Reviews
Many of us, including myself, are nagging about new bands directly copying ideas, riffs, lyrics etc from legends of the past as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica and so on something which ends in having albums that head direct for the trash bin as they’re just a sacrilege to our Heavy Metal heritage. Bands like the ones I mentioned didn’t copy Beatles, Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix or other legends of their own teenagehood.
In a time where we have to dig really deep to find a descent band playing pure Heavy Metal, here come “Frozen Tears” to remind us that there are bands out there who don’t play progressive or metalcore intead they honor their root paying a tribute by reproducing the sound of all the bands that most of us grew up with. Some may call them “Retro freaks”...music is evolving ...and all these crap, you know what? Sometimes it’s better to hold your ground and if this means that you should be left behind, so be it.
\r\nBloodline Severed are an American band serving melodic death metal and with their debut album “Visions Revealed” they seem to claim some space among the masters like “Trivium” and “Lamb of God”. So what we’ve got here is a mixture of modern melodic death/thrash through a very good production and some really nice compositions varying rhythmically from mid-tempo to high speed dynamites.
New, second release from the Finnish outfit Depressed Mode that for the second time will find me against their “labeling”as“doom metal” band. Depressed mode is so related to doom as Obama is with the Nobel Prize he got. On “For Death” album now, I have to admit that the band sounds really improved and with a better production and for sure has spent some time to work their compositions better than the first album.
I have to admit that one of the little things that I really enjoy being a “reviewer” of metalzone is that I have the chance to lay my hands on some new releases and especially from new bands all around the world.
\r\nWhen I first got this promo CD by the band Grieving Age, despite the really magnificent artwork made by Aaron Stainthrope I ve been impressed by a little sticker on the CD quoted that the mixing and mastering has been made by the metal guru Dan Swano.
\r\nHardreams is a Spanish band whose work hasn’t reached our country yet. They’re well known for their work, though, in Spain as well as for their live appearances as they’ve opened gigs for artists like Edguy, Bob Catley (Magnum), Vaughn (Tyketto), Firehouse and Jim Peterik(Survivor, Mecca, Pride of lions). After signing with Perris Records for their last album "The Road Goes On..." on 2008, Hardreams now decided to re-release an older album that was released on 2004 before making another record.\r\n
Well, another release by the Russian outfit Arkona and my opinion is the same as on my last review for their previous album. In a genre that gives birth to bands faster than neither a female bunny you ought to have something special to present to the public and no, nor their Folklore parts neither accordion nor their Kampfar – ish parts are something special. Especially if your vocals are in Russian then you must admit that you have already lost the game.
The 11th Hour is a Dutch / Swedish two piece outfit from the well - know metal musicians Ed Warby (Gorefest, Hail of Bullets, Ayreon) and Rogga Johansson (Edge of Sanity, Demiurg, Paganizer, Ribspreader) that despite their musical identity that deals with the more extreme metal scene, they decided to join forces to release a doom metal outfit.
\r\nJust take the guitar parts and the rhythm section from In Flames, add female, Evanescence-like vocals and a few screams backing up for the choruses and for some bridges, and there you are; the result will be very close to One Without’ s style.
\r\nThis is the debut album for the band, which comes from Gothenburg. According to the promo notes, they want to set new standards to today’s metal music.