Deconstructive

Second full length studio album from this British band finds them with new vocalist Ashe O'Hara replacing the great Dan Tompkins.  This shouldn't be inferred that O'Hara is any less a vocalist than Tompkins - he's excellent as well.While the core djent sound is there the band has moved a bit more into a prog rock direction.  In general its less metal and more rock.  O'Hara's vocals don't go in the screamo direction that a lot of djent bands prefer.  The instrumental parts are still stupifyingly crazy but crazy in a King Crimson meets Tool way.  I'm not sure what the djent metal community will think of this shift in course but I like this new direction.  The old was good - to my ears this is better.  Highly recommended.

New 2017 remastered edition arrives with 5 bonus tracks."The Pineapple Thief is a band that manages to craft very well-written songs that stand both on their own and within the context of the album. While I enjoy albums that flow from start to finish and seem to have some cohesive theme, I always find that I do not have the time to listen to them, or that listening to them may be somewhat of a chore. With The Pineapple Thief, I manage to find the best of both worlds and can simply enjoy the songs one at a time, or the entire album should I choose to do so.The music on the album, I think, is top-notch. Many of the songs have addicting melodies and instrumentation, even on the much shorter pieces. The longer, more progressive songs are also very well-written, and So We Row is most likely among their top larger pieces in their discography.This is an album that I can listen to in just about any fashion or at nearly any time that I want to listen to music. As much as I do enjoy more cohesive albums united under some grand concept once in a while, I sometimes just want to listen to pieces of an album in a short amount of time, and The Pineapple Thief is perfect for that, and the music behind all of the songs on this album is some of the best alternative/progressive that I've heard." - ProgArchives

"MEGADETH is back and blazing at full force and everything about “The System Has Failed” screams “Classic MEGADETH!” Just to get it out of the way, the year is 2004, not 1986, not 1992, so don’t go there. MEGADETH is 20 years old. Mustaine is still the man and MEGADETH is still the band! Well ok, MEGADETH is still MegaDave, since the whole MEGADETH line-up has been revamped. Marty is doin’ his million mile an hour, Japanese pop-star thing, and Ellefson I guess is working for Peavey and is currently mid-lawsuit with Mustaine for whopping $18.5 million big ones over some merch and publishing royalty issues that came about when Dave decided not to pull the plug on MEGADETH after all, leaving Mustaine as the only returning member, or is he? Technically, he’s not, but we’ll get to that.You know, when Dave got kicked out of METALLICA so many years back, he made a vow, a vow to kick METALLICA’s ass. Needless to say, even though two decades have passed since then, this is the album that should have Lars and the gang shitting teeth! Not that the past albums weren’t enough, it’s just that compared to 2003’s “St. Anger”, this album puts METALLICA out of the race, it’s just that simple. Once you find you’re formula, keep it, master it, make it you’re own. METALLICA screwed with theirs one too many times unfortunately and as a result it crumbled through their fingers.One thing that’s definitely a plus about this album is the “oh so familiar” feeling you get from the artwork. Just you’re regular run-o-the-mill MEGADETH cover that may as well be from the 80’s as opposed to now...oop, I went there. Not to mention the listing of who does which solos in the liner notes, always a nice bonus. And just who exactly would be swapping solos with The Man? None other than Chris Poland, that’s right, this album marks the triumphant return of Chris Poland, the original lead guitarist who hasn’t been seen with MEGADETH since “Peace Sells...” However, that’s not to say he hasn’t been busy. Since then, he has appeared on several albums including three solo albums of his own, as well as a few from his current jazz/fusion group OHM, not to mention a guest appearance on the 2003 Metal opus “As The Palaces Burn” from LAMB OF GOD which shows that he has definitely kept up on his metal chops, which as you will hear on this new album are still second to none.As for Mustaine, well what can be said that hasn’t? The man is, well...The Man. However, Dave suffered a severe arm injury in 2002 that had him convinced he would never play again, so Dave disbanded the group altogether and it seemed as though MEGADETH was through. Supposedly, Dave got drunk and fell asleep on his arm causing severe nerve damage (???). However, with a miraculous recovery and a reworked set of band members, MEGADETH are here to stay.At just under 50 minutes, Mustaine and Poland give you an ample supply of riffery that never drags for even a nanosecond, and with soon to be classics like “Of Mice And Men“, “Blackmail The Universe“ and “Truth Be Told“, this newest offering from one of the greatest Metal bands of all time clearly shows that the days of MEGADETH have yet to be numbered, even by Mustaine himself." - Metal Observer

"Oh Italy, will you ever stop delivering kick ass metal? Now don’t get me wrong folks, I love the San Francisco Bay Area I’ve called home for the majority of my life, and am very pleased with the area’s contributions to heavy metal, namely the thrash era of the 1980’s, but at the present moment, no country has been consistently delivering like Italy has, especially when it comes to just buckling down and busting out some no holds barred, guitar crunching, drum smashing, vocal chord tearing heavy metal. And when it comes to metal that is blunt and to the point, Astra pretty much nails it on their album Broken Balance.Astra began their journey in Rome in 2001 as a four piece instrumental band, three of which are still in the band today, Andrea Casali (vocals and bass), Silvio D’Onorio De Meo (lead guitar), and Emanuele Casali (keyboard and rhythm guitar), and after a few changes, settled on drummer Filippo Berlini. According to their bio, they cut their chops on Dream Theater covers, and managed to win the first Italian Dream Theater Tribute Contest, leading them to a show with the Wizard Rudess himself for the Italian fan club’s 10 year party. From that point, they followed the tried and true path of releasing albums and touring. In 2005 they released About Me: Through Life and Beyond, and followed that with the 2007 release of From Within. Now, it’s time for that ever crucial third album, so let’s take a look at Broken Balance….Now, unlike a lot of the music I’ve been reviewing in recent days, there is no genre bending, no quirks or hidden aural agendas. From note one of the opening track, Losing Your Ego, Astra makes it crystal clear that they just want to rock the fuck out. The song, and the whole album for that matter, is a catchy riff fest with a strong hard rock/metal vibe. It’s the type of music that would have taken a very high place in the annals of late eighties metal, with the searing high vocals of Casali, the constant double bass of Berlini, and the relentless guitar riffs and solos. They do mix it up a bit, throwing in a few time changes here and there, some subdued moments, and a growl or two, just to add some flare and color to the overall product. Hole in the Silence picks up right where the opener drops off, without skipping a step. The third track, Sunrise to Sunset, has a slightly balladesque touch to it, with a soaring and catchy chorus that really showcases the vocals of Casali. Buried in the midst of the soaring vocal work is a brilliant instrumental section and a jaw dropping solo. It’s surely my favorite on the album, a song that will be listened to many times, me singing at the top of my severely under qualified lungs.From there they go right back to the metal. Song after song they are relentless, one of those albums that screams “LIVE SHOW PLEASE!!!!!!”.  Too Late has yet another catchy chorus, something of a standard throughout the album actually. The title track, Broken Balance, opens with a sultry tone, something else they are rather adept at, and delivers a fairly complex song afterwards, teasing at exploding out multiple times before restraining themselves, working the listener into a furious sense of expectation as to what’s going to come about. Then comes the instrumental, where they let loose in a fury of notes scattered around before the guitars take control. Six more tracks follow, delivering a good variety on their version of solid metal. Another ballad comes in the form of Mirror of Your Soul. Risk and Dare is a crushing and rather dark number on an album that is overall fairly uplifting. Three more rockers lead into the closing track, You Make Me Better. This one opens on the heavy notes, and then settles into ballad zone. It’s a love song of course, with all the requisite cheesiness lyrically and the solid climactic moments.Astra gives at the core of this album a polished sound for sure. Though there are very few mistakes on it, they also don’t break down any barriers. It is altogether a good, fun rocking album, the kind that is meant for cranking up and punishing your neck and your neighbors. Their tightness as a band is clear on every song, and the catchiness of the album should ensure a good deal of longevity for yet another addition to the growing pantheon of Italian metal." - Lady Obscure

"Power metal. A genre overpopulated by a tonne of bands that all sound the same as one another, with no real substance to their music and thin, weedy vocals that have no power – which is kind of ironic, given the name of the genre. But then there’s Persuader, who have smashed all boundaries and have brought life to this tired genre with their brand new album The Fiction Maze.It begins strongly enough with some good melodic guitar-work but it’s only when the vocals kick in that it becomes apparent that this is no ordinary album. The amount of sheer power and energy behind them just blow you away and it truly is a standout performance from frontman Jens, right from opener One Lifetime to closer Falling Faster.The album just has so much substance and it really does deliver from start to finish because you won’t find any filler tracks or songs that are simply ‘okay’. Particularly strong offerings are the striking opener One Lifetime which will be stuck in your head before you know it and the fast-paced Heathen that slowly builds up into a wildly catchy tune before you even know what’s hit you. Then there’s the title track The Fiction Maze (arguably one of the best on the entire album) which lulls you into believing it’s a slower, more laid-back track with its acoustic intro before smacking you in the face with heavy guitars and hammering drums. Absolutely amazing stuff!Persuader are onto a winner here with The Fiction Maze and it’s a perfect example of how to do power metal RIGHT. It stands out from the crowd in the best possible way and if you haven’t got this band in your life yet, then what on earth are you waiting for?" - Soundscape Magazine

"London based Neonfly, are Willy Norton on vocals, Frederick Thunder on guitars, Patrick Harrington on guitars, Paul Miller on bass and Boris Le Gal on drums.They have managed to get onto some pretty cool and important supports slots lately, including Power Quest, Magnum, Sonata Arctica and Dragonforce. They lit up the Sophie Lancaster Stage at Bloodstock 2013 and their rapidly rising reputation as a force to be reckoned with live won them an invitation to open for Alice Cooper on the German leg of his Raise The Dead Tour 2013.Neonfly released their explosive debut album ‘Outshine The Sun’, in September 2011 on Rising Records, to critical acclaim. Now they are back with the ever difficult 2nd release ‘Strangers In Paradise’.What is clear about this new offering, is that they have used the three year gap in recording time wisely, so many bands get rushed into making their 2nd album that it is generally a poor effort, full of tracks that never made the final cut the first time around, however I am pleased to say that Neonfly have not done this. The new album is a step up both in songwriting, playing and overall production than the debut, so anything left over from the debut will still be on the cutting room floor.Opening song ‘Whispered Dreams’ is a massive opener, with a big chorus and the soaring melodic vocals of Willy Norton. Both “Better Angels” and “Heart Of The Sun” are catchy enough to win over casual fans and draw them in at festivals, before discovering the deeper delights this album has to offer.The use of keyboards and orchestrations on most, if not all of these songs help to lift them above the norm and add a touch of quality to an otherwise good track. ‘Sons Of Liberty’ has a String section at its heart and this works really really well.‘Aztec Gold’ is another track that benefits from the orchestration treatment yet remembers its power metal roots with a great guitar solo trade-off between guitarists Patrick Harrington and Frederick Thunder.‘Fierce Battalions’ is a fast-paced track allowing drummer Boris Le Gal to show us his skills, a basic yet effective trip down European power metal road.‘Chasing The Night’ and ‘Falling Star’ are two outstanding tracks, both for different reasons, the former is the longest track on the record and it has a more progressive rock feel to it. It’s also has a great lead guitar solo at the mid-point and plenty of explosive passages throughout. The surprise on the cd is the last track though, a ballad, the lyrics on “Falling Star” are just beautiful, this is a massive ballad and AOR rock band would be proud off.This is a very complex album that needs quite a few listens to fully experience it: is it Power Metal, is it AOR , is it Progressive?, the simple answer is Yes, it is all these and much more.