Bertus

For those who are new to the band, Pagan Altar is one of the best heavy metal/NWOBHM acts to date. The group was formed back in 1980 and quickly reached a cult-status for the fans of the genre. This is a re-release of their 2006 album and it is a solid proof of their underrated genius. Pagan Altar are a metal band I'm always looking forward too to listen to. There are only a few bands playing metal at such an original level as they do. Their music is very difficult to describe, anyway, there's not a second band sounding similar to them.

The Dutch outfit Gingerpig totally awed me with their debut The Ways Of Gingerpig in 2011. Now they are back with its successor Hidden From View where they continue to play their mix of blues and hard prog rock full of variety. They often change the pace and are not afraid of more playful, jazzy or dramatic parts. My favourite songs are “Oceans” and “Pride” that even sport a certain psychedelic latin atmosphere.

From the Greek side of Cyprus the band Astronomikon tries to conquer the world. Musicians from the other quite know band Arrayan Path founded this group in 2008 and released a first demo tape in 2010. “Dark Gorgon Rising” is their debut album and for some reasons it reminds at the famous Crimson Glory debut. It are not the vocals, but probably the feeling which is quite similar. Heavy, powerful with some keys surrounded by phatastic guitar leads.

German melodic hard rock/metal band Voodoo Circle is back with their third album, titled “More Than One Way Home”. Voodoo Circle is, of course, the side project of former Silent Force (and current Primal Fear) guitarist Alex Beyrodt, who is joined by vocalist David Readman (Pink Cream 69), bassist Mat Sinner (Primal Fear, Sinner), drummer Markus Kullmann (Dezperadoz) and keyboardist Jimmy Kresic (Kiske/Somerville).

What band could be better suited to make a record where they are paying tribute to other great (Southern) rock bands, like Thin Lizzy, ZZ Top and others, all bands that in one way or another have influenced Molly Hatchet’s sound.  The album starts of with a fantastic cover of ZZ Top’s ‘Sharp Dressed Man’, and is followed by an equally impressive version of Thin Lizzy’s ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’.  Follows a slow, almost – but not really acoustical version of ‘Desperado’ a song by The Eagles

You all probably know ‘The Phantom Of the Opera’, well, here is ‘The Opera Of The Phantom’, the fourth studio album by US-metallers Phantom X.  Not that original as title, but we’ve had worse.  This is a concept album, although I’m not quite sure what the concept really is.

Most of the tracks on this album have featured on other Phantom X albums, in fact the first ten out of the sixteen tracks in total, but they were re-recorded completely.

I had no idea this German band still existed. It’s been quiet on the album for a few years for this band, their previous release goes back to 2009.

To tell you the truth, this band is stuck in the 80ies. And there’s nothing wrong with that.  They bring us classical decent melodic heavy metal, and bring back memories of Iron Maiden and Helloween, with some progressive influences coming through at times.

There really ain’t that much to say about this album.  It’s a reissue from the original 2002 album ‘Recover’, and nothing has changed if you compare it to the original, except the order of the tracks has been tampered with.

This album contains a dozen covers which were given a Great White treatment. Not that it has changed that much to the tracks, they all sound a bit bluesier, and I don’t think these cover versions otherwise have much to offer, besides, the original album contained a lot more songs than this reissue.

While back in my younger days is was very hard to find female, or even female fronted bands, nowadays we can say we’re spoiled.  But this also means that since there are that many female fronted band around nowadays, there is also a fair share of bands who are rather mediocre.

Magica, hailing from Romania, is a band that has it’s ups and downs.  Some of their songs are fantastic, others are just mediocre.  Could this be due to the fact that Magica meanders between power/symphonic metal and something I’d call pop-metal ?

If you’re a fan of heavy metal à la Iron Maiden of Helloween, then read no more, but go out and buy this album immediately. Of course the vocalist is not as good as Bruce Dickinson or Andi Deris, but he’s almost there.