Napalm/Sound Pollution Dutch Goth metal outfit STREAM OF PASSION goes for the throat with their fourth release “Darker Days”. Spearheaded by Mexican vocalist Marcela Bovio, Dutchmen Martijn Peters (drums), Johan Van Stratum (bass), Eric Hazelbroek (rhythm guitar), Stephan Schultz (lead guitar) and Jeffrey Revet (keyboards) seem like a stable line up, with a penchant for…
Frontiers/BAM John Wetton is a living legend. In the seventies he was part of FAMILY, KING CRIMSON, ROXY MUSIC and URIAH HEEP. He then turned his hands to U.K. featuring ALAN HOLDSWORTH and BILL BRUFORD and in 1982 he became a member of ASIA, who´s debut contained the immortal “Heat of the Moment”. Four more…
Angel Air/Border LUTHER GROSVENOR a.k.a. ARIEL BENDER has a past in bands like SPOOKY TOOTH, STEELERS WHEEL and MOTT THE HOOPLE. He counts amongst guitar greats like Mick Ronson and Paul Kossoff, with his “technique isn´t everything you must have fun too-approach”. He has released two solo efforts prior to this one, “Under Open Skies”…
Magna Carta/Border Toronto quartet THE ANDROID MEME is not subject to conventions. They look like the runaway sons of the Rocky Horror Show and they sound like basically not many more. They state various influences like TOOL, PETER GABRIEL, TEARS FOR FEARS and MOTLEY CRUE, the latter being a riddle. The title itself has multiple…
Bastardized Recordings/Sound Pollution Florida deathcore/metal merchants CATALEPSY have been around since 2004, and created quite a reputation for themselves. HATEBREED`S Jamey Jasta signed the band to his own label Stillborn Records for their 2007 debut “The Godless”, which was followed by a full-length, “Iniquity” in 2008. This time around a more mature album is promised,…
MDD/Sound Pollution Russian band DEVIANT SYNDROME can´t have been total beginners back when they formed in 2005. Melodic death metal is their game, and they obviously got popular with the demo “Pictures of Declared Existence”. This album was first released in Russia, but now MDD has decided to put it out in Europe. I never…
Hype Productions/Warner Finland is metal. There is no denying it, simply compare their charts to any of our Swedish equivalents. One of the well-to-do bands at the moment is DOOM UNIT. Their catchy heavy riffage, catchiness and even touches of LYNYRD SKYNYRD have provided them with a second place in the Finnish charts and a…
Hype Productions/Warner Finland is metal. There is no denying it, simply compare their charts to any of our Swedish equivalents. One of the well-to-do bands at the moment is DOOM UNIT. Their catchy heavy riffage, catchiness and even touches of LYNYRD SKYNYRD have provided them with a second place in the Finnish charts and a…
ALESTORM Riding the Storm Interview There are bands who struggle for ages, and there are the ones going places fast. It seems like yesterday, in reality since 2006, or, in the public eye, since 2008. That was probably the first time anyone outside of Scotland heard of this lot. How do you go from a…
Lion Music/Warner We´ve all seen the pictures and heard about the situation in Japan. Some people decide to act on it and give a helping hand. LARS ERIC MATTSSON has gathered the finest his Lion Music rooster has to offer for this 2CD, the revenue from which goes straight to the affected in Japan via…
MDD/Sound Pollution Russian band MANIC DEPRESSION has been around since 1999, and supported the likes of DESTRUCTION on tour. Their moshing music is described as thrash to the bone, dwelling on subjects like politics and war. Well, how heavy can these Russians get? Aw, well, opener “Nightmareality” is thrash in the true sense of the…
Escape/Border Canadian vocalist ROB MORATTI has an ongoing varied career. He started out with his own band MORETTI in the late nineties, went on to front FINAL FRONTIER and headed straight for the spotlight when in 2008 he replaced Michael Sadler as front man of SAGA. He has now left them to focus on his…