Spiritual Beggars - "Mantra III" CD Review (The End Records)

Spiritual Beggars’ third disc Mantra III (1998) is a well-crafted halfway point between the psychedelia of Another Way to Shine (1996) and the hard rock/grunge of Ad Astra (2000). For this release, I think the closest point of comparison is The Battle Rages On- era Deep Purple as the addition of prominent organ / mellotron from newcomer Per Wiberg adds a “Jon Lord” feel to the songs. Adding to the Deep Purple comparison, vocalist Spice utilized a gruff “Ian Astubry” vocal style on Another Way to Shine but leans more toward clean bluesy leads this time out which sound similar to Ian Gillan.

The disc starts out on an off-beat note with “Superbossanova” which is an instrumental bossa nova piece (as if it would be something else given the name of the track) before kicking into “Homage to the Betrayed”, which is a hard rock number built around a riff-based groove and a big bottom end. This track is fairly indicative of the overall sound of the disc as it has more energy and drive than Another Way to Shine and there are shades of the arena rock (“Homage to the Betrayed”, “Land of Prozac”) that took full form on Ad Astra. Breaking up the core sound of the disc, in addition to the opening track, is “Inside Charmer”, which starts with a bossa nova intro before going into a Rod Evans style 60’s psychedelic stoner track. The band really hits their groove on the numbers that sounds as though they could have come from Deep Purple’s catalogue. Tracks like “Euphoria” and “Sad Queen Boogie” make me shocked that I never heard this disc at the time it was originally released. The band even pulls off an extended Deep Purple-like instrumental jam on the track “Mushroom Tea Girl” and doesn’t let the track sag at any point over its 8+ minute running time.



The original issue of this disc was 12 tracks (54 minutes) but addition of three bonus tracks to this reissue takes the running time to 70 minutes. “The Band is Playing” is a Southern boogie number, “Redwood Blues” is a guitar-based blues grind and the disc closes with an alternative mix of "Euphoria".

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Spiritual Beggars

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

Spiritual Beggars - "Another Way to Shine" CD Review (The End Records)

I probably would have found Spiritual Beggars’ second disc, Another Way to Shine (1996), more satisfying if I hadn’t recently reviewed the band’s fourth disc, Ad Astra (2000). As compared to the hard-rock/grunge of Ad Astra, Another Way to Shine is more of a psychedelic outing that doesn’t have the same pummeling intensity of this later release. The difference in the sound between these two albums is somewhat akin to comparing Alice in Chain’s debut album to the arena-grunge of later period Soundgarden.

The music on Another Way to Shine wears its 70’s roots with pride - the disc opens with “Magik Spell” which kicks off with a cowbell intro before jumping into the band’s blend of groove metal and Southern boogie and this sound caries throughout the disc. This is a guitar-rock album and most of the tracks are built around Michael Arnott’s psychedelic leads and vocalist Spice’s blues-metal vocals. The core sound of most of the songs is similar but each number branches out with different flourishes and leads. Some examples are the heavy reverb on Spice’s vocals on “Misty Valley” and bass and drum groove on “Entering into Peace” but the jam-oriented, groove metal foundation of the songs makes this a disc to nod off to rather than jump into the pit. There are some exceptions though as “Picking from the Box” and “Entering into Peace” have the fist-pumping, driving urgency that made Ad Astra a smash. The one dud track is “Past the Sound of Whispers”, which sinks under the weight of its hippy-dippy mysticism.





Earlier this month, Spiritual Beggars announced that they are "busy in the studio...writing new riffs and coming up with new songs"

Links:
Spiritual Beggars

Spiritual Beggars - "Ad Astra" CD Review (Music for Nations)

As part of an extensive reissue campaign, The End Records is bringing back into print UK metal label Music for Nations’ back catalogue. One of the many gems in the catalogue is the Spiritual Beggars albums with original vocalist Christian "Spice" Sjöstrand. For anyone not familiar with Spiritual Beggars, the band is led by former Carcass / Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Arnott and they play groove-oriented stoner rock that bares more than a passing resemblance to bands like Soundgarden and Corrosion of Conformity.

Ad Astra was the band’s fourth disc (originally released in 2000) and it brought the band significant recognition overseas as they played some high profile European festivals and toured with bands like Iron Maiden, Queens of the Stone Age and Monster Magnet. The disc starts strong with the bluesy, hard rock track “Left Brain Ambassadors” and this song should have cracked American radio wide open. While Spiritual Beggars didn’t break out in America, they did catch the ear of Greg Anderson at Southern Lord who released the song “It’s Over”, which was only on the Japanese pressing of Ad Astra, as part of the label’s 7” of Doom series.

Aside for the slow-burning intro to the disc’s final track, “Mantra“, the music on this disc is consistent throughout. The band build up a full “wall of sound” over which they add clean guitar solos (check out the solo on “Sedated”), chugging riffs and psychedelic keys over a big bottom-end that borders on grunge at times and Christian "Spice" Sjöstrand sings with a gruff voice that is part “Ben Ward” and one “Jim Morrison / Ian Astbury”. While there is a sonic similarity running between the songs, songs like “Left Brain Ambassadors”, “Save Your Soul”, “Angel of Betrayal” and “Wonderful World” should have been break-out FM-Radio hits.



Spiritual Beggars have just announced that they are "busy in the studio...writing new riffs and coming up with new songs"

Links:
Spiritual Beggars

Witchery - "Symphony for the Devil" CD Review (The End Records)

The UK-based Music for Nations label put out some pretty cool indie-metal releases in the 80’s and 90’s and its artist roster included Metallica, Godflesh, Trouble and Warrior Soul. The label shuttered in 2004 after which many of its titles become hard to find but The End Records recently secured a deal to re-release over 50 of the label’s titles. Physical copies of the first twelve titles were released on Jan. 31st.

The first title that I picked up off this new stack of releases is the third release by blackened Swedish thrash band Witchery, Symphony for the Devil (originally released in 2001). At the time, Witchery consisted of x-Satanic Slaughter members Jensen (guitar), Richard Corpse (guitar) and Toxine (vocals); x-Opeth drummer Martin” Axe” Axenrot and Sharlee D’Angelo (Arch Enemy, Mercyful Fate) on bass. As Witchery has had some long periods on inactivity, band-leader Jensen is probably best known as guitarist for The Haunted and he pulled double-duty on the 2001 US tour for this disc when Witchery opened for The Haunted.



Witchery’s music is similar to The Haunted with its melodic thrash guitar riffs being a focal point of both bands’ sound. Where the bands diverge is that Witchery’s sound is more old-school thrash (with some death metal leanings) than the “Gothenburg metal" of The Haunted. Witchery also appears to be “less serious” than The Haunted as, in addition to the band’s animated skeleton mascot, “Ben Wrangle”, Witchery’s lyrical themes deal with murder, death and other occult-themes and the band uses plays on words as both song and album titles: "Symphony for the Devil", "Hearse of the Pharaohs", etc . Vocalist Toxine sings with a hoarse and evil rasp (and only stays with a ‘pure’ death metal growl on “Storm”) so most of the melodies come from the interplay of Richard Corpse expressive solos and Jensen’s thrashing riffs.

There is a mix of styles on this disc which are all built around the band’s riff-oriented thrash core and the fourteen tracks on Symphony for the Devil include two instrumentals and two covers from the first Satanic Slaughter album (which were bonus tracks on some pressings of the original release of this disc). In an interview with Metal Rules, Jensen described the band’s creative process as a “’We don't give a shit’ mentality. We play exactly what we want; Black/Thrash/Heavy or even Death metal songs.” Special guest on the disc include Johan Larsson (Séance vocalist) and Hank Sherman, guitarist for Mercyful Fate.

Links:
Witchery

Music Nation Awards Record Contracts to Winners of its Video Music Competition

Music Nation, the artist development company, today announced the three grand prize winners of its online video music competition. Kid Deposit Triumph, in the rock category, Yolanda Ruiz, in the pop category, and T-Max, in the urban category, beat out nearly 2,500 artists to win a global recording contract with Epic Records. Additionally, on the heels of this first competition’s success, Music Nation has today beta launched a redesigned site and opened up their online music community to a wider audience in advance of the second competition, set to officially begin June 18th.

Beyond the Epic recording contract, the three winners will also be showcased on an episode of STRIPPED, Clear Channel Radio’s exclusive in-studio performance series, and a year-long endorsement from Gibson Guitars, among other prizes. The competition served as an opportunity for independent artists to have their music heard by a judging panel of industry heavyweights Charlie Walk, President of Epic Records, producer Jonathan “J.R.” Rotem (pop), Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte, Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson (rock), and multi-platinum rappers Nelly and The Game, as well as Mark Pitts, President of Urban Music at Jive Records (urban). The Music Nation competition, in offering artists the chance of a lifetime, attracted some of the top unsigned talent from across the Internet.

“We created Music Nation as a platform for artist discovery and empowerment. The quality of these winning artists clearly demonstrates the potential that exists online to find and develop talent,” said Daniel Klaus, Music Nation co-founder and CEO. “We’re excited to be working with these artists in partnership with Epic and leverage the success they’ve had online into a sustainable recording career.”

The three winners represent a varied selection from the Music Nation community. Las Vegas, NV’s Kid Deposit Triumph excels at combining intense melodies with ruthless rhythms; Santa Monica, CA’s Yolanda Ruiz captivates with her fun, Latin-pop sensuality; and Atlanta, GA’s T-Max holds court with his smooth, relaxed flow. These artists will now join the ranks of such celebrated Epic recording artists as Good Charlotte, Modest Mouse, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Matisyahu, as well as up and coming artists like Eighteen Visions, Yung Berg, and Sean Kingston.

“KDT wanted to put our best foot forward and we wanted to maintain that our driving force isn’t popularity, wealth, or fame but to express ourselves through what we love! Music and the integrity it expresses,” said Chuck Bailey, Kid Deposit Triumph bassist. “This contest was that chance, that outlet for us and everyone else that entered to show what they love and to have a chance of acknowledgement from fans, the other contestants and from people that are in the business.”

“Words cannot express how honored I feel to be part of the Music Nation and Epic/Sony BMG family!” said Yolanda Ruiz. “I still can't believe something I've dreamt about since I was a little girl is a reality today...Music Nation has changed my life and has made my life-long dream come true!”

“I want to thank Music Nation, the judges, and everyone who voted for me,” said T-Max. “I’m living proof that if you follow your dreams and stay true to your heart, you can do anything you put your mind to.”

As the first competition closes, the redesigned Music Nation site has now launched and opened its doors as a true artist community through which competitions will run. The community, which grew organically from fan participation in the first competition, will now be accessible to any musician regardless of competition entry; to artists in any genre (rock, pop, hip hop, country, R&B/soul, latin, spiritual/gospel, dance/electronic, world, jazz, and their subsets) looking to take advantage of active community feedback and the powerful features the site offers. Designed around Music Nation’s focus on empowering independent musicians, the new site has added a number of tools for artists’ use in garnering exposure, including: an EPK (includes bio, tour dates, mp3s, photos, press) that automatically generates when an artist profile is built and can be linked to or work as embeddable code, providing a digital demo for artists’ marketing use; an embeddable, multimedia player for artists to program with clips of videos, mp3s, and photos; and statistics compiled from data on profile views and video plays to offer valuable real-time, detailed feedback for artists.

The competition side of the Music Nation community, launching first in the rock and hip hop genres, will formally begin when voting begins on June 18th. Over a 12-week period, a quarterfinalist will be chosen each week by a judging panel of leading industry figures (to be announced) while the user-generated statistics will determine a Nation’s Choice winner. At the close of the competition, a winner from each genre will be awarded a recording contract with Original Signal, Music Nation’s label through Epic Records, among other prizes.

About Music Nation

Music Nation is an artist development company at the helm of an online music community, empowering independent artists with tools to market, promote and find an audience. Through this dynamic community, the company supports multi-genre, video-based music competitions both domestically and abroad. Utilizing the best of Web 2.0 technology, Music Nation looks to serve as the ultimate portal where artists, records labels and fans alike can connect in today's digitally driven climate. Founded in 2006, the company is the brainchild of Daniel Klaus (CEO), Lucas Mann (CMO), Kevin P. Ryan (Chairman), and Peter Read (Managing Director, UK and Europe); visionary figures whose expertise crosses the Internet media, e-commerce, artist management/development and the recording industry divides.

About Epic Records

EPIC RECORDS is the creative music habitat of some of today's most vital musical artists. The company is home to chart-topping artists and trailblazing icons such as Modest Mouse, Incubus, Natasha Bedingfield, The Fray, Franz Ferdinand, Ozzy Osbourne, Los Lonely Boys, Ben Folds, Tori Amos, Shakira, Wyclef Jean, Fiona Apple and Jennifer Lopez. Epic’s hot newcomers include fiery dancehall diva Kat De Luna, Jamaican wunderkind Sean Kingston, Atlanta punk pop band Cartel, hip-hop artist Yung Berg, bi-lingual Latin trio The D.E.Y., pop singer-songwriter/pianist Nikki Flores, and the enchanting singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. Epic recently partnered with MTV and Reveille to re-launch Latin supergroup Menudo.