Firebrand's Rock & Metal Express Issue 5

Firebrand Rock & Metal Express

Praying Mantis Die Krupps The Burning CRows Royal Hunt Iconic Eye Powerwolf Klogr Armored Saint

Issue 5 - Price = Free

Page 32

Powerwolf

Page 43

Trixter Page 33

Chaos Magic

Red’s Cool

Page 44

Praying Mantis Page 34

Entrails Kelly Keeling

Iconic Eye

Page 45

Amored Saint Page 35

PIG Vs Primitive Race

Skip Rock Screaming Beast

Edge Of The Blade Spitfire

Page 36

Gus G Royal Hunt

Page 37

Ozone

Page 16

The Room

Beauvoir/Free Page 38

The Burning Crows Max Pie

Page 39

Skintrade Anzi

Page 40

Page 41

Page 42

Xandria

Page 04

News

Nine Miles South

Page 18

Top 5 Videos

Die Krupps

Page 19

Top 5 Covers

Bobaflex

Page 24

Ringside Roulette

Klogr

Page 46

Games Dungeon

Cut Up

Page 50

Gig Listing

Front cover photo by Joe Lester

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Cattle Decapitation

Page 08

Page 20

Between the buried and me

Edge of the blade

Page 12

Page 22

Editor In Chief Rick Palin Magazine Editor Lee Walker Senior Media Consultant Rachel Whiston Contributing Writers Reg Richardson Rick Palin Download Contents Team Judith Fisher Rick Palin Reviewers Graham Pritchard Gavin Griffiths Joey Lowebins Phil Kane Rob Birtley Stephen Brophy

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Eye Of Solitude and Faal to release Caedere albums, along with the Dear Insanity EP. Pre-orders are untitled split EP now available at Two of Europe's most promising www.kaotoxin.com. next-gen Funeral Doom/Death Metal ban. ds, Eye Of Solitude and Faal have joined forces for a split EP of epic proportions.

The untitled EP, which features a previously unreleased track from each band that will forever remain exclusive to this split, will be offered as a three-panel deluxe DigiSleeve CD and digital download. The CD version is strictly limited to 500 collectors-edition copies that includes a series of photos from French photographer Animalerrant.

Eye Of Solitude's contribution, the aptly-titled funeral march "Obsequies," is the stylistic missing link between their future classic Canto III album (which was included on numerous 'Best of 2013' lists) and last year's single-track, 50-minute monster Dear Insanity. This is Funeral Doom/Death at its finest!

Faal's "Shattered Hope" sees the Netherlands-based unit blends elements of old-school Doom with contemporary Gothic/Dark metal for monstrous results.

The split is now streaming in full at both Zero Tolerance Magazine and MetalOrgie.com.

Listen now at the links below: Zero Tolerance (English) MetalOrgie.com (French) Kaotoxin Records will release this untitled split EP on September 18 and can be purchased alone or as part of the "Eye Of Solitude Cd pack," which includes the Canto III and Sui

Northmen: A Viking Saga moving screening August 26th in Corona del Mar, CA with Johan Hegg!

Metal Blade Records and Violent Gentleman are teaming up with Starz and Anchor Bay Entertainment to screen Northmen - A Viking Saga on August 26th. The screening will take place at The Port Theater in Corona del Mar, CA at 6:00pm.

Tickets are $30 and include: entrance to the event, a meet and greet with Amon Amarth VocalistJohan Hegg, plus a limited edition hand silk screened poster!

The Port Theater is located at 2905 East Coast Highway, Corona del Mar, CA 92625. For more details, visit portnewport.com. For tickets to the screening, head to violentgentlemen.com.

Anchor Bay Entertainment released of the highly-anticipated, action-packed Viking film Northmen - A Viking Saga on Digital HD by Starz Digital on July 31, 2015, and on DVD, Blu-ray and On Demand on August 11, 2015. Directed by Claudio Fäh (Hollow Man II and Sniper: Reloaded), and produced by Ralph S. Dietrich, Northmen - A Viking Saga stars Ryan Kwanten("True Blood"), Tom Hopper (Starz' "Black Sails," "Merlin"), James Norton (Belle, Rush), Ed Skrein ("Game of Thrones," the upcoming The Transporter Refueled), Charlie Murphy (Philomena) and Johan Hegg (front man of the metal band Amon Amarth). The film was

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written by Matthias Bauer and Bastian Zach.

Northmen - A Viking Saga tells the story of a group of Vikings in the ninth century who sets sail for Britain, aiming to plunder the rich monasteries in the northern part of the island. But a storm smashes the ship to pieces on the rocks off the coast of Scotland, the only part of Britain without any Viking settlements.

Soon thereafter, the daughter of the Scottish King falls into their hands and the Vikings see this as an opportunity to demand a large ransom. The King immediately sets his 'wolfpack' - a group of mercenaries well known for their savagery - on the Vikings. The "Northmen" with their hostage now have to force their way through the rough highlands, where they meet the brave and mysterious Christian monk Conall (Ryan Kwanten). Having the wolfpack close on their heels, a desperate race against time begins. A battle over life and death.

"One of the most significant efforts of its kind." - LoĂŻc Valceschini, Twitch Film "Well choreographed and fluidly shot, and there's enough blood spatter and swordon-flesh action." - Gareth Jones, Dread Central "REAL VIKINGS MUST HAVE MADE THIS FILM" Deadline - The Film Magazine

In 2014, a music video was cut with footage from the film for the title track from Amon Amarth's most recent album, "Deceiver of the Gods." The video has accumulated over 1.5 million views and is probably the most intense video the band has filmed to date.

Watch it now on YouTube HERE.

Upon its release in the summer of 2013, "Deceiver of the Gods" debuted at #19 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and #19 on the Top Current Albums Chart - it became the band's highest charting record to date.

View trailers and more exclusive videos now at northmen-themovie.com Stay up to date with Amon Amarth online at amonamarth.com and follow Johan Hegg himself on twitter @amonjohan.

Glenn Hughes Unveils Official Photo Of New Band Featuring Ex-Whitesnake Guitarist Doug Aldrich And Drummer Pontus Engborg Autumn 2015 Uk Solo Tour With Special Guest Jared James Nichols.

Glenn Hughes, nicknamed the ‘Voice of Rock’, has today unveiled an official photo of his new band that he has put together for his European and UK 2015 Solo tour. Glenn is pictured alongside drummer Pontus Engborg (far left) and ex-Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich (far right).

(Photo by Gene Kirkland)

Black Country Communion, California Breed, along with his solo material.

"I felt it was time for me to start touring with my solo band,” says Glenn, who is currently on tour in Brazil. “I called my drummer Pontus Engborg , and guitar player Soren Andersen.

Soren had made a contractual commitment to do an autumn Tour in Scandinavia, so I had to find a replacement.

There was only one man on my mind... Doug Aldrich.”

“I’ve known Doug from his time with Ronnie Dio , and of course Whitesnake. Doug played with me on a couple of Purple songs at a festival the night before Ronnie passed away. We had great chemistry , and talked about playing together again, when schedules permitted.

Continues Hughes, “ Doug is a welcome addition to my Band, and is a dear friend , both loving and nurturing , and is a rock phenomenon. I'm beyond grateful to return to a Solo Band touring cycle, that will see me travel across many continents these next 12 months.See you down the front."

Glenn Hughes is a true original. No other rock musician has carved such a distinctive style blending the finest elements of hard rock, soul and funk. That astonishing voice is Hughes' calling card. He's known as a singer's singer. Stevie Wonder once called Hughes his favorite white singer. “I love my fans, and interact with them online, or at venues on my travels,” says Hughes. “There is no greater high than performing and to reach out to my fans.”

Decapitation, unleashed via Metal Blade Records on August 7th, pillaged the Billboard Charts upon its first week of release. More than doubling the sales of their previous offering, the record debuted at #41 on the Top 200 Current Albums Chart, #5 on the Hard Music Chart, #6 on the Independent Albums Chart, and #14 on the Rock Albums Chart!

On the iTunes day of release charts The Anthropocene Extinction hit an crushing #3 on the Metal Chart, #10 on the Rock Chart and #80 on the Top 200 Current Albums Chart. In Canada the record ranked at #5 on the Hard Music Charts, #36 on the Top 200 Current Albums Chart and #73 on the Top Digital Charts.

Elsewhere The Anthropocene Extinction came in at #88 in Germany and #135 in Holland.

Produced by Dave Otero (Allegaeon, Cephalic Carnage) at Flatline Audio in Denver, Colorado, The Anthropocene Extinction stands among the most sonically and thematically engrossing record of Cattle Decapitation’s maniacal discography.

The Anthropocene Extinction is available NOW via Metal Blade Records at: metalblade.com/cattledecapitation.

The Noise Presents: Between the Buried and Me Coma Ecliptic Tour III

Between the Buried and Me will return to the road this fall to headline North America! The Noise Presents: Between the Buried and Me Coma Ecliptic Tour The band’s UK leg of the European III will feature support from tour stars on October 17th at the Norwegian metal legSouthampton Engine Rooms and ends Enslaved, plus progressive ends at London’s Electric Ballroom masters Intronaut, and prog Cattle Decapitation: The on November 1st. Special guest newcomers Native Construct. The Anthropocene Extinction First on the tour is Jared James Week Chart Numbers Revealed tour's line up promises one of the Nichols who recently released his most powerful concert Remaining Headlining Dates critically acclaimed debut album experiences of the fall! The tour is Announced + Summer Slaughter set to begin on November 18th.

Old Glory & The Wild Revival.

The concerts will showcase Tour Concludes Next Week.

VIP bundles are available now at The Anthropocene Extinction, showstubs.com/btbam - get yours highlights from Glenn's career the newest studio recording from before they are gone! including Trapeze, Deep Purple, San Diego deathgrind unit, Cattle

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Between the Buried and Me's Dan Briggs comments: "This is a package that we handpicked each band, which doesn't always happen. It shows off the diversity of the progressive music universe and we couldn't be more excited to have a young band like Native Construct, Intronaut who are great friends of ours already, and the legends in Enslaved, along with us."

Ivar from Enslaved offered the following statement: "When we ended our highly successful tour just this March, it was with an outspoken "we sure hope there's another trip across the pond already this year". And wouldn't you know it; there IS going to be just that! The gods heard our call.

OR; it could have been the booking agents and Between the Buried and Me - this tour coming up from November 18th 2015 will see us supporting them on a trek throughout USA for the following month. We will add our extreme flavour to the prog-metal package; to make sure our own faithful American fans (which we will never be able to thank enough for their relentless support), as well as the new listeners we'll meet on the way gets the full-blown Enslaved-experience!"

so they have completely rerecorded the album and added two bonus tracks . 'Too Wild To Tame' which should have made the LP back in 1980 but for time restrictions of vinyl then would not fit !

It was eventually recorded by another Neat records stablemate , Avenger, The second bonus track has never been released before though written at the time .

'Jealous Love' was the last song penned by the Ross/Sirroto partnership which fueled the early version of the band . .

All the classic tracks are here too on this album including many still played live today which included the Metallica covered 'Blitzkrieg' track . It also features guess twin guitar appearances on 'Pull The Trigger' by Satan's Russ Tippins and Steve Ramsay.

Great new artwork has been commissioned for the new version too by South American artist Ivan Chacon fronting a new 12 page booklet full of sleeve notes

by Brian Ross , lyrics and new photos from the past and present line up..

The album will be release in Europe by the band's long time label Metal Nation Records . It will also be release in Japan by Spiritual Beast and various labels in South America to coincide with the band's 15 date four country Blitzkrieg announce new album “A tour there in November 2015.

Time Of Changes�

There will also be a vinyl version of 2015 sees the 35th anniversary the album on High Roller Records

by German based label , High of the band Blitzkrieg who came into existence in 1980. Although Roller Records .

The band continue their their debut single (on Neat records) was released in 1981 , 2015 'Time Of Changes ' 30th 'Buried Alive b/s Blitzkrieg' it was Anniversary tour having already headlined festivals in he UK not till 1985 that the band ( Brofest / Hard Rock Hell ) , recorded their debut album as Slovenia ( Metal Days) and vocalist Brian Ross was involved appeared at the prestigious with his other band , Satan recording and touring their debut Germany festival Headbangers Open Air. The South American classic ' Court In The Act ' . . dates will be the last for this year.

30 years on because of catalogue sale and resale 'A Time ( dates available from the band's site www.blitzkriegmusic.co.uk or Of Changes ' is lost in the vaults their facebook page. of corporate hell and may never see the light of day again. That said Track listing: 1. Ragnarok the current line up of Blitzkrieg wanted this album available to fans 2. Inferno

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3. Blitzkrieg 4. Pull The Trigger ( Features members of Satan ) 5. Armageddon 6. Take A Look Around 7. Hell To Pay 8. Vikings 9. A Time Of Changes 10. Savior 11. Too Wild To Tame ( Bonus Track ) 12. Jealous Love ( Bonus Track ) Savage Master To Release "Black Hooves" Single On September 11, 2015 American female fronted Heavy Metal act Savage Master, will release brand new seven inch single "Black Hooves" on High Roller Records, on September 11, 2015. The single will be limited to 1000 copies, from which 300 will be available on orange transparent vinyl, 200 on clear vinyl, and 500 on black vinyl. Title track, which is brand new and previously unreleased recording, will be coupled with RIOT cover "Swords & Tequila" (taken from the RIOT tribute album that came out earlier this year on Skol Records) on side B. The single can be pre-ordered on this location: http://bit.ly/ SAVAGEMASTER_BlackHooves In other news, Savage Master recently announced North American Tour, and in April and May of 2016 the band will be touring in Europe.

Savage Master debut album "Mask OfThe Devil" came out on Skol Records on October 31, 2014.

More information: www.facebook.com/ savagemaster666

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Interviewed by Lee Walker Thank you for taking the time out of your hectic schedule to fit this in. What are you currently up to?

I’m promoting my record which is coming out next month and doing a lot of interviews and setting up all the stuff that is to come over the next few months, sorting out tours, setting up the promo and launch of the record. It’s a lot of work and it is stressful and fun at the same time (laughter)

I think in his mind he is thinks we are a gang and we are all guys in the gang. We are all on the same page in the new lineup, well it’s not so new any more as we have been together for six years now. We are all there to make him shine and I think that he appreciates that. He has a bunch of guys who listen to him and work hard and we really appreciate our position and we have a lot of fun. It’s a fun job, if you can call it a job.

record deals. At the beginning when you get your first record deal there aren’t a lot of obligations but as the other bands started to get attention and touring opportunities came in and I realised that at some point I can’t really follow all the bands – I think I was in four bands at the same time. In 2005 I had the call from Arch Enemy to go and do Ozzfest for them and help them out because one of the Amott brothers quit the band so As a guitarist a lot of people for me that was the first big gig discovered you, for want of a I noticed that you also collaborated and I was not used to being the better phrase, when you was with several other ‘Hired Gun’ guy because all of the announced as being Ozzy musicians/bands Arch Enemy, bands that I was in I was either a Osbournes guitarist to replace Nightrage, Dream Evil Jeff Scott co-founding member or was the Zakk Wyld. Was you surprised Sot and obviously Ozzy Osbourne main song writer so I just took the when you got the invite to try out immediately spring to mind as opportunity and then on that trip for his band? people/bands that you have with Arch Enemy I realised what it Yes. That’s how it happened back worked with. How do you manage takes to be in a real professional in 2009. your time between the band and go to the next level so commitments? that really made me a lot more What’s it like working with Ozzy?

When I started out I was in a lot of focused as a person and I made He is a very easy going guy. It been bands at the same time but none the decision to quit everything else a lot of fun. He is the boss but he of these bands was signed. and focus on my own band. I doesn’t treat us like he is the boss. Eventually everyone got signed to realised that if I would want for

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Firewind to go to the next level I would need to focus all my effort and hours into that band and that is what I did at the end of 2005. I quit all of the other bands and just focussed on Firewind and worked hard on it and that’s when things started happening for us. In 2009 I got the call from Ozzy Osbourne and that’s an invite you just don’t pass up on.

Do you get many requests to work with other artists still?

I get a lot of requests to do guest solos and all that stuff and I have done that for a lot of my friends and a lot of bands. That’s always fun. I try to do less and less these days because I don’t want to play on everybody’s record unless it’s an offer I can’t refuse or a friend of mine that I really like and want to help out which I will do occasionally but I don’t do a lot of these. I have been asked to join big bands all over the years but the way that I look at this is that I really don’t want to play for somebody else, I have my own band which is established now, I have got my solo career and I am a member of one of the biggest acts in the world with Ozzy Osbourne besides Ozzy I would not want to play for anyone else.

You mentioned your solo career.

Was this something that you had planned to do?

I think it was one of those things. I never thought about doing a solo album. It just happened. With Firewind we just were doing this old school type of thing with an album, world tour, another album another world tour and after our singer quit we tried it out with another guy for a while but it didn’t work out but still we did a four year tour with the replacement guy but that guy quit as well and it didn’t work out so I was kind of tired of that after ten years and I needed a break from all of that. Firewind is a band that I did seven albums with over ten years I felt like it was getting a bit too much and I really needed a break, we needed a break for ourselves and for our fans because I think at that point we need our fans to miss us a bit. I felt that, we all felt that. I started writing some songs which was going in a different direction as well which I didn’t see myself putting them on a Firewind record and that essentially became ‘I Am The Fire’ which was my first solo album.

quoted as saying that the album was done back in February this year. Are there any specific processes that you go through when you creating albums?

For me it was just like a creative journey. A lot of the songs was written back in 2013 at the end of it. After I completed the song writing for the first album I kept on writing so I had a lot of songs written. I didn’t think about it that much because I knew I had a lot of material in my hands I was blooming again as a song writer writing different types of songs and that became the first album and to an extent part of the second album. I wrote the ‘Brand New Revolution’ title track back in 2013 and I wanted to put it in the first album but it didn’t end up being there so I thought ‘you know what this is a pretty good starting point for our next album’ so I knew there and then if the first album was going to be received well it was always in the back of my mind that I would not need to go back in the studio quickly to do the second one. I had five or six songs. I went though all the riffs that I had, and a bunch of stuff that had already been written over the years. I had In terms of the new album “Brand a lot of great riffs sitting there.

New Revolution” I think you was They was heavy rock and stuff like

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that that, stuff I could have used for Ozzy, and there was stuff piling up there so I just wrote a few songs with the guys again such a Mats Laven and Jeff Scott Soto.

pretty quickly. We had the songs and we completed them in the studio live with the guys which was how I captured the different type

and you can hear that a little on the record I think and then I came back to Greece and did another six songs with Jo on drums.

What do you have planned for the future?

I am going to tour this record. That is my main goal. I have a few shows with Ozzy this year but my main goal is to tour this record.

Its inevitably that there will be comparisons between this album and your previous releases I think this is the second album to come out under your own name. How do you think this album Are there any differs from them? messages that you The main difference is would like to pass on that this album was to the Firebrand done in two different readers? sessions. The first one I want to thank was done in LA and everyone for reading for the first time in my this. I hope that career we went into a people can give my studio live as a band new album a shot I and recorded it live so think it is going to in three days we cut satisfy all kind of hard the first six songs rock fans and I hope which had drums and bass – I did of vibe, the different type of to be back in the UK. I always love overdubs with the guitars. The energy. It was a bit more stripped playing there. first half of the album was done down and a bit more energetic

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Interviewed by Lee Walker What is between the buried and you?

I have always thought of the band name in general to just be a reference to life, living, trying to make the most out of everyday that you can. That’s how I have always seen it. People can look at it literally and I know a lot of people look at the name in a grim way just due to the mere mention of ‘buried’ but I think it has a positive connotation to it. It’s from a great heavy song from a great album.

What prompted you to produce a rock opera/concept album?

It’s the third conceptual music album that we have done. We started it with ‘Colors’, which was not lyrically conceptual, but

musically definitely was and we wrote it as one solid piece more so than what we just wrote. With ‘Coma Ecliptic’ which we had the idea of it running more like a theatrical presentation there are breaks between songs, there are songs that naturally flow into another but not as abruptly as ‘Colors’ did where you really had to look at the cd player to see if the track had actually changed because the songs was that seemless on the album. So for us it’s such a fun format to write in, it’s like the lyrics tie in with the music, with the artwork with the video with our life video show where we play the full album. It’s just so fun to write like that you feel like you presenting something

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much larger than just a collection of songs and I think it resonates with us I think we do it pretty well and it was a lot of fun taking our music to the next level on this one and I think that the approach that we took plays into letting the story speak for itself a little more and let the lyrics and vocals sometimes carry the song or parts more and that was a lot of fun to do.

Quickly scanning through the bio accompanying the new album (‘Coma Ecliptic’) I can see that there is a “story” of sorts behind it for want of a better phrase. Can you tell the Firebrand readers a little about it?

There is a story, it is a conceptual rock opera album as we just said

and it’s about a man in a self induced coma who is basically escaping his life, his reality and the album is about him visiting a lot of bizarre worlds over the course of four songs There are manifestations of things that are lodged like regressed memories or like nightmarish dreams there are some definite kind of trippy ‘Alice In Wonderland’ type shit that happens in some of the songs There is a song ‘Turned On The Darkness’ where he is in a place where up is down and left is right, colours are inverted and different.

Tommy did such a great way to accompany how different the songs are from one and other but to be able to tie them together.

Each place he goes to is a template for exploring whatever new mood or vibe is going on in the song even if there is musical themes that are carried over into it. The stories are about him realizing that what he thought was real his home life actually wasn’t. It is a constant search for self and try to find out where he fits and

ultimately ends. It’s a dramatic end.

If you had to sum up ‘Coma Ecliptic’ with one word what would it be?

‘Theatrical’, ‘Dramatic’ that was something that was really fun to write with in the back of my mind and produced some interesting heavy emotional dramatic musical themes and some great lyrical passages and laid the groundwork for a really cool story. and it’s about a man in a self induced coma who is basically escaping his life, his reality and the album is about him visiting a lot of bizarre worlds over the course of four songs There are manifestations of things that are lodged like regressed memories or like nightmarish dreams there are some definite kind of trippy ‘Alice In Wonderland’ type shit that happens in some of the songs There is a song ‘Turned On The Darkness’ where he is in a place where up is down and left is right, colours are inverted and different.

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Tommy did such a great way to accompany how different the songs are from one and other but to be able to tie them together.

Each place he goes to is a template for exploring whatever new mood or vibe is going on in the song even if there is musical themes that are carried over into it. The stories are about him realizing that what he thought was real his home life actually wasn’t. It is a constant search for self and try to find out where he fits and ultimately ends. It’s a dramatic end.

If you had to sum up ‘Coma Ecliptic’ with one word what would it be?

‘Theatrical’, ‘Dramatic’ that was something that was really fun to write with in the back of my mind and produced some interesting heavy emotional dramatic musical themes and some great lyrical passages and laid the groundwork for a really cool story.

A lot of ‘rock opera’/concept type of releases seem to have a reputation of struggling to really pull it off when performed live. Do you think that ‘Coma Ecliptic’ will escape that pitfall?

Of course, yes. We write these albums like we wrote ‘Parallax 2’ to be performed live and this one is going to be a lot of fun. I personally get to play a lot more keyboards than I have live and that’s exciting and is something fun and different for me. It’s going to be a blast. We are going to do it in 2016 we are going to do it in America and hopefully we will get to do it all over the world. We will see how it goes. We are going to Europe in the Fall so if there was the demand to have us back it would be awesome.

What do you have planned for the future?

We leave for tour in five days and the record comes out a week from tomorrow, July 10th so we are going to be on tour for six weeks in America celebrating the release of the album which is very cool. We will be in the UK and Europe in September and October which will be super fun we will be with great British prog rock group Pagan. They are absolutely incredible. They are one of my favourite bands. We will be back in America in November and December on a tour that we haven’t announced yet but is a great package and we are really excited about it. In 2016 we are going to do the full album and hit the rest of the places in the world that we haven’t been on the cycle so far. I know we are trying to get to Australia and Japan on the same trip and hopefully South America for the first time would be great and maybe we will get back to Mexico, we was there in February right after we got out of the studio), so hopefully we will be able to go back and play the new album and play some new songs.

What are your top 5 rock opera/ concept albums of all time?

That’s a tough question because as it turns out a lot of my favourite albums are classified as conceptual records and I am sure that’s why the format agrees with me so much is because I have gotten so much out of those albums and the replay on them is just incredible and I think a lot of musicians are maybe this way but I am definitely this way, that I listen to an album and if I like it and it resonates with me straight away that’s great and then at a certain point listening to the album becomes a deeper thing and it becomes like a research project and you are really digging in. There are some bands like King Crimson who are a continual source of education and just brilliant. I will never stop learning from them.

Back to the rock operas and concept albums that have really inspired me. The writing of this album I was really big on ‘Quadrophenia’ by The Who. I was definitely late to The Who party in my life. I got into them in the last three or four years and ‘Quadrophenia’ has really been the one that has really resonated with me I love the use of the reoccurring themes , the themes themselves being so heavy and dramatic and the finale on the album is crushing its soo good. I just love it.

‘Operation Mind Crime’ by Queensryche I felt was a guilty pleasure for years. Its an album that I love so much and I think is so cool and such a cool statement for that band in particular because if you look at where they were at that moment in time it was a risky thing to do in the late 80s. The scene that they were grouped in with was like hair metal for want of a better word even though they was clearly on a different tip even before that .

Doing this large conceptual piece and citing The Wall as an influence. That was not the ‘in thing’ to do for sure. This was when people were selling millions of albums and it was a huge

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chance and it is still the records that’s by Queensryche that’s still talked about today. It’s a cool album. Definably a dark theme and some cool characters. I like that there is a creepy doctor and medical presence on it, which the coma record (‘Coma Ecliptic’) defiantly does as well. I think it’s a fun thing, something Tommy was not probably aware off, but I think that kind of thing plays into the concept records really well.

‘Dark Side Of The Moon’, ‘The Wall’ I can list equally for different reasons. ‘The Wall’ is a big rock opera, a big opus for Roger Waters. It has the different dynamics and the grandiose sort of thing but then ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ is this study using a few themes and making half an hour of great, seemless music that is so timeless and the themes on it just resonate so well still. Its just incredible.

A different one is ‘The Ugly Organ’ by Cursive. I think that might have been one of the first concept records along with Dream Theatre’s ‘Scenes From A Memory’ that really resonated with me. That was one of the first times I really locked in with the idea of an album being more than just a collection of songs . These themes coming back throughout the album, the use of a big finale.

The finale to ‘The Ugly Organ’ is great. I got to see them perform it in its entirety earlier this year celebrating a decade plus of it. I think it came out twelve years or so ago. That was incredible. It was really cool. So for number five we will say its Dream Theatre’s ‘Scenes From A Memory’. That is the album that changed my life as a musician when I was in high school .

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THE

ROOM Support from - Soft Machine when performing it live (unless of course they are miming).

However, I just saw a band outdo their last CD and deliver a great solid live performance that was superb to watch.

I am of course talking about The Room. Now these guys are a semi prog/ melodic rock band from the south of England (and no not one shandy or limp wrist in sight!!). I have to say the tracks they performed including the new single “Carrie” were stunning, Martin Wilson’s vocals and stage presence grabbed the attention of the audience perfectly.

In my line of work, I get to see so The set list included a lot of many bands perform live up and material from the debut album down the country and to be honest “Open Fire” and a couple from the at times I ask myself why I brand new as yet to be released bothered. Then occasionally you album coming this November. I see a band that breaks all your have to say that the thing that expectations and gives you faith in impressed me the most was how live music again. tight the band was, how polished It is an extremely rare they were in their act and above all situation to find a band that can else the enjoyment was clearly match their recorded material

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visible in the band enjoying themselves.

My only complaint was as a support slot The Room really should have been headlining and the allotted time was in my opinion way too short.

If you like your rock with a few prog elements thrown into the mix then I seriously suggest you check out The Room and if you get the chance go to see them live you will not be disappointed!

Check out their website on www.theroom.eu Also go give them a like on Facebook www.facebook.com/theroom.eu

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Iron Maiden Speed Of Light

1

Skindred Under Attack

2

Ill Nino Blood Is Thicker Than Water

3

Crazy Town (ft. J.Angel & DJ AM) Born To Raise Hell

4

Venrez Children Of The Drones

5

18

Powerwolf Blessed & POssessed

1

Gus G Brand New Revolution

2

Roal Hunt XII the devil’s dozen

3

Entrails Obliteration

4

Xandria Fire and Ashes

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19

Travis of

Interviewed by Lee Walker Thanks for taking the time out to answer a few quick questions.

No problem my man.

with The Locust. That's all I wanted to do was tour the world and play in places I never thought I would. I took the band very seriously from Having been a member of the the beginning and we've aligned band since around 1997 I believe, ourselves with likewise thinking did you think that the band would individuals and that's how we've still be going some 13 years later? managed to move on up the Not really. I mean, I only knew what ladder.

I wanted to achieve but having grown up in local bands that went You have been quoted as being nowhere and couldn't catch any "one of the few metal bands whose kind of break, not even a national message hits as hard as their show, I didn't think I'd ever get a music" borrowing from chance to tour the world or Wikipedia with “songs protesting anything like that. If it all ended the mistreatment and tomorrow we would have had one consumption of animals, the abuse seriously hell of a run. But we of the environment and touch persevere and that's why we're subjects such as misanthropy and still here. We've had a lot of things genocide of the human race”. Has happen to where it was like "is this the bands message changed the end?" and we figured shit out much over the years? and kept going. I joined within 6 or Well, I think focus was shifted for so months of the band being sure. Our first two albums were started and it was practically almost all strictly dealing with the placed in my lap and thus I took a meat industry and the more managerial role since the mistreatment of animals and other two dudes were busy touring those albums both had 15 or so

20

songs a piece so I didn't want to sound like a broken record and chose to address other topics as well soon after, with the stuff that was a mainstay in the band finding itself more peppered throughout the records instead of being one focal point that all songs touch on.

There's plenty of things to talk about. The message is the same as it always has been: There's no reason to be a piece of shit.

Respect others, respect animals, respect the earth.

Your album covers have been quite controversial over the years – 2002’s ‘To Serve Man’ and 2004’s ‘Humanure’ immediately spring to mind as classic examples. Has this caused many issues for the band?

Yeah and I really don't know why.

They're insanely tame. Germany had a problem with To Serve Man, basically they were afraid to release it because of so many issues with censorship in the

past. TSM is completely tame whereas Humanure is pretty damn gross. Looking at it, it almost looks like a bloody vagina or something. Even though you can see cowshit in pretty much every field where there are cows, you're most likely not going to see one shitting out human body parts. I don't know, maybe I'm desensitized, but this was all kinda ridiculous. They're not that bad at all and at least we're saying something and not just using gore for the sake of gore.

whole time, ya know? I think we've gotten pretty damn far given the kind of music we play and the genres we're a part of. We've done far more than I ever thought we

for two reasons: I love music, its my life and this is what I've always wanted to do and traveling to play concerts. I get to see the world and play music. That's so cool. So perhaps our covers and content haven't really done much of anything to hinder us.

With the release of the new album around the corner what do you have lined up to support it?

A ridiculous amount of touring that's already piling up of course! Our manager is working on a world tour now that will be broken up Do you think this has helped over time and staggered a or hindered the bit. Josh and I are married development of the band? and would rather not spend Hindered, most likely. I the entire year constantly mean, how far can one touring with no breaks in really get when their band is between tours but we'll be called "Cattle Decapitation" doing a ton of stuff of all things. I think we've pretty would anyways. There's still plenty regardless. I have a slew of ideas much limited what we can do from of stuff left to do. Never been to for tours, names, etc and things the get go, haha. So maybe it Japan for instance, or Asia, places are looking pretty good at this hasn't really hindered us if we like that. Hopefully that will change point! knew what the ceiling was the on this record. I've done this band

21

John and Alan Of

Interviewed by Rob BIrtley

22

Hi Guys many thanks for giving us some of your time as you must be busy in the run up to the album release so let’s make this short and sweet.

First how did the writing work you who did what?

John: Hi Rob, I was working on a solo album with Andrew and I contacted Alan to see if he had any songs spare to use on the record, He sent us loads ha ha, the man is a writing machine !! lol.

So Andrew and I started working on the songs back and forth with Alan, we then sent him some of our ideas.

Alan: Between the three of us we ended up with what is now Edge Of The Blade, everyone’s contributions make it what it is, very much a team effort

think it works really well, Andrew comes from a much heavier background and his ideas along with mine and John’s makes for an exciting combination John: The combination of us all is where we get this exciting blend of heavy riffs with melodic harmonies.

I personally love it and think it works great.

What bands influenced you during recording?

Alan: Personally I like bands like Avenged Sevenfold and The Used John: I love Def Leppard and Steely Dan…..

Andrew loves anything that makes your ears bleed ha, ha, ha, he’s a huge Thrash fan. We have just completed 22 Thrash tracks for his own project!!!

with countless people.

Alan: By the way I did ask Andrew to chat but he is not one for any kind of limelight.

I guess you could say being a fine guitar player and the quiet one he’s the George Harrison of the band.

Last anything you'd like to tell me about the album what's your favourite track and why any themes?

Alan: There are a lot of things I like about this album and I would go as far as to say it is the best project I have worked on since Shy’s Excess All Areas, that is how high I rate this project, my favourite track I think would be ‘The Taken’, just because it I like the overall sound and direction of this song John: The Promised Land because I just love it, it’s Awesome

Andrew Chick a name I'm not faNext what were the influences that miliar with what's his biog in a nutdrove the album? After all it’s very shell Thanks guys it’s a pleasure and so John: Andrew is a Quiet shy different to Shy or 7HY? was the album.

Alan: from my point of view I liked person with a big, big heart; he the heavier approach coupled with loves music and has worked as a Producer/engineer and musician good melodies and harmonies I

23

EPW Ellesmere Port, Civic Hall, 13 June 2015 Reviewed by: Lee Walker Championship with Leeds based Val Kabious defending his championship belt against Japan’s Masked Destroyer pitting the pure atheism of Val Kabious against the cunning opportunistic traditional heel style of the Masked Destroyer in a clash of styles.

Continuing Firebrand’s coverage of Right from the get go Val wrestling when I saw that EPW Kabious was the was putting on a show in my home clear crowd town with TNA’s superstar Bram favourite with both as part of the event it was an wrestlers hitting high opportunity to good to pass up. impact blows with Ellesmere Port’s Civic Hall Val Kabious has had a long history of staging managing to pull off a events but I had never had a brutal looking reason to photograph there until moonsault followed this event nor had I photographed by his trademark a wrestling event before so yes the ‘Kabious Driver’ phrase learning curve appears. finisher taking the Kicking off the event was a win and showing why scheduled EPW British there is a lot of talk

24

of him going to NXT to take up a developmental contract.

Led to the ring in shackles the Inmate faced off against Snot Rotten. The match swayed back and forth with the high flying antics of Snot Rotten eventually gaining him the upper hand before Mass Destruction interfered, throwing Snot Rotten from the top rope allowing the Inmate the opportunity to take the win. After the match ended The Inmate

and Masked Destroyer continue to beat down Snot Rotten until Blade runs to the ring to make the save setting up the scene for a tag team match between all four wrestlers later in the evening.

Pausing to give an award to the legendary Buddy Ward (Editors note Alfred Birchall aka Buddy Ward sadly passed away on Thursday June 18th) before moving on to a no disqualification fatal 4 way between Tokyo Joe, Davey Blaine, Prince Ameen and TNA superstar and reigning EPW World champion Bram. With all of the combatants bringing weapons to the ring with the exception of Bram, well apart from the fact that lets be honest about it Bram is a weapon, you knew before the bell even had a chance to ring that most of the match would be hardcore and spend more time out of the ring than within it. The match did not disappoint with the use of a Singapore cane, chairs and the obligatory table all

featuring with Bram being the eventual winner by choke slamming Tokyo Joe through a table in the centre of the ring and easily pining him.

The event ended with the obligatory battle royal match between all the participants of the earlier matches.

Starting off with a lot of the wrestlers grappling on the floor before finally entering the ring the action was fast and furious with every participant battling for himself The first to be eliminated was Masked Destroyer by Val Kabious after Val hit him with a super kick after narrowly escaping being eliminated himself moments earlier, quickly followed by Snot Rotten being thrown over the ropes by Bram.

Prince Ameen eliminated Blade and Davey Blaine in quick succession and became involved in a slug fest with Val Kabious before The Inmate intervened with a low blow allowing the Prince to recover long enough to take advantage and

25

eliminate Val. Prince Ameen and The Inmate then teamed up and double teamed Bram before Bram turned the tables and eliminated both men winning the match.

As Val Kabious was making his way back to the dressing room Bram called him in the ring and after a brief standoff raised his hand putting him over with the crowd.

I look forward to EPW returning to Ellesmere Port on the 9th of October.

Check out the official EPW channel below for full recordings of all EPW shows https://www.youtube.com/user/ EPWWRESTLETV And don’t forget to check out the Official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ EPWAMERICANWRESTLING? fref=ts

4FW: Live! Wrestling featuring TNA Star Eric Young Event Venue - Hawkinge Community Centre Date: 24th October 2015

EPW Durham Event Venue - Meadowfield Leisure Centre Date: 18th September 2015

tre Date: 17th October 2015

ICW: Appetite For Destruction Event Venue - University of East Anglia (UEA) American Wrestling EPW Ellesmere Port Return Of Bram Date: 17th October 2015 Event Venue - Whitehaven sports cen- Event Venue - Civic Hall tre Date: 9th October 2015 ICW: Get My Rocks Off! Date: 17th October 2015 Event Venue - Rock City EPW Harrogate Date: 1st November 2015 An Evening with Rey Mysterio - LonEvent Venue - Rossett Sports don Centre ICW: Live Forever Event Venue - Piccadilly Theatre Date: 27th September 2015 Event Venue - Manchester Date: 26th October 2015 Academy 2 EPW Middlesbrough Date: 30th October 2015 An Evening with Rey Mysterio - Man- Event Venue - Rainbow Leisure Cenchester tre ICW: When The Sun Goes Down Event Venue - The Comedy Store, Date: 26th September 2015 Event Venue - O2 Academy Manchester Sheffield Date: 28th October 2015 EPW Middlesbrough Return Of Bram Date: 18th October 2015 Event Venue - Top Corner Sports An Evening with X-PAC, Q&A Date: 25th October 2015 IPW:UK 11ya: Snodmania 2015 session and LCW Show!!!

Event Venue - Snodland Event Venue - Brockington College EPW Peterlee Community Centre Date: 31st October 2015 Event Venue - Peterlee Leisure Centre Date: 5th September 2015 Date: 25th September 2015 Elite British Wrestling Presents Fall IPW:UK 11ya: Tour Finale 2015 Out: All 4 War EPW Ripon Event Venue - The White Oak Event Venue - Sheffield Library Thea- Event Venue - Ripon Leisure Leisure Centre tre Centre Date: 27th September 2015 Date: 26th September 2015 Date: 30th October 2015 IPW:UK 11ya: Uk Future 8 2015 Elite British Wrestling Presents EPW Saltburn Event Venue - The Angel Centre Showdown In Chapeltown 2015 Event Venue - Saltburn Earthbeat Date: 19th September 2015 Event Venue - Newton Memorial Hall Date: 11th September 2015 Date: 23rd October 2015 IPW:UK 11ya: Uk Super 8 2015 EPW Shildon Event Venue - The Angel Centre Elite British Wrestling Presents Event Venue - Civic Hall Date: 20th September 2015 Smack To The Future Date: 23rd October 2015 Event Venue - Crookes Social Club IPW:UK 11ya: Unfinished Date: 9th October 2015 EPW Stanley IPW:UK 11ya: Unfinished Event Venue - Stanley Civic Hall Business 2015 Elite British Wrestling Presents Win- Date: 19th September 2015 Event Venue - Selsdon Community ter Wars 2015 Centre Event Venue - Queens Social Club EPW Willington Date: 26th September 2015 Date: 28th November 2015 Event Venue - Willington Spectrum Date: 16th October 2015 Kamikaze Pro Presents Full Moon EPW Dewsbury Event Venue - The Cadbury Club Event Venue - Dewsbury Town Hall FPW Presents Trick Or Treat V Date: 27th September 2015 Date: 13th November 2015 Event Venue - The Thomas Wall Cen-

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LCW Face/Off '15 Event Venue - Brockington College Date: 5th September 2015 Legacy Wrestling - Gold and Glory Event Venue - The Leamington Assembly Date: 5th September 2015 Main Event Wrestling Presents Northern Bash 2015 Event Venue - Northumbria University Date: 2nd October 2015 New Generation Wrestling Live In Northallerton Event Venue - The Forum Date: 5th September 2015 New Generation Wrestling Presents Collision Course 2015 Event Venue - Hull City Hall Date: 19th September 2015

Date: 26th September 2015 PBW Presents Maximum Impact 2015 Event Venue - Greenock Town Hall Date: 24th October 2015 Phoenix Events presents 'Tickled Pink' Event Venue - Parklands Sport and Social Club Date: 1st November 2015 Pro Wrestling Chaos 16 Event Venue - Filwood Community Centre Date: 19th September 2015 Pro Wrestling Chaos 17 Event Venue - Hanham Community Centre Date: 24th October 2015 Pro Wrestling Chaos 18 Event Venue - Yate Leisure Centre Date: 5th December 2015

Target Wrestling Live in Carlisle Event Venue - The Venue Date: 11th September 2015 Tidal Championship Wrestling Presents Against All Odds #2 Event Venue - Leeds University Union Date: 27th September 2015 Tidal Championship Wrestling Presents: The Last Dance Event Venue - The Dolphin Centre Date: 12th September 2015 TRIPLE M Promotions Present The Golden Truth Tour: An audience with Kurt Angle - Cardiff Event Venue - Cardiff City FC Date: 19th November 2015

TRIPLE M Promotions Present The Golden Truth Tour: An audience with New Generation Wrestling Showcase Wrestling Presents Game Kurt Angle - Edinburgh Presents Proving Ground 28 Of Champions Event Venue - Hearts FC Event Venue - Beverley Memorial Hall Event Venue - The Lochside Club Date: 22nd November 2015 Date: 11th October 2015 Date: 12th September 2015 TRIPLE M Promotions Present The New Generation Wrestling: Southside Presents Adrenaline Rush Golden Truth Tour: An audience with Eternal Glory 2015 Kurt Angle - Leicester Event Venue - Circus Tavern Event Venue - Liverpool Olympia Event Venue - Leicester City FC Date: 26th September 2015 Date: 1st November 2015 Date: 20th November 2015 Southside Presents Bedlam In BedNWA Fight Nation Presents: TRIPLE M Promotions Present The ford Friday Fight Night Golden Truth Tour: An audience with Event Venue - Bedford Corn Event Venue - Weymouth Pavilion Kurt Angle - London Exchange Date: 4th September 2015 Event Venue - Charlton Football Club Date: 28th October 2015 Date: 18th November 2015 NWA Fight Nation Wrestling Southside Presents Day Of Presents Modern Warfar0e TRIPLE M Promotions Present The Reckoning 7 & Ill Manors 2015 Event Venue - Atlantis Nightclub Golden Truth Tour: An audience with Event Venue - Corporation Date: 6th November 2015 Kurt Angle - Manchester Date: 10th October 2015 Event Venue - Hotel Football NWWA: You Gotta Move!

Date: 23rd November 2015 Southside Wrestling 5th Event Venue - Victoria Baths Anniversary Show Date: 7th November 2015 TRIPLE M Promotions Present Event Venue - Gordon Craig The Golden Truth Tour: An Theatre One Night Only - St Mary's Street Date: 24th October 2015 audience with Kurt Angle Massacre Rotherham Event Venue - Walkabout Cardiff Southside Wrestling Presents Young Event Venue - Rotherham United Date: 1st November 2015 Tigers Cup FC Event Venue - Commemoration Hall Date: 21st November 2015 One Night Only Presents Hardcore Date: 1st November 2015 Holly Event Venue - Walkabout Cardiff SWE Braemar Day Brawl Date: 28th September 2015 UKWE Wrestling Entertainment Event Venue - Blairgowrie Town hall Presents: Testing Ground Date: 5th September 2015 Weekend PBW Live In Dumbarton Event Venue - Meadow Centre SWE Too Hot For PG Event Venue - Denison Hall Club Date: 28th November 2015 Event Venue - Buskers And Institute Date: 6th September 2015 Date: 12th September 2015 PBW Live In Larbert Event Venue - Dobbie Hall SWE Uprising: Nation Date: 10th October 2015 Event Venue - Ardler complex

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VPW 'Into the Hills' Event Venue - Theatr Soar Date: 12th September 2015 W3L Wrestling Showdown Dunfermline Event Venue - Carnegie Leisure Centre Date: 3rd October 2015 W3L Wrestling Showdown Grangemouth Event Venue - Grangemouth Town Hall Date: 5th September 2015

W3L Wrestlution IX Event Venue - The Brunton Date: 2nd October 2015 WWL 'Stars of the Squared Circle' Colchester Event Venue - Weston Homes Community Stadium Date: 11th October 2015 WWL The Only Way Is Extreme #TOWIE Event Venue - The Kingsway Hall Date: 13th September 2015

W3L Wrestling Showdown - St Andrews Event Venue - Cosmos Community Centre Date: 4th October 2015

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Due to Firebrand’s Rock & Metal Express expanding at an alarming rate, we now have vacancies for

Reviewers | Interviewers | Contributing Writers So if rock and metal is in your blood and writing is your passion - apply today to be part of something BIG! For more information or to apply please email

reviews@firebrandrr.co.uk

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Powerwolf

Blessed & Possessed

Record Label

Napalm Records

Release Date

17 July 2015

Reviewer

Rob Birtley

Highlight

Let There Be Night

As you may well know Powerwolf was founded in 2003 by brothers Charles and Matthew Greywolf. German based Blessed & Possessed is their sixth studio album and the current line-up is Attila Dorn – Vocals, Matthew Greywolf – Guitar, Charles Greywolf – Guitar, Falk Maria Schlegel – Organ and Roel van Helden – Drums. Their sound is archetypal German Power Metal with the added twist of Church Organ and the huge voice of Dorn, who studied classical opera at the Music Academy of Bucharest.

The piece starts with the title track ‘Blessed & Possessed’. The vocal choral opening is right out of the ‘Old Spice’ add huge drums bursting in double kicking for all they are worth. Then Dorn’s vocal rips large and events take on a Battle

Metal flavour especially in the chorus.

Now some have observed this track sounds similar to ‘Amen & Attack’ from the previous album, Preachers Of The Night. It’s fair to say the band has not tried to re-invent the wheel on this album but it’s hard to seriously criticise anyone following a winning formulae and giving it an extra polish.

Similar to Sabaton not just in terms of sound, but in the faith both bands have in their own style and subject matter. Neither band really wants to alter nor do dyed-in-the-wool fans of either band probably want them to change. ‘Dead Until Dark’ has a spookily similar melody to ‘Son of a Wolf’ from 2011’s Blood Of The Saints played at a much faster tempo. Every track is played with great gusto, containing enormous descants on the organ, classic riffs

Trixter

and booming drums provide a rock-hard spine. Songs that are Metal earworms, yes you know exactly what’s coming next but they run circles in your head for hours, such as ‘We Are The Wild’, ‘Sacramental Sister’ and the single ‘Army Of The Night’ are the order of the day. ‘Let There Be Night’ opens with a crack of thunder is a slower track with embroidered with orchestral elements. It has epic scale and grandeur, the military cadence alongside the classical arrangement work to almost perfection. This is not an album to win the band a huge new following but it will keep hard-core fans very happy.

Human Era

Record Label

Frontiers Records

Release Date

5 June 2015

Reviewer

Stephen Brophy

Highlight

Every Second Counts

Trixter have always been a band I really liked, of the Melodic/Glam Rock bands of the late 80's and early 90's they were one of the few for me to get the balance right with having a slightly harder edge and maintaining the melody throughout. Although 2012's New Audio Machine release was decent it didn't really do it for me, but this album is definitely working it's way around the crevices of my mind very nicely, and they still manage to maintain that edgy feel.

Tracks like "Midnight In Her Eyes", "All Night Long" and the bubbling "Every Second Counts" really do push the quality up on this release, the band appear to be having fun with the songs and it's not just eleven tracks with a glammy front on them, for example "Every Second Counts" has a very modern feel to it, reminds

me a little in places of something maybe Feeder would have produced at their best, but it goes further than that, with this album I think Trixter are working hard to not just emulate what they have done in the past and are trying hard to create something new and maybe a little different from the rash of late 80's/early 90's bands that are pushing out reruns of past glories, not everything works but it's commendable that they are trying new avenues and working hard at it.

It's great to have Trixter back and releasing a good quality album like this, there's plenty to like here, and some nice variety too, glammy party songs, ballads to some almost country rock in there too. Human Era is not a faultless album, but it's a good album with some excellent tracks on it and if you were already a fan of the

32

band there's certainly more than enough to keep you happy, and even tracks like "Beats Me Up" work quite well. Were they to tour this new material I for one would certainly make a trip out to see them.

Red’s Cool

Press Hard

Record Label

SPV Records

Release Date

28 August 2015

Reviewer

Rob Birtley

Highlight

Call Me

Self-billed as an uncompromising Hard Rock band from St. Petersburg Russia formed by Sergey Fedotov in 2009 as OLDSCHOOL Press Hard is in effect the band’s third album. The line-up is Slava Spark – vocals, Sergey Fedotov – guitar, Ilya "Lu" Smirnov - guitar/ backing-vocals, Dmitry "Dee" Pronin - bass/ backing-vocals and Andrey Kruglov – drums. Expect to hear 80/90’s Hard Rock influenced by the likes of Whitesnake, The Scorpions, The Pretty Maids, Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe.

The album opens with ‘Dangerous One’ from the first note you know it’s cloned from 80’s Blues based Boogie of Whitesnake. In fact the vocal is as gravel-rich and croaky as Coverdale sounds now. Next up is ‘My Way’ once again The Snake

influence is heavy but this time traces of The Pretty Maids can be detected.

The first two tracks were gone, the playing was competent, singing well I had my reservations and I was yet to find a vestige of originality. ‘The Way I Am’ opens up acoustic like something from Starkers In Tokyo and continues in a Whitesnake vain. The song does have a number of hooks like most of the tracks on the album but they are all well-worn and borrowed. ‘Brand New Start’ is turgid low key Scorpions meet Whitesnake with a bit of Rehab Mötley Crüe chucked in for good measure. By now I’m looking forward to the end of this album.

‘Strangers Eyes’ has a West-coast AOR vibe but misses the mark and is laboured. Now I’m praying for the last track. ‘Call Me’ opens with the heartbeat of the

Praying Mantis

Scorpions before Whitesnake breaks in. It also has the best vocal on the album and struts its stuff in clothes borrowed from Blue Murder making it the best track on the album. It’s easy to see why bands Like Black Star Riders and Accept have chosen this band to open for them, no way would Red’s Cool upstage them. If this band was a motorbike it would be a Cossack Ural the Russian BMW replica because that’s just what they are an inferior clone of 80/90’s Hard Rock. Who’s going to buy it? People who think David Coverdale can still sing and miss the crackle and pop of vinyl.

Legacy

Record Label

Frontiers Records

Release Date

23 July 2015

Reviewer

Rob Birtley

Highlight

Better Man

Praying Mantis formed in 1974 was always an enigma on the N.W.O.B.H.M scene steering a Melodic course amidst the sea of Metal. Legacy is their 10th album the line-up is founding members and brothers Tino and Chris Troy Guitars/Vocals and Bass/Vocals respectively, Andy Burgess – Guitars/Vocals, ohn 'Jaycee' Cuijpers - Lead Vocals and Hans In T' Zandt – Drums/Vocals. Proceedings commence with ‘Fight For Your Honour’ as the name suggests it a rallying cry of a song. Metal based Melodic in a style similar ‘Countdown to Zero’ by Grand Prix. The bombastic vocal is like an enraged Dougie White of years gone by a cracking start.

Next up is ‘The One’ which reminds me of Saxon in its mellower moments. The guitar break is pure joy

as are the vocal harmonies.

‘Believable’ opens with piano before the twin guitars attack kicks in, the vocal harmonies make the song unforgettable totally Melodic with a cutting Metal edge. Cuijpers vocal gymnastics run the full gamut and are passion packed. ‘Tokyo’ has an oriental backbeat. The Dio-esque vocal is majestic, the drums are thunderous and the song itself is like Pretty Maids meets House Of Lords it’s that good. ‘Better Man’ slows the pace a little but turns up the heat in an Allen & Lande manner and is spellbinding. The twin guitar break is rapturous. ‘Eyes Of a Child’ opens with keyboards and repeats a middle eastern refrain, structured like songs

by The Pretty Maids with all the hooks freshly barbed and sharpened. ‘The Runner’ and ‘Against The World’ are

33

archetypal Praying Mantis songs that more than hold their own with the band’s back-catalogue. ‘Fallen Angel’ is underpinned by a superb bass riff that weaves in and out. The track itself has an epic scale like Allen & Lande with a fine guitar lick fadeout.

Final track ‘Second Time Around’ picks up speed and dials in the Metal with a classic guitar exchange in the break and well-chosen changes of tempo it’s kind of melodic rock that bands like Freedom Call have styled their brand Power Metal on. To Sum up if you’re a fan of high quality hard edged Melodic Rock Legacy is an album you’ve prayed for and will drool over.

Iconic Eye

Hidden In Plain Sight

Record Label

Sky Rocket Records

Release Date

10 July 2015

Reviewer

Rob Birtley

Highlight

Let It Rain Down

Every now and again you hear a whisper about a new band that you just have to check out. When Lee Small is involved it makes me doubly curious so I did some digging. Iconic Eye consists of Tim Dawkes Vocals, Greg Dean Songwriter / Guitars and Keyboards, David Wasson- Lead Guitars, Gary Slater- Bass, Paul Emery –Drums, Lee Small- Guest V ocals, Hidden In Plain Sight is their debut album. What to expect well Klassic British Heavy A.O.R sitting neatly between Thunder and FM full of craft and loaded with energy and earworms of songs.

First song is an up tempo Rocker ‘Now That I’ve Found Love’.

The guitars and keyboards bounce off one another the vocal without doubt is Lee Small a voice likened by some to the young Glenn Hughes. ‘You

Make It’ flows like a well-oiled FM number once again with Small at the mike silky smooth in soul-fuelled cruise-control. The guitar solo fills the gap in fine style this one burrows into your brain and stays there. ‘Don’t Stop Me From Leaving’ dials in the passion and slows the pace a little.

Small delivers a vocal tour de force that almost induces a tear in the eye for this weepie. During the break both guitars cascade off each other this is without doubt standout AOR with a modern twist. Next is up another power ballad just when you think things can’t get any better Tim Dawkes takes the lead for the epic ‘Let It Rain Down’ and matches Small note for note. Keyboards and acoustic guitar start complimenting the crystal clear clarity of the vocal the full band exploding like thunder in the chorus.

Armored saint

Haunting in a good way is how I’d describe it. Like all the songs on this album the deceptive simplicity just draws you in.

The vocal Coupe de Grasse on this album has to be Dawkes rendition of ‘Here I Stand’ it’s simply faultless. The studio project Greg Dean formed Iconic Eye to record his favourite self-penned songs has metamorphosed it something far more meaningful. His discovery of Tim Dawkes it proves it’s a three way shootout for the top-gun vocalist in Brit AOR and not just ‘Mano a Mano’ between Small and Ousey. For a debut album Hidden In Plain Sight is just staggering.

Win Hands Down

Record Label

Metal Blade Records

Release Date

6 June 2015

Reviewer

Stephen Brophy

Highlight

In An Instant

It's great to see Armored Saint back again with new material after a 5 year gap since 2010's excellent La Raza.

There is just something great about the combination of Bush, Vera, Duncan and the Sadoval brothers that has always grabbed my attention, and a band that never seemed to get the credit they deserved over the years while always maintaining a high standing amongst the Metal hordes.

This album throws up quite a lot of different styles, nothing sounding out of place and it's great to have versatility that works. The title track is very strong, we move from an almost thrash into slow mellow spaced out almost proggy section before jumping back to a powerful almost hypnotic riff and screaming guitars, it's a blast. Sonething with this album that you are never in doubt

of, this is a real band, music is what counts here and whether a fan or not you have to admire the honesty, I don't think as a band they've done anything but what they wanted to creatively, adding a song like "Dive" for a Metal band is brave, having a piano led song, slow and brooding, a terrific piece of work, the writing throughout is also top notch and despite the fact that this sounds so different to anything else here it fits like a glove, with some very classy guitars meandering over the top. Along with the epic "In An Instant", a seven minute wonder inspired by the events of the Boston Marathon attack and the fragility of life are the stand out tracks, and as with most albums that really hit the mark different songs stand out the more you listen to the album, take "With A Full Head Of

34

Steam" for example, with Bush joined

by Pearl Aday to share lead vocal duties and her voice is a perfect match here, the song dips ever so slightly around the middle, but it's still a really nice piece.

There's nothing better to listen to than an album from a band you've always liked that surpasses their past achievements, Win Hands Down is a superb album, maintains a freshness and purpose that elevates it to one of the best releases of 2015.

Edge Of The Blade

The Ghosts Of Humans

Record Label

Escape Music

Release Date

24 July 2015

Reviewer

Rob Birtley

Highlight

Rives Runs Red

Edge Of The Blade is a new band consisting of Alan Kelly Drums/ Bass/Backing Vocals (ex Shy), John Francis – Vocals (ex After Hours) and Andrew Chick – Guitars and Keyboards (engineer and producer).

The musical category well you’re talking a mix of Metal of various styles and a dash of Melodic Hard Rock. The work opens with a veritable behemoth of a track with elements of Prog/ Power Metal melded with Avenged Sevenfold.

Beginning ‘Mind Crime’ like a heartbeat and a tolling bell then Kelly wades in with GBH on the drum kit.

The vocal from Francis has just enough angst to set the mood then just on queue Chick launches into a superb guitar solo a twiddley epic ‘In Excelsis’ what a start. Next comes ‘Believer’ this is more hard edged

Melodic Rock augmented with a vocal that recalls Tony Martin in his quieter moments. It’s driving rhythm and counterpoint bass combining well with the lead. Track 3 ‘Everything I Own’ opens like Alterbridge and builds. The guitar this time more blocked and distorted like Tremonti grafted into a song with a Bluesy/Melodic vibe. ‘Mr Hell’ is an unlikely blend of Alterbridge, Sabbath and elements of E.L.O which somehow really works. ‘River Runs Red’ slows the tempo and turns up the heat at the same time. The vocal may well be the best on the album and the vocal harmonies are sublime plus the guitar solo tugs at your heartstrings.

The title track ‘The Ghosts of Humans’ has a shuddering almost Thrash opening. The whole effect generates a Sci-Fi post-apocalyptic

Spitfire

feel. Building a complex and dense wall of sound with a Sykes like guitar solo and like all the tracks on this album the production is definitive.

Last track is ‘Promised Land’ reminiscent of Maiden’s storytelling epics in flavour and tempo changes this track soars into Metal with the grace and speed of Concorde. Add several guitar flourishes it also rekindles Egyptian epics from the likes of Dio and Blue Murder to quote the singer ‘I just love it, it’s awesome’.

This debut is impressive in many ways, it’s a unique mix of styles and genres and the 3 protagonists in the band complement each other perfectly you need to hear it.

Fuel To Burn

Record Label

SpitfireNorway AS/Indie Distribution Release Date

Reviewer

Rob Birtley

Spitfire is a four piece formed in 2006 and come from Norway. Fuel To Burn is their 3rd album and the current line-up is JT - vocals, Bob guitar, Iggy -bass and Nicky-drums.

Their sound well Classic Metal/Hard Rock but they do have a Stoner thing going on Monster Magnet, Clutch and BLS come to mind. The title track ‘Fuel To Burn’ opens the album.

Powered by a huge bassline it has a distinct N.W.O.B.H.M feel and it Rocks along nicely, the lyrics also fit the cliché.

The mid-tempo ‘Damned If You Do’ opens pure Diamond Head, constructed from well-honed from a marriage of Sabbath and Metallica.

On ‘Dogfight’, the more subtle vocal rendition during the verses stands out, before the song spiral into a first-rate chorus and superior guitar

Highlight

solo. ‘Nightmare’ features some fine guitar pyrotechnics and a sense of palpable menace builds from the deep bassline invoking the spirit Avenged Sevenfold song of the same name. ‘Far Away’ starts with a Sabbath inspired Blues buzz which carries on through the song similar to ‘N.I.B’ delivered at a faster tempo. The band tells me this track is typical of where they are coming from at the moment and is a standout track for them. Live at full volume I reckon it would it could turn out to be a true Head Banging anthem complete with a sing along chorus and meaty guitar solo. This is an album scattered full of chunky guitar riffs. ‘Gimme Some’ combines elements of 70’s Rock with 80’s L.A. Sleaze stirring in elements of G’n’R. ‘I’ is a standout track. It was real passion and the angst filled vocal

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8 May 2015 I

heightens the broodiness, exposes an inner core and progresses into a maelstrom of a groove few grunge bands would dare to dream of let alone realize this intensity of torment fuelled fury. To use the band’s own words “Fuel to Burn is about good times, bad times, love, sex & death, nothing serious in other words.” It’s fresh and has a raw edge, it’s a combination of tried and trusted ingredients but still remains uniquely their own.

Gus G

Brand New Revolution

Record Label

Century Music

Release Date

24 July 2015

Reviewer

Rob Birtley

Highlight

The demon Inside

Gus G renown fret-shredder from Greece, founder of Firewind and current main man of The Prince of Darkness is about to release his second solo album in 12 months.

Brand New Revolution features guest singers, including Mats Levén (Candlemass, ex Yngwie Malmsteen), Jacob Bunton (Adler, Lynam), Jeff Scott Soto (Talisman, ex Journey) and Elize Ryd (Amaranthe).The rest of the ensemble is bassist Marty O Brien (Lita Ford, Tommy Lee) and Firewind bandmate Johan Nunez on drums.

The sound is a mix of various Rock & Metal with guitar pyrotechnics to the fore.

The album starts with the only instrumental ‘The Quest’. Crammed full of weighty riffs, one of which is spookily resonant of 90s thrash giants Exodus and amazing leads that

reminded me of John Petrucci playing in The Liquid Tension Experiment.

Jacob Bunton sings on the title track as well as ‘Burn’ and ‘We Are One’. All three have a ferocious hard rock beat-down going on. ‘Burn’ in particular sounding like Black Label Society meets Ozzy. The associated solo is spectacular. ‘We Are One’ has a touch of G’n’R especially in the vocal and in the Slash style burst of solo.

‘What Lies Below’ features Elize Ryd on vocal. To say she really hits the high notes is a huge understatement, the song shifts the focus of the album to somewhere between Evanescence and Lacuna Coil.

Next up is ‘Behind Those Eyes’ Bunton once again behind the mike but this time with a more mellow tone. The overall effect is like one of the better Malmsteen ballads. Jeff

Royal Hunt

Scott Soto delivers his legendary sound on ‘Gone To Stay’, taking us back mainstream Rock . ‘Come Hell or High Water’ is the first song to feature Mats Leven, is almost my favourites on the album, along with his last two ‘If It Ends Today’ and ‘The Demon Inside’. His screeching vocal across these songs is a wonder to be heard but it’s on the last track ‘The Demon Inside’ that he gives it full reign, invoking a Dio like atmosphere at times that is perfectly complimented by the solo. I know some knock the lyrics and bemoan it’s not just an instrumental but not me I like this just fine.

XII The Devil’s Dozen

Record Label

Frontiers Records

Release Date

21 August 2015

Reviewer

Rob Birtley

Highlight

Until The Day

I have a soft spot for Royal Hunt. They span the span that chasm between Progressive/Neo-Classical Metal and Melodic Hard Rock effortlessly with a unique sound all of their own. The Devil’s Dozen is their 13th studio album and a follow up to the critically acclaimed A Life To Die For of 2013.

The line-up for this release is D.C. Cooper Vocals, Jonas Larsen Guitars, Andreas Passmark Bass, André Andersen Keyboards, Guitars, Bass and Andreas Johansson Drums.

The curtain rises with ‘So Right So Wrong’ right away you are into prime Royal Hunt territory. Bombastic timpani, divine orchestration, DC Cooper in fine voice taking up just were the last album left off. Layer upon layer of keys and vocal harmonies builds a huge wall of sound. No wonder this is the teaser

track for the album. ‘May You Never (Walk Alone)’ starts off with a simple piano line then builds. It starts heading into a Work Of Art direction loosing elements of progression and heaping up the Melodic with a great guitar and keyboard solo interchange.

‘Heart On A Platter’ finds DC dropping is vocal a little to add to the sense of foreboding before soaring again in the chorus. The track is marked out by chunky/blocked guitar soloing delivered with a hard edge. Filling out the ending is a female vocal chorus once again this is more Melodic fair than usual.

‘A Tear In The Rain’ kicks-off with a detonating riff, full in your face keys, with a strong epic vibe of a melody all at a pace that never quits. ‘Until The Day’ is slower paced slower with an austere and theatrical

36

vibe in it and features an incredible solo with a wailing Gary Moore like quality. Beautifully fading out with a couple of piano notes simply put its Royal Hunt doing what they do best.

‘Rags To Riches’ apart from the strange jig injections reminds me of a number of House Of Lords tracks especially the guitar solo. How to some-up this album? Yes it’s good but! It definitely sees the band heading towards a melodic less Neo-Classical direction than previous releases which some may say is a good thing but I have my reservations.

Ozone

Self Defence

Record Label

Escape Records

Release Date

25 September 2015

Reviewer

Rob Birtley

Highlight

Smile Before You Lie

In Chemistry Ozone otherwise known as Trioxygen has a formula of O3. The band however has two big ‘O’s vocalists Chris Ousey (Monroe, Virginia Wolf, Heartland and Snakecharmer, and a fine solo career). The other big ‘O’ is FM frontman Steve Overland (AKA The Ladder, Shadowman with three solo albums to his credit). Mike Slamer (City Boy, Streets, and Seventh Key) plays Guitars, B3 Organ, Keys, Bass also uses his expertise on production.

Tommy Denander (Paul Stanley, Alice Cooper, and Radioactive) combines with Mike as song writer plus sharing guitars, keyboards and bass on many of the songs.

That’s not all backing vocals are provided by Kansas members Ronnie Platt and Billy Greer with Kerry Denton on drums. As you’d expect its

top draw Melodic Rock with powerhouse singing and playing to match all showcased with razor sharp production. Press play and a trade mark Denander riff leads off ‘Tiger by the Tail’ nicely backed by classic Hammond. Right from get go of the up tempo ‘Let The Good Will Out’ the interplay of the two singers reaches Mike and the Mechanic proportions stirring memories of Paul Young and Michael Carrick in their pomp. Ousey and Overland trading note for note with Chris shading it on points. Next is a monster of a ballad ‘So Blind’. Both guys hit the vocal heights and for once there’s no trace of the slightly breathless FM delivery in Overland’s sonic tour de force.

Both voices effortlessly combine and intertwine as one.

‘Destiny’, ‘Shadow On The Sun’

Beauvoir/Free

and ‘Evolve’ are straight in your face up tempo Rockers from some place midway between Thunder and FM you’ve heard this kind of thing umpteen times before but seldom done so well. Ousey leads off on ‘Smile Before You Lie’, the incessant riff builds up the tension in a song that’s all about love and betrayal. The singers swop vocal blow for blow in a pulverising exchange. Add a classy guitar solo its definitive AOR in spades. ‘Lifetime’ slows things down a tad with a Bluesy Thunder like vibe.

This is an album of excellence. Note perfect, huge sound quality and classic production with vocal harmonies to die for in short mandatory listening for Melodic Rock Lovers.

American Thrash

Record Label

Frontiers Records

Release Date

5 June 2015

Reviewer

Stephen Brophy

Highlight

Just Breath

The guts of the excellent Crown Of Thorns, Jean Beauvoir and Micky Free have come together once again to create a very good Hard Rock album, there's still plenty of quality here and hopefully more to come.

This pair need very little introduction having worked with a who's who of industry legends from the likes of John Waite through to KISS and The Ramones, and they still seem to want to create something new which is always great to see.

American Thrash is a very pleasant rock return for Jean Beauvoir, and the voice is as good as ever, there are some really excellent tracks on this album, the highlight here being the super smooth ballad "Just Breathe" which is just a beautiful song, it sits really well with Jean's voice and is brought along in a

classic style, piano intro leading into under the COR banner, but it certainly what is a very understated but well has that quality of sound about it. glued together music, there is a bit of a swooning guitar solo, and it's one of those tracks that makes you step back and take a second listen very quickly. Along with this the gritty "Cold Dark December", the hopeful "It's Never Too Late", and the really good opener "Angels Cry" are certainly reminders of the Crown Of Thorns sound and show there's definitely life in these two old dogs yet.

Beauvoir/Free have shown a lot of interest in Touring this album and I think these new tracks will fit in perfectly with some of the older COT classics, and spur them on to continue writing and creating together, definitely another band worth keeping an eye on for future output. American Thrash may not be

37

The Burning Crows

Murder At The Gin House

Record Label Reviewer

Rob Birtley

The Burning Crows consist of Whippz Crow - Vocals & Guitars, Lance Daniels - Guitars & Backing Vocals, Will Lockett - Bass & Backing Vocals and Chris Chapman - Drums & Percussion. Murder At The Gin House is the follow up to their critically acclaimed debut album of 2013 Behind The Veil funded once again via PledgeMusic. Their sound well mix the swagger of The Quireboys, stir in the infectious melodic hooks and high energy of The Little Angels, add touches of Cinderella’s sprinkled with Mötley Crüe’s grit then press play then turn it up loud.

‘Hell To Pay’ begins with a d iscordant opening and a slice of country acoustic guitar before the thudding riffage explodes with all the subtlety of an Alton Towers ride gone wrong. Sure it begs from AC/DC not

Release Date

3 August 2015

Highlight

Holding On

only in lyrical clichés and in structure but it’s none the worse for that add a touch of Mötley Crüe backing vocal replies as well it’s a Great start.

‘Come On’, ‘Shine’ and ’11.37’have the have the freshness and high energy of The Little Angels in their pomp. Whippz’s vocal rips out on both like a young Jepson with a cutting edge rasp. This album isn’t all about fist pumping anthems either.

Seamlessly mixed in are the ballads ‘Goodbye (To The Sunshine) and ‘Holding On’. The first is a fine hybrid of Cinderella and Crüe slowies.

The later well I couldn’t help thinking it was a long lost track from Aerosmith penned during their late 80s/early 90s resurrection and is quite simply Stunning. ‘Feels Like Home’ opens with a Quo like boogie and continues with a backbone of derived from The

Max Pie

Quireboys and is an intoxicating anthem to the Demon Drink. The question this album poses is stark and simple. Just why hasn’t a label picked up and ran with these guys.

What more do they want beyond fine songs, Whippz signature howls to growls, a rhythm section of Lockett & Chapman that just doesn’t quit and the interplay of Daniels and Whippz guitars? This is a band not only to listen to now but one for the future as well.

Odd Memories

Record Label

Mausoleum Records

Release Date

29 June 2015

Reviewer

Rob Birtley

Highlight

Love Hurts

Max Pie regardless of the name is not a bunch of buskers from Wigan.

Hailing from Tubize in Belgium formed in 2005 they are a Progressive/ Power Metal band consisting of Tony Carlino: Vocals, Damien Di Fresco: Guitars & Keyboards, Sylvain Godenne: Drums and Lucas Boudina: Bass. Odd Memories is their third album. The instrumental Title track ‘Odd Memories’ opens proceedings rich in atmospheric foreboding and heroic fineness with a huge 1940’s cinematographic quality.

You can imagine the black sail of a pirate ship tacking to fire a broadside. The track merges seamlessly into ‘Age Of Slavery’ which is like Dream Theater meets Maiden.

The vocal, a bit far back in the mix for my taste is delivered with the Metal Fury of Dickinson. Prog keyboards and

double kick drumming Portnoy would have been proud of add savagery befitting this tale of ancient subjugation. ‘Odd Future’ begins slowly, with its swathes of keyboard and gigantic drums its dazzlingly ostentatious, deft variation of tempo and an emotion packed vocal with clever lyrics make this track stand out and when the guitar does take-off stage it’s worth the wait. ‘Promised Land’ opens with keyboards played with dexterity at lightening pace entwined with fast riffs and apocalyptic drumming.

The unyielding speed barrage of Metal at times reminds you of Dragon Force. ‘Love Hurts’ is a leviathan at nearly ten minutes it’s a ballad of sorrow, and pain of love betrayed, it’s a colossal work, and the brief instrumental showpiece, is simply

38

stunning reminiscent of Dark Water but like a number of tracks on this release the vocal is partially lost in the mix. ‘Don’t Call My Name’ turns up the anger with a fierce, raging vocal, it’s a song that simmers with dark spite. ‘Hold On’ attempts being a weepie that echo’s Fish era Marillion and just about succeeds. ‘Cyber Junkie’ resorts to mostly growled vocal, almost Stoner distorted guitar combined with a Queensrÿche ‘Operation Mind Crime’ subplot going on, an unusual mix. Just one thing bugs me. When you want the vocal holding centre stage you find it exit stage right. In this type of music the singer should be holding court in the eye of the storm not caught up in it.

Skintrade

Scarred For Life

Record Label

AOR Heaven

Release Date

24 July 2015

Reviewer

Rob Birtley

Highlight

10-15 Minutes Gone

Hailing from Stockholm and originally formed in 1992 Skintrade now consist of Matti Alfonzetti - Vocals, guitars Stefan Bergström - Guitars, backing vocals, Håkan Calmroth – Bass and Håkan Persson - Drums, backing vocals. Scarred For Life is their 4th Studio release and a follow up to the critically acclaimed Refuelled of 2014. The sound is Meaty Melodic Hard Rock with a Blues/Metal tint fronted by the superb voice of Jagged Edge singer Matti Alfonzetti.

The album begins with the audio assault and battery that’s the title track ‘Scarred For Life’. A chugging riff, thunderous drums and Alfonzetti nails the vocal right between the eyes. Track after track the delicate balance of heavy rhythm and wonderful melody is held on a metallic knife edge, powerfully

illustrated by the almost ballad ‘Goodbye’. Alfonzetti sounds like the lovechild of Coverdale and Eric Martin.

Next up is a leftfield cover of Katy Perry's ‘Wide Awake’ that really works, it’s much more hard rock leaning while the trippy elements are given a heavyweight fused guitar turbo boost. ‘Lay With Me’ has the classic swagger of Bluesy Bad Company fired up with a Soulful Metal vibe. ‘Find A Way’ slows things down again with a cross between Mr Big and Giant style ballad without overdosing in sloppy sentimentality, yes it’s that good! The temperature soars again with the high energy grunt of ‘LoveHate’ that has a Chris Cornell/Soundgarden subplot going on.

‘Leave A Scar’ is a Bluesy stomp, driven by guzzling guitar and

Anzi

pummelling drums. Next up is a God’s gift for AOR radio play ‘Broken’ which conquers up the shade of Unruly Child’s Worlds Collide. The album ends with ’10 – 15 Minutes Gone’. It begins with a bass line so cool it’s below absolute zero. Then thudding Blues guitar breaks in and the song builds to a heady mix of grunge tinted Bad Company with Rodgers in all his pomp. For me this album is all what Melodic Hard Rock should be about.

It’s got balls the size of elephants and they are the bands very own not borrowed from someplace else. Its high energy even when the pace slows played to perfection and vocals that need to be heard over and over again.

Black Dog Bias

Record Label

Chemistry Records

Release Date

22 June 2015

Reviewer

Gavin Griffiths

Highlight

False saints

Having ploughed his trade as the front-man of alt.-punks Stereo Junks! for the best part of a decade, Finnish-born but London-based artist Anzi (real name Antero Koskikallio) proved himself to be a natural performer, with his Iggy Pop inspired stage presence and occasional fire eating to boot, you could always guarantee an unpredictable live show, but fast-forward a couple of years and we find him fully immersed in a solo career, on his second full length album; ‘Black Dog Bias’…favouring a more glam-goth style over his more punk-based roots…let’s see how the switch has paid off.

Kicking off with ‘Revival’ and ‘I Let You Dive’, the double A-Side promotional single, you can hear the production quality has been improved upon somewhat and as for the tracks

themselves, the former is a tune from the word go. It’s got the deep, chugging guitars and a slightly dark, moody electronic feel, coupled with Anzi’s nasal drawl, but the chorus lifts the track right up with its hard-rock delivery and it simply screams goth-club floor filler, while the latter, though just as catchy, tones down the intensity, resulting in a pleasant synth-driven number; giving the album some solid momentum going forward.

Elsewhere throughout the album, tracks such as ‘God On The Screen’, ‘Big Enemy’ and especially ‘False Saints’ focus on more the heavier, bass driven, rockier aspects, whereas ‘Cortex Command’ and closing track ‘Delusions’ primarily stick to the widely recognised electronic goth-rock approach, though done well and is by no means

39

a negative remark. Other than these slight changes, the album is fairly consistent throughout and rarely strays from its path resulting in a fairly solid and more importantly enjoyably listening experience. There isn’t a huge market for a lot of the gothic subcultures in mainstream music right now, but there’s certainly enough here to get Anzi noticed amongst the die-hards and devotees… worth the listen.

Xandria

Fire And Ashes

Record Label

Napalm Records

Release Date

31 July 2015

Reviewer

Phil Kane

Highlight

Voyage Of The Fallen

Where do failed Wagnerian valkyries (in this case, the lovely Dianne Van Giersbergen) go when their efforts to gain a foothold on the classic operatic step ladder putter out? Simple, they peddle their wares in metal instead.

You know what's wrong with this EP don't you? No? Well, you should. U.D.O have just put out a live album with a full blown symphonic orchestra that makes this sort of stuff sound lame. No matter how much the electronic source is tweaked, you simply cannot beat a full blown orchestra for this kind of material.

On saying that, the three original opening tracks on this EP are bang on the button, exceedingly good.

Xandria’s sound is very much in the Nightwish mould, though the choirs give a more angelically happy clappy

joy than ominous battle line harshness. Big, epic, and bombastic, the production is thick and syrupy, the cinematic arrangements swoop and soar, the sound heavy with the promise of snow out of the northern wastelands. Then we have the rest. I dunno about you, but the term 'exclusive cover songs' seems a bit nonsensical somehow and why bands insist on rerecording old material is a mystery. Ok, it is vaguely interesting to give stuff a bit of a dusting off, but isn't that what touring is for? Artistic inertia? Perhaps. Creative bankruptcy? Debatable. The cover of meatloaf's ‘I'd Do Anything For Love’ lacks the preposterous theatrics of the original, sadly. A run through of Sonata Arctica’s ‘Don't Say A Word’ is just that, but the re-recordings of 04s ‘Ravenheart’ and 05s ‘Now &

Nine Miles South

Forever’ do stand up to the original material surprisingly well, but it is the three original tracks that take the day, suggesting the fates may well smile on the next full album.

So, 34 minutes, seven tracks, three originals, two reduxes and two covers. Value for money? At nine quid? Hell no!

Nine Miles South EP

Record Label

Independent

Release Date

7 September 2015

Reviewer

Phil Kane

Highlight

The Reckoning

When I first heard this three track gem, I thought, Pride & Glory, but no, think more a Whiskey Myers thang after a night spent sharing a bottle with (John Henry/Dust Bowl period) Joe Bonamassa and The Cadillac Three in a back woods bar hidden away in the moonshine foot hills of South Carolina. Oh yes, indeedee!

Modern foot-stomp country blues rock only the Brits can do, with Appalachian country roots, a little wry southern soul and a vague Sabbath aesthetic, this EP comes at you out of the same musical territory that spawned the likes Hard Working Americans, Brother Cane and Uncle Lucius. It's a well produced, tough little platter; riffy, punchy, thumping, and for the opener alone, very much deserving of your undivided attention.

With The Temperance Movement

and Bad Touch on the prowl, the Brits seem to be building up a bit of a head of steam when it comes to this sort of beefed up alt country Americana and this EP must surely make the Nine Miles South boys worthy contenders to ride point. They certainly seem to be onto something special, so grab this little gem before it sells out and copies wind up as extortionately priced collectables on Ebay, because I’m reckoning this particular freight train is gonna run some. Not bad for a bunch of corn fed, college hicks out of Guildford (well, via Watford, the Faroe Islands, Denmark, Belgium....).

Really the ‘Nine Miles South EP’ should only get a 1/10. Why? Well, I’ll tell yer. Just like I’ve been told by not a few ladies over the years, it just ain’t long enough. Aaaahahahahaha…..

Hell yeah!

40

Die Krupps

V - Metal Machine

Record Label

Steamhammer/Oblivion/SPV

Release Date

28 August 2015

Reviewer

Lee Walker

Highlight

Fly Martyrs Fly

‘Die Krupps’ is a bit of a blast from the past for me first coming across them waaayy back when I was in sixth form after stumbling across ‘II - The Final Option’ which simply put blew my mind. So here we are some 10 years later and I am sat here reviewing their latest opus (V – Metal Machine’) which was well yes unplanned pretty much nails it.

Has much changed since ‘II - The Final Option’ ? truth be told the outright angst and anger has mellowed slightly to be replaced by an older, wiser more directed energy with a slightly more obvious ebm element with songs being exhibited that need to be heard to be believed with a mix of directed angst ridden lyrics and catchy ebm backing continuing to take Die Krupps’s legacy into the ears and minds of future

generations with a platera of songs capable of becoming massive hits within the ebm scene.

Simply put Metal Machine is perfection roll on VI.

Bobaflex

Anything That Moves

Record Label

Code 7-Eternal Sound Records

Release Date

25 July 2015

Reviewer

Phil Kane

Highlight

Bad Men

The main heft of ‘Anything That Moves’ comes from Nickelback’s end of the big bucks spectrum, but Bobaflex give it a southern outlaw biker slant (some nice simple slide work peppers the material), a twist of that super heavy Texan groove attitude, touches of hair metal's gang choirs and in ‘Turn Me On’, a lonesome cowboy ballad. ‘Bad Man’ and ‘Dry Your Eyes’ venture deeper into the southern badlands of modern Skynyrd, while ‘A Spider In The Dark’ and ‘I’m Glad Your Dead’ conjure darker atmospherics. ‘Show Me’ even has a Manics driven Muse thing about it; if they were from Cardiff, Texas. ‘Mama (Don’t Take My Drugs Away)’ lets the humour peep through, lightening the load a little, and even the nu-metal clans should appreciate the approach of ‘Forgiven’. ‘Never

Coming Back’ sees the album off into the sunset in fine driving style. So, yes, there's plenty enough here to keep the disciples of big commercial mega dome rock happy.

On initial listen you'll think Bobaflex are just another bunch of stadium filling wannabes, but stick with it and those nuances will start to seep out of those thar speakers.

Rather than hamstringing themselves with the straight jacket of a particular style Bobflex hone their skills as they hedge their bets, making a good go at tapping into the potential of the cross over, which given the attention deficient nature of today's music fan isn't such a bad idea. Though it’s a difficult trick to pull off, the boys seem to manage it with not a little grace. A right proper mash up of arena rock sub genres then, and at sixty four

41

minutes value for money too.

But, will ‘Anything That Moves’ see the band become the saviours of an increasingly wilting festival scene?

Probably not, but for those sweaty club and flea bitten city hall headline gigs, it should see them right. They might even run into Boba Fett himself if they’re lucky.

Klogr

Make Your stand

Record Label

Zeta Factory

Release Date

27 May 2015

Reviewer

Stephen Brophy

Highlight

Make Your Stand

Klogr are one busy band, since their inception in 2011, as a Project, they have released two full albums, two EP's a Live album and a DVD and also made the transition to be a full time working band. Back with a new three song EP which also includes ten Live tracks, turning this release into an altogether different beast. The Italian/American four piece have definitely put a lot of work into this one, and it shows from the off with the first of the new tracks "Breaking Down". There is something a little different in the sound of KLOGR and a mix between modern metal/rock and some progressive moments, and it sounds good. Nothing is as straightforward as it looks here, the guitars aren't all clean cut and at times are very offbeat but work perfectly. There are times here with a

little nostalgic for the likes of Stabbing Westward or Mary Beats Jane, but nothing here sounds like a reproduction.

The EP's title track "Make Your Stand" is an excellent piece of work, which benefits from a solid killer riff and a nice variation of vocal delivery throughout, Rusty's style just seems to fit really well with kind of music, and it would surprise me if this particular track doesn't find it's way to the next album, quality from start to finish, it lifts and drops in all the right places, and the playing is tight from start to finish. Final track of the news ones is "Breathing Hearts" and as with the other two this is a really good piece of work, melancholy and melodic at the same time yet it manages to have chainsaw guitar cutting through the middle.

Cut Up

Certainly a value for money product here, the live tracks are a nice mix from the earlier albums and the "Till You Turn" EP, which brings a better balance for newcomers to the band and almost acts as a Greatest Hits add on. The new tracks follow on well from the "Black Snow" album and certainly leads promisingly onto album number three which we can all look forward to. Stand outs in the Live tracks are "Falling Crowns" and "Bleeding"

Forensic Nightmares

Record Label

Metal Blade Records

Release Date

30 June 2015

Reviewer

Stephen Brophy

Highlight

Dead And Impaled

Cut Up are a Swedish Death Metal band formed after the demise of the long running Vomitory and are ready to unleash a new aural assault on an unsuspecting public. Drummer Tobias Gustafsson and vocalist/bassist Erik Rundqvist are now joined by vocalist/ guitarist Andreas Bjรถrnson of Fetus Stench and ex-Coldworker guitarist Anders Bertilsson, to form a very formidable outfit. Their debut album Forensic Nightmares is a real facemelter, making use of a dual vocal attack, pummeling drums and rolling crunchy riffs, there's elements of old and new here, and they blend really well, yes this is Swedish Death Metal, with really good modern production, and it definitely hits the spot.

No easing into this one, you are slapped right in the face with "Enter

Hell", a freight train of a track, buzzing guitars and straight pounding drums through what's left of your head, a cracking opening track, one of the album highlights. Along with "A Butchery Improved", "Brain Cell Holocaust", "Camouflesh" and the crushing "Dead And Impaled" which all drive in a powerful direction, not saying everything here sounds the same, quite the opposite, lot's of variety in the sound and composition of tracks here, you are left in no doubt it's Death Metal, there's nice tempo changes from track to track, some just trying to overpower you into submission and others, such as "Dead And Impaled" add a bit more and switch things up through the middle section, wandering guitar riffs on this grab you along with the excellent drumming throughout.

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There's a touch of Death in some riff's which is no bad thing, it's a very classy first effort from seasoned musicians.

Cut Up are using a formula that's not new but when played this well and delivered with a ferocity like they really do mean it you just have to step back and nod your head in agreement, this is a damn fine album, collectively the tracks work like a tight knit unit and give this album something a lot these days don't have, cohesiveness. Cut Up are hopefully with is for a long time to come, this release is already melting my head and hopefully they will be playing live in the UK, this material should translate well live, we have new heavy hitters in the arena.

PIG vs Primitive Race

Long In The Tooth

Record Label

Metropolis Records

Release Date

19 June 2015

Reviewer

Gavin Griffiths

Highlight

Long Live Death

Everyone loves a legendary battle… there was King Kong vs Godzilla; two questionably rubbery behemoths flailing around atop Mt. Fuji…Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair wrestling arthritis with a combined age of around 416… and then there’s PIG vs Primitive Race. Oh, you’ve not heard of that one? Well in all honesty, unless you were a fan of industrial electronica, you probably wouldn’t. Formed as a project with collaborating members from the likes of KMFDM, Ministry, Combichrist and more, this promising ensemble have released ‘Long In The Tooth’; an EP that for the most part contains remixes of three songs…this could be a long day, never mind tooth…

We begin with the title track and it’s possibly the longest five minutes of your life…it’s such a slow,

methodical track, somewhere between darker Depeche Mode and Marilyn Manson but boring, it inspires virtually no hope as the opener; a worrying start really…before it’s immediately followed by the ‘Praga Khan Mix” of the very same track.

Granted, this version is slightly more up-tempo but it doesn’t detract that at a core level, it’s still the same boring song. There are a further 4 remixes of this track…lucky us. ‘Come For Deutchland’ shows it’s head three times itself, a further hat trick of hollow boredom with its lifeless electronic misery…one is actually a ‘Night Club Mix’…is business slow?

The EP does however have one highlight in the form of ‘Long Live Death’, it stands out by a country mile and it’s ironic, as you wish this EP had died a death itself by the time you

Chaos Magic

reach the end of track ten.

This kind of music has its target audience and its own niche market, we can’t ignore that, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be able to at least appeal to listeners of other genres.

This here does no justice to anything quite frankly and you wonder if they were as mind numbingly bored making this as it is tiresome to listen to. ‘’Long In The Tooth’? I’d rather go to the dentist…

Chaos Magic

Record Label

Frontiers Records

Release Date

10 July 2015

Reviewer

Phil Kane

Highlight

The Point Of No Return

It's not clear whether ‘Chaos Magic’ is a solo album for the newly signed Caterina Nix, a collaborative affair between Nix and Timo Tolkki, or a Tolkki project for which the rather (ok, very...) photogenic Nix has been drafted in to ride point. Tolkki does the bulk of the work, writing, producing, and playing everything except the drums (taken care of here by a rather splendid Jami Huovinen), leaving Nix to concentrate on the vocals and “… helping with the concept".

Instrumentally, the arrangements have muscle but are suspiciously relegated somewhat in the mix, which is a shame because behind the vocal is an album that cannily bridges the symphonic rock/ Teutonic power metal divide. Nix has been given full ersatz operatic rein, her performance front and centre,

refreshingly not the pro-forma Wagnerian harpy caterwauling we’re used to; soaring, if a little strained, alluring, svelte. The songs for the most part are direct and sweeping, the synths swirling underneath the metallic grunt. Choirs crank up the drama, electronic beeps give the occasional urban atmospheric, a peppering of pipes induce whimsy.

Some cite the influences of Within Temptation, but you may also clock, unsurprisingly, Edguy, Stratovarius, and Avantasia, with some of the vocal medleys even echoing Catley’s modi operandi. The somewhat over egged production and breezy writing occasionally leads 'Chaos Magic’ perilously close to the insipid Eurovision friendly metal pop that Timo can be prone, which can get a tad wearisome.

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'Chaos Magic' has certainly been getting some great notices despite its shortcomings, but there are better, heavier symphonic rock albums out there with greater depth, wider scope, and superior vocal fire power.

It makes you wonder how many of the plaudits have had more to do with the stunning good looks of Ms Nix rather than her vocal abilities. Or am I just being a cynical old bastard?

Entrails

Obliteration

Record Label

Metal Blade Records

Release Date

19 May 2015

Reviewer

Stephen Brophy

Highlight

Re-Animation Of The Dead

Swedens Entrails are one of those Death Metal bands that have a little bit extra in their sound. Obliteration is a pretty classy album, full to the brim of crushing riffs and a flowing bombardment of on the money drumming. After a faltering start in the 90's and disappearing for many years Jimmy Lundqvist did not want the songs he had written to disappear and restarted the band in 2008.

Obviously this lineup has clicked and is working much better having released four albums in the last five years and long may it continue with an album like this.

Tracks like "Beyond The Flesh", "Skulls" and "Epitome Of Death" are all individually different and really worth listening to a number of times to allow them to sink in beneath the skin, with "Epitome Of Death" reminding me a

bit of a slightly gloomier At The Gates.

The real standout though is "Re-animation Of The Dead" which manages to be both dark and light at the same time, after a nice intro that puts impending doom in your head a light sharp thrashy riff lifts the gloom and hits a terrific groove, but the shades battle it out all the way through to the outro and this track sticks in the memory, we're not talking about bludgeoning the listener to death here, no blast beats, double bass drums and some furious soloing and this is the accessible side of Death Metal, yes the vocals are heavy, deep, from right down in the guts, but at the same time clear and decipherable, this band know a thing or two about writing a song.

Entrails are undoubtedly Swedes, but they are not run of the

Kelly Keeling

mill or mid table, these guys have worked out the sound they want, musically are extremely tight and sound great, should the pattern continue they will already be working on the next album and the new material will again be a step up on what they have done here, having said that don't wait for new material, get your head stuck into this one, it's excellent.

Mind Radio

Record Label

Frontiers records

Release Date

10 July 2015

Reviewer

Phil Kane

Highlight

Still Need You In My Arms

Ah, Kelly Keeling: another multi-talented serial substance abuser who should be massive, if he’d spend half as much time concentrating on taking care of business as he does getting off his tits. Yep, ol’ Kelly has certainly had his fair share of problems, his erratic behaviour letting him down with monotonous regularity, resulting in being described at least once as “…a true embarrassment”. Still, here he is, back in the saddle with his latest solo album, ‘Mind Radio’.

The candy floss AORsters will find a lot to stiffen the sinews here.

‘Mind Radio’ is a good, solid album with a big heart and a gritty soul. The Hammond spins its Purple slant and the guitars get the head they need to give the songs poke, and the songs fly, man, they fucking soar. With no fillers,

the overall effect is a joyous cacophony of melodic rock that the Swedes and Finns would kill for.

There's so much about ‘Mind Radio’ that brings to mind Barnes' classic ‘Freight Train Heart’, or Joe Lynn Turner when’s firing on all six; the voice, the band, arrangements, the songs, it's all there. So as things go, ‘Mind Radio’ provides Keeling with the get out clause he needs after his shitty Firefest 2013 performance with a reformed Baton Rouge. This, people, should be an absolute hum dinger. Yet, ‘Mind Radio’ could've been so much better, missing that extra effort that would’ve lifted it out of sunny late 80s Cali homage to plough a deeper, heavier, tougher sun scorched road.

Keeling has been around long enough, collaborated with enough big

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hitters, to have provided enough fire power to make this album sound massive and modern, avoiding this retro sounding auto piloted retread. I dunno what his pals and entourage said, but he paid them far too much bloody attention. Oh well. Next time maybe, but in the meantime, Kelly, pass us that bottle son.

Skip Rock

Take It Or Leave It

Record Label

Streetdog Records

Release Date

2 February 2015

Reviewer

Phil Kane

Highlight

Death or Glory

Languishing at the arid, scorched intersection where heavy biker metal runs into outlaw country and southern rock Skip Rock try to muscle in on territory already staked out to by Doc Holiday and modern Skynyrd, Raging Slab even. Throw in a smidge of Bonfire and there you have it, “western raw can roll” (their words, not mine).

Opening with an intro that smacks of those old western B movies, the album is a metallic homage to tales of the old west. The mix is best summed up by the first proper tub thumping triptych of ‘Tell Me Why’, ‘Death Or Glory’ and the almost toe curling hoedown of ‘Jesse James’. Grumbling rockers that skip along like an old Harley; noisy, dirty, low slung. The jaunty country bass gives it a swing that lifts it a little out

of metal mediocrity, a whiskey stained vocal and occasional southern belle backing vocals helping too, the album flits about the southern country badlands, chucking in a few moments of clumsy slide, twanging Warner E Hodges and lonesome road Hank Marvin guitar stylings with nods to Daniels and Tucker along the way.

There's even a mission bell and banjo in there somewhere. European metal mixed with southern and country Americana does work well and ‘Take It Or Leave It’ isn't that bad, it just isn't that good either: too ham fisted. Skip Rock have tried to do with metal and southern/country rock what Volbeat did with Elvis and rock ‘n’ roll, mix a modern sound with an old attitude but the fact that the CD cover will chance draw as much attention as the music pretty much says it all.

Screaming Beast

The band's home town of Augsburg is famous for many things, not least as the birth place of the infamous Bf109 fighter.

Unfortunately for Skip Rock, the failure of ‘Take It Or Leave It’ to really take off is unlikely to alter that situation any time soon.

To Assail And Conquer

Record Label

Self Release

Release Date

1 September 2015

Reviewer

Graham Pritchard

Highlight

Giving In To Fear

Black Label Society, Five Finger Death Punch, Killswitch Engage and countless other similar bands all have a common element, they all have a format that works. That raw hard rock gets you going in a way that nothing else does. So being a massive fan of these bands it is nice when I am asked to write a review for a band who sound similar. Make no mistake there is nothing wrong with trying to sound like any other band out there if the formula works.

Screaming Beast are just a band who are making a very large noise of their own, whilst sticking to the tried and tested they still manage to put their own spin on their music with a nice groove.

They released their first EP ‘Blistering Lies' in February 14 and it had a great reception But never did any gigs. Now they have self-released a second EP, To Assail and Conquer another three tracks from the metal groovers that hit the spot every time.

I’m sure they have their reasons for not releasing a full album straight of the bat but these tracks are a great taster of what’s to come.

So what’s on the EP? Straight away you are subjected to a torrent of heaviness in a song titled ‘This Dawn This Day’.

Followed by ‘Silent Submission’ and with a definite Five Finger influence in these two songs and with a great rhythm you know you won’t be disappointed. The final song on this

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EP is ‘Giving In To Fear’. Something this band are not doing as this is a blistering track with no let up.

Everyone appears to write about how great the riffs are and the how the bass and drums are so heavy, but you know what they are and it all works great together It hard to believe that they only have one lead guitar, Think what they would sound like with twin guitars. All in All a bloody good effort, theses lads will go far if they play their cards right. The right mix of clean vocals and a rocking groove makes this is the right side of heavy for me and if you are a fan of mentioned bands then you will love this.

Final Fantasy Xiv Now Exceeds 5 Related Links Million Registered Users World- The Lodestone: http:// wide na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/ Official Website: In just under two years, Square www.finalfantasyxiv.com Enix Inc., today announced that Official Facebook: https:// the community of Final Fantasy www.facebook.com/ XIV now exceeds 5 million FinalFantasyXIV registered accounts globally Official YouTube: http:// across North America, Japan, Europe, and China—not including www.youtube.com/user/ FINALFANTASYXIV those from free trial.

Official Twitter: @FF_XIV_EN Spurred on by a vibrant community of players, as well as a consistent schedule of content updates, Final Fantasy XIV continues to deliver on the promise of bringing the hallmarks of the Final Fantasy experience to an online world. Players can enjoy the option of joining the adventure together on multiple platforms from the PC to the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system, the PlayStation Vita handheld entertainment system (with Remote Play), and the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system.

With the recent release of their first major expansion, Heavensward, Final Fantasy XIV features a new story which plunges adventurers into the heart of the Dragonsong War, the bloody thousand-year conflict between the knights of Ishgard and the dragons of Dravania.

Adventurers can enjoy an increased level cap from 50 to 60 for all disciplines, a new playable race, new dungeons and raids, new primal battles, and new mounts that allow players to take to the skies - flying black chocobos, single-rider airships, dragons and more.

Metroidvanias, and Super Meat Boy should feel right at home.

There are 130 hand crafted levels that range from frantic mad dashes, to dungeon exploring treasure hunts. With over 80 unique enemies, 27 intense boss battles, and countless challenge and puzzle elements, there will be a lot to discover. Luckily you will also be able to collect powerful character upgrades along the way to help you battle ever tougher foes, as well as unlock new KickStarter and Steam Greenlight unexplored areas.

Campaigns Announced For Trial "With an incredible variety of

by Viking combat abilities, equippable Indie studio Last Life Games has weapons, abilities, and passives, launched a KickStarter campaign the game will both empower and challenge the ever-loving crap out for their new action platformer, of you. This is a compelling Trial by Viking. They are seeking universe with fantastic art, music, $7,000 to put the finishing touches on the game in its final 6 and tons of content that’s not to be missed." - Seattle Indies Expo months of production. The campaign was selected as a Staff jury.

Pick by KickStarter, and has already reached 40% of its goal Obsidian’s Pathfinder Adventure with 28 days still to go.

Card Game To Make Pax Prime (https://www.kickstarter.com/ Debut projects/lastlifegames/trial-byviking ) Producer and Creative Director to At the same time, a Steam Offer Playable Preview of Highly Greenlight campaign has also Anticipated Apple iOS Version and been launched for the project, Google Play Version of reaching 75% of its way to the Award-Winning Card Game top 100 in its first two days.

Obsidian Entertainment, developer (http://steamcommunity.com/ of Fallout: New Vegas, South Park: sharedfiles/filedetails/?

The Stick of Truth, and the id=499233468) Kickstarter phenomenon Pillars of About Trial by Viking Eternity, announces today Trial by Viking mixes some of the the Pathfinder Adventure Card best elements of action Game, now developed for Apple platforming and dungeon crawling iOS and Android Tablets, will make into a game that explores the its PAX Prime debut in Seattle, distant worlds of the Norse gods. August 28 – August 31, 2015.

Fans of games like Rogue Legacy, Obsidian team members, Super Mario Brothers Wii/U, producer Nathan Davis

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and creative director Andre Nguyen, will be on-hand to give attendees the opportunity to play a sneak preview of the game, located in the Pathfinder Society suites #201-203.

Obsidian’s Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is the digital adaptation of the wildly popular Pathfinder Adventure Card Game by Paizo Inc., a cooperative game for 1 – 4 players. Obsidian’s PACG will enhance the player experience by allowing for immediate gameplay, multiple games running simultaneously, and additional downloadable adventures. Each player will have a unique character composed of a customizable deck of cards and stats, and character classes such as fighter, rogue, wizard, and cleric.

Features exclusive to the digital version of the first release include: Reactive cut-scenes featuring Pathfinder’s iconic characters The ability to explore the towns, cities, dungeons, and landscapes of theRise of the Runelords campaign, including the fiercely independent Sandpoint, and the goblin-infested isle of Thistletop Beautifully enhanced and animated backdrops of every locale Multiple adventure profiles to enable players to experience the campaign using every character Tutorial that distills the rulebook into a mini-adventure Single-player and pass-and-play multiplayer gameplay mode Obsidian’s Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is scheduled for a fall 2015 release.

of the Endless today on Apple iPad®. An intelligent, rogue-like game, Dungeon of the Endless on iPad will feature a smart new interface and intuitive touch controls to bring its well-balanced blend of tense strategy gameplay and RPG to a touch screen device and is available on the App Store for €4,99 / £3,49 / $4.99.Dungeon of the Endless on iPad® brings the full experience from the original and is a premium title, without any in-app purchases.

View the Dungeon of the Endless trailer here.

Released on PC in October 2014, this iPad version offers the same full experience as the PC original and includes the “DeepFreeze” and “Bookworm” add-on content. Crashlanded on an alien planet, players must explore and manage a team of heroes as they fight their way to the surface and survival. A selection of screenshots are available here.

“We have worked really hard to capture the essence of the original PC game and bring it to the iPad in a way that reflects the game’s best qualities,” said Romain de Waubert de Genlis, Creative Director at Amplitude Studios. “The intuitive one-touch controls are perfectly adapted to the mobile experience, and the great tension of picking the right strategy before opening the next door is just as excruciating and exhilarating as ever.”

Dungeon of the Endless on iPad Features: The full PC experience, explore randomly generated dungeons, protect teammates and fight to the surface of the hostile alien planet, Auriga.

New touch controls and interface, plus a flexible difficulty system to suit a wide range of Dungeon Of The Endless Out Now players.

On iPad Countless battle scenarios against a horde of hideous Full PC experience comes to tablet monsters. with new interface and touch Form a team of heroes, controls equip deploy them to earn Award-winning indie powerful abilities. developer Amplitude Studios has Technology and resource released its much-loved rogue-like dungeon-defense game Dungeon management demands skillful

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handling of Dust, Food, Industry and Science.

Multiple exploration paths through Auriga, featuring Endless ruins that provide life-saving technologies.

Includes both the “Deep-Freeze” and “Bookworm” add-ons from the original PC title.

Square Enix Montréal Announces First Sale And Update For Critically Acclaimed Hitman: Sniper Square Enix Montréal announced an update to the award winning and critically acclaimed Hitman: Sniper combined with a price drop down to $2.99/ £1.99/2.99€ from now until Monday! Available now on iPhone, iPad and Android devices, this update improves overall game performance and adds new features and options such as: Everyplay integration allowing players to record and share their best play sessions Brand new characters including the Head of Security A brand new weapon: The Aria - Gold rifle The Assassin Tier has been expanded to the 1000 top players Many options added like inverted aiming Various improvements and better overall performance Built by Unity, Everyplay is mobile game replay platform that allows you to record and share your replay sessions. The update will also introduce Community Challenges in which players can unlock in-game prizes by working towards achieving a common goal.The addition of the Head of Security in this update will also change the dynamics of high level Hitman: Sniper competition.

The Head of Security patrols the mansion and will call in reinforcements when he finds an unattended area, giving players even more strategic and tactical opportunities.

Hitman: Sniper offers a fresh take on the classic Hitman franchise in a leaderboard-driven,

competitive sniping game.

Available on the App Store and Google Play, this creative, sandbox game allows players to take on the role of Agent 47 in a fixed position shooting game set in beautiful Montenegro. Scope in on your marks using skill, subtlety, subterfuge and the environment to complete your contracts and become the ultimate sniper. As Agent 47, you will need to observe your targets’ movements across an expansive mansion and execute them in creative ways.

Complete more than 100 missions and unlock new deadly sniper rifles equipped with new abilities to rule the leaderboards.

Find smart ways to use accidental and environmental kills, X-Ray kills, lures, double headshots and body disposals, all the while remaining undetected, to make your way to the top.

Square Enix Confirms Lara Croft Go Will Traverse Ios, Android And Windows Phone New Screenshots Unearthed Square Enix announced today that Lara Croft GO - the follow-up to Square Enix Montreal's critically acclaimed Hitman GO mobile game – will launch simultaneously on the App Store, Google Play, as well as for Windows Phone and Windows Store on August 27.

The puzzle game featuring the classic character will be available for $4.99.

Square Enix also released new screenshots that showcase Lara Croft GO’ s distinct visual aesthetic, inspired by classic Tomb Raider® puzzles.

To check out the new assets, please visit: http:// press.na.square-enix.com/ product.asp?p=316 For more information on Lara Croft GO please visit: Official Facebook® Page: https:// www.facebook.com/laracroft Follow @SquareEnixMtl on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ SquareEnixMtl Square Enix Montreal on

Tumblr: http:// squareenixmtl.tumblr.com/

Music from Rock Legends Van Halen to be Featured in Rock Band for the First Time Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. (“Harmonix”) and Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. (“Mad Catz”) (NYSE MKT/ TSX: MCZ) today announced, that for the first time ever in Rock Band™ history, a Van Halen track will be a part of the already impressive Rock Band 4 soundtrack . Now fans will be able to play and perform the band’s legendary #1 hit “Panama” at launch, with more music from the band to be available for download from the ever-growing Rock Band Music Store after launch.

“For years we’ve wanted to bring Van Halen’s music to Rock Band,” added Harmonix CEO Steve Janiak. “Not only are the songs incredible in their own right, but they’re amazingly fun to play and perform, whether you’re on guitar, bass, drums, or vocals.”

Van Halen recently released remastered versions of their first six albums, as well as a newly recorded live album, Tokyo Dome Live In Concert. The band is currently on tour in multiple cities and venues throughout North America, and will be performing many of their hits from these classic albums. With more than 75 million albums sold worldwide, and more No. 1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart than any other artist, Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

To view a Rock Band 4 gameplay preview featuring Van Halen’s “Panama”, visit https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Lz5nNr34 Van Halen’s “Panama” joins an already impressive soundtrack line-up including music by Aerosmith, Avenged Sevenfold, The Black Keys, Elvis Presley, Fall Out Boy, Foo Fighters, Jack White,

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Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars, St. Vincent, Queens of the Stone Age, The Who, and more! A full list of songs announced for Rock Band 4 can be found here.

Additionally, Rock Band 4 will be compatible with more than 1500 tracks available for download on the Rock Band Music Store.

Winner of multiple awards and nominations at the 2015 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), including “Best Music Game” from IGN and Game Informer, Rock Band 4 delivers the ecstatic rush of a live full-band game experience like never before. Rock Band 4 builds on the core gameplay people love, with brand new features, including game-changing Freestyle Guitar Solo gameplay that allows players to craft their own face-melting and truly original guitar solos.

Rock Band 4, the next generation of the award-winning social and interactive music gaming platform launches globally on October 6, 2015 for Xbox One™ and the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system.

Players can ensure they’re ready to rock on launch day by pre -ordering game and hardware controller bundles through their favorite video game retailer; details can be found at http:// www.rockband.com .

For more information on Rock Band 4 and to stay up to date with the latest news and announcements, head over to http:// www.harmonixmusic.com and http://www.madcatz.com , and follow @RockBand and @MadCatz on Twitter for updates.

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Anathema November 04 Manchester Cathedral Annihilator September 30 Birmingham O2 Academy October 02 Glasgow O2 ABC 03 Sheffield O2 Academy 04 London O2 Academy

November 20 Norwich Waterfront Enslaved September 23 The Marble Factory 25 Wolverhampton Slade Rooms 26 Dublin The Button Factory Epica November 11 Bristol O2 Academy 12 Manchester The Ritz 15 London The Forum

Black Star Riders December 07 Belfast Odyssey Arena 09 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena Evil Scarecrow 10 Glasgow SSE Hydro November 12 Birmingham Genting Arena 05 Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach 06 Plymouth The Junction Clutch 13 Glasgow Garage November 14 Belfast The Limelight 2 20 Dublin Olympia Theatre 21 Leicester O2 Academy 21 Belfast The Limelight 27 Birmingham The Institute 28 London Underworld Cradle Of Filth 29 Wolverhampton Slade Rooms October 30 Nottingham Rock City 16 Nottingham Rock City 17 Bristol Motion 20 Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall Fozzy 21 Glasgow Garage November 22 Manchester Academy 2 24 Reading Sub 89 23 London KOKO 26 London O2 Academy Deftones November 21 London SSE Arena Delain October 22 Bristol The Marble Factory 23 Birmingham The Institute 24 Manchester Academy 2 25 London O2 Academy Islington Die Krupps September 16 London Borderline Doro

Freedom Call October 11 London The Borderline Glenn Hughes October 17 Southampton Engine Rooms 26 Wolverhampton Robin 2 28 York Fibbers Gotthard October 23 London O2 Academy Islington Gun October

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04 Leicester O2 Academy 05 Liverpool Arts Club 13 York Duchess 15 Plymouth The Junction 16 Southampton Talking Heads Hanzel Und Gretyl October 13 Edinburgh Bannerman’s Bar 14 Glassgow Audio 15 Newcastle The Clunny 16 Sheffield Corporation 17 London Electrowerkz Hatebreed September 04 Reading Sub 89 Joe Satriani November 01 Manchester O2 Apollo 02 Birmingham Symphony Hall 03 Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 04 Sheffield City Hall 05 Cardiff Saint David’s Hall 07 Southend Cliffs Pavillion 08 Bristol Colston Hall 09 Portsmouth Guildhall 10 London Eventim Apollo Leaves' Eyes November 03 Southampton Talking Heads 04 Bristol The Marble Factory 10 London O2 Academy Megadeth November 09 Dublin 3Arena 11 Glasgow Braehead Arena 12 Manchester O2 Apollo 14 London SSE Hydro 15 Birmingham O2 Academy Motley Crue November 02 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena 03 Manchester Arena 04 Birmingham Genting Arena 06 London SSE Hydro

Nickleback November 13 Sheffield Motorpoint Arena 14 Glasgow SSE Hydro 16 Newcastle Metro Radio Arena 17 Manchester Arena 19 Liverpool Echo Arena 21 Birmingham Genting Arena 22 Nottingham Capital FM Arena 24 London The SSE Arena Wembley

Skindred October 31 Cardiff Tramshed November 04 Southampton O2 Guildhall 06 Nottingham Rock City 07 Manchester Academy 08 Newcastle O2 Academy 10 Glasgow ABC 13 Birmingham The Institute 14 London O2 Academy Brixton

UK Subs November 27 Doncaster Leoart

Nile September 09 Bristol Marble Factory

Slayer November 21 Newport Centre 22 Plymouth Pavillions 24 Manchester O2 Apollo 25 Glasgow O2 Academy 27 Birmingham O2 Academy 28 Leeds O2 Academy 30 London O2 Academy

W.A.S.P September 12 Leeds O2 Academy 13 Newcastle O2 Academy 18 Glasgow O2 Academy 19 Nottingham Rock City

Orange Goblin December 03 Wolverhampton Slade Rooms 04 Bristol Bierkeller 06 Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms 07 Oxford O2 Academy 2 10 Nottingham Rescue Rooms 13 Newcastle O2 Academy 15 Glasgow King Tuts 17 London Electric Ballroom Paradise Lost September 27 Dublin The Academy 28 Belfast The Limelight 30 Manchester Academy 2 October 03 Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall 04 London Koko 12 Liverpool O2 Academy 13 Nottingham Rock City Skarlett Riot October 02 Glasgow Audio 04 Newcastle Think Tank 18 London Barfly Camden 23 Birmingham Rainbow Bar

The Darkness November 30 Norwich Open December 01 Cambridge Corn Exchange 02 Nottingham Rock City 04 Newcastle O2 Academy 05 Glasgow O2 Academy 09 Leeds O2 Academy 10 Manchester Academy 11 Birmingham O2 Academy 13 Bristol O2 Academy U2 October 25 London The O2 26 London The O2 29 London The O2 30 London The O2 November 06 Glasgow The SSE Hydro 07 Glasgow The SSE Hydro

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Ugly Kid Joe September 20 Reading The Bowert District 22 Bournemouth Sound Circus 23 Plymouth the Hub 24 Bristol Marble factory 25 Brighton Concorde 2

Wednesday 13 October 30 London The Garage 31 London The Garage Wishbone Ash October 13 York Fibbers Skarlett Riot October 02 Glasgow Audio 04 Newcastle Think Tank 18 London Barfly Camden 23 Birmingham Rainbow Bar Y&T October 30 Wolverhampton Robin 2 31 London O2 Academy November 06 Newcastle O2 Academy 07 Nottingham Rock City 08 Buckley Tivoli 13 Oxford O2 Academy

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