CD

This is the fourth album for French band Spheric Universe Experience.  I have no idea what their previous albums sounded like, but apparently their sound was more situated in the progressive metal genre.

And although there are still some prog elements there, they seem to have been reduced to a strict minimum.  No intricate keyboard parts are to be found, as a matter of fact keyboards are even spares and between.  However the album is not bad, since the guitar parts are very good. 

Redline is a band that hails from Birmingham, UK, that judging upon its sound, seems to have it’s roots in NWOBHM.  They were founded in 2006 and so far have released a few demos and one record- under own management. This is the archetype of music that in the eighties would have been highly popular.  These days however I’m not quite sure.  Yet it would be a shame if this band would go by unnoticed.  They produce a cracking sound.

Norway’s Ragnarok do exist for quite a long time and I’ve always liked their sweet lullabies (the interested or curious ones might check out the review of early 2010’s Collectors Of The King, posted on March 27^th 2010). Since their former label, Regain Records, was put on hold, Jontho and his crew needed to find another intelligent entity to release upcoming stuff, and of course Agonia were a worthy, and winning candidate. All together: hurray!

Paragon is a speed and power metal band from Hamburg, Germany and was founded by guitarist Martin Christian (who in many of the band's album booklets is written as Martin Wöbcke when it comes to songwriting-credits). After releasing some demo tapes and a mini-CD, they were able to release an album in 1994, the debut World Of Sin.

Based in the South of England, represented by Skratch The Surface PR and Management, Nya takes it steps onto the scene. For those who never heard about them (like me), Nya is a melodic hard rock band fronted by the effervescent Anezka Piska.

Upon hearing the first notes of this album, it was immediately clear that this was not an US band.  In fact these guys come form Belfast,  Northern Ireland.  This is actually their second album, and if their first was similar to this one, it must have been a good album.

I wonder what Ilias Papadakis had in mind when he started the Memorain-project at the transition of last millennium into the current one. Bringing ‘evident’ Death / Thrash, just like that? Or doing it with a fulfilment of heroic dreams?

Well, those who are trusted with the albums Digital Crimes (2002), White Line (2003) or Reduced To Ashes (2006) might have noticed that Memorain isn’t just a coincidence; on the contrary. But you might meet the description ‘super-band’ for sure, and who’s to blame?

Gypsyhawk is a four piece  rock and roll band that likes to party, states guitarist Andrew Packer. The band revisited the electrifying sounds of bullshit-free 70s rock, the band are a breath of fresh air compared to the endless onslaught of breakdown obsessed bands cluttering up heavy music.

I already liked the previous Firewind album ‘Days Of +Defiance’, and upon reflection, I should have rated that album much higher than the meager 80/100 I gave it.  And to be honest, this new album, their seventh so far, is just as good, or even better.

After five years of existence, German quartet Farewell To Arms finally debut with Perceptions (the first full length; there were a demo-MCD and an EP in 2010), which lasts for forty one minutes. The album (cf. the intro) starts rather melodic, modern and progressive, yet musically this act isn’t but modern and melodic Thrash-edged Metalcore / Thrash / Death Metal with a sound that is very closely related to the ‘trusted’ scenes of both Sweden and the U.S.Aha. Trusted, meaning overloaded, lacking of an own identity, pubic and infantile it is.