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House Of Insanity
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Napalm does it again...from the guys that brought you Tristania and The Sins Of Thy Beloved comes a band from Liechtenstein (!) called Elis. Formerly known as Erben Der Schpfung, this female fronted gothic metal band will hit the right spot for fans of The Gallery, Edenbridge and Delight. Lead vocalist Sabine Dnser has a gorgeous voice that is the perfect counterpoint to the crunchy guitar riffage. The keyboards lend a gentle, ornate classical texture and the occassional deep male growls are pretty inoccuous. Nicely produced with a hi-gloss sheen by Atrocity's Alex Krull.$12.00 -
"Helloween really couldn't have picked a more appropriate band to support them on their 7 Sinners Tour than Stratovarius. There's more than a few parallels between their respective careers and not just because the two are among the most influential in power metal. While they've each had their fair share of successes, both Helloween and Stratovarius have also faced a great deal of (well documented) adversity. Between all the internal drama, which eventually saw the exit of important band members, as well as poor musical output, future prospects must have looked bleak. But Helloween was able to bounce back; 2010's 7 Sinners was their best record in twenty-two years, and the two that preceded it were worthy listens as well. Stratovarius isn't quite there yet, but with Timo Tolkki gone, and the songwriting reins taken up by pretty much every one else, they seem to be moving in the right direction.Elysium more or less continues where Polaris left off in 2009. Think mid-paced, European power metal they helped popularize years ago alongside groups like Helloween and Sonata Arctica. Hardly revolutionary, to be sure, but that isn't Stratovarius' aim. Unfortunately, this serves to limit the scope of Elysium. As far as middling power metal goes, the album is top notch. But at the end of the day, middling power metal is still middling power metal. Give Stratovarius credit for when they do pull through; Matias Kupiainen's guitar work is consistently excellent, particularly in "Darkest Hours", and keyboardist Jens Johansson is no slouch as well. Problem is, this doesn't happen often enough. In a song like "The Game Never Ends", while the riffing is quite good, the formulaic structure and bland chorus hold it back. This isn't a problem unique to Stratovarius (one might remember Helloween struggling with the same issue ten years ago), but rather comes with the whole melodic power metal shebang. Because of how derivative it is, it's difficult to be very impressed. That isn't to say it can't be done; Sonata Arctica very nearly perfected the style between Elicptica and Reckoning Night. But they were successful because they incorporated a far more spirited dynamic into their music, something that can't be said about Stratovarius consistently enough.Interestingly, Stratovarius shows the most promise on the album's title track. Given the uneven level of quality heard throughout Elysium, (and the unfortunate tendency of other groups to screw up this type of song) an eighteen minute track seems ill-advisable. But it works. Although not departing too far from the band's comfort zone, "Elysium" at least breaks out of the rigid power metal model that constrains a lot of the earlier material. In doing this, Stratovarius adopts a more progressive approach, seamlessly incorporating a number of different movements into what turns out to be the most satisfying song the band has released in years. Impressively, Stratovarius avoid sounding bloated and overbearing, a pitfall that traps so many of their contemporaries; what could have sunk Elysium instead emerges as its biggest highlight.As it stands, Stratovarius haven't quite recaptured the flare that helped them claim initial success. However, Elysium is at the very least a clear step above much of the material the band has released, and considering how weak Stratovarius was, it’s a start. The band still has trouble with consistency and variance, and given how keen Stratovarius seems to be on playing it safe, Elysium is unlikely to draw in new listeners. However, the solid songwriting in the title track is encouraging enough; whether Stratovarius can fully revitalize ala Helloween remains to be seen, but listeners finally have reason for optimism." - sputnikmusic.com$12.00 -
Reissue of the band's first album. Fantastic progressive power metal with a strong spiritual message. Normally I'm not a big fan of the one-man-band concept but composer/singer/multi-instrumentalist Matt Smith really blew me away with this first time effort. Elements of Savatage, Queensryche, Symphony X and even Kansas pop up. Long epic sweeping tracks with lots of power and melody. Matt's proves he's got the voice and the chops to go far. Highly recommended.$12.00 -
Nice stop gap release until their third album comes out. This features 3 tracks that were previously exclusive to Japan, 1 track from the upcoming album as well as an unreleased tune. There is also a video for "Time To Rock".$8.00 -
DeEvolution tells the story of an elite group of leaders from a heavily industrialized city who find, brainwash and then exploit an indigenous tribe’s shaman, believing he would be the perfect supreme leader. By propping him up as possessing all the answers to societies ills the elites use him in order to gain and keep more control over the masses. They plan to influence the masses on several fronts: Religion, Media, Consumerism, and Government.Twin brothers, Jasun and Troy Tipton along with Erik Rosvold released two albums with the Progressive-Metal act Zero Hour. The band's second album "The Towers of Avarice" won sparkling reviews from nearly every metal magazine around the World and has achieved classic status among prog metal fans. Zero Hour successfully toured Europe and performed twice at Prog Power USA, the largest prog-metal music festival in the World. In 2003, fans were disappointed when Zero Hour parted ways with Erik Rosvold.In late 2007, Jasun began writing material for Cynthesis. As the music developed Jasun could only imagine one vocalist to really connect to the material. After one phone call both Jasun and Erik were very excited to work together again.The final piece of the puzzle was to find an amazing drummer. Jasun asked Troy what drummer he would like to work with. Without any hesitation Troy said, "Sean Flanegan is the guy". Sean is best known for his work with the Progressive Rock band, Enchant (Blink of an eye & Tug of War).Produced by Dino Alden, DeEvolution is the first of a projected series of albums from this reunited force of progressive metal.$8.00 -
"Twelve years after their acclaimed debut and three years following their previous release, Norwegian gothic metal pioneers Tristania are back with their long awaited sixth studio album. With "Rubicon", a mature and confident band proves that it is indeed possible to sustain a highly creative standard for over 13 years.Far removed from the mediocrity of the genre, these Norwegian gothic metal pioneers remain true to their art form, while embracing both progress and variety. “Rubicon” consolidates an array of grand arrangements, sombre moods, and elaborate harmonies blended with upbeat ear-candy and outstanding vocal performances. Metal Hammer Germany exclaims:Tristania have literally crossed the ‘Rubicon’ into brilliant new musical territory. The Norwegian GothicMetal legends have re-invented themselves without betraying their roots.’Rubicon’ is a stunning and sparkling album!The experience is centered around Mariangela Demurtas, whose unique voice majestically conquers both moving ballads ("Exile") and engrossing metal tracks ("Patriot Games"). Not unlike previous Tristania releases, special attention should be paid to the well thought out and sophisticated vocal harmonies between the male and female counterparts, impersonated by Demurtas and Kjetil Nordhus (Head Disco, ex- Green Carnation, ex-Trail of Tears). Rubicon also introduces a few very special guest musicians. Former singer Østen Bergøy’s contributes on four of the tracks, and the highly gifted violinist Pete Johansen embellishes a Tristania release for the first time since "World of Glass".In addition to the main singers, Tristania of the present consists of original members Anders Høyvik Hidle (guitars/vocals) and Einar Moen (keyboards), bass player Ole Vistnes, drummer Tarald Lie (Diabla) and guitarist Gyri S. Losnegaard (Octavia Sperati). Vistnes, who became a permanent member in early 2008,has proven to be a considerable creative force in the band and is now one of the main songwriters. The production has rested in the hands of Hidle og Vistnes, assisted by Waldemar Sorychta (Lacuna Coil, Samael, Moonspell, Therion).With a solid product on hand and a strong line-up, Tristania re-emerges with new confidence and vitality."$13.00 -
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"Home to koala bears, kangaroos, and vegemite sandwiches (thank you Men At Work for that reference), Australia also maintains a very healthy metal scene, especially in the power/progressive and extreme sub-genres. Black Majesty from Melbourne revels in melodic power metal with progressive tinges, establishing over the course of their four studio records a sound appealing to an older generation who love double-bass fury, kinetic dueling guitar work and multi-octave vocal prowess. The fifth platter Stargazer delivers more of the same, with no apologizing in their commitment to their cause.Guitarists Stevie Janevski and Hanny Mohamed waste no time unleashing their clean and electric riff knowledge, using a Masterplan-like template 15 seconds into “Falling” to crush your ears with power glory. It’s obvious that the musicians love to flash around happy Helloween cultural reference points - the speedier “Voice of Change” giving vocalist John Cavaliere ample chance to reside in his higher falsetto Dickinson-meets-Kiske zone. The band also know when to fluctuate their tempos- becoming more morose and theatrical on the militant “Symphony of Death” which begins ballad-ish before the Maiden and Iced Earth stomp prepares you for the impending battle cry.Recording at their own studio in Melbourne as well as with Masterplan’s Roland Grapow at his studio in Slovakia, the sound has a clarity that emphasizes strong melodies, hero worthy soloing, and a rhythm section up to the energy exchange challenge. The title cut even throws down a tip of the influence cap to Blind Guardian, who the band toured with on their Australian tour last year.Black Majesty has their own niche brand and performs their songs with a majestic grace that bleeds professionalism. Transforming Iron Maiden and Helloween at their creative peaks for a modern, 2012 audience, Stargazer should have no trouble settling in to those audiences’ record collections. " - Blistering.com$15.00 -
This is kind of a shocking release to turn up on Napalm Records. It looks as though they are joining the ranks of Nuclear Blast and Century Media in picking up progressive metal bands...and that can't really be a bad thing. Serenity hails from Austria. They've been kicking around for awhile but this is their debut release. The music is a mix of melodic and progressive metal with some power touches. Georg Neuhauser's vocals have a plaintive, emotional feel that suits the music quite well. They focus on melody but are smart enough to lure a prog head like me in with occassional instrumentals of the Dream Theater variety. Savatage, Vanden Plas, Threshold, DT - these guys have their bases covered. Solid debut. Highly recommended.$15.00 -
"Men Who Climb Mountains 2019 is an updated version of the 2014 release. This version is the same as the one included in the First 40 Years box set and only now becomes available as a separate release double CD. All the drums have been re recorded by new drummer Jan Vincent Velazco, and the whole album has been remixed by Karl Groom and Nick Barrett."Disc 1Belle AmeBeautiful SoulCome Home JackIn BardoFaces Of LightFaces Of DarknessFor When The Zombies ComeExplorers Of The InfiniteNetherworld Disc 2 Live At TwigsThe VoyagerA Man Of Nomadic TraitsThis Green And Pleasant LandNostradamusPaintboxKing Of The CastleIndigo FreakshowMasters Of IllusionSpace CadetEdge Of The WorldIt’s only MeOur original write up:Its been three years since the last Pendragon album. To be honest I hadn't checked in on them in quite some time so it was interesting to listen to their latest - it was very different from what I expected. Guitarist Nick Barrett has gone all Roger Waters on us - he wrote all the music and lyrics - so this really has evolved very much into a personal vehicle for him. The usual bandmates of Peter Gee and Clive Nolan are on board and now joined by new drummer Craig Blundell. Men Who Climb Mountains is a concept album but Barrett isn't spelling it out - you're going to have to work at this one. The musical mission of the band has clearly changed over the years. Don't have any hesitation - its full on prog but much more contemporary sounding. The symphonic flourishes from the old days aren't quite so obvious - which isn't to say you won't notice Clive Nolan's presence. Its simply that this is a bit more of a guitar driven vehicle than decades ago and Barrett's mournful solos have that nice Hackett-esque feel that always draws my attention. I have to say I'm impressed. Highly recommended.$21.00 -
New album from this Austrian symphonic metal band. The band has been a bit of a revolving door with vocalists but Maxi Nil has settled in nicely. The music is based in the traditional female fronted gothic style with clean male vocals trading leads back and forth. This time around I hear more of a poppier, catchy sound - somewhat like the direction Delain is moving towards. Highly recommended to fans of the genre (I wave my hand proudly). Digipak edition with one bonus track.$16.00 -
Cynthesis is a new band that reunites three of the original members of Zero Hour (Jasun and Troy Tipton, and Erik Rosvold) along with Enchant drummer Sean Flanagan.ReEvolution is the middle part of a dystopian trilogy begun with 2011’s DeEvolution. The central character, a shaman, is sent out to gather more slaves. He comes across a tribe and senses a light within them that triggers a distant memory of his past. He realizes this is the original tribe he was taken from. He brings them back to the city and encounters what was done to the population and sets them free.While Cynthesis maintains much of the Zero Hour tech metal influence, it also demonstrates the more melodic and atmospheric side of Jasun Tipton’s songwriting. ReEvolution will appeal to fans of both progressive rock and metal.$13.00 -
"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$14.00 -
"Have we reached the verdict regarding our future? Was George Orwell right? Has the big brother been watching over without us know, as if we were citizens in a global silent dictatorship? And what about the social networks, are those enough to be considered as the beginning of a certain end to our healthy minds? Too many questions and plenty of answers, maybe some would be left in the air for sure. Possibly the only thing left is tell about it, warn the commonwealth of probably future's dangers and hazards. Under the veil of melodic Metal, the Bavarian POWERWORLD created various perceptions of the future to come. Several views have been seen in movies over the years, others have been preserved for impending use, maybe to write songs about. POWERWORLD created the next revolutionary hysteria of the cyber world with their brand new album, "Cybersteria", via SPV / Steamhammer Records. Nothing too innovative musically, but this album, as the previous before it, is enough to encourage the listener to appreciate the band's profound talents for their version of Heavy Metal."Cybersteria", as the band's new album, served also a cornerstone for the change the engulfed the group. In 2011, after suffering from a continuous illness and bad health, the band's previous vocalist, Andrew McDermott, died. David Reece, known from his single work with ACCEPT and a constant member of BANGALORE CHOIR, stepped in as a replacement. Yet for the reason of musical differences, the ex-JADED HEART Bluesy voice of Michael Bormann, took charge of the vocal recordings. Furthermore, Guitarists, Andreas Rippelmeier (HEAVENWARD) substituting for Barish Kepic, and Keyboards players, Marco Grasshoff coming in for Nils Neumann, were replaced for the recording, possibly as new band members under the leadership of bassist, Ilker Ersin. In comparison to the previous "Human Parasite", this has been quite an uplifting experience, as this unified group generated a decisive, partly intricate and complex, concoction of Euro melodic, but heavy duty, Heavy Metal in range of ACCEPT or VICTORY, Bluesy furbished Hard Rock of whether 70s DEEP PURPLE and 80s WHITESNAKE, aside to a variety of Power Metal attributes of STRATOVARIUS and darkened features of EVERGREY. Not what I would call an explicit musical skirmish, but surly this particular one is a fresh air in a cool summer night."Cybersteria" enabled smooth catchiness just as the previous release, yet the dimmer veil that hovered above of the Blues created an atmosphere of something that might resemble sorrowfulness and emotional distress. One might also notice fear, especially within the theme of the lyrics, and Bormann's raspy tone of Jorn meets Coverdale tone of voice seemed to be the right choice to go along with. The album's rising star, "Coast Of Tears", is an aching, hooking, slow to mid tempo rumpus of emotional distress, a slight murky, powerful riffing and impressive vocals, reminded me a bit of EVERGREY but with a bleak PURPLE aloofness. "Back On Me" seemed endless at first, but ended up being highly articulate and melodic. Similar to "Human Parasite", POWERWORLD remained modernly produced in terms of sound, but for songs such as this one, nothing sounded as better. "Not Bound To The Evil" and "Like A Shadow" drenched in 80s Metal boundaries. Andreas Rippelmeier seemed quite capable of writing past oriented riffing. There have been several signatures of the 80s throughout the album, but these songs took me back to the hey days more than the others. The latter being a catchy speedster with an amazing main riff, a mere classic with an incredible lead guitar line, but with an even better was the vocal line. There you have it, dripping with the right volume of Blues, along with an expressional version of melodic Heavy and Power Metal, the pristine hysteria is delivered and here for your receiving and understanding. " - Metal Temple$15.00
