Devil's Heaven - Heaven On Earth (2014)

Devil's Heaven is an interesting collaborative of musicians.  According to the Press Release I received, you have 2 guys that are in AOR bands, 1 who has worked with Prog Metal/Rock titans and is in a well known prog band himself (Flower Kings), 1 from a fully prog metal background, a guy who has dabbled in jazz, pop, and metal, and a dentist who apparently plays guitar.  I think perhaps Mötley Crüe needs to give up their name and find a new moniker, because these guys might be more suited to it.  To be fair, it would seem that, because of some of the members other, more full-time commitments, this would be a side project, so perhaps Vince and company can keep the name after all.  Still, an odd bunch of players to get together.

With a name like Devil's Heaven, you could go just about anywhere lyrically or musically, but this project kind of walks the line between sleaze metal and a melodic, traditional 80's heavy metal approach.  I can only assume this is a side project for the talent involved, so this is most likely a batch of tunes that these guys couldn't necessarily have recorded (or have wanted to record) with their primary bands.  Chief among those I would say would be Jonas' Flower Kings, as there would be little or no place for this material on a Flower Kings record.  That's not to say this material isn't musically sound, because it is, but based on the fairly straight-forward hard rock and metal sound here, we won't be hearing any of these songs show up at a Flower Kings gig any time soon.

Musically, this is solid stuff, and with the players involved, it ought to be.  The instrumentation is all quite good, and the riffing is heavy enough, if not always that memorable.  The guitar sound is somewhat modern without being overproduced, and sounds appropriate for a band of this type updating an older hard rock and metal sound.  Solo work is also quite good, with a lot of good leads and licks over the course of the whole record.  As expected, bass guitar is well done here, though it's not as high up in the mix as you'd think it would be, given the band he hails from.  Still, he's audible and you can hear him doing his thing.  Drumming is also pretty good, with dynamics where the songs call for them.  His performance is solid overall, and he occasionally cuts loose with real fiery double-bass work (especially in the opening track, "Welcome II the Show") and rolls.  One thing about the drums is that I didn't think the bass drum sound was loud enough, as sometimes it seemed to get buried by the bass guitar.  Keyboard work on the album is quite good, with organ sounds, piano, and the usual keyboard tones in place where you'd expect them.  They don't take center stage much, but they add a nice layer of interest to the songs.

Vocally, Marcus Nygren sounds quite good.  His accent makes some word pronunciations a bit odd, but overall, he makes things relatively easy to understand with his lightly gravelly tone.  For a guy that sings in a couple AOR bands, you'd think his voice would be smoother, but then again, I haven't heard his other material.  His voice works well for the material in question, however.  One thing I'll mention is the lyrics - some of them are pretty good, well thought out narratives about various topics, but there are a handful of songs where the lyrics are PAINFULLY bad.  Chief among them are the single "Demerital Action, "Hot Sex" and album closer "Wine Me", which tries to be clever with its story, but ultimately falls flat.  Another song that doesn't quite work is "Mean Street City" - it just seems to try too hard to sound like it's being sung by a real tough guy, but I don't buy it.  Other lyrics are surprisingly meaningful and emotional, such as the short poem used for "Stillborn", "Touched By An Angel" about death, or the heavy track "Riders In The Sky".  All in all, the lyrics on the album are a mixed bag.

Listening to this album, it occurs to me that this is exactly the kind of record I'd expect to hear from a group of guys, mostly from other bands, that want to put out something that doesn't fit into the scope of music they'd normally be writing or playing.  It's all well constructed and reasonably enthusiastic, with good performances and fairly good production.  My biggest gripe is that the album feels uneven, stylistically.  It doesn't bother me that they did 3 or 4 "sleaze metal" tracks, 2 or 3 emotional ballads, and a handful of "barn burner" type songs.  What bothers me is that it doesn't necessarily flow together that well while listening to the album.  There's nothing technically wrong with the material, but as an album, I don't think it gels the way it should.  Add the inconsistency of the lyrics and the fact that it feels like the album has been pieced together from 2 or 3 different bands' material, and it's just not as cohesive as I'd like it to be.  It's a solid debut, but I can't say it's anything more than that.  I'd encourage the band to write more songs next time and really work on choosing the best material before they compile the album and record it all.  If you can't get enough 80's styled hard rock and metal with a modern feel, give this a listen, it just might be for you.  Otherwise, this is definitely a try before you buy kind of CD.

65/100

Dragon's Kiss - Barbarians of the Wasteland (2014)

Heavy Metal as a genre takes on many forms.  Add fast rhythms, start/stop dynamics, and chugging riffs, and you have thrash metal.  Intensify that even more with blast beats, faster rhythms, hoarse shouts or growls and you've got the makings of death metal.  Add speed, extra melody, soaring vocals and a bit of grandeur, and you may have some power metal.  But the sound that birthed the genre, "heavy metal" itself is often harder to define, simply because what constitutes the sound of heavy metal has changed since its inception, and isn't always agreed upon.  Though it sounds somewhat arbitrary, the sound of heavy metal is one of those things that seasoned listeners can discern, as in, "I know it when I hear it."

Despite the myriad sub-genres of this thing called heavy metal, the constants include distorted guitar riffs and rhythms, guitar solos that do more than just ape the base melody, and vocals that reach out of the speakers and slap you across the face.  Heavy metal also includes thumping bass lines, and hard hitting drum rhythms that make it obvious that someone is doing much more than just tapping the drum heads with wooden sticks.  To that end, Dragon's Kiss meet all the requirements for the essential Heavy Metal sound.  The question is, do they do it well?  That depends on your viewpoint of what real good heavy metal truly is.

Dragon's Kiss is a project by Dawnrider guitarist Hugo Conim and Adam Neal of The Hookers (formerly of about a half-dozen other bands).  Adam's pedigree is as much hard rock as it is metal, but Hugo seems to have been in the metal scene for a number of years.  Either way, I don't think anyone could deny this album's metal credibility, because this stuff sounds a bit like Motorhead crossed with early American metal and early NWOBHM.  There's a lot of energy on this record, and a fair bit of attitude as well.  Whether that energy and attitude carry the record will ultimately be up to the listener.

The first thing that hits you right away with the album is that although it has a classic heavy metal sound, the production is fairly dense.  Bass guitar pulsates quite a bit in the mix, and the guitars have a good crunch, and have a feel to them that is at once modern and classic at the same time.  It's hard to describe, really, but one listen to the album and you'll likely pick up on it.  One thing's for sure, Hugo plays with gusto, and is no stranger to a classic metal riff sound and feel.  The drumming on the album also merits some mention, because it's quite solid.  Other than the cool roll during the intro, it's not overly complex or notable, but certainly gets the job done.  Vocally, Adam is all gravel, sounding like he's channeling Udo Dirkschneider, if Udo was channeling Lemmy.  Adam lacks the tunefulness of Udo, but his enthusiasm and attitude do give his performance a bit of charm it would otherwise lack.

My biggest problem with the record is that it's just not very memorable.  I appreciate the classic sound these guys are bringing to the table.  I think them covering two relatively obscure bands (Marquis de Sade's "Somewhere Up In the Mountains" and The New Order's "Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers") is a good thing, and will help bring additional recognition to some songs that perhaps never got their due.  But when the covers are the most memorable tracks on the album, that's a problem for me.  If you can't write melodies that will get stuck in the listener's head, it diminishes your music's ability to become a regular part of their listening experience.  At best, the album is a solid batch of tunes that sound great while you're spinning them, but are relatively forgettable unless you're listening to the album over and over and over again.  I make that kind of investment to write reviews, but the average listener may not be willing to, even a seasoned NWOBHM fan who has separated the proverbial wheat from chaff among the countless bands from that era.  Dragon's Kiss need to step up their game and write more memorable material that has staying power, and Adam should try and develop his vocal approach just a little, to try and include a bit more melodicism in his singing.  If they could do that, it would go quite a ways in helping their next record have more staying power.  These guys are talented, and this CD shows that.  Now they need to hone their song craft and give us a release with tunes that get stuck in our heads.  If they can accomplish that, they'll be on their way to securing a place in metal Valhalla.  As for now, they're toiling in Purgatory.

68/100

Fallen Angel - Crawling Out Of Hell (2010, 2014)

Traditional heavy metal has had a bit of a resurgence in the global music scene in recent years.  Anyone who has paid attention to trends in metal over the last 20 years or so knows that power metal has enjoyed a long, relatively healthy surge in popularity ever since bands like Hammerfall, Rhapsody (et al) and Blind Guardian have made the style more popular again, along with somewhat newer sensations like Sonata Arctica, Kamelot, Firewind, and Evergrey.  But more traditional "heavy metal" has stayed a bit more underground, toiling in relative obscurity through the last 2 decades.  More recent bands like 3 Inches of Blood, Wolf, and White Wizzard have exemplified the return of the genre's core sound at some level of commercial significance in the modern age.  With any resurgence in a classic sound takes place, there will be casualties; bands who simply don't have the talent to make an impact, despite having the right ingredients in the formula.  Thankfully, Fallen Angel is positioning themselves to avoid that pitfall.

Fallen Angel is an interesting band, consisting of 5 individuals who use pseudonyms instead of their real names.  All the band members paint their faces and clothe themselves in a manner vaguely reminiscent of King Diamond.  They also play a style of heavy metal that reeks of that King Diamond, Mercyful Fate kind of early speed/power metal, without the usual trappings of the European power metal set.  A more modern comparison would be Iced Earth, though they're definitely not clones.  Their music has a real early-mid 1980's throwback feel to it, in a good way.  Utilizing modern production techniques without sacrificing the classic sound and feel, Fallen Angel have struck a good balance between staying true to the genre's roots and bringing a modern touch to the style.

Musically speaking, the band has really solid and energetic performances that showcase some degree of range.  Guitars provided by "The Man In Black" (aka Robb Lotta) and "The Dark Lord of Democales" (aka band mastermind John Cruppe) are very well done, and hearken back to a bygone era of metal where the performances oozed passion and energy.  The guitars are heavy and crunchy, and have some real presence to them, without the overly bass-heavy tone you would expect from a modern metal album.  So while the album sounds modern because of the production, the guitars don't sound like they were played through a bass amp and recorded through a vocal mic membrane.  Guitar solos are excellent throughout, with loads of energy, but without forsaking a melodic sensibility.  They are just what you would expect from a band playing a style of metal that recalls the genre's glory years.  Bass guitar is also suitably present but not so high in the mix it overpowers everything.  It sounds good alongside the guitars, and works especially well during acoustic and/or clean guitar sections where it provides the right amount of weight underneath.  Bass is provided by Sodominous - The Lord of the Flesh (aka Joe Surace, recently replaced by Bob Embury).  Drumming by "The Darkness" (aka Frankie Quaggs) is quite well done as well.  He has a real sense of dynamics, and knows when to go full-blast versus when the songs need something more nuanced, and when to change that up within the song.  A good example of that would be transitioning from the verses to the chorus in "Sad Wings".  All in all, the instrumentation on the album is very well done.

Vocals are provided by Caleb - The Teller of Tales (aka Steve Seniuk).  I'll get it on the table right away so folks can make their judgments, as I'm sure they will: Steve sounds an AWFUL LOT like former Iced Earth vocalist Matt Barlow.  He's not a copycat, because his slower passages and screams differ a fair bit, but his mid-range to high vocals sound more than a little like the famed singer.  Of course, Matt himself often bore more than a passing resemblance to Paul Stanley, so take that as you will.  Personally, I think he sounds great on the record, with impassioned screams, suitably dynamic quieter passages, and loads of emotion in his delivery.  He sings the lyrics convincingly, and really conveys that he cares about the story being told within the album.  If you're a fan of any of the recent Iced Earth vocalists, i.e. Matt Barlow, Tim "Ripper" Owens, or Stu Block, you'll feel right at home with Caleb, er, Steve's vocal work.

Speaking of story, apparently this album is the 1st in a trilogy of concept albums that follow along with related novels.  I wish I knew what novel(s) this trilogy is based upon, and whether it's a work of fiction by Cruppe himself, or another series of novels already out there.  While I didn't have a lyric sheet or copy to go by, the lyrics themselves aren't hard to discern.  The story is one of war and sacrifice, and the protagonist seems to go through a lot of emotional turmoil as a result of all the chaos.  The album's multitude of segue tracks are apparently also integral to the story within the album, as they're based in some fashion on the story being told, as much as instrumental interludes can be.  Being able to read the novel might help give me additional context based on the titles of those tracks, or where the story is moving in between the main narrative from each song with lyrics.

Other reviews have stated that the album is a bit too "busy", and while I can see that, I don't know that I necessarily agree.  Yes, there is dual-guitar action, often with dueling solos or layering, and there are various keyboard effects and accouterments here and there, as well as a handful of sound effects to aid in presenting the story, but I don't think those things are very obtrusive.  If anything, listening via headphones gave me a bit more clarification as to the context of some of those sounds, but the experience was quite similar to that of jamming the album through my desk speakers.  I initially thought the mix was a bit weak, but after several listens, I believe it perfectly suits the sound the band is trying to achieve.  Some have said that Steve screams too much and relies on that too heavily, but if you compare what these guys are doing to Iced Earth or Mercyful Fate, you'll find that they're quite similar and in that context, I don't believe it's overdone.  Most criticisms I've read of the album focus on these items, along with the inclusion of too many interlude tracks.  I was initially put off by them, and found them distracting, since they don't all perfectly transition one track to the next, but upon multiple listens, they make sense within the framework of the album and now I think I'd miss them if I nixed them from the album playlist.

I was quite surprised, and honestly taken aback at the sheer quality and force of "Crawling Out Of Hell".  The musicianship is top-notch, the performances are all spirited and high quality, and the idea of a trilogy of concept albums, while not entirely original, is not something that has been done before in metal, at this level.  The songs all have catchiness and staying power (with the possible exception of the repetitive "On and On") that makes for good replay value, and ensures that many of the tracks will be playing in your head long after the CD has stopped spinning.  Killer Metal Records has done quite a service to metal fans everywhere by re-issuing this album, originally self-released by the band in 2010.  I would love to see a vinyl issue of this release as well.  I look forward to the album's forthcoming follow-up, "Crawling Out Of Heaven", and wish guitarist/band leader John Cruppe a full recovery from his recent health issues, which you can read about on the band's Facebook page.  Highly recommended!

87/100

Azoria - Seasons Change (2014)

Power metal is a vastly overcrowded field.  If you're going to get noticed, you have to do one of two things.  Either do something unique and bring your own flavor to it, or do it very, very well.  When you can't do one or both of those things, chances are, you're going to go largely unnoticed.  There are a lot of groups that become nothing more than a footnote in metal history, if they make enough impact to even accomplish that.

Where does Azoria fit into this spectrum?  At this moment, they're in the minor footnote category.  To be fair, this is only their debut, and they can only go up from here.  Still, it's disheartening to hear bands with talent and skill that just can't rise above the mediocrity of the material.  It's even more disappointing when you have a talented host of vocalists guesting on the album that should elevate the material.

First and foremost, I must talk about the guitar tone.  I'm not sure if it's Alex Oriz, or Simon J, but the riff tone is kind of flat.  This is an album that mixes traditional and power metal styles, so I can understand why they're not going for an overly crunchy sound, but this just isn't as heavy as I would expect from an album like this, especially in the year 2014.  It's got some weight to it, but I just don't get the same satisfaction from the guitar sound/feel as I should.  It sounds fine, but I want more than "fine".  I want the guitar to grab me, because that's the crux of the metal sound, but this just doesn't.  I'm not sure whether the guitar is just over processed or over produced, or just what the issue is, but it bugs me.  Guitar solos sound good, generally, and are reasonably well done, but they're not resonating with me much, either.  Bass guitar by Christopher Davidsson is, thankfully, not buried in the mix, and it does its job, but not much more than that.  Drum work by Emil Eriksson is solid and well played, but like most metal drummers that serve the songs and don't branch out much, his work is mostly indistinguishable from a dozen or so other trad/power metal drummers.

Vocally, the album should be an exciting prospect because there are 6 different vocalists that lend their talents here.  Unfortunately, this is a mixed bag.  Tommy ReinXeed's performance feels "phoned in", like he did his quick take in the studio a couple times and called it good, so for the 1st 2 songs on the album, it's vocally a bit weak, considering the guy handling much of the singing.  Mark Gunnardo brings a lead vocal to "Inside My Heart", but when you take a weak power ballad and add vanilla vocals singing relatively banal lyrics, you don't get much back.  Mikael Dahl sound reasonably good here, but the title track doesn't do much for me, though it's perhaps a bit more anthemic and memorable than the rest of the material.  "Prophecy" and "To The Land of Glory" have Mike Andersson (Fullforce/Cloudscape) on vocals, but the songs aren't lighting a fire under me like they should.  "When You Sleep" brings things up a notch, both because the song is more well written than previous tracks, and because vocalist Matilda Eriksson sounds pretty decent here.  Mark Gunnardo sounds a bit more commanding on "Love It Loud", and as a typical "hail metal, metal rules" kind of anthem, it works, even if it's a bit too Manowar-esque.  Snowy Shaw provides vocals on the final 2 tracks, "Starlight" and "Peace of Mind".  I like the unique sound of Snowy's voice and his odd timbre, so at least vocally he closes the album out with something a bit more exciting than before, and it sounds as though he put some effort into the performance, which helps the relatively mediocre material rise above a bit.

Sadly, Azoria are in danger of being swept under the rug.  There's nothing inherently "wrong" with "Seasons Change" as an album, but the songs just don't stay with me at all.  I expect that from brutal death metal and some black metal, because those genres can get by at times on sheer heaviness, atmosphere, and attitude.  Traditional heavy metal and power metal require a bit more effort in the songwriting, because when you have someone singing words that will generally be discernible with a cursory listen, the songs need to be strong, the vocals need to have passion and power, and the performances need to resonate.  I don't feel that at all with this album.  Other folks may disagree, but I didn't get a kick out of this at all.  I'd consider it sub-standard metal, from a band that is obviously talented, but needs to put a lot more effort into the songwriting, performance, recording, and overall feel of their material before it will really leave a mark.  If you can't get enough metal and have to have everything you can get your hands on, you may enjoy this, but certainly don't add it to your list over anything that the heavyweight bands are releasing this year, and certainly not over past releases that have garnered praise that you just haven't picked up yet.  Not recommended.

50/100

Bloodgood - Dangerously Close (2013)

Bands from the 80's coming back and reactivating has become more than a trend in the last few years.  Indeed, it has become cliche, to the point where every nickel and dime group that made any impact is getting back together to try and make another run on the 'nostalgia circuit'.  Fans of any band can't be faulted for wanting their favorite group to come back and make another record, go on tour, etc. because we all have that desire to 'relive the good old days' from time to time, and old favorites reuniting to record, tour, and so on, help scratch that itch.  Most of the time it's a cash grab, and fans eat it up even if they're aware of it, because it's a favorite and they want to support them.  Sometimes, though, the comeback is completely legitimate when a band was truly broken up, away from the scene, with little or no indication that something was going to happen to bring that back.  I'd argue that Bloodgood is a prime example of the latter.

Bloodgood broke up in 1993, after an 8-year run, 5 studio albums, 2 live albums, and VHS releases of those 2 live records, complete with theatrical performances, and a compilation of singles and material from several albums.  In particular, their "Detonation" album garnered high praise and worldwide acclaim for it's quality songs, high energy, and emotional material.  The band moved in a less metallic direction after that, with "Rock In a Hard Place" bringing a more diversified sound, and "Out of the Darkness" continuing with that trend after the departure of original guitarist David Zaffiro.  The band's final studio album, "All Stand Together", suffered somewhat from having too many tracks and not enough "rock" in the mix.  The band's comeback album, "Dangerously Close", rectifies that by practically forgetting that album exists and providing what could have been a direct followup to "Out of the Darkness", with surprisingly good results after a 22-year hiatus.

Right off the bat you know this is a modern album by the production, sound quality, and guitar sound, but the songwriting and style hearkens back to an earlier time of hard rock music, not the overly compressed and artificially heavy sound of a band like Nickelback.  Instead, we get real hard rock and melodic heavy metal music from a veteran of the sound, and it sounds genuine and real.  Too often, new bands that play this style come along with production that makes the music sound too "plastic" to try and capitalize on modern production techniques, but ends up taking away from the music by having too much of an "in your face" sound.  This record strikes a nice balance between a modern sound, a heavier guitar element, and that more "organic" sound that helps music like this feel less like a product and more like real art from real artists.  Everything here is well produced, the instruments all sound good and come through in the mix (including Michael's bass!), and the levels are appropriate for the material.

Paul Jackson and Oz Fox's guitars have a nice crunch in the heavier parts, and though they have a modern feel to them, they feels like good hard rock and melodic metal guitar should, with enough whine and wail when the sound calls for it.  There's some real nice dual guitar work here and there, with some layered soloing and harmonized riffs that work really well.  I kind of wish they had capitalized on that a little more, but what's here works quite well.  I also like the fact that it's not just one guitar tone or texture through the album - they use various levels of distortion and crunch, as well as some nice clean guitar work (such as in "Father Father") that brings more variety to the table.  Unlike "Rock In a Hard Place", Michael's bass is loud and clear here.  In spots, it almost feels like too much, as if the bass is a little too prominent in the mix, but he can be forgiven for wanting to be out there, given the lack of bass in some of their material, and the prominence of bass guitar in modern hard rock and commercial metal mixes.  As it stands, he sounds as good as ever, and adds that extra thump as would be expected.  Returning skinsman Kevin Whistler provides a solid, workmanlike performance here with a couple nice surprises, such as the double-bass work in "Bread Alone".

Les Carlsen is in fine form here, and frankly, sounds way better than any rock vocalist at his age has a right to.  You'd think he'd lose some of his range or ability over time, and while he doesn't wail at the same level here as he did on "Detonation" or the debut album, the material doesn't really call for that.  Instead, he still hits the high notes with aplomb and shows he has a sense of dynamics, as well as adding that emotional resonance that has made past performances so interesting to listen to.  His unique vocal sound is still his own, and he continues to bring that element to the Bloodgood sound that helps give the band their own sound and feel.  The way he flawlessly double-tracks his vocals as well gives the vocal sound on the album that extra something.

I don't have any specific criticisms of the album, per se, other than the fact that leading off the album with "Lamb of God" is perhaps slightly underwhelming, given the strength of the other material.  It's a mid-tempo rocker with a simple hook, but it's not the strongest track on the album, nor is it the strongest musical statement.  Otherwise, the songwriting here is pretty strong, as compared to the band's back catalog, and they've created a winning album here that stands up well against what I'd call the second half of their discography.  Comparing this to early works like "Detonation" is like comparing apples and watermelon - two variations of a similar theme, but different enough that they really aren't wholly comparable.  If you prefer the more metal side of Bloodgood, spin the first couple records, because chances are, they're not returning to that sound.  However, if "Rock In an Hard Place" or "Out of the Darkness" are among your favorites, consider "Dangerously Close" in the same league as those records, and pick up a copy to support the band. These are some catchy tunes that I've been spinning for weeks, and they haven't got old yet.  Recommended.

87/100

Desert Island 500 - Guardian's "First Watch"

For any music lover, there are some albums which are so ingrained in the mind that impartial judgment as to the album's true artistic merit and potential flaws becomes an exercise in futility.  All but the most ardent of logicists have a handful of releases that escape the microscope and are listened to proudly and without abandon, despite perhaps not containing material that marks the zenith of the artist's career, or even of the style of music present.  I'm guilty of this phenomenon just like the next guy, and while I know it's not logical, it's just the way it happens.  Some albums introduce us to music that becomes the "gateway drug" to the style as a whole, or opens up our world to something new and exciting, and those albums usually escape the harsher judgment we heap upon releases of the same style years later because they hit us at the right time in our lives so that their influence trumps their merits.  Such is the case for me with Guardian's debut, "First Watch".

I cannot understate how important this album is for me, personally, in terms of my introduction to proper heavy metal, or how it helped to shape my perception of what the style was, was supposed to be, and potentially could be.  Indeed, there are few albums in my collection more important and vital to me than this largely forgotten gem of a release.  For me to sit down constructively and try to write an impartial review of the album based solely on the music would be like building a skyscraper out of cheese puffs - an impossible task.  I may take that on one day, in the hope that my education in the ways of music has advanced enough that I could see this with more critical eyes, but for now, I can only heap praise upon the album for all it did for me as a fan of music.  Simply put, this was the first album of heavy metal music I heard from beginning to end with no preconceptions, no concept of what it was or was supposed to be, and no idea what my ears were to behold.  It was a glorious experience.

Let me take you back to the summer of 1991 when this album first graced my ears.  I was a silly kid, dorky and nerdy, uncomfortable in my own skin, perhaps more so than most kids my age.  I had very few friends, and my options were limited.  Thankfully, one of the kids in my church who was a year younger than me latched on to me and we became fast friends.  After all, he had a Nintendo Entertainment System, and his mom's boyfriend had a Sega Master System, so we spent plenty of time together playing video games.  But one thing we sort of discovered together was music.  Another guy in our church, many years older than us, had been following the edgier side of the "Christian Contemporary Music" scene for about a decade, and had gone from the early alt rock of The Seventy Sevens, Steve Taylor, and The Choir to the hard rock and metal stylings of Stryper, Whitecross, and similar artists.  Of the bands they had already "graduated" from was Guardian, and the band's debut came into the hands of my friend Casey in the form of an original Enigma cassette, sans sleeve.  Little did this older guy know that this cassette would become one of the most frequently listened to albums for the two of us geeks.

I had previously been exposed to the idea of "Christian rock" by a long-time friend and former school mate.  I used to hang out at her house after school sometimes while my mom worked part-time, and we'd often listen to an album called "Who Do You Love?" by the group Glad, who later became far more well known for a cappella recordings.  That sparked my interest in the electric guitar, in part because of a handful of skillful solos present on that record.  But when I heard Tony Palacios burning up the fretboard on "First Watch", my love affair with heavy metal was first ignited.  Even on Casey's cheap boombox, the guitar riffs came screaming out of the speakers at me, as if they were meant for my ears.  Paul Cawley's vocals spoke directly to me, because they were easy to understand and I could relate to the lyrics.  I didn't appreciate bass guitar then like I do now, but David Bach's bass work helped bring a bit of power to the sound that would have been absent otherwise.  And though Rikk Hart's drumming wasn't out-of-this-world incredible, it was solid, and helped to tie the whole thing together.

This picture just makes me want to go buy a denim jacket and leather chaps.

I dubbed that cassette from my friend because, by that time, Enigma Records had been swallowed up by EMI, and most of the bands either flowed over to Restless Records, or went their own way.  I couldn't get a copy via the local Christian book and gift shop, and I never saw it in the store anywhere, so that was seemingly my only option.  I listened to that dub countless times, and practically memorized every note.  Some time later, I had the opportunity to get the actual cassette from Casey, and sort of "borrowed it forever" from him.  I haven't seen Casey in years, but based on the last few conversations we had, I suspect he hasn't missed it much.  That's okay, because I have held on to it all these years, so if he ever wants it back he just needs to ask.  Needless to say, the cassette is probably nigh unlistenable due to the years of use and abuse, having quickly become a personal favorite.

Fast forward five years.  I'm in college, my musical tastes have expanded to where I like everything from Poison to Mortification, and I've branched out even more the first couple months in college.  I found out that Guardian themselves were re-issuing "First Watch" via their own independent G-Man Records label, and I had to have a copy.  I knew that this might be my one and only opportunity to score a copy on CD, so I ordered 2 copies.  When they arrived at my dorm room, I turned into that dorky kid again, and as I popped one into my CD player and began listening, a revelation overtook me - there were 2 songs on here that I didn't have on my cassette copy!  With the internet still in its infancy, I didn't have access to the boundless musical databases that we have now, so I had no idea that the CD version had 2 bonus tracks, "Hyperdrive" and "Marching On".  So I listened to the whole thing to hear the CD quality tracks, eagerly awaiting the "new" songs I hadn't heard yet.  While they didn't completely blow me away at that point (I had discovered bands like Dream Theater and Tourniquet by this point), they fit in perfectly with the rest of the material, and it was just one more reason for me to continue to love "First Watch".

Fast forward a few years later, and I'm married, working full time and living back in my hometown again.  I had been casually collecting vinyl for a number of years, having started during my senior year in high school.  My younger brother bought me a vinyl copy of the album (same track list as the cassette) as a Christmas gift.  It was awesome to finally have an original copy of the album that was my own and had the sleeve and everything.  And a couple years later, I nearly scored an original Enigma CD copy when my brother and I were browsing a used CD store, but he found it first, so he got it instead.  But it didn't take me long after that to finally have an original Enigma CD copy in my collection.  In 2009, RetroActive Records re-issued the album in a digipak format, with 2 bonus tracks, "Spiritual Warfare" and the 1987 version of "Marching On", both of which were culled from the classic "California Metal" compilation.  This features a remaster by J. Powell, which just gives the album a slightly "bigger" sound to it, but doesn't mess with the mix or feel of the record.  Save for CD and LP issues out of Europe via RoadRunner Records, and possibly a Japanese pressing via Enigma/EMI, I have at least 1 copy of each major issue of the album.  Yes, I'm a fanboy, and I'm not ashamed to say so.

Now more than 20 years from when I first heard the album, it's not overly difficult to put my finger on exactly why it thrilled me so much that first time, and why I still enjoy listening to the album frequently.  Sure, Paul Cawley is a bit of a Don Dokken clone, but honestly I think I like his voice a bit more, because I feel that his combination of gritty and smooth is so good.  I wish I knew who wrote which riffs on the record, because with Paul playing rhythm guitar, it would be interesting to know whether some of my favorite riffs on the album were written by him or by guitar whiz Tony Palacios.  My guess would be, Tony wrote most of the riffs, because his Nuno Bettencourt type of style is all over that album.  Tony has always been one that wrote and played riffs that did more than just chug away, often incorporating small licks and such.  As for recording, it would also be interesting to note whether Paul played the rhythm parts, or whether Tony tracked most (if not all) the guitars in the studio, and whether or not producer Oz Fox (Stryper guitarist extraordinaire) contributed any of his guitar magic.  And while Oz's production sounds a touch thin in places where either 70's full analog big budget production, or modern Garage Band methods would give the album a more "full" sound, it fit what other bands were doing at the time, and takes nothing away from the record's overall presence.

Now, if I had to pick a version to take with me, it'd probably be the 2009 remaster, if only because it includes all the tracks, the remaster, and the "California Metal" tracks as a bonus, but even the original Enigma version would be a perfect companion to a lonely man on a desert island.  I can think of few records I'd want with me more than this one.  I can't say it's my absolute favorite at this point, nor can I say that it'd be the one I'd take if I had to choose only one (I'll speak to that topic more in later posts), but certainly for a personal top 5 or top 10, this would most definitely make the cut.  And that is reason enough for me to add it to my list, and make it one of the first records I thought of when coming up with this Desert Island 500 idea.  I encourage all fans of melodic 80's metal and hard rock to seek out this one and give it a try.  You really can't go wrong with this quality platter.

Mortification - Scribe of the Pentateuch (2012)

Mortification has been a staple of the Christian metal scene since 1990 when the band was formed from a re-grouped iteration of Australian power metal band Lightforce.  Due to the heavier, more European aggressive thrash style they had adoption, they changed the name to reflect the grittier, heavier and more pounding direction they would take.  Ultimately, this led to their highly regarded proto-death metal eponymous debut, and the record largely regarded as the band's magnum opus, the still effective death metal release "Scrolls of the Megilloth".  I still love that album, and while I prefer the more exploratory and progressive follow-up album "Post Momentary Affliction", I get why people still fawn over Scrolls to this day, because 20 years later it's still a great listen.  After PMA and the departure of original drummer Jayson Sherlock, the band went through member and style changes ever couple years/albums, ever evolving from a heavy thrash outfit to a more gritty power metal style, to hybrid power and death metal, to more traditional metal, back to a thrash/death approach, then a bit more experimental with their previous album, ever so wittily titled "The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine".  That album has been largely panned, and while I get why some don't like it, I sort of enjoy the Motorhead-esque punk-metal thing that album has going on.  It had some gaps in songwriting that I felt kept it from being a more top-shelf Mortification release, but it's still a good listen once in a while.

Now as with any big name band, each successive album is always purported to be "heavier than the last" and the fans area always split on whether the latest album is "the best thing they've ever done" or "utter tripe, these guys should hang it up".  This latest EP falls into neither category, and perhaps that is its biggest weakness - it's not strong enough to herald the all-out return to heavy death metal that many fans have been waiting for nearly 20 years, but it's a good enough effort to show that Mortification still has life left in them, despite Steve Rowe's failing health after years of battling with cancer and the toll that has taken on him physically.  It's no secret that Mortification's music has been hit and miss since Steve's battle with cancer started, and while I own and enjoy nearly every album in their discography, there are a couple I rarely spin any more because they just don't measure up to what came before them, or even to some of the more recent material that has shown Steve put out 'workmanlike' albums, full of unremarkable-yet-solid songs.  This is no slight to Steve, as I consider myself a big Mortification fan through thick and thin, and have for the last 20+ years.  I am glad to see Steve trying some new things, even as he retreads past formulas here.

Musically, this is mostly thrash with leanings of the death metal Mortification is known for, along with an undercurrent of doom metal, and the usual classic metal and NWOBHM influences shining through.  But for the most part, this is Steve and company thrashing it up with as much energy as one might expect from a guy whose body has been weakened by disease.  In other words, this is mostly mid-paced thrash with some faster tempos here and there (especially in the first 2-3 tracks) with some frills.  Solo work by Lincoln Bowen is as good as it was in his prior tenure in the band, with lots of little bits here and there, though less full-on ripping solos than might be expected (with the exception of "In Garland Hall").  Riffing is good, with plenty of likable stuff that sounds good, with that edge that "EnVision EnVangeline" had, if not a bit grittier and "dirtier" sounding.  Newcomer Andrew Esnouf does a respectable job on the drums, sounding a bit like a less robotic and slightly more powerful version of former Morty skinsman Keith Bannister.  He has a few spots where he shines and shows that he could develop into a really great drummer if he tightens his attack, puts a little more force behind it, and mixes up the fills and such a bit more.  Steve's bass work is as quality as ever, and he even riffs pretty fast at times, which is nice to hear, given the diminished capacity one might expect to hear.  As always, he is up pretty high in the mix so you don't wonder where his bass is at.  That is one constant in all Mortification albums, really; you can always expect to hear Steve play his bass.

Lyrically, Steve plays it pretty straight for the most part, toning down his signature sense of cheeseball humor a bit for more straight-forward and serious  topics.  This is probably a good idea, as the previous album's lyrics tended toward the more obtuse (by Steve's standards, anyway), and sometimes his ideas didn't quite come across as clearly as they should have.  Vocally, Steve is in between the toned down death growls he has used here and there from "Triumph of Mercy" on, and the more straight-forward thrash/power metal voice on albums like "EnVision EnVangeline", "Hammer of God" or much of "Relentless".  It's good to hear him sounding a bit more "throaty" than recent albums, because his death growls on "Brain Cleaner" and "Erasing the Goblin" were a bit flat.  He also incorporates some almost black metal sounding stuff on the title track and in spots during "Weapons of Mass Salvation", which is a nice/interesting touch.  Also, this is probably the first time we've heard a layered vocal approach since "Post-Momentary Affliction", which I am glad to hear.  That was an aspect of PMA and Scrolls that I always enjoyed, so it's good he's digging that out of the bag of tricks again.  Something that I must mention is the clean vocals during "In Garland Hall" and "The White Death", because they're a bit strange - they have a bit of a doom vibe to them (hence the earlier comment), and they sound almost like they're just slightly (and I mean slightly) off-key.  Once you hear the songs a few times they make sense and fit well, but the first couple times you spin the CD you might do a double-take wondering whether or not those vocals "fit" the music.  But in the end, they work because Steve has a funny way of adding elements like that which don't add up on paper, but somehow come out sounding fine, if not good.

This is technically an EP, which includes several "bonus" tracks from other Mortification releases in the 2000's, though it only covers from 2002's "Relentless" forward, taking one track from each.  The picks are good overall, though the choice of "Elasticized Outrage" from "The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine" is fitting, if a bit curious.  I might have gone with one of the other tracks, though given the context of the new tracks on this EP, it fits well.  If you already own the other albums, these new tracks won't be any more than just an excuse to play the CD longer, but if not, they're a good introduction to the other material from the band over the last 10 years.  The real meat and potatoes here are the 6 new tracks, and overall they're quality.  They sound good, production-wise, though part of me wishes Steve would go the modern production route a bit more and give the material a bit more "beefy" sound, but I suppose since this is mostly thrash and mid-paced metal in a very classic vein, it makes more sense to give it a more authentic "live" feel.  I enjoyed this CD quite a bit, but that's me as a long-time Mortification fan talking.  If you're unfamiliar with the band, I'd recommend any of their first 5 or 6 albums as a more fitting introduction, if only to hear the band at their absolute peak.  If you gave up on Mortification after they quit playing death metal and have decided to give the thrash iteration of the band a try, this is a good place to start, since it includes not only solid new tracks, but also sample tracks from several other recent albums.  Mileage will vary, even among the Mortification faithful, so I will tentatively give this a hearty recommendation and say approach with caution only if you hate "Christian" metal or can't let go of "Scrolls of the Megilloth" and wish this was "Scrolls 2".  If that's you, I say come into the now - you might enjoy it here.

70/100

Vinyl Collection Additions!

More new additions to my vinyl music collection!

The Gamut - music giveaways tonight!!!

The Gamut is back again, and also back are the giveaways!  I've got a CD copy of Rehumanize's "Resident Apostasy" album, a furious collection of grindcore!  Also in the giveaway tonight is a fun little cassette-only EP by Swine Suicide!  You don't want to miss out on the giveaways, so tune in at 9 PM EST and listen in via http://www.sanctusgladius.com !

Tonight's playlist!
A Hill To Die Upon - Adept In Divinity (Black/Death Metal)
Angelica - Walkin' In Faith (Commercial Metal)
Terraphobia - Soldiers of the New Millennium (Extreme Thrash Metal)
AD - Progress (Progressive Rock)
One-21 - Individuals (Punk)
GeistkrieG - Spiral of War (Black Metal)
Docile - Closed Eyes, Opened Arms (Melodic Death Metal)
Teramaze - Once Lost (Progressive Metal)
Forsaken - Dominaeon (Doom Metal)
Nothing's Sacred - The Price Paid In Blood (Grindcore)
Hero - Gasoline (Metal)
Once Nothing - Gunfire Is the Sound Of Freedom (Southern Metalcore)
Swine Suicide - Abolishing the Foundations of Hell (Black Metal) - Cassette Giveaway!!!
Hundredth - Caving (Hardcore/Metalcore)
Havitance - Burial (Thrash Metal)
Circle of Dust - Course Of Ruin (Industrial)
The Throes - Grieve (Alternative Rock)
Our Fathers Were Blind - Banner Bedsheets (Screamo)
Magdalen - Sad Sister Alchemy (Bluesy Hard Rock)
Discern - Grace (Death Metal)
Zaxas - Revolving Door (Power Metal)
The Prayer Chain - Sky High (Alternative)
Trytan - Genesis (Progressive Metal)
Rehumanize - Psychopharmacologist (Grindcore) - CD Giveaway!!!
Audiovision - You Are the Reason (Melodic Metal)
Wrench In the Works - Project AK-47 (Metalcore)
Halcyon Way - Revolution Is Now (Progressive Metal)
Arnion - Obtenetration (Thrash MEtal)
Eowyn - Crashing (Female-fronted Modern Heavy Rock)
Mirror of Dead Faces - The Horde of Swine (Death Metal)
Reflescent Tide - Gluepot (Alternative Rock)
Thresher - Raptor (Thrash Metal)
How To Avoid Art - Control (Industrial)
XT - Carry On (Commercial Metal)
Seventy Sevens - Flowers In the Sand (Alternative Rock)
Oh, Sleeper - To Flagship (Metalcore)
Inevitable End - Dreamsight Synopsis (Technical Death Metal)

Don't forget to visit http://www.sanctusgladius.com during the show to login for station chat
(you can sign in with your Twitter or Facebook account!) and chat with me and other listeners
during the show!

Album of the Moment - Voivod's self-titled release

When key members of a band leave the fold, it often throws off the group dynamic.  Some bands pick right up and continue on as if nothing had happened.  Others take their art in a new direction or explorer other avenues.  If that key member returns, it's often easy for the band to fall right back into things the way they were prior to that member leaving, in part because there is an established base to cull from.  Voivod suffered a loss when original bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault left, but it was the departure of original vocalist Denis "Snake" Belanger that changed things for them, seemingly forever.  They recruited bassist/vocalist Eric Forest and backtracked to a progressive and aggressive thrash sound, much like what they had pioneered on their 1st 3 releases.  After 2 albums and a couple compilations and live releases with Eric, the band regrouped with "Snake" and began writing new material again.  On bass came none other than former Metallica bassist Jason "Jasonic" Newstead.  With this eponymous release, the band reverts to their previously explored spacey prog-metal sound they were using prior to Belanger's original departure.

Musically and sonically, this has a lot in common with the last 3 Belanger titles: the incomparable "Nothingface" (arguably the band's high water mark, and my personal favorite), "Angel Rat" (a somewhat blatant attempt at mainstream acceptance, though on the band's own terms), and the highly sci-fi themed "The Outer Limits".  This release has a bit of the "earthy" production feel of "Angel Rat", but the sci-fi themes are reminiscent of "The Outer Limits" quite a bit, and songs like "The Multiverse" and "Divine Sun" reflect some of the more obtuse science fiction of "Nothingface" from a lyrical and musical perspective.  None of the material here is as immediately memorable or accessible as the 3 records it is seemingly inspired by, though repeated listens reveal a strong comeback effort on the part of the band.  All band members are in fine form here, though guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour (RIP) relies a bit less on the jazz-inspired chords and winding riffs as he used to, making the record a bit more palatable to those less inclined to spin "Nothingface" or "Dimension Hatross" on a regular basis.  Drummer Michael "Away" Langevin" echoes his work on "Nothingface" quite a bit here with similar patterns and rolls, though not in an overtly self-plagiaristic way.  "Jasonic" is solid on bass, though he does nothing too complex, but then Piggy's riffs don't give him a whole lot to work with in terms of harmonic interplay.  "Snake" sounds great after his 10-year hiatus with the band, though I think a bit more melody in his vocal lines would have been welcome with this material.  When he was more a-melodic on earlier material, there was more fire and it was more interesting.  Anyone who listened to his last 3 albums with the band knows he has a good singing voice, especially evident on "The Outer Limits", so hearing him go back a bit is a minor disappointment.  Otherwise, he is solid here, if perhaps a bit to forward in the mix.

The thing that is frustrating about the album at first blush is that it starts out kind of boring - "Gasmask Revival" and "Facing Up" aren't exactly going to light the world on fire, and it's a bit of a mystery as to why they chose those to open the album, other than perhaps putting the more immediate material up-front.  "Blame Us" begins to pick up a bit more of the band's signature spacey sound, and by the time you get to "Rebel Robot" and "The Multiverse", Voivod fans should begin to feel right at home.  The album continues to progress from there and becomes more interesting with "Divine Sun" and "Reactor".  The album culminates in the final track, the album's single "We Carry On" which makes a partial return to the more muscular and straightforward sound of the first couple tracks, but retaining some of the more "Voivodian" personality of the rest of the material.  As some reviews I've read have mentioned, the album is perhaps a bit overlong.  I think if they had trimmed the 1st 2 tracks out and kept the rest it might have been a stronger album.

All things said and done, this is a solid outing from a band many had left for dead after Eric's departure, and a good return to form.  It's not their strongest release, and ultimately may not equal the quality of "Dimension Hatross" through "The Outer Limits" on every level, but there's enough to love  here that the Voivod faithful like myself should find sufficiently attractive.  I would consider this a workmanlike album from a group who payed their dues and never quite broke out the way that they were predicted to, and certainly not in the way they deserved to.  If you're a fan of Voivod's more progressive leanings, this is an album you'll want to at least hear, if not add to your collection.

Japan FTW! Onmyouza!

The threat we are facing is serious.  It's no longer merely Godzilla.  Japanese music, animation, and culture have invaded America!  Okay, so that's a bit dramatic, but during the last 25 years or so, Japanese culture and entertainment has slowly crept into the collective consciousness of the Western world.  During the 1980's there were Japanese culture flirtations in the form of the Robotech anime and some Japanese rock/metal (namely X and Loudness), though those have remained largely niche.  The mid-1990's saw a much more dramatic influx of Japanese culture with more widespread distribution (thanks to companies like Manga and Bandai Entertainment) of Japanese anime, which then brought to attention of Western fans the phenomenon of Asian pop idols in the form of J-Pop music.  This was everything from the goofiest, corniest J-Pop known to man included in some of the more off-beat anime, to more life-like J-Pop like that of "CHAM!" in the Perfect Blue anime film (Satoshi Kon, FTW!).


The Anime industry in America (in particular) has blossomed over the last decade and a half as a result of this, and the advent of the Internet has only increased this and made anime more prevalent.  No longer is it just Pokemon or DragonBall Z (blech!), but with SyFy channel's "Ani-Monday" and Cartoon Network often having more sophisticated and wide-ranging anime (everything from Gundam Wing to InuYasha to Trigun and beyond) of varying genres and styles. Landmark anime films like Akira and Ghost in the Shell have become well-respected by many serious film buffs, and anime on the whole is taken more seriously by Western culture in general.

Other Japanese cultural aspects have taken longer to "catch on", like cosplay, Japanese films (now becoming a legitimate niche in America), and in particular, Japanese music.  Apart from a handful of Japanese artists or bands, Asian music in general just hasn't caught on, likely due to the giant domination of the American "music" machine dictating to us what music we like and want to hear.  While that machine has served its purpose and has indeed brought some good music to the masses, I am not one to simply eat what's fed to me unless I have no other choice.  I prefer to pick my own meals when I have any opportunity to do so.

Being the nerd that I am, I probably exist in the nether space between being "up" on Japanese music and not.  I'm not sure if that means I'm either not hip enough, or perhaps too hip to be into bands like Sigh, Dir en grey, or Versailles yet.  But for all of the Japanese bands I have yet to discover, I have taken to one that I feel is the is the pinnacle of what Japanese music is and should be when it comes to talent and creativity.  Onmyouza (also sometimes spelled as Onmyo-za or Onmyosza) is a band that is lumped in with the "Visual Kei" or "Visual Style" movement, and that much is valid, but they're so much more than just a band dressing up in traditional Japanese garb with long hair and androgynous looks.

My wife says they ALL look like girls, but I know better :)

Onmyouza is a highly talented, overtly creative and prolific heavy metal machine.  Since the band's inception in the late 90's, they've recorded 9 full-length studio albums and 1 EP, released 8 concert videos/DVDs, participated in a split video project with 3 other bands, and released 16 singles, along with 2 live albums, a singles/hits compilation, and a boxed set containing the bulk of the recorded works that also includes 2 b-sides CDs and a DVD with all their music videos.  DO WANT!!!  Unfortunately, King Records either hasn't pursued or sufficiently found distribution in the West for niche product like this, so importing is rather expensive.  My collection of the band's last 5 albums and the Wagashikabane Wo Koeteyuke DVD was quite a chunk of change to purchase over a year ago.  CDs that would normally cost $15 USD at any store in America are suddenly nearly twice that to import, and the DVD was a staggering $54 USD to import!

"Sweet Dreams" was written by the Eurythmics before this boxset came out, so we'll let them slide (this once) for not mentioning it.

By contrast, here's my meager sampling:

Yes, you should all be jealous of my small, but prestigious collection!

Onmyouza released their 1st album in 1999, and in the 10 years following they have recorded a string of successful albums (commercially AND artistically).  Their concerts, while not as big a production as KISS, are a sight to behold, as evidenced by the DVD I have, as well as videos you can find on YouTube of the many other concerts they've filmed.  One of my dreams, assuming I can afford to do so before they hang it up, is to travel to Japan and see them live in concert.  I'm not sure if I'll fulfill that dream, but I hope that financial concerns won't prevent me from at least trying.  Of course, that's not the only reason to visit Tokyo, but for me it's certainly a priority reason.

So what's all the fuss about Onmyouza, you may say?  Let me explain.  No, there is too much.  Let me sum up:

1. Onmyouza has a female lead singer.  Now before anyone cries foul and says, "But so does Nightwish/Seraphim/Lunatica/" let me say that few vocalists can compare to the likes of the lovely and talented Kuroneko.  She is a powerful singer with great range and versatility, a great sense of dynamics, and fabulous control over her instrument.  Watching the DVD and other live concert footage of the band, it's apparent that when performing live, she is so on-point vocally that it's almost scary.
   
2. The band breathes much-needed life into the genre of traditional metal by bringing in some Japanese melodic sensibility and traditional melodies, by utilizing both female vocals and male vocals (bassist and band leader Matatabi handles most of this), by throwing in some occasional gruff/growl vocals for effect, and by having such a sense of drama about their whole presentation that it just takes it to the next level.
   
3. While I'm the first guy that will say it doesn't matter what you wear on stage if you play well and captivate the audience with your songs, that doesn't apply to Onmouza because they make their whole "Visual Kei" look/feel an integral element to their music and visual appeal.  Not that Japanese guys with long hair that look like women in their photoshoots is particularly "appealing", but then the band takes its look from dress and style that was popular in Japan quite a long time ago, well before music of their kind was even a thought.  And they don't go over-the-top with their look, either.  It's clean, specific, and generally consistent from one performance to the next.
   
4. Let's not forget the songs!  This is a band that not only has full command of their instruments, but they also have studied years of heavy metal and understand what it takes to write good songs.  They are hooky, both musically and vocally (quite a feat, considering I don't know a lick of Japanese and I find myself stumbling on the words singing along), and they take the best elements of the bands they emulate (Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are two chief influences) while throwing plenty of their own flavor in for good measure.  In addition, their range is impressive, from fun, swingin' songs that are very "up" to dark, brooding pieces that ooze drama.

I've been singing the praises of this band for the last 2 years but it seems like no one is listening.  Why, I have no idea, as this amazing group is just too good to go unnoticed and unappreciated by the metal masses.  I know I'm not the band's only fan in the US, because I've read album reviews and comments by others, but they simply don't have enough of a following here in the states.  Some metal band (Iron Maiden perhaps?) needs to take this band out for a full US tour and really blow the doors off the American metalhead populace, because I think if folks knew what they were missing, they'd flip out and realize that Japan has been hiding this goldmine of awesomeness in their country far too long.  I shall end this post the only way I can think how - with music videos that shows the band at their best. Watch and learn, people.

"Nemuri" from "Mugen Hoyou"

"Basilisk" from an anime soundtrack

"Kokui no Tennyo" from "Maou Taiten"

"Aoki Dokugan" from "Kongo Kyubi"

"Konpeki no Soujin", a sequel to "Aoki Dokugan"

"Kumikyoku Yoshitsune- Raise Kaikou" from "Garyotensei"

The Gamut - tonight's playlist!!!

Loads of awesome music in tonight's show - as always, a smorgasbord of great tunes to feast on!  After the technical difficulty at the end of last week's show I think I've got things ironed out now so that won't happen again, so tune in at 9 PM EST via http://www.untombed.com to listen in!


Tonight's playlist!
Sympathy - Lord of All Terrors (Death Metal)
House of Wires - Dead or Happy (Synthpop)
Tourniquet - Besprinkled in Scarlet Horror (Progressive Thrash Metal)
XT - The Rock In My Life (Commercial Metal)
Bloody Sunday - The Best Of Me (Hardcore)
Headnoise - They're Trying To Kill Me (Female-fronted Punk)
Winter's Dawn - The Victory: Rapturous Surrender (Black Metal)
Convalesce - Monsters (Metalcore)
Ashen Mortality - Cast the Last Stone (Doom Metal)
Take it Back! - Standing On the Edge Of Hope (Hardcore Punk)
Halcyon Way - Rise to Revise (Progressive Metal)
Loudflower - Can't Change Yesterday (Alternative Rock)
Joy Electric - The Cobbler (Synthpop)
Mad At The World - Dancing On Your Grave (Hard Rock/Alternative)
Lost Dogs - Jesus Loves You, Brian Wilson (Folk/Rock)
Sometime Sunday - Lie (Grunge)
Chicago Is Burning - Fall Into the Sun (Industrial Metalcore)
The Deal - Here Comes the Sword (Punk Rock)
Heaven's Force - Second Coming (Thrash Metal)
Sweet Comfort Band - Armed and Ready (80's Rock)
Disciple - Before You (Groove Metal)
Blenderhead - National Drug (Hardcore Punk)
Believer - D.O.S. (Desolation of Sodom) (Thrash Metal)
Rebelhead - Say It Loud (Groove Metal)
Jacobs Dream - Welcome To My World (Progressive Metal)
Juliana Theory - If I Told You This Is Killing Me, Would You Stop? (Emo/Rock)
Allies - Feather In Your Cap (Rock)
Deitiphobia - Have Mercy (Industrial)
Haven - The Witching Hour (Power Metal)
Bloodgood - Anguish and Pain (Classic Metal)
Danielson Famile - Fruitful Weekend (Indie Pop/Folk)
Titanic - Carnival of Souls (Classic Metal)
Hell Bovine - Why Are You Dancing? (Grindcore/Noise)
Ezra - Tantum Ergo (Death Metal)
Sacrament - Haunts of Violence (Technical Thrash Metal)
After the Order - Fuschia (Alternative Rock)
Savior - See Things (Progressive Rock)
Fall of Echoes - Red Tree (Progressive Hard Rock)
Crystavox - Sacrifice (Commercial Metal)
With Blood Comes Cleansing - Take Everything (Deathcore)
Random Eyes - For Your Love (Power Metal)
The Famine - Ascend (Metalcore/Melodic Death Metal)


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Letter 7 - Follow the Light (2008)

 

Once in a while an album comes along that just "sticks".  I'm not talking about one that the mainstream eats up, or that is fodder for mass public consumption.  I'm talking about a much more personal kind of thing.  Sometimes, you buy an album and the more you listen to it, the more you like it.  Regardless of whatever flaws it has, it just really "sticks" with you and you seem to enjoy it all the more.  Even when you don't listen to it for a while, when you come back to it, that album is again fresh and new, even when you've spun it countless times before.  Albums like this are precious, because no matter how much you listen to them, they're still likable and easy to come back to.  This is a quality often lost in the "here today, gone tomorrow" pop music world - the days of big sales on albums (in the truest sense of the word) are over.

However, the recent shift in the music industry due to the advent of the internet has given much of the power back to the artists, if they're willing to work a little harder or focus on their own affairs.  Through a website, Myspace, Facebook, Reverb Nation, or other type of site, bands can interact directly with fans and sell their product direct.  No longer are bands forced to give up 35% of t-shirt and merch sales to labels, promoters, and other folks - bands have a choice to handle that themselves at their shows.  What's the use of a platinum album when you only have 4 points on the record?  Your band is only going to earn $40,000 for that album you spent toiling in the studio over for 4 months, and that take is probably already eaten up in studio fees and promotional costs because the labels won't generally pay for it.  Now bands can sell direct to fans, hire competent producers to make a low-cost but still quality product and reap most of the profit.  A band can make a lot more money selling 1,000 copies of a CD when they can take home some 80% of the sale price.  So while this shift has occurred, regardless, there are still bands out there who get it right and make great albums, regardless of the music buying climate.  Letter 7 is one of those bands.

"Follow the Light" is the band's 2nd album, coming just one year after their debut "Salt the Earth".  While the debut was a strong record with good vocal performances, good songs, and a reasonably good recording, it didn't quite reach the heights that a band performing a more classic hard rock/metal style should reach to make you want to reach for that record versus an actual classic.  Having said that, "Follow the Light" does everything better than the debut, and should give discriminating listeners reason enough to look into this band above and beyond the classics they're used to spinning on a regular basis.  This release is chock-full of hard rocking melodic metal that hearkens back to the "glory days" of metal in the mid-late 80's, and yet doesn't feel entirely dated.

One thing that I really like about this release is the guitar tone.  It just has that nice balance between metal crunch and melodic quality.  It cuts enough to where you know this is a metal band, but not to the point of beating you over the head with just how heavy they are.  This is an essential quality to any melodic metal band, and these guys do it well.  Guitar sounds are all very well done here, with nice sounding clean guitars, crunchy distorted guitars, and great ripping solos that have just enough attitude to counter the flashiness.  Bass guitar is a bit more audible here than in many metal releases, in part because of the extremely clean and well-proportioned production.  While bass isn't doing anything outstanding or out of the ordinary, it does the job and makes for the right mix with the rest of the instrumentation.  Drum work is quite good, though nothing will "knock your socks off".  Instead, the drums become part of the musical landscape, adding the right touches here and there and never taking over.  There are a couple spots where the drums feel a bit "stiff" like the cymbal pattern could have been played a bit more "loosely" (the high-hat riding on "Lifeline" is a good example), but otherwise this is very competent and well-played work.

Vocally, this CD is a couple notches above its predecessor.  Not that "Salt of the Earth" wasn't a solid release, but this just takes it to the next level.  It's not that the previous vocalist didn't sing the songs well, but Steve Young fits the band's sound and material better.  The previous singer executed the melodies well, but his voice wasn't as well-suited to this melodic metal sound as Steve's is.  He sings with authority and sounds great doing it, but doesn't go out of his way to emulate any of the traditional metal vocal heroes - he retains his own voice and sound while still meeting many of the metal vocal touchstones fans like to hear, such as the high-pitched screams, smooth ballad crooning, and occasionally gritty bits for added effect.  I didn't hear Steve go off-pitch at all during the course of the CD, which is a major plus, though there were a handful of spots where it sounded as though he could have been reaching for those notes.  Still, a worthy vocal performance.

On the negative side (or the positive side, depending on how you look at it), the lyrics are a tad heavy-handed in spots.  As a Christian myself, this doesn't generally bother me.  There's room in my mind for the really obtuse lyrics that hint at God, the "turn or burn" lyrics, and everything in between.  Regular metal listeners who aren't believers in the Bible may turn their noses up here, and that's a shame.  Steve's vocal performance and the music played here is good enough for anyone to love this CD, regardless of lyrical content.  For those who love bold, up-front Christianity in their lyrics, there will be much to like here.  Having said that, as with the vast majority of traditional metal bands espousing a Christian faith, there are moments of lyrical clumsiness and awkwardness.  I would say, however, that even this area is an improvement over the debut.

As of this writing, I understand that Steve Young is no longer with the band.  That disappoints me, because he has a great voice and brought so much to this album.  I am hopeful the band will find the right fit in a vocalist who can bring the same level of talent (or greater) that Steve displayed, and get back on track to record another record.  There's so much to like about this band, that if they tightened up their songwriting and lyrics even more, and had an even stronger vocal performance, they could be contenders for having a metal community largely indifferent about "Christian metal" think twice about writing them off.  As it stands, this is a quality band, a quality album, and something that's easy for me to recommend to the music fan who either misses the heyday of metal, or perhaps never left.

80/100