This wonderful album is my favorite of the past couple of weeks, if the amount of time I've spent listening to it is any indication. Everything that made Orchid’s Capricorn so magical, has returned in spades on Mouths of Madness. Orchid, a US hard rock band with more range than almost anyone out there, have released their second offering, following on the heels of their “Wizard of war” single.
Italian five-piece Nude were formed by two Metal artists, former Undertakers bass player Antonio Pucciarelli and guitarist Fabio Calluori (of Electrocution / From Depths and Heimdall-fame), and (unknown to me) vocalist Tom Capuano (aka Tommy Box) in order to express their passion for something completely different from Rock or Metal: Electro / Goth Rock / New Wave stuff.
Necrocurse were originally formed in 2004, but it took until 2009 before they really became a serious entity, when the line-up was sort of perfected. One might call Necrocurse a super-band for the members are or were active in a couple of highly acclaimed bands: vocalist Per ‘Hellbutcher’ Gustavsson of Nifelheim-fame, drummer Nicklas ‘Terror’ Rudolfsson, the guy behind Runemagick and The Funeral Orchestra (and formerly involved with e.g.
Germany’s quartet LDC’s latest 8-track offering reveals a band whose stoner rock vibes and post rock licks work in conjunction to righteously kick you in the but. A veritable potpourri of great songs and a great overall sound is what The Flood Inside offers. The epic sweep of nearly every track envelopes the listener into swirling maelstroms of emotions. The guitars are solid, the leads expressive. The band employs various technical elements and creative songwriting to make their songs stand out from the morass that passes for post rock these days.
Kamelot are one of those symphonic power metal bands that loads of people seem to enjoy as they have rather progressive song writing and skip the overloaded elements. After the criticized predecessor “Poetry For The Poisoned” that had many dull moments and a lack of passion and variation, the band’s Norwegian singer Roy Khan left the band and was soon replaced by another Scandinavian singer, the young Tommy Karevik from Sweden. Many people were expecting a return to strength. But this didn’t happened.
I hear a lot of potential in Jolly’s blend of prog metal, emotional undercurrents, and inventive approach. Strong vocal harmony throughout the recording along with killer arrangements makes for a great musical time. There’s plenty to discover as the band easily transitions between mellow sections and parts with more grit. What’s interesting is that, while the songs echo bands as Threshold, Rush, Pain of Salvation and Yes, they don’t sound too dated. These songs capture a creative energy and manage to sound fresh and invigorating.
Jess And The Ancient Ones are a rather unusual formation, seen from a musical point of view, even though they do fit perfectly to Svart’s roster. On May 23rd 2012 the band debuted with a nameless (self-called) full length (review: see Archives Section, update 09/12/12). Apparently there was a split-EP with Deadmask through Doomentia, but I haven’t heard this material, so I can’t say anything about it.
Flotsam And Jetsam, arguably one of the most influential and prominent acts from thrash metal, has returned to Metal Blade to release their new album ‘Ugly Noise’.
German act Cadaver Disposal was formed at the end of 2010 by former members of Braindead (Stefan Meyerhoff and Jörg Kuchenbecker) and Final Depravity / Deus Inversus (Dennis Baron).
Strawberry Blondes Is a UK based pop/rock/punk band.
