New Videos - October 2023!

Happy Halloween!  Once again, I've got another handful of new videos for you to rock out while you celebrate the spooky season.  Well, okay, not all of these are really Halloween-themed, but they're all pretty good songs, which are never out of season!  Check these out!

While this is a band I keep meaning to catch back up on, but it seems they're plowing ahead with a new single, which hopefully will lead to a new album!  As expected, it's a solid anthemic rocker with a good chorus, as it seems the band hasn't lost a step in all these years!  I'm definitely looking forward to what they do after this.

After they blew me away a few years ago, Sorcerer is back to bring another slab of epic doom metal, with the emphasis on "epic!"  Back are the thick guitars, intense noodly solos, and Anders Engberg's soaring vocals, channeling a bit of Rainbow-era Dio a little.  The hard tempo shift for the solo also got my attention, as this song is more than just another plodding doom rocker!  I need to get into more of this band!

Trying to find a vein of hope in the midst of all the negativity, Firewind sticks with their heavy/power metal sound, which is still pretty solid.  Herbie Langhans gives the song the energy it needs with his charismatic gritty vocals and Gus G provides his pyrotechnic fretwork, making for a crunchy-but-anthemic piece of uplifting music.

While I admit I haven't kept up with Sonata Arctica lately, a number of folks are calling this a return to form of their old school power metal days, and I hear it!  The uptempo harpsichord synths channel the likes of Ecliptica and Winterheart's Guild in a way I haven't heard from them in a while!

I can't believe it's been five years since Firepower.  That was a good album, and with a bit of a synthy start, these legends are intent on carrying on their classic metal assault with another album due next year.  While there are no surprises here, the band is still executing their sound at a high level.

Anniversary Series - 2013!

While I was able to do a good summary for 2008, I'm back to doing reviews for 2013.  Sadly, I don't have much to share for the year in my playlist below; it's a gap I plan to fill as I carry on with this blog.  However, I do want to draw special attention to Dimensionaut by Sound of Contact.  It's a fascinating sci-fi prog rock concept album that was a highlight.  While its the group's only album, members of it would go on to form groups like In Continuum and eMolecule, both of which I've featured before.  Now, onto some reviews!

Find Me - Wings of Love

After enjoying one of their albums in the past, I knew I needed to at least give their debut a shot when the opportunity came around, and this article certainly provided one.  Unsurprisingly, it's another solid block of melodic rock a la Journey or Asia, with typical modern production.

Right off, singer Robbie LaBlanc dominates the mix, coming front and center.  However, he has a great voice for this kind of music, singing the sentimental lyrics with confidence and ease.  While the guitars do a good job of holding down the rhythms, its the keyboards by Daniel Flores that really provide the 80s ambience and energy, providing all kinds of reverby synths to augment the emotions behind the songs.  That being said, there are some decent guitar solos through out.  It's no wonder Frontiers Records has hung on to this band for all their albums, as it's exactly the kind of stuff the specialize in.

The album starts with some good rockers in "Road to Nowhere" and "Another World," before dipping a little in energy, with "Eternally" filling the ballad slot on the album.  Things pick up again with "One Soul" and "Bottom of My Heart," and it carries through to the end of the album.  I know that AOR like this is pretty straight-forward, without any surprises, but this album is a high quality example of what the genre can provide.  

Magnus Karlsson's Free Fall - Free Fall

Magnus Karlsson has been in the business since the late 90s, and quickly got picked up to work on a variety of projects for Frontier's Records, playing, composing, and producing all kinds of albums.  He also joined Primal Fear in the late 2000s and has been with them ever since.  However, this is the only project that bears his name, and the debut album falls in nicely for this article.  Drawing upon a quite the list of vocal talent, it shifts back and forth between symphonic rock and metal.

My first thought listening to these is the Allan / Lande project he worked on for Frontiers, going for full sentimental lyrics, with melodic hooks, symphonic arrangements, and providing sonic platforms for the vocalists to soar over.  Speaking of which, this is quite the lineup, drawing from hard rock and AOR to power metal and more.  Magnus does sing a few as well, and he's not bad, showing that there's more to him than just shredding guitars and bombastic arrangements.  If there is a problem, it's the lyrics, as they go for a lot of vague empowerment and drama, sometimes making the songs feel a little inter-changeable.

Still, that could be just nit-picking.  Anyone interested in rock and metal backed by lush arrangements and an incredible lineup of singers will be satisfied.  The standout songs for me include "Higher" (sounding very Primal Fear with Ralf on the mic), "Our Time Has Come" with Mark Boals, "Last Tribe," and "Dreamers & Hunters," with singer Michael Andersson sounding a bit like Jorn Lande!  Perhaps not anything earth-shattering, but it's a fun collection of songs showcasing Magnus Karlsson's abilities as a songwriter and producer.

Haken - The Mountain

So after checking out the first two Haken albums in previous Anniversary Articles, I had to carry on with their third album.  While it's not as much of a concept album as the others, it does focus on the theme of overcoming obstacles and personal challenges, as well as the dangers of greed and ambition.  However, they have definitely retained their peculiar blend of prog metal and quirky jazz.

While at first, it certainly feels like more of the same, but there are some subtle differences that does set this one apart.  Reading up on the album, the band mentioned how this one was a much more collaborative effort, and I think it really shows.  The playing is especially tight, and every song feels pretty meaningful and distinct.  This definitely feels like a band really coming together to make music.  There also is a lot more overlapping vocal parts, with different voices singing different lines.  However, the wild riffing and spontaneous transitions remain very intact, letting the band flex their technical muscles without the songs feeling too long or flashy.

This album got Haken a ton of attention, putting them on the progheads radar and helping them become one of the higher profile prog metal bands out there.  While the whole album does flow well, "Atlas Stone" and "Falling Back To Earth" do stand out as well thought out tracks, with "Cockroach King" being quite the mix of prog self-seriousness and downright zaniness!  I do think this is an improvement, taking what they've done before and distilling it down a little to get a group of songs that solidify their sound.  

Last Played - October 2023!

So I'm finally catching up on some current year releases, some new, some older.  However, they are all certainly metal of the heavy or power variety (and sometimes both!).  While a lot of this is pretty dang solid, I can't deny that last one really blew my mind!  Check out what I've been jamming lately!

Primal Fear - Code Red

I admit I had some hesitation coming to this one, as the last one Metal Commando was pretty underwhelming.  I know I included it in my Top 5 for that year, but I admit it hasn't really stayed with me much since then.  Now for Code Red, I did like their first two singles, and in listening to the rest of the album, I do feel like they've got some oomph back, especially in the second half of the album.

I'm definitely splitting hairs here: the band is as reliable as ever, with plenty of melodic leads, chunky riffs, and Halford-like wails from Ralf.  Business as usual really.  If there is a difference, it's mostly an uptick in melodrama, adding symphonic swells here and there.  The songs are also longer, letting passages linger and going for a more epic, mid-tempo tone.  There's also some frustration boiling up in some of the lyrics as the past few years were an inspiration for some of the songs.  Of course, they also have their standard fantasy tales, cheers of triumph, and anthems for the sake of metal, so it's certainly not some kind of concept album.

Overall, I think it's slightly better than their last album.  "Another Hero" is a good mid-tempo opener and "Play a Song" is an appropriately catch song about using music to get through hard times.  "Steelmelter" and "Raged By Pain" show their continuing love for Painkiller as those are very Priest-like.  Basically another solid effort from a band that's generally pretty consistent.

Weapon (UK) - New Clear Power

Like I mentioned earlier this year, Weapon are a band that started in the middle of the NWOBHM scene, but never really got much notice.  However, all these years later, they've started pulling together a few albums, with this one being their third full-length.  Unsurprisingly, it's some pretty straight-forward heavy metal with a strong emphasis on melody.

Right off, they sound like their compatriots Saxon, with the good rockin' energy, but guitar tone and riffs are definitely on the chunky side, making me think of Grave Digger as well.  The solos played by Oscar Bromvall tend to favor melody over shredding, making me think of Oscar Dronjak's work in HammerFall.  Danny Hynes is a solid singer, and often has layers of overdubs on the choruses, giving the band a touch of epicness here and there.  The rhythm section of Andreas Westerlund and Tony Forsythe keep things moving, sometimes pushing into power metal territory with those double-kicking bass drums.  All of this comes together pretty well, musically speaking.

However, there are a few things that hold it back.  The production is a little muddy, with the guitars very far forward, which sometimes buries Danny's vocals.  The lyrics are a touch on the cliched side, especially on the ballad "Live For Today," but they aren't a deal breaker.  Finally, the album really doesn't move from its comfort zone, sticking pretty closely to it's NWOBHM sound.  Still, it's a decent sound, and I ended up liking the two openers "Drumbeats of War" and "Take It or Leave It," with "Hard Road" as a bright spot later for having some nice, crunchy riffs.  Overall, the album is pretty level in quality, feeling like a solid update of a classic sound.

Blood Star - First Sighting

Like I mentioned earlier on my blog, this is a side project of a few folks from Visigoth, featuring female vocalist Madeline Smith, and their debut album certainly has elements of US power metal, here and there, along side a very strong 70s hard rock feel.  There's also a sense of pulpy sci-fi, as teased by the album artwork, making me think of this stuff as a soundtrack to a system-spanning galactic thrill ride!

Right off, Madeline makes her presence known, her great alto voice blending in well with the mix without getting buried.  She really brings an epic tone to the songs with her excellent vibrato and long notes, enough so to make me wonder if she's classically trained or something.  Otherwise, the music is pretty spartan, not a lot of overdubs, but that gives them a distinct old-school style.  They do touch things up with a bit of synths, but only on a few tracks, with the instrumental "Dawn Phenomenon" being where they are most prominent.  The guitars have a very classic chug to them, making the songs meaty without losing the opportunity to rock out from time to time, usually in the form of some very 80s shreddy solos.  The last song "Wait to Die" even pulls out some double-kicking bass drums to really end on a high note!

Overall, it's a decent collection of songs that seem to sit somewhere between 70s Judas Priest and Blue Öyster Cult.  If there is a problem, its that the album is pretty short at just over 30 minutes long.  I probably could have liked getting a few more songs, but I suppose that's not a bad takeaway, as I did like what I heard.  I don't know what the future is for Blood Star, but these folks do have something pretty good here, especially with Madeline Smith in the band.

Iron Savior - Firestar

Okay, look: when I brought up two of the singles for this album, I mentioned how they hit all the right notes and tick all the right boxes.  But what do I do when I feel like the entire album does that?  I know this is just Iron Savior and they've been doing the same thing since the late 90s, but when it's this good, I just don't care!

Musically, it's pretty much business as usual for these guys.  Driven by precise rhythms and double-bass-drum kicking, the riffs are allowed grounded and gritty while letting the solos melodically soar.  And between it all is Piet Sielck's perfect vocal delivery, providing all kinds of triumph and heroism on nearly every track!  They also know how to shake it up from track to track, so listening to it never becomes tedious, but a delight.  After listening to a plethora of power metal bands, it's easy to hear the tropes and feel like it's all been done before, so it's amazing when I hear a band that still knows how to maintain that epic spirit and feel fresh at the same time!

This is album of the year territory.  I know I brought up Twilight Force, Lovebites, and Kamelot as being contenders, but now they're gonna have to compete for second place!  It's not a perfect album, as there are a few tracks in the back half that aren't quite a strong, but those are just nitpicks for an album that's going to have quite a few tracks on the Best of 2023 playlist!  Superlative power metal from a group that hasn't lost their way at all!

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I'm looking down the pipeline and I'm afraid I may have to repeat some things I did last year, binging several albums at the end, as there is still a lot of stuff I haven't gotten to!  I think I've got things slightly settled in my own life, so I'm hoping I'll have time to get to them all.  In any case, it's going to be a pretty busy last few months for me as I crank out these articles!  Until then, rock on!  \m/