Without a doubt, this is a highly recommended album to any fan of Neo-Classical European Melodic Hardrock/Metal in the style of KAMELOT, STRATOVARIUS, SONATA ARCTICA, LABYRINTH, etc., etc., which is thanks to superb songwriting, an excellent production/sound, picture-perfect musicianship and of course the lovely vocal work of Marco. You get a lot of value for your money because it has a playing time that almost reaches 70 minutes, so make sure not to miss this wonderful CD.
Lajon Witherspoon of Sevendust On New CD Blood & Stone – It’s Good To Have An Album That Can Tell A Story And Be Diverse.
After celebrating, or indeed, commiserating 30 years of their doom and death metal career, Paradise Lost, have decided to flip direction with their 16th release.
It’s always a bit of a bold move when an already well-established brand, with a lengthy discography, decides to make a self-titled release, especially when such a release comes after a major lineup change. Needless to say, that’s exactly what’s happened with multi-national power metal band Firewind, a very well known, rather popular band within their field, who are now set to release a self-titled album as their ninth full-length release. After being quite impressed with their last album, Immortals, I was interested to see whether this new album would be as good as that one and after several listens, I am quite pleased to say it is indeed every bit as good, if not even better in spots.
“V” is a solid thrash metal album that confirms that Havok is one of the most interesting bands of the genre. The American band continues their successful career with a more conventional studio album in comparison with its more adventurous predecessor. Despite being a safer choice in relation to “Conformicide”, “V” is a compact old school thrash offering enriched with sounds from various genres of metal music. Even if there is a modern production, the roots of the Bay Area and Teutonic thrash metal are very intense. This new record will please the fans of the genre.
“Weapons Of Tomorrow” is a stunning piece of studio work from one of the most interesting bands in the thrash metal scene. Warbringer’s research and discovery of personal identity have come to terms with this wild ride into excellent music and lyricism. The diversity of the material and the successful incorporation of those influences into their classic thrash roots keeps up the excitement during the whole journey. “Weapons Of Tomorrow” is the strongest studio release of Warbringer to date, a pleasantly surprising and entertaining thrash metal masterpiece.
Crimson is a very strong debut, and while I think some metal fans may be disappointed by it, anyone looking for a nice, energetic yet fairly calm and relaxing melodic metal album should find a lot to like here. Volturian have gotten off to a strong start, with plenty of catchy, trance infused melodic metal tracks, and while it won’t appeal to everyone, fans of Frozen Crown or Sleeping Romance should at least try a track or two, to see if it’s worth a full listen, while fans of Amaranthe or Metalite should find a lot to like. As a fan of all the above, I find the album quite enjoyable, and will check out any potential future releases by the band.
Hansi and I were very dear friends before we realized that we could write songs together. Writing together actually happened by accident.
Psychotic Waltz exited the Metal scene in 1997, right after having released the ‘Bleeding’ album. Some live shows that started in 2011 were a signal of some activities at the Psychotic Waltz camp, but a new album was still far out of sight. Songwriting for the new album though started in this period and it took another 7 years to finish off what began in 2012. Being at a different location, with Devon Graves living in Europe, made the process at least not easier with a lot of data traffic between the band members as a consequence, but they managed. Having had the chance to listen to the new album ‘The God-Shaped Void’ clearly shows that every minute spent for the new album during the last 7 years was worth the investment. ‘The God-Shaped Void’ is for sure a highlight in 2020 and an unofficial nominee for the 2020 year polls.