The Heart Of The Matter (Digipak)

This was the second album with this lineup assembled by Chick Corea - the first one being released on ECM. Members consisted of Corea (electric piano), Joe Farrell (tenor sax, flute), Stanley Clarke (bass), Airto (drums), Flora Purim (vocals, percussion). This is not the high intensity electric fusion to come. Instead this fits more into the kosmigroov jazz realm. It's electric but without the rock elements instead relying more on Corea's latin heritage.

"Nightmare managed to release just two studio albums in the eighties before falling victim to "musical differences" and the band tore themselves apart at the tail end of the decade. The story could have ended there and the name of Nightmare might have vanished without trace but in 1999 the band resurfaced with original drummer Jo Amore emerging from the shadows of obscurity to front a new version of the old dream.Recruiting his brother David to takeover his vacated stool Jo set about rebuilding Nightmare's reputation brick by brick. Fifteen years on from that rebirth Nightmare are the pride of the French metal scene and 'The Aftermath' is a riveting fifty minutes of tricolour thunder!Combining elements from their traditional eighties roots with a modern drive and something of a theatrical stance they create some seriously epic soundscapes. 'Bringer Of A No Man's Land' and 'Forbidden Tribe' are first to shatter the peace with a brace of hammer blows that feel like Avantasia collided headfirst with some 'Painkiller' Priest. Vocally Jo negotiates a line between the snarling insanity of Dee Snider and a Jorn-esque genius. Their ambitious brand of power metal is grand and striking, 'Invoking Demons' a standout piece. Atmospheric build ups, electrically charged at every turn the tunes they've compiled for 'The Aftermath' are sharp and precise, each underpinned by David's hard hitting style, his beats exploding with the ferocity of Napoleonic cannons. Regimented rhythms march steadily throughout and provide a solid backbone to each metal moment.With 'Alone In The Distance' bringing a close to ten well crafted and skillfully executed songs I find myself wishing more bands would take a page out of Nightmare's book of dreams because 'The Aftermath' is exactly how a contemporary metal album should sound. It's clear and powerful but not once is it over polished with unnecessary production. Nightmare manage to retain a sharp cutting edge to their classic yet current metal sound and keep some fierce serrations perfectly placed along the way so that each track rips into your psyche leaving you bloodthirsty for more.As a new addition to Nightmare's long history 'The Aftermath' will surely be welcomed by old fans with open arms and I can imagine a few new fans being drawn in by this album and its charms too. It's stuff like this that ignites my passion about metal. Impressive stuff indeed." - Uber Rock

"The Roaring Wolves are back… On a strong wake of a surprising and a triumphal album in 2011, that was much simply called “Wolfpakk”, the turbulent duo of vocalists comprised of Mark Sweeney (ex-CRYSTAL BALL) and Michael Voss (MAD MAX/MSG / ex-CASANOVA) unleash the successor, named "Cry Wolf" , and again the choral all-star project shift is the trick to give a marketing format for this burning platter, by gathering a pack of many high-class guest musicians and a few full blooded terrific barking voices to produce another raving record in the same musical vein as the great and self-titled debut.Running and undaunted Guests on "Cry Wolf" are :Vocals: Amanda Somerville (AVANTASIA), Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR / ex-GAMMA RAY), Göran Edman (ex-RISING FORCE / ex-GLORY), Johnny Gioeli (A.R.P. / HARDLINE), Tony Mills (ex-SHY/ ex-SIAM / ex-TNT), Doogie White (ex-RAINBOW / ex-RISING FORCE / ex-CORNERSTONE / MSG), Blaze Baley (ex-IRON MAIDEN / WOLFSBANE), Piet Sielck (IRON SAVIOR / ex-SAVAGE CIRCUS).Guitars: Kee Marcello (ex-EUROPE / ex-EASY ACTION), Mandy Meyer (UNISONIC / KROKUS / ex-GOTTHARD / ex-COBRA), Roland Grapow (MASTERPLAN / ex-HELLOWEEN).Keys: Don Airey (ex-OZZY / DEEP PURPLE), Tony Carey (ex-RAINBOW).Drums: Brian Tichy (SUN / ex-WHITESNAKE), Hermann Rarebell (ex-SCORPIONS), Roland Jahoda (ex-PARADOX / F.U.C.K.)Under the leitmotiv of “if isn’t broken don’t fix it”, the Duet of Alpha Wolves and the fantastic AFM Records are teamed again in order to reedit the successful experience in giving the full and wild creative responsibility to the werewolf duet: the champions of Melodic Metal -Mister Sweeney and Doctor Voss.They wrote all the songs together (minus one surprise cover version from RAINBOW “Run With The Wolf” featuring the participation of the iconic keyboard player Tony Carey) and they were also in charge once again, for production and mixing duty, and of course they performed some ferocious vocals. This is a work of art tremendously and carefully polished that put some lights in a brilliant manner to the songwriting talent of the savage binomial Voss / Sweeney.The highlights of the albums are , the beginning track "Moonlight” with Ralf Scheepers who provide a very typical high flux of screaming and yelling, embellished by a fast pace and an epic dimension somewhere between HEAVENS GATE and MIND ODYSSEY with a little something from GAMMA RAY.In the same melodic power frenzy, the solid "A Matter of Time" that sounds like VICTORY meets BONFIRE, boosted by a share of battling vocals between Sweeney and Johnny Gioeli with an uplifting performance, courtesy of Mr. Brian Tichy beating his drum kit."Palace of Gold" reveals a new heaviness and a dark density before transforming in a more pompous style than usual with the participation to the voice of Tony Mills and a massive multi-layer backing vocal section choir, like a symphonic version of DIO merged with a delicate and fragile Prog Rock melody.Another fast double kick power number is "Beast In Me" with the always classy singing of Goran Edman, recalling that he was the singer for RISING FORCE / SPACE ODYSSEY / STRATOSPHERE and for 1999’s third album “The Last Viking” by The JOHANSSON BROTHERS and a true Neoclassical expertise demonstration in the lead spot provided by Roland Grapow.Then it's time for a real entertaining Teutonic Metal with an Hard Rock touch cut named "Pressure Down" with the very distinctive voice of Doogie White which is highlighted in a mid tempo heavy rhythm , and a strong sing along headbanging refrain with a great gang backing vocal unit, like ACCEPT meets SINNER with an extensive ad lib howling final.The rest of the tracklisting is also enjoyable mixing a few gimmick True Metal tracks as a simple sing along hymn as "Wakken" in the HAMMERFALL / IRON  SAVIOR / RUNNIG WILD and obliviously ACCEPT's fashion (…"bang your head…Metal attack"…)  or the less catchy but energetic, epic, tortuous and poignant title track "Cry Wolf" that extend to ten minutes with atmospheric sequence, special FX surreal sounds like wind and rain plus a few narrative parts in with a very surprising vocal interpretation of Blaze Bayley and a ultra-fast shredding piece of lead guitar signed by the one and the only, the other Swedish maestro Mr. Kee Marcello himself for a big fat guitar lesson and a serious beating .Before that we had a ballad with Mrs. Somerville but I think it's just a flat and ordinary number, very caricaturish, in a not really inspired style, before that it was the moment for the WOLFPAKK's leaders to be left alone in the vocal department at least, Voss / Sweeney are dueling in the single, a quite regular Euro Metal cut under the moniker of "Dark Revelation"…Not my favorite.The cover version of a legendary classic rock track, is as always, a double edged sword but secured with the approval and the additional playing of the early RAINBOW's keyboardist Tony Carey, to keep it in the right path, in this case "Run With The Wolf" is a good revision lightened in its rhythmic cadence structure as a result we have a more pompous rendition, with obviously the Hammond keyboards quite upfront.Finally, the album is the perfect sequel of the highly acclaimed debut; this sophomore episode fulfilled the dangerous task, with maybe a less impressive guest list but with a real focus on bringing back, proudly and under one united flag, the old nature of the pure roaring Euro-Metal mania." - Metal Temple

Reissue of the first album from this Italian folk metal band.  Vocals are sung in Italian and English.  Death and clean vocals abound."We’ve seen folk music/metal coming from some of the most notable places forest-dwelling metal would always sprout mushroom-like from, and as we all know, those are usually the best places to find them. But, lately, there have been other, slightly less frosty countries that have undertaken the natural-acoustics-meet-electronics, each with their own take and persuasion, and, for better or worse, worth donning the musical loincloth. Thankfully, the sensation of the creative pool becoming too crowded hasn’t come to pass, so one would be able to appreciate a little country differentiation if it means solid, worthy products.So, with that, can a country that’s been noted for creative, over-the-top melodic metal do the same, but in a different flavor? Let’s find out…Right away, it’s fairly evident that Furor Gallico are playing with a full stylistic deck, giving listener plentiful bouts of folk metal fury that comes more as a barbarian horde than a group of drunks lost in the woods. Odes to sword-swinging victory are the order of the day, wherein the fine Italian countryside is set ablaze in the name of all things heathenish and wild, albeit at a nice, almost leisurely pace. Things move from one extreme to the next, thankfully coming off naturally rather than just slapping some guitars and strings together and hoping for the best, and thus ensuring varying degrees of enjoyment on that end from start to finish. Taking a rather North-born approach, the Gallico gang takes to the metallic spectrum with powerful riffs, snazzy leads, raging growls/screams and pounding drum work while soft strings, glittery harp and flute work underscore the madness with a liltiness more befitting a nice evening beside the fire. Still, like other groups of their musical primordial soup, it fits, and it works.The group does its job and does it quite well, there’s no denying that. However, the threat exists in that they may be playing it a little TOO comfortably. For as fine as their s/t debut is, it runs the risk of sounding too similar to some of their contemporaries and not truly forging a path of its own. Then again, such criticism could very well be moot as a result of this being their first full length, and I’m hoping that’s the case, as I’d hate to see these guys fall into a rut they may not be able to get out of. First album doldrums are usually the test necessary to cow a group of musical bastards away from the mire of the unoriginal, wherein many an accolade and extra album sold is the prize in the end. Normally, not doing so would lead to disaster right from the foundation, but on a good day, these guys hearken enough strong song writing to keep your focus enough to know that something’s going down, where such fine examples include the likes of “Ancient Rites”, “The Gods Have Returned” and “Golden Spiral” coming at you like spiked gauntlets to the temple.At the end of the day I was quite taken with what Furor Gallico had to offer, with the hope that future endeavors will make things all the more fantastic and creative. But so far, things are looking up, and I can see them staying on my radar for quite a while now." - Metal Archives

"Edguy are not going to win over Necrophagist or Portal fans with their new album, Space Police – Defenders Of The Crown. That isn’t what Edguy are about. They’re not Kvlt, tr00, etc. They do 80’s metal with massive amounts of fun and they do it really well.All the while annoying people who take music far too seriously. They are also are a superb band live, taking cues from Maiden with sing-along choruses and an almost pop sensibility towards song writing. After listening to Space Police once I was singing some of the tracks without realising it! The last couple of albums ‘Tinnitus Sanctus’ and ‘Age of the Joker’ took a more straight forward hard rock approach and while they were good albums, they didn’t have the pomposity and sense of ceremony ala Helloween or Gamma Ray of the preceding albums. This was for me, always part of the Edguy charm.Studio album number ten starts off almost where “Age of the Joker” left off with the track ‘Sabre and Torch‘ and quickly builds to an over the top masterpiece that brings back memories of  ‘Vain Glory Opera’ and ‘Hellfire Club.’ For some reason singer Tobias Sammet sounds a little restrained on this track and dare I say, somewhat tired. It’s almost as if this album was recorded live and he needed some time to warm up but there is no need to worry he quickly proves me wrong.The title track harks back to something off 2006′s superb Rocket Ride; a keyboard lead epic with a bouncing tempo to get a festival crowd going. It is like it was written for inclusion early in the live set. ‘Defenders of the Crown’ is where the smile really come across my face; double kick drums and a Manowar-esque chorus. It is nothing short of brilliant. ‘Love Tyger’ and ‘The Realms Of Baba Yaya’ are mid to fast tempo numbers that are as catchy as anything they have previously written and prove that Mr Sammet and co. are back in flying form! As usual, the band are excellent; loads of feeling and virtuosity, though not always at the same time….I love this album and it keeps getting better with their version of Falco’s ‘Rock me Amadeus’. Some tracks sound like they were Avantasia (Tobais Sammet’s metal opera side project) tracks but were considered to Edguy for those albums. ‘Do me like a Caveman’ and ‘Alone in Myself’ for example. ‘The Eternal Wayfarer’ is the kind of song Def Leppard wish they could write now, lucky for them Edguy still have it.Space Police- Defenders Of The Crown isn’t just the best thing Edguy have released in years, it is one of the best power metal albums released in years." - Planet Mosh

"'Symphony For A Hopeless God’ is the third album from French Symphonic Metal band Whyzdom. After two successful albums relying on the power of Symphonic Orchestra and Metal riffing, as well as on the beauty of female voices, they push their own “Philharmonic Metal” concept one step further with this eleven track release, adding an even more cinematic edge to their songs. The orchestra has never been so powerful, choirs have never been so haunting, riffs have never been so compelling and the vocals have never been so intense, ranging from pure and fragile melodies to harsh growls, all provided by mezzo-soprano Marie Rouyer. Six tracks here run in at over 6 minutes (with one over 7) and there is only one under the five minute mark, so one gets their monies worth here. This is dynamic mind blowing metal at its finest and most compelling, and I believe to be their best release to date. Tracks like the opener 'While The Witches Burn', the pounding and catchy 'Let's Play With Fire' and the bombastic and ever so slightly Progressive 'Theory Of Life' will leave you breathless and wanting more, the latter seeing vocalist Marie let rip! Whyzdom was always knocking on the door of major league female fronted metal, they have now been allowed in big time. Produced by Vynce Leff, being recorded, mixed and mastered at Powermania Studio, Paris, this is one helluva Symphony For A Hopeless God and as a consequence, is a must buy." - Ravenheart Music