songwriting. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

adg211288 MorningStarlett is the self-titled debut album by US heavy metal act MorningStarlett. The album was first released in October 2012 as a digital only release but a CD quickly followed in November of the same year. MorningStarlett are the brainchild of guitarist Richie Castellano, who since 2004 has been a member of the legendary hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult.

On their debut MorningStarlett have produced quite a varied take on metal music. While traditional heavy metal stands out as the best way to describe the album, there’s a lot more going on within the music so it would be a lie to say that this is just a heavy metal album. It’s quite old school sounding all the way and also quite anthemic in its delivery. Quite often it sounds like a heavier classic rock band playing. There’s a couple of instances where the band’s rhythms take a turn towards power metal, still of the old school kind like the early Helloween albums that still retain that traditional metal vibe, while there are also undeniably strong influences from classical music in the album, resulting in both some neo-classical metal sounding parts, as well as actual opera thanks to the group’s classically trained lead singer Ann Marie Nacchio. Children of the Sun also features quite prominent symphonic elements. Because of how much the music changes it’s also easy to consider the album to have a progressive edge.

The music is impressive; catchy and well written stuff that throws more surprises than you can shake a stick at. I have to give over a whole paragraph of this review though to sing the praises of Ann Marie Nacchio, who may just be one of the best new talents to enter the metal scene in this current decade. Classically trained, Nacchio gets the opportunity to show off her operatic skill in MorningStarlett’s metal take on Mozart’s Der Hölle Rache Kocht In Meinem Herzen (from The Magic Flute) and in the process make a song which is much more worthy of being called opera metal than symphonic metal bands like Nightwish or Epica have ever been capable of pulling off. Nacchio also shows off her operatic range in the closing epic Oblivion, in which she sings unaccompanied by the band for a while and is utterly stunning while doing so. For most of the album though she doesn’t sing opera, but proper heavy metal vocals. Melodic and powerful with an edge to them that adds some grit to the album. I heard a lot of good singers in 2012, both male and female, and after hearing MorningStarlett’s debut I think that Ann Marie Nacchio just trumped them all for the best vocal performance of the year.

The whole album is stunning though, not just Nacchio’s vocals. I especially like the way the band structured it in quite the unusual fashion. They kick off with an introductory instrumental, Overture, which is pretty normal for a metal release but rather than burst straight into a heavy track they throw their ballad, I Need to Know for Sure, in instead. The method is a surprisingly effective interlude between the intro and the next track, No One Needs to Know, which is the first time we get to hear Nacchio’s metal singing voice. And of course just by including Der Hölle Rache Kocht the band have done something quite unusual for their particular metal style. It’s hard to single out the best songs in an album like this, but I have to give special mention to the closing epic Oblivion, because it is, well, epic in every sense of the word. I also really like Mother of Dragons. It’s a nice fast paced old school power metal influenced track which Ann Marie Nacchio sounds particularly fantastic on. That chorus has not left my head since I first heard it.

MorningStarlett set the bar high with their debut album. This is a really classic sounding album that doesn’t feel at all dated to have been first released in 2012. If I’d discovered this album a bit sooner I’d easily have included it in my top 10 list for the year. My advice: don’t overlook this album like I almost did. A top tier rating is easily deserved.

99/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/morningstarlett-morningstarlett-t2957.html)

J-Man Playing a style of melodic hard rock with a strongly melancholic and alternative edge, the Norwegian duo known as Acelsia is undoubtedly a unique asset to its country's already diverse music scene. The introverted, reflective music found on Don't Go Where I Can't Follow (the band's 2013 debut album) makes for a listen that may not be as outgoing as other melodic hard rock efforts, but is possibly more rewarding in the long run. Don't Go Where I Can't Follow is not without flaws, but it is a strong debut from this highly original duo.

The driving force of Acelsia's music is Malene Markussen's vulnerable, yet still still powerful, vocal performances - her voice initially struck me as rather shrill, but her talents have really grown on me over repeated spins. Her unique delivery sets her apart from the crowd and the melodies that she sings are almost always memorable. Although the instrumental aspect of Don't Go Where I Can't Follow takes a bit of a backseat to the sung melodies, the fret work of Odd Henning Skyllingstad is nothing to scoff at and guest musician Bjorn Tore Erlandsen rounds it off with some impressive drumming. The compositions are a bit on the formulaic side, but they're still well-executed and memorable. Generally speaking, however, it's the softer tracks like "Left Alone" and "Hold My Breath" that really grab my attention - Acelsia impress me most when they focus on gentle atmospherics and subtle dynamics, and the hard rock riffs sound rather powerless by comparison.

This fault may perhaps be due to the album's unpolished production, but in general I find that Acelsia's talent shines its brightest during its softest moments - from my perspective, the metallic riffs heard on this album can't hold a candle to the sonic beauty heard on something like "Left Alone". That isn't to say that Don't Go Where I Can't Follow's heavier moments are weak, but more to illustrate that Acelsia's music would benefit from more focus in the areas where they truly excel. As it stands, however, Don't Go Where I Can't Follow is a mightily impressive debut observation, and any fan of melancholic alternative rock and melodic hard rock won't be disappointed by what Acelsia has to offer!

Warthur Shining's second album is in most respects a reiteration of the formula of their debut, once again offering desperate scrabbling outbursts of black metal in between despairing acoustic passages. The main development here over Within Deep Dark Chambers is in a mildly greater level of polish to the production, and a deadening of the fury of the black metal sections, sinking even deeper into the melancholy, lethargic atmosphere that makes these early albums of theirs a simultaneously fascinating and worrying listen. By the end of the listen most listeners will feel that Kvarforth is badly in need of a hug; whether you consider this a positive or not is probably key to whether the whole "depressive black metal" concept is for you or not.

Warthur "Dio has rocked for a long, long tiiiiime..." And for more or less his whole solo career, he's rocked to the blueprint set on Holy Diver. That's no great failing, mind, because as far as blueprints go it's a damn good one. With a mixture of heavier numbers (such as the title track or Shame On the Night, which could for all the world have been an off-cut from one of Dio's albums with Sabbath), lighter, more accessible pieces (like opener Stand Up and Shout), and tracks that chart an interesting course between those extremes (the synthesiser-enhanced Rainbow In the Dark), it's a brilliant evocation of Dio's sonic universe, establishing his solo band as a force to be reckoned with.

Warthur Cage may pack in a few pledges of allegiance to the cause of TRUE METAL!!! in the lyrics of Supremacy of Steel, but they're no Manowar - instead, their sound represents an exciting mashup of influences including Judas Priest and Mercyful Fate. When the band show such excellent taste in their influences, as well as great skill in blending two very distinct and different sounds to create a third one unique to Cage but still retaining echoes of the band's inspirations, the end result is a power metal presentation which is almost entirely absent of cheesiness. Fans of the more traditional heavy metal end of power metal will be well-served here.

UMUR "Illusions" is the debut full-length studio album by US death/thrash metal act Sadus. The album was originally released on vinyl through Sadus Records in 1988. It was re-issued on CD in 1991 through Roadrunner Records, but with a different cover artwork and the title "Chemical Exposure". So it´s the same album released under two different titles and featuring two different cover artworks.

Sadus have always had a highly original sound and already on this debut album we´re subjected to their distinct sounding technical death/thrash metal. The rabid dog sneer of Darren Travis, the frantic aggressive compositions, the "loud in the mix" and fast paced bass playing by Steve DiGiorgio and the fast paced guitar riffing. It´s all there and accounted for. At 29:11 minutes "Illusions" is one short and aggressive release and considering that it was released in 1988, it´s actually unusually aggressive. Tracks like "Certain Death" and "Fight Or Die" are positively full of fierce aggression but the same can be said about the rest of the material. Therein lies a bit of an issue though as it also means that the material is slightly one-dimensional and the tracks are hard to tell apart.

...the fact that the sound production is slightly less powerful than it could have been (it´s pretty raw and unpolished which suits the music fine though) is also a slight issue. Overall "Illusions" is however quite the enjoyable release and a promising start to Sadus career. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

Warthur I think of Nile in the same terms I think of Bolt Thrower: you usually know exactly what you are getting with a Nile album, but even if they do keep working to a formula it's got enough variations and quirks to maintain your interest whichever version they serve it up in. Here, we get the brutal original blueprint, the foundation on which the band would erect more technical embellishments on later releases. It's a fast-paced album whose brevity ensures that it doesn't outlast its welcome and whose intricate contents make sure that it feels longer than its mere half hour running time. Not the band's peak, but a damn good start.