Two years after the fine album Kings Of Carnage (review uploaded on September 22nd 2013, written by colleague Jeroen), German death army Debauchery returns with ninth studio full length album, which was recorded at the House Of Audio Studio with Dennis Ward once again (known for lesser, eh, ‘intense’ bands and projects actually, such as Edenbridge, Sunstorm, Allen / Lande, Krokus or Jaded Heart).
This new Ewigheim-album is to celebrate the project’s 15th anniversary. For a discography and biography, I’d like to refer to the reviews I did for the former recordings, Nachruf (see update January 6th 2014) and Bereue Nichts (posted on October 31st 2012, available within Concreteweb’s Archive).
I have to confess I had never heard of Danish guitarist Michael Jessen. Memories is his debut album and with it he delivers a solid first efford. Michael was able to to get Gören Edman (ex-Yngwie Malmsteen) behind the microphone and the line up was completed with Christopher Hoaas on Bass and Mads Grunnet on drums.
In the fall of 2008, vocalist Mike Tirelli was diagnosed with stomach cancer. At the same time guitarist and songwriter Georg Kraft had also a serious health issue so the band went on hiatus to give both gentlemen the time to take care of their health problems. After seven years the band returns with their fourth album and it is a come back that blows away their three previous albums.
I reviewed another Halcyon Way album before, the IndoctriNation album, and what I wrote then, is still what I think about them today. Were it not for the many grunts and growls, I would actually like their music.
Although this band has been around for some 25 years, and having so far released six studio albums, I’d never heard of them. And after listening to this new album, my opinion is still unclear. Have I missed something by not having heard of them before or not.
Earlier this year we (the Concreteweb headquarters) did receive the latest full length by German Dark Metal act Eisregen, called Todestage (the album was initially released at the very end of last year, for your information).
The recordings of this live album date back from quite a while, to be exactly this was recorded over two days, October 2nd and 3rd 1998 at the Key Club in Hollywood – California. And to be completely honest, this album, minus two songs was already released as ‘Live At The Key Club’. So it’s easy money, if you understand what I mean.
While Cinderella still is active, I find it a pity that they release this kind of albums, instead of releasing a new album, remember their last – and it was only their fourth – studio album dates from 1994!
Great White has pleasantly surprised me with this album. Not only does it contain 3 songs of their own, among them ‘Once Bitten, Twice Shy’ and ‘Rock Me’, but it also gives us 12 covers of other bands, the one even more famous than the other. To my opinion, but who am I, there is ons song too many though, and that’s the last one ‘Blue Christmas’ a song originally sung by Elvis Presley.
HateSphere dwell within a specific genre I do not like that much, but this Danish act has always been one of my absolute favourites within this modern Thrash-edged scene. The Napalm-release To The Nines from 2009, for example, was for sure one of my favourite Thrash albums that very same year.
