An aggressive progressive metal quintet from Italy, Metaphysics release their debut album “Beyond The Nightfall” almost seven years into their existence. A previous 4 song demo “Evolution” hit the streets in 2007, and as a result of a compilation appearance on the Italian version of Rock Hard magazine gained label interest – bringing you up…
Greek guitarist Andy Rock releases his debut solo album “Into The Night” after spending years with the melodic rock band Wild Rose. Taking on all the instrumentation, vocals and songwriting outside of the drums (Giannis Papavasiliou handles that task), these 11 songs take on characteristics of 80’s AOR like Michael Bolton and Richard Marx- sweet…
One of the originators in the West Coast traditional metal movement of the 80’s, Malice released two full length albums and did numerous tours in Europe and North America but didn’t make that major breakthrough- a victim of management and record label turmoil. Returning to the scene with 3 of the original members (Jay Reynolds-guitar,…
Classic 80’s melodic rock superstar Richard Marx returns with a collection of new songs and re-recordings of his older material exclusively for the European market. Of the 13 fresh songs on “Inside My Head”, most are similar to his self-titled and “Repeat Offender” album days- a mix of catchy mid-tempo rockers and diverse ballad offerings…
A six piece modern metal act from Italy, 5 Star Grave on their second album “Drugstore Hell” aim squarely at the heart of youthful rebellion with these 11 songs. The stuttering computer vocal effects on “Death Put A Smile On My Face” give the band an industrial edge to their normal punk rock influenced metal…
You always worry that after a band impresses you with their debut effort, the follow up is going to be like a struggle climbing up the mountain to sustain interest. For Danish alternative hard rock act Broken Hand Charity, I didn’t let my worrisome fears take over- especially when the initial propulsive/ aggressive riff charge…
The soap opera antics in the 80’s hard rock scene seem to be getting out of hand when you have two versions of a band slugging it out in the marketplace. L.A. Guns has Traci Guns on one corner, and Phil Lewis/ Steven Riley parading another version due to a 50/50 ownership of the trademark.…
Well known for her guitar abilities and accentuating her feminine curves during the 80’s hard rock heydays, Lita Ford took a long break when grunge and alternative music overtook the major media outlets. “Living Like A Runaway” leans back into modern rock songwriting, with occasional nods the melodic 80’s. “Branded” lifts its main guitar riff…
A five piece melodic death metal act originating from Spain, Jotnar started in 2008 and develop a potent blend of modern heaviness with obvious guitar harmonic sensibilities and clean chorus melodies from a number of Swedish/ American mentors. “In Process” for instance has this obvious rhythmic groove stomp coming from the Slipknot/ Sevendust framework but…
Discovering new music in hard rock and metal gives my brain fuel to live and my fingers thoughts to ruminate upon. Due to the nature of the business with technology allowing musicians to affordably record material we have so much new product hitting us weekly- and as a result it’s tough as a journalist to…
Ah sweet doom. The journey remains long, the road to glory almost as arduous. Musically respected, often revered by the most fervent of fans. Not the path to take if you hope to make a sustainable living solely from the output of your music (Black Sabbath notwithstanding). The Foreshadowing embody a sound as a sextet…
Fifth album from these veteran German hard rockers- starting in 1990 and clawing their way through the scene, Wild Frontier took their name from the fine 1987 Gary Moore album. “2012” comes six years after their last studio record “Bite The Bullet”- but this is my initial sojourn into the band’s songwriting and style. Overall…
This German death metal act started in 2003 and originally broke up in 2007 despite relative success releasing a mini-CD in 2004. Fortunately a new lineup emerged in the spring of 2009 as co-founder and original singer Tomasz Wisniewski started with the last drummer Mathias Blasse, found two new guitarists in Lukas Kerk and Oliver…
The fourth full length studio album from Poland’s Crystal Viper explores more of their epic old school metal influences, using a lyrical concept theme of historical facts mixing with a fictional storyline relating to witches, black magic and the holy inquisition. Songs like “It’s Your Omen” and “Witch’s Mark” have galloping riffs, high pitch note…
(…this article is in English…)Vi lurer ofte på hva som skjer med band som er produktive tidlig i sin platekarriere og som tilsynelatende forsvinner sporløst uten en lyd. Spesielt hvis pausen har vært på flere år slik som tilfellet var for det svenske death metal bandet THE FORSAKEN. Forhåpentligvis kan dette intervjuet med gitarist Patrik Persson fordrive noen myter du kan ha hatt om deres lave profil status i løpet av de siste åtte eller ni år. En ting skal du uansett ha klart for deg og det er at bandets fjerde album "Beyond Redemption" vil slå knockout på alle dine sanser.
The French scene may be better known in modern metal times for its technical death prowess, but at the heart of its domestic output are the roots of traditional, true and epic bands. Active again since 2000 and originating in the early 1990’s, Lonewolf fly the flag for old school, Running Wild style power metal.…
The eighth album for Portugal’s Tarantula, a long running heavy/power metal act who formed in the early 1980’s and released albums since 1987. My previous encounter with this band took place with their fifth full length in 1998, “Light Beyond The Dark”, which only received a lukewarm reception to these ears. “Spiral Of Fear” doesn’t…
On paper this should be a home run sell- unfortunately Sweden’s Engel seem content to focus on more of the commercial aspects of their post –industrial meets modern melodic death oriented sound. With their third album “Blood Of Saints”, the guitar playing at times attempts to get a tad adventurous on “Down To Nothing”- only…
Welcome back to the sleaze driven, Sunset Strip 80’s hard rock scene with Germany’s Kissin’ Dynamite. The third full length from this five-piece makes you suspend all of your daily stress and fast paced work life into 10 songs embodying a live it loose and free manner. Expect large vocal harmonies, addictive guitar hooks, firm…
Let’s face facts- when it comes to hard rock and heavy metal, there’s not much more innovation or cross-genre pollination left to tackle. So it shouldn’t surprise you that for all the exploration that occurs, some bands just want to plug in, crank things up, and play. Stallion Four hail from Sweden and live for…
