Bunker 66 hail from Messina, an historical city on Sicily, Italy. The band debuted in 2009 with the grandiose EP Out Of The Bunker, originally self-released in a limited edition, and re-released later on both CD and vinyl. Infernö Interceptörs is the second studio release (there was a live-EP in mean time, which was brought out as part of Fenriz’ Band Of The Week vinyl series) and this eight-tracker is an enormous step forward in comparison to the former record.
(why still writing a review on a release that came out more than four months ago? First of all, because we did receive this material very recently, and secondly because this stuff is much too tasty not to take a bite…)
Australian three-piece Hellbringer was formed in 2007 as Forgery. To avoid confusion, and law issues, with Norway’s Forgery, the band decided to change its moniker into the current one in 2010.
One of the true underground prog metal bands in Italy, Helreidh (one L) is resurfacing after an almost fourteen-year hiatus with the release of their new Fragmenta album.
Hellwell reminds me of the unique metal constitution Manilla Road, which is the other band that main leader Mark Shelton sings and plays guitar for.
While hardly the most original band in the world, they treat the listener with slow and mid tempo doom and epic metal. The riffing and vocal melodies show the unmistakable influence of Solitude Aeturnus, Candlemass, Warning,…but the production could be punched up a little bit. The vocals fit the gloomy music very well, but next time he has to put more emotion and power into his singing lines. The band sounds tight and tends to work in the service of the songs rather than to showing off their technical chops.
I don't know what has happened to Gaskin.
An album like End of the World was a goodie, but all of the following albums had not been bad, but lacking power! At the roots, this is a classic NWOBHM-album, however, the heaviness has been downed a notch or two, and the vocals are in a clean, almost infantile Ozzy-ish vein. Depending on how you look at it, you could say it's AOR with a NWOBHM edge, or Heavy Metal with a scoop o' stinking cheese. The final outcome is a seemingly unfocused album that just doesn't gel.
According to the promotional information, this band, who were formed in 1987 in Milan, is different from the rest of the Italian scene, offering prog metal elements, some gloom death references and gothic atmospheres.
