Category Cd Reviews

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Music Buy Mail/Sound Pollution

Norwegians THE WHEEL may sound like a spoof, three Norwegians and a Russian bass player, but the last laugh will be on you. Since 2007 they have been strutting their stuff, which equals to a love of all things FREE, LED ZEPPELIN, VAN HALEN, SOUNDGARDEN, ALICE IN CHAINS etc. I´d personally like to add a bundle of bluesy hair bands like BADLANDS, perhaps CINDERELLA, aw, you´ll get the idea. They have already played alongside UFO and KEN HENSLEY, so what are they doing really?

First up is the extremely agreeable “Stand Up”. Anyone who has heard BANDLANDS and, probably, EXTREME will hum along. It fits like a glove to that audience. “Into the Water” reeks of UFO and LED ZEPPELIN, a typical seventies stomp. Next up is the simply titled “Love”...

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Escape Music/Border

ILIUM is an Aussie band, a power metal outfit from Newcastle, and outspoken guardians of classic heavy metal in the vein of IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and BLACK SABBATH. First known as ILIAD back in 1998, they now have four releases under their belt. Since their orevious release, “Ageless Decay”, the vocal spot has been filled by no other than Mike DiMeo, RIOT and ex. MASTERPLAN. These eleven songs have been treated well by Swedish pro mixer Martin Kronlund, and the sci-fi style is…unmistaken when you see the cover.

But as opener “Kinaestesia” fills my headphones I start to wonder. The trigged drums, the ok but not outstanding song in itself, the good pace but not quite opener material, how will this end? I may add that my fears were not all that imminent...

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Att det egentligen inte behövs någon uppföljare till Alice Coopers bästa skiva är inget som behöver diskuteras. Såna här skivor lever sällan upp till sina föregångare, särskilt inte när det har gått 36 år sedan första skivan släpptes.

Men nu är det som det är, och man får försöka se bakom titeln och framför allt det gräsliga omslaget. Tyvärr börjar det inte så bra med ”I am made of you”. En lugn låt med en autotunad (!?) Alice är inget bra öppningsnummer. Men sedan lyfter det!

”Coffein” är en rak rockstänkare som borde öppnat skivan. En av de bästa låtarna på plattan. ”The Nightmare Returns” är ett slags mellanstycke som känns mest som ett intro. Varför den inte ligger först på skivan är ett mysterium...

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Frontiers/BAM

To the discerning AOR fan, WORK OF ART needs no introduction these days. But in 2007 old school friends Herman Furin, drums, Robert Säll, guitars, convinced Lars Säfsund, vocals and keyboards to finally help them finalize an idea from back in 1982. The ensuing debut album “Art Work” was hailed as a comet on the AOR sky, all quite rightfully. Comparisons to giants like… GIANT and TOTO were plenty, so I guess expectations have skyrocketed in the wait for this outing. So, what has been achieved?

A 4/5 review I believe. Opener “The Rain” was exactly to my liking, which also goes for “The Great Fall”, but that was that in terms of five star material. Most of the time WORK OF ART produce well-sounding highly enjoyable stolen goods from a previous decade...

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Massacre/Sound Pollution

Cardiff band HUNTED have been hard at work touring the UK, and marketing themselves. Not least with their 2009 demo “Alone”, which has been instrumental in hailing them, as one net site put it, “…the next DREAM THEATER”. They´ve played Bloodstock, featured on the official ProgPower USA promo CD and now this full-length, which had an original limited release in 2010. Their influences range from DREAM THEATER via IRON MAIDEN to OPETH. So…impress me!

After the soon to be obligatory intro the power thrash of “The Silence of Minds” display the mark that IRON MAIDEN has set on the genre, plus the fact that Chris G possesses a very powerful voice. The lack of focus on refrains, as in “Aria (In Memoriam)” is not to the band´s advantage...

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Napalm/Sound Pollution

Russian band ARKONA dates back to 2002, when two local bands joined forces, or parts of the bands, and HYPERBOREA was born. Most of the members are not still in ARKONA, but vocalist Marsha “Scream” remains. The others are Sergej Lazar, guitars, Ruslan “Kniaz”, bass, and Vlad “Artist” on drums. The last few years have been good to the band, earning them a place among the best in the Pagan genre. The EP teaser “Stenka Na Stenku” promised good for this album too, is it all that good?

The frequent use of intros may not be according to the success formula of the previous EP, it´s something that strikes me after a few spins. To me it´s mostly a loss of pace, something that is not to the advantage of the band...

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Opeth kliver helt och hållet över till den snälla sidan med denna fullängdare som är helt i progressiv rock.

Liksom på Damnation är inte låtarna lika långa som vanligt, här finns bara två spår över åtta minuter. Den ”hårdaste” låten skulle väl vara Slither, vilken mer för tankarna till AOR än till någon av de tidigare föredömena i bandets repertoar.

Musiken som Opeth gör har aldrig varit simpel, men med Heritage gräver de kanske ytterligare ner sig i det tekniska i musiken. Tyvärr får jag säga, för personligen är det här lite för mycket för mig. Det finns liksom en gräns för hur mycket jammande jag orkar med, och det här blir lite som att komma in i ett improvisationsrep. Och gå därifrån för att man blir uttråkad.

Jag brukade bli fångad av Opeth’s m...

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Haven Denied are a metalcore band from Portugal. Formed eleven years ago, ”Illusions” is their third album.

The album is packed full of powerful thrash metal guitar work and lots of raw power – listening to the album I can imagine the band going down well with some serious moshpits.

I have to say I really dont like the vocals on the album and for me they turn the album from one with a lot of potential into an album I wouldnt consider buying. The music is good and the power of the crushing guitar riffs works well, but the vocal style just doesnt appeal sadly.

Track listing:

1. Our lives are gone
2. Are you really a man
3. Ego crisis
4. Of illusions we will die
5. Fathers of the same son
6. Mind rapists
7. Deadly memories
8. You used to like
9. Times of waste
10. terminus

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Massacre/SP

Celtic warriors prepared to die to defend their country and people. That is the translation of the title FUROR GALLICO, that the Roman´s gave the ancient warriors. The band´s 2008 demo, “390 B.C. – The Glorious Dawn” marked the start of an ambitious gig campaign. The new line-up, that does not entirely perform on the album, consists of founding members Ste (guitars) and Becky (harp), plus Pagan (Voices), Oldhan (guitars), Fabio (bass, laura (Violin), Paolo (Whistle, Bouzouki) and Simo (drums).

The chosen style is folk and the metal parts are almost equal to the use of ancient instruments and elder melodies. FUROR GALLICO is at their best when they are as catchy and refrain oriented, at least to my ears...

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Napalm/Sound Pollution

Danes SVARTSOT really blew me away with their previous album “Mulmets Viser”, so my expectations are sky high for this their third full-length album. No line-up changes or other dangers, only catchy and spirited pieces of mediaeval metal…or?

Opening intro “Staden…” sets the stage. The album hovers on the subject of the Black Death´s arrival in Denmark in 1350. The atmosphere is there, the place is lively and…doomed. What follows is a pretty even history with standout tracks like the in the info sheet strangely unmentioned “Farsoten Kom” the closing tracks. The gloomy ballad, with clean vocals, “Spigrene” is a welcome change among all the growling...