Hailing from Sweden - Sarayasign, brings us 12 melodic, high concept anthems. Not a single dull moment with this one, it's loud and beautiful with strong vocals and weighty lyrics. Though they were formed in 2020, they have the heart and soul of 80s/90s powerhouses. Each track builds gently to a booming and passionate chorus that's so memorable and intimate it feels special.
Each track is textured and weighty without feeling too overpowering. What stands out most is just how natural everything sounds while being blatantly heavy, every member plays dynamically with great skill to produce liquid and sweet-sounding riffs, the drums which are so echoed, blends harmoniously as well as some mighty raw vocals which brings us deep and uplifting substance.
Shadows Of The Dying light is not a casual listen unless you are a fan of this specific genre; they are very cinematic. A huge emphasis goes towards composition and their specific musical narrative, which is stunning. The whole album is a feast for the ears; I can't get enough of it. They make music perfect for a dystopian sci –fi film, and the quality of this one is refined. The blend between the lead and the female backing vocals is electrifying and the lead guitar sounds clean and incredibly sharp.
Each track is textured and weighty without feeling too overpowering. What stands out most is just how natural everything sounds while being blatantly heavy, every member plays dynamically with great skill to produce liquid and sweet-sounding riffs, the drums which are so echoed, blends harmoniously as well as some mighty raw vocals which brings us deep and uplifting substance.
Shadows Of The Dying light is not a casual listen unless you are a fan of this specific genre; they are very cinematic. A huge emphasis goes towards composition and their specific musical narrative, which is stunning. The whole album is a feast for the ears; I can't get enough of it. They make music perfect for a dystopian sci –fi film, and the quality of this one is refined. The blend between the lead and the female backing vocals is electrifying and the lead guitar sounds clean and incredibly sharp.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one, its music that will rattle your skull and soothe your soul. 9/10
Winds Of Neptune - Winds Of Neptune (Small Stone Records) [Rich Piva]
It is a not so secret dirty little secret that stoner doom fans love 70s rock. I am not talking Sabbath and Zeppelin, because, of course they do. I am talking about Grand Funk, BTO, Tull, Rush, BOC, Bad Company, that kind of stuff. This was 100% confirmed when the debut record from “supergroup” trio Winds Of Neptune was number one on the November Doom Charts.
Winds Of Neptune - Winds Of Neptune (Small Stone Records) [Rich Piva]
It is a not so secret dirty little secret that stoner doom fans love 70s rock. I am not talking Sabbath and Zeppelin, because, of course they do. I am talking about Grand Funk, BTO, Tull, Rush, BOC, Bad Company, that kind of stuff. This was 100% confirmed when the debut record from “supergroup” trio Winds Of Neptune was number one on the November Doom Charts.
WoN consists of Flogging Molly drummer Mike Alonso, guitarist Kevin Roberts of The Meatmen, and bassist/vocalist Ross Westerbur of a bunch of bands including 500 Ft. of Pipe. This band sounds nothing like those bands. This band sounds like MC5 meets grand Funk meets Blue Cheer meets Bad Company, and it is glorious. Good work by Small Stone Records putting this beauty out.
This album sounds like it was recorded in 1975 in the best kind of way. The vocals are spot on, the guitar rips, and the rhythm section is Grand Funk Red Album worthy. You know right away this is going to rule when The opener The Faun’s Rhyme kicks in. These guys have played in other bands together before but this has no business sounding as tight as it does for a “side project”. Gas Giant is eight-plus minutes of roof raising 70s rock, with killer guitar work and is a song you never want to end.
This album sounds like it was recorded in 1975 in the best kind of way. The vocals are spot on, the guitar rips, and the rhythm section is Grand Funk Red Album worthy. You know right away this is going to rule when The opener The Faun’s Rhyme kicks in. These guys have played in other bands together before but this has no business sounding as tight as it does for a “side project”. Gas Giant is eight-plus minutes of roof raising 70s rock, with killer guitar work and is a song you never want to end.
I get a northern version of early ZZ Top vibe from La Cacciata, which also sounds like it was produced by Rick Rubin. Maybe a Cream thing too. Regardless, it is excellent. The riff on Temporal Mutant is fire and reminds me of another band who dropped a killer record this year, Portland's Hog. If there was a radio hit on this record, I mean a radio hit in 1976, it would be U.S.L., and I say this as the biggest compliment I could give. So Sayeth The Mouth Of The Void rips it up for nine minutes non stop and is a lovely blend of Kiss early Rush.
That is where the vinyl ends, but for those of you who still CD and/or digital there is the chill psych blues of The Fitz to bring you down from this rock and roll party blow out in the Dairy Queen parking lot vibe Winds Of Neptune have created, only to have the other bonus track, Queen Of Sumatra, to get you peaking again.
The secret is out, the 70s ruled and still does, and Winds Of Neptune are here to keep the spirit alive, one riff and one puff at a time. 9/10
Atavistia - The Winter Way: Reforged (Blood Blast Distribution) [Mark Young]
Atavistia, the renowned symphonic melodic act from Canada have decided to revisit The Winter Way, their 2020 album and carry out a complete, from the ground up rebuild. Now, I’ve not heard the original and in the interest of fairness I’m not going to seek it out as I want to listen and ultimately judge it on its own merits.
And so, it wouldn’t be right if they didn’t start off with an epically driven, all the traditional tropes instrumental introduction. In its favour, this is the sort of backing accompaniment you would find during a boss fight or rooftop chase whilst the hero of the piece leaps from roof to roof, barely keeping themselves safe. From The Ancient Stones makes way for The Atavistic Forest, and it is definitely in keeping with the Winter theme.
The secret is out, the 70s ruled and still does, and Winds Of Neptune are here to keep the spirit alive, one riff and one puff at a time. 9/10
Atavistia - The Winter Way: Reforged (Blood Blast Distribution) [Mark Young]
Atavistia, the renowned symphonic melodic act from Canada have decided to revisit The Winter Way, their 2020 album and carry out a complete, from the ground up rebuild. Now, I’ve not heard the original and in the interest of fairness I’m not going to seek it out as I want to listen and ultimately judge it on its own merits.
And so, it wouldn’t be right if they didn’t start off with an epically driven, all the traditional tropes instrumental introduction. In its favour, this is the sort of backing accompaniment you would find during a boss fight or rooftop chase whilst the hero of the piece leaps from roof to roof, barely keeping themselves safe. From The Ancient Stones makes way for The Atavistic Forest, and it is definitely in keeping with the Winter theme.
Its an icy affair, one that doesn’t overplay its hand by dropping in the speed straight from the off. Once it does pick up that pace, with a sense of urgency injected into proceedings that is underpinned by a keen sense of melody. The mixing of growl and admittedly soaring vocals lands well with some cracking guitar work and scorching lead breaks, which are delivered with technical prowess without being over the top.
Through The Hollow Raven’s Eyes starts with swift feet, and a lolloping arrangement that might have been at home in a Norse banquet hall. It has that same crispness, a brittleness in its sound that adds to that speed. Its on here that we get the full Atavistia treatment, the telling of a story using all the tricks at their disposal and in turn firmly plants both feet in epic territory. The one issue I have is that if a song is that long it must be able to keep you engaged from start to finish and it just about does that. What it does do is make me look to the following songs and their lengths and wonder if it’s going to be a case of rinse and repeat.
Eternal Oceans kicks off what is a 40-minute collection that involves 4 songs. And I’ll be honest, they could have trimmed it down. Song length does not always equal ambitious and whilst it is perfectly serviceable moving from one segment to another it doesn’t seem to stay in one spot for too long before we are on to the next bit. In this respect it doesn’t get chance to get under the skin with you.
Through The Hollow Raven’s Eyes starts with swift feet, and a lolloping arrangement that might have been at home in a Norse banquet hall. It has that same crispness, a brittleness in its sound that adds to that speed. Its on here that we get the full Atavistia treatment, the telling of a story using all the tricks at their disposal and in turn firmly plants both feet in epic territory. The one issue I have is that if a song is that long it must be able to keep you engaged from start to finish and it just about does that. What it does do is make me look to the following songs and their lengths and wonder if it’s going to be a case of rinse and repeat.
Eternal Oceans kicks off what is a 40-minute collection that involves 4 songs. And I’ll be honest, they could have trimmed it down. Song length does not always equal ambitious and whilst it is perfectly serviceable moving from one segment to another it doesn’t seem to stay in one spot for too long before we are on to the next bit. In this respect it doesn’t get chance to get under the skin with you.
Dawn Of The Frozen Age is cut from a similar cloth and basically you get what you got from Eternal Oceans on here. Both have the same approach, to push through the gears and add layers but I don’t believe that it needed to be as long as it is. The inclusion of a truly stunning solo is a high point but it feels like you have to travel a bit in order to get to that point. The Forbidden One seems to have more of a direct stance to it but is still overlong and by now I just want to wrap it up.
The Winter Way is the final act and game fully tries to combine the light and dark aspects of their sound and as a result gives them another dimension to explore as they run the clock down. Each of the songs have a lot going on, and for the most part they are handled well, building upon themselves in a satisfying way.
The Winter Way is the final act and game fully tries to combine the light and dark aspects of their sound and as a result gives them another dimension to explore as they run the clock down. Each of the songs have a lot going on, and for the most part they are handled well, building upon themselves in a satisfying way.
Personally, I would have liked to have seen what they do with a shorter duration, make the songs hit hard but that is just me. You can tell why they are held in renown, especially by fans of this genre but it needed something a little more aggressive to break up what feels like the constant churn of long songs. 6/10
Ophelia's Eye - Severance EP (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
Swiss modern metal crew Ophelia's Eye now who are looking to bring breakdowns from the Alps on their new EP Severance. Expect technical riffs, big breakdowns and throat shredding vocals.
Darker lyrically and heavier musically, Severance offers a more visceral side of the band and while they retain melody with the cathartic clean vocals on the title track, much of this EP is battering mid-2000's metalcore that increases the aggression from where they've been previously.
With some electronics pulsating on Letters and those melodic moments behind heavy modern riffs, this is Ophelia's Eye defining themselves for the future. 7/10
Ophelia's Eye - Severance EP (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
Swiss modern metal crew Ophelia's Eye now who are looking to bring breakdowns from the Alps on their new EP Severance. Expect technical riffs, big breakdowns and throat shredding vocals.
Darker lyrically and heavier musically, Severance offers a more visceral side of the band and while they retain melody with the cathartic clean vocals on the title track, much of this EP is battering mid-2000's metalcore that increases the aggression from where they've been previously.
With some electronics pulsating on Letters and those melodic moments behind heavy modern riffs, this is Ophelia's Eye defining themselves for the future. 7/10
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