Visions Divine have released their conceptual prog tinged 11 track release Blood And Angels Tears. From start to finish the band show no sign of stripping down it’s approach.
For example, the guitars go more all out in comparison to previous releases with Olaf and Andrea doing some whammy bar trickery on the opening song The Ballet Of Blood And Angels Tears followed by frantic pedal tone riffs that are locked in with the rhythm sections.
Even Flow - Rinascimento (Lucky Bob Records) [Matt Bladen]
Italian melodic progressive metal band Even Flow return with another full length album, it's been 2 years since their last EP Mediterraneo, but when your guitarist/drummer brother combo have another band on the go, your bassist has five and your singer is in about eight it's difficult getting everyone together.
So with all four of them now in the studio again it was time to record their third album their second in this formation. Rinascimento, which means rebirth in Italian, sees them coming back with more brilliant melodic progressive metal. Luca Negro's bass is thick, full bodied and fleet fingered, even on the poppier Winter Sun or ballad Maloa.
Pietro Paolo Lunesu's guitars are bright and fluid, shredding and anthemic on the title track when set against the synths/keys on the title track, as Giorgio Lunesu's drums give the building rhythm space, climaxing in a scintillating solo/outro and there's a strong 80's vibe on Back On The Street and Pieces Of A Picture.
Marco's vocals are soaring, he's one of my favourite singers out there, he's got a brilliant range for any sort of melodic/power/prog so he is able to handle any shifts in tone well. Rinascimento is another record that shows how good the Italian power/prog scene really is. 8/10
I feel quite sad about this really because online, I read so many positive comments about them, and their music so that when I pressed play, I found that I just couldn’t get into it and it felt that it was just one long (or short) shout fest set within an admittedly crushing sound. It is heavy, I mean really heavy but without any real variety from song to song. And without that variety, it’s just boring. 5/10
These frantic riffs continue on songs like the following track Once Invincible and The Broken Past, but the virtuoso duo change it up with the heaviest track on the album Preys where the guitars sound more darker and thicker trading the heavy use of pedal tone riffs for palm muted galloped riffs and sustained chords.
The track When Darkness Comes replaces the electric guitars for the delicate approach with acoustic guitar arrangements that consist of peaceful sounding arpeggios and heavenly chords being to the great Matt Puruzzis grooves.
Speaking of which, Matt's performances on this album really steal the show for me with his intricately placed drum fills that perfectly accompany other instrumentation that does not competes with Ivan's vocals. Throughout the album Matt proves to be a drum god that needs more credit then he deserves.
From the colossal drum fills in the first song, The Ballet Of Blood And Angels Tears making those toms sound like a artillery of firing cannons whilst the following track Once Invincible brings in some thunderous double kick action.
The track Go East shows a brilliant marriage of Matt's grooves bouncing off of Andreas bass lines whilst Ivan soars through the arrangements. Throughout the 11 tracks Ivan proves to be another musician that deserves more credit in the metal word, the frontman is painting pictures with the narrative sections in the intro track War In Heaven to sung stories on The Broken Past.
Songs like Once Invincible shows how Ivan bring in the intensity whilst bringing these angelic highs, whilst being able to sooth you with their softer tracks like When Darkness Comes and their closing track Lost where Ivan soothing tones match with Alessio's blissful arrangements. Following this, through out this whole album Alessio's has proved to be the bands secret weapon.
From the classic orchestrated efforts on the closing track Lost, A Man On A Mission and the verse sections in Prey to just adding walls of Sci-fi tinged atmospheric layers on the track Once Invincible, it proves that Alessios parts a vital roles in this bands sound. Throughout the 11 track conceptual journey, Vision Divine has upped the anti with the production on their 9th full length release.
They have kept what makes them the one to see modern power metal bands, with their power high range vocals, technical guitar wizardry and colossal sounding drum parts, but wrapped in an extra layer of modern production.
Soundscapes that really captures the fantasy concepts with the use of sci-fi sounds on Once Invincible and the sounds designs of the opening track War In Heaven. For fans of Dream Theatre, Gloryhammer and Blind Guardian. 8/10
Even Flow - Rinascimento (Lucky Bob Records) [Matt Bladen]
Italian melodic progressive metal band Even Flow return with another full length album, it's been 2 years since their last EP Mediterraneo, but when your guitarist/drummer brother combo have another band on the go, your bassist has five and your singer is in about eight it's difficult getting everyone together.
So with all four of them now in the studio again it was time to record their third album their second in this formation. Rinascimento, which means rebirth in Italian, sees them coming back with more brilliant melodic progressive metal. Luca Negro's bass is thick, full bodied and fleet fingered, even on the poppier Winter Sun or ballad Maloa.
Pietro Paolo Lunesu's guitars are bright and fluid, shredding and anthemic on the title track when set against the synths/keys on the title track, as Giorgio Lunesu's drums give the building rhythm space, climaxing in a scintillating solo/outro and there's a strong 80's vibe on Back On The Street and Pieces Of A Picture.
Marco's vocals are soaring, he's one of my favourite singers out there, he's got a brilliant range for any sort of melodic/power/prog so he is able to handle any shifts in tone well. Rinascimento is another record that shows how good the Italian power/prog scene really is. 8/10
Phantom Hound - From Boom Town To Ghost Town (Glory Or Death Records) [Rich Piva]
Jake Navarra has been the driving force in Phantom Hound for a number of years now, with various events getting in the way of the band taking the next step.
Jake Navarra has been the driving force in Phantom Hound for a number of years now, with various events getting in the way of the band taking the next step.
After years of playing, not playing, personal stuff, and all other things life throws at you, the band put out the excellent debut album, Mountain Pass, in March 2020, just in time for the world to collapse. But the band persevered, boosting their creativity during those dark times, and the result could not have been better, because their second album, From Boom Town To Ghost Town is breath taking.
Navarra is a history buff and loves his native Bay Area in California, so it makes sense that he wrote an album about the California gold rush. While not quite a concept record, the songs are all thematically related, creating an excellent flow to the sequencing of the record. The other big change to the Phantom Hound sound is the addition of synths to the mix.
Navarra is a history buff and loves his native Bay Area in California, so it makes sense that he wrote an album about the California gold rush. While not quite a concept record, the songs are all thematically related, creating an excellent flow to the sequencing of the record. The other big change to the Phantom Hound sound is the addition of synths to the mix.
Introduced by bass player Stephen Rogers after hearing what bands like King Buffalo do with them, Navarra was initially sceptical but after hearing what can be done using the instrument he was all in, and the bigger, fuller, more complex sound of album number two really brings From Boom Town To Ghost Town to the next level.
King Buffalo is a good benchmark here, but Phantom Hound rocks more, making them more Alice In Chains with synths then the more jam band leanings of King Buffalo. I may get killed for that comment but it is true. Also, I love King Buffalo. The other noticeable change is how much Navarra has improved on the guitar.
King Buffalo is a good benchmark here, but Phantom Hound rocks more, making them more Alice In Chains with synths then the more jam band leanings of King Buffalo. I may get killed for that comment but it is true. Also, I love King Buffalo. The other noticeable change is how much Navarra has improved on the guitar.
Just check out how he shreds and rips it up on solos on the last two tracks, Waterways (The Motherload) and Hooch’s Skull, which really brings the heavy. I found it very interesting to start the record with a six-minute instrumental, but after talking with Jake and thinking about it, it does make sense, as the new direction and approach with the synths is introduced via that first track, Eyes Upon Riches.
The one-two punch of The Locksmith and Gold Fever is just amazing. Drummer Jack Stiles adds more background vocals this time around, with excellent results, as you can hear on these two tracks.
The one-two punch of The Locksmith and Gold Fever is just amazing. Drummer Jack Stiles adds more background vocals this time around, with excellent results, as you can hear on these two tracks.
Claims & Prospects leans the most towards Navarra’s grunge love, as you can hear all sorts of Seattle in this one, in all of its fuzzy glory. Love the vocals on this one too. The title track is killer, with an acoustic feel to start and a nice change up before the final two rippers mentioned above close the story out.
With all the amazing stuff that has come out in 2024 and specifically in September, an album like From Boom Town To Ghost Town has a chance to be overlooked, but I will make sure everyone hears me screaming from the rooftops about this one, as Phantom Hound’s patience has paid off. The result is their masterpiece, which shows a love of music, the passion to create, and perseverance wins the day. 9/10
Kublai Khan TX - Exhibition Of Prowess (Self Released) [Mark Young]
I’d heard the name but had not heard their music before the boss threw it my way for review this week. Doing some digging online, the band have built a reputation for no nonsense, straight forward music that comes and stomps a great hole in you without overstaying their welcome.
With all the amazing stuff that has come out in 2024 and specifically in September, an album like From Boom Town To Ghost Town has a chance to be overlooked, but I will make sure everyone hears me screaming from the rooftops about this one, as Phantom Hound’s patience has paid off. The result is their masterpiece, which shows a love of music, the passion to create, and perseverance wins the day. 9/10
Kublai Khan TX - Exhibition Of Prowess (Self Released) [Mark Young]
I’d heard the name but had not heard their music before the boss threw it my way for review this week. Doing some digging online, the band have built a reputation for no nonsense, straight forward music that comes and stomps a great hole in you without overstaying their welcome.
Indeed, Exhibition Of Prowess clocks in at just under 24 minutes, which should give you some indication of the brutality that is about to be dropped upon you. And it is brutal, there is no doubt about that. Its heavy, its shouty and does all the things you expect from them, and from this genre but it is entirely possible that I am not seeing/hearing what everybody else is hearing. I can appreciate it as a work of heavy art, but I just didn’t care for it.
I have mentioned before that I pull all the albums together as a review playlist and then use the commute to work as a barometer of how well those albums landed. Did I skip any? Were they too aggressive to drive to? That sort of thing because you get precious little time to listen with intent at home. It starts with a blast, Supreme Ruler, a short blast of aggression and then we are off, with each track giving you more or less the same approach – stabbing guitars, hardcore vocals and it gets dull very quickly.
I feel quite sad about this really because online, I read so many positive comments about them, and their music so that when I pressed play, I found that I just couldn’t get into it and it felt that it was just one long (or short) shout fest set within an admittedly crushing sound. It is heavy, I mean really heavy but without any real variety from song to song. And without that variety, it’s just boring. 5/10
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