New Videos - September 2021!

Let's kick off September with some new videos, though I'm glad it's getting cooler.  Definitely a mix of different things here, with some prog rock, as well as traditional and power metal.  I swear, the end of this year is stacked with so much good music!  Anyways, check these videos out!

So I guess Victory has been around since the 80s, though I admit this is the first I've heard of them.  Still, this is some pretty solid, double-kicking straight-forward metal, and oh look, that's Herman Frank on guitars.  I guess he's been with the band near since it's inception (more or less).  No wonder I like it! 

More new Yes!  While the first single had a strong Asia vibe, this one seems to be sitting somewhere between Keystudio and Magnification, especially with the symphonic flourishes.  Still, both this one and "The Ice Bridge" show more energy and creativity than anything that was on Heaven & Earth.  Definitely feeling some promise for this new album.

Meanwhile, Vega just keeps killing it.  Some nice crunch in the guitars while Nick Workman's great vocals soar over it all.  Here's another album coming out that I should give attention to, as I've liked most of the singles from it.

Good grief, this Brainstorm album is going to be massive.  Another solid heavy/power offering that hits hard without losing any of its melodic power.  That Halford-esque scream at the beginning is particularly good, and the rhythms are quite tight.  Great stuff!

Spirit Adrift keep pushing on, still doing their particular blend of doom, stoner, and heavy metal, with a dash of 70s-style shred.  This song is really quite the ride, having a nice stompy tempo at first, then going into a softer section, before turning it back up again with a "Crazy Train" style rhythm.

While I know Iron Maiden just released a new album, Attick Demons are here to relive the iconic band's past.  However, as I've said before, this band definitely has the chops, and Almeida has the voice, so for those who want to go back to the days of Piece of Mind and Powerslave, this is some solid Maiden-worship.

New Videos - November 2020!

More videos!  The good stuff just never seems to stop coming out.  Here's another handful as we get into November, featuring a good mix of styles.  Turn it up!

Yup, another one from Spirit Adrift.  This one starts off with a kind of bluesy groove, thanks to the bass, before going into a stompy doom/heavy metal track.  I really liked the little licks the guitarists played here and there.  I clearly need to give this album a listen because I'm liking everything I'm hearing from it.

This is a completely new group, offering up some symphonic power metal, much in the vein of later Kamelot or Serenity.  The band name is a bit of a mouthful, but Marco Pastorino's vocals really soar over everything.  Perhaps not a great track, but certainly shows promise.

Black Stone Cherry is another one of those groups that I keep seeing around, but just haven't gotten to.  Here, they have a kind of southern-fried post-grunge, making for a solid rock, short, effective rock song.  I know I've been wanting to dig into these guys for a while, and I suppose now is better than never.

I've always been a fan of Trans-Siberian Orchestra and that Twisted Sister Christmas album, so the opportunity for a new Christmas metal album appeals.  Of course, there's a chance it could be bad, but this certainly isn't!  Giving some classic carols a symphonic power metal boost, this one is right for the season!

I've been listening to a few tracks from these guys, and they seem to be proggy power metal in the vein of Kamelot and Angra.  The riffs certainly have a more technical feel, but singer Vasilis Georgiou is definitely channeling Roy Khan for some dramatic heft.  Neat stuff!

Vanden Plas may have a style they stick to, but I can't deny that they know how to work it.  Melodic prog metal is a style that's been working for them for years, and it works again here on this one.  Always such a good balance between being crunchy, epic, technical, and soaring.

New Videos - October 2020!

I feel like these last few months are gonna be nuts for me.  So much material to cover, so little time!  Hopefully, I'll be able to cover all that I want to before the year ends.  In the meantime, here's some new stuff I liked.

Starting off with something a little different, Lunatic Soul is a side project for the singer of Riverside, and it seems he's got some interesting vibes for this one.  It starts off kinda folky and moody, but it ends up building to this rather energetic ending that still feels moody and cinematic.  Fascinating piece of music for sure.

Of course, I'm not going to ignore the new AC/DC.  It sounds pretty standard, much like their material on Rock or Bust or Black Ice.  Solid, mid-tempo blues rock like the boys have been playing for over 40 years.

Here's Spirit Adrift again, and it's still kinda different from the other two I've featured.  This one starts off with more of a rockin', NWOBHM vibe before hitting the halfway mark and going for classic Black Sabbath for the second half.  Already, this album seems to quite the variety.

Pyramaze is another band I've seen around, but never heard.  This seems to be more on the melodic prog side, with a heavy dash of melodrama, like Evergrey or Darkwater.  Supported by some symphonic elements, it's a pretty solid, slow-paced piece of epic metal.

I can't believe Vanden Plas is back with another album.  I never did get around to their last one!  VP has always walked on the melodic side of prog metal, and this is no different, though they do throw in some mixed meter for good measure.  I'm rarely disappointed by these guys.

Let's close this one out with some nice AOR.  I guess Michael Palace has been bouncing around the Frontiers Records catalog for a while, and it shows.  This is 80s-tastic and anthemic as anything else that label has released.  Nothing new, but it's a nice, crunchy track of a style that definitely doesn't get enough attention these days.

New Videos - September 2020 Part Two!

Well, I've been kinda inconsistent.  I end August with two "Last Played" articles, then start September with two "New Videos" articles.  Whatever, things are finally getting cooler, and I've got a bunch of new rock and metal videos for you!

Let's start of with some power metal.  This gives me some very big, The Fourth Legacy era Kamelot vibes.  Dramatic, and a bit dark, but plows ahead at full force, and letting the music do as much of the talking as the lyrics.

Okay, this one is doomier, at least at first.  It unleashes its massive, Sabbath-y riff to start, but once the song is about half-way, there's this jump, and we're suddenly in Iron Maiden territory, with the dual lead solos and all.  Then it's back into the doom riff, but more epic.  Great song!  I'm going to have to check more of these guys out!

I've seen this band around, but I think I'm finally onboard.  The video of the band members racing on the track got pretty silly, but this one better fits their style, which is classic power metal (like Stratovarius or Sonata Arctica) but with more modern symphonic touches.  Very epic!

So I guess the guitarist of Frozen Crown decided to do a sideband that's more traditional metal with some rock qualities to it.  Big and gritty, with some nice vocals. Solid stuff.

Looking at the description, this band seems to be moving to more of a blues-rock style of post-grunge.  I can't say I'm familiar with their older stuff, but this song has some nice dynamics to go along with the crunchy riffs.

Let's finish with another Arctic Rain track.  Once again, it's 80s-tastic, with melodic guitar leads, soaring vocals, layered synths, and a big chorus.  Sort of has a mix of Journey and Def Leppard vibes, this is AOR done well.

New Videos - September 2020!

So I started putting this article together last month, but when I ended up listening to a bunch of albums, this got pushed off, so it gets to start September.  This time, we've got a bit of everything: AOR, symphonic metal, heavy/doom, prog metal.  Let's go!

Starting off with more nostalgic AOR.  Again, like Arctic Rain last time, this has the warm-n-fuzzy 80s vibe.  Nothing particularly strong or spectacular, but great to have on while you're working on things or just want to rock out from the comfort of your armchair.

So this band is listed as doom metal wherever I look, but this is way too uptempo, based on what I know for the genre.  This is creeping into heavy/US power territory, with some pretty technical riffs.  Still, it's crunchy and epic in an old-school sort of way, which works for me!

Dark, brooding symphonic metal, very much in the vein of classic Nightwish.  Dramatic and huge, with some solid crunching guitars and massive choirs, all centered around Elina Siirala's operatic vocals, it all makes for a great piece of epic metal.
  

Yup, DGM again.  This album is sounding like it's going to be as good as the last one, and the last one was very good!  The Italians just seem to have the touch: anthemic, melodic, broad, epic, just really great prog metal, as far as I'm concerned.

I know Magnus Karlsson mostly for his work in Primal Fear, but he's also in over a dozen other projects, and I guess this is the one he puts his own name on.  This one is an interesting fusion of AOR and symphonic metal, with a dash of shred for good measure.

I don't know if this band could sound more like Iron Maiden if they tried!  The singer Artur Almeida is clearly imitating Bruce Dickinson's dramatic style of singing, but he does it qutie well, and the band has some pretty solid chops to back it up.