A lot of record labels and online distros like to offer mystery boxes to help clean up some of their stock and provide some surprises for the receiver. I had always been interested in them, but most of them are for more extreme types of metal (which I'm much more picky about). However, I saw Classy Lonnie Metal do one for Divebomb Records, which focuses more on melodic metal styles, and I was intrigued. I threw it on a wishlist and ended up getting it for my birthday last year! It's taken me a while to get through them all, but I got to check out a whole bunch of bands I've never heard before! There are quite a lot of them, though, so these will be pretty short reviews to keep the article from being too long. Buckle in and let's get into it!
While the sticker on the CD said this would appeal to fans of Nightwish and Kamelot, the album ends up being some pretty bog-standard symphonic metal. It's not bad, but there's nothing here that I haven't heard done better elsewhere. Their singer Russell Plyler was odd as well, as sometimes he was just singing, but other times he'd get into the song better, particularly on the darker or more somber songs. By all means, the band is competent, with a few interesting riffs and melodies, and there is some decent atmosphere with their synth layers trying to be a full orchestra, but in the end, this is not really one I can recommend as it is rather bland, unfortunately.
While the Metal Archives state this band is Thrash Metal, this album is definitely more than that. In fact, it hardly feels metal at times, feeling like a blend of Testament’s slower songs, sludgy grunge (like Alice in Chains), and some psychedelic rock elements. Still, this album has a lot of great atmosphere and Pat Cox’s vocals give the songs a gritty edge that nail the tone they want to set. I did take a peak at some of their other stuff, and I guess they were more thrash, but decided to mix it up with this album. I admit I had to give this a few listens just to adjust to what they’re were doing, as this wasn’t what I was expecting, but in the end, it ended up being an interesting mix of ideas that held together pretty well.
While the cover art looks like a psychedelic underwater fireworks show, this is some very jazzy, technical stuff, and with no lyrics. Naturally, it does make for a difficult listen, but I kind of expected that, so it's not like a disappointment. It has some spacey elements, but otherwise, it’s a lot of jarring riffs and solos, with some interesting melodic sections through the album. This will take a few listens to really wrap my head around, but I think I liked most of what I heard.
Looking at the band name, cover art (with somewhat grisly back art), and the song titles, I admit I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. The result is a hodgepodge of speed metal, but the members couldn't decide if they wanted to be DragonForce or Anthrax, so they comprised based on the song. The Mad Max trilogy of tracks definitely lean more thrash, but the rest of the songs have some very melodic, europower styles, with their mid-tempo moments making me think of Warrior Path, even though this album is older than either of theirs. The guitar work is incredible, shredding all over the place, and the drummer, while maybe a bit too loud in the mix, has incredible beats and fills. The genre shifting gets pretty weird sometimes (especially with the ska moments), but this has a lot of good energy, and with a better mix to balance the instruments, this could have been a very solid album.
The only band of the package I recognized, but only by name. I was expecting some melodic thrash, and while I did get that, it came with a heavy dose of 90s Metallica groove. The lyrics are a bit simplistic, but Paul Souza delivers them with gusto. He's an interesting singer, capable of sing-song vocals and ominous low growls (sometimes in the same song), and the rest of the band stick to a rather dark, melodic metal sound. I liked the thrashier songs, like "Undefeated" and "Curse," while the title track adds some curious doom metal elements, making it stand out. As this is the Divebomb Records remaster, it comes with an extra track "Halo of Flies." While I'm not familiar with the Alice Cooper original, it's a curious addition, feeling like an 80s Maiden prog epic. Overall, it's a solid album, if a bit short.
While I had never heard of these guys, I guess they were part of the classic Dutch metal band Picture (who I mostly know from HammerFall covering "Eternal Dark"). They left that band to start this one and the result is some pretty standard rockin' metal, finding a space between AC/DC and the more commercial side of Judas Priest (think "Living After Midnight"). Lovell's voice has a nice, aged quality to it, and the band settle for a pretty comfortable hard rock. "Rollin' On" and "Inside Out" are some of the better mid-tempo tracks, and "Out for Blood" has some faster, Accept-like energy that I enjoyed. However, I feel like most of the album kinda went in one ear and out the other. It's not bad, but only just a step or two above the standard.
Featuring John Yelland and Jason Ashcraft, this is an interesting two-man project with a bunch of songs based on sci-fi films, and unsurprisingly, it sounds a lot like Judicator, with a few symphonic touches. This peculiar blend of power/thrash metal and drama works well enough, and features a few guests as well, the most notable being Britney Slayes from Unleash the Archers and Arjen Lucassen of Ayreon. While this makes for some solid melodic metal, album is probably too long for its own good. There are a few acoustic sections here and there, but otherwise, it's a lot of similar ideas and energy from song to song. The project would end after this (as this is their only album other than a collection of EPs), which is a bit of a shame, as I do think this is a fun idea. In any case, this is one of the better ones from my mystery box, with plenty of soaring vocals, thrashy riffs, and high flying guitar solos.
Seeming built out of the classic 70s metal sound, we have a band that's an blend of 70s rock like Rainbow and Styx with the riffing of classic Judas Priest or their NWHOBM contemporaries. While this was this group's last release, it makes me very curious about their other albums, as this is some very catchy and melodic old school metal, bolstered by Amy Lee Carlson's soaring voice. Despite being considered an EP, it's over 30 minutes, as some of these tracks get long, but they use their time well and don't drag things down. "Sun Rider" in particular is quite the interesting blend of styles and the best song of the bunch. The last two tracks sound a little muddy, as they were recorded at a different time, but overall, if you love anything I've mentioned above, this is an excellent collection of songs! This is definitely the best thing I got in the whole box!
Inspired by the nine muses of Greek mythology, this band's debut album goes for a pretty strange place between progressive metal and jazz fusion. It's hard to really say who they sound like; maybe Haken on a chill day after listening to a ton of King Crimson? They have some interesting dynamics, going from somber, clean guitars to harsh, aggressive sections, and even growled vocals in spots, but it never really loses this meditative tone. Some of the rhythms gets pretty repetitive, though, and that can work to create good atmosphere, but this album's mix is so incredibly dry that it only makes those sections feel drab. It also doesn't help that some of the distorted guitars sounded rather thin as well. While there are plenty of interesting ideas here, the strange production and peculiar songwriting make this a bit of a chore to get through. Maybe those with more prog experience will enjoy this better than I did, though I did like most of "Urania."
While this EP had a different title, I got the version Divebomb released, so I'm using the self-titled cover art there on the right. Apparently, these Brazilians started as a Deep Purple cover band, and they definitely have that classic 70s rock vibe down. Singer Junior Rodrigues feels like a combination of Ian Gillian, David Coverdale, and Ronnie James Dio (as I do think they channel some Rainbow as well, especially on "Dreamer"), and the rest of the band play with plenty of energy. However, their synths are pretty simple, nothing like Jon Lord's excellent playing, and the songwriting can feel a bit shallow, but honestly, these are minor gripes. As it turns out, this is their only release, and I don't know if these guys are still doing the cover band thing or what. It's kind of a shame, as I think they have the potential to make some good stuff, if given the chance.
So this is a bit of a weird compilation, taking this band's 2005 demo and adding an entire album called Tilt that was recorded in the mid-90s, but never released until this collection in 2019. While the Metal Archives lists them as prog metal, this is kind of a blend of 90s groove metal with some Dream Theater-like elements, which is an odd fusion, but they are able to make it work, for the most part. The guitar work is pretty solid, regardless what lane they're playing in, as the riffs are pretty chunky, with some consistent shake-ups, and Scott Oliva's vocals easily switch between melodic wails and visceral shouts. "No Glory" and "What About" are probably the tracks that represents both sides pretty well. Admittedly, the Tilt material is much more groove metal focused, making them sound a bit more shallow at the end of this collection, but I wouldn't call it a deal-breaker. It's a bit odd to hear such technical, melodic leads next to this 90s tough-guy attitude, but it turns out to be a pretty novel listen.
While this would end up being the last album of this German prog metal outfit, it's a decent collection of songs, leaning pretty hard into the likes of Crimson Glory and Queensrÿche, especially with vocalist Stefan Kessel wailing away. The production is a little thin in spots, but those looking for some excellent guitar work (courtesy of Andreas Rippelmeier) will find plenty to enjoy here. They're certainly not afraid to mix things up, either, with "Watch Out, Cry Out" being one that shifts from big Judas Priest riffing to this clean, new wave pop sound that's slightly funky. There are also two somber ballads, one of which was dedicated to a friend who had passed away. They aren't bad, but very similar to "More Than Words," so they don't quite match the heavy metal of the rest of the album. This version from Divebomb Records includes a few extra tracks from various demos. "Hole in the Sky," while not a Sabbath cover, ends up being a decently anthemic metal song. "Desolation" (from a 2006 demo) has the band shifting into more of a 90s prog metal style with lush keyboards behind all the guitarwork and soaring vocals, like Vanden Plas or Threshold. Overall, it's a curious collection of songs that are a little all over the place, but end up holding together anyway, in their own way.
This last one seems to have been a side project for a few guys in the metal band October 31. As it turns out, this is very much in the style modern traditional metal, much like what Accept has been doing for the past 15 years. However, singer Shawn Pelata has sounds like a grittier Bruce Dickinson, with plenty of tight harmonies, and backed by some very chunky riffs and solid shredding, sometimes veering near to death metal territory at times. I will say that the album starts well, with "Daring the Sun" and "Burn the Temple Down," but then it drags a little in the middle. Fortunately, it mostly recovers by the end, featuring some of their darkest and fiercest songs. Overall, I enjoyed a lot of this, as it's a solid slab of metal.
Well, that was certainly fun, if perhaps a bit tedious. There were other CDs in the mystery box that I didn't cover here, as they were in genres beyond the scope of my blog (though I did like Tides of Omniscience by the death metal band Miasmal). While they weren't all winners, I would say that most of the box was worth listening to, with a few new bands that I'll want to check out more of. Overall, I think it was worth getting, and while their mystery box might not have all the same CDs they did last year, there certainly are a few worth seeking out regardless.
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