Rapid Fire Reviews: Episode 5

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 this episode, we look at some prog, some more prog, and even more prog... and also some other band.

Aeon Zen - Inveritas

This group managed to sneak into my top 20 of 2014 with their last album "Ephemera", so naturally I was interested in what they would do with their fifth full length effort "Inveritas". The result? A much lighter and more organic record that still had the band's technical touch, so not much is lost. "Inveritas" is a great, varied product of some talented minds, displaying some excellent progressive metal that has tastes of Dream Theater, Scar Symmetry, and Symphony X. I do miss some of the djent influences that we saw on "Ephemera", and I am not fully sold on Andi Kravljaca and his new vocal style, but "Inveritas" is still a nice, competent record that prog lovers should check out. If for nothing else, just listen to it for the out of nowhere line in "Disconnected" (classic wtf moment).

Rating: 7,5/10 Rebel Theories

Avandra - Descender

You can seemingly find small prog gems anywhere you look, and fortunately for Avandra, I caught a glimpes of them, a band from Puerto Rico who released their sophomore effort "Descender" earlier this year. This album is filled to the brim with some beautiful stuff, a harmonious aura of excellence that creates several magical moments, like the exhilarating mid part of "The Narrowing of Meaning" and the angelic ending to "Beyond The Threshold, Pt. 1 (Helios Awakens)". There is this soft Cynic vibe to this group that works exquisitely, certainly making them stand out amongst other bands. Although there is some dead meat on this album, there is still enough fresh flesh to feast on for days. Definitely worthy of a look or two... or three.

Rating: 8/10 Derelict Minds

Mother of Millions - Artifacts

On to another atmospheric prog metal group, the Greek outing Mother of Millions and their third record "Artifacts". This band must certainly has Leprous as one of their main inspirational bands, because this record has a lot of that blend of harmonies and spaced out sound scapes that the Norwegians are known for. The only thing different here is that Mother of Millions are consistently mellow, rarely raising the volume or the tempo for anything, which is both a strength and a weakness. It may not be the most dynamic album out there, but the clear cut vision of the band is definitely showing, and it leads to some fantastic melodies. It does leave me wanting more though with only a run time of 40 minutes, but it also means that I can spin the records more often, so it still works out for this promising group of musicians.

Rating: 7,5/10 Rites

Savage Messiah - Demons

It sucks to see talented bands fiddle around with a sound that has no real direction, and Savage Messiah is unfortunately a prime example. They have all of the elements to be successful, a great vocalist, good riffs, and solid production value, but the band seems indecisive in if they want to be a thrash metal band, or more of a melodic heavy metal band, so they settled somewhere in the middle. "Demons" is a step forward from some of their previous works, having better song writing and more memorable songs ("The Bitter Truth" is a banger), but this 50/50 approach is rearing its ugly head again, sort of pulling the band apart, making them unable to unleash their full strength. My hopes on the band completing this symbiosis to something that works are still there, but it will have to wait at least one more album for it to come to fruition.

Rating: 6,5/10 Parachutes

Rapid Fire Reviews: Episode 4

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 this episode, we look into a classic band who makes a comeback, a rookie band, and a trio of bands in between.

Atlas Pain - Tales of A Pathfinder

Here is a band that is most certainly not being affected by the sophomore slump curse that so many talk about. Atlas Pain follow up their excellent debut "What The Oak Left" from two years ago with an even better effort in "Tales of A Pathfinder", a solid folk metal record with some nice, epic elements to it. These Italians is telling a captivating story through their music, weaving through their melodies in excellent fashion to keep you hooked throughout the run time. The band still has some way to go though to create fully complete records, but they are definitely on the right path if they continue down this road.


Rating: 8/10 Homelands

Bloodbound - Rise of The Dragon Empire

Some power metal bands are living and dying by the clichés of the genre, and the Swedes in Bloodbound are definitely one of them. They just love to sing about dragons, knights, kings, and other fantasy inspired things. Fortunately for us, they do back up these cheesy clichés with some solid song crafting, really bringing the power in power metal. It does seem though that Bloodbound has been listening to fellow countrymen Sabaton a lot recently, because I am hearing a lot of the signature bombastic style of those war historians, and as a guy who is not fully into them, it does turn me slightly off. All in all though, it is still a fun power metal record that certainly warrants a spin or two. Also, is that Red Skull fighting a dragon on the cover?

Rating: 7/10 Magical Eyes

Danko Jones - A Rock Supreme

I have always admired the Canadians in Danko Jones for always delivering fun rock and roll, and "A Rock Supreme" is certainly nothing different. Although, it is pretty clear now that they have a formula, and that they follow it through thick and thin, often taking the safer route. Not to say that this album is a copy and paste from the band's previous efforts, it certainly has its own unique moments, but it feels like the same old song and dance again when you take it all in, that the group is singing about getting the girl or just wanna party, and they do so with infectious rhythms and catchy choruses, while throwing in some slower songs here and there. "A Rock Supreme" has its moments, and is still a fun ride, but it is still a predictable one that will not get you very excited.

Rating: 6,5/10 Lipstick Cities

Mystik - S/T

Finally we have a contender for "Debut record of the year", a Swedish blackened speed metal band that turns the clock back to the mid 80's and unleashes a furious rage that is just awesome to behold. Mystik is not doing anything ground breaking, they just play fast, hard, and dark. It also helps that they have a knack for creating really catchy and groovy songs that sticks with you like sap from a tree. They put all the pieces into the right places to make this self titled debut truly special, combining the evil nature of Mercyful Fate with those classic speed metal elements. Go check them out if you have not already, and drench yourself in this glorious riff fest.


Rating: 8,5/10 Hellish Forces

Possessed - Revelations of Oblivion

Okay, so I am not that much into pure old school death metal, but when a band as Possessed gets so much attention as they do, it ultimately leaves me no choice than to check out their first album in 33 years. Frankly, I expected "Revelations of Oblivion" to be an over hyped wall of sound, but to my surprise, it actually had some legs to stand on to warrant the praise. This album is an angry assault of death thrash that works just as good today as it did back then, having an primal evil to it that few bands can match up to. It is still a little too much meat and potatoes for my taste to fully appreciate, but as far as comeback records go, this is certainly one of the more energetic ones out there.

Rating: 7,5/10 Shadowcults

Rapid Fire Reviews: Episode 3

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

Rapid Fire Reviews: Episode 2

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. Today's episode takes us through a double album, a sophomore effort, a trip to the underworld of Norse mythology, and more. Enjoy your reading, and stay metal.

Demon Hunter - Peace
Demon Hunter - War

Demon Hunter is a great band who have carved out a nice little career, but they have never seemed to pull off an entire album, so obviously they go with the double now to double up the disappointment. Both "Peace" and "War" are exactly what you would expect from the band, with "Peace" showing their more mellow side, and "War" their heavier. In terms of quality, both albums are pretty even, not pulling away from one another in a drag race, but the consistency is a whole different story. "Peace" is much more consistent in its sound, but the true highlights are few, while "War" has some great songs like "Grey Matter" and "The Negative", but there are moments in here that would fit in with "Peace", making this concept a little weaker than it should be. It is as it always is with Demon Hunter, you get a bunch of cool songs you can add to your playlist, but the albums leave little to no impact.

Rating: 6/10 Lesser Gods

Oh, and if you were wondering, "Peace" is to me the slightly better record, thanks to its consistency.

Mark Morton - Anesthetic

Spotify has this thing called "Metal Talks", where metal bands get to talk about their new album and their career so far. It is always interesting to listen to these sound clips because you get more insight on both the band and especially their new material. Mark Morton is in the latest episode, talking for instance about how he got in touch with several of the guest artists that contributed for his first solo record (Chester Bennington, Jacoby Shaddix, Myles Kennedy, just to name a few). Unfortunately, it did not really change my view of "Anesthetic", which I think is sort of the same as Slash's first solo record. It is diverse for sure, but it does not have a red line that ties it all together, not even Mark's famous groovy riff style appears on all songs. There are hits, and there are misses, making "Anesthetic" an interesting, but also a pretty rocky experience. Those who liked him in Lamb of God should give this one a try, just do not expect much metal from it.

Rating: 6,5/10 Blurs

Spirits of Fire - S/T

Oh Tim "Ripper" Owens, you never seem to find your place in the metal world. The former Judas Priest and Iced Earth singer has been searching for a main stay band for quite some time now, and in 2018 he just went for broke, starting up three different projects in hopes to see if anything sticks. Spirits of Fire is one of these three bands, a US power metal group containing Chris Caffrey from Savatage, Steve DiGiorgio from Testament, and former Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder. It is a good group of veterans that is creating some nice melodic heavy metal that is reminiscent of Dio, Iced Earth, and also Fight. Chris' guitar work is especially splendid, coming with some great riffs and solos. It is not something that is gonna blow your mind though, but it is consistent enough to give a fair shot. It is certainly better than The Three Tremors (not an impressive achievement exactly).

Rating: 7/10 Temples of The Soul

The Raven Age - Conspiracy

I reviewed the debut of The Raven Age about two years ago, stating that the band definitely have some talent, but needs to restrain themselves, not rushing things so that they have time to create more dynamic music. Well, here we are with their sophomore effort "Conspiracy", and it is more versatile alright, but also much more inconsistent. The band have become a little more alternative in their metal style, losing most of the dark, eerie sound they established in "Darkness Will Rise", which is a shame since I think they could have taken that to more interesting places. "Conspiracy" does show some promise still, having a nice variety to it and all, but the overall picture is kind of bleak, not standing out at all as something that will be long lasting. At best, "Conspiracy" is a bland record with some small high points in its song writing, but it is never a good thing when the album cover is the best part of the record.

Rating: 5,5/10 Surrogates

Týr - Hel

The viking kings of The Faroe Islands are back at their own shores after their largest quest yet, and their newest offering "Hel" is showing a band hungry for new music. If you have heard these guys before, you know mostly what you are gonna get, great power metal about Norse mythology while also throwing in some lessons in the Faroe language. It is a fun time from first second to last, and for fans who have been waiting a long time for these guys to once again appear will rejoice. I do think though that "Hel" is a little too meaty for its own good, clocking in at 1 hour and 9 minutes. Týr could have easily cut away some songs to give this record more of an impact, maybe save a couple of them for the next album. Oh well, this album ended up feeling more like Valhalla than Hel anyway, so why complain.

Rating: 7,5/10 Sunset Shores

Rapid Fire Reviews: Episode 1

More often than not, there are albums out there that I listen to that may not warrant a full on essay out of me, but that does not mean I do not have an opinion of them, and Rapid Fire reviews gives me the opportunity to express those feelings to them. It is a good spot to speak my mind on more records, and also showing to what I am listening to. So let us go, here are a bunch of albums I have listened to lately.

Beast In Black - From Hell With Love

Battle Beast... I mean Beast In Black is back with their sophomore effort, and it is another overdose of bombastic power metal that looks back at the 80's with nostalgic eyes. It is for sure a fun record that forces you to move with its disco beats, but the real bite on the tracks are missing. With over 50 minutes of music, you get surprisingly few highlights, one of them being a cover of Motörhead's "Killed By Death". It is enjoyable in small amounts, but it can easily become too much of the (sort of) good stuff.




Rating: 6/10 Unlimited Sins


Lahmia - Resilience

Imagine if Johan Hegg from Amon Amarth just left one day, and instead went on to front Omnium Gatherum. Well, then you would more or less get what Lahmia is offering on their sophomore effort. It is a gothic melodic death metal record that sways around through the musical spectrum like a pendulum. It is one of those albums where the songs might not be strong enough to stand on their own, but together they make an album where you can easily lose yourself in it, and take in the entire experience with ease. May not be a grand slam, but "Resilience" still does its work nicely.



Rating: 7,5/10 Voids of Humiliation


Soen - Lotus

Soen is a band I have gradually gotten in to, and with the release of "Lotus", I finally feel ready to fully embrace them. "Lotus" is mixing the mysterious vastness of Tool with the exquisite melodies of Opeth, creating a fusion that is mesmerizing to behold. It is a record you wanna get back to as soon as possible every time it ends, and it is sure to be one of the best progressive releases of this year. A blooming album that is as beautiful as the flower it is named after.




Rating: 9/10 Martyrs


Steve Dadaian - Follow The Light

There are tons of skilled guitarists out there, but not all of them can write an instrumental album that captivates your attention without over excessive wanking. Well, Steve Dadaian certainly made  an impressive effort in his first full length effort "Follow The Light", a concept record that has everything I want from this type of album. It captures emotions, it is able to tell a story, and Steve mixes styles and techniques to make an impressively diverse record that you will not be tired of. An early front runner of the best instrumental record of the year for sure.



Rating: 8/10 Red Rivers


Trollfest - Norwegian Fairytales

I have always enjoyed the company of Trollfest, and "Norwegian Fairytales is certainly another fascinating effort of trolls executing Balkan metal, while shouting a mixed gibberish of Norwegian and German. It is still a fun record that fans of the band should be happy with, but it just does not have the memorably wacky moments that made some of their other albums so good. You know what I think could have made it better and wackier? A cover of the Eurovision winner "Fairytale" by the Norwegian lad Alexander Rybak. It just makes too much sense to not be made, especially in an album with this title.


Rating: 7/10 Deildegastar