Running Wild - Resilient (album review)

Label : SPV GmbH
Year : 2013
Format : CD/LP
Genre : Pirate Heavy Metal

There is no doubt that the German pirates dissapointed us the last years with their releases and especially "Shadowmaker" , witch in my opinion is the weakest album they ever released , but this time they are back ready to wreck our neck again ! "Resilient" is "Rock n' Rolf's" fifteenth Running Wild album .
 
  Well , starting from the artwork , i couldn't say it's the best they could do , but I would recomend  not to be affected by that before listening to the music , although i believe that a band like Running Wild must pay more attention to the artwork .

"Resilient" is a classic Running Wild album , just like it should be . Full of heavy Riffs , catchy singalong chorus and pounding drums .

The first song "Soldiers of fortune" is a great opener and gets us straight on to the action , followed by "Resilient" , a song with a rockier feeling and lower tempo . "Adventure highway " is next , with a very powerfull opening riff , and the album goes on with some awesome tracks like "The Drift" and "Fireheart" which is my personal favourite . "Down to the wire" is also a nice tune , but kind of missmatched with the rest of the album in my opinion .

The album closes with a 10 minute metal anthem , "Bloody island" , a proper ending for a great album like "Resilent" .

Overall "Resilient" is a very good album , and i would recommend it to any fan of Running Wild , even the ones who got dissapointed by them the last years !

Rating 9/10

Dagger - Mainline riders 7'' Review

Label : High Roller Records
Country : Sweeden
Year : 2013
Format : 7"
Genre : Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal

    Dagger is a hard rock / heavy metal band from Stockholm , Sweeden , formed in 2009 by eperienced musicians Fred Estby (Necronaut , Dismember) David Blomqvist (Dismember) Tobias Cristiansson (Grave , Dismember ) and Jani Kataja (Sideburn) .

   Their first release is this 7" out by High Roller Records titled "Mainline Riders" . Side A of the 7" is a cover of the Nwobhm legends "Quatz" and their song "Mainline riders" . I guess that's a good move , and  , although the band does not give it's own signature on the song  they predispose us for the band's future .

   Side B is the bands first original song "Dark cloud" , and i found it very interesting . It starts from the beginning with a strong riff , followed by some nice vocal lines from Jani Kataja . Catchy chorus and nice bass fills . The sound is very decent (over-production is useless in the genre) and overall is a great song .

  I think Dagger's first work  is very good , but i would like to listen to some more original work of them to have  a complete perspective .

Tension - Breaking point

Label : Torrid Records , Combat

Country : US

Year : 1986

Format : LP

Genre : Speed Metal

It's 4 days before this year's "Keep it true festival" (Tension are playing there) and i can't listen to anything else than the album i'm about to give a review on .

The first track of the album "One nation" is like a preview of the album . A fast and energetic song , with catchy riffs and chorus , and nice guitar solos . The second track , "Wrecking crew" is my personal favourite on the album . Powerfull bass lines , speed parts , gang vocals and many tempo changes . " Reach for your sword " gets more thrashy and aggressive with heavy riffs and some less clean vocals . "Angels from the past " is a nice power ballad , but i think it was the only track not fitting so well in the album . "W.O.C" (Walk of the Cadaver) is a medium tempo track with nice simple riff combined with great bass lines . "Shock treatment" is the song you wait for in a classic speed metal album . High pitched vocals , fast riffs (and a bit more complicated ) and pounding drums and some progressive elements. Next song is " Downfall of evil " , i think is the fastest one in the album along with the next one "Metal paranoia" one of their best songs . The album closes with the song "Seduced" a representative track of the whole album .

The vocals , by Tom Gattis are excellent sample of high pitched speed metal vocals , the riffs are simple and fast as they shoud , and there's an incredible bassist who doesnt just follow the guitars , but gives his own stigma to the band and the production is really good for an underground band in 1986 .

Tracklist :

1. One nation (underground)

2. Wrecking crew

3. Reach for the sword

4. Angels from the past

5. W.O.C

6. Shock Treatment

7. The downfall of evil

8. Metal paranoia

9. Seduced

p.s : In about a week , we'll know if the above sound that awesome live too!

Alcoholator - Coma LP (review)

Genre : Thrash Metal

Label : High Roller Records (LP) EBM Records (Cd)

Release date (in LP) : 15 March 2012

Playing time : 35:07

Acoholator is a new Canadian Thrash band that would make their predecessors ( Exciter , Razor , Voivod etc ) proud of them !

"Coma" is their debut album and it contains 11 songs .

The intro song "Intoxication 101" is instrumental and its like a preview of the whole album - fast , violent riffs meeting mid-paced ones and pounding drums along with nice bass lines . In the second song "Alcoholator" is the first time you listen to the their vocalist (Matt Butcher) who is doing a really good job there , adding another possitive element to the band . There are some interesting solo's in some songs that are combined with killer thrash riffs . My personal favourite of the album would be "Abduction" witch i think is also the fastest song . Between their songs , there is a cover to Exciter's "Pounding Metal" . It's not a bad cover , and obviously the band did it to show their respect to the Canadian scene , but in my opinion it's not the best choice , because it's a very slower song than the others in the album and does not fit very well.

Even if their music is not that close to Tankard , i would say they belong to a similar lyrical direction . This is something you can understand simply by just having a look at the tracklist :

1.Intoxication 101 (instrumental)

2.Alcoholator *

3.Catastrophic Violence

4.Abduction *

5.Pounding Metal

6.The Chamber

7.Liquid Thrash

8.Drink beer or die trying *

9.Break the wall

10.Wasted (all the time )

11. Coma (instrumental) *

I believe "Coma" is a great album for the fans of old school Thrash Metal , but i'm sure it won't dissapoint the new Thrashers .

Songs with a (*) are highly recomended !

Crimson Cult - Tales of Doom (review)

Genre : Heavy Metal

Label : Pure Legend Records

Release Date : 23 March 2012

Playing time : 57:24

Crimson Cult are an Austrian band .They released their debut-album "Crimson Cult" in 2009 , and they are about to release their second album "Tales of doom" in March .

"Tales of Doom" is a progressive metal album , really atmospheric and dramatic , without getting very far from classic power metal . You will hear great melodic solos , some choir-singing along with powerfull riffs . The keyboards on many songs make the atmoshere even darker . The sofisticate overall effective gets completed by Walter Stuffer's vocals who has a dynamic melodic voice . There are many songs that make you want to sing along the catchy chorus (Warrior son , Behind the curtain) , which is one of the biggest strengths of the band . There's even a great 10 minute song (The long way home) and a nice ballad (On the edge) . The album closes with the instrumental progressive masterpiece "Inquisition" . My personal favourite would be the fast-tempo "Second Life" .

They sometimes remind of Savatage , or Queensryche but with a lot more modern elements .

Tracklist :

1.State of fear

2.Behind the curtain

3.Institution Christ

4.Choshinja

5.The long way home

6.Warrior Son

7.On the edge

8.Second Life

9.Crimson Empire

10.The inquisition

"Tales of doom" is a nice record , and it deserves a listen .

Πατήστε εδώ

Sleepy Hollow - Skull 13 (Review)

Genre : U.S Metal

Label : Pure Steel Records

Release Date : 23 March 2012

Playing time : 57:31

Sleepy Hollow , 11 years after their first album , are back and ready to release a second full length album . On the vocals , Bob Mitchel (ex-Attacker) is a guarantee . On the bass there's a new member , MikeLe Pond , known from Symphony X .

The new album is called "Skull 13" , and it contains 11 Skull-crushing tracks . The album combines classic and powerfull heavy metal riffs , with groovie parts (Black Passage , Facemelter) and the tempos varieting from mid-tempo to really fast . The vocals of Bob are like a perfect mixture of Udo and Bobby Blitz . The production makes the album sound even more powerfull ,and giving it a slightly more modern approach . My personal favourites are , the 10 minute epos - "The legend Retold" , the powerfull opener "Death of a Horseman" and the aggressive "Rear Window" .

Tracklist :

1.Death of a horseman

2.Facemelter

3.Black Passage

4.Bleed Steel

5.Rear Window

6.Inquisition

7.Epic (The legend Retold)

8.Eternal Bridge

9.Misery Waltz

10.Spiral Effect

11. Midnight

"Skull 13" is a great album , old school , but with a modern touch , and i think it's gonna make a lot of the U.S-Power metal fans happy .

AGENT STEEL - SKEPTICS APOCALYPSE

Η πρώτη ανάρτηση στο προσωπικο μου blog δεν θα μπορουσε να ηταν κατι αλλο απο μια κριτικη του αγαπημενου μου δισκου.

Agent steel - Skeptics apocalypse. Το εν λογω διαμαντι εκδόθηκε το 1985 στο Λος Άντζελες απο την Combat records και αποτελει αδιαμφισβιτητο μελος των καλυτερων speed-thrash δισκων ολων των εποχων.

Στιχουργικα ηταν απο τις πρωτες μπαντες που τολμησαν να επικεντρωθουν σε ''θεωριες συνομοσιων'', υπερφυσικα φαινομενα , εξωγηινους και αρχαιες προφητειες.

Στον συγκεκριμενο δισκο (ο οποιος ηταν και το ντεμπούτο τους) ξεχωριζουν τα κολασμενα φωνητικα του John Cyriis (εναλλακτικα ονοματα που χρησιμοποιησε στο παρελθον - Max Havlock, Max Kobol, John Camps,Syriis) που φτανουν σε δυσθεώρητα υψη , αλλα και οι ριφφαρες του Juan Garcia και του Kurt Kilfelt που φανταζουν σαν κοφτερες λεπιδες στα αυτια του ανυποψιαστου ακροατη . Ο βιρτουοζος Garcia χαριζει επισης και τρομερα μελωδικα σολο στο ιδιο cd. O drummer Chuck Profus , εξισου ταλαντουχος , δινει ενα ανελεητα γρηγορο tempo που προσφέρεται για 36 λεπτα ασταματητου χτυπηματος .

Παραθετω πιο κατω το track list (με * στα προσωπικα αγαπημενα) :

1. "(The Calling)" – 0:47
2. "Agents of Steel" – 3:04 *
3. "Taken by Force" – 2:30 *
4. "Evil Eye/Evil Minds" – 3:04
5. "Bleed for the Godz" – 3:28 *
6. "Children of the Sun" – 4:53
7. "144,000 Gone" – 4:32 *
8. "Guilty as Charged" – 4:58
9. "Back to Reign" – 3:23
10. "Calling 98 for Skeptics" (Bonus Track) – 0:57
11. "The Unexpected" (Live) (Bonus Track) – 5:06

tips: Ο John Cyriis επέστρεψε στους Agent Steel μετά από 22 χρόνια τον περασμενο Μάιο (αφοτου τον απελευθερωσαν οι εξωγηινοι) και η μπαντα θα ειναι ενα εκ των headliners του Κeep It true festival τον απριλλιο στην Γερμανια.

MASTERS OF METAL ... AGENTS OF STEEL

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