Rapid Fire Reviews is a series where I give some quick takes on some albums I recently listened to and did not have enough thoughts on to make a full scale review, but still garnered enough interest from me to give them acknowledgment. In today's episode, we take a look at something weird, something heavy, and a double dose of Switzerland.
A New Revenge - Enemies & Lovers
In the last episode, we looked into Spirits of Fire, a band that was fronted by former Judas Priest and Iced Earth singer Tim "Ripper" Owens. Well, guess what, we have another band that Tim fronts here in A New Revenge, a more hard rock oriented group that shows a good knack of crafting catchy tunes, unfortunately with varying results. There are definitely several songs in this debut record that has some good staying power, where both Tim and the guitarist Keri Kelli flexes their muscles ("The Distance Between", "The Way", and "Scars" are just some highlights), but there is also a good amount of bland fillers in here that ruins the flow of the record, which is quite impressive considering "Enemies & Lovers" is only 36 minutes long. There is some hope to be found in A New Revenge, but if you are gonna listen to one Tim Owens album this year, let it be the self titled one by Spirits of Fire.
Rating: 6,5/10 Scars
Cellar Darling - The Spell
When I listened to the debut record of Cellar Darling two years ago, entitled "This Is The Sound", I was intrigued by their doom like version of symphonic metal, but there were still a lot to be desired. With the sophomore effort "The Spell", the band continues to solidify their sound into something original, creating a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that is easy to take to heart, which is no real surprise since the band features former Eluveitie member Anna Murphy. The band still has a problem though that the song writing is not strong enough to stay put inside your mind, and it rarely goes out of its comfort zone too, even if Anna is trying her hardest to put some emotions into the music. It is still solid work though, and any metal album that includes an instrument called hurdy gurdy is a winner in my book.
Rating: 7/10 Insomnias
Eluveitie - Ategnatos
So we segway from a former Eluveitie member and her new band to her old group, a band that has always made solid contributions to the folk metal genre, and while their 8th full length effort "Ategnatos" does not deviate too far from what they normally do, it does feel more cohesive. The quality of the songs are consistently at an high level, which is really important since there are a lot of them (16 to be exact). The meaty nature of this record might be a little too much to swallow in consistent, frequent doses, but there is enough top notch craft in here that will make you come back to it again and again. Easily my favourite Eluveitie release in recent memory.
Rating: 8,5/10 Deathwalkers
Nightrage - Wolf To Man
Nightrage have consistently put out some excellent melodic death metal for several albums now, creating a formula that obviously works. The band has yet to blow me away though through an entire record, and while their 9th studio offering "Wolf To Man" tries its absolute hardest to impress me, it still makes the same decisions as its predecessors. It is still a good record with a lot of great, thrashy guitar work, and the song writing is as solid as you could expect, but there is no edge to the music, nothing that stands out or blows your mind. Just like one of the tracks are demanding, I am fully willing to embrace Nightrage and give them a big bear hug, but I guess a simple handshake will do to acknowledge another solid presentation.
Rating: 7/10 Starless Nights
Waste of Space Orchestra - Syntheosis
I know this might sound like a bold statement, knowing that we have not even reached the half way point of 2019, but believe me when I say that the debut record of Waste of Space Orchestra is gonna be the most unique and strange album you will hear all year. This extremely super secretive band (seriously, they make Ghost look like Instagram models) just comes in here, drops "Syntheosis" on the table, possibly together with some LSD, and say "Let's ride". What follows is a mysterious acid trip through eerie sounds, heavy bass lines, and mad unforgiving drums, executing a sensation that just cannot be defined by words. It is simply fantastic... until Linda Blair from "The Exorcist" comes and vomits all over the place with the vocals. The vocals will divide, but be sure that this orchestra is not just a waste of space, they have something extra ordinary to offer, and is an experience worthy of at least checking out.
Rating: 7,5/10 Vacuum Heads
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