Trivium - Struck Dead (Roadrunner)
Recorded before the exit of drummer Alex Bent, US metal kings Trivium release a three stack EP entitled Struck Dead, it's the first set of songs recorded at their Hangar Studios in Orlando Florida. Their Hangar Space was where they practised and perfected their live show but they took the next step in turning it into a full studio space alongside Roger D'Arcy and Mark Lewis.
While they were rehearsing for the Poisoned Ascendancy tour and building the studio, frontman Matt Heafy was going through a few personal struggles and the band found the creative juices bubbling, so wrote these three songs as a sort of catharsis, in the same sort of spirit as Ascendancy. Once The Hangar was completed they recorded them alongside Mark Lewis and then sent them off to be mixed/mastered by the veteran Roadrunner man Josh Wilbur.
Kicking off with Bury Me With My Screams, a song they debuted at their Bloodstock Festival headline earlier this year, the influence of Ascendency is clear as Heafy's growls seem more potent and aggressive, the metalcore beginnings of the band shown by the breakdown before at end, Paolo Gregoletto's bass thick in the groove.
On the title track Stuck Dead (Pain Is Easier To Remember) they add more of the technical elements they brought in since with Heafy and Corey Beulieu trading solos like no ones business, while the final of the three, Six Walls Surround Me could be an Ascendancy lost track as the whole feel of it is from those early days, but driven by the progressive and dynamic force they are now, it even begins with what I think a Shamisen.
Even with an EP written in a period of turmoil and change, Trivium are still one of the best out there at the moment. This EP feels like a throwback, Ascendancy 1.5, but with all the skills of a band in their 26th year. 8/10
Voodoo Highway - Made In Kachot (Self Released)
Made In Kachot is the first live album from veteran Italian rockers Voodoo Highway sees them performing after a seven year hiatus, reforming at RockaFE Festival in Ferrara in June of this year. This is rocking from the classic era with Hammond organs, guitars and big vocals that are stretched to their maximum.
On this live record they showcase their power and their obvious influence from Deep Purple, even sneakily adding the intro to Perfect Strangers at the beginning of To Ride The Tide, there's also quite a bit of Kingdom Come to here with the idea of Zeppelin with organs, dancing around in my head. With the exception of the first track, the rest of this live record is pretty damn good, showing the band still have some serious chops.
It's a precursor to a fourth studio album they will be recording next month and with how they sound here, it looks like these Italian stalwarts are more potent than ever and are back with a bang. 7/10
Starlight Ritual - Rogue Angel (High Roller Records)
Some epic heavy metal now from Montréal, Québec as Starlight Ritual debut on High Roller Records. Formed by guitarists J.F. Bertrand and Dan Toupin, bassist Mat Forge and drummer Louis Lecomte they added Damian Ritual on vocals and Starlight Ritual came together quickly, releasing their debut in 2021.
Kicking off with Bury Me With My Screams, a song they debuted at their Bloodstock Festival headline earlier this year, the influence of Ascendency is clear as Heafy's growls seem more potent and aggressive, the metalcore beginnings of the band shown by the breakdown before at end, Paolo Gregoletto's bass thick in the groove.
On the title track Stuck Dead (Pain Is Easier To Remember) they add more of the technical elements they brought in since with Heafy and Corey Beulieu trading solos like no ones business, while the final of the three, Six Walls Surround Me could be an Ascendancy lost track as the whole feel of it is from those early days, but driven by the progressive and dynamic force they are now, it even begins with what I think a Shamisen.
Even with an EP written in a period of turmoil and change, Trivium are still one of the best out there at the moment. This EP feels like a throwback, Ascendancy 1.5, but with all the skills of a band in their 26th year. 8/10
Voodoo Highway - Made In Kachot (Self Released)
Made In Kachot is the first live album from veteran Italian rockers Voodoo Highway sees them performing after a seven year hiatus, reforming at RockaFE Festival in Ferrara in June of this year. This is rocking from the classic era with Hammond organs, guitars and big vocals that are stretched to their maximum.
On this live record they showcase their power and their obvious influence from Deep Purple, even sneakily adding the intro to Perfect Strangers at the beginning of To Ride The Tide, there's also quite a bit of Kingdom Come to here with the idea of Zeppelin with organs, dancing around in my head. With the exception of the first track, the rest of this live record is pretty damn good, showing the band still have some serious chops.
It's a precursor to a fourth studio album they will be recording next month and with how they sound here, it looks like these Italian stalwarts are more potent than ever and are back with a bang. 7/10
Starlight Ritual - Rogue Angel (High Roller Records)
Some epic heavy metal now from Montréal, Québec as Starlight Ritual debut on High Roller Records. Formed by guitarists J.F. Bertrand and Dan Toupin, bassist Mat Forge and drummer Louis Lecomte they added Damian Ritual on vocals and Starlight Ritual came together quickly, releasing their debut in 2021.
Rogue Angel is the follow up and it features just the two guitarists and the singer on the recording line up, all three writing and arranging as Dan plays all the guitars, J.F plays drums and Damian takes bass and vocals. This power trio configuration has meant that Starlight Ritual fully done away with their psych/doom trappings, and some of the epic forms they took on the previous record, shifting to a more direct approach that's inspired by the NWOBHM, but those early days where it was rough and ready.
Damien's vocals are inspired by Steve Grimmett and Paul DiAnno, he's got a grittiness that comes through on Far Beyond The Storm, which is from the Grim Reaper playbook, while the The Law comes from Di'Anno's. There's little time to stop, most of these tracks are full steam ahead rockers, with Omenkillers having the early thrash speed.
Damien's vocals are inspired by Steve Grimmett and Paul DiAnno, he's got a grittiness that comes through on Far Beyond The Storm, which is from the Grim Reaper playbook, while the The Law comes from Di'Anno's. There's little time to stop, most of these tracks are full steam ahead rockers, with Omenkillers having the early thrash speed.
On The Run takes it back to the NWOBHM while Exodus is a mid-pace swagger that usually came at the end of a Maiden album or something from the Dio-fronted Sabbath. Rogue Angel sees Starlight Ritual paying homage to their influences though some classic heavy metal. 7/10
Empire Drowns - Endless Nights (Mighty Music)
Featuring former and current members from Withering Surface, Urkraft, and Saturnus, Empire Downs play the type of death/doom inspired by the Peaceville three but twisted with their own sprinkle of black metal, this Danish band play music that is introspective, melancholic and atmospheric, the aggressive blasts cutting through the long slow maudlin moments like flashes of viciousness during a period of self loathing.
Empire Drowns - Endless Nights (Mighty Music)
Featuring former and current members from Withering Surface, Urkraft, and Saturnus, Empire Downs play the type of death/doom inspired by the Peaceville three but twisted with their own sprinkle of black metal, this Danish band play music that is introspective, melancholic and atmospheric, the aggressive blasts cutting through the long slow maudlin moments like flashes of viciousness during a period of self loathing.
The growls are matched with screams while the instrumentals are down tuned and brooding, the stark winters of Scandinavia and the tumultuous plains of East Africa, both inspired the songwriting, looking at contrasts throughout. Endless Nights is their second album and it contains where their debut left off, bringing all of the talent from it's creators together and looking to take their gloom on the road soon. 7/10
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