Serious Black - 'As Daylight Breaks' CD Review (AFM Records)

Serious Black is a new six-piece band formed by Roland Grapow (Masterplan, x-Helloween) and the rest of the band’s lineup is a ‘who’s who’ of European power metal. The band lineup is comprised of Roland Grapow, Thomen Stauch (ex-Blind Guardian), Mario Lochert (ex-Visions Of Atlantis), Dominik Sebastian (Edenbridge), Jan Vacik (ex-Dreamscape) and the golden voice of Urban Breed (ex-Tad Morose, ex-Bloodbound).

The band’s debut CD, As Daylight Breaks, comes out January 20th (US) on AFM Records and the initial pressing includes three bonus tracks: “Someone Else’s Life”, “Fly On” and a cover of Genesis’ “No Son of Mine”. In the band’s press release, they want to make it clear that Serious Black is more than a studio project as every member of the band was involved in songwriting and recording and the band will be touring next year in support of Hammerfall.

The disc starts off with “I Seek No Other Life” which showcases the band’s core power metal sound. This song features big guitar riffs along with a nice, melodic solo, upfront vocals and breakneck drumming. While the band’s power metal sound is a constant, underlying core, the band expands on this core by shading the edges with elements of prog rock, symphonic metal and AOR/arena rock and there is also a middle-eastern flair on some of the songs toward the middle of the disc.

Jan Vacik’s keyboard and piano come into prominence with “High and Low” and “Sealing My Fate”. “High and Low” opens with a proggy keyboard run and the melodic guitar riffing is balanced with the keys. “Sealing My Fate” is a mellow, mid-tempo number with flairs of AOR which starts with a piano opening and slowly gets harder edged, adding big power metal riffs, as the song goes on. “Temple of the Sun” is an atmospheric/symphonic instrumental with a middle-eastern flare which serves as a lead-in to “Akhenaton” and “Akhenaton” keeps the middle-eastern vibe but layers around it a melodic, late-70’s hard rock sound.

Some of the other stand-out tracks are “As Daylight Breaks”, which opens with Vacik’s piano and builds a symphonic base beneath Breed’s soaring vocals. “Listen to the Storm” follows in this same symphonic vein but is a hard-rock number with a dark opening. The disc closes with “Older and Wiser” which sounds a bit like early Judas Priest with its big drum sound, low-end bass chug and melodic shredding and riffing.



Serious Black Tour Dates
Jan 16 — Aladin, Bremen, Germany
Jan 17 — Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
Jan 18 — Essigfabrik, Cologne, Germany
Jan 19 — O13, Tilburg, Netherlands
Jan 20 — Trix, Antwerp, Belgium
Jan 22 — Longhorn, Stuttgart, Germany
Jan 23 — All Karthalle, Kaufbeuren, Germany
Jan 24 — Z7 Pratteln, Switzerland
Jan 25 — Z7 Pratteln, Switzerland
Jan 26 — Backstage, Munich, Germany
Jan 28 — Live Club, Milan, Italy
Jan 29 — Ninkasi Kao, Lyon, France
Jan 30 — Razzmatazz 2, Barcelona, Spain
Jan 31 — Shoko, Madrid, Spain

Links:
Serious Black

Brainstorm - 'Firestorm' CD Review (AFM Records)

While German power metalers Brainstorm’s tenth disc, Firesoul (AFM Records), came out earlier this year, I never got a chance to put my thoughts about the disc on ‘paper’. After the local Judas Priest show, I was reflecting that Brainstorm’s new disc captures a lot of the elements that were missing on Judas Priest’s most recent release so I thought I should finally sit down and knock out a review.

Brainstorm’s core sound falls solidly into the power metal genre but the band extends this sound to include elements of NWOBHM with the down-tuned dual lead guitars of Torsten Ihlenfeld and Milan Loncaric, light orchestral elements along with a little bit of prog, which includes clean, technical guitar solos. Adding to this, Andy B. Franck’s raspy but melodic vocals are directly comparable to artists like Rob Halford or Bruce Dickenson though Franck never goes for the high-end scream.

The disc starts with “Erased By the Dark”, which is an old-school power metal number that is powered by some breakneck drumming and the band just picks up the pace from here. The title track, “Firesoul”, is the next cut and this track is a bit more aggressive. This number focuses around driving guitar riffs and dual NWOBHM guitar leads and the vocals match this intensity.



One of the many standout numbers is “Entering Solitude”, which is a slower number than the disc openers. This track has a ‘classic rock’/AOR feel centered around clean melodic guitar lines, soaring vocals on the chorus and a melodic guitar solo toward the back-half of the song. This number is followed by “Recall The Real”, which really changes up the pace with its Gregorian choral intro and outro. After this ethereal opening, this slow burning number kicks into high-gear with staccato guitar riffs which are accompanied by soaring vocals and meaty, melodic choruses.

Looking at some of the other tracks, “Feed Me Lies” is a return to the aggressive and driving sounds of the disc’s opener and this track is the one that stuck with me after a few spins of the disc. “The Chosen” is the closest that Brainstorm comes to ‘traditional’ power metal as the keys are higher in the mix for this number and the riffs are downplayed in favor of orchestral flourishes. The soaring choruses are a notable standout along with the very clean guitar lines, which include a technical power-prog solo. The disc wraps up with “…And I Wonder”, which is another AOR rocker and the minimal instrumentation allows this number to be powered by Franck’s vocals.

Links:
Brainstorm

Sinbreed - 'Shadows' CD Review (German Power Metal - AFM Records)

Sinbreed, a five-piece German power metal outfit, released its sophomore disc, Shadows, earlier this year on AFM Records. The phase ‘German power metal’ tells you almost everything you need to know – Sinbreed’s music is a mix of speed and power metal that is powered by two lead guitarists that alternate between NWOBHM soaring leads and shredding riffs, double-bass pounding speed metal drumming, gritty vocals and melodic, anthemic choruses. It should come as no surprise that Sinbreed includes Frederik Ehmke and Marcus Siepen from Blind Guardian along with vocalist Herbie Langhans, from the like-minded band Seventh Avenue.

The majority of the songs come pummeling out of the gate and the disc doesn’t stray far from its aggressive core. While a number of power metal bands seem to prefer vocalist with a high-pitched scream, Herbie Langhans is a growler (rather than a screamer) and his muscular, raspy vocals are comparable to Udo or Buce Dickinson at their lower ranges or current Accept vocalist Mark Tornillo.

Give a listen to “Bleed” (below) as this is a good indication of the sound of the rest of the disc. This isn’t to say that the disc sounds one dimensional as most of the songs clock in around the five minute mark which gives the band ample opportunity to vary the structures within each of the songs. The only deviation from this core sound is on “Broken Wings”, where the band uses an acoustic guitar intro and outro to bookend this seven minute number.



Links:
Sinbreed

Lost Horizon - "Awakening The World" CD Review (The End Records / Music for Nations)

Pulling another disc off the stack of recent reissues of Music for Nations’ back catalog, Lost Horizon’s debut album, Awakening the World (originally released in 2001) is a ten song blast of bombastic Swedish power metal. With the shirtless, sword-and-sorcery cover shot, it is hard not to make immediate comparisons to Manowar, which is a valid reference point, but Lost Horizon also incorporate elements of the American power metal scene into their music.

Where the band breaks from the power metal stereotype of dragons and wizards is that they cite the disc as “breed[ing] a spiritual aspiration, which leads to the great gathering…we want the people to start thinking about the world and themselves”. The band members are credited as Transcendental Protagonist (guitars and synths), Cosmic Antagonist (bass), Preternatural Transmogrifyer (drums) and Ethereal Magnanimus (vocals); “spiritual titles that reflect characteristics in the band member’s personalities”.

While Lost Horizon doesn’t break any new ground on this disc – it is surprisingly strong for being the band’s debut. The reason for this is that the members of Lost Horizon had played together as Highlander (the same band spawned HammerFall) and, accordingly to drummer Christian Nyqvist , “the first album songs were composed a very long time ago, they were written between 1991 and 1994, I think. They (the old songs) even have new lyrics, arrangements… so there are almost ten years between the composition of the album and the release of it.”

This is the sort of disc that would have been huge in the US given the right promotion as the band’s brand of proggy power metal along with vocalist Daniel Heiman’s controlled but soaring vocals will be immediately recognizable to fans of bands that range from Dream Theater to Iron Maiden without them ever having to have heard this album prior. There are seven songs on the disc (along with three brief instrumentals) and all of them feature an Iron Maiden style galloping bass and guitar riffs, breakneck drumming and clean, soaring guitar leads. Principal songwriter / guitarist Wojtek Lisicki adds restrained keyboards to some of the tracks which gives additional depth to the band’s sound, without overpowering it. Given the depth of musicianship, songs like “Denial of Fate” and “Sworn of the Metal Wind“ could easily have become power metal anthems. Most of the songs "burn hot" and run just over five minutes but the album closer (ignoring the instrumental outro “The Redintegration”) “The Kingdom of My Will” drags in parts as it runs 9+ minutes.



In an interview with Metal Reviews, Lost Horizon said “You've probably noticed that the songs [on Awakening the World] are in a specific order, there's no coincidence, we've thought about the way we'll place them, because we have a defined pattern in our minds, so that people listen to our album from the beginning to the end as opposite of some records when people play the tracks randomly. We really wanted to be more like an experience, like a theater experience, you sit down on a comfortable chair and get great impulses from the record. “

Links:
Lost Horizon

Helstar Plays Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn on Upcoming 'Summer of Hate' Tour

Veteran power/thrash metal band Helstar officially reunited a few years back and released their seventh album, Glory of Chaos, earlier this year on AFM Records. This new disc is harder hitting than the band's first post-reunion album The King of Hell (2008) and MetalCrypt described the new disc as "Power, speed and aggression, that's what it's all about."

Helstar are playing a short run of East Coast tour dates next month as part of their Summer Of Hate U.S. tour.

HELSTAR Summer Of Hate U.S. Tour:
6/17/2011 The Rail Club - Fort Worth, TX w/ Solitude Aeturnus, Era De Guerra
6/18/2011 Dirty Dog Bar - Austin, TX w/ Ignitor, Dead Earth Politics, Headcrusher
6/22/2011 Manhattan Room - Philadelphia, PA w/ Wastelander, Season of Mourning, Midian, Machine Dog
6/23/2011 Sonar - Baltimore, MD
6/24/2011 Saint Vitus Bar - Brooklyn, NY
6/25/2011 The Blue Room - Secaucus, NJ w/ Armor Column, Bröhammer



Links:
Helstar

Powerglove Headlines Metalsucks + 1000 Knives CMJ Showcase on Oct. 23rd

MetalSucks has a great list of bands lined up for a CMJ Showcase at Fontana's on October 23rd. They describe this show as "devote[d]...to honoring the best and brightest of NYC’s metal bands, with a few special friends as well."

MetalSucks and NYC concert promoters 1000 Knives have announced details for the second of two shows they will be hosting at this year's CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. The show will be held the afternoon of Saturday, October 23rd at Fontana's in Manhattan (105 Eldridge St.). It will start at 4pm, admission will be $10, and it will be open to the general public, 21 and over. A limited number of CMJ badgeholders will be admitted.

Powerglove, who recently released their debut E1 album "Saturday Morning Apocalypse," will headline the event.

Other bands on the bill include:
- Pack of Wolves (ex-At All Cost) (Arclight Records)
- Wetnurse (7th Rule)
- The Binary Code
- Meek Is Murder (new project from Mike Keller, ex-The Red Chord)
- Batillus.

Complimentary cocktails will be served from 4-5pm courtesy of Sailor Jerry Rum, and mixed drinks will be available for $3 thereafter.

Masterplan - "Far From the End of the World" CD EP Review

German progressive/power metal band Masterplan has released a new CD EP, "Far From the End of the World", as an advance 'teaser' for their forthcoming fourth album Time To Be King. Time To Be King will be released on May 21st (on AFM Records) and features the return of original vocalist Jørn Lande.

There are two new tracks on the single "Far From the End of the World" and "Lonely Winds of War" along with a radio edit of "Far From the End of the World". I haven't heard any of the earlier Masterplan releases so - to compare to other bands - these two songs fall closely in line with the Dio-era of Rainbow. "Far from the End of the World" is a rocker that is driven by Lande's vocals and complemented by some clean guitar lines, soaring solos and a swirling, proggy keyboard. "Lonely Winds of War" falls clearly in the Rainbow camp and starts with a acoustic guitar and flute before moving into a riff-oriented power ballad.



Here is the full track list for Time to Be King:

01. Time To Be King
02. Fiddle Of Time
03. Lonely Winds of War
04. Blue Europa
05. Far From The End Of The World
06. The Dark Road
07. Under The Moon
08. Blow Your Winds
09. The Black One
10. The Sun Is In Your Hands
11. Kisses From You (bonus track)
12. Never Walk Alone (Japanese bonus track)

Links:
Masterplan

Cage Announces Limited Edition Vinyl Version of 'Science of Annihilation' (Power Metal)

DOWNLOAD: Cage - "Planet Crusher" (from Science of Annihilation) + 8 other songs

San Diego power/thrash metal band Cage released their fifth CD, Science of Annihilation, about a year ago and the disc is coming out on a limited edition 180 gr. vinyl pressing on Feb. 26th. This 2-LP set is limited to 525 copies and hand numbered. There will be 100 copies on colored vinyl with the remainder on black vinyl.

The LP is coming out on Pure Steel Records who will be releasing Cage’s Hell Destroyer and Darker Than Black on vinyl later this year.

Sounding like a cross between Rob Halford and King Diamond, Cage vocalist Sean Peck sings/screams in a high falsetto while the band blasts through twelve dark tales with themes that range from science fiction to demon possession. The band’s songs have picked up some speed on this release, perhaps due to the addition of drummer Norm Leggio (Psychotic Waltz), but this speed hasn’t dimmed any of Cage’s melodic hooks.

Guitarists Dave Garcia and Anthony Wayne McGinnis add intertwined melodies to all of the songs which range from alternating shredding leads to laid back instrumentals. Bassist Mike Giordano stays in lock-step with drummer Norm Leggio which gives the band a driving sense of urgency and aggression across this disc. While Cage continues to owe a solid debt to Painkiller-era Judas Priest, the band's sound has continued to evolve and this release should also strike a chord with fans of Jag Panzer and Manowar.

Cage was in town last September for the Power Metal Festival at Club Europa and below is a live video from their performance.



Cage is currently scheduled to play some of the metal festivals around the US. Here is the list of currently announced tour dates:

04/29/10 – Triton Power Fest Pre-Party – Miami, Florida
04/30/10 – SwordFest – Largo, Florida
05/01/10 – MayDay MetalFest – Atlanta, Georgia
05/02/10 – Amos Southend – Charlotte, North Carolina
05/08/10 – Angels Roadhouse – Yucaipa, California
06/26/10 – Warriors of Metal III Festival – Chillicothe, Ohio
09/11/10 – SwordBrothers IX Festival – Juz Andernach, Germany

Links:
Cage

Cage Is Headlining Club Europa on Sept. 13th with Ravage, Machines of Grace, Martyrd and Phoenix Reign

DOWNLOAD: Cage - 9 Song Music Mega-Pack
Note: This download is legit - the band has made available 9 full length songs as a free download

San Diego power-metal band Cage are coming to the New York area to play the Binghamton Metal Festival on Sept. 12th. Before leaving the area, the band is playing a headlining show at Club Europa on Sept. 13th.

Cage has now been together for over 15 years and the band released their fifth album Science of Annihilation earlier this year. Cage plays traditional heavy metal (I learned this phrase from Al Ravage) and later period Judas Priest or Megadeth are easy points of comparison.

Cage is sharing the bill with Ravage, Machines of Grace (featuring Zach Stevens from Savatage), Phoenix Reign and Martyrd. Tickets are $10 and doors are at 7PM.

Links:
Cage's MySpace Profile

Ravage: Post-Show Interview with Vocalist Al Ravage 8/21/09 (Metal Blade)

I had the opportunity to catch up with vocalist Al Ravage from the Boston-based band Ravage (Metal Blade) after the band's set at Dingbatz last month.



Ravage is currently in the midst of a coast-to-coast tour in support of their Metal Blade debut CD The End of Tomorrow. The band is back in the area for shows at Club Europa (with Cage) on Sept. 13th and a "TBD" location in Jersey City on Sept. 14th.

Links:
Ravage's MySpace Profile
Pictures from Ravage's show at Dingbatz

Ravage: Photos from Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ 8/21/09 (Metal Blade)

Ravage released an independent EP ("Freedom Fighter") last year which sounded like a cross between old-school thrash crossed with NWOBHM melodies. The band's music caught my ear right away and, when I saw that the band's only area show was at Dingbatz, I figured that a chance to see the band live was worth an hour drive to Clifton, NJ on a Friday night (and I hate driving through the Lincoln Tunnel at any hour).

Note: Ravage has just added a show at Club Europa with Cage on September 13th



Ravage played a great set which included material from the "Freedom Fighter" EP and the band's Metal Blade debut The End of Tomorrow, which came out last Tuesday. The band's set also included a spot-on cover of Judas Priest's "Nightcrawler" (which is included on The End of Tomorrow).











Links:
Ravage's MySpace Profile
Ravage's Page on Metal Blade

Crown the Lost - Blind Faith Loyalty CD Review (Cruz Del Sur)

Melodic thrashers Crown the Lost will be releasing their second CD on May 5th on Cruz Del Sur. The new disc is entitled Blind Faith Loyalty and it follows Crown the Lost's impressive self-released debut Reverence Dies Within (2006).

The band recorded this disc in the early part of 2008 and this is what led to the deal with Cruz Del Sur. Label owner Enrico Leccese said "I was so blown away by their perfect balance between aggressive thrash metal and classic heavy metal that I felt the urge to offer them to be part of our roster. I am sure 'Blind Faith Loyalty' will be one of the albums you'll remember on your 2009 best of the year lists."

I realize that genre labels are very fluid, especially in metal, but I would categorize this disc as (aggressive) epic power metal as opposed to thrash. Lead guitarist Joe Bonaddio plays complex melodic leads that complement Chris Renaldi's clean vocals and operatic vibrato. A chugging bass line and pounding blast beat drumming keeps this disc out of "Iron Maiden" territory but it isn't that far removed (which isn't a bad thing). According to the band's MySpace page, this disc is the result of a year's worth of intense songwriting. This effort has obviously paid off for the band as there isn't a bad track on the disc. Each of the ten tracks are over five minutes in length so solid songwriting allows each song to develop and stand on its own. There are a couple tracks from Blind Faith Loyalty streaming on the band's MySpace profile and the full CD is streaming on Cruz Del Sur's website.

Crown the Lost are doing some touring behind this upcoming release (which included a show with Exodus earlier this month). Here are the band's upcoming tour dates:

May 09 ,2009, 9:30PM, The Smiling Moose, Pittsburgh, PA (Blind Faith Loyalty CD Release Show)
May 23, 2009, 9:00PM, C-Rock Live, Pittsburgh, PA
May 30, 2009, 9:00PM, RPM’s w/ Jacob’s Dream, Bridgeville, PA
June 20, 2009, 10:00PM, Pizon’s Place w/ DOFKA, Smock, PA

Links:
Crown the Lost's Website

Dantesco - Pagano CD Review

Dantesco's second CD, Pagano, is another recent release on Italy's Cruz Del Sur record label. I've been wrestling with how to write this review as, after repeated listens to this disc, I'm still not sure what to think about Dantesco.

Nothing about this disc is easy to categorize. The music is almost power metal but it is played at a slightly slower place than most of the bands in the genre today. Vocalist Enrico La Bestia shows that he has a wide vocal range but spends the majority of the disc singing in an operatic tenor. I generally don't give a lot of focus to the lyrics on most metal discs but the vocals are mixed prominently on this disc and 10 of the 11 songs are sung in Spanish. Unfortunately, the clash of all these styles is distracting more than anything and it is tough to get engaged with this disc.

There is some pretty good music on this disc but I just can't get my head around "operatic metal". Songs like "I Came From Hell" (the one song with English language vocals) show the potential of the band so I won't give up on them yet. The band has posted a new demo "Burnt" to their MySpace page (link below) which follows in the spirit of "I Came From Hell" so it looks like the band is moving in a more accessible direction.

For anyone curious about Pagano, give a listen to the track "La Ultima Visita De Grendel" which is posted to Dantesco's MySpace page. This track will give you a good feel for how the rest of the disc sounds.