EXXPLORER - Symphonies of Steel review

EXXPLORER - Symphonies of Steel

Pure Steel Records

http://www.reverbnation.com/exxplorer

Over a decade back the Greek Metal Hammer offered to its readers a compilation CD with songs taken from releases from the legendary Black Dragon Records. It was a great compilation CD which I still listen to and one of the songs I distinguished there was the song “Run for Tomorrow” from a band called EXXPLORER. The song can be found on the debut album under the title “Symphonies of Steel” which has already been released on CD. Pure Steel Records will release it on vinyl too on a limited 300 copies.

THE COVER: It is quite simplistic and childish and I think quite typical of the era that the album was released back in 1985. It shows a female barbarian warrior watching a 2 headed creature that looks like a bird. It might look bad in our days, but I think that somehow the cover helps the cult status of this release and sincerely I could not imagine any re – release with any different, modern cover.

MUSICAL STYLE: We are back in 1985, an era when the U.S. metal scene was rising triumphant and gave us bands that we consider in our days classic, especially in the epic metal sound in which I believe that EXXPLORER belong too. Also have in mind that a year before this release IRON MAIDEN had released the album “Powerslave” which has been a major influence for the U.S. metal bands. So, in a few words I can say that EXXPLORER are of the first bands that crafted the sound that we so often call U.S. metal. I think that everyone will notice similarities to such bands like ARMORED SAINT, OMEN, MANILLA ROAD and also some touches of IRON MAIDEN’s “Powerslave” era.

COMPOSITIONS: The album consists of 9 compositions and as I have mentioned above most of them belong to the good old 80’s U.S. metal sound and they of course have a strong epic feeling. I like the biggest part of this release, but for me the song that stands out is “Run for Tomorrow” and its intro “Prelusion” which is a haunting instrumental played with piano. In general all the compositions that are included here are enjoyable and highly addictive especially if you are fans of the U.S. metal sound.

CONCLUSION: The album is considered classic or at least has a cult status in the underground metal scene. I think that EXXPLORER belong to those bands that deserved more, but yet can feel satisfied because they offered us such an album like “Symphonies of Steel”. Now you will have the chance to have it on a vinyl edition which is the most suitable edition for this release.

Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis

VEXILLUM – Unum review

VEXILLUM – Unum

Limb Music

http://www.vexillum.biz/web/

Italy as a country has quite a big metal scene that started back in the 80’s. The fact though is that in the late 90’s bands like DOMINE, RHAPSODY, LABYRINTH, DOOMSWORD and HEIMDALL made the Italian scene known around the world.  Most of the above mentioned bands are playing power metal and that proves that Italy’s strong card is its power metal scene. VEXILLUM in their third album under the title “Unum” continue the good tradition of their country and deliver to us an album that balances between the power and folk metal genre.

THE COVER: It shows a tribal talisman with depictures of animals on it. The talisman seems to be upon a tree or rock. It is quite simple and yet beautiful. I think it fits perfectly to the music and the lyrics of the band.    

MUSICAL STYLE: As I have mentioned above, the sound of the band is a mixture of euro power and folk metal. They base their compositions on melodies that most of them have a folk touch and also use a heavy rhythm section that mainly brings to mind bands like late BLIND GUARDIAN. I think that BLIND GUARDIAN, ELVENKING, HAMMERFALL and RHAPSODY are the bands that VEXILLUM can be compared to.

COMPOSITIONS: The third release of VEXILLUM is a concept album and includes 9 compositions from which the last 2 “Spunta la Luna dal Monte” (TAZENDA cover) and “Run Runaway” (SLADE cover) are covers. Also in some of the compositions known musicians participate like Chris Bay from FREEDOM CALL on “The Jester: Over the Clouds”, Hansi Kürsch from BLIND GUARDIAN on “The Sentenced: Fire and Blood”, Maxi Nil from JADED STAR on “Lady Thief: What We Are” and Mark Boals on “The Hermit: Through the Mirror”. All of the compositions that are included here are moving on the same level which is good without though bringing me enthusiasm. They are just nice compositions that kept my interest every time I was listening to the album. My favorite composition though from the album is “The Sentenced: Fire and Blood” where Hansi gives again a great performance.          

CONCLUSION: The new release of VEXILLUM will satisfy the fans of melodic euro power metal and the ones that like folk tunes; however I don’t think it can bring fans from other genres to the band. VEXILLUM manage to create an atmosphere that captures the mind and travel you to realms of fantasy and times long forgotten and their music is quite optimistic too. I think that they can be satisfied since they managed to create an album that captures the imagination of the listener without tiring him/her at any moment. The only weak element is that they don’t have the compositions that stand out, since most of them with the only exception the one I referred to above move on the same level.  

Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis

STORMHUNTER – An Eye for An I review

STORMHUNTER – An Eye for An I

Independent

http://stormhunter-metal.de/

The labels usually push the artists to the limits and demand in short time to release one album after the other. This is a tactic that might bring profit to the label, but the fact is that it pushes the artists to their limits and usually makes them release mediocre albums. I am more into the logic of STORMHUNTER that leave a gap of 2 or for this release 3 years in order to recharge their inspiration. This is a move that, most of the times, pays back if we talk in terms of creativity. The band seems to believe so much in this release that they actually decided to release it on their own.

THE COVER: The cover of the album is dark and yet epic. It pictures a misty field with a pyramid with a huge eye on the top and on the background a mummified evil creature that reminded me of Mumm-Ra and the ICED EARTH covers too. The cover is very good and fits perfectly to the sound of the band and it is made by Peter Sallai who made covers for such bands like SABATON and SACRED STEEL.

MUSICAL STYLE: This is the third release of STORMHUNTER and if you have listened to their previous to, then you will know that musically they play heavy/power/speed metal that made their country, Germany, so known in the world. In their previous 2 releases they, of course, had a strong RUNNING WILD feeling (hell yeah) and this element is also obvious in this album too. However, this time they have expanded their sound with influences from bands like early HELLOWEEN, BLIND GUARDIAN, RAGE and SCANNER. The great thing with this is that they have managed to embody their influences into their own playing style and actually they have built a recognizable sound.

COMPOSITIONS: I have listened to this release more than enough times and I will also listen to it in the near future. All the 12 compositions that are included here are very interesting to listen to and the more I listen to the album the more I like them. I think though that everyone has favorites even if we talk about JUDAS PRIEST’s “Painkiller” and my favorites from this album are: “Victimized”, “Among the Blind”, “Cathodic Messiah”, “Tortured Mind”, “Hell (Is What You Make of It)” and “An Eye for An I”.

CONCLUSION: STORMHUNTER managed to release an album that can satisfy the people who love the Teutonic heavy/power/speed metal sound and I think that this is their most mature work up to now because they manage to keep a good balance between heavy riffs and melodies and also bring a fresh and creative air to this kind of music. Also they have impressed me with the maturity of their lyrics which are based on political and social issues and they ask you to use your brain and think about them. In a few words STORMHUNTER must be proud because they have definitely released one of the best albums that I have listened to in the start of 2015!!!

Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis

MOTIVA – Un Motivo Ci Sara review

MOTIVA – Un Motivo Ci Sara

Independent

http://www.motivaband.net/

MOTIVA is an Italian band that was formed in 2007 in Taranto, Italy and without being a 100% sure; I think that this is their debut full length album. So let me tell you a few things about this release in order to help you make up your mind.

THE COVER: It is quite simple actually. On a black fond you can see a wooden doll watching a source of light below and also it has the band name and the album title. This is the kind of a cover that I would expect in a progressive rock or metal band, but the only common thing that MOTIVA have with the above mentioned genres is that they play some kind of rock. By the way, I liked the cover.

MUSICAL STYLE: Well let me explain to you the kind of rock that I have mentioned above. The music of MOTIVA is clearly radio friendly rock music which is based on melody and of course it has a lot of pop elements. Without being an expert to this kind of sound, they reminded me of artists like Eros Ramazzotti and Bryan Adams. 

 COMPOSITIONS: The compositions that are included in this release have all the elements that you can expect from a pop/rock band which means they are emphasizing on melody and are quite catchy. The band really seems to have a deep knowledge of the kind of sound they play and their compositions sound fresh.

CONCLUSION: I don’t know how many of you that read this webzine are into pop/rock sound, but I think that MOTIVA are good on what they do and they are a well bonded band and have the talent for the kind of music they play. So, if you like pop/rock and also appreciate the Italian language, then give them a try.

Nick “Verkaim” Parastatidis

ΠΑΡΟΥΣΙΑΣΗ Πικνίκ δίπλα στο δρόμο (Στάλκερ)

ΤΙΤΛΟΣ: Πικνίκ δίπλα στο δρόμο (Στάλκερ)

ΣΥΓΓΡΑΦΕΙΣ: Αρκάντι Στρουγκάτσκι & Μπόρις Στρουγκάτσκι

ΕΙΔΟΣ: Επιστημονική Φαντασία

ΕΚΔΟΤΗΣ: Α-Ω εκδόσεις

http://www.protoporia.gr/piknik-dipla-sto-dromo-p-306585.html

Οι αδερφοί Στρουγκάτσκι θεωρούνται από τα μεγαλύτερα κεφάλαια της Ρώσικης Επιστημονικής Φαντασίας και το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο τους ίσως να είναι το κορυφαίο τους (αυτό δεν μπορώ να το πω μετά βεβαιότητας, γιατί δεν έχω διαβάσει και κάποιο άλλο και δεν ξέρω αν κυκλοφορεί άλλη τους δουλειά στην Ελληνική γλώσσα).

Υπόθεση: Μετά από μια επίσκεψη από έναν εξωγήινο πολιτισμό (πιθανόν να ήταν κι ένα απλό πικνίκ) δημιουργούνται περιοχές όπου οι νόμοι του φυσικού κόσμου όπως τον γνωρίζουμε ανατρέπονται. Οι περιοχές αυτές λόγω της επικινδυνότητας τους αποκλείονται από τις κυβερνήσεις και αποκαλούνται «ζώνες». Αυτό όμως δεν αποτελεί εμπόδιο για τους κυνηγούς (Σταλκερς), οι οποίοι είναι τυχοδιώκτες που παράνομα και με κίνδυνο της ζωής τους μπαίνουν στις  ζώνες προκειμένου να αποσπάσουν αντικείμενα που έχει αφήσει πίσω του ο εξωγήινος πολιτισμός και να τα πουλήσουν σε όποιον δώσει τα περισσότερα χρήματα. Κεντρικός ήρωας του βιβλίου είναι ο Ρέντρικ Σούχαρτ.

Η άποψη μου: Πρόκειται για εξαιρετικό βιβλίο επιστημονικής φαντασίας που μέσα στις 233 σελίδες του είναι συνάμα περιεκτικό, αλλά και ανοικτό σε ερμηνείες. Οι συγγραφείς δίνουν κάποιες πληροφορίες για τον κόσμο που δημιουργούν, αλλά δεν τον επεξηγούν με κάθε λεπτομέρεια. Αυτό ίσως εκνευρίσει κάποιους από εσάς, αλλά προσωπικά πιστεύω δίνει περισσότερη αληθοφάνεια στο κείμενο, διότι κατά τη χρονική περίοδο που εξελίσσεται η ιστορία, οι άνθρωποι μόλις αρχίζουν να εξερευνούν τον κόσμο αυτό. Και στις μέρες μας υπάρχουν φαινόμενα που γνωρίζουμε πως λειτουργούν, αλλά δεν γνωρίζουμε το γιατί λειτουργούν με αυτό τον τρόπο και τι τα προκαλεί. Το σημαντικότερο, όμως, στοιχείο του βιβλίου είναι ο ανθρωποκεντρικός χαρακτήρας του (στοιχείο που τείνει να εκλείψει στους σύγχρονους συγγραφείς επιστημονικής φαντασίας). Η ουσία δηλαδή του βιβλίου είναι ο άνθρωπος και ότι στην προσπάθεια του να εξερευνήσει ένα άγνωστο περιβάλλον, τελικά εξερευνεί και ανακαλύπτει τον ίδιο του τον εαυτό (που ίσως να είναι μια από τις πιο ανεξερεύνητες περιοχές).

Σημαντικές Πληροφορίες: Το πόσο σημαντικό είναι το βιβλίο αυτό, αποδεικνύεται κι από το γεγονός ότι ο σκηνοθέτης Αντρέι Ταρκόφσκι δημιούργησε ταινία βασισμένο σε αυτό με τον τίτλο «Στάλκερ». Το σενάριο μάλιστα της ταινίας έγραψαν οι ίδιοι οι συγγραφείς και πρόκειται για διαφορετική ιστορία από αυτή που περιέχεται στο βιβλίο.

Στο παραπάνω βιβλίο βασίστηκε και η σειρά βιντεοπαιχνιδιών με τον τίτλο «S.T.A.L.K.E.R.» της Ουκρανικής εταιρίας  GSC Game World. Πρόκειται για μια πιο ελεύθερη μεταφορά, αλλά αποδεικνύει το πόσο επιδραστικό είναι το βιβλίο αυτό.

 Τέλος, το «Πικνίκ δίπλα στο δρόμο (Στάλκερ)» αποδείχτηκε και προφητικό, διότι μετά το δυστύχημα του Τσερνομπίλ του 1986, αποκλείστηκε μια περιοχή έκτασης περίπου 3.500 τ.μ. και αποκαλείται ανεπίσημα ως «ζώνη». Οι επιστήμονες δε που μπαίνουν στη ζώνη για έρευνα αποκαλούνται χαϊδευτικά και «Σταλκερ».

 Παραστατίδης Νικόλαος