Monthly Archives: December 2010
Grave Digger – The Clans Will Rise Again
Grave Digger – The Clans Will Rise Again (2010, Napalm Records)
1. “Days Of Revenge” … 1:58
2. “Paid In Blood” … 3:58
3. “Hammer Of The Scots” … 4:02
4. “Highland Farewell” … 4:08
5. “The Clans Will Rise Again” … 5:01
6. “Rebels” … 4:41
7. “Valley Of Tears” … 4:09
8. “Execution” … 4:46
9. “Whom The Gods Love Die Young” … 6:12
10. “Spider” … 3:19
11. “The Piper McLeod” … 0:49
12. “Coming Home” … 4:23
13. “When Rain Turns To Blood” … 6:14
Bonus Track
14. “Watch Me Die” …3:55
Band:
Chris Boltendahl – Vocals
Axel Ritt – Guitar
Jens Becker – Bass
Stefan Arnold – Drums
HP Katzenberg – Keyboards
Additional Musicians:
Florian Bohm – Bagpipes
Producer: Chris Boltendahl
Another year, another Grave Digger release! This one is supposed to be a sequel to 1996′s Tunes of War. This album came out at the right time for me. After listening to last year’s Ballads Of A Hangman just recently, I was in the mood to try out some more Grave Digger. If there was one problem I had with Ballads it’s that the songs often blended together, they were too similar to my ears. Luckily that’s not the case with The Clans Will Rise Again. I think the use of bagpipes really helps gives this album and the songs their own flavor and identity but it’s not like they’re all over the place but they help spice things up. The entire album just seems more aggressive and melodic while featuring more tempo changes than Ballads.
Ballads took me a long time and many tries before I finally got into it and enjoyed it but Clans I’ve instantly liked. Just some ferocious power metal to be found all throughout. Boltendahl really comes through with some powerful and harsh vocals doing a great job but his rough voice is almost comical on some of the slower moments like when “When Rain Turns To Blood” starts off.
Not really sure how you go about getting the “bonus track”. I thought it was exclusive to the digipak version but my copy came in a standard jewel case and I still have the song.
The Clans Will Rise Again is another good album that cements my status as a fan of Grave Digger and encourages me to check out more of their albums…
Highlights: “Hammer Of The Scots”, “Highland Farewell”, “The Clans Will Rise Again”, “Rebels”, “Valley Of Tears”, “When Rain Turns To Blood”
http://www.grave-digger-clan.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Official-GRAVE-DIGGER-Fan-Site/256056408537
http://www.myspace.com/gravediggerclan
Razorwyre – Coming Out
Razorwyre – Coming Out (2010, self-released)
1. “Party Of Five” … 3:19
2. “Fuck You Tonight” … 4:13
3. “Operation Market Garden” … 4:19
4. “Suspiria” … 4:41
5. “Battleshark” … 6:27
Band:
Z-Chylde – Vocals
Chris Calavrias – Guitar
James Murray – Guitar
Simon – Bass
Nick Oakes – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Tim “Diamond Tim” Shann – Bass, Backing Vocals
Producer: Tim “Diamond Tim” Shann
Coming Out is a great little EP featuring a fantastic young band from New Zealand! Razorwyre is influenced by and plays in the style of traditional metal, NWOBHM, speed and thrash. In short… they rock! The band never lets up throughout this great five-song set. Z-Chylde screams like a siren and Chris Calavrias & James Murray display some great Maiden-esque work along with some fine speed and thrashing while Nick Oakes smashes and bashes along with ‘em.
“Party Of Five” is a great way to start off the album, setting the pace for the rest of album and acting as a calling card for the band. And I love how the band uses thrash but isn’t only writing “evil”, nihilistic or depressing lyrics. “Fuck You Tonight” is a great example of that: “Tonight! Tonight, I’m gonna fuck you, tonight! I’ll be out the door tomorrow!” \m/ “Battleshark” is a great closer. Not only is the title great but there’s some great machine gun riffing going on and at 6 minutes and 27 seconds it stands as the band’s lone “epic” at this point.
Razorwyre is one of the most exciting new bands I’ve heard in a while to use the ’80s metal template. And best of all? This EP is FREE! So if you want to hear for yourself, head over to the band’s website and download it! They’re working on their first full-length album right now and here’s hoping it gets released ASAP! The world needs more Razorwyre!
One thing I found interesting about this band is that they were briefly known as Gaywyre. An odd band name but I thought maybe it was some type of New Zealand thing but then this EP is called Coming Out. Is there some type of message here or am I reading too much into it? Who cares! Razorwyre rocks!
Highlights: “Fuck You Tonight”, “Operation Market Garden”, “Battleshark”
http://www.razorwyreband.com/
http://www.facebook.com/razorwyre
http://www.myspace.com/razorwyreband
David Rock Feinstein – Bitten By The Beast
David Rock Feinstein – Bitten By The Beast (2010, Niji Entertainment Group)
1. “Smoke On The Horizon” … 4:49
2. “Evil In Me” … 6:44
3. “Break Down The Walls” … 4:27
4. “Metal Will Never Die” … 5:20
5. “Kill The Demon” … 5:42
6. “Rock’s Boogie” … 4:04
7. “Give Me Mercy” … 4:04
8. “Run For Your Life” … 4:13
9. “Gambler Gambler” … 4:05
Musicians:
David “Rock” Feinstein – Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Nate Horton – Drums
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals (“Metal Will Never Die”)
Garry Bordonaro – Bass (“Metal Will Never Die”)
Carl Canedy – Drums (“Metal Will Never Die”)
Producer: David “Rock” Feinstein
A significant album if for only one reason, it features one of the final vocal performances of David’s cousin — Ronnie James Dio. So I admit that was the major selling point for me because I had picked up Feinstein’s Third Wish CD when that first came out I was disappointed by it. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this album but it’s a solid slab old school hard rock and heavy metal. Though I’m not familiar too much with the band (other than a few songs), I’ve read some reviews saying the sound is similar to The Rods, which Feinstein is a member of. Though this is a solo album, when it comes to the Dio track “Metal Will Never Die”, it’s the complete Rods line-up of Feinstein, Bordonaro and Canedy backing him up. Pretty cool!
There’s a heavy blues influence to this album with Feinstein showing his roots in Elf. “Rock’s Boogie” and “Gambler Gambler” are like Elf on steroids while “Smoke On The Horizon”, “Evil In Me”, “Run For Your Life” and “Kill The Demon” are just pure heavy metal with some blistering guitar work from David. Of course, “Metal Will Never Die” is the real highlight of the album — it’s Ronnie & The Rods! A typically great vocal performance from Dio. It’s a mid-tempo number sounding like something he may have recorded on a later Dio album, maybe Killing the Dragon or Master of the Moon. I had read there was talk between Ronnie & David about doing a full album together, it’s a shame we’ll never get to hear that.
My one complaint about this album is the mix. The vocals are pushed way too much in the back. At first, when listening to “Smoke On The Horizon”, I thought maybe that was the effect Feinstein was going for with that particular but it’s the same case throughout the CD. This is especially apparent on “Metal Will Never Die”, the mix just doesn’t do Ronnie justice. It’s almost like there is some weird vocal effect going on throughout the whole album. The guitars sound great though, nice dirty sound to them and Feinstein is definitely a gifted guitarist and knows how to write riffs. It’s puzzling he never found more success during heavy metal’s ’80s heyday.
Overall, DRF has turned in one fine old school metal album!
Highlights: “Smoke On The Horizon”, “Evil In Me”, “Metal Will Never Die”, “Run For Your Life”
http://www.myspace.com/davidrockfeinstein
http://www.bittenbythebeast.com/
My Darkest Days – My Darkest Days
My Darkest Days (2010, Mercury Records)
1. “Move Your Body” … 3:13
2. “Porn Star Dancing” (feat. Zakk Wylde & Chad Kroeger) … 3:19
3. “Every Lie” … 2:56
4. “Like Nobody Else” … 3:41
5. “The World Belongs To Me” … 3:42
6. “Save Me” … 3:41
7. “Set It On Fire” … 3:27 (feat. Orianthi)
8. “Come Undone” (feat. Jessie James) … 4:08
9. “Can’t Forget You” … 3:53
10. “Goodbye” … 3:59
11. “Porn Star Dancing” (feat. Chad Kroeger, Zakk Wylde, & Ludacris) … 3:55
Band:
Matt Walst – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards
Sal Costa – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Brendan McMillan – Bass
Doug Oliver – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Zakk Wylde – Guitar
Chad Kroegar – Vocals, Percussion, Acoustic Guitar
Ludacris – Vocals
Orianthi – Guitar
Jessie James – Vocals
Joey Moi – Percussion, Backing Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards
Ted Bruner – Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar
Scott Cooke – Backing Vocals
Producer: Joey Moi and Chad Kroeger
My Darkest Days is a post-grunge act. So why am I reviewing them? Well, I had read a few positive reviews on Amazon a few months ago and put the CD on my wishlist. I never got around to buying it but saw it at FYE the other week for $8 or $9 and knew it’d be cheaper to get it right then. If it sucked, well, I’d only be out a few bucks.
Does it suck? NO! This album is awesome and I can’t even explain why I like it! My Darkest Days is firmly entrenched in the radio-friendly post-grunge format but I think they are just a lot more melodic and hooky than most other “modern” acts and a bit more poppy. All of these songs are getting stuck in my head. There’s a good mix of the typical rock ‘n’ roll bravado with “Move Your Body” and “Porn Star Dancing” but I also dig the lovelorn moments like “Save Me” and “Can’t Forget You”, “Goodbye”. But never fear, there’s actually a POSITIVE love song called “Like Nobody Else”. I’m finding that I’m enjoying the lyrics to these songs as much as the music itself.
Here’s a fun fact: this group is apparently another pet project of Chad Kroeger (Nickelback). He co-produced and co-wrote all but three songs on this album. If I knew that before hand, I probably wouldn’t have bought the album. I’m not a Nickelback fan, they’re the #1 band to blame for the bland acts on radio these days and the last time I went for one of Kroeger’s “finds” it was Theory of a Deadman and they suck.
Kroeger definitely called in some favors for this album though. Lots of guest stars lined up for this one and I think that’s pretty cool. Zakk Wylde, Ludacris, Orianthi and Jessie James on the same album? What, is this a Slash record? With the guest stars, a cover of Duran Duran’s “Come Undone” and two versions of “Porn Star Dancing” it looks like the band is giving their all to become a success in the mainstream. There’s the “rock version” of “Porn Star Dancing” and then an alternative version featuring a part by Ludacris. It isn’t rap-metal or a hip-hop remake but I guess that version’s for the clubs or pop stations. There’s really only one dud in the whole bunch — The Police-influenced “Set It On Fire”.
This is definitely a band worth checking out for anyone who has a taste for modern hard rock that’s NOT influenced by the classic rock bands. I don’t really fit into that category but I’m enjoying it anyway so if you’re in the same boat as I am, you may end up enjoying this one too.
Highlights: “Move Your Body”, “Porn Star Dancing”, “Like Nobody Else”, “The World Belongs To Me”, “Save Me”, “Can’t Forget You”
http://www.mydarkestdays.com
http://www.facebook.com/MyDarkestDays
http://www.myspace.com/MyDarkestDays
Mass – A Very Merry X-Mass
Mass – A Very Merry X-Mass (2010, Dunbar Entertainment)
1. “Jingle Bell Rock” … 2:49
2. “Grown Up Christmas List” … 4:54
Band:
Louis St. August – Vocals
Gene D’Itria – Guitar
Michael Palumbo – Bass
Joey “Vee” Vadala – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Jeremy Heussi – Keyboards, Strings
Producer: Kenny Lewis
I only knew this existed because Scott at NoLifeTilMetal.com reviewed it and I ordered it as soon as I got done reading that review. It was really a no-brainer to pick this one up: I’m a Christmas freak, I’ve liked the only Mass album I’ve heard so far (Sea of Black), it was only $4.99 and most importantly all the proceeds go to Toys For Tots.
I’m a sucker for amped up rock versions of Christmas classics and Mass turns in a great performance of “Jingle Bell Rock”. “Grown Up Christmas List” was originally sung by Amy Grant and is one of the corniest, starry-eyed Christmas songs around. It’s just too hokey for me to enjoy but I guess Mass’ version is just as good as anyone else’s.
Not really much to say about this. It’s just a fun little novelty single and the money went to a good cause so it all worked out.
http://www.massrocks.com
http://www.facebook.com/masstheband
http://www.myspace.com/masstheband
Hinder – All American Nightmare
Hinder – All American Nightmare [Deluxe Edition] (2010, Universal Republic Records)
1. “2 Sides of Me” … 3:24
2. “All American Nightmare” … 3:17
3. “What Ya Gonna Do” … 4:07
4. “Hey Ho” … 3:34
5. “The Life” … 3:37
6. “Waking Up the Devil” … 4:12
7. “Red Tail Lights” … 3:48
8. “Strip Tease” … 3:29
9. “Everybody’s Wrong” … 3:41
10. “Put That Record On” … 3:38
11. “Good Life” … 3:35
12. “Bad Mutha Fucka” … 3:34
13. “Put That Record On” (demo version) … 3:43
14. “What Ya Gonna Do” (demo version) … 4:14
Band:
Austin Winkler – Lead Vocals
Joe “Blower” Garvey – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Mark King – Guitar, Piano, Backing Vocals
Mike Rodden – Bass, Backing Vocals
Cody Hanson – Drums
Producer: Kevin Churko, Cody Nason, Marshal Dutton
I became a big fan of Hinder with their last release Take It to the Limit. It was one of the best surprises of the year for me and was a good mix of post-grunge hard rock and ’80s hair metal from a band that had previously only been a boring post-grunge group. With All American Nightmare, the band continues with much of the same blended styles of Take It to the Limit while throwing in a bit of Southern rock influence as well that sometimes reminds of Shinedown or later Saliva. Apparently, the band had even more free rein for this record than they did for the last and that is where the Southern rock vibe comes in.
I think from top to bottom this album is even better than Take It to the Limit. That album was still trying to figure out it’s place between ’80s rock and ’00s rock but this album is much more sure of itself giving the obligatory “modern” “Waking Up the Devil” (maybe Hinder at their heaviest), “What Ya Gonna Do”, “The Life” and “Red Tail Lights”, “Everybody’s Wrong” (the last four are all ballads and have single potential for modern radio), while “Striptease” sounds like a modern Crue song and “All American Nightmare” and “Put That Record On” (an ode to classic rock!) have a classic rock and southern influence. They even take the time to take a few jabs at all the worthless female pop stars with “Striptease” and knock hip-hop with “Hey Ho”.
If there’s one problem I have it’s the lyrics. I love that the guys are throwing back to the broads ‘n’ booze lyrics of the ’80s but I find the constant references to getting high and smoking weed to be annoying. It seems like just about every song has to make some type of mention of it and they’ve been going on about it for three albums now.
I don’t listen to radio but I know “All American Nightmare” was the lead single. I don’t know how much play it has gotten but unfortunately it does not look like this album will match the success of Take It to the Limit‘s gold status as this album debuted at #37 on Billboard with first-week sales of 35,000. Hopefully another single to set the album on fire. It’s just a shame that when any band tries to incorporate more melody, classic rock styles and sing-along choruses they get shunned by fans and labels alike. I can’t believe nu-metal garbage like Disturbed is still selling 10 years later and is really bigger than ever. Are people really still that angry? Is it the SAME people from 10 years ago?
I bought the deluxe edition for a few extra bucks just because I’m such a big fan of these guys now. Tracks 11-14 and a mini foldout poster with the band on one side and All American Nightmare cover model Jesse Lee Denning on the other side. The demo tracks are basically throwaways but I like “Bad Mutha Fucka”, it’s a jokey, fun and loose kind of song. I gotta hand it to these Hinder boys — they really know how to put together artwork for the album! There’s no naked chicks this time but Jesse is incredibly hot. It’s not always easy for a girl to have so many tattoos and make it seem sexy but Jesse has no problem doing it!
Really enjoying this album, loving it the more I listen to it and I’m glad Hinder came around to playing REAL rock ‘n’ roll! As far as I’m concerned Hinder has joined Buckcherry and Avenged Sevenfold as one of the best modern rock/metal acts today.
Highlights: “2 Sides of Me”, “All American Nightmare”, “Hey Ho”, “Waking up the Devil”, “Strip Tease”, “Put That Record On”
http://www.hindermusic.com
http://www.facebook.com/Hinder
http://www.myspace.com/hindermusic
Skelator – Death To All Nations
Skelator – Death To All Nations (2010, Metal On Metal Records)
1. “Birth Of Steel” … 5:17
2. “The Truth” … 5:02
3. “Victory (Henry V)” … 5:46
4. “Circle Of Bloodshed” … 3:49
5. “Symphony Of Night” … 7:26
6. “For Death And Glory” … 8:12
7. “Stand Up (For Rock And Roll)” … 6:04
8. “Death To All Nations” … 7:50
Band:
Jason Conde-Houston – Vocals
Robbie “The Truth” Houston – Guitar
Rob Steinway – Guitar
Zach “Arnold” Palmer – Bass
Patrick Seik – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Erik Hansen – Guitar (“Circle Of Bloodshed” and “Symphony Of The Night”)
Producer: Robbie Houston & Patrick Seick
Despite the fact that they’ve been kicking around the underground for 12 years, I’d never heard of Skelator until I came across some metal distro site (can’t remember which). Hey, any band with a name and album cover based on Skeletor automatically has a few cool points. The samples sounded decent as well and I was looking for a new band to try so I eventually ended up ordering this album. Sadly, when I got it in the mail there was no jewel case. The CD, booklet and back cover were all in one plastic slip. Odd, especially since I didn’t see it being listed as shipping without a jewel case but I guess it’s okay since I have some jewel cases to spare.
Anyway, self-described as a mix of “epic heavy metal” and speed metal, Skelator plays in a mixed ’80s metal style: traditional heavy metal, power metal, speed metal. There’s really nothing new going on here. It’s all just no-frills metal influenced by the usual suspects of said subgenres (Priest, Maiden, Sabbath, Manowar, Dio, etc.). I’ve read some comparisons of singer Jason Conde-Houston to Rob Halford and while that’s a bit off base, Jason does indeed have a great piercing scream. While the rest of his vocals are fine, he certainly doesn’t carry himself like Halford does while working with a lower register.
Enthusiasts for traditional heavy metal and retro metal bands will probably enjoy this one. I like it but I had to give it a few spins to get hooked into it and that’s when songs like “Victory (Henry V)”, “Symphony Of Night”, “For Death And Glory” and “Death To All Nations” started to appeal to me. With the last three mentioned songs, I can definitely get why the band describes their brand of metal as “epic”! There’s some great musicianship and vocals all over those songs and there’s enough interesting changes so that you’re not bored by the length of the songs. And what’s a metal album without an anthem to rally behind? Well that’s why “Stand Up (For Rock And Roll)” is here!
My initial thought on this album was that it was bland traditional metal. Though the album isn’t a knockout, there are a handful of notable moments. It isn’t a must-have but any fan of the traditional style will probably get their money’s worth out of this album and I’m more than happy to put my money towards a mostly unknown metal band upholding old metal values.
Highlights: “Victory (Henry V)”, “Symphony Of Night”, “For Death And Glory”, “Death To All Nations”
http://www.trueskelator.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Skelator/90678338012
Helloween – 7 Sinners
Helloween – 7 Sinners (2010, The End Records)
1. “Where The Sinners Go” …3:35
2. “Are You Metal?” …3:37
3. “Who Is Mr. Madman?” … 5:42
4. “Raise The Noise” … 5:06
5. “World Of Fantasy” … 5:14
6. “Long Live The King” … 4:12
7. “The Smile Of The Sun” … 4:36
8. “You Stupid Mankind” … 4:04
9. “If A Mountain Could Talk” … 6:44
10. “The Sage, The Fool, The Sinner” … 3:59
11. “My Sacrifice” … 4:59
12. “Not Yet Today” … 1:11
13. “Far In The Future” … 7:45
Band:
Andi Deris – Vocals
Michael Weikath – Guitar
Sascha Gerstner – Guitar, Backing vocals
Markus Grosskopf – Bass
Dani Löble – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Matthias Ulmer – Keyboards
Eberhard Hahn – Flute (“Raise the Noise”)
William “Billy” King and Olaf Senkbeil – Choirs
Ron Deris – Backing Vocals (“Far in the Future”)
Biff Byford – Spoken Prologue (“Who is Mr. Madman?”)
Producer: Charlie Bauerfeind
Up to this point, I’ve never been what you would call a “fan” of Helloween. I own Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II and the Treasure Chest compilation but like with most power metal — I think of Helloween as a fluffy, flowery, keyboard-heavy metal. Not really my thing. I know not all power metal bands follow this formula but it seems to be the norm.
Feeling that way, I really wasn’t going to give a new Helloween album a second (or even first) thought. But then I ran across the video for “Are You Metal?” and was surprised at just how heavy it was. It’s a true heavy metal anthem! Then I found out if you pre-ordered the album you got a t-shirt, a small poster signed by the band and the CD all for $20. So I figured why not?
I’m glad I ended up getting the album. I’ve ready many reviews saying it’s the heaviest Helloween has been in a long time (if ever) and it’s certainly a HEAVY metal album. The band does fall back onto the keyboards from time to time but they more than make up for it with the anger on “Where The Sinners Go”, the anthem “Are You Metal?” and the creepy “Who Is Mr. Madman?”. It’s really the first four songs that are the best on the album. “Raise The Noise” is another good metal anthem (even though it has a Jethro Tull moment in the form of a flute solo). This song sounds like something Sister Sin would record. “The Smile Of The Sun” is a very good and powerful ballad. One of the few things I think Helloween has always nailed is their ballads.
Overall, the album has become one of my favorites for the year. There are a few bland moments. Specifically, “Far In The Future”, which limps the album to a close but from top to bottom the album is full of solid METAL with so many sing-along moments and much more metal than I ever expected from Helloween. Are they metal? Yes they are!
Highlights: “Where The Sinners Go”, “Are You Metal?”, “Who Is Mr. Madman?”, “Raise The Noise”, “The Smile Of The Sun”, “You Stupid Mankind”
www.helloween.org
www.facebook.com/helloweenofficial
www.myspace.com/helloween
