Suburban

Almost a year after their latest studio release Prong surprises us with a new longplayer. This time it's not about new songs, it's more a kind of journey into the personal record collection of the Tommy Victor and band mates.

Originally Orden Ogan was formed in 1996 under the name of Tanzende Aingewaide, but was renamed Orden Ogan in 1997.  They hail from Germany, and bring us power metal with some hints of folk in it.  What I like about these guys is the amount of what I’d call bombast they mix into their music, which can be described as a mix of Blind Guardian and Rage.

The stylistic direction of their music is unmistakable, but their great autonomy and compositional intelligence are amazing for a band this young : their second album "Battery" proves impressively that the Southern German thrashmetal act Fateful Finality has rightly come to enjoy a reputation as one of Germany's most hopeful new metal proponents. The winner of the Wacken Metal Battle Germany 2012 have made the most of that window of opportunity and, three years after their debut King Of Torture, present themselves as an even more mature fourpiece.

Is it the voice of Iron Maiden, NO, it isn’t, the only member of the original TRAUMA lineup to appear here is vocalist Donny Hillier. Hillier’s vocal sound much more refined and powerful, but they also sound incredibly like those of Bruce Dickenson. Trauma is a power speed metal band from San Francisco formed in 1981 being well known being Cliff Burton in the band before joining Metallica.

Line up :

Sammy DeJohn - Vocals

Kenny McGee - Guitars

Dave Watson - Guitars

Marc McGee - Bass

Jason VanSlyke – Drums

Mother's Finest had their peak already in the 70's. In 1977 the band released their hit "Baby love" followed by a few more longplayers. The last release was ‘Meta-Funk'n-Physical’. They have been pioneers in combining funk ryhthms with rock guitars; years before bands like Living Colors and Mordred picked up this crossover again in the 80's and 90's.

This is the second album from Shadowbane, a band that is based in Hamburg.  It’s release was postponed due to the burning down of the Hammer Studios, where Dirk Schlächter  was busy with the mastering process.

Line up :

Stephan Dietrich - Vocals

Peter Langforth - Guitars

Alexander Backasch - Guitars

Dirk Frei - Bass

David Schleif – Drums

Line up:

Jarvis Leatherby - Vocals, Bass

Brent Woodward - Guitar

Dustin Squires – Drums

Outside Italy, Epitaph, originating from the beautiful city of Verona, aren’t that known at all. They were actually formed in the Eighties, and did release three demos, but that’s about it. And now, finally, almost three decades after their birth, Epitaph come up with their debut studio full length album, called Crawling Out Of The Crypt. It seems to be a mostly fitting title, isn’t it…