Band Kiuas
Info: The New Dark Age
Style: Power Metal
Years: 2008
Info: MP3 CBR 320 kbs
Info: 119.3 Mb
Info: Finland
Tracklist:
01 - The Decaying Doctrine.
02 - Conqueror.
03 - Kiuas War Anthem.
04 - The New Dark Age.
05 - To Excel and Ascend.
06 - Black Rose Withered.
07 - After the Storm.
08 - Of Sacrifice, Loss and Reward.
09 - The Summoning.
10 - The Wanderer's Lamentation.
Switzerland's Rizon is a big band, really, two vocalists, male and female, two guitarists, keyboardist, bass, and drummer, producing rather bombastic melodic power metal. Masquerade is their third album, the first with new female vocalist, Seraina Telli.
Above, Rizon: men in black surround girl in red.
Being my first experience with Rizon, my suspicions were aroused about the relationship of the male/female vocals. Would they be gruff male vocals (read death or 'core') challenging the siren sound of the female vocals. Thankfully, not. Both sing clean. Generally, the Matthias Gotz has the lead role, with Telli supporting in harmony, as on Sigh From Eternity or the very pleasing Remotion. Sometimes, she gets to step up as on Tears of the Sun. Ultimately, the vocal partnership is annealed by the sound vocal arrangements.
As to the music, Masquerade is generally rousing traditional heavy metal, with good melodies and notable hooks as heard on Same Same or Rise On. Guitar work is at a premium, and there's enough appropriate synth solos to suggest they don't exist only for accent. Several songs are longer, including Rise On, Out of Nowhere and Lost in Silence, allowing Rizon to stretch themselves, even seem epic at times. The album also contains El Dios, a song sung in Spanish.
With 13 songs, Masquerade is quite the platter of melodic heavy metal to digest. By the time you get to Cold Winter's Night or Time After Time, you may suspect a little redundancy and, then, wonder if it couldn't have been trimmed down by one or two songs. But in the end Masquerade is solid and entertaining album, good European melodic power metal. Recommended.
1. High Flyer
2. Sigh From Eternity
3. Masquerade
4. Tears of the Sun
5. Remotion
6. Same Same
7. Rise On
8. El Dios
9. Out of Nowhere
10. Cold Winters Night
11. Time After Time
12. Lost In Silence
13. Bells
It's been 6 long years since Finnish 'Horror Metallers' Domination Black's second album titled Dark Legacy, was released. Then in the end of 2009 the band lost their original singer Kapa Killgast and started a desperate search for a new vocalist. Eventually a guy called Matias Palm (known also for his other bands Heavy Metal Perse and Merging Flare) was found to replace Mr. Killgast and Domination Black were ready to kill again – at least with the new stuff they had so intensely managed to rehearse for their upcoming third record, which was baptized by the somewhat mind-tickling title Dimension: Death.
Domination Black's ex-vocalist Kapa Killgast was a great singer, often being compared to Tim "Ripper" Owens, but so is the band's new vocalist Matias Palm. Two great vocalists with two whole different vocal approaches, so suffice it to say there's no point to start comparing them to each other. What comes to Domination Black's third album, well it truly is different music-wise compared to the guys' two previous full-lengths but that doesn't mean they would have sold their souls at the altar of commercialism to gain more listeners to their side or anything like that. What Dimension: Death actually is, it's undoubtedly a more mature, refined and thought-out package from the Domination Black camp, there's not even a question about that. Musically the band has slipped a bit away from their heavy, Thrash-oriented Heavy Metal sound and added a remarkable amount of prog-ish elements into their current sound on Dimension: Death. The album sort of reminds me of what Dream Theater did on their Black Clouds & Silver Linings album, even if Domination Black use all those progressive elements more like a welcomed spice within their songs more than feeling an urgent need for getting credit as some full-blooded progressive Metal band, which they obviously are not – and should not ever be.
I would also say it's a really brave attempt from the guys to open up the whole record with the album's most epic and lengthy song called "Legacy of Fears", lasting over 10 minutes, but then again, the guys have succeeded in capturing all the right and essential components into this song in order to keep it interesting and variable enough. In "Porter at the Gates of Hell", which is one of my personal favorites off the album, Matias uses his whole capacity in a great way, at times managing to sound a lot like Rob Halford at his sixties. Guitar melodies in this particular song give a reason or two to believe the Murray/Smith span ain't anything new to the guitar span of Domination Black, Wiren/Heiskanen (start listening from the 2:32 and 3:28 minute marks - and again from the 4:10 minute mark). "The Final Sigh" is a straightforward and thrashy tune, accompanied with Matias' very Halford-like vocal approach, which gives its favorable and necessary kicks for me at least. "Angel Dark" slightly reminds me of some epic and pompous Tarot song, while a very catchy "Evilizer" twists my finger from finding this well-worn repeat button from my stereo system. The ending of the song is very Priest-like again mainly due to Matias' raspy, high-pitched screams.
I must confess I had my own fears as to how Domination Black's third would turn out to be like without their ex-vocalist's presence as an integral part of the band's sound. Thankfully all those fears have been wiped off now by the performance of the new vocalist and his band mates. Will this record become Domination Black's own breakthrough album? Time will tell...
01. Legacy of Fears
02. Passage of the Dead
03. Porter at the Gates of Hell
04. The Final Sigh
05. Dimension: Death
06. Cold Touch
07. Angel Dark
08. Evilizer
09. The Hellbound
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Mads, Trond and Martin Preisler-Ronal The Barbarian (2011) OST-SINGLE
Feb 16, 2012 14:17
Hard Rock Heavy Metal |Power Metal
BandMads, Trond and Martin Preisler Info: Ronal The Barbarian OST Style: Power Metal/Heavy Metal/MHR Years: 2011 Info: mp3 CBR 256 Info: 10 mb Upload: unibytes gigabase depositfiles Info: :Europe
?????? ???? ?????????? - Mads, Trond & Martin Preisler.Cool!
Band Frozen Tears
Info: Nights Of Violence
Style: Heavy Metal
Years: 2007
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 132,30 Mb
Info: Italy
Tracklist:
01 - Instability.
02 - Queen Of Solitude.
03 - Heart Of Stone.
04 - Don't Waste Your Time.
05 - Who Am I.
06 - The Fortress.
07 - Stories.
08 - Child's Prayer.
09 - The Prison.
10 - Run If You Can (Bonus Track).
Rip By: Nekrologist
Download :
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Skylark – Twilights of Sand (2012)
Feb 14, 2012 00:42
Heavy Metal |Power Metal
You want a good laugh? Take a look at the CD artwork and video trailer for this album. It’s beyond bad. It’s embarrassing. And it’s not the first time – so chances are it won’t be the last. That's the bad news.
The good news is that this new album is yet another musical masterpiece from one of the greatest heavy metal bands on the planet. I kid you not. The band that once upon a time was the byword for bad production and bad accents is now a legendary beast that people will write about one day. But for now it’s just me telling it like it is. So here’s my take.
Skylark quietly transformed into a female fronted outfit a couple of albums ago now. Somewhere between the last album and this one they lost Kiara (their leading lady). Not sure what happened, but since this is metal we’re talking about – it probably wasn’t nice. Anyway, enter Ashley. She’s American. And she can sing.
So with Ashley on board, the accent issues stay dead. Well sort of. Here and there the lyrics continue to be sung exactly as they’re written, even when the grammar just don’t add up. Maybe Ashley is too nice to say anything. Well I’m not. My message to the band is that if you’ve got an English speaker in the band, then for the love of God get her to do a spell and grammar check. Please.
“The Tears Of Jupiter” is a tiny little teaser of a song that kicks things off with everything you except from an Eddy Antonini masterpiece. It’s got grand piano to burn and a hook that does snatch and grab like a crim wanted in three states. And there’s probably no better introduction to Ashley as the new voice of Skylark. She picks up right where Kiara left off with a dark but powerfully crystal clear register. I like.
Track two is an unexpected cover of a catchy little theme song from a cult Japanese anime cartoon. No big deal except that it lets me bring up that it also features one of a truckload of guest singers that appear on this album. I won’t go into details, but you’ve got opera singers, rock vocalists – and even Eddy himself singing away.
“The Princess and Belzebu” is an obvious nod to the epic story Eddy has told over the years. And in keeping with that tradition, you get a speed metal rush of melody and neoclassical breaks that would break a lesser band. And things have only just started. “She” and “Love Song” ensure the headbanging doesn’t let up even when the words on the page look a little soft. Look closer. Eddy doesn’t write soft.
If the album openers are a speed metal brush with symphonics, then the middle tracks are a symphonic brush with speed. That means the canvas just got bigger. Even when the songs aren’t long, the delivery is bigger and the melodies more epic. That’s how a song called “Tears” rips the heart out of what could have been a ballad to carve a hailstorm of hurt out of a double kick explosion of piano and shredding.
For a minute there, “Lions Are The World” seems like an almost pointless make over of a song they did well enough a few albums back. And then the last 3 minutes of the song happens and you realize this is what it was always meant to sound like. The new arrangement is terrifyingly grand. Think lots of voices. Think instruments at war. And then think bolting through a minefield with a blindfold on.
“The Wings Of The Typhoon” and “Mystery Of The Night” turn up towards the end of the album – and you really have to feel sorry for new singer Ashley and long time guitarist Romani. Both chip in with a song each, but neither ever really stood a chance against the crushing melodic genius of Antonini. In the case of “Mystery Of The Night”, this one song alone is as good as the whole album. Which is saying something when chances are this is the album of the year for 2012. That’s right, I’m saying that with ten months to go. It’s that good.
01. The Tears Of Jupiter
02. Tobe! Glendizer
03. The Princess And Belzebu
04. She
05. Love Song
06. Tears
07. Lions Are The World
08. The Wings Of The Typhoon
09. Sands Of Time
10. Mystery Of The Night
11. Road To Heaven
12. Believe In Love
13. Follow Your Dreams
14. EyesJapanese bonus tracks:
15. Tobe! Glendizer [Karaoke version]
16. Faded Fantasy
17. Follow Your Dreams
Band Flashpoint
Info: No Point Of Reference
Style: MWOBHM
Years: 1987
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 110.65 Mb
Info: UK
Tracklist:
01 - Hot To Night.
02 - Blackjack.
03 - I Need It.
04 - Modern Lover.
05 - Is It True.
06 - Grand Prix.
07 - Hey You.
08 - Sweet Pretender.
09 - Rock N Roll Heart.
10 - No More Love No More Lies.
Rip By: Strappado
Download :
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Thunderstorm – S.N.A.F.U. (1989)
Feb 12, 2012 08:37
Heavy Metal |Power Metal
Band Thunderstorm
Info: S.N.A.F.U.
Style: Heavy Metal
Years: 1989
Info: MP3 CBR 320 kbs
Info: 89.5 Mb
Info: Germany
Tracklist:
01 - Screamer
02 - On His Own
03 - Victim Of circumstance
04 - Certain Death
05 - Under The Table
06 - Thunder Machine
07 - The Ballad Of A Patient Man
Rip By: Kristast & Glot
Download :
Turbobit.net
Arkgabriel – Arkgabriel (2012)
Feb 12, 2012 00:43
Heavy Metal |Power Metal
We have in our hands the first national launch of 2012. This is the eponymous debut album of the quintet Arkgabriel Madrid, a young band that shows in this issue an undisguised affection for melodic power metal and epic orchestral tints eleven cuts created mostly during the past 2011, but the last two CD dated to 2009. And certainly notice the difference between them, but curiously have pleased me more than the couple of older songs that I find in the strongest terms and freshness in the other nine most recent that I find somewhat hollow and artificial, despite show a clear evolution in their complexity and both compositional and instrumental technique.
Besides the five members of the band could be considered almost as a sixth member of the same Sergio Canovas, lead singer of the Order of Kaos that besides producing the disc correctly puts his deep voice with the staff and pompous of Juanky Alvarez on the topic "I feel," one of the cuts that I liked for his good vocal and instrumental melodies into a good rhythm changes creating a winning combination of power and melodic progressive metal that reminds me slightly soft to the longing Ankhara. Some Ankhara also represented on disk by the presence of vocalist currently Hybris, Pacho Brea, sharing vocal duties with the Justito Juanky and predictable "Miserable" good with outstanding guitar melodies Rasquin Giscard clearly on a power metalera but not as unequivocal as is his letter full of rage and anger, which is not to say that Jose Ramon Morales bassist and drummer Alberto Lopez do evil, but do not sound all that requires aggressive message.Completes the trio of collaborations with Dani Aller, Ars Amandi singer who takes his spot with his dull voice and flute arrangements folkie proper court as "My Last Sin" always on a power line and even metalera something sinister dark by the use of keyboards by Javier Hidalgo. In addition to the aforementioned "feel" the song that I liked from that of 2011 was "Is there anybody there?" Cut less pompous, more direct but not without attention to detail of keys and guitars, and shows Juanky voice somewhat forced. One detail that's too baroque vocal in my opinion I do make quite heavy at times melodic themes as the overriding rhythm "Acrobat" or the more lilting symphony and live "Navigator" which opens the album. Less pretentious and serious but I find in the nostalgic and sad "You're Still Here" quite monotonous feeling but in the harsh and gloomy "World of Pain", and the romantic ballad "You" adorned by a tormented arrangements Juanky orchestral itself that stand above its sustained, deep voice. Left for the final issues of 2009 have definitely been the ones I have arrived.
This is the emphatic and convincing "a bet" with a live rhythm bordering on thrash mostly by the sound of guitar and percussion without losing melody and heavy substance, and the soft "With Name Woman" that wraps the warm soft voice guitars Juanky to be growing in their instrumentation with a beautiful and intense guitar solo that breaks away briefly relaxed sugarcane. If these guys are able to properly mix your current technical quality with the strength and dynamism of the beginning I think they can start earning a metalhead staff consideration, for now I offer more insights than certainties, to continue working hard on that I think there's potential.
1. Navegante
2. Acróbata
3. ¿Hay Alguien Ahí?
4. Siento
5. Aún Estás Ahí
6. Miserable
7. Mundo de Dolor
8. Mi Último Pecado
9. Contigo
Venice Beach, California (USA) crossover thrashers Beowülf are self-releasing their sixth album on December 23, 2011, entitled Jesus Freak, produced by founding member, vocalist/guitarist Dale Henderson and ex-FEAR FACTORY guitarist, Christian Olde Wolbers. The tracks were cut at LiL’ Antwerp Studioz and Wolbers is credited as the engineer. It’s been a long time since the early breakout of this band during the mid 80?s from the legendary “Venice Scene”. They had their first album produced by ST’s Mike Muir and released via Suicidal Records. Flash forward to now, after several lineup changes, and this reviewer finds that Dale and the boys can still bring it with the best of them. Former ST bassist Louiche Mayorga is even thrown into the mix here, so any fan of the old school, true grit feel of “Taste The Steel” will simply love what they are throwing down today.
Personally, I think Dale Henderson has grown as a performer over the years and continues to push the envelope with his completely unique style of singing and songwriting. While others just go the safe route, this guy has always been daring, somehow managing to keep the Beowülf sound ‘real’ from a street perspective. However, let it be known that Henderson and Beowülf’s music has morphed over time into a much more serious and grown-up statement. The drum work from Rich Rowan here is solid. As always, Henderson’s guitar playing is mean as hell sounding… snarling punk-fast riffs, cutting to the nerve of its listener like a cold metal blade pierced into someone’s throat. My favorite songs are the totally rocking “Mad Man” and the absolutely stellar “Front Door Smoking”. On the latter I dig the way the bass line starts out alone and then Henderson’s guitar comes thundering in. Forget punk rock… that’s just plain metal. All in all, I am just stoked as hell that Beowülf is still going after all this time, and this reviewer seriously hopes everyone gives Jesus Freak a shot, because it’s a clever rocker indeed.
01. Peacemaker (02:16)
02. In Captivity (02:33)
03. Jesus Freak (04:11)
04. Front Door Smokin' (03:12)
05. Mad Man (02:38)
06. Godsend (03:03)
07. Sunday (Killer Comez Home) (04:18)
08. Righteous, Righteous (04:41)
09. Bitter Song (04:08)
10. Just Passing Through (03:54)
11. 13 Past the Hour (04:42)
12. Anything (02:05)
