Category Cd Reviews

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Napalm/Sound Pollution

VISIONS OF ATLANTIS has more than ten years/four albums under their belts. This quite international band has played with a.o. EPICA and NIGHTWISH, they have a lot of airtime with Viva and MTV, and they have also changed a number of vocalists. Now the band consists of Greek vocalist Maxi Nil and her male equivalent Mario Plank, Werner Fiedler handles guitars, Mario Lochert the bass, keys are done by Martin Harb and behind the drums we find Thomas Caser. . Mario Lochert and Jan Vacik have produced this album, which, according to the info sheet, is filled to the brim with orchestral arrangements, captivating vocals, and heavy guitars. Who can resist such an album?

Among the opening tracks of 2011 “Black River Delta” does not stand out...

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”Call to arms” is the 19th studio album from legendary British metal band Saxon and is due for release on 23rd May 2011.

The opening track is ”Hammer of the gods”. Opening with some excellent guitar work it gets off to a great start then really kicks off when Biff starts singing. With a combination of great guitar work throughout, and Biff’s vocals on fine form this song is Saxon at their best – this song could easily become one of their classic tracks.
”Back in ’79” has a nostalgic feel. The track has a backing chorus sung by 79 fans who came to the studio to sing after a last minute brainwave from Biff Byford the night before the song was due to be recorded led to a post on their website asking for volunteers to come along and sing on the album...

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This is the second album from Finnish metallers Kivimetsan Druidi, and is the follow up to their 2008 debut album ”Shadowheart”. Kivimetsan Druidi have a heavy folk metal sound, with the use of traditional folk instruments. Vocals are mainly handled by their female singer Leeni Maria who provides clean operatic style singing, with male vocals providing the grunts and growls and chanting choruses.

Comparisons between Kivimetsan Druidi and Battlelore are inevitable – both bands are from Finland, both bands have the male members with painted faces, both have a female lead singer with male grunts/growls and both bands produce folk/symphonic metal...

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”The enigma of life” is the fifth album from Sirenia. It features the same vocalist as on their previous album, ”The 13th floor”, Ailyn – making this the first time a Sirenia vocalist has lasted longer than one album since ex Tristania founding member Morten Veland founded Sirenia.

As a big fan of this genre of music I was looking forwards to hearing this album, and at first it seems to tick all the right boxes – a talented singer, some great guitar work, and symphonic arrangements, but the more I listen to the album the more it feels to be lacking something. To me the album just feels to be lacking depth and power – even the heavy opening of ”All my dreams” feels slightly flat and subdued, as though the mixing process cut the levels down too much and robbed it of its power...

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Artist: Amorphis
Album: The Beginning Of Times (Nuclear Blast)
Genre: Melodisk metal

Amorphis fortsätter på samma spår och har gjort en ny platta i samma stil som de senare släppen. Jag blir direkt påmind om förra Skyforger, det är alltså inte mycket som har ändrats sedan sist. Och varför överge ett vinnande koncept? Det är ju bra. Men, tyvärr är The Beginning Of Times inte riktigt lika fängslande. Antingen beror det på att man har hört det förut, eller så har de helt enkelt inte hittat samma styrka den här gången. Visst får vi sköna låtar med mycket melodier, men det är liksom inte lika klockrent som sist.

Ett litet problem jag har med det här bandet är att de ibland gör väldigt ojämna låtar, vilket så klart inte måste vara en negativ egenskap, men vissa gånger sä...

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I Hate/Sound Pollution

I Hate kör vidare med sina återutgåvor av gammal och dammig öststatsmetall. Inte är den då glömd inte, för bandet återförenas för en spelning på Muskelrock i sommar. .. Denna recension gäller endast den tjeckiska originalvarianten, men i handeln kommer både den varianten, och den Europaanpassade engelska exportplattan att finnas på en dubbel-cd.

Inledande ”Drak vstává kazdou noc” är en mix av sällan skådat slag. Inledningen är östeuropeisk, sången talad, gitarren ganska snäll och trummorna dämpade. ”Démon uchvatitel” har en udda rytm, och den nöts in i lyssnaren med en technoliknande envishet. Gitarrspelet är, som vanligt i öst, ganska flyhänt och visar spår av mer än metal. Bortom Järnridån fanns inte samma utbud av influenser som i väst...

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Frontiers/BAM

1970 debuterade URIAH HEEP med klassikern “Very ´Eavy, Very ´Umble”. Succé och inte mindre än 30 miljoner sålda album är facit på de fyrtio åren. Men det har också funnits tider av sämre mottagna skivor, avhopp (David Byron, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake) och andra motgångar. Föregående skiva ”Wake the Sleeper” har jag hört blandade omdömen om, hur är tempen på bandet 2011?

Evige Mick Box, gitarr/sång, tar kommandot i singeln ”Nail on the Head”, tillsammans med keyboardisten Phil Lanzon. Småmysigt men också en smula tjatig i refrängen. Egentligen är det först i titellåten och 70-talsexcessen ”Into the Wild” som de hittar rätt. Det låter väldigt mycket URIAH HEEP, men inte med samma frenesi och geist som förr...

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Quam Libet Records/www.cdbaby.com

Swiss band PYLON releases their fourth full-length album on their Quam Libet Records. New on drums is technical new addition Andrea Tinner, and we are promised some double bass drums! Apart from that they claim to be both faster and slower, as well as ready to offer us a cover of CANDLEMASS` “Somewhere in Nowhere” from “Tales of Creation”.

The duo of Matt Brand, guitars, vocals, production, and Jan Thomas, bass, aerophones and voices, remain. With the drummer change come straighter and more metallic sounding songs. “The First Church” opens with both doomy guitar work and lighter keys. The slow style from their previous outing feels distant. Matt´s voice is not very polished, but not as unpolished as many of their competitors...

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Frontiers/BAM

1984, det var startåret för KING KOBRA. Gruppen bildades av (redan då) erfarne trummisen Carmine Appice (VANILLA FUDGE, ROD STEWART, OZZY OSBOURNE), som samlade ihop ett ganska okänt gäng. Gitarristerna David Michael-Philips (senare i LIZZY BORDEN), och Mick Sveda (senare i BULLET BOYS), basisten Johnny Rod (senare i WASP) och sångaren Mark Free (senare i UNRULY CHILD och SIGNAL) ficka alla en knuff i karriären av att turnera med band som IRON MAIDEN och TED NUGENT. Det blev några hits för KING KOBRA, inte minst med ”Never Say Die (Iron Eagle)” till filmen med samma namn. Bandet gjorde ett återföreningsförsök 2001 med plattan ”Hollywood Trash”, men det vara bara Mick och Carmine som var med på det bottennappet...

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Sensory Overload is the first album from Michael MOnroe’s new band. The lineup is impressive – Michael Monroe (Hanoi Rocks), Sami Yaffa (Hanoi Rocks & New York DOlls), Steve Conte (New York Dolls), Ginger (Wildhearts), and Karl Rockfirst (Danzig), but an impressive lineup doesnt always translate into great albums. Thankfully in this case though, it does.

The album isnt a case of Hanoi Rocks under a new name – its got quite a different sound and feel to it, but not so radically different that it wont still appeal to Hanoi Rocks fans. There is a lot more of a punk feel to the album with The Ramones being one obvious influence, but it still retains traces of Hanoi Rocks...