Rhapsody Of Fire - Challenge The Wind (AFM Records) [Matt Bladen]
I'm not sure how we can still review albums by Rhapsody Of Fire. Keyboardist Alex Staropoli has been performing symphonic/cinematic/conceptual metal since 1995. Then known as Rhapsody in 2006, after a trademark issue they changed their name to Rhapsody Of Fire and further down the line there was spilt in the membership leaving just Strapoli as the sole founding member. So Rhapsody Of Fire are the official version, as founding guitarist Luca Truilli and long term singer Fabio Lione have both formed their own versions of the band separately and together.The spirit of Rhapsody's impact can be heard with bands such as Twilight Force, Fairyland and Dragonland and that's how you can approach any new albums by Rhapsody Of Fire, they originated this style so it's difficult to complain that they stick to it. As with all their other 13 albums they are part of a concept and Challenge The Wind is the third and final chapter in the The Nephilim's Empire Saga, their first saga penned by just Staropoli alongside guitarist Roberto De Micheli.
This final part is the most metal album of this 30 odd year career, no ballads, just fast paced symphonic metal, Vanquished By Shadows for instance adds some harsh vocals, Diamond Claws goes into thrash as they keep the history with tracks such as A Brave New Hope. With an intense rhythm section, neoclassical guitars/keys, anthemic vocals and those dense, blockbuster orchestrations that bands have long imitated Rhapsody Of Fire are still the original and best group in the 'film score' metal genre. There will be many more stories and I assume many more offshoots, but Rhapsody Of Fire keep the lanterns burning bright. 8/10
Cloven Hoof – Heathen Cross (High Roller Records) [Paul Hutchings]
If you search back through these mighty pages, you’ll find two reviews from me of Cloven Hoof, those also rans from back in the NWOBHM days. Who Mourns The Morning Star got a bit of a mauling from me, whilst my angst about the band’s plagiarism of Iron Maiden in 2020’s Age of Steel was evident throughout. I missed 2022’s Time Assassins altogether. The Hoof is nothing if not persistent though, and four years later we have the new album, Heathen Cross to digest.
Payne is clearly rather pleased with it. “We are back now where we belong. Heathen Cross is Cloven Hoof’s most dark and heavy album yet! It has the Satanic undertones of our debut album, but with the best vocalist the group has ever had. Personally speaking it is hands down my favourite Cloven Hoof album. We wanted to recapture the spirit and the supernatural majesty of the debut album. Talking to the fans we have given them what they wanted most, a return to the roots of the NWOBHM. They are going to love it!”
Well, who I am it piss on his parade? Heathen Cross is indeed a solid heavy metal album, albeit crammed full of riffs and segments that you’ll have heard on those bands from he 70s and 80s that are the influences for the band. Yes, there is plenty of Iron Maiden here once again, with the duelling twin lead guitars working well. Darkest Before The Dawn rips just about everything you can from Maiden’s Only The Good Die Young, whilst Redeemer flips between King Diamond and Judas Priest. Elsewhere, echoes of Sabbath’s Hole In The Sky on Do What Thou Wilt loom large.
But for all the plagiarism, this is really enjoyable if you like classic heavy metal. Tracks like Frost And Fire, Vendetta and Sabbat Stones will all get the head nodding, with thick riffs, high tempo driving rhythm sections and Conklin’s energetic delivery all combining in fine style. A vast improvement on those previous albums, it’s somewhat encouraging that Cloven Hoof have enough enthusiasm to continue. I’m not knocking any band with that amount of drive, and whilst I have my criticisms, I enjoyed Heathen Cross from start to finish. 7/10
Ebba Bergkvist & The Flat Tire Band – Four Wings (The Sign Records) [Paul Scoble]
The album features ten song that fit into a blues/blues rock/Americana style. The album kicks off with the title track. Four Wings is great piece of blues rock, with a taut and soulful verse that immediately showcases Ebba’s great voice. The chorus is more driving and purposeful than the verse section, with some great backing vocals making the chorus nice and powerful.
If you search back through these mighty pages, you’ll find two reviews from me of Cloven Hoof, those also rans from back in the NWOBHM days. Who Mourns The Morning Star got a bit of a mauling from me, whilst my angst about the band’s plagiarism of Iron Maiden in 2020’s Age of Steel was evident throughout. I missed 2022’s Time Assassins altogether. The Hoof is nothing if not persistent though, and four years later we have the new album, Heathen Cross to digest.
First thing to say is that the band’s latest singer, Jag Panzer’s Harry ‘The Tyrant’ Conklin is a fine improvement on previous singer George Call, whose voice didn’t work for me at all. Conklin has a range that covers Dio to ‘Ripper’ Owens, with a bit of Stu Block thrown in for good measure. Alongside Lee Payne, bassist, original member and driving force, this time around, we see Ash Baker move from guitar to drums, recent addition Chris Dando (keyboards), and guitarists Chriss Coss and Luke Hatton return.
Payne is clearly rather pleased with it. “We are back now where we belong. Heathen Cross is Cloven Hoof’s most dark and heavy album yet! It has the Satanic undertones of our debut album, but with the best vocalist the group has ever had. Personally speaking it is hands down my favourite Cloven Hoof album. We wanted to recapture the spirit and the supernatural majesty of the debut album. Talking to the fans we have given them what they wanted most, a return to the roots of the NWOBHM. They are going to love it!”
Well, who I am it piss on his parade? Heathen Cross is indeed a solid heavy metal album, albeit crammed full of riffs and segments that you’ll have heard on those bands from he 70s and 80s that are the influences for the band. Yes, there is plenty of Iron Maiden here once again, with the duelling twin lead guitars working well. Darkest Before The Dawn rips just about everything you can from Maiden’s Only The Good Die Young, whilst Redeemer flips between King Diamond and Judas Priest. Elsewhere, echoes of Sabbath’s Hole In The Sky on Do What Thou Wilt loom large.
But for all the plagiarism, this is really enjoyable if you like classic heavy metal. Tracks like Frost And Fire, Vendetta and Sabbat Stones will all get the head nodding, with thick riffs, high tempo driving rhythm sections and Conklin’s energetic delivery all combining in fine style. A vast improvement on those previous albums, it’s somewhat encouraging that Cloven Hoof have enough enthusiasm to continue. I’m not knocking any band with that amount of drive, and whilst I have my criticisms, I enjoyed Heathen Cross from start to finish. 7/10
Ebba Bergkvist & The Flat Tire Band – Four Wings (The Sign Records) [Paul Scoble]
Ebba Bergkvist & The Flat Tire Band started as a solo project when Ebba was still at music school in 2017. An EP called Alright followed in 2019, and Ebba moved back to her hometown of Stockholm, got a band together and Ebba Bergkvist & The Flat Tire Band released their debut album, Spilt Milk in 2020. Four Wings is the bands second album, recorded at Silence Studios, Värmland, on this album Ebba is joined by bass player Björn Björnehult Korning, drummer Adam Randolf and guitarist Jonas Skeppar.
The album features ten song that fit into a blues/blues rock/Americana style. The album kicks off with the title track. Four Wings is great piece of blues rock, with a taut and soulful verse that immediately showcases Ebba’s great voice. The chorus is more driving and purposeful than the verse section, with some great backing vocals making the chorus nice and powerful.
Four Wings is a great way to open the album, next song, The Pack is another rocker, but with a bit more blues to it than the opener. Again, the chorus has some great Backing Vocals that sound huge, making a nice juxtaposition to the verse that is more minimal. The song grows a lot, building to a huge ending.
Northeast Passage has a minimal and quite funky verse that draws you in for the straight rock of the chorus. The contrast between the two feels works very well, and the chorus always feels powerful and forceful, again the vocals add a lot to the drive and power of the song. Vice Versa is a stomping rocker, it’s a fairly simple song, but that is its’s strength. It drives along, always pushing forward, and has a nice guitar solo and a powerful ending.
Seasick is a great piece of blues. The guitar tones are closer to clean than on a lot of the material we have heard so far. The verse is nice and tuneful, and the chorus is based around a great blues riff, the song also allows Ebba’s vocals to shine through. There is also a great slide guitar solo, to complete this great blues track. Backslide is a beautiful lilting ballad that is mainly clean guitar and lush vocals, and a wonderful chorus. It’s melancholy, sweet and perfectly placed to give the listener a breath after several up-tempo rock tracks.
Black Horses is a very interesting song. It features two very distinct styles, between the beginning of the song and the second half of the song. The first half is very minimal with a simple, clean, and quiet guitar riff, minimal percussion, brooding bass and gentle vocals. The second half builds on the foundations laid by the opening of the song, by adding layers of vocals to build the song up too much bigger proportions for an ending that feels hugely bigger than the songs beginning.
Maverick is a measured piece of blues with lots of Hammond organ. The verse is minimal and brooding, whilst the chorus is huge and driving. The chorus has a bit of Seventies rock feel to it, that Hammond organ gives the chorus a little bit of a Deep Purple vibe. Next song Treachery is a driving rock song, tight and purposeful it has a great energy that feels good after two softer tracks.
Four Wings comes to an end with the song Eastern Prairies, a song that sits between blues and country, a wonderful piece of Americana. The song is lilting Piano, clean guitar and great personality filled vocals. It’s the sort of thing that Alison Krauss is so good at. The song builds to a big and very beautiful ending to the song and the album.
Four Wings is a great piece of blues/blues rock/Americana. All the songs are very well written, and the performances are great across the board. I liked Ebba’s voice a lot and loved the way the choruses were structured with layered vocals to make them stand out and feel bigger than the verse sections. I also like the way the album flows; opening with several of the rockier songs before bringing in some softer and less aggressive tracks so that the album has a nice ebb and flow. It’s a great album that is even more impressive considering it is only the bands second. Great piece of blues rock, highly recommended. 8/10
Lowlives - Freaking Out (Spinefarm Records) [Rich Piva]
Los Angeles, California’s Lowlives bring all sorts of 90s-early 2000s vibes on their debut album, Freaking Out. I get elements of grunge, pop punk, emo, and radio friendly alt rock spread liberally across the ten tracks, with varied results, showing some good promise for a young band but with lots of room for improvement.
Let’s start with some good, as the opening title track rocks, another example of a song that you wish the Foo Fighters were putting out these days but have not since, like, 1997. Even the scream parts have Foo vibes, but the good kind. I am also getting some of those second or third (depending on who you are talking to) emo vibes, which makes sense, since, you know, The Colour And The Shape and all that. This is energetic radio friend alternative rock in all of the best ways possible. Liar is up next, and we seem to go more Weezer then, say, Sunny Day Real Estate, unfortunately. It is catchy and will have people who really dig it, but it is a bit too sugary mainstream for this reviewer.
Northeast Passage has a minimal and quite funky verse that draws you in for the straight rock of the chorus. The contrast between the two feels works very well, and the chorus always feels powerful and forceful, again the vocals add a lot to the drive and power of the song. Vice Versa is a stomping rocker, it’s a fairly simple song, but that is its’s strength. It drives along, always pushing forward, and has a nice guitar solo and a powerful ending.
Seasick is a great piece of blues. The guitar tones are closer to clean than on a lot of the material we have heard so far. The verse is nice and tuneful, and the chorus is based around a great blues riff, the song also allows Ebba’s vocals to shine through. There is also a great slide guitar solo, to complete this great blues track. Backslide is a beautiful lilting ballad that is mainly clean guitar and lush vocals, and a wonderful chorus. It’s melancholy, sweet and perfectly placed to give the listener a breath after several up-tempo rock tracks.
Black Horses is a very interesting song. It features two very distinct styles, between the beginning of the song and the second half of the song. The first half is very minimal with a simple, clean, and quiet guitar riff, minimal percussion, brooding bass and gentle vocals. The second half builds on the foundations laid by the opening of the song, by adding layers of vocals to build the song up too much bigger proportions for an ending that feels hugely bigger than the songs beginning.
Maverick is a measured piece of blues with lots of Hammond organ. The verse is minimal and brooding, whilst the chorus is huge and driving. The chorus has a bit of Seventies rock feel to it, that Hammond organ gives the chorus a little bit of a Deep Purple vibe. Next song Treachery is a driving rock song, tight and purposeful it has a great energy that feels good after two softer tracks.
Four Wings comes to an end with the song Eastern Prairies, a song that sits between blues and country, a wonderful piece of Americana. The song is lilting Piano, clean guitar and great personality filled vocals. It’s the sort of thing that Alison Krauss is so good at. The song builds to a big and very beautiful ending to the song and the album.
Four Wings is a great piece of blues/blues rock/Americana. All the songs are very well written, and the performances are great across the board. I liked Ebba’s voice a lot and loved the way the choruses were structured with layered vocals to make them stand out and feel bigger than the verse sections. I also like the way the album flows; opening with several of the rockier songs before bringing in some softer and less aggressive tracks so that the album has a nice ebb and flow. It’s a great album that is even more impressive considering it is only the bands second. Great piece of blues rock, highly recommended. 8/10
Lowlives - Freaking Out (Spinefarm Records) [Rich Piva]
Los Angeles, California’s Lowlives bring all sorts of 90s-early 2000s vibes on their debut album, Freaking Out. I get elements of grunge, pop punk, emo, and radio friendly alt rock spread liberally across the ten tracks, with varied results, showing some good promise for a young band but with lots of room for improvement.
Let’s start with some good, as the opening title track rocks, another example of a song that you wish the Foo Fighters were putting out these days but have not since, like, 1997. Even the scream parts have Foo vibes, but the good kind. I am also getting some of those second or third (depending on who you are talking to) emo vibes, which makes sense, since, you know, The Colour And The Shape and all that. This is energetic radio friend alternative rock in all of the best ways possible. Liar is up next, and we seem to go more Weezer then, say, Sunny Day Real Estate, unfortunately. It is catchy and will have people who really dig it, but it is a bit too sugary mainstream for this reviewer.
Back to the Foos, Getting High On Being Low is that formula as well, but maybe throw some Bush via Lit with some Buckcherry in there too. Swan Dive has the chunkiest riff and the layered lower octave vocals bring faint Alice In Chains vibes, but without the darkness that AIC made their own. Loser to me is just that; a failed attempt for a hit single that sounds like one of those punk bands that tired to make a mid tempo clever track in 2003. You Don’t Care, however, is a nice, driving and aggressive track that is grungier than the rest and it is unfortunate because when the band gets heavier, I think they excel. Out Of Step is a strong track too, with serious 90s vibes that really hit the mark.
The problem is Closer Than You Know reverts back to my thoughts on Loser, which to me in he 90s cut out bin more that Buzz Clip. To compound the schizophrenic nature of this record, Damien kind of rocks too and has all the good aspects of 90s radio friendliness. Lowlives channelled their inner Nickleback, or maybe Staind, or a band of similar ilk with the acoustic driven Vertigo that closes Freak Out with more of a whimper. Acoustic closers only work when the track grabs you, see Blue In The Face off of Alkaline Trio’s classic Good Mourning, this is not Blue In The Face…
There is some good stuff on Freak Out, and some stuff I am not too keen on, but I am sure others will be, because Lowlives is appealing more to the rock mainstream than to the guy who waits every day on the edge of their seat for the announcement of a new Wo Fat album. I will say, however, when the band rocks and doesn’t try to pop punk stuff up too much they are at their best. Freak Out shows some signs of real potential, especially if the band decides to channel their grunge side and just go for the heavy. 6/10
There is some good stuff on Freak Out, and some stuff I am not too keen on, but I am sure others will be, because Lowlives is appealing more to the rock mainstream than to the guy who waits every day on the edge of their seat for the announcement of a new Wo Fat album. I will say, however, when the band rocks and doesn’t try to pop punk stuff up too much they are at their best. Freak Out shows some signs of real potential, especially if the band decides to channel their grunge side and just go for the heavy. 6/10
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