Rammstein: Dem Regen (??)
So this has appeared from out of nowhere, there is no information about the album but it seems to be a bootleg containing new/unreleased songs as well as some remixes. With the previously released songs like the still epic Mein Hertz Brennt and Mein Land (featured on their compilation album). As far as the new stuff goes we start off with Schatten Grim which does sound a lot like Sonne, Exzenter has the metallic/electro stomp Rammstein excel at with marching drums, big riffs and Till's huge vocal delivery, the title track is very electronic and harks back to the early albums, in fact the newer tracks all have that classic Rammstein sound, the anthemic Fried Eis is pounding techno metal with Till sparring with a female singer and Blunt Vaults is evil with Adios having an almost power metal riff. With Rammstein there is also an element of fun in all Rammstein songs as they give us a cover of Das Model by Germany's other premier band Kraftwerk, which they rock up in true Stein style. So with the 'normal' songs covered we are taken into the remixes part of the record first is a slower sparse electro 'funeral version' of Mein Land then we get two 'live' tracks which I'm assuming are demos as the production on them is not great but both songs are pretty cool, then there is the funky metal/trance version of Stripped as well as the remix of Mein Hertz Brennt which makes it even more unsettling. So without any information this is about all I can say about Dem Regen if this album is looking forward to the new full length album then I can say the new songs sound great, if it is an album of unreleased stuff then this stuff is very strong and if it's a bit of both it serves as a tasty little stopgap for fans. 7/10
Lordi: Scare Force One (AFM)
Finn's Lordi have always had a lot to live up too; their Monster Show album was a strong album full of schlock horror hard rock songs harking back to Twisted Sister, Kiss and even Alice Cooper, their profile was raised with their Eurovision win and their Arockolypse album which in my opinion is their finest hour. However since then they have really struggled to reach the heights of these to albums, Deadache was a bit too serious, Babez For Breakfast was far too 80's echoing the sleaze and AOR scene a bit too much for my liking putting more focus on keys than on riffs on the other hand their previous album To Beast Or Not To Beast was a little more rocking but still had a bit too much keyboard, thank fully though the very well named Scare Force One brings back the riffs in droves, this for me is a very good thing as guitarist Amen has always been very good, no he isn't flashy but he knows his riffs. The title track kicks things off with some very cool riffs, Mana's speedy drums and the occasional organ and synth flare from Hell, this has always been what Lordi have been about and it sounds like they are retuning to it, How To Slice A Whore too has some great guitars, the horror theme and shows off Mr Lordi's unique vocals brilliantly, Hell Sent In The Clowns is the only truly scary song for me but I digress. As the album progresses the riffs continue with Monster Is My Name Nailed By The Hammer Of Frankenstein and Sir, Mr Presideath, Sir. Still despite the riffs coming back in force, Lordi still rely a little heavily on the keys and they do seem to treading the same old ground lyrically. Lordi have always been more of a visual live act and this album gives them a few good tracks to add to their live set, but still bands have to keep their act fresh and give their fans new music. Scare Force One is a good album but it's nothing they haven't done before, still it will appeal to fans. 7/10
Sorrow's Path: Doom Philosophy (Iron Shield)
Sorrow's Path hail from the shores of Greece and they play a strange mix of melodic and crushing doom metal. An intro and then straight into Tragedy (no a Bee Gee's cover thankfully) but it sets the pace for the rest of the album, big slabs of doom metal riffage from the guitars of Kostas Salomidis and Giannis Tziligkakis bolstered by sledgehammer drums from Fotis Mountouris and rumbling bass from Stavros Giannakos. The band are based in doom metal but they are not the slow lumbering doom you associate with a lot of bands in this genre, yes they do have the occasional slow, brain frying doom passage but much of album is made up of faster, distortion heavy guitar passages and melodic solos giving many of the songs like A Dance With The Dead having a more classic metal feel so think Maiden meets Candlemass and you won't be far off. Much of the lyrical content is drawn from the occult as you would imagine but it is delivered by the strong European vocals of Angelos Ioannidis who has a unique voice that suits the music well, his mid range is slightly Halford-esque and he can also add a few growls too. Yes this is more than just doom, there is a lot of it present see the final few tracks of Epoasis, Clouds Inside Of Me and Darkness these are the doomiest tracks on the album with rumbling riffs galore and even some synths and organ on Darkness, which is actually a little off putting in places. The band do tend to swing more towards the classic metal style on most of the tracks with lots of galloping rhythms and melodic solos. If the thought of Candlemass mixed with Maiden or Priest excites you then Sorrow's Path will be right up your street, the mix of doom and classic metal is just right and these Greek metal warriors pull it off in style! 7/10
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