| |
 |
Savatage - Still The Orchestra Plays - Greatest Hits Volume
1 + 2
Record Label:
Ear Music
Band Website:
www.savatage.com
Record Label Website:
www.ear-music.net/
Reviewer: Steve Green |
|
The whole 14 album Savatage back catalogue is to be
re-mastered and re-issued. As a taster for this avalanche of progressive
pomp, we have a double cd of the bands greatest hits, spanning a near 20
year period, which ended in 2001, as well as 3 acoustic songs recorded
by Jon Oliva in 2009.
We have onboard (our team) a Savatage fan, Joe Florez, but I thought it
best to approach this with a fresh set of ears as I'm sure fans of the
band are already won over by the thought of a re-mastered back
catalogue. So from my perspective, having seen the band live once
(supporting the Ripper fronted Judas Priest in 2001 at London's Astoria)
and with only knowing a couple of songs, this review is aimed at new
converts, rather than old fans.
For me, Savatage are a band of 2, semi-contrasting styles. The earlier
work, with Jon Oliva handling the vocals, full of passion and with a
more metallic approach and the move into a more symphonic, dare I say,
Andrew Lloyd Webber direction, which is more West End Musical, than
Metal, in my opinion.
Obviously, if you've read the above paragraph, you've probably already
guessed that I much prefer the bands earlier work. The 80s Metal meets
Led Zeppelin approach of the likes of Hall Of The Mountain King
(including those Robert Plant-esque screams), the ridiculously catchy
Gutter Ballet, which reminds me of early Magnum circa their Kingdom of
Madness debut, When The Crowds Are Gone, which has a Pink Floyd (with
just a hint of Supertramp) feel to it and the down and dirty Ghosts In
The Ruins are definitely on my wavelength. And I'm sure that if I'd
heard these songs when they were released, I'd be a huge Savatage fan by
now.
1993 was a year for change for Savatage. Jon Oliva stood down as the
bands vocalist, to be replaced by Zak Stevens and unfortunately,
guitarist Cris Oliva was killed by a drunk driver. Musically, the band
headed away from their Metal roots, via AOR to, at times, sounding like
an Andrew Lloyd Webber tribute band.
I have to admit that Edge of Thorns, from the album of the same name,
which takes us close to the end of CD1, is a fantastic song and I'm
immediately won over by Zak Stevens voice. But the other song from that
album, All That I Bleed is a lightweight piano led ballad, which is just
too sickly to enjoy.
Disc 2 is a mixture of rockers and ballads... and you guessed it, I like
the rockers and have very little time for the ballads. The rockier
songs, from the Handful Of Rain and Dead Winter Dead albums all have a
musical/conceptual feel to them and this style is fully realised on
Anymore from The Wake Of Magellan album. It's here that I start
switching off as all gets a bit whimsical for my tastes, although there
are a couple of glimmers of light amongst the slush, but not enough for
any more plays I'm afraid.
Overall, I found this a rewarding listen. Sure I didn't like all of the
bands output, but I can say the same about the likes of Saxon and the
Scorpions, who are arguably my 2 favourite bands. If you prefer the more
traditional forms of Metal, then I'd recommended exploring the bands
back catalogue in chronological order as the heavier material is
definitely at the beginning. Or if you want an overall picture of the
bands history, this compilation is as good a starting point as any. |
| |
| |
 |
Sodom
- Agent Orange Record
Label: SPV
Band Website:
www.sodomized.info
Record Label Website:
www.spv.de
Reviewer: Steve Earles |
Looking back on Agent Orange over twenty years later, it’s important to
put this album in it’s historical perspective. 1989/90, though nobody
realised it at the time, thrash was about to peak, wane and be replaced
by grunge. Now, Germany was a huge market for thrash metal, not just
with native bands such as Destruction, Kreator, Asssasin, and Iron
Angel, but labels such as Noise had signed thrash bands from other parts
of the world, such as Switzerland’s Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, and
Coroner, Canada’s Voivod and England’s mighty Sabbat. So we see that
Germany was a huge hotbed of thrash. And an important part of this
movement was Sodom, often crucified by the press at the time (many of
whom were trumpeting dire hair bands for dubious reasons, ones that
nobody remembers now), released their debut EP Sign OF Evil in 1984,
following that with Obsessed By Cruelty and Persecution Mania on
Steamhammer/SPV records. Initially inspired by the likes of Venom, Angel
Witch and Motorhead, Sodom were also inspired by their tough industrial
environment (as were Judas Priest and Black Sabbath in Birmingham back
in their day). Band mainman Tom Angelripper worked in a coalmine for
instance, that has got to rub off on your music.
Agent Orange took things a good step forward for the band. Harris John (Voivod)
gave the band a fantastic production, one that hasn’t dated in the
least. The album was largely inspired lyrically by the Vietnam War,
something reflected in the incredible sleeve artwork from the ultra
talented Andreas Marschall, in this day of dire Photoshop sleeves and
non-item downloads (the mind boggles), proper album artwork is a joy, as
much a part of the listening experience as the music and lyrics.
Standout tracks include the title track (as good as anything more high
profile thrash bands were doing, and seriously catchy), the epic
Remember The Fallen, the pounding riffs of Magic Dragon, the pounding
Exhibition Bout (quite Venom-esque too!). Not forgetting a fine cover of
Tank’s Don’t Walk Away (another great power-trio).
Agent Orange to date has sold over 350,000 copies,
which makes it the most successful German thrash metal album!
Hats off to SPV for providing a beautifully packaged CD with extensive
sleeve notes, lyrics, photos and a bonus live CD. It’s a shame Chris
Witchhunter (RIP) didn’t live to see its success.
Other labels take note…this is as it should be. Highly recommended both
for this and the music |
| |
| |
 |
Stygian - Fury Rising
Record
Label: Mortal Music
Band Website:
www.stygianrock.com
Record Label Website:
www.mortal-music.com
Reviewer: Joe Florez |
|
Stygian is a hard rockin’/metal five piece from the east coast swingin’
out of Philadelphia, Pa. They’ve been at it for ten years now and their
debut was released back in 2006. As they continued to forge and improve
their sound, they reached the ears of Soil’s Tim King and another
partner of his Rob Such from Twelfth Gate and they were snatched up to
sign with their label Mortal Music. I’ve never heard of this unit
before, but all I can say is that they mean business. “Suffer Patiently”
wastes no time in kicking your ass with its take no prisoner attitude.
Immediately you are delivered a dose of meaty riffs, a thunderous rhythm
section with drums that are being hammered out without mercy and vocals
from Frank that are gritty, rough n’ rugged and which are explosive. The
guys say that they are inspired by Metallica and it shows, but at the
same time I get a major helping of Godsmack and that’s cool because they
aren’t part of the nu, emo, wankery or lame ass crowd. They just serve
you up their brand of music nice and hard. Some chugga chugga riffs are
exploited with “Crimson Sand”, but there is melody, harmony vocals in
the chorus and a continuance of heaviness. This is really easy to get
into. With all the hard rockin’ going on, I didn’t think the guys could
slow it down, but they manage to throw in a decent ballad in there in
the form of “My Regret”. While it starts out slow with the acoustic
guitars, it manages to pick up plenty of steam and eventually crashes
through your speakers like a power ballad rather than a traditional slow
and wimpy cut. This is pretty much a balls to the wall record that
refuses to let up with the exception of one song. What I like about this
CD is that the production is pretty raw. There is nothing polished on
here. This gives you a great indication of what the guys would sound
like live. There are plenty of tracks to pick on here that could be
played on the hard rock radio stations from coast to coast. But like I
said, if you are into the Metallica black era and beyond or a fan of
Godsmack then you are in good company. 2010 begins with a BANG! |
| |
| |
 |
Svarti Loghin - Drifting Through The Void
Record
Label:
A Sad Sadness Song / ATMF
Band
MySpace:
www.myspace.com/svartiloghin
Record Label Website:
www.atmf.net
Reviewer: Steve Green |
|
While the Ramones started nearly every song with a
breakneck 1-2-3-4, with Svarti Loghin, you're more likely to start
counting sheep, before drifting off into a mellow state of semi
unconsciousness.
Never was an album title more apt, as these Swedes drift from
super-mellow to, well, just a little bit less mellow and were it not for
the Black Metal vocals and the occasional increase in pace, this album
would not be featured here. At times this album is firmly fixed in Indy
shoegaze mode, with just a hint of 80s pop, jangly guitar, with the
title track sounding remarkably like early R.E.M. (a band I'm a big fan
of) circa their Murmur debut from 1983. But it matters not what style
you decide to call this, as the vocals are depressing enough to make
this enjoyable. I must admit, the guitars are still not my preferred
choice of tone, but the juxtaposition with the vocals works well, so who
am I to complain?
If you've read this far, then you'll know this will only appeal to the
more broadminded amongst you. So for all the Metalheads out there, track
7 is a wonderfully blissed out version of Black Sabbath's Planet
Caravan, which should give you an idea of where these guys are coming
from.
Right, I'm off for a lie down. |
| |
| |
 |
The Meads of Asphodel/Old Corpse Road
Split CD
The Meads of Asphodel-“English Black Punk Metal”
Old Corpse Road-“The Bones of this land are not Speechless”
Record
Label: Godreah Records
Band Website:
www.themeadsofasphodel.com
Band Website:
www.oldcorpseroad.co.uk
Record Label Website:
www.godreah.com
Reviewer: Steve Earles |
|
|
Not only is this a most important slab of British Metal, it
is also a historical occasion. This is the first time two
British black metal bands have shared the same release, a
practice common on the continent. Let us hope Godreah’s
example will be followed and this will be the first of many
such releases, as it is a fine way of presenting true
underground metal. That this release should come from Crin’s
own Godreah label comes as no surprise to those of us
privileged to know him. Crin’s devotion to underground metal
and the UK underground in particular is an example to us
all. It is only through supporting the underground that UK
metal has a future. The next Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Venom,
Cathedral, or Black Sabbath may be out there, but if people
don’t start thinking for themselves and ignore whatever
moronic trend of the month they’re being fed by the
mainstream media, they will remain unknown and unheard.
Old Corpse Road have blown away everyone that has heard
them. Old Corpse Road meld the musical influence of Sabbat
and pre-Disney Cradle of Filth, but to that mix they add a
strong emotional depth, such as one would hear on a classic
Bathory album. Old Corpse Road are inspired by old English
folk tales, lore and history. Hob Headless Rises tells the
tale of a wicked spirit and would make an impressive subject
for a film (those of us who care about such things will note
the part Hob plays in Nigel Kneale’s classic Quatermass and
the Pit). Musically beautiful introspective parts give way
to raging metal. The Devil’s Footprints is a tale I have
fond memories of hearing as a child, while The Witch of
Wookey Hole is a tour-de-force, effortlessly encompassing
more ideas in one song than most bands do over an entire
album.
The Meads of Asphodel are next, and if you are not familiar
with their unique and original take on British black punk
metal, this is the ideal place to start. An impressive
intro, The Embalming Of Gods leads into On The Surface, a
Meads original, which is stirring stuff in this dire time of
disposable downloads and even more disposable bands. The
Meads have achieved a rare thing, their own distinct sound.
The rest of the Meads tracks are largely covers of UK
punk/crust bands, Metatron having told me quite rightly that
he believes black metal is a collision between punk and
metal, one that began with Venom. Highlights include an
intense version of Doom’s Same Mind, pure D-beat fury and
very true to the original. The Meads version of
Hellbastard’s Nazis Killed is a radical reinterpretation
indeed. This is followed by the Meads blasting through
Skeptix’s War Drum. Again, their version of Conflict’s From
Protest to Resistance is very true to the original. But the
final track, is a delightfully eccentric reinterpretation of
You Really Got Me by The Kinks. I eagerly await forthcoming
full-length albums from both bands. |
| |
| |
 |
Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones
Record
Label: Century Media
Band Website:
www.triptykon.net
MySpace:
www.myspace.com/triptykonofficial
Record Label Website:
www.centurymedia.com
Reviewer: Steve Earles |
Celtic Frost was born from the embers Hellhammer, and in
turn Triptykon was born from the implosion of the
second-coming of Celtic Frost.
Now, five years in the making, Monotheist was an colossal
monument to the dark majesty of Celtic Frost, few bands have
ever had the courage to travel such uncharted waters as the
workings of their own psyches… a map of the very heart of
inner darkness…here are dragons indeed…and demons too.
Sadly, following the longest tour that Celtic Frost ever
attempted (125 dates), tensions within the group rose to
breaking point and Celtic Frost was no more for the second,
and most probably last time. As Tom Gabriel Fischer said
with typical clarity of phrase. “It was not my departure
from Celtic Frost which caused the groups inexorable demise,
it as the group’s inexorable demise which caused my
departure.
Thus, what would have been a side-project in the interim to
a new Celtic Frost album, now became Tom’s full-time band,
named Triptykon, inspired by the religious triptych
paintings of the medieval period, such as Hieronymous
Bosch’s incredible Garden Of Earthly Delights (the right
panel of which forms the cover art for Celtic Frost’s 1987
album Into The Pandemonium ). For an artist like Tom, such
images are inspiration as the music itself. He sees
Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Triptykon as his own triptych.
Such visions and musical courage are vastly preferable to
the stagnant and well-charted waters so many bands are
content to travel in ever-decreasing circles on, Triptykon
on the other had are entirely sailing uncharted seas.
Apart from Tom on vocals, guitars and programming, Celtic
Frost’s live guitarist V Santura has added much to
Triptykon’s guitar sound. Also featuring strongly are
bassist Banja Slajh, and drummer Norman Lonhard.
Now, while without doubt Tripytkon will appeal to all true
fans of Celtic Frost (a great many elements from Frost
remain in place, both musically and behind the scenes, with
such matters as management, record label, concert agency and
road crew remaining the same), nevertheless, this is a
progression from Celtic Frost.
Of course, we all realise the pressure on Tom to call what
became Triptykon Celtic Frost must have been immense, so I
can only applaud Tom’s courage and honesty in starting
afresh, would that more other bands could adopt the same
approach and do something as brave.
Now, at the end of all these extreme obstacles and
difficulties lies the debut Triptykon album Eparistera
Daimones (which means ‘to my left, the demons’). Weighing in
at over 70 minutes (‘a lengthy hell’ as Boss used to
describe Bathory’s releases). Right from the get do, with
opening track Goetia, we’re plunged into the abyss. Like a
darker (can that be possible, indeed…something wicked this
way comes) Hellhammer for the 21st century. It is staggering
in its intensity, it’s lyrics summon on the same primal well
of pain as did Monotheist. Abyss Within My Soul (surely a
self-explanatory title) is very different to Celtic Frost,
reminiscent of Tom’s fine production work with 1349. It is
only by the third track In Shrouds Decayed, that the spirit
of Celtic Frost is laid bare, haunting and reminiscent of
the experimental approach of Into The Pandemonium, and it
has an incredible Frost riff and groove, excellent stuff. A
Thousand Lies is a furious denunciation of one who has
previously crossed swords with Tom, it just oozes venom.
Descendant is very doomy, very much in the spirit of
Monotheist, (it even features the legendary death grunt!),
slow and oppressive, then fast and ferocious. Myopic Empire
is very much the sound of Triptykon forging their own
identity. My Pain is the artist’s soul laid bare in
typically brave fashion. Eparistera Daimones ends as in
began in courage and innovation, with the aptly named 19
minute plus The Prolonging. Here, we truly see Triptykon
become Triptykon, and in this one track are more ideas than
most bands manage in an entire career. Herein we see the
once and future Triptykon.
Yet again, Tom Fisher (always Warrior to those us there from
the beginning) has produced dark art from the depths of his
heart, and for this, in this ever-increasingly false era of
music, we should truly be grateful.
Wrapped in an awe-inspiring piece of HR Giger artwork (Vlad
Tepes, 1978), it is true to say that the art compliments the
music and vice-versa, inspired by Giger, Bosch and Brueghel,
this is a soundtrack to the insidious apocalypse that
surrounds us, the death of soul through the numbing
repetition of our daily life, numbed and controlled by
greed, materialism and the media.
This is the band brave enough to look at the world as it
truly is. Are you morbid enough to gaze upon the abyss with
Triptykon, if so, this is the album for you.
“The sleep of reason produces nightmares.” Goya |
| |
| |
 |
Vomitor -
Devil’s Poison Record
Label: Hells Headbangers
Band
MySpace:
www.myspace.com/thevomitor
Record Label Website:
www.hellsheadbangers.com
Reviewer: Steve Earles |
|
Vomitor take no prisoners with the savage, relentless opening attack of
Crimson Tide, deranged guitars spar over ‘hellish crossfires on wooden
coffins”, yet within this satanic sonic slaughter are embedded like
meathooks, riffs as catchy as the bubonic plague. Flesh For Satan opens
atmospherically with disturbing doomy riff ringing like the tolling of
an iron bell. Ominous, creepy, something evil, wicked and slime-ridden
this way comes. It builds slowly into a hideous mutation of Venom and
Hellhammer. Saga Of The Rage has an unstoppable groove, think of a
hellish, blackened version of AC/DC and you’re halfway there, this is
right back to the roots of black metal. With an impressive riff,
Caligula takes us back to the spirit of 1986, with it’s Kreator,
Destruction and Iron Angel roots. Devil’s Poison’ is a hades-hazed
version of early Metallica, and again the groove is never far away.
Midnight Madness continues the good work, mixing NWOBHM riffage with
black metal ferocity, and that is an amazing riff, one that gets right
into your cortex. Ending in suitable fashion with Neutron Hammer, this a
very true album indeed, one that would seriously appeal to fans of
Hellhammer, Destruction, Celtic Frost, Venom and Tyrant. |
| |
|
