Time Capsules

Remastered edition with two bonus tracks."After the failed experiment of Turbo, Judas Priest toned down the synths and returned to the basics, delivering a straight-ahead, much more typical Priest album with Ram It Down. The band's fan base was still devoted enough to consistently push each new album past the platinum sales mark, and perhaps that's part of the reason Ram It Down generally sounds like it's on autopilot. While there are some well-constructed songs, they tend toward the generic, and the songwriting is pretty lackluster overall, with the up-tempo title track easily standing out as the best tune here. And even though Ram It Down backed away from the territory explored on Turbo, much of the album still has a too-polished, mechanical-sounding production, especially the drums. Lyrically, Ram It Down is firmly entrenched in adolescent theatrics that lack the personality or toughness of Priest's best anthems, which -- coupled with the lack of much truly memorable music -- makes the record sound cynical and insincere, the lowest point in the Rob Halford era. Further debits are given for the cover of "Johnny B. Goode."" - All Music Guide

Virtuoso keyboardist Vivien Lalu has created a new progressive metal epic featuring an all star cast:Band [A-Z]---Martin LeMar (Mekong Delta) - VocalsMike LePond (SymphonyX) - BassSimone Mularoni (DGM) - GuitarsVirgil Donati (PlanetX)- DrumsVivien Lalu (Shadrane) - KeyboardsGuests [A-Z]---Jens Johansson (Stratovarius)Joop Wolters (Shadrane)Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater)Marco Sfogli (James LaBrie)Mike Andersson (Cloudscape, Fullforce)Peter Wildoer (Darkane, James LaBrie)Born of Noelle and Michel Lalu, musicians from the ‘70s French progressive act Polene, Vivien Lalu has released a surplus of recordings through an array of different bands and projects since 1997, as the keyboard player for underground black/doom band Time For A Change. At the turn of the millennium Lalu played keys for two underground progressive metal bands from Paris, Sad Warden and then Mind’s Orchard, and in 2002 was hired by Hubi Meisel (ex-Dreamscape vocalist) to compose and record the keys for his solo album EmOcean, the following year doing the same for Meisel’s sophomore album Kailash, both of which were released by Lion Music.It was at this time Vivien Lalu begins recruiting his own associates from major prog and metal bands — some of which he shares time composing music alongside in progressive metal act Shadrane — and forms his own solo project, LALU. The first full-length Oniric Metal was released on Lion Music in 2005 and began an entirely new chapter for this composer and his insatiable need to create mind-expanding, cinematic music.These accomplishments helped Lalu to begin securing score and soundtrack work for film and television; over the last few years he’s written many cues for the orchestral soundtrack for the Warner Bros movie Seuls Two, for the show Science X made in association with Lucasfilm Ltd. Additionally he joined the production team behind Laszlo Jones in order to assist the recordings and production of Banana Nation (Universal Music Group). He’s composed many soundtracks for French television, music and sound effects for Neko Entertainment, worked as a sound designer for Ubisoft Entertainment and much more.After collaborating with Shadow Gallery for a song on their Digital Ghosts album, and working with Canadian drummer Chris Nalbandian for his Paralysis of Analysis solo album — recording all keys and sharing solos with Derek Sherinian and Alex Argento — Vivien finally settled in and began work on the second LALU opus. Handling all composition and songwriting duties, as well as all keyboards on the massive production, Vivien weaved the cloth of the new album with vocalist Martin LeMar (Mekong Delta), bassist Mike LePond (SymphonyX), guitarist Simone Mularoni (DGM), drummer Virgil Donati (PlanetX), the album’s parts recorded in several countries including the United States (Los Angeles and New York), Germany and Italy, produced by Lalu in his own studio, and mixed at Boumbox Studio in Paris by Yan Memmi (Dio’s Lock Up The Wolves, Marcus Miller’s The Sun Don’t Lie, etc.). Additional contributions from Jens Johansson (Stratovarius), Joop Wolters (Shadrane), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Marco Sfogli (James LaBrie), Mike Andersson (Cloudscape) and Peter Wildoer (James LaBrie) were also carefully built into the album, the final product boasting over fifty minutes of exceptional, massive  cinematic, atmospheric metal Lalu has dubbed, Atomic Ark. 

"Formed in Athens, the band PSYCRENCE saw the light of day in 2009, in December 2010 they released a self-produced demo EP entitled “Distance” which has received an excellent and very encouraging acclaim by the press and the fans alike, a fact that’s leads PSYCRENCE to play many stages in their native country, it includes an highly rewarded spot at the famous festival's "Tunes In Progress" bill.Now it’s time for the release of their debut album, “A Frail Deception” and it’s time for a deep analysis of this burning platter, full of progressive elements, both inherited from the new and old tradition, melted and boosted carefully, with the additions of some down tuning heaviness and many intriguing atmospheric sounds. Their music style and its definition is hard to explain but it also contains a tons of familiar elements subtly borrowed to many legendary heroes… You’ll name it, isn't it?! As an example, the first tune “A Losing Game” starts with a melodic pattern of piano enhanced with layers of synthesizers overdubbed by an asymmetric guitar riffage, very classic in its construction and perfectly measured and dosed, with an impressive Lead vocals performance in order to complete this archetypal picture of the Progressive Metal of the 90’s… Nothing really new but the tradition is respected and honored by such a smart and fine introductive track.The sonic production work gets a result near to perfection, scoring the privilege of being clear and strong in the exact doses, the best way to give justice at their amazing playing talents and developing an enjoyable path of sounds for songs like “Convergence” as it belongs to a more difficult breed of composition that really need some more time to penetrate your psyche… See you at the Coda. With the continuity of those four cuts that follow now “Forced Evolution” / ”Moral Decay” / ”Subconscious Eyes” / ”Incised Path” it reveals to us another side of their specifies, it holds a new density but also a real melodic richness, the opulent and refined Keyboards / Guitar harmonized canvas, built under a perfect construction of a complex duo is jaw dropping, the rhythmic section is tight as any Modern Power Metal but with a more elaborated harmonic maze on the top of it. The sharp riffing duet of guitars can be at the same time sophisticated and chaotic, bold and delicate, insidious or vicious but also elusive, their manic riffage is on the insistent mood, hypnotic or fierce and their solos spots are technically improved yet particularly demented in “Moral Decay”… ”Incised Path” contains also a bunch of NWOBHM flavors compensated by a still very relaxed kind of proggy crooning courtesy of singer Takis Nikolakakis.“Distance” is indeed another superbly crafted song, it's a Darker number hiding into a real progressive outfit, because of the arrangements as it builds itself layer after layer, until surprisingly providing a new found intensity and a new edge in the chorus section, starting with an incessant creeping riff that leads to another damn fine solo interaction. The track n°8 “Reflection” is another guitar driven, a fast paced and heavy thing, drums part are more direct, less audacious than the early titles but with a fury of melody improved by this always fantastic voice somewhere between Andy Kravljaca (ELSESPHERE / SEVENTH WONDER / SILENT CALL / AEON ZEN) and Nils K. Rue (PAGAN’S MIND / ex-X-WORLD 5 / ex-EIDOLON) with some hints of Tobias Sammett’s vibrato“Hold Close The Flame” is the closing number and surely the most addictive of all, a slower pace, an ethereal clean guitar motif and an emotive vocals performance in the early QUEENSRYCHE‘s musical inspiration, in spite of the title being close to a famous track of the mythical “Warning”, the signature style is palpable and concrete, it's crystal clear to me that it belongs to an idolatry homage to the Tate / DeGarmo / Wilton legacies.After the glorious releases by compatriots WARDRUM or UNTIL RAIN, I will believe that something musically exceptional is happening in this Mediterranean Hellenic territory, much alike the Italian phenomenon and its legions of talented group appearing like a spontaneous generation of talented spirits in the vein of FATES WARNING / QUEENSRYCHE / CIRCUS MAXIMUS / REDEMPTION / AEON ZEN or EUMERIA. A very classy collection of songs in the key of smartness and elegance, exquisitely set in an evaluative mood in order to conquer the hearts but mostly the mind of those Progressive Metal lovers." - Metal Temple

Third album in the trilogy from this French "band" led by keyboardist Philippe Giordana. After going through a number of personnel changes, Giordana finally sacked the whole band and started fresh. He brought in a number of vocalists, the primary one being Marco Sandron of Pathosray. Original Fairyland (and Dark Moor) vocalist Elisa Martin appears as well as Lars Larsen of Manticora, and George Neuhauser of Serenity. The musicians have been culled from Pathosray, Revoltons, Anthropia among others. Bottom line - this is still pure Rhapsody worship. If you like larger than life symphonic metal you'll probably dig this one a ton.

"In 2007, Daniel Stockinger (guitars), Andreas Poppernitsch (guitars) and Siegfried Samer (vocals), former members of the split-up Austrian Power Metal bands Omega Effect and Eleftheria, formed The Dragonslayer Project. The original intention was to be a studio project with a focus on a conceptual story behind the album with the assistance of great musicians. However, as additional musicians were brought in, they became permanently integrated and the project became a band. The work of recording their debut album, Legends, took until the end of 2011, but this had partly to do with the fact that the band brought in some guest musicians for the recording, such as Tom Tieber of Ecliptica, Katie Joanne of Siren's Cry and Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear. Musically speaking, the album stays true to the Power Metal genre it is unmistakably a member of, bearing many of the trademarks and (dare I say) cliché's of the genre. But, while one might complain about a lack of originality, the tunes are well developed, and the band proves they are competent and capable musicians with a professional feel that is lacking in many debut efforts. On the official facebook page, the band lists Helloween, Avantasia, Stratovarius, Gamma Ray, Kamelot, and Sonata Arctica (among others) as interests, and the influence of these acts are evident in their music, and is sure to strike a chord in many power metal fans' hearts. My only complaint would be that I would like to hear the band distinguish themselves a bit from the rest of the bands in their genre. But I must follow up this critique by praising the level of skill and the careful attention to detail that was given in creating this album." - Sea Of Tranquility

"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