German Death Metal solo project Praise of Death have
released their new album, “Rivers of Gore.” The album was recorded and mixed at
Morbid Arts Productions by Mark Raziel, who also founded the project in
Augsburg in 2024, and was mastered by Ilarion Ivanenko.
Praise of Death features Finnish vocalist Topias
Jokipii and combines old-school Death Metal influences with heavy riffing,
aggressive vocals, atmospheric passages, guitar solos and darker lyrical
themes. The project previously released its debut album, “Philanthropist,”
which explored subjects including nihilism, existential dread and human
self-destruction.
With “Rivers of Gore,” Praise of Death continue to
develop their approach to underground Death Metal, drawing on both its
traditional brutality and more atmospheric and introspective elements.
There are quite a few bands associated with the
N.W.O.B.H.M. movement whose music never quite fitted the more familiar template
of the genre. Warfare, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1982, were certainly
one of them. Rather than following the more melodic or traditional side of
British heavy metal, they developed a much more aggressive and direct sound,
standing somewhere between Motörhead, Tank, Venom and Atomkraft, with a strong
punk attitude running through it.
The band released five studio albums during their
original career: Pure Filth (1984), Metal Anarchy (1985), Mayhem, Fuckin'
Mayhem (1986), A Conflict of Hatred (1988) and Hammer Horror (1990), along with
the Noise, Filth and Fury and Total Death EPs. This already makes Warfare an
interesting part of the later N.W.O.B.H.M. story, but their association with
some of the most recognizable names of the British extreme-metal scene makes
their history even more distinctive.
In fact, it is difficult to discuss Warfare without
mentioning those connections. Algy Ward of Tank was involved with Pure Filth,
Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead produced Metal Anarchy, while Cronos of Venom was
involved with Mayhem, Fuckin' Mayhem. The latter also featured Cronos as a
guest vocalist on the band's version of The Kinks' "You Really Got
Me". Metal Anarchy, meanwhile, also featured Motörhead guitarist Würzel as
a guest.
So, Warfare certainly did not try to hide their
influences. Their music was built around speed, rough vocals, primitive and
deliberately raw production, short songs and an almost punk-like directness.
The result was considerably closer to the dirty, hard-driving attack of
Motörhead and Tank than to the more conventional N.W.O.B.H.M. sound of the
period. Even their album titles — Pure Filth, Metal Anarchy and Mayhem, Fuckin'
Mayhem — give a pretty good indication of what the listener should expect.
The New Age of Total Warfare was released by
Southworld Recordings in 2011 and brings together 16 tracks, running for
approximately 47 minutes. It is therefore a fairly substantial introduction to
the band's catalogue rather than simply a short selection of their most obvious
songs. The compilation moves through material from different periods of the
band's career and also includes several live recordings, giving it a little
more variety than a straightforward studio-only collection.
The track selection includes "New Age of Total
Warfare", "Dance of the Dead", "Living for the Last
Days", "Death Charge", "Military Shadow", "Blown
to Bits" and "Metal Anarchy", while the second half adds live
versions of "Death Charge", "Elite Forces", "Burn Down
the Kings Road" and "Blown to Bits". The collection closes with
a studio version of "No Fun", adding another connection to the punk
side of Warfare's musical identity.
The songs themselves are generally fast, uncomplicated
and aggressive, with very little interest in unnecessary technicality or
elaborate arrangements. Warfare's strength is precisely this straightforward
approach: the riffs come quickly, the vocals are rough, the production retains
an appropriately dirty character and most of the songs get to the point without
wasting time. There is an almost Metal-Punk mentality here, something that
helps explain why the band can appeal equally to listeners coming from the
Motörhead, Tank or early Venom side of metal.
Among the material included here, the title track and
"Metal Anarchy" are particularly representative of what Warfare were
about. The latter also gives the compilation one of its most obvious
connections with Lemmy's world, considering his involvement in the original
1985 album. Metal Anarchy itself was released by Neat Records in March 1985, at
a time when Warfare were establishing their identity as one of the more
aggressive bands operating around the N.W.O.B.H.M. scene.
For listeners who already know Warfare, The New Age of
Total Warfare works as a compact retrospective of a band that occupied an
unusual position between British heavy metal, speed metal and punk. For those
who have never listened to them, it provides a useful introduction to a group
whose history is closely connected with some of the key figures of the early
British extreme-metal movement.
Warfare were never the typical N.W.O.B.H.M. band, and
this compilation makes that very clear. Their music is fast, rough, loud and
uncomplicated, with the attitude of a punk band and the volume of a heavy-metal
one. For anyone interested in the more aggressive and less polished side of the
early British metal scene, this is an interesting place to discover them.
Αυτοί
οι Testament κι οι Exodus είναι κάποια από τα συγκροτήματα της περίφημης Bay
Area της Καλιφόρνιας που άργησαν να κυκλοφορήσουν το ντεμπούτο τους, το καθένα
για διαφορετική αιτία.
Οι
Forbidden Evil, όπως ονομάζονταν αρχικά, πιέστηκαν να κόψουν το δεύτερο
συνθετικό του ονόματός τους από τη δισκογραφική τους εταιρεία, ώστε, αφενός, να
είναι πιο εύηχο το όνομα και, αφετέρου, να μην «κακοχαρακτηριστούν» ως
αποκρυφιστικό μουσικό σχήμα. Το ντεμπούτο τους, όμως, φέρει κι αυτό στον τίτλο
του το «Evil» και αποτελεί έκτοτε ένα από τα καλύτερα δείγματα της δεύτερης γενιάς
του Thrash Metal.
Τρία
κομμάτια έχουν γραφτεί με τη βοήθεια του γνωστού από τους Vio-Lence, αλλά πολύ
περισσότερο από τους Machine Head μελλοντικά, Robb Flynn, ο οποίος ήταν μέλος
τους για ένα χρονικό διάστημα.
Ο
τρομερός Glen Alvelais, με τα χαρακτηριστικά κιθαριστικά του leads και solos,
αλλά κυρίως ο Paul Bostaph, που ρίχνει βολές από το σκαμπό του ντράμερ, είναι
αποκάλυψη εδώ, παίζοντας ωμό Thrash. Η παραγωγή δεν είναι για πρώτο βραβείο,
αλλά είναι ανεκτή, ενώ χαρακτηριστικά κομμάτια όπως τα Chalice of Blood,
Through Eyes of Glass, Forbidden Evil, March Into Fire, As Good as Dead και
Follow Me συνθέτουν ένα άλμπουμ από τα πιο αποδεκτά στον κόσμο του πιο ακραίου
ήχου.
English:
Riding the Second Wave
These Testament and Exodus are among the bands from
California’s legendary Bay Area that took some time to release their debut
albums, each for a different reason.
Forbidden Evil, as they were originally called, were
pressured by their record label to drop the second part of their name, both to
make it sound more appealing and to avoid being labelled as an occult-oriented
band. Their debut, however, still carries the word “Evil” in its title, and has
since become one of the finest examples of the second generation of Thrash
Metal.
Three tracks were written with the help of Robb Flynn,
known at the time from Vio-Lence, but later far more prominently as a member of
Machine Head, who was a member of the band for a period of time.
The formidable Glen Alvelais, with his distinctive
guitar leads and solos, but above all Paul Bostaph, firing away from behind the
drum kit, are revelations here, delivering raw Thrash. The production is hardly
award-winning, but it is acceptable, while standout tracks such as Chalice of
Blood, Through Eyes of Glass, Forbidden Evil, March Into Fire, As Good as Dead
and Follow Me make this an album that has become one of the most highly
regarded releases in the world of extreme music.
Οι
Αθηναίοι Dragonskull είναι ένα σχετικά νέο σχήμα, με μόνο ένα ομώνυμο E.P. πίσω
τους, και αυτό είναι το νέο τους άλμπουμ, που μόλις κυκλοφόρησε τον Μάρτιο που
μας πέρασε.
Η
μπάντα ακούγεται πολύ δεμένη στον ήχο που παρουσιάζει: κλασικό, από κάθε άποψη,
Heavy Metal, με Epic στοιχεία να ξεχειλίζουν από παντού! Ένα ιδανικών αναλογιών
μείγμα από οτιδήποτε έχει αγγίξει την ψυχή μας τα τελευταία σαράντα χρόνια και
βάλε. Οι επιρροές είναι πολλές· διακρίνω μυρωδιές από Blind Guardian, Omen,
HammerFall, Jag Panzer, Heavy Load, Ostrogoth, Manowar, Domine και, για κάτι
από Ελλάδα, πολύ κοντά θα έλεγα τους έτερους πολλά υποσχόμενους Achelous.
Είναι
αυτή η αίσθηση ότι μοιάζει αρκετά με πολλά αγαπημένα, πραγματικά σχήματα το
απόσταγμα αυτού που ακούγεται στα οκτώ κομμάτια του CD!
Παραγωγή
όπως πρέπει: από γεμάτη ως ογκώδης και, ταυτόχρονα, πολύ καθαρή.
Οι
πέντε μουσικοί που αποτελούν το σχήμα είναι οι κύριοι Άρης Λάμπος στα φωνητικά,
Χρήστος Μπριντζίκης και Πάνος Βλαχόπουλος στις κιθάρες, Θοδωρής Σταματιάδης στα
ντραμς και Γιώργος Βουδούρης στο μπάσο.
Τα
οκτώ κομμάτια έχουν τίτλους “Brethren”, “Dragon Riders”, “Skull Crusher”, “War
Drums”, “Nampat”, “Skeleton Hand”, “Shield Maiden”, “Blood and Souls” και, αν
και δεν το έχω εμπεδώσει καλά ακόμα, παρά τις αρκετές ακροάσεις, είναι ακριβώς
αυτό που ψάχνεις άμα είσαι μεγαλωμένος με στοργή και αγάπη για τους κλασικούς
αυτής της μουσικής.
English:
Where Did These Guys Come From?
The Athens-based Dragonskull are a relatively new
band, with only one self-titled E.P. behind them, and now comes their new
album, which was just released this past March.
The band sounds very tight in the style they present:
classic Heavy Metal in every respect, with Epic elements overflowing from every
direction! It is a perfectly balanced mixture of pretty much everything that
has touched our souls over the last forty years and more. There are plenty of
influences here; I can smell traces of Blind Guardian, Omen, HammerFall, Jag
Panzer, Heavy Load, Ostrogoth, Manowar, Domine, and, for something from Greece,
I would say they come very close to their fellow, highly promising Achelous.
That feeling that they sound enough like so many
genuinely beloved bands is ultimately the essence of what comes through across
the eight tracks on the CD!
The production is exactly as it should be: full-bodied
to massive, yet very clean at the same time.
The five musicians making up the band are Aris Lampos
on vocals, Christos Brintzikis and Panos Vlachopoulos on guitars, Theodoros
Stamatidis on drums, and Giorgos Voudouris on bass.
The eight tracks are “Brethren”, “Dragon Riders”,
“Skull Crusher”, “War Drums”, “Nampat”, “Skeleton Hand”, “Shield Maiden”, and
“Blood and Souls” and, although I still haven’t fully absorbed the album
despite several listens, this is exactly what you are looking for if you were
raised with genuine love and affection for the classics of this music.
If you can’t be original, at least you have to be
passionate and armed with good ideas. This is the third release of the German
power metal band CIRCLE OF SILENCE and, interestingly enough, it was also their
first album for Massacre Records, following two independently released records,
Circle Of Silence (2006) and The Supremacy Of Time (2008).
The guys are certainly not original at all. Something
that doesn’t bother me, especially when a band has enough inspiration, energy
and good ideas to make the familiar sound enjoyable. And CIRCLE OF SILENCE have
what I need in order to enjoy their album.
Their sound, I think, is more U.S.-metal oriented, in
the way that BRAINSTORM sounds too, although the German identity of the band is
still obvious. Having as their basis the 80’s monsters like IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS
PRIEST and SAVATAGE, their music also carries influences from later power metal
and heavier contemporary acts such as CAGE and ICED EARTH. There are also
moments where the aggressive guitar work and rhythmic attack bring thrash metal
into the picture, giving the material a harder edge than the term “power metal”
alone might suggest. Contemporary reviews likewise pointed to a mixture of
power, traditional heavy metal and thrash elements rather than a strictly
formulaic approach.
The album is built around the two-guitar attack of
Tobias Pfahl and Christian Sommerfeld, with Peter “Pit” Suppinger providing the
necessary double-bass drive and Björn Boehm holding down the rhythm section.
The production puts the guitars firmly in the foreground, while keeping the
rhythm section powerful and clear. The result is a sound that suits the band's
aggressive material particularly well.
Their singer, Nick Keim, is another important part of
the band's identity. His voice is not the typical clean and high-pitched power
metal delivery. Instead, he has a rougher, angry and more aggressive tone,
something that gives an extra boost to the passionate playing of the band. His
approach has been compared by contemporary reviewers to singers such as Peavy
Wagner of RAGE, while his gritty delivery also gives the songs a more
traditional heavy-metal character.
The album contains eleven tracks, beginning with the
aggressive “Synthetic Sleep” and continuing through songs such as “Left To
Die”, “Exception”, “21 Grams” and the title track “The Blackened Halo”. “Never
Forget” brings another dose of aggression and thrash-flavoured riffing, while
“Reflections” introduces a more restrained opening before returning to the
band's heavier sound. The closing “Until The Worlds Collide” is one of the
longer compositions on the album, helping to give the record some variation after
the predominantly direct approach of the earlier tracks.
It is this directness that works in the band's favor.
CIRCLE OF SILENCE do not seem interested in reinventing power metal or
pretending that they have discovered something completely new. Instead, they
take familiar ingredients, play them with conviction and give the songs enough
energy and melody to make the formula work. For a listener who is already
familiar with the genre, there will certainly be many moments that sound
familiar, but there is also enough passion in the performance to prevent the
album from becoming simply another anonymous power metal release.
It is hard for me to imagine that CIRCLE OF SILENCE,
with their new album The Blackened Halo, will disappoint any fan who wants to listen
to some good, straightforward and energetic power metal. Actually, this album
made me curious about how their previous two releases sound. I will try to find
them and check them out too.
Who would have thought that, after more than a decade
of hard rock decadence during the '90s, so many of the melodic rock and hair
metal bands of the '80s would return? By 2011, a remarkable number of
established names from that era were making comebacks, and Black N’ Blue were
among them. Hell Yeah! is the band's fifth studio album and, more importantly,
their first full-length collection of new material since In Heat in 1988.
Released through Frontiers Records in 2011, the album
arrived after a particularly long and complicated road back to the studio.
Black N’ Blue had reunited in 2003, with vocalist Jaime St. James and original
guitarist Jef “Woop” Warner beginning work on new material, but the recording
process was interrupted when St. James joined Warrant as their lead vocalist in
2004. Work eventually resumed, and the band finally secured a deal with
Frontiers.
The lineup retains much of the band's classic
identity. Jaime St. James remains on vocals alongside Jef “Woop” Warner on
guitar, Patrick Young on bass and Pete Holmes on drums, while Shawn
Sonnenschein joins on guitar. Tommy Thayer, Black N’ Blue's original guitarist,
was by then firmly established in KISS, having taken over the guitar position
previously occupied by Ace Frehley.
And Hell Yeah! wastes very little time reminding the
listener why Black N’ Blue belonged to the American hard rock scene of the
'80s.
The album explodes with the kick-ass rocker “Monkey”,
immediately followed by the hard and heavy “Target”, two of the strongest songs
on the record. The production is considerably more modern than the band's
original albums, but the basic ingredients remain intact: chunky guitar riffs,
straightforward hard rock structures, catchy choruses and the loose, slightly
sleazy attitude that characterized Black N’ Blue.
Next comes the mid-tempo “Hail Hail”, built around a
large arena-style chorus that makes the band's intentions perfectly clear. This
is Black N’ Blue returning to their established musical territory rather than
attempting to reinvent themselves. The album's own producer, Jef “Woop” Warner,
described the record as a return to the band's classic sound, combining
elements from their previous albums while retaining a heavier character.
There is plenty more to discover throughout the album.
The fast “C’mon” delivers another dose of energetic hard rock, while “So Long”
brings a more melodic side to the record without abandoning the band's
identity. “Falling Down” and “Candy” continue the balance between heavier
guitar-driven material and more accessible melodic writing.
Then comes “Hell Yeah!”, the title track and one of
the album's most immediately memorable numbers. It carries exactly the kind of
uncomplicated, celebratory hard rock attitude suggested by its title, while St.
James' vocals give the song the personality associated with Black N’ Blue from
the beginning of their career.
Interestingly, Hell Yeah! also contains several short,
humorous interludes, including “Jaime's Got the Beer” and “Trippin'”, which
reinforce the band's deliberately unpretentious attitude. The standard album
closes with “World Goes Round”, while some editions include additional material
such as “I Smell a Rat” and a hidden track.
Black N’ Blue had originally emerged from Portland,
Oregon, before moving to Los Angeles and becoming part of the early-'80s
Hollywood hard rock scene. Their debut appeared on Geffen in 1984, followed by
Without Love in 1985, Nasty Nasty in 1986 and In Heat in 1988. The latter two
albums were produced by KISS bassist Gene Simmons, adding another important
connection between Black N’ Blue and the wider American hard rock
establishment. The band's catalogue eventually exceeded one million sales in
the United States.
That history makes Hell Yeah! more than simply another
reunion album. There is a genuine sense of continuity here. The band does not
attempt to disguise its roots or follow the production trends that had
transformed melodic hard rock during the years between In Heat and this
release. Instead, the record concentrates on what Black N’ Blue did best:
direct riffs, memorable refrains, energetic performances and a good-time rock
'n' roll atmosphere.
It is also significant that the album was not created
immediately after the reunion. Some of its material had been developing since
2003, with the project going through years of delays before finally appearing
in 2011. That long gestation period gives Hell Yeah! an unusual place in the
band's discography: it is simultaneously a product of a reunited band and a
document of musicians who had carried their musical identity through more than
two decades of change.
Hell Yeah! therefore works best when approached for
what it is: a straightforward Black N’ Blue record made for listeners who still
appreciate the sound, attitude and melodic hard rock spirit of the '80s. It is
not trying to rewrite the band's history. It simply picks up where that history
was interrupted and brings the Black N’ Blue attitude back to the front.
After a last studio album in 1988, that alone makes
Hell Yeah! a noteworthy comeback — and for fans of classic American hard rock,
there is plenty here to turn the volume up for.
Το
τελευταίο χρονικά άλμπουμ της μπάντας, που αν και έχει βάση την Αθήνα, είχε
πάντα στο δυναμικό της ερμηνευτές από το εξωτερικό. Ο Gerrit Mutz, από το
προηγούμενο Blood Of Legends, παραμένει στο μικρόφωνο, συνεχίζοντας τον μύθο
αυτού του επικού Power Metal ονόματος.
Κώστας
Τζώρτζης και Μιχάλης Κοντογιώργης στις δύο κιθάρες, Σωτήρης Τσακαλόγλου στο
μπάσο και Γρηγόρης Βλάχος στα ντραμς, εδώ η σύνθεσή τους, με τον αχανούς αίγλης
Mark Shelton (RIP) από τους Manilla Road να χαρίζει για μία τελευταία φορά,
πριν χαθεί στο φως της Βαλχάλα λίγο καιρό μετά, τη φωνή του, συμμετέχοντας ξανά
στους φίλους του Battleroar.
Δε
χρειάζεται άλλος λόγος για να περιγράψει την επική Metal μουσική τους. Αυτά που
ξέρετε: μεγαλειώδες ύφος, διθυραμβικές κιθάρες, στιβαρό rhythm section,
παραγωγή καθαρή όσο δεν πάει, κομμένη με διαμάντι σε ύμνους όπως τα We Shall
Conquer, Sword of the Flame, Chronicles of Might, The Doom of Medusa, Palace of
the Martyrs, Kings of Old και Enchanting Threnody.
Και
καλό σας ταξίδι σε έναν άλλο μαγευτικό, μυστηριώδη αλλά και βάρβαρο κόσμο, όπου
το σπαθί και η αφήγηση κυριαρχούν.
English:
The Return of the Titans
The band’s latest album to date comes from a group
that, although based in Athens, has always featured vocalists from abroad in
its ranks. Gerrit Mutz, who also appeared on the previous Blood Of Legends,
remains behind the microphone, carrying on the legacy of this epic Power Metal
name.
Kostas Tzortzis and Michalis Kontogiorgis handle the
two guitars, Sotiris Tsakaloglou the bass, and Grigoris Vlachos the drums. This
is the line-up here, with the legendary Mark Shelton (RIP) of Manilla Road
lending his voice one final time, before passing into the light of Valhalla
some time later, once again joining his friends in Battleroar.
No further explanation is really needed to describe
their epic Metal. You already know what to expect: majestic grandeur, triumphant
guitars, a rock-solid rhythm section, and a production as crystal-clear as it
gets, diamond-cutting its way through anthems such as We Shall Conquer, Sword
of the Flame, Chronicles of Might, The Doom of Medusa, Palace of the Martyrs,
Kings of Old and Enchanting Threnody.
And now, have a safe journey into another enchanting,
mysterious yet savage world, where the sword and the tale reign supreme.
