When I heard the line-up of this band featured former Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske and former Pink Cream 69 bassist/producer extraordinaire Dennis Ward I became interested. The rest of the band was made up by competent session men until the arrival of former Helloween guitarist Kai Hansen sealed the deal. Hansen and Kiske have not performed together in a band since the classic Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II and this EP does live up to this great pedigree. This is a taster EP for the full album later in the year however after opening with the excellently melodic Unisonic which is classic Helloween (as well as being wholesale rip of Stormbringer by Deep Purple) Hansen weaves his six-string magic with second guitarist Mandy Meyer to great effect, Kiske is on top form especially on the opening track and it is brilliant to hear him singing this type of music again. The second track My Sanctuary is more of hard rocker but it is still a great track. The album is bolstered by Ward's impeccable production (even on the studio demo Souls Alive a prog-tinged metal track). The final track is a live version the Helloween classic I Want Out which is a real fan treat. I for one can't wait for the album. 8/10
Fury: Burn The Earth EP (Dawn Of Survival)
So the second EP from British metallers Fury has arrived and much like its predecessor (http://musipediaofmetal.blogspot.com/2011/05/reviews-whitesnake-fury-and-tews.html) it's a killer. Combining classic NWOBHM and Thrash the album has 4 excellently written and performed tracks by a band that should be huge if there was any justice. Starting with the very thrashy Burn The Earth before turning into the slightly more melodic and arena friendly Dangerous World which features some killer soloing. The album is expertly played by the honed band of drummer Alasdair Davis and bassist Martin Trail who provide a chunky bottom end and propulsive rhythm section. The twin guitar attack of Joel Peters and Julian Jenkins provides razor-sharp riffage and harmonized leads that have a very retro sound that simply adds to the overall classic sound album. Jenkins' vocals also should be given a mention as they are very unique for the genre as he really has his own sound. The epic In To The Dark has some progressive elements that are most welcome before album closes with the neck snapping Life Eternal which ends the album on huge high. Buy the EP, play, rock out it's as simple as that (You'll be supporting British metal as well.) 8/10
Mortad: Myth Of Purity (Free with Metal Hammer)
Mortad hail from Britain but their main selling point is their female Iranian vocalist Somi Arian who screams like a banshee throughout this album her vocals will be likened to Angela Gossow and they are similar however the band themselves to not peddle the same melo-death as Arch Enemy they are similar to Lamb Of God and Devildriver. They play groove based heavy metal; the album is full of blast-beat drumming from Joseph Perumal, thundering bass from Szymek Lawik and furious razor-sharp riffage from guitarist Jonathan Hughes. However they don't really do much else the album is very samey with only two tracks really standing out and both of these have a more SYL sound to them. The production is also a little weak considering it comes from Russ Russell (Napalm Death, Dimmu Borgir and Evile) with everything fighting for supremacy and nothing standing out. Not really a bad album but one that is stuck on autopilot. 6/10
No comments:
Post a Comment