Sometimes we miss things here at MoM towers and the one record we missed back in May was the debut from American metal supergroup Bad Wolves. Now supergroup is sometimes bandied around willy nilly but if you're a follower of the heavier end of American metal then you'll recognise everyone involved with this project. Bad Wolves is vocalist Tommy Vext (ex-Divine Heresy), drummer John Boecklin (ex-DevilDriver), lead guitarist Doc Coyle (ex-God Forbid), rhythm guitarist Chris Cain (ex-Bury Your Dead) and bassist Kyle Konkiel (ex-In This Moment ex-Scar the Martyr), to add to this they are managed by Zoltan Bathory of Five Finger Death Punch. With the membership the way it is you can probably guess what kind of music is contained within an album called Disobey it's aggressive, defiant, anti-authoritarian and made up of 13 raging, vicious cuts that are made to incite rebellion in the listener.
When you've got members ex members of God Forbid, Divine Heresy you're almost guaranteed the current climate in America to be the major talking point and with titles like the bludgeoning Officer Down which is an indictment of violence in the USA, along with the excellent chorus to No Masters which has Vext shouting about "Beating The Bastards". Musically it's thumping modern American metal with metalcore grooves from Cain, Konkiel and Boecklin getting the blood pumping with some distorted heaviness and thick, juicy riffs that switch between djent, thrash and groove as they let Coyle add some melo-death leads and in the true US metal style they have the harsh/clean dynamic in the vocals having harsh shouts in the verses and top level cleans for the choruses. Disobey is a rather brilliant album, I didn't have high hopes after all the massive press they had but it's all worth it sharp, modern American metal that is much more than just "that" Cranberries cover (which admittedly is superb reworking). 9/10
Evil Scarecrow - Chapter IV: Antartartica (DeadBox) [Pippy]
With lyrics that a surrealist artist would happily depict on to a canvas, Evil Scarecrows 4th studio album; Chapter IV: Antartartic, launches a tantalizing assault onto the awaiting ears of the listening. It is a delight for both new and old fans of the band, with their established strengths gathered from previous albums and live shows being embodied and displayed vastly over course of the 10 tracks. This talented group of musicians and creative minds have created an album that does not, let down the reputation of the band but merely adds to their arsenal of continuous upward movement.
Delightfully enticing song titles such as Cosmos Goth Moth Gong and Hurricanado, littering the album’s course; listeners are delivered dark often sci-fi and fantasy orientated lyrics delivered in a tale like manner with each track carefully building up to and leading onto the next. Such smooth transitioning between tracks, is echoed throughout the entire album in song tempo changes, whereby songs such as: Way To Die switch smoothly between lyrical style changes, complimented and guitar bridges which seal the transitions seamlessly. Antartartica, also beautifully highlights the bands ability to combine styles as it switches smoothly between elements of trash, death and the more laid back sounds of melodic metal (albeit it with a dark eerie sounding edge). This if anything, is testimony to the bands musical talent; as all though Antartartic is both the title and closing track of the album, it is a mighty 10 minutes in length.
Despite this, through the use of descriptive lyrics and echoing reflective instrumental parts (that would leave many an artist and literary fan alike, scrabbling to decipher the carefully curated imagery), the band still manage to keep the listener's attention for the entire track duration and end the album leaving the listening in anticipation for more. Another key track that stood out from the rest of the album was Hurricanado, situated in the midst of the track listings. This is a song that has had a few outings and taste of public receptions; long before the due album launch and from listening to it you can hear why. With the use of tactful pauses at key moments, the track lyrically builds suspense and with the added use of tempo changes and increase in riff intensity; Hurricanado securely cements itself a spot as one of the albums strongest tracks and rightfully centrally placed to balance the albums progression.
It is clear to see why fans have welcomed it so wholeheartedly. As albums go, this certainly one worth a listen purely because of it’s use of differing genre elements creating an appeal across the metal genres but also and equally for how well the band execute and deliver each track, creating anticipation for not only future music but what it would be like to hear this album live. 8/10
Hammer King: Poseidon Will Carry Us Home (Cruz Del Sur) [Matt]
Like with one of the best trilogies ever it's time for the Return Of The King. In this case it's Hammer King the power/trad metal band from the Rhineland in Germany. As many of you who read this blog we do like a bit of Teutonic power metal and we especially love a bit of the band lead by Titan Fox V their previous two installments have scored highly with us at Musipedia Of Metal so can this third record be as regarded? Well if your a fan of fantasy, wars, chest beating machismo and of course hammers, with the continuing saga of The Hammer King used as lyrical reference.
From the inception of the title track it's big fist pumping grooves that shifts into flurry of galloping riffs and a breathless rhythm section (7 Days And 7 Kings) and of course the numerous Maidenisms especially on Battle Of Wars which has Gino Wilde and Titan with some dual leads and Warriors Of Angelhill which has K.K Basement thumping those classical sounding bass lines you might recognise from Hallowed Be Thy Name. The classic heavy metal themes are so strong that you'd think this record was released in the heyday of UK and German heavy metal nods to Maiden (as I've said) but also Helloween and Running Wild, especially on Glorious Night Of Glory and the Nautical We Sail Cape Horn. Proper heavy metal once again from Hammer King, Poseidon is clearly with them here! 8/10
Hammer King: Poseidon Will Carry Us Home (Cruz Del Sur) [Matt]
Like with one of the best trilogies ever it's time for the Return Of The King. In this case it's Hammer King the power/trad metal band from the Rhineland in Germany. As many of you who read this blog we do like a bit of Teutonic power metal and we especially love a bit of the band lead by Titan Fox V their previous two installments have scored highly with us at Musipedia Of Metal so can this third record be as regarded? Well if your a fan of fantasy, wars, chest beating machismo and of course hammers, with the continuing saga of The Hammer King used as lyrical reference.
From the inception of the title track it's big fist pumping grooves that shifts into flurry of galloping riffs and a breathless rhythm section (7 Days And 7 Kings) and of course the numerous Maidenisms especially on Battle Of Wars which has Gino Wilde and Titan with some dual leads and Warriors Of Angelhill which has K.K Basement thumping those classical sounding bass lines you might recognise from Hallowed Be Thy Name. The classic heavy metal themes are so strong that you'd think this record was released in the heyday of UK and German heavy metal nods to Maiden (as I've said) but also Helloween and Running Wild, especially on Glorious Night Of Glory and the Nautical We Sail Cape Horn. Proper heavy metal once again from Hammer King, Poseidon is clearly with them here! 8/10
Black Viper: Hellions Of Fire (High Roller Records) [Rich]
In this day and age of multiple sub-genres and genre crossovers it’s refreshing to hear a band playing heavy metal like it’s 1983 which is exactly what Black Viper do. Hailing from Norway and featuring members of Deathhammer and Obliteration, Black Viper play a much overlooked and forgotten style of metal that was called speed metal with a sound that sits somewhere between NWOBHM and thrash metal. Coming after their well received demo in 2016, Hellions Of Fire is the band's debut album released through High Roller Records and is a blinding maelstrom of speed, melody and wild guitar solos. This being speed metal all the songs on Hellions Of Fire are fast with a certain degree of aggression but not on the level of thrash. There are strong melodies and catchy hooks throughout especially in the stunning guitar playing of Arild Myren Torp. The drumming by Cato Stormoen is frantic and intensive throughout whilst the bass playing by Kato Marchant is the glue that binds everything together.
The vocals by Salvador Armijo aren’t particularly great but are serviceable and work with the music throughout. With only seven songs and a running length of just under 48 minutes some of the songs do exceed their necessary length with lots of extended instrumentation but the musicianship on the album is so good that it doesn’t try your patience. The best songs though are the ones which are shorter and to the point such as Metal Blitzkrieg and Storming With Vengeance. The production is purposely raw and retro sounding but it works with the material. Overall Hellions Of Fire is a very promising debut album for Black Viper which should please old school metallers everywhere. 8/10
In this day and age of multiple sub-genres and genre crossovers it’s refreshing to hear a band playing heavy metal like it’s 1983 which is exactly what Black Viper do. Hailing from Norway and featuring members of Deathhammer and Obliteration, Black Viper play a much overlooked and forgotten style of metal that was called speed metal with a sound that sits somewhere between NWOBHM and thrash metal. Coming after their well received demo in 2016, Hellions Of Fire is the band's debut album released through High Roller Records and is a blinding maelstrom of speed, melody and wild guitar solos. This being speed metal all the songs on Hellions Of Fire are fast with a certain degree of aggression but not on the level of thrash. There are strong melodies and catchy hooks throughout especially in the stunning guitar playing of Arild Myren Torp. The drumming by Cato Stormoen is frantic and intensive throughout whilst the bass playing by Kato Marchant is the glue that binds everything together.
The vocals by Salvador Armijo aren’t particularly great but are serviceable and work with the music throughout. With only seven songs and a running length of just under 48 minutes some of the songs do exceed their necessary length with lots of extended instrumentation but the musicianship on the album is so good that it doesn’t try your patience. The best songs though are the ones which are shorter and to the point such as Metal Blitzkrieg and Storming With Vengeance. The production is purposely raw and retro sounding but it works with the material. Overall Hellions Of Fire is a very promising debut album for Black Viper which should please old school metallers everywhere. 8/10
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