Warthur Running Wild's debut album sees the band playing a type of speed metal highly reminiscent of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal - with, appropriately enough given their name, a particularly strong Judas Priest influence - with a dirty, almost proto-thrashy edge to it, which suggests that the band had been listening to a lot of Venom before making this album. The Venom influence also creeps into the lyrics, which show not a trace of the yo-ho-ho piratey themes that would become prominent in the band's sound and instead focus on a celebration of Satan and metal. It's well-composed, well-performed, and if it isn't quite a work of staggering originality it still more than does the job of keeping me entertained.

Stephen 'Crystal Eye' continues VENGEANCE's career and marks their tenth album to date. What you'll get here is pretty basic mix of classic hard rock and 80s metal, without any trace of modern influence at all. The setlist was built in a very balance way, listeners were given a comprehensive style, from the fast-paced metallic piece, to midtempo hard rock, and also slow ballads. A smart decision from the band to avoid a quick boredom after couple of spins, however if only some songs are better or at least share the same strength as 'Me and You', 'Shock Me Now', or 'Whole Lotta Metal', I would have given this album a higher rating.

I don't think there's a filler here, but maybe the title track is kinda blunt but not really in a very bad way. It's slow and dragged too long, probably 2 minutes shorter could have been a better idea. Several songs that can be considered a lower part of this album are 'Five Knuckle Shuffle', 'Barbeque', and the ballad, 'Missing'. But 'Desperate Women' is simply brilliant that it has the potential to become their single, after 'Whole Lotta Metal' of course, which is the best song here. The other ballad, 'Promise Me', is also a great candidate to be their radio hit.

All in all, not a perfect album but quite good and enjoyable. Perhaps not many heavy metal tunes here and they played more in the hard rock territory, but VENGEANCE always ended up in the middle so you know what to expect from the start. 75%

adg211288 Unisonic is the self-titled debut album from the new band to feature the vocal talents of former Helloween frontman Michael Kiske. Kiske founded the band with bassist Dennis Ward (D.C. Cooper, Pink Cream 69, et al). The line-up also features guitarist Mandy Meyer (ex-Krokus), drummer Kosta Zafiriou (D.C. Cooper, ex-Pink Cream 69) and perhaps most notably considering his prior association with Kiske, power metal legend Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray, ex-Helloween, ex-Iron Savior) on guitars. The term supergroup is very much appropriate when regarding Unisonic in other words.

Although one might expect Unisonic to be rooted firmly in power metal territory considering Kiske and Hansen’s backgrounds this isn’t the case. Nor apparently is it intended to be. There’s very little power metal to be found here and the band have actually said in interviews that Unisonic isn’t a metal band. Well the music on their debut tells a little bit of a different story to what Unisonic have said, actually treading the fine line between hard rock and traditional heavy metal.

And really it’s a nice enough album. I’m sure fans of Kiske’s vocals are going to be happy with it for the most part, because the man hasn’t lost anything in the time between this and the Helloween days. However musically we aren’t talking an album that is exactly revolutionary or I dare say one that stands up to Kiske and Hansen’s best works. I can’t factor in how Unisonic compares to the other three members back catalogues, because I lack any sort of familiarity with any of them, although since we’re talking the compositional front, it’s less Kiske on the line and more Hansen and Ward, who wrote the majority of the album. I’m can’t speak for Ward, but Hansen has written infinitely better songs for both Helloween and Gamma Ray.

Still, it’s not a bad release at all that Unisonic have crafted here, but I can’t help shake the feeling that its biggest appeal lies in the nostalgia that the reunion of Kiske and Hansen will bring for long-time fans of Helloween, even though the music is in a somewhat different style to the power metal of the two Keeper of the Seven Keys albums. I have to be fair, it brings to mind more aspects of Pink Bubbles Go Ape and Chameleon than Keepers. I can’t shake the feeling that if this album were released anonymously or with unknowns then it would mostly go completely under the radar, not because it’s inherently bad or anything, it’s really not, but it’s not exactly remarkable either. Few songs really stand out in any way other than Kiske’s vocals. The best of the bunch would easily be the first two, a self-titled track and Souls Alive. After that it’s very much a more of the same record from start to finish, offering up little in the way of surprise or variety. The pace of the tracks may change but that’s really about it.

However there are enough merits, especially vocally, that saying it’s a fans only release would be harsh. There is a fair bit of potential for Unisonic to make something to rival Helloween and Gamma Ray’s best works. After all they have the voice and the composer to make it happen, although as with Gamma Ray’s prior offering to this, To the Metal! (2010), Kai’s writing in particular just doesn’t stand out as much as it did particular in the Gamma Ray era between 1995 and 2001 where the band released classic power metal albums such as Land of the Free, Somewhere Out in Space and No World Order. A ‘good but not great’ rating is just about deserved. I’ll freely about that there’s a few extra points in there for the nostalgia.

6.7/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))

RuneWalsh2112 I wasn't anticipating the debut album from the supergroup known as Unisonic merely because I only recently began to appreciate the classic Helloween records and the great team of Kiske/Hansen. The two have had quite a friendly off and on collaborative relationship after Kai Hansen quit Helloween just when the band have made their mark on the metal community of the early '90s. Hansen quickly formed Gamma Ray and continued to perform highly energetic Power Metal music to this day. Michael Kiske has had quite a different career after being fired from Helloween in 1993 and mourning the loss of his long time collaborator Ingo Schwichtenberg in 1995. Kiske pretty much quit the metal music scene all together for nearly 15 years, thus making us lose one of its greatest vocalists!

Luckily all was not lost since Kiske slowly but steadily began to resurface on a few metal albums. Working mostly as a guest star at first, his comeback was met with great enthusiasm from Metal fans all across the world! Finally, after another guest vocal appearance, on Hansen-lead Gamma Ray track "All You Need To Know", the old Helloween collaborators decided to give the music another go by forming Unisonic! As I mentioned previously, I've only recently began to appreciate the impact that Helloween's music had on the metal community of the '80s and the later work of Kai Hansen. It's clear that Hansen's career has been pretty much in status quo for nearly a decade. "No World Order" (2001) was the latest highly fan praised release from Gamma Ray and the band hasn't exactly done anything of that caliber since then. Their latest record "To The Metal!" was pretty much the same high quality Power Metal-by-numbers, which is both a good and/or bad depending on which perspective you have on things. So the formation of a new Kai Hansen project was certainly met with cheers from all the sides of the spectrum. But were the fans prepared for the music they were about to uncover on the Unisonic debut record?

I've heard quite a few comments/remarks about this album before actually giving it a shot. Most people seemed to be on a negative side regarding the band's lacking metal approach, which has instead been substituted by the more traditional Hard Rock sound mixed with hits of AOR. This is certainly true since there are only a handful of metal tracks on this release with the band's title track being the most obvious example of such an occurrence. The rest of the material is still quite enjoyable if you can look past the obvious commercial sound and even cheese on tracks like "Never Too Late" and especially "Never Change Me".

When I try to think of a perfect comparison band for Unisonic then the first name that comes to mind is Asia! Both of the acts are supergroups playing AOR styled music of the '80s, plus there are those instances when Michael Kiske sounds almost like John Wetton! Overall, I'd say that I did find this debut album to be surprisingly enjoyable even despite the obvious clichés. There is almost no Power Metal here so anyone expecting something along the lines of classic Helloween will be disappointed. I say, take it at face value and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the result!

**** star songs: Unisonic (3:26) Souls Alive (5:14) Star Rider (4:17) Renegade (4:39) My Sanctuary (4:16) King For A Day (4:07) We Rise (4:13) No One Ever Sees Me (6:13)

*** star songs: Never Too Late (4:30) I've Tried (4:56) Never Change Me (3:46)

adg211288 Spell Eater is the debut full-length album by US metal act Huntress. The female fronted act has previously released an EP called Off With Her Head in 2010 but has gone through a couple of line-up changes since then. Initially taking the whole line-up of another US band called Professor with the addition of Jill Janus, Huntress’ line-up now only includes the guitarists from Professor, Blake Meahl and Ian Alden. Joining the line-up is former DarkBlack drummer Carl Wierzbicky and former Skeletonwitch bassist Eric Harris. Spell Eater was released in April 2012, following quite a lengthy build up since the December 2011 release of the album’s lead single Eight of Swords.

Huntress plays traditional heavy metal, but there are several tracks on Spell Eater that also draw on thrash metal. We’re not talking an album that brings anything particularly new to the table, but maybe there’s a reason why it’s called ‘traditional’ heavy metal. After all why break a winning formula?

Unfortunately prior to publishing this review it has come to my attention that they album has had some mixed reactions, and sadly the negative side of those reactions often seems to be more about Jill Janus’ image than anything. I wanted to write this without bringing image into it but I’ve decided that’s impossible (mostly because some of the stereotypical reactions annoy me), so I’m going to get my view on this out of the way now before I talk about the music proper. It’s true that in most of the band’s photos Jill cuts quite the scantily clad look, which will no doubt on one hand draw some people to her and Huntress, but on the other make people think the band is hiding a lack of talent behind a hot female with little clothing on. The latter is simply not true. Jill Janus may show a lot more skin than some are really comfortable with, but she also certainly has the vocal skills to back it up with. What we are talking about is one of the best albums of traditional heavy metal you’re likely to hear in 2012.

And Jill Janus is in fact the main reason for that. While she’s got a great group of musicians behind her on Spell Eater delivering some killer riffs and leads it’s this lady’s vocals that make all the difference. Unlike the majority of female vocalists in metal acts, Jill does not sing pop (Sirenia, Skylark etc), nor does she sing opera (Tarja, Xandria etc). Jill Janus sings metal. And she sings metal really damn well, better than most men I dare say. With vocals ranging from an aggressive and gritty approach to more melodic lines to the odd bit of growling that can go towards both death and black metal styles, there isn’t a twist and turn on the album that she doesn’t handle. Her performance is sensational all the way through and we’re definitely talking the same level of calibre as the likes of Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden), Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) or Matt Barlow (ex-Iced Earth). I know those are all male, but with the style of vocals Jill delivers, much like with growling, gender is pretty much irrelevant. These are very much heavy metal vocals and there is no better way to describe them. Of course if you want comparisons to be made to female vocalists then you need look no further than Marta Gabriel (Crystal Viper) or Kate French (Vainglory). I’d say Jill Janus has even more aggression in her vocals than either of them though.

The production of the music is clear yet not as polished as some other modern heavy metal albums I’ve heard, but neither is it totally retro sounding. I think they found the perfect balance here already so it shows off the band’s skill as musicians perfectly without coming across as being too manufactured.

One thing I will say about the songs though is that nearly all of them required at least three listens in order to properly click with me, and a couple of them took even more than that. It’s only really that single Eight of Swords that is an immediate attention grabber. But once I’d given Spell Eater several full spins more of more tracks began to stand out until at last the whole album sounded of the same sort of quality as Eight of Swords did right from the off. Although I can single out Eight of Swords as the album’s true jewel because it does stand out faster than all the other tracks, there’s not a track here that doesn’t have its own merits both musically or vocally. From the opening aggression and great riffs of the title track to the infectious Senicide or the use of black metal growling in Sleep and Death to the stunning vocal control displayed by Janus during Aradia, Spell Eater is an album that, once given the proper time for it to sink in, will have you coming back for more and more. The band’s prior EP barely even hinted as the power that Huntress was going to go on to have with this debut. Believe the hype, because Spell Eater is one of those albums that, as Dark Forest’s Dawn of Infinity did for me in 2011, came out of nowhere and blew me away.

And yet it still feels very much more than just a top quality heavy metal album. Albums have excited me before in the past but never quite to the level of what Huntress just did with Spell Eater. I think it’s for that reason that this review was one of the hardest I’ve ever written. While Huntress may be just a bit too much rooted in traditional values musically (though I have no problem with that) to be accepted by the wider metal crowd in today’s metal scene of many metalcore and so called djent bands making names for themselves I don’t think it’s unfair to say that Huntress have put out a debut to rival the greatest metal debuts of all time. Spell Eater is an aggressive, catchy and passionate slab of heavy metal and if there is such a thing as ‘true’ metal then this album certainly is it, not to mention that in Jill Janus the band has a vocalist of the highest calibre, possibly even the best heavy metal vocalist to hit the scene in years.

While topping this beast may be difficult for the band, I have no doubt that Huntress are the band leading the way among the growing number of female fronted heavy and power metal bands who have been releasing albums in 2012. This is an absolute must-buy and a top-tier score is well deserved. If people don’t give Spell Eater a chance just because they don’t agree with the band’s pagan ideology, their (or rather Jill’s) image, which honestly isn’t at all unfitting to her lyrics, or simply think they’ve received too much hype from the metal press to be worth listening to, then it is their loss and theirs alone. I rarely swear in my reviews but this time I will make an exception; Huntress are metal as fuck, and their naysayers need to deal with that. If you don’t at least acknowledge this as more than a scantily clad female fronting at metal band, then I highly doubt that you either really like or understand heavy metal. Not really.

9.8/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))

Time Signature The American metallers A Sound of Thunder are back with their sophomore effort, and, all I can say is HOLY FUCK it's awesome!

But since reviews on the Metal Music Archives have to be more than 100 words, I guess I have to say more than just "HOLY FUCK it's awesome."

Fortunately, this gives me the opportunity to praise the band even more. Combining elements from traditional heavy metal (especially Iron Maiden and Judas Priest seem to be sources of inspiration here) with a few of the non-cheesy elements from mainly US power metal, A Sound of Thunder have put together a collection of very strong and compelling songs, sprinkled with a bit of southern groove, a bit of hard rock swagger, a bit of power-thrash aggression, and a bit of doom metal darkness every now and then. Some tracks are even epic in natures, such as the ballad 'This Too Shall Pass' and the Spanish-flavored 'Calat Alhambra' as well as the quasi-symphonic 'Discovery'.

I must say that, while I enjoy every aspect of the album and the musicianship is top notch all round, the main attraction to me on this album is Nina Osegueda's vocals. She is simply awesome. Her voice is super versatile, ranging from soft silky sentimental singing over raw metal screams to ballbusting rock roars. She is definitely one of the best metal vocalist I have heard in a long time.

Fans of classic metal should definitely check out this album because... HOLY FUCK it's awesome!

Diogenes In what is surely one of the most anticipated releases of 2012, ex-Helloween pals Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen are together again in Unisonic! Despite the pumpkins remaining quite productive (and as good as they’ve ever been, if you ask me), this is what seemingly everyone has been clamoring for ever since Kiske reappeared in the world of metal a few years ago. Be careful what you wish for, though, as our old friend Mike is now bald. Yikes.

First, if you’re expecting this album to be anything like the Keeper series, Gamma Ray, or even modern Helloween, you’re going to be disappointed. It would be a far stretch to call Unisonic power metal; heck, I’d say that most of the songs on here are closer to a mix of modern hard rock/AOR than anything you’ve heard from Hansen. Of course, the opening title track is a cooker, with galloping riffs and a blistering guitar solo (as you might have heard already; good marketing, leaking the best song on the album before the whole thing is released), but mostly everything else on Unisonic is mid-paced, with Kiske hogging the spotlight while avoiding many of his signature high notes. Yep, no Marches of Time for you!

That’s not to say the music is bad, mind you. It’s tight and very well-produced (as you’d hope, considering this took at least an extra year to get out than was originally planned), and if you take a handful of the songs and put them on shuffle, chances are you’ll find them very enjoyable. “Never Change Me” is my personal favorite; a fun, upbeat number with the album’s catchiest chorus, it sums up the rest of the album in four minutes pretty nicely. “Never Too Late” follows in the same vein, even though the lyrics are a bit silly (but this should be nothing new) and “We Rise” would make a great album closer (sadly, this is not the case) with its solid riffage and climactic chorus.

This album’s lack of real standout songs becomes a problem, though, about halfway through. Why? It never gets going! There are simply too many mid-tempo, straightforward rockers that are devoid of any big hooks. Taken song by song, they’re all pretty good, but it’s hard to listen to this album all the way through because there’s too much…ah, I really hate to use the word “filler,” and I hate saying “all songs sound the same” even more, but both phrases would apply here. It’s like an album full of singles with a ballad tacked on at the end; once you’ve heard the whole thing, there’s really no reason to hear it all again, except for the few tracks that might have caught your eye (or ear). In other words, there’s nothing to be discovered beyond the first couple of listens. No depth. No Easter Eggs. No lasting impressions.

I have mixed feelings about Unisonic’s debut. Michael Kiske is one of my favorite vocalists, and his performance here does nothing to change that. I really, really like a few of the songs, and they’d be in regular rotation in my music library had I bought this album. It’s professional-sounding and not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it just seems like another side project featuring Kiske’s vocals, rather than the grand reunion of two of power metal’s founding fathers. I want to love this album like you wouldn’t believe, but I just can’t give it any better than 3 stars.

Phonebook Eater 9/10

The shape of Heavy Metal to come.

Judas Priest are one of the great Heavy Metal bands of all time, and they were so even before 1990. “Painkiller” then was the icing on the cake. One of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed albums by the band, this album represents a milestone in Heavy Metal music because of it’s broad influence it had on bands that followed.

“Painkiller” is definitely the heaviest, fastest, ground shaking album of the band: the drums are of a pounding nature, the guitars are beastly heavy and don’t hesitate in delivering chaotic, messy solos, for the most time perfectly executed. Halford’s screams have never sounded so sincere and ideal for the moment. The resulting music is a sort of Speed Metal sound, because of how relatively faster this album is compared to the other Judas Priest albums, where there was much more of a NWOBHM influence, especially the albums of the eighties.

With ten tracks Judas Priest bring together an amazingly solid album, full of fast moments; but they never sound the same one another, and there is a lot of variety between the melodies, and each song sounds different. Starting from the opening song, the title track: there is the perfect handful of potent rhythms, amazing drum section, chaotic guitars, and a perfect pitched Rob Halford; this track is now a milestone for Judas Priest fans and an immense Heavy Metal classic. The other tracks are not of lesser quality: “Metal Meltdown” is extremely catchy, yet strong and powerful in terms of sound, “All Guns Blazing” is probably the fiercest, most alarming track, while “Hell Patrol” and “Leather Rebel” have more traditionally paced rhythms and less shouted vocals. The second half of the album too presents great gems, like the emotionally daring “Touch Of Evil”, and “Night Crawler” and “Between The Hammer and The Anvil” are catchier, more melodic songs that still don’t loose the punch.

With such a bunch of tracks, “Painkiller” cannot be less than a masterpiece: a landmark album for Heavy Metal music, in particularly because of the shaping it did to a lot of the music to come.

adg211288 And so here we have A Sound of Thunder coming out of the USA, who look set to make a lot of noise this year along with several other acts as a part of a group of female fronted traditional and power metal bands releasing albums in 2012. That is if people sit up and pay attention to the quality of music coming out of these acts instead of worrying about the boring and repetitive djent scene. Okay, that was a little low attacking a style completely unrelated to this album I’m reviewing, but sue me I got sick of this djent stuff fast and with these female fronted heavy and power metal acts I’ve been hearing consistent high quality metal that in most cases seems to be going completely under the radar, which as far as this reviewer is concerned is a travesty. Out of the Darkness is the second album from A Sound of Thunder and continues the trend I’ve experienced of current traditional metal releases with female vocalists being the best traditional metal releases of the year so far.

If you’re a regular reader of my writing you’ve likely encountered reviews for some of the other artists playing traditional/power metal with female vocals by now. I expect it wouldn’t be unfair of you to be thinking by now something along the lines of “so do I really need all of these bands you’ve covered lately?”. Well, that’s probably the best thing about all the releases that fit this mould I’ve encountered, they all have their own identity. What sets A Sound of Thunder apart on Out of the Darkness is their penchant for more complex song structures, evident straight away with the opening The Day I Die, and that their singer Nina Osegueda is more inclined to use a lot more clear and melodic vocals along with the much more aggressive approach of Crystal Viper’s Marta Gabriel or Huntress’ Jill Janus, although she’s certainly capable of delivering her take on such vocals as well. I actually wish she used them a little more, since they give the band’s music a bit more bite against the highly melodic sound they produce.

The approach used in their actual music brings to mind at times the early material of Black Sabbath. The slower paced parts have a very notable doom feel to them in other words. I also detect a bit of power metal influence here and there, but mostly we’re talking a quite old school sounding traditional heavy metal release. The tracks are pretty well varied and easy to tell apart even after a relatively small number of listens, and I’d also say that A Sound of Thunder’s music is a bit more inventive than many other trad metal acts, which is something they make evident right with their opening number, The Day I Die. The light instrumental section is this track is very well crafted. Sections like this hint at some possible progressive influences among the A Sound of Thunder personnel. Although I don’t personally see Out of the Darkness as openly progressive, future release from A Sound of Thunder potentially could be if this is anything to go by.

Overall Out of the Darkness is a great album, but unfortunately there are a couple of tracks that just failed to live up to the high standard of the majority. Third track in, Kill That Bitch, is one of them. Musically it’s fine, but lyrically it just didn’t fit the whole thing A Sound of Thunder has going for them to these ears. It sounds more like it belongs in some random teenage revenge movie than on a metal album. I’m also not too fond of the ballad This Too Shall Pass, mostly because I think at over five minutes it’s just a bit too long. Not a bad track, it’s actually one of Nina’s vocal highlights, just one that outstays its welcome a little. The good thing is that all the other tracks are really good, especially The Day I Die, The Night Witch, Murderous Horde, A Sound of Thunder, Out of the Darkness (a duet with John Gallagher of Raven), actually I’m going to stop here, because I’m tempted to list more or less the rest of the whole album, the level of consistency is that high.

What we’ve ultimately got here is a really fine record that I think fans of old school metal are going to lap up. While not perfect by any means, A Sound of Thunder didn’t leave a lot of to be sniffed at really. Since in the wider view of things the two tracks that let the album down for me aren’t totally awful and it really is just these two tracks I find any fault with I’d say it only just misses out on an exceptional rating. I think A Sound of Thunder is going to blow this album out of the water next time around though.

8.4/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))

UMUR "Under Cover" is the 9th full-length studio album by UK heavy metal artist Ozzy Osbourne. The album was released through Epic Records in November 2005. The album is a compilation of cover tracks. Nine of the thirteen (ten if you count the bonus track) also appeared on the 4 disc "Prince of Darkness" box set released in March 2005. Session musicians for the project are guitarist Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), drummer Mike Bordin (Faith no More) and bassist Chris Wyse.

Ozzy Osbourne has chosen to cover tracks from, among others, Joe Walsh, The Beatles, King Crimson, Cream and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Some covers are better than others, but none of them really shine. It´s all a bit flat and uninspired. Things aren´t helped along by the polished sound production, which doesn´t exactly spell rock´n´roll blood, sweat and tears but rather dollars and mainstream appeal. I have absolutely no problem with the latter if the project felt honest and sounded great, but that´s not exactly the case here. If the booklet at least had told a story to each track about why Ozzy Osbourne had chosen to cover those particular tracks and what the tracks meant to him, it might have given the album another dimension, but of course it wouldn´t change the fact that "Under Cover" sounds a bit tired and dare I say soulless. Maybe best exemplified by the fact that the cover of "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson leaves out the kickass progressive middle part and turns even that badass track into an easily digestable mainstream heavy metal track. Where´s the grit and bite in that? The very soul of heavy rock/metal is simply missing here. Yes quite a few of the tracks are rock ballads and therefore shouldn´t be faulted for not being metal, but you don´t need to arrange them in the most saccarine way possible. Too many of the ballads on Ozzy´s own albums can be a bit of a trial to get through already and the ones on this album come off even worse.

While I´m tempted to give this album a really low rating, as it goes against just about everything I believe that rock/metal is and should be (call me conservative if you will), "Under Cover" does come off as a professional product, written and performed by professionals and I guess the craftmanship deserves a 2.5 star (50%) rating. I ain´t happy about it though and I certainly wouldn´t recommend "Under Cover" to anyone I know.

RuneWalsh2112 After covering most of the post Scheepers Gamma Ray albums, you might be asking why I completely ignored the first three albums featuring Ralf Scheepers on vocals? This has merely to do with the fact that I got acquainted with Gamma Ray pretty late into their career and never really felt the urge to go back and explore the band's early discography. I never had a problem with Scheepers as a front man, on contrary, I consider him an idol of Heavy Metal considering that the man's voice is still as powerful as ever after nearly 30 years in the music business!

Right after quiting Gamma Ray on the pretense of hoping to land a gig with Judas Priest, after Rob Halford quit the band, Ralf Scheepers was left out in the cold. Judas Priest went on to hire Tim 'Ripper' Owens as their new front man while Kai Hansen-fronted Gamma Ray finally broke through to the masses with the release of the acclaimed "Land Of The Free", making it nearly impossible for Scheepers to retrace his steps. Instead of crying over spilled milk, Ralf Scheepers decided to put his bitterness into music and formed Primal Fear!

The band-titled debut album had an uncanny resemblance to the "Painkiller"-era Judas Priest sound. Featuring the same heavy twin guitar action (one of which belongs to Kai Hansen) and the high pitch vocals, making this record the follow up to "Painkiller" that Judas Priest have never delivered on! The album kicks off with the now classic "Chainbreaker" which features everything that you need to know about this band, making it a perfect introduction to Primal Fear.

The rest of the album comprises of a solid mix of tracks that range between the sound of NWoBHM and Power Metal, even though the latter doesn't really manifest itself as much as it will on the band's later releases. The album features a somewhat unnecessary cover of Deep Purple's "Speedking" which really doesn't fit in with the rest of the material, even though it's fun to hear Scheepers covering Gillans classic screams.

If you're a fan of Heavy Metal and are interested in hearing how Judas Priest might have sounded like have Rob Halford not quit the band on the height of their career, then this is definitely a must have album for you! Everyone else should also give it a spin merely out of curiosity, just don't expect the album to be more than the sum of its parts.

***** star songs: Chainbreaker (4:25) Nine Lives (3:08)

**** star songs: Silver & Gold (3:13) Promised Land (4:25) Dollars (3:59) Tears Of Rage (6:48) Speedking (4:01) Running In The Dust (4:38) Thunderdome (3:45)

*** star songs: Primal Fear (0:34) Formula One (4:57) Battalions Of Hate (3:51)

Phonebook Eater 8/10

"Stainless Class" is easily the darkest Judas Priest album.

Judas Priest’s “Stainless Class” opens a new era not only for the band, but also for Heavy Metal in general. If the first three albums of the famous quintet had more of a Hard Rock/ Proto-Metal image, this fourth album is the first one where they are incorporating heavier guitars, faster rhythms, and more screamed vocals by Metal titan Rob Halford. Although not an immense landmark album for the genre as a whole (that is, not as much as something like “Sad Wings Of Destiny”, “Painkiller” or “British Steel”), it symbolizes nevertheless a turning point for one of the greatest bands of Heavy Metal.

As said previously, “Stained Class” has, in comparison to previous Priest works, a heavier sound much more similar to the golden eras of “Screaming For Vengeance” or “British Steel”. Basically, an approach much more towards the famous NWOBHM that was blossoming right during the period this albums was released. The compositions and the production of the album though are extremely peculiar and recognizable as part of this LP only: the sound is very clean, yet it has abrasive guitars, and more sparse and loose rhythms, (instead of the metallic, rigid rhythms of future albums) to give a more hellish and uneasy mood.

“Stainless Steel” remains possibly the darkest Judas Priest effort, not only because of the infamous trial of the two kids who, ten years later the LP was released, committed suicide, inspired by a presumed subliminal message in the song “Better By You, Better Than Me”: also, because of the lyrics themselves, frequently dealing with death, afterlife, underworlds, futile heroes, and unearthly demons. “Stainless Steel”, with such a background to the music itself, can’t not be massively influential to all of those bands that followed 1978 and went on the road Judas Priest paved.

This album is home of some of the greatest, most famous and celebrated JP songs, from the energetic, fast-paced opener “Exciter”, a massively influential track for many bands to come, to the gorgeous, gloomy semi-ballad “Beyond The Realms Of Death”. Then, others like the Spooky Tooth cover “Better By You, Better Than Me”, the title track’s elegance and cool, the straddling rhythms of “Savage”, or the darker “White Heat, Red Hot” are other tracks that will deeply impact the mind of a fan, and of anybody who is at least a tiny bit interested in Heavy Metal.

“Stainless Class” not only has a peculiar style and mood, but it also contributes in creating the NWOBHM and in letting it become what it did become. One of Judas Priest’s most accomplished works.

Phonebook Eater 7/10

Although not always consistent, “Sin After Sin” is a fun and underrated excerpt of Judas Priest’s glorious discography.

“Sin After Sin” is Metal titans Judas Priest’s third studio album, the follow-up to one of the greatest albums of all Metal, “Sad Wings Of Destiny”. Being a hard album to follow, “Sin After Sin” nevertheless is an enjoyable experience that offers great, fun songs that still today are very well respected by Priest fans.

Compared to “Sad Wings Of Destiny”, SaS has a very similar kind of heaviness; this album though is a little less varied, more focused on delivering one kind of style and sticking only to one or two formulas, without adding much to it. The result however is not at all monotone or boring, because of the excellent songwriting the band always manages to have. That is not to say that all the songs are the same: a few of them are humble and honest ballads, instead of being rebellious, upbeat tunes. The guitars have the same kind of Hard Rock crunch they had on the previous two albums: with the album following “Sin After sin”, “Stained Class”, those guitars will be substituted with ones much more Heavy Metal oriented. Rob Halford though, in my opinion the greatest Heavy Metal vocalist of all time, still remains his own self, delivering both high and low pitched vocals.

Even though Judas Priest’s lyrics are not exactly popular in any way, there are still some nice images the lyricists portray, especially in the love songs: “Last Rose Of Summer” is a melancholic little declaration of love and of the change of seasons, while “Here Come the Tears” is even more blue, where the loneliness of the persona narrating is really highlighted well. The rest of the lyrics aren’t exactly memorable in any way, perhaps mildly entertaining in the description of a demonic figure (Sinner), or of an angelic figure of hope (Starbreaker).

The first half of the LP is a true gem: “Sinner”, the first track, is a colossal classic, sort of in the vein of “Victim Of Changes”, only slightly less emotional. “Starbreaker” is a fun and entertaining bridge between the powerful Joan Baez cover “Diamonds And Rust” and the beautiful ballad “Last Rose Of Summer”. The second half however disappoints because of some inconsistencies in the songwriting, noticeable even in the six minute “Let Us Pray/Call For the Priest”. “Raw Deal” and “Dissident Aggressor” don’t have the same impact as the previous songs, same thing said for “Here Come the Tears”, not nearly as haunting as the other ballad.

If “Sin After Sin” obtained a more solid and consistent flow, it would have been a guaranteed Priest classic. Yet, it’s sort of falls into the shadow of all the other albums the band has released over the years, being by the audience generally considered neither excellent or poor, but just in averagely decent.

Kingcrimsonprog Stalingrad is the thirteenth full-length studio album by the German Metal band Accept, and their second since reuniting and working with new frontman Mark Tornillo (of T.T. Quick fame) following up on the critically acclaimed comeback album Blood Of Nations from 2010.

The quality of the songwriting is excellent and the band make a superb job of mixing ballsy up-tempo tracks of purely driving classic Heavy Metal and longer dynamic tracks that shift tempos and explore clean and acoustic territory as well. There is enough variety so it isn’t all just the same, but enough consistency that you’re getting a pure and succinct experience.

Like Blood Of Nations before it, Stalingrad takes the classic Accept sound and modernizes it slightly. Don’t misunderstand, it isn’t overly contrived to be youthful, but it is energetic and vital with any cheesiness removed. The record touches on a few metal styles, with hints of Thrash, Speed and Power Metal all creeping in in small doses alongside the classic Teutonic Metal style off the early Accept albums.

Basically; imagine all the best elements of bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Megadeth, Overkill, and others condensed down into one album of tasteful guitar melodies and soaring leads, gang-backing-vocals and hard crunchy riffs. Mark’s gravely low voice and occasional high notes come across as a brilliant mid-way point between Lemmy influenced singers and Halford influenced singers and suit the music remarkably well.

The production, from Andy Sneap is also utterly perfect for the album and makes the music sound both powerful and clear, with crunchy feeling on the palm muted riffs and a clean sound on the leads. It isn’t as dynamic as a 70s or 80s production job but it is a fantastic example of what a modern job can sound like when done right.

Overall, if you like Accept and especially their new line-up then this is a must-have record; if you like traditional heavy metal then this is really worth exploring and finally if you like any other metal in general then you should consider giving this record a chance. Its solid, its meaty, it’s the perfect mixture of very Hard Rock and straight-up Metal and I highly recommend it.

UMUR "Ogre Tones" is the 11th full-length studio album by US hard rock/alternative rock act King´s X. The album was released through InsideOut Music in September 2005. It´s the band´s first album released through InsideOut Music after a longer collaboration with Metal Blade Records.

The music on "Ogre Tones" is hard rock/alternative rock delivered by a very skilled trio of musicians. The sound production is professional, clean and polished. The tracks are very simple vers/chorus structured and the band´s reputation as a progressive rock act doesn´t shine through on this album. Most of the tracks on the album are around 3 minutes long and feature hook laden choruses with lots of mainstream appeal. It´s not often it happens, but when the band decide to rock out, they are actually able to conjure up some really nice hard rocking grooves, but it doesn´t happen enough. Most of the tracks are more sweet and polished pop/rock material with some really nice harmony vocal arrangements, and to my ears the album end up a rather tame affair.

Of course the excellent musicianship, the professional sound production and songwriting craftsmanship that should make most musicians green with envy, are all features that secure a quality stamp and a 3 star (60%) rating. A bit more bite would have suited the album though.

Warthur I was very impressed when 3 Inches of Blood took on a few select themes from extreme metal when working on Fire Up the Blades, resulting in a sort of blackened traditional metal which I thought was genuinely original and interesting. It's disappointing, then, that on Here Waits Thy Doom they chose to play it safe and retreat to traditional metal territory - to my ears it even sounds as though Cam Pipes is reigning in his shrieking vocals a little. For a band which to this point had always managed to be about a little more than the mere indulgence of nostalgia, I expect better.

Time Signature Sailing fire...

Genre: heavy metal

"Shadowmaker", the come-back album of German pirate metal legends Running Wild, really seems to have gotten a raw deal with the reviewers many of who have described it as a disappointment and compared it to Morbid Angel's controversial "Illud Divinum Insanus" in terms of the degree of outrage and disappointment it will generate among the fans, and some have even gone as far as claiming that "Shadowmaker" sucks.

You know what, I honestly think that it doesn't suck, and listening to it does not really make me disappointed in any way. It is, of course, no "Port Royal", "Pile of Skulls" or "Death or Glory", but I would say that it is lightyears better than "Rogues en Vogue", which was a big disappointment to me. I would go as far as stating that, although the power/speed metal aspect that characterized many of Running Wild's previous releases is pretty much absent on this one, "Shadowmaker" does capture and highlight the hard rock and traditional metal aspect that has always been part of Running Wild's sound.

Virtually every Running Wild album contains a couple of old school heavy metal songs about motocycles, rebels, rock 'n' roll and so on, so that's not a new thing in the universe of Running Wild. The new thing, I guess, is that such songs are dominant on one Running Wild album. Fortunately (for me at least), we are dealing with pretty solid heavy metal and hard rock tracks built on pretty solid classic metal-styled riffs and lead guitar melodies. I do miss the speed/power metal aspect, I must admit, but I definitely do not think that we are dealing with a weak album in any way.

Most of the tracks are good old school heavy metal tracks with more of a hard rock edge, with "Piece of the Action" and "Me & the Boys" being the weakest tracks. The former definitely has its moments, but perhaps it is not the best choice for an opener. The latter is more of a hard rock track bordering on melodic rock, and probably the least Running Wild-like track ever recorded by Running Wild. Fortunately, the amount of decent and good songs outweighs the amount of sub par songs, and a track like 'Dracula', for instance' does have inklings of the semi-epic sound that characterized Running Wild in the past, while "I Am Who I Am" is a strong heavy metal track with a powerful main riff and a catchy chorus (and a bridge featuring another very Running Wild-like melodic metal riff). Likewise, the heavy and groovy 'Black Shadow' and the straight up and pumping heavy metal tracks 'Locomotive', 'Shadowmaker' and 'Into the Fire' are actually pretty good classic metal tracks. While pretty much a Thin Lizzy-inspired hard rocker, a track like "Riding on the Tide" still features a very typical Running Wild-style chorus, featuring a catchy vocal melody and maritime lyrics.

I think that the problem that many reviewer in reality have with this album is, as mentioned above, the absence of the typical Running Wild speed/power metal sound, and, hell, I miss it, too. But that does not make this album a miserable failure per se. As a straight up heavy metal album, I think it is pretty good, and it does feature many of the elements found on previous Running Wild efforts. And, fans of good old heavy metal (if they can shed expectations of this being another "Port Royal") should be able to enjoy it for what it is: a solid heavy metal album of the old school.

So, yes, I like this one, but I still hope that Rock 'n' Rolf will reintroduce some of the more speed/power metal elements that I love about Running Wild on the next album.

Kingcrimsonprog Sad Wings Of Destiny was the second full-length studio album by the legendary British Heavy Metal band Judas Priest. It was released in 1976 and was their final studio album to be released on the small label Gull Records.

Since its initial release, Sad Wings' has gone on to become one of the band’s most popular and enduring records and also one of the most definitive and influential albums in the history of Heavy Metal. The band have represented the album well in live shows and compilations all throughout their career and numerous important bands have covered tracks from it throughout the years.

Musically, Sad Wings Of Destiny is an interesting and impressive album that was years ahead of its time and miles ahead of its 1974 predecessor Rocka Rolla despite much of the material being written roughly around the same time. Practically every song on the album is either instantly loveable or a grower that will become loveable over time, or else a mixture of the two, such as on ‘Victim Of Changes’ which just kind of gets better with every listen and also becomes even more dynamic and explosive on their live albums.

Stylistically, the band mix grand piano lead tracks with lengthy semi-epic tracks, acoustic moments and outright rockers, and end up delivering at least something for all kinds of fans. Tracks like ‘The Ripper,’ ‘Deceiver’ and ‘Genocide’ with their use of twin guitar work, power chords, palm muting and powerful steady drumming foreshadow almost two decades of Metal music, and still stand up as good songs to this day.

Then the more Progressive Rock influenced moments like ‘Prelude’ and ‘Epitaph’ showcase the talent and variety that the band were capable of musically and the immense range that singer Rob Halford can operate within, and ultimately help prevent the album from seeming one-dimensional or dull.

Overall; If you like Metal music this is something you should seriously consider listening to and if you like Judas Priest it is an absolute must-have record that no fan should be without for long. Sad Wings Of Destiny is not just an important historical document, but a genuinely enjoyable album that still stands up remarkably well to this day.

Phonebook Eater 5/10

"Unbreakable" holds tight the usual cliches of Power Metal, without adding much spice to the compositions.

Primal Fear are a Power Metal band from Germany, and have been in the scene since the mid-late nineties, managing to keep a pretty decent level of popularity among fans of the genre. “Unbreakable” is the tenth studio album these guys have released, and it’s pretty much the same thing over and over, the same formulas, probably even a few riffs are the same too, although some are fun and enjoyable.

If there is something that can’t be denied about this album is that its production is incredible, extremely polished and clear. The guitars, thanks to that, sound particularly heavy and in-your-face, and, being Power metal we’re talking about, they are fast and accompanied by the strong, ballzy vocals by Ralf Scheeper that remind a bit of Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, and the fast paced rhythm section.

However, everything in the album seems overdone, and every single riff I hear, even though some are truly good, are just not at all new to my ears. This band looks like they’re not even trying to be original, and they rather stick to the usual clichés of Power Metal, which is already a genre I personally am not always fond of, especially because of it’s cheesy melodies, which are not really abundant in “Unbreakable”, but still present, and do not pass unnoticed, unfortunately.

Some good moments are detectable, like the song “Rise” or the softer “Metal Nation”, but the rest of the tracks sound extremely over the top, overheard Power Metal anthems that don’t really differ one another.

“Unbreakable” might be the bread and butter for hardcore Power Metal fans, because of it’s faithful, strong roots, but, as an occasional listener of the genre, I must say it’s a listen that didn’t do much, nor proposed any new approaches or sonic adventures. And you don’t need much more to be slightly different from the rest.

Time Signature Rising danger...

Genre: melodic metal

Treading the waters that separate hard rock from traditional metal, the style of music that Polution treats you to on this album is probably best described as melodic metal. While musically quite different, "Beyond Control" has thus struck the same golden balance that characterizes D-A-D's "No Fuel Left for the Pilgrims" and "Riskin' it All".

Some of the tunes on the album, like 'Live Until You Die' and 'Forever and a Day' teem with hard rock aesthetics, the former being an all out motorcycle-on-the-highway sort of tune while the latter is an AOR-tinged ballad. Another hardrocker is the uplifting "All-In". Other tracks draw more on the aesthetics of traditional heavy metal, but with a focus on melody and accessibility. In this category, we find quite strong tracks such as the melodic and quite catchy 'Follow Me' with its use of inherently melodic and harmonic metal riffage, the bass-centric and Iron Maiden-inspired 'The Band' with its sing-along-friendly chorus, and the self-empowering 'Bite Me' with its pervading fuck-you attitude. More often than not, you will find that the more metallic tracks on the album will feature hard rock elements, and especially the choruses are often kept simple with a couple of chords allowing for really melodic vocal lines.

I quite like this album. The music is heavy and rocks hard, but, at the same time, it is extremely melodic and catchy. The tracks are straight ahead and uncomplicated, and Polution have definitely unlocked the secret of the power of simplicity. It works. It rocks. It's great.

"Beyond Control" is a very good melodic metal release which is both catchy and accessible, yet hard rocking. It should have a very broad appeal is is recommended to metal and general rock fans alike.

Warthur Whilst phrases like "lineup changes" and "new musical direction" might cause music fans to wince and fret for the future of their favourite bands, in the case of 3 Inches of Blood these changes actually seem to have done a world of good. Fire Up the Blades was, the band admit, the result of them listening to a whole lot of black metal, and whilst the group don't turn their backs on their essentially traditional metal/NWOBHM-influenced sound, they incorporate a number of ideas from black metal into their music and ramp up the speed and brutality of their music to create an intriguing hybrid. (Blackened NWOBHM?)

Lyrically speaking, the band are still the enthusiastic fantasy nerds we know and love; the changes are mainly in the music, particularly in the furiously loud and fast-paced drumming courtesy of Alexei Rodriguez and the way the band use Jason Hooper's screamed vocals. Though at first I didn't like it as much as the gloriously nostalgic Advance and Vanquish, now it's become my favourite 3 Inches of Blood album - most importantly, it shows the band being willing to grow and develop their sound beyond catering to mere nostalgia. Purists might turn their noses up at the band's willingness to incorporate appropriate ideas from extreme metal into their music, but I for one think the band showed a lot of smarts in choosing precisely which lessons they'd take from black metal and what sort of thing they would leave to the corpsepainted experts.

optisailor2002 The trend of old school heavy metal revival has been thriving in recent years, with bands like Enforcer being one of the main flag-bearers of the genre, fusing elements of speed metal into their furious and energetic brand of heavy metal. Along with them, comes White Wizzard's sophomore full length album, Flying Tigers. Being in the Earache Records roster along with the excellent Enforcer, there is a certain challenge that the band faces, especially with similar musical style of music that they play as the former.

Compared to Enforcer's 2010 album Diamonds though, opening track Fight to the Death does not hit listeners in the face immediately, with White Wizzard choosing to slowly build up the climax through introducing their music to listeners with a more melodic number and little surprises, with the track containing nothing particularly flashy, and this certainly works well, as the music gets more addictive as the album progresses. Vocalist Wyatt's style bears an uncanny resemblance to Enforcer's Olof, though with a slightly more gruff quality, and being hooked on Diamonds recently, this also helps in making the album an extremely enjoyable listen. The bass guitars are also extremely audible, with Jon often providing a backing melody behind the guitars, and the playing of chords on the bass guitar is reminiscent of Iron Maiden's Steve Harris' playing style.

Guitarists Jon (who also handles bass duties on the album) often unleash Iron Maiden-inspired riffs and harmonised guitar solos. Solos such as those on West L.A. Nights also display Jon's versatile playing style, and helps in making the album more interesting, and is perhaps the personal key attraction of the album. The album is not all shred though as solos on songs like Starchild display the more emotional style of Jon as well. The Iron Maiden influence becomes even clearer with solos like those on Flying Tigers and Night Stalker sounding like those on The Final Frontier. The combination of all the different instrumentations on the album, along with the clear and polished production quality all give a modern touch to White Wizzard's brand of old school heavy metal, and the instrumental track Dark Alien Overture displays this well.

Despite the numerous comparisons that have been raised of White Wizzard's Flying Tigers with Enforcer's Diamonds, there is a certain lack of charm on Flying Tigers, and even faster numbers on the album somehow come across as less energetic than the latter. Among all the tracks, the ballads have potentially dragged the album down, with Starchild suddenly breaking the momentum that the band has gained in the first 2 tracks, and could have better come in later in the album instead of being so early in the album, though apart from the cheesiness of the track, there is nothing particularly offensive about it. The inclusion of various different influences, including some Middle-Eastern sounding riffs and a Dream Theater-inspired section on Fall of Atlantis also keeps listeners surprised and engaged throughout, even on longer tracks like Demons and Diamonds.

Flying Tigers displays the band's progress since their formation in 2007, and though the lineup remains pretty unstable with guitarist/bassist Jon being the sole remaining founding member of the band, it leaves listeners curious as to what the future holds for the band.

Originally written for http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/

UMUR "Live Evil" is a live album release by UK heavy metal/doom metal act Black Sabbath. The album was released through Vertigo/Warner Brothers in December 1982. The 14 tracks on the album were recorded at two concerts in Seattle in April 1982, one concert in Dallas in May 1982 and at one concert in San Antonio in May 1982. The touring band featured the same lineup that recorded "Mob Rules (1981)".

The setlist naturally focuses on tracks from the Dio-led Black Sabbath albums, "Heaven and Hell (1980)" and "Mob Rules (1981)", which were at the time the most recent releases by the band. However about half the setlist are tracks from the first two albums by the band, which includes tracks like "Iron Man", "War Pigs", "Black Sabbath" and "Paranoid". "Children of the Grave" is the only other track on "Live Evil" from any of the other Ozzy Osbourne-led Black Sabbath albums.

The musicianship is impeccable as expected. Dio was such a powerful vocalist and those heavy riffs and determined playing style of Tony Iommi and the powerful heavy rythm section of drummer Vinnie Appice and bassist Geezer Butler interact like a great organic machine. Unfortunately the sound quality doesn´t follow suit, and much of my listening experience is drowned in the muddy sound. The band´s comments in the booklet to how the mixing process had run, probably explains a lot though. Already on the tour the band were more on less broken up. Dio and Vinnie Appice were driving in one car between shows and Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler were driving in another car. Little things that had not been adressed properly had build up and there was animosity between the two groups. During the mixing process the band couldn´t share the studio, which meant that Iommi and Butler would work in the mix at day and Dio would work on the same mix at night and then Iommi and Butler would enter the studio the next morning only to find that their mix had been altered. This led to the mixing process taking a very long time. Paired with what Iommi himself calls "an Odd drug problem" he had at the time, things just didn´t go as the band had planned.

What should have been a triumphant celebration of the live version of the Dio-led Black Sabbath period, ended up an obituary instead. Black Sabbath weren´t satisfied when the lo-fi sounding "Live at Last (1980)" was released as the first official Black Sabbath, but personally I don´t think "Live Evil" is a much better live album. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

optisailor2002 Ever since the discovery of Iron Maiden, they have been my personal favourite band of all time. However, 1994-1998 marked some of my least favourite years of the band, not only with the departure of guitarist Adrian Smith (which resulted in the delayed listening to No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark), but also of the iconic voice of the band, Bruce Dickinson. The years without Bruce Dickinson saw the band release the disappointing The X Factor and Virtual XI. Fortunately, the same period of time saw Bruce Dickinson releasing some of his strongest solo materials, in particular The Chemical Wedding.

Unlike the increasing progressive and overtly dark direction that Maiden had been taking over the years, The Chemical Wedding sees Bruce Dickinson presenting some good old heavy metal without all that desperate efforts in sounding different. The album starts off strongly with King in Crimson, and Bruce Dickinson's vocals are immediately recognisable, and unlike the raspy style that he attempts on No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark, his vocal quality here is markedly smoother and more fluid, certainly sounding better than the strained attempt at sounding aggressive. Songs like Gates of Urizen are perfect for displaying the vocal prowess of Bruce Dickinson, and the reason why he remains one of my favourite vocalists becomes self-explanatory. The presence of fellow Maiden member, guitarist Adrian Smith is also significant, with the guitar solos that are unleashed extremely familiar, giving fans of these dark years of Maiden something that they can finally identify with. Add to that the often duelling guitar solos between Adrian and Roy Z, with each displaying their unique playing styles, makes for one hell of a fun and dynamic listen.

Bruce Dickinson also proves his abilities as a songwriter on the album, with the music sufficiently bringing out the dark feelings with an equally dark album concept that lies beneath the album, and penning music that suits the various emotions of the various songs. For example, the title track Chemical Wedding has a somewhat sad and melancholic melody to it, fitting to the lyrics on the song, while Killing Floor has a respective aggressive sound to it, and it is on this track where Bruce Dickinson attempts a pseudo-growl, adding to the fierceness to the song. There are also epic tracks such as Book of Thel and closing track, The Alchemist, with each running for more than 8 minutes long, and Book of Thel being the personal favourite track, especially with the drum fills in the middle of the track, and the epic feel of the song through the numerous transitions present throughout. The usage of keyboards on the track also helps in building and maintaining that tension in the air. The Alchemist sees a short reprise of the title track Chemical Wedding towards the end, and is the perfect close to this epic journey.

Lyrics-buffs who have found the epic lyrical concepts that Maiden albums often have nothing to worry about here as well, with The Chemical Wedding containing perhaps some of the darkest lyrics that Bruce Dickinson has ever penned, making the reading of the lyrics an outstanding journey in itself. The only minor complaint here are the slight nu-metal moments on Machine Men, that kinda spoil the mood a little. Overall, The Chemical Wedding is an album that more than makes up for the Maiden years and albums without Bruce Dickinson, and is perhaps even superior to most material that Maiden has put out to date.

Originally written for http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/

Time Signature Metal woman...

Genre: traditional metal / speed metal

"Long Live Heavy Metal" is a very appropriate title, indeed; this is an all out hävy metöl album that captures all good things about the metal of the 80s.

With a deliberately retrospective approach, which indeed pervades all things 3 Inches of Blood, the Canadian metallers deliver the goods in the form of 12 metal-as-fuck. For instance, "Metal Woman" is comparable to early Running Wild and Judas Priest, while "Leave it on the Ice" and "My Sword Will Not Sleep" are all-out speed metal songs, and "Die for Gold (Upon the Boiling Sea IV)" is more of an old school thrasher akin to early Exodus. A song like "Leather Lord" sounds - perhaps unsurprisingly - very Painkiller-inspired (could it even a song about Rob Halford himself?). Featuring galloping guitars, noodling guitar harmony figures, ripping riffage and pounding drums, the tracks on the album are, to make a long story short, pretty much the epitome of high quality retro metal. "Man of Fortune", which, for my money, is probably the best track on the album, really summarizes the whole album pretty well, even adding a Manowar-esque sense of epicness in the bridge and also offers an epic power metal-style chorus.

One of the main attractions is Cam Pipes' vocals. His screaming and screechy singing style is as always an acquired taste, but if you dig Rob Halford's style on "Painkiller", then should Cam Pipes should click right away - I, for one, loves his voice.

If you like good old fashioned heavy metal music with all the bells and whistles - including texts about swords, sorcery, epic battles, and terrors of the seven seas terror - then you should not hesitate to purchase 3 Inches of Blood's "Long Live Heavy Metal".

Time Signature The wild hunt...

Genre: traditional metal

Gun Barrel is known for occasionally flirting with power metal aesthetics, but there is not much of that on "Brace for Impact", which by and large contains good old fashioned heavy metal tracks with stints of hard rock. The only thing associable with power metal on this album are a few epic-sounding choruses, like in 'Books of Life' and 'The Wild Hunt'.

Apart from these, the style on "Brace for Impact" is primarily comparable to '78-'84 era Judas Priest - in other words, the listener is treated to solid heavy metal powerful guitar riffage of the old school metal type with the bass pumping away. As I said, there are a few detours into hard rock (there are even some old-man-trucking moments every now and then), but these fit really well enough into the overall picture.

If you like extreme metal or modern metal, then "Brace for Impact" perhaps not the most overwhelming and mind-blowing album, but fans of 80s-metal should be able to appreciate Gun Barrel's ability to capture a lot of the classic elements from the metal of the early 80s.

In any case, this is a solid retro old school heavy metal release that should appeal to fans of 80s metal before it all went glam.

UMUR "Spooked" is the 7th full-length studio album by Danish heavy rock/metal act Pretty Maids. The album was released through Massacre Records in February 1997.

The music on "Spooked" pretty much continues down the harder edged path of the it´s precessor "Scream (1993)". For the most part we´re talking traditional heavy metal with a melodic edge (and occasional power metal leanings), but the band also take excursions into more synth heavy melodic heavy metal territory on tracks like "Live Until It Hurts" and "Never to Late". The album also features a power ballad in "If It Can't Be Love" and the Kiss cover "Hard Luck Woman". But other than those four tracks, the album features one hard rocking heavy metal track after another. And we´re talking high quality melodic heavy metal tracks. Great energy, strong musicianship and add to that a powerful sound production by Tommy Hansen, and "Spooked" ends up a really enjoyable listening experience.

"Spooked" is definitely worth a purchase if you are a fan of melodic heavy metal. The most metal oriented material on the album (take a listen to the opening thrashy riff in "Freakshow" for an example of that) ensure that fans of harder edged heavy metal should also have an interest in the album. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

adg211288 The Art of Metal is the second studio album from Swedish all female metal band Hysterica. Although originally slated to be released in October 2011 following a ‘one single a month’ build up that began in April 2011 the singles stopped coming after the fourth (of seven) and the album never actually got released until March 2012, almost a year since the first single, Force of Metal, saw its digital release. While it’s definitely a good thing that the singles stopped coming, if they hadn’t we’d ultimately only got three tracks we hadn’t heard before by the time of the album arrived, it’s also definitely been an tantalising wait for The Art of Metal to finally hit the shelves. Seven of the songs on the album have a piece of associated artwork with it, hence why the album is titled The Art of Metal.

As suggested by the four singles (Force of Metal, Message from the Dark, Heels of Steel & Fighters of the Century) the wait is very much worth it. There were a couple of issues I took with the band’s already pretty darn good debut album Metalwar (2009), mainly a disappointingly low amount of really noteworthy guitar parts, and overall it was lyrically a very cheesy release. Both these issues have been addressed on The Art of Metal. While some of the lyrics are still a bit cheesy, Force of Metal especially, we’ve got a much more mature brand of song writing overall from the girls. The instrumentation is much improved on all counts as well. There are actually some changes in this department of the band, as guitarist RockZilla left the band in 2009. Rather than replace her Hysterica has instead brought in Marydeath, a keyboardist. This isn’t as radical a change as it sounds, as Marydeath isn’t the band’s first keyboardist. A pre-Metalwar incarnation of the band had a keyboardist called Electra, who was with the band for their 2006 demo. Compared to Metalwar however, the keyboards offer a more modern heavy metal sound, with only a brief excursion into symphonic metal territory during Spirit of the Age. Otherwise the keys flesh out Hysterica’s sound into something that is a much more polished version on Metalwar’s approach.

There are some musical surprises to be found though. Message from the Dark is much longer than any of the band’s previous songs, and everything else on the album as well, clocking in at just over seven minutes. It’s also a more laid back affair that features some really emotive guitar playing from remaining guitarist Bitchie, and the slow tempo lends it something of a faint doom metal feel to it. Although I love the whole album I have say that it’s this song that is the album’s crowning achievement on all levels. Other parts of the album lean more towards the power metal genre, especially the closer Daughters of the Night, but there are parts pushing towards the style throughout the release. Since there can be a fine line between heavy and power metal this isn’t really as noteworthy as their drawing sounds from other styles, which is why we now have to move on to the biggest difference compared to Metalwar, the vocals.

On Metalwar lead singer Anni De Vil proved herself a more than capable vocalist for the band, but on The Art of Metal she really shines. Her style however has changed to include a lot more death growling though. While Metalwar had a few brief moments of harsh vocals dotted about the tracks there was never any doubt that you were listening to a traditional heavy metal album. While I’d still say that The Art of Metal is a heavy metal album, most of the music behind Anni is definitely within this vein, I struggle to bring myself to call it heavy metal in the ‘traditional’ sense, as there’s far too much death growling going on for that. I guess despite the instrumentation that The Art of Metal could perhaps be considered something of a heavy metal and melodic death metal hybrid, although really the only thing remotely death metal about this is those growling vocals, and those are most definitely in the death metal vein. It’s a tricky game labelling genres at times, but I do like it when an album comes along that pushes the boundaries of a style, which The Art of Metal certainly does. Anni is just as capable at growling as she is singing cleanly though, so I’m not at all opposed to the use of so much growling on the album. Actually this is one of the few cases where growls in a heavy or power metal environment actually work and don’t make me think the band should leave such things to the extreme metal acts. In the same breath I can’t say I’d like the album any less if Anni stuck to her cleans, because she’s really sensational at those, but perhaps that’s testament to the strength of the material.

The one thing that hasn’t changed is that Hysterica still produces the kind of metal music that is energetic and about having a damn good time, and with The Art of Metal the band are doing that better than ever before. With all issues with their previous material remedied there’s no reason not to award Hysterica with a top tier score for The Art of Metal, even if the music isn’t the most complex or as groundbreaking as it could be. Of course with an album such as this there’s always a chance that once you’ve given it several listens it doesn’t seem to be as exceptional as it may have originally seemed (this happened with Metalwar for me), so I’ve given The Art of Metal many plays through, a full dozen actually plus my personal favourite songs on their own sometimes on top of that, before finalising this review, and tell you what, the album sounds just as strong now as it did on my first listen. Being hooked on this album doesn’t even begin to cover it. Here Hysterica finds just the right balance between homage to the heavy metal they clearly love and song writing that you can sink your teeth into and take seriously. The album comes very highly recommended!

9.8/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))

UMUR "Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Danish heavy metal act Volbeat. The album was released through Mascot Records in September 2008. Just like it´s two predecessors the album was recorded as Hansen Studios with prolific Danish producer Jacob Hansen. There´s been a lineup change as guitarist Franz "Hellboss" Gottschalk was fired from the band after the recording of "Rock the Rebel / Metal the Devil (2007)". He is replaced here by Thomas Bredahl, who joined Volbeat for touring in support of "Rock the Rebel / Metal the Devil (2007)".

The music on the album continues the 50s rock´n´roll (Johnny Cash, Elvis influenced) meets 90s Metallica heavy metal style, that was also the music style of the two predecessors "The Strength/The Sound/The Songs (2005)" and "Rock the Rebel / Metal the Devil (2007)" albeit with a more mainstream approach to songwriting and a less raw sound production. I guess you can say that in places the album is more rock oriented than purely metal, instead of the other way round like the case was on the two predecessors. "Mary Ann's Place" (which features Pernille Rosendahl from Swan Lee and The Storm on guest vocals) and "Maybellene I Hofteholder" were the "hits" on the album, but the quality of the tracks is generally decent. It´s not the band´s most inspired or energetic release though. The polished sound production takes much of the band´s otherwise great energy out of the music and it´s a bit of a shame. I much prefer their more metal oriented material and harder edged sound productions. "Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood" is not completely devoid of harder edged tracks though which a track like the strongly Metallica influenced "Wild Rover of Hell" is a good example of.

...so while "Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood" is certainly a quality product, it doesn´t quite hold up to it´s two predecessors. Still a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is fully deserved.

Warthur 3 Inches of Blood's second album is essentially a higher-budget, higher-quality restatement of the first (there's even a rerecording of Destroy the Orcs, which I think is something of an improvement). Continuing their trajectory of epic Judas Priest/Iron Maiden-inspired material, the band also seem to be getting more ambitious, throwing in a three-song linked series with a piratical theme in the form of Upon the Boiling Sea. (Apparently this shows the influence of Running Wild - in which case between that and the high ratings their albums have here I'll definitely be checking out Running Wild at some point in the future). A substantial improvement over the debut, Advance and Vanquish may not be a classic, but it's ridiculously good fun.

Warthur An album delivering precisely what we expect from King Diamond's solo album, nothing less and certainly not nothing more. As fun as Diamond's horror story concept albums are, there's a lack of variety between them which means I find it hard to tear myself away from the higher quality ones. What does The Puppet Master offer that raises it head and shoulders above other average albums from the band? Why should I listen to The Puppet Master instead of giving Abigail another spin? By this point in his career, Diamond seems to have reconciled himself to making the same album over and over agan, and if you really absolutely love that album then you may as well buy it when it's called The Puppet Master.

UMUR "Scream" is the 6th full-length studio album by Danish melodic heavy rock/metal act Pretty Maids. The album was released through Massacre Records in January 1995. The preceeding album "Stripped (1993)" featured only acoustic and slightly electric ballads and power ballads, but on "Scream" it´s safe to say that the band are back with a metal vengeance.

...well that´s only partially true, but let´s save the explanation for later. The album opens with three of the most heavy and hard edged songs Pretty Maids had released up until then in "Rise", "Scream" and "Psycho-Time-Bomb-Planet-Earth", and my hopes for the rest of the album are high from the get go. Unfortunately it´s not until track number 9 titled "Adrenaline Junkie" that we reach that high an energy level again and IMO that´s too bad, because Pretty Maids are best when they kick ass like they do on those tracks. In addition to the harder edged material on the album, "Scream" also features melodic rockers like "This Love", "Walk Away" and the almost glam metal influenced "Don't Turn Your Sex on Me". While that part of the band´s material is more synth heavy, melodic and generic to my ears, it´s the two ballads on the album that really disturb my listening experience. When done right ballads and power ballads can be a nice variation on an otherwise hard edged album, but when both "In a World of Your Own" and "Anytime Anywhere" sound like something off Smokie´s greatest hits, I´m out of here. Luckily that´s only two out of ten tracks and the rest of the material ranges from above standard melodic rockers to really great hard edged heavy rock/metal tracks.

The musicianship is on a high level as always, with Ronnie Atkins strong vocals as the focal point. Packed in a powerful sound production courtesy of Pretty Maids and Flemming Rasmussen (Metallica, Morbid Angel, Blind Guardian...etc.), "Scream" overall comes off as a very professional product.

Besides my complaint about the saccarine ballads, which is probably an aquired taste anyways, "Scream" is a very strong album by Pretty Maids and a 3.5 (70%) rating is fair.

Warthur The Fucking Champs launch another dose of all-instrumental technical indie-metal on V, which continues in much the same vein as IV. High notes include the driving, pulsing opener Never Enough Neck, the capable cover version of Air on a G String - and, to be honest, most of the tracks on the disc. Keeping their compositions short and sweet - but no less technically impressive for it - the Champs might be a one-trick band, but it's a pretty good trick which I am happy to listen to over and over again. Recommended for metal fans who don't need lyrics to have a good time.

Warthur 3 Inches of Blood's debut album is a lo-fi affair, sounding a bit like a demo at points, but the band are more than capable of communicating their distinctive sound - aggressive, fast, and punky metal of the sort that was all the rage back in the NWOBHM days. I'd say, in fact, that the most successful aspect of 3 Inches of Blood's sound is their recognition of the crucial role classic punk played in the NWOBHM sound and they way they make sure to include a hefty dose of it in their approach. Not their best album, but still an absolute blast to listen to.

UMUR "Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Danish heavy metal act Volbeat. The album was released through Mascot Records in February 2007. While "The Strength/The Sound/The Songs (2005)" certainly put Volbeat on the map, especially in Denmark, "Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil" was a genuine breakthrough for the band, who could now hear the track "The Garden's Tale" being played to death on the Danish national radiostation P3. Things began to stir internationally too though and all in all "Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil" was a both a great commercial and artistic success for Volbeat.

The band has expanded on their heavy metal meets 50s rock´n´roll style and also given it a bit more polish (read: much better sound production than the case was on the debut album) and generally more diversity too. A compact tracklist with only 11 tracks compared to the 15 track monster of a debut album, is also a successful move to my ears. While not all tracks on the album stand out equally much (the two closing tracks "You or them" and "Boa (JDM)" are examples of the least memorable tracks), there are less filler than on the debut and that´s greatly appreciated. There are some really strong tracks on the album like the above mentioned "The Garden's Tale" (which features a guest appearance by Johan Olsen from Magtens Korridorer, who delivers some vocal lines in Danish), the opening track "The Human Instrument", "Devil or the Blue Cat's Song" and the Johnny Cash inspired "Sad Man's Tongue". The band have generally become much better at incorporating the 50s rock´n´roll sound into their brand of the heavy metal. However the basis in the music is still strongly influenced by early- to mid nineties Metallica with an added groove based element.

The band are very well playing and I especially hear a really positive development with Michael Poulsen´s vocal delivery.

"Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil" is a strong sophomore release by Volbeat and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

Stephen Bayley maybe wasn't built for IRON MAIDEN but if anyone being the best frontman for WOLFSBANE, he's no doubt the perfect pick. They're back again and trying to save the heavy metal world with eleven adrenaline-pumping songs, carefully picked and crafted, and lots of variety added, including some groovy element and punkish slab, as well as ballad.

The opening track, 'Blue Sky', is a very good start, the chorus is ultra melodic and catchy enough to be the track of the day. Even though I personally pick 'Smoke And Red Light' as the best song here, this has such an amazing party vibe on the chorus. 'Teacher'is an enjoyable uplifting tune; 'Starlight' is a good straight forward ballad; the pure metal madness in 'Live Before I Die' is an interesting attempt; and the great groove in 'Did It For The Money!' deserved an applause.

However I have not very confident with several other tracks such as 'Buy My Pain', I'm not sure the punkish thing is really an excellent choice of diversification for them; 'Illusion of Love' and 'Who Are You Now?' sounds like a left-over filler; and 'Child of The Sun' is quite slow and dreary. The production is also good and overall, it might take more than few spins to enjoy, but I guess WOLFSBANE did a satisfying job here.

Time Signature It comes back real...

Genre: groove metal

Signs Preyer is an Italian metal band who combine elements of stoner metal, sludge metal, traditional metal, hard rock and thrash metal into their own brand of groove metal. With metal acts like Adrenaline Mob, Concrete Sun and 4Bitten reviving the groove metal genre these days, you might expect Signs Preyer's Signs Preyer to be another fine addition to the corpus of releases in the world of the new and improved groove metal.

And, well, it defintiely is.

Drawing on the groove only as one out of several stylistic elements, Signs Preyer have arrived at a fairly original style of metal music, which definitely shows a lot of potential. There are things they could work further on and things that can be further developed, which is a challenge that I am sure the band will embrace with open arms, but their music definitely points in the direction of something very interesting.

Anyway, so the groove is an integral part of the music on Signs Preyer, but the band also draw on other types of metal for inspiration. Thus, we get a dark but aggressive track like 'Anger', a groovy and uptempo track like 'Bitch Witch' (which features old school guitar wah-wah guitar lick exchanges), a more nu metal oriented track like 'It Comes Back Real' (which is based on simple groovy riffage), a near-progressive melancholic track like 'Dark Soul', an aggressive power-trash track like 'Hell' and an all our hard rocker like 'Signs Preyer' on the same album.

In other words, this is a quite varied album which represents various metal and hard rock genres, wrapping them in groove and a certain edgy rock 'n' roll attitude. Some people might consider this to be a lack of focus, but I quite like the variation on this album. Moreover, through the rather consistent production (which is characterized by a lot of bottom and has a certain rawness to it), there is a sense of coherence and a red thread throughout the album.

For a debut, this is a pretty good album. It is not flawless, but that is exactly the beauty of it: there's more to work on - there's more room for development, and that is what art is all about. In any case Signs Preyer is a solid, strong debut album, on which Signs Preyer show that groove metal is not dead, and that the groove can be combined with other modes of musical expression from the world of metal into interesting and powerful metal music. There is a lot of potential on this album, and I really look forward to hearing more output from Signs Preyer in the future.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)

Warthur Dragontown is, for all intents and purposes, Brutal Planet part 2 - there's even regular lyrical references to ideas and characters established on that album. If you hated Brutal Planet and thought it preachy, condescending, and an unconvincing update of Cooper's sound, you won't like this one; if you loved Brutal Planet and thought it was a genius use of pop-industrial influences to bring Cooper's sound up to date, you'll love Dragontown.

And if, like me, you thought Brutal Planet was a decent enough album and certainly preferable to Cooper's pomp rock concept albums of the late 1970s or his glam metal style of the 1980s and 1990s, but at the same time hardly worthy of the groundbreaking masterpieces the original Alice Cooper band put out from Love It To Death to Billion Dollar Babies, you'll find Dragontown to be entertaining and ultimately disposable.

Warthur Producing a belated sequel to Abigail - an album whose story didn't exactly cry out for a sequel in the first place - might have led some fans to imagine King Diamond had run out of ideas, but as it turns out the album ends up being something of a return to form. Finally managing to find a way to keep the distinctive sound of the band whilst incorporating some innovations from extreme metal - in particular, some of King Diamond's vocals get to strange territory even for him - the band do a decent job of presenting a continuation of the story and playing some good old mildly thrashy heavy metal. Not as iconic as the original, but a good enough listen nonetheless.

Time Signature Undaunted...

Genre: groove metal

Since Adrenaline Mob count Mike Portnoy and Russell Allen as members, one could easily be tempted to think that Adrenaline Mob is a progressive metal project. But if you have heard their EP from 2011, then you should know that this is not the case. Adrenaline Mob's style is straightforward groovy heavy metal.

Adrenaline Mob basically keep the style of last year's EP on their debut full-length album "Omertà" (in fact, a lot of the tracks from the EP also appear on this album). So do not expect Dream Theater-like long and complex songs or Symphony X-ish epic power metal opuses. The main ingredients of Adrenaline Mob's music are in fact the hitherto little-known guitarist Mike Orlando's crushingly groovy riffs. Groove metal indeed had its heyday in the 90s and imploded on itself because of the many Pantera clones that populated the scene then, but, with "Omertà"m Adrenaline Mob show that there is certainly nothing wrong with groove metal itself, if only there are talented musicians behind.

the music is straightforward, but that does not mean that nothing is done out of it. Adrenaline Mob features some of the world's best metal musicians. Mike Portnoy delivers precise drums and beats that fit Orlando's riffs perfectly. And, while Orlando may not be the world's most famous guitarist, he is definitely among the world's best guitarists. Not only are his groovy riffs extremely compelling - his solos are a hundred percent virtuous without being show-offy or cheesy. And Russell Allen's powerful vocals, of course, complete the picture brilliantly.

"Omerta" contains four of five tracks from the 2011-EP, which might be a problem for some listeners, but then again there is an interesting cover version of Duran Duran's 'Come Undone', with Lzzy Hale from Halestorm contributing guest vocals .

Do not expect epic progressive metal from Adrenaline Mob, but, if you like groove metal, then "Omertà" should give you many an eargasm.

J-Man By the time Fatal Portrait was released in 1986, King Diamond had already established himself as a household name within the metal community through his work in the legendary Mercyful Fate. His distinct high-pitched howl captivated many metalheads on classics like Melissa and Don't Break the Oath, and a 'solo' album naturally seemed like a good idea. Of course, in retrospect, we know that the King's solo ensemble ended up being every bit as successful as Mercyful Fate, but the suspense leading up to Fatal Portrait must've been pretty great back in the mid-eighties'. With a fantastic group of musicians to back up his musical vision, King Diamond delivers nine solid tracks of thrashy traditional heavy metal on this debut. In many ways, Fatal Portrait lacks the maturity and sense of perfection that would be achieved on Abigail, but that's not to discount the quality of this release; although it's not the King's finest hour, Fatal Portrait is still a very worthy debut.

In many ways, the music on Fatal Portrait is quite similar to what was heard on the first two Mercyful Fate albums. There's a bit more of a thrash metal influence this time around, but the roots of the music are still in traditional heavy metal - and, of course, having King Diamond's vocals at front and center is enough to put a unique stamp on any album. The musicians supporting him are all clearly skillful, though it's mostly the guitar playing that really grabs my attention. Both the bass and drum performances are competent enough, but don't strive for much more than that - the fretwork from Andy LaRoque and Michael Denner, on the other hand, is absolutely spectacular. The lead guitar solos are phenomenal across the board, and the powerful riffage doesn't suffer from any shortcomings either. My only real gripe is that, with a few exceptions, the songwriting is generally less remarkable than on later King Diamond efforts. Not all of the songs here are particularly great, but a few excellent tracks like “Haunted” do help save the album from ever feeling mediocre as a whole. Still, there aren't nearly as many jaw-dropping moments as there would be on future releases, and most of Fatal Portrait leans more towards 'average' than it does towards extraordinary.

The production could also be a bit more dynamic, but if truth be told, Fatal Portrait is still a very solid effort from King Diamond. The riffs are powerful, the musicianship is impressive, and the King's vocals are as unique as ever. Fatal Portrait is not a high point in his career, though, and newcomers to King Diamond's music should make sure to check out a few other albums (either as a solo artist or with Mercyful Fate) before giving this a listen. Next time around is when things would really start getting good...

Warthur The Fucking Champs play an intriguing band of highly technical all-instrumental metal with plenty of influences contributing from indie rock and progressive rock, leading to an intriguing sound which is showcased to good effect on IV. The band show a remarkable grasp of the twisting time signatures they tackle, and also reveal a mastery of evoking their own unique atmosphere - one based not on the aggression or doomy melancholy much extreme metal calls on, nor on the sense of epic, soaring adventure or raw and dirty partying down that traditional/glam/power metal thrives on, but on a laid-back and cool aesthetic reminiscent of the indie rock scene the band emerged from.

UMUR Future World is the 2nd full-length studio album by Danish heavy rock/metal act Pretty Maids. The album was released through Columbia Records in April 1987. Future World was suppossed to have been Pretty Maids big breakthrough in the US, but while the album was a big commercial and artistic success in especially Japan and Germany, Pretty Maids just never really broke through bigtime in the US. In interviews the band have often mentioned the lack of an American management as the reason.

The music on Future World has generally taken on a more melodic and synth heavy sound than the music style on the more raw debut album "Red, Hot and Heavy (1984)", but we´re still treated to some pretty hard edged (well... relatively) tracks in the title track (which features a power/speed metal sound), the raw "Loud´n´Proud" and the heavy anthemic "We Came to Rock". The synth heavy "Love Games" and the power ballad "Eye of the Storm" are in the more pop oriented end of the spectrum. Diversity is certainly one of the assets of Future World, and I guess it wouldn´t be wrong to mention as different acts as Van Halen, Europe, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest as influences. Another asset is the excellent musicianship. Instrumentally the band are skilled and lead vocalist Ronnie Atkins are able to reach both higher pitched notes as well as delivering more raw type vocals. He is one of those vocalists that reek confidence and who commands respect on that account.

The sound production is pretty great for the time, even though the snare drum sound has that "classic" eighties reverb sound, that will probably always be an aquired taste for most people. While the production is credited to Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, Anthrax...etc.), the band were not satisfied with Kramer whom they fired after 14 days in the studio. The album was finished with studio technician Chris Isca. Chris Isca, Flemming Rasmussen and Kevin Elson mixed the album. Each was chosen to mix specific tracks on the album to bring out either a hard edged sound or a more polished pop oriented one.

Future World is a high quality melodic heavy metal album, and fans of the genre should find a lot to like about the album. It´s too bad Pretty Maids never made it big in the US like they had intented to with this album, because Future World certainly deserved to be recognised more than it did on that market. Thankfully as mentioned above the band found recognition and success other places in the world and Future World ended up selling a more than respectable number of copies. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is warranted.

Warthur Alice Cooper's lucrative glam metal phase was beginning to wear thin, so his next step was to inject his approach with a heavy dose of industrial-tinged traditional metal (seeing how Marilyn Manson had done so well with combining that with Cooper's shock-rock theatricality). The end result of this is Brutal Planet, which adds a little crunch to the proceedings and sees Cooper in a somewhat more serious mood. The lyrical topics tackle a variety of social ills - xenophobia, sexism, and so on - through the lens of Cooper's own Christian faith, which he declares fairly adamantly on the title track.

It isn't as groundbreaking, memorable, catchy or entertaining as the trashy glam rock proto-metal classics of Cooper's back catalogue, but at the same time the album proves that you can be a Christian heavy metal artist who expresses their faith through their music without becoming a mouthpiece for right-wing social policies or getting excessively preachy - and rock out hard whilst you do so. In that sense, it's arguably Cooper's most successful album for a long time.

UMUR "The Strength/The Sound/The Songs" is the debut full-length studio album by Danish metal act Volbeat. The album was released through Mascot Records in September 2005. "The Strength/The Sound/The Songs" was recorded by producer Jacob Hansen during two different sessions in August 2003 and July 2004. Five of the tracks from the first session are actually the same as five of the tracks from the "Beat The Meat (2003)" demo. We´re talking the exact same recordings, just featuring, in some cases, different songtitles.

The music on "The Strength/The Sound/The Songs" is heavy metal with a strong 50s rock´n´roll feeling/image and an occassional nod towards harder edged music styles. Lead vocalist Michael Poulsen (who used to be frontman in Danish death metal act Dominus) has a vocal style that can be described as sounding like Keith Caputo (Life of Agony) meets James Hetfield (Metallica). It works well for the most part, but listening to later albums by the band, it´s obvious that Michael Poulsen at this point, still needed some time to hone his vocal skills.

The 55:11 minutes long album features 15 tracks, and if you ask me that´s at least 3 - 5 tracks too much. While tracks like "Caroline Leaving", "Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza" and "Soulweeper" are of a great quality, and the memorability factor is generally high on most of the material, there are simply too many fillers on the album that lack noteworthy hooks. When that is said "The Strength/The Sound/The Songs" is still a pretty great album and I fully understand why it paved the way for one of the greatest adventures in Danish metal history. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.

Warthur Like Mercyful Fate's Dead Again and 9, King Diamond's Voodoo was an attempt to update the band's sound which felt a bit like a misfire - the problem was that whilst the old sound was beginning to get a bit stale and samey, the new sound didn't seem to have a compelling enough musical vision behind it to make it as interesting as the old one. So it is that House of God, which finds King returning to his solo group as his full-time recording gig, also sees him returning to the signature sound of that group circa Abigail/Them, with perhaps a little extra heaviness here or there. It's a fun enough ride, but between the silly Holy Blood/Holy Grail plot and the rote repetition of King Diamond motifs, it's hardly essential.

Time Signature We are legion...

Genre: traditional metal

I read some reviews of Vendetta's previous two releases, and they were generally harsh, bashing Vendetta for being boring and unoriginal. That may be so - having heard neither, I do not know, but their third album "World under Fire" is not that bad.

While perhaps not original, the tunes on this album are nonetheless solid and rock hard. Drawing on all of the virtues of traditional heavy metal, Vendetta incorporate several elements that characterized the metal music of the 80s before glam took over. Fans of guitar solos can look forward to some blazing solos by Pete Thompson, many of which are technically advanced and impressive. So, while perhaps no super original, the songs on this album definitely are not boring or weak and stay true to the ethos of old school metal.

Edward Box' voice might be an acquired taste and difficult to take in for some listener due to its almost volatile quality, but I like how it contributes to the overall sound of the album. It definitely is unique and, well, one could even argue that Box actually provides an aspect of originality after all through his singing.

Fans of Judas Priest, Accept, and Iron Maiden along with newer traditional metal acts like Sandstone and Dark Forest might want to check this album out.

optisailor2002 The very first track that I heard from the Swedish horde, Enforcer, was the instrumental title track of this album, Diamonds. The speed, energy and melody of the song instantly captured my attention, and reminded me of old school heavy metal in the form of works such as Iron Maiden's earlier material. After the successful debut full length album, Into the Night, it would have been hard for Enforcer to come up with even better music, yet with Diamonds, the band has managed to prove cynics wrong, with the album containing some of the strongest songs that the band has written so far.

The opening riffs of Midnight Vice instantly brings listeners back to the 80s, with the large, melodic hooks in the guitars, but without further ado the band goes into full speed with their melodic style of heavy/speed metal. Vocalist Olof could take awhile for first time listeners not accustomed to high-pitched vocals to get used to, but throughout the album he pushes the limits of his vocals, and just when one thinks that it's not possible for his vocals to get higher, he proves listeners wrong, and this can be heard on moments like the chorus of Nightmares. His performance on Diamonds further shows his versatility, having also played in Tribulation, a band with a totally different style of music. Each of the band members on the album also are given time to display their abilities, and in particular, bassist Tobias stands out from the rest of the band, with the high presence of the bass, and playing style almost reminiscent of Maiden's Steve Harris, with the galloping riffs that he tends to utilise at times. The guitars of Adam and Joseph are also another highlight, with the perfect balance between speed and melody.. The instrumental track Diamonds is perhaps the best track that displays the band's abilities, with lead spots given to each instrumentalist in the band, and it is here that the listener is given the opportunity to appreciate each of the instruments on the album.

The tracks on Diamonds are extremely melodic, and are written in such an infectious way that they can instantly grab the listener's attention, and without much effort get the listener headbanging along with the music. The band's numerous influences are also easily heard in the record, and especially on songs like the instrumental title track, Diamonds, the Maiden reference is clearly heard (what better way to attract a Maiden fan like me?), almost reminding listeners of Maiden's Transylvania, only infused with more speed and some punkish/thrashy elements, though the song and soften downs halfway, giving a short break to the listeners. The often harmonised twin-lead guitar solos that are present on the album, like on Running in Menace, further brings about the comparison to these heavy metal legends. Slower songs on the album like Katana have introductions that have a certain instrumental guitar feel, sounding like it could come off a Kiko Loureiro album, along with nice singalong choruses.

Few "new" bands have managed to remind me of my first few encounters with heavy metal, capturing the amazement that I felt when first listening to 70s hard rock and then 80s heavy metal a few years back, but with Diamonds, Enforcer has managed to do what many bands have failed to do for me and stir up a nostalgic emotion within, making it an extremely special album personally.

Originally written for http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/

Kingcrimsonprog Sin After Sin was British Heavy Metal band Judas Priest’s third studio album, released in 1977 following up the Sad Wings Of Destiny album. The album saw a few changes for the band; it was their first album on Columbia Records as they escaped from their original label Gull Records, the position of drummer changed from Alan Moore to the talented session player Simon Phillips and finally the production job was handled by Deep Purple’s Roger Glover.

Musically there is a lot going on, the tracks cover a lot of ground; are flashy and virtuosic and still manage to actually rock hard. For example the opening track ‘Sinner’ has impressive vocal performances, great guitar work and even impressive drumming, especially when it slows down in the middle; all individual areas shine yet don’t compromise the song’s energy or attitude for the sake of showing off.

Sin After Sin is also interesting to listen to from a vocal stand point as Rob tries out dozens and dozens of different voices, from lows to highs, hard to soft and sometimes adding in surprising emotional weight too. The amount of territory covered really is rather surprising and more and more variety is revealed upon repeat listening.

With such great vocals, improved drumming and the ever wonderful twin guitar approach of Downing and Tipton, Sin After Sin is a very strong and enjoyable record. In addition to the aforementioned ‘Sinner,’ other highlights include the heavy ‘Dissident Aggressor,’ the catchy upper-mid-paced ‘Starbreaker’ and the speedy Queen influenced ‘Let Us Pray/Call The Priest.’

Interestingly, the album features the concert favourite Joan Baez cover song ‘Diamonds & Rust’ which was previously recorded but eventually omitted from previous albums. This was the first of the few cover songs that the band would officially release, alongside ‘Better By You Better Than Me’ and ‘Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)’ which came out on the next two records.

Overall, Sin After Sin is a great record by Judas Priest with a few absolute classics and a mixture of interesting ideas, noteworthy drumming and a huge range of vocal approaches by Rob Halford. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the band or early metal in general.

**** If you get the version with bonus tracks, you are treated to another cover song called "Race With The Devil," which was recorded during the sessions of their next album Stained Class in addition to a live version of Defenders Of The Faith era song ‘Jaw Breaker’ recorded live in 1984. ****

Warthur Mercyful Fate's run of reunion albums ground to a halt with 9, which highlighted the problem with Dead Again. The problem was that the band had got themselves into a cul-de-sac; if they changed up their musical style, they'd lose that classic old Mercyful Fate atmosphere and they still hadn't found a similarly compelling alternative to it, but at the same time if they stuck with their old sound after numerous reunion albums things would finally begin to get stale. So this time around they try to go a middle route between those two options, and end up with all the disadvantages of both approaches and none of the advantages.