Dead End Kings

"It’s Canadian to do things in an unorthodox fashion. Not like there’s anything wrong with it (there isn’t), and when it comes to metal, all one needs to do is look at the long list of prominent Canadian bands and it makes sense: Voivod, Kataklysm, Neuraxis, Cryptopsy, etc., etc. None of them bothered to do anything by the book, resulting in some of metal’s most expansive and off-kilter sounds. In the mix is Montreal’s Heaven’s Cry, who are returning after a seven-year hiatus with their third album, Wheels of Impermanence.A band of the progressive/power variety, Heaven’s Cry function largely in their own sphere, with perhaps the only real comparison being Perfect Symmetry/Parallels-era Fates Warning. This means that wacky time signatures, weird chord movements, and initially hard-to-digest songs come to the fore, making Wheels of Impermanence sound…very Canadian (FW is not Canadian, though). Nevertheless, there’s an assortment of quirky riff action going down here, rolling up into songs that for the most part, have some guile to them, such as opener “Empire’s Doll” and “The Mad Machine.”Singer Pierre St. Jean has a solid AOR caw to him, one that is occasionally ill-fitting for the band’s malleable music. That doesn’t prevent him from unfurling some adventurous vocal takes, as heard on the title track and “Consequence,” where he benefits greatly from back-up gang vocals and spurts of melodic guitars. Ultimately, St. Jean is able to cross the ever-difficult divide between power metal majesty and progressive metal over-thinking. He’s absolutely stellar.Evidently, Heaven’s Cry reformed at the right time, able to catch the attention of Prosthetic Records for the release of Wheels. Not to be forgotten is the inclusion of guitarist Eric Jarrin, who used to do time in deathcore merchants Despised Icon, which again, breeds additional peculiarity with this one. Canadians…they are a tricky bunch. " - Blistering.com

"Recorded live over 3 nights in October 2003 (17th-19th).In the summer of 2003 Cardiacs were charged with the unenviable task of casting a wincey eye back.Way back to before Sarah hung up her little saxophone, before Tim Quy broke the nausea rule, before THE CONSULTANT and Miss Swift held the reins. Way, way back.For that coming October’s ‘Special Garage Concerts’, Cardiacs were expected to wipe the grime of the dusty archive from thirty-two tunes everyone had long since forgotten about. Cardiacs dutifully frittered away the waning days behind locked doors, exhuming songs from clanking, obsolete machinery and reams of faded manuscript. Music from the band’s conception in 1976 to their ‘coming of age’ in 1983 was given the dressing down THE ALPHABET BUSINESS CONCERN had always wisely insisted it deserved.With the arrival of autumn the songs had somehow taken on a raw, definitive bent. Haphazard approximations you may have previously heard performed by wide-eyed, puny youths were given deftness, muscle and swagger by the four grizzled and worldly-wise men proudly standing their ground under the Cardiacs banner today.This nostalgic arsenal was duly recorded over three consecutive nights at London’s sizeically challenged ‘The Garage’ concert venue. Privileged witnesses described the spectacle as "one-fifth loving recreation, two-fifths exercise in futility and four-fifths sheer brute force."Cunningly encrypted on to two Compact Discs, as never they were meant to be, Volumes One and Two are a unique testament to pure bloody mindedness and musical irrelevance.Both volumes contain music that has never previously been recorded and re-workings of other tunes that many of the faithful claim to have ‘insider knowledge’ of.They don’t have a clue."

New progressive metal quartet led by Italian shred guitarist Francesco Fareri. He's supported by vocalist Titta Tani (DGM, Astra, Ashent) drummer Dario Ciccioni (Twinspirits, Empty Tremor), and bassist Emanuele Calvelli. Tani sings in a more aggressive style than I'm used to hearing. The focus of the music is alway on Fareri's guitar. This dude can shred with the best of them.

"Marillion seems to be appealing to a commercially-oriented buying demographic with this album. There are parts of this record you'll love, and there are parts ... you might not. The band's work in the Hogarth era is marked by its variability - or some might say inconsistency. Although there have been some dud CDs, arguably including Radiation, Anoraknophobia and marillion.com, each of those records had some excellent songs. Similarly, the great albums had songs that were less than stellar. So it's generally safer to think of Marillion's work in terms of the songs rather than the CDs. Having said that, though - Somewhere Else probably fits somewhere between Marbles and marillion.com stylistically, and it's closer to .com in terms of quality.Somewhere Else doesn't share all of Marbles's progressive elements, its subtleties, or its general appeal. This music is a bit more linear, and it's very vocals-oriented. Steve Hogarth's singing is as emotion-laden as ever, switching effortlessly in and out of falsetto, and very expressive - in the style of "The Invisible Man" or "Angelina" from Marbles, or Radiohead's classic "Creep". But you might wish that he would stop singing for just a few minutes and let some instrumentals shine through. Steve Rothery's legendary guitar work is heard in only a few places, and Mark Kelly provides some very appealing piano lines, but there aren't any instrumentals to into which you can really sink your teeth."Most Toys" is a hard-hitting rocker with very simplistic lyrics that won't have much appeal to Marillion's traditional fanbase, although it might win them some commercial radio time. "Last Century for Man" also has simplistic lyrics with little subtlety, and a catchy melody that stays with you for days. There are no epics here, with 10 songs in just 52 minutes, and the title track (the longest at 8 minutes) is the standout piece with a meandering structure, gently appealing delivery and an almost minimalist approach to the instrumentals. Some might call it sleepy - but it definitely goes into the list of Marillion's better songs. Other highlights are the opening track "The Other Half", and "Thank You, Whoever You Are" - a fairly straightforward piece that features some nice but all-too-brief moments from Rothery's guitar.If Marillion is chasing after radio time, or if they're wooing the Coldplay / Radiohead / Pineapple Thief audience, this song-oriented record will probably get them there. But it will do so at the cost of a significant portion of their progressive rock fanbase." - Sea of Tranqulity

New solo project from Morten Veland, the leader of Sirenia and founder of Tristania. Huge sounding album filled with classical themes and orchestrations. Veland plays all the instruments and sings both clean and coarse. This guy is living large...

The North American Freak Kitchen catalog reissue program continues.  Freak Kitchen is Mattias Eklundh (guitar.vocals), Christer Ortefors (bass) and Bjorn Fryklund (drums). The band describes their album as "A corny little heavy-pop-rock-Latin-world-jazz-avant-garde-metal-blues-record straight from hell!". "Organic" is the band’s sixth album.  It features a guest appearance by Guns N Roses guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal.  Pure guitar driven insanity with tongue firmly planted in cheek.  Essential for fans of Frank Zappa, Bumblefoot, and Steve Vai."If there was such a thing as indie metal, Freak Kitchen would define the genre perfectly. This metal band hails from Sweden and was formed back in 1992. Their outstanding musicianship and authentic musical style makes this power trio a real treat for those of us lucky enough to find their music. The bands’ distaste for big corporate labels has not prevented them from getting their music out, just not on a scale one would expect them to be considering the high level of quality music that they put out. So, as they state on one of their songs: “I’m so alternative, I am so independent, this is the way to live the independent way of life.” I guess one could say the guys walk the talk!Frontman Mathias IA Eklundh is considered a premier guitar player, having himself released several instrumental solo albums, Freak Guitar (1999) and Freak Guitar - The Road Less Traveled (2004). Also of some importance I guess is the fact that I’ve read in several live performance reviews that Eklundh will often play his guitar using foreign objects, some of which are described as vibrating dildos! Oh yeah, and he can really sing too! Eklundh is also the founder of Mattiasology, of which Steve Vai (peace prophet) and Paul Gilbert (space prophet) are listed as members of the Grand Church of Freakiness.Organic is Freak Kitchen sixth studio album, which was released in different parts of the world on April 27, 2005, just don’t expect to find it in North America yet. When you hear them for the first time, and believe me - you will eventually hear them - it’s really like nothing you’ve heard before. It’s like mixing a heavy metal guitar sound with alternative rock and adding mild progressive elements and a clearly indie rock vibe. It’s going to turn your head as it did mine. If you’re into metal you’re going to wonder “what the hell is this” and if you’re into indie rock, you’re going to wonder the exact same thing? It’s a blending of styles that requires time to soak up. But after you get over the initial impact of it all, it grows on you very quickly and I mean that in an exponentially freaky kind of way.The album opens with the single “Speak When Spoken Too,” which also features the eccentric Bumblefoot (Ron Thal - another Mattiasology prophet) on back up vocals and guitar. The Pantera style guitar riffs will have you questioning the bands musical style and the evident alternative rock vibe will probably remind you of System of a Down. There's a whole lot of humour spread out throughout the album as well.The band plays hook laden guitar driven songs full of interesting arrangements and cool little guitar antics and solos. The crystal clear production, the occasional blast beats, the crazy guitar sounds, the humorous lyrics about everyday life (infidelity, racism, the role of parenting) and the radio-friendliness of it all makes this a very memorable listening experience." - Sputnik Music