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Alkonost - On The Wings Of The Call
Record Label: Einheit
Band Website:
www.alkonost.ru
MySpace:
www.myspace.com/alkonostrussia
Record Label Website:
www.einheit-produktionen.de
Reviewer: Steve Green |
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In the past few years, the Pagan/Folk bands that have
excited me the most, have mainly come from Russian, with Arkona and
Alkonost both leading the way.
If my maths is correct, then this is album number
7 from Alkonost and because the band are now on Einheit, their material
should, at last, be easier to come across. Although the 2 re-issues on
Vic Records from last year should be accessible as well, especially as
they're all available from Amazon in the UK.
So why am I banging on about how easy it is to buy
this album without telling you how good it is? Well, it frustrates the
hell out of me when I discover a new band and their music is impossible
to find (to buy - I don't do illegal downloads)
Ok, so back to the music:
Alkonost, like Arkona, sound very Russian. They
have that distinct Pagan feel that can only be created from one part of
the world, Mother Russia, with the big difference between Arkona and
Alkonost, being the female vocals of Alena Pelevina, who mixes it up
between her more conventional singing voice and her stunning operatic
range. A word of warning. The latter style does tend to dominate the
album, so you have to (really) like female vocals if you're going to
check this band out.
Rather than a battle strewn epic, this album has a
much more gentle feel to it, with a huge amount of melody at the bands
heart and a pleasant, galloping feel to the music. This probably won't
appeal to the more hardened warriors out there, but more to those with
an ear for a good melody and a feel for years gone by, preferably around
the Middle Ages.
Personally, I love this album, as I did the Vic
Records re-issues from last year, so this band come highly recommended.
So you have no excuse not to buy these albums now as they are so much
easier to track down in the UK. |
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Allegaeon - Fragments of Form and Function
Record
Label: Metal Blade
Band
MySpace:
www.myspace.com/allegaeon
Record Label Website:
www.metalblade.com/english/content.php
Reviewer: Sam Thomas |
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It doesn’t happen very often, which makes it even better
when it does. Every now and then, I get a CD to review
that’s original and well-constructed. From the opening notes
of Fragments of Form and Function (FFF) from this point on,
I was blown away. We’re talking melodic metal here, but this
is way different to most offerings within that genre.
In a way, I’m glad that I hadn’t read the press release that
came with this, as I’d have dismissed it instantly as
pretentious hype – I see so many bands that have “talented
musicians” (everyone always thinks they’re talented) and who
can write “though provoking lyrics” etc. However, the guys
from Colorado could actually back up the statements - Greg
Burgess is a classically trained guitarist with a degree
from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music for example. The
lyrics had actually provoked thought in my brain at least:
it’s been a while since I heard theories of space and time
used as the basis for a metal track...
Allegaeon have made a conscious decision to avoid the cliché
that present-day metal is only valid if played at warp
speed. They’ve also managed to incorporate some really
catchy hooks and some gorgeous slow doomy bits. And I’m
definitely with the guys on this one: if you can write
lyrics like Ezra Haynes, you need to share them in a vocal
style where people can hear them. How irresistible is the
line “Can electromagnetic collisions determine our
creation?” As the child of a one-time worker at CERN, I can
definitely relate to that concept.
But please don’t write this off as arty crap. It isn’t.
There’s just so much going on here. The music is superb,
guitars in particular being brilliant: soaring around the
tortuous complexities of the vocals, pulling you along and
then scattering in a rainbow burst of notes. And the drums:
I love it when a drummer is as good as this and doesn’t feel
that he has to pulverise everything just to show how fast he
can go. There are many things in life that can be fantastic
at a slow speed... And then there’s the way that they just
chuck in a bit of classical guitar at the end of a track,
and just for once it’s absolutely beautiful and not out of
place.
It is extremely rare that I am given an album to review by a
band that I don’t know that I like enough to play after I
have reviewed it: FFF is one of those albums. It is
literally flawless. There is no track that could have been
improved, nothing that I would have liked to be done
differently. Apart from the fact that I cannot pronounce the
band name!
Put simply: Buy this now! |
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Derailed - Judgement
Day Record
Label: Self Release
Band Website:
www.derailedmetal.com
MySpace:
www.myspace.com/derailedmetal
Reviewer: Steve Earles |
Hailing from Canada home of such gods of metal as Voivod and
Rush, Derailed have some high standards to live up to, and
they do so in impressive style. Opening with the
instrumental Into The Mist, they sound like Budgie jamming
with Megadeth. The title track has a terrific groove and a
great vocal from Johnie Sin, who also has a nice line in
Hetfield style rhythm guitars. Judgement Day shows a
thrashier side to the band, but they never lose sight of the
need for melody. Shine boasts some terrific playing by
Terry Cornelson on drum and Steve Legault on bass, it’s kind
of reminiscent of Pantera circa Cemetery Gates. The band are
never far from a groove as evinced on Insane. I’m tickled
pink that a Canadian band would have the balls to entitle a
song Rush! Though it has nothing to do with the prog metal
legends and serves instead to highlight the skills of lead
guitarist Dean Boland. This is one skilled band but not to
the detriment of the songs.
To conclude, Derailed have shamed many higher profile bands
with this finely played album full of real songs played with
feeling. Well done |
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Edenbridge - Solitaire
Record
Label: Napalm Records
Band Website:
www.edenbridge.org
MySpace:
www.myspace.com/edenbridge
Record Label Website:
www.napalmrecords.com
Reviewer: Julian Handley |
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If awards were issued on consistency, then Edenbridge would
have them in abundance, as remarkably ‘Solitaire’ is the
bands seventh studio album in ten years. The obvious
popularity that drives the band on to such demanding
schedules is the fans hunger for the guaranteed, quality of
the finished article. Edenbridge are Austria’s main
exponents of dark gothic, symphonic metal but in a genre
saturated with many pretenders, they are one of possibly
half a dozen bands that I would look to seek out, amongst
the others I would label in that company are Nightwish,
Leave’s Eyes and Rhapsody. Solitaire starts with the haunting ‘Entree Unique’ a
stunning instrumental accompanied by a chilling backing
choir. Next follows the excellent title track giving way to
Sabine Edelsbacher’s beautiful, effortless vocals which give
softness to the heavy guitar riffs and angry drum beat.
‘Higher’ is a classic dark and light symphonic standard
featuring layered piano and violin interludes punished by an
unrelenting heavy rhythm. Three tracks in and you can’t help
but be encapsulated by the atmospheric feel of the material
which is as mystic and enchanting of anything this side of
Blackmore’s Night.
Without looking to dissect the album track by track trust me
that as each song unfolds it offers addictive, individual,
parallel, diversities making the total package an essential
purchase for any serious symphonic metal fan. The production
is elaborate and sophisticated, offering a kaleidoscope of
metal mixed alongside power ballads, creating perfect
substance. |
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Fyrdsman - Forgotten
Beneath The Soil Record
Label: Mynydd Du Records
Band
MySpace:
www.myspace.com/fyrdsman
Record Label Website:
www.myndd-du.co.uk
Reviewer: Steve Earles |
Fyrdsman are the new project (an obvious passion) of ex-Alestorm
guitarist Tim Shaw. Fyrdsman couldn’t be more different to
Alestorm. Tim plays all the instruments on this fine
four-tracker, and it goes without saying his musical
dexterity is highly impressive, as are his production
skills. It has to be said that when folk and metal combine,
sometimes the results are rather one sided, the folk
elements overwhelm the metal, or vice-versa, but Fyrdsman
have the balance right, from the emotive title track, to the
deeply emotive and impressively titled Demonised In A
Disgraced Land. Tim has written all the songs save for
Natural Chaos courtesy of Forefather which fits in
perfectly.
Beautifully packaged, with genuine songs, I seriously
recommend this release, and look forward to further music
from Fyrdsman. |
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Gallows End - Nemesis
Divine Record
Label: Farvahar Records
Band Website:
www.gallowsend.com
MySpace:
www.myspace.com/gallowsend
Record Label Website:
www.farvaharrecords.com/news/
Reviewer: Steve Earles |
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Gallows End scores kudos from the start by producing such a
beautiful packaged real CD. A download never gives you the
impact of the album artwork, lyrics, and presentation. A
download is disposable and unreal, and metal should never be
that! Gallows End are a case in point, that is one
incredible cover.
An atmospheric spoken word intro launches
the title of the album. Excellent stuff, with an Iron Maiden
sense of the epic to it. Soul Collector riffs hard. Thord
Klarstrom has a fine voice, a real pleasure to hear a proper
singer, and both he and Niklas Nord are fine guitar players.
Peter Samuelsson proves some killer bass lines and drummer
Mikael Karlsson doesn’t miss a beat. Kingdom of the Damned
is like an updated New Wave of British Heavy Metal track for
the 21st century. That is as it should be! Other highlights
include the Rainbow-inspired The Curse, but amped up for
modern ears, the moving Set The World In Flames, and the
mighty Storm of Fate. Gallows End…ahem…end their album in
epic style with Riders of the North. I particularly like
it’s inventive use of an ancient Viking prayer: “Lo there I
do see my father/Lo there I do see my mother, and my sisters
and my brothers/Lo there do I see the line of my people,
back to the beginning/They do call me, they bid me to take
my place among them/In the halls of Valhalla, where the
brave may live forever.”
A fantastic album, showcasing everything that’s good and
uplifting about metal. |
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