Dario Mollo Tony Martin - 'The Third Cage' (frontiers) 4.5/5

Ooo this is a good un. This is the third studio opus from sometime metal supergroup Mollo / Martin. Formed around the core duo of ex-Crossbones axpert Dario Mollo and former Black Sabbath and Forcefield vocalist Tony Martin, and also featuring some of the great and the good from the Italian metal scene such as ex Voodoo Hill drummer Roberto Gualdi and former Crossbones bassist Fulvio Gaslini, Mollo/Martin play good old school hard rocking metal in the style of Rainbow, late era Sabbath etc. And they do it very very well indeed.

I've always had a great admiration for Tony Martin as a vocalist, and its a particular bug-bear of mine that those great albums he did with Sabbath, such as Headless Cross and the magnificent Tyr are not hailed as the classics that they undoubtedly are, and are dismissed by the philistines as inferior to the product of the Ozzy and Dio era's. Still he has a great and distinctive voice, sounding like a mix between Dio and Maybe Graham Bonnet and boy can the guy belt em out, Just listen to the cut Still In Love With You (no NOT the Lizzy track of the same name) or the albums opener Wicked World and you will hear storming performances by one of the best rock vocalists of the past 30 years.

As for Mr Mollo; well I will admit I'm not all that familiar with his stuff, having not heard the past two Mollo / Martin albums and only having heard a few odd Crossfire tracks over the years. However I will say his playing on this one is impressive to say the very least. When he is riff riding he can churn them out along with the very best riff merchants of times gone by (Iommi, Brock, Tipton etc) and when he is playing his freak out lead work he has a touch of the Richie Blackmores or the Michael Schenkers about him, and thats a sure way to get this old metalhead sit up and take notice!!

However you need more than great guitar work and amazing vocals to make a good album, you need the songs as well. And thankfully I can say that 'The Third Cage' has great songs in abundance. To pick a few at random you have Wardance, a cut that wouldn't sound of of place on a classic Rainbow album such as Straight Between The Eyes, and then there's Blind Fury and Cirque Du Freak (the later being my fave cut on offer here) which revives memories of Tony Martins time in Sabbath.

OK I'll admit the sound here is rooted firmly in the 1980's, but hell there was a lot of great stuff around back then and in a musical world awash with endless formulaic metalcore wannabes and angry young thrash revivalists, a bit of expertly performed and produced old school metal makes for a welcome change once in a while.

This really is a good record, older metalheads and hard rockers will lap it up, and I recently played this to my 13 year old nephew who has just discovered the world of rock and metal, and he was raving about it, so I can see some of the more open minded younger crew getting into this as well.

Well worth a listen or six.


For fans of... Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, UFO, Crossbones etc....

Beyond The Bridge - 'The Old Man & The Spirit' (Frontiers) 5/5

Ah the new year is here, and first releases of the year are beginning to fill my inbox. Now I do like this time, the months of Jan and Feb are when many labels release their new signings, and I just get such a buzz from hearing new bands.

So first up we have this, the debut album from Frankfurt outfit Beyond The Bridge. Now the germ of this project first formed apparently some 13 years ago as a high school band under the name Fallout. They were regulars on the local circuit for a couple of years, then as is the way of many school bands, adult life and university called and the band fell apart. However guitarist Peter Degenfeld-Schonburg had a plan, a 'meisterwerk' of a vast concept opus he had been working on with his old friend and keyboardist Christopher Tarnow. So by late 2005 with university nearly finished Peter decided it was time to get the band back together. With some old Fallout personnel returning and some new faces joining in a new band slowly came together under the name Beyond The Bridge and work on the album 'The Old Man & The Spirit' started.

Now in 2012 after much hard work, fitting in around other musical 'jobs' (all members of this band are professional musicians - playing sessions or working in other outfits), the album is out, and bloody hell, its a cracker.

The Old Man & The Spirit is a work that manages to sit perfectly between the worlds of classic heavy metal and old school prog rock. The concept here is a simple, yet engaging tale of an old man facing death and the dilemmas and memories that are running through his mind. It is a tale told simply, clearly yet with purpose and passion and delivered with a superbly polished and meaningful musicality tht is so often sadly lacking these days.

From the opening cut of The Call with its almost Diamond Head influenced metal riffage and Eloy style mellower moments, to the closer of All A Man Can Do (a true epic of a shade under ten minutes duration) not only is there not a weak moment on offer, but the whole album is constantly sending shivers up my spine, and in my book that is the mark of something very special indeed.

The musicianship here is flawless, every member of this seven piece outfit plays their role to perfection, but I must give special praise to the two vocalists; Herbie Langhans for delivering the male vocals with power and clarity that reminds me of former Diamond Head vocalist Sean Harris and especially female vocalist Dilenya Mar- whose powerful jazzy almost Janice Joplin style delivery is a breath of fresh air in a time when most metal devas are doing the operatic style stuff.

As this is a concept album, and such a smooth flowing one at that, it would be wrong to single individual tracks out for praise, after all, this is a work that should be listened to in one go to get the full effect. But personal highlights of mine include Doorway To Salvation, a prog-metal classic that sounds like Dream Theater stripped of the 'head up the backside' self indulgence; the shiver inducing prog-tastic The Difference is Human where Dilenya Mars vocals are given a full run out and my personal fave, the almost balladic World Of Wonders which makes you want to wave a lighter in the air without the slightest hint of irony.

The bottom line line is this is a great album, and should become seen in future times as one of the true classics, and it should be in the collection of ever discerning progger and metalhead.

Flawless

For fans of... Opeth, Martyr, Within Temptation, Royal Hunt, Diamond Head, Darkesis etc....

Pilgrim - 'Misery Wizard' (metalblade) 4/5

Until yesterday I knew three things about Rhode Island. 1) It's the smallest state in the union, 2) its the home to a fictional family in a popular US animated sitcom and 3) The place gave its name to a breed of chicken. But now I have a fourth fact, its the place where doom metal titans Pilgrim hail from.

Now Pilgrim are a classic power trio of The Wizard on guitar and vocals, Elric The Soothsayer on bass and a certain Krolg, The Slayer Of Men on drums; and they play doom metal of the darkest and doomiest kind. Imagine the sort of stuff the likes of St Vitus and Candlemass were doing back in the late 80's and you'll get the idea.

Now the first thing you notice about this album is how slow it is. Its SLOW, very slow indeed; so slow in fact it makes a lot of Black Sabbaths early work sound almost speed metal in comparison. In fact its not until half way into the the third track Quest, that the tempo even lifts beyond funeral march speed, when Pilgrim go off on a Witchfinder General style trip for a minute or so before slamming on the breaks again and grinding out the rest of the track in fine funeral metal tradition.

The second thing that hits you it that this album is epic in scope. There are six songs on offer, half of which top the 10 minute mark - in fact only one song, Adventurer (a surprisingly snappy tune that sounds not unlike NWOBHM gods Pagan Alter) comes in at under five (don't go expecting much mainstream radio play guys).

Now I know what your thinking, this has gotta be one boring album. But you'd be wrong in thinking that. Despite the fact this album moves along with all the pace of an arthritic tortoise it still keeps itself very entertaining and listenable. This is partly due to some cleaver production that positions everything in the mix perfectly, with plenty of space around each instrument so every power chord and cymbal splash has room to breath and resonate to maximum effect and turns the whole listening experience into a gloriously dark sound-scape. The other key factor is that the vocals here are clean, not a pig grunt or death groan in sight, this means you can hear exactly what The Wizard is singing about as he spins his dark tales of swords, sorcery, death, damnation and daring do. All of this results in a very entertaining listen that holds the attention for the entire album and makes the whole work stand up to repeated plays.

In short I'm pretty impressed with this album. it's been a while since I last discovered a new doom act of the old school, and a long time since I've found one as good as this. Highly recommended.

For fans of... Black Sabbath, St. Vitus, Candlemass, Pagan Alter, Witchfinder General.....

Trucker Diablo - 'The Devil Rhythm' (Ripple Music) 5/5

Ok, this lots are new to me. Apparently Trucker Diablo are out of Northern Ireland and are a four piece formed by some veterans of the local music scene; and recently they are having a bit of a purple patch. This, their debut album, has gotten its self a worldwide release through that home of all this old school and interesting, Ripple music, are getting airplay on five continents and early next year are out on the road with Black Stone Cherry.

Now listening through to this album its easy to see what all the excitement is all about. Trucker Diablo play good old no nonsense heads down boogie fueled damnation rock and roll. Imagine a truck load of Molly Hatchett and Black Oak Arkansas style southern boogie in a motorway horror smash with a cargo of Spider / Dedringer style NWOBHM and a van load of Black Stone Cherry type modern hard-rock sensibilities piling into the wreckage and you'll get the general idea. The end result has a certain Almighty vibe to it, and it's no surprise to find former Almighty front man Ricky Warwick turning up to add his voice to the track Juggernaut.

Gotta say I'm finding this one right up my musical alley. Tracks like the opener and current single Drink Beer, Destroy with its beer fueled blue collar slam boogie riffage and mob yell chorus; the Sweet Savage style truckers anthem Big Truck, the juke-joint sleaze of Dirty Love and the ZZ Top on Steroids drive and grind of When Angels Die: all thunder straight from the speakers like the devils own 18 wheeler and they give you a simple choice, get on and enjoy the ride - or end up as another lump of roadkill in their musical wake.

The performance and the production here can't be faulted - its smooth enough to be clear, balanced and 100% listenable, but still retains enough rawness and rough edges to keep its greasy rock sensibilities true and maintain the whole 'rock and roll is the devils music' feel.

This is one of the best truckin' rock and truckin' roll albums of recent years, and I'm not alone in that opinion, When they number the likes of Dee Snider (Twisted mutha truckin' Sister) and Joe Elliot (Def Leppard) amongst their admirers, you know you have summit special on your hands, and I've got high hopes that this may just be the album that puts old school hard rock and roll back in the public eye where it belongs.

Its truckin' great, buy it and love it forever.

For fans of... Grifter, The Almighty, Motortrain, Sweet Savage, Black Stone Cherry, Drivin' and Cryin'....

KoRn - 'The Path Of Totality' (roadrunner) 3.5/5

Anyone who has read back through the reviews in this blog will already know of my utter and intense dislike for dance music, so when I read that KoRn were teaming up with a load of drum machine monkeys to do a full album I was filled with a more than a little dread and bile. After all Korn themselves are a band I can take or leave at the best of times, and the thought of having to listen to a full album their stuff remixed for the pilled up dance-floor massive was more than bit off putting. Still Roadrunner were good enough to send me a copy and ask for my honest opinion, so here goes....

Ok on first play I gotta say this isn't as bad as I was prepared for. At least what we have on offer here are real songs, not endless drum loops with three second sampled hooks dropped in at random, and to be honest some of the songs here are fairly good, for KoRn tracks. The opener Chaos Lives In Everything is probably the best cut on offer here, Like most of the album it comes over  little like Rammstein and features some nice metal riffage and even the dub-step drum beats don't annoy too much. And so the album continues. Other high points that suprised me a bit were the Peter Gabrielesque Sanctuary and the dark industrial grind of Way Too Far.

In fact there are only three places on the entire album that had me reaching for the next track button, the two Skrillex produced tracks, Narcissistic Cannibal & Get Up, where fair competent songs are ruined by scratch mix masturbation and pointless random drum beat breakdowns; and the closer Bleeding Out, where what starts out as a nice downbeat chilled out bit of post rock ambiance is ruined by over complex drum beats, naff euro trance synth breakdowns and a mix that buries the vocals into a wall of acid dub whatever drum machine monkeyisms and a strange and pointless bagpipe sample sequence.

I'm still suprised I made it to the end of the record with out wanting to throw up, or smash up the CD player, and for me to say that really is something. Don't get me wrong, this has done nothing to win me over to dance fusion, or make me a KoRn fan, but at least its something in that genre that I can listen to without a psychotic reaction.

Not as bad as you would expect.

For fans of... Pendulum, Rammstien etc...

Beggars And Thieves - 'We Are The Brokenhearted' (frontiers) 4.5/5

New York rockers Beggars and Thieves have been around for a while now, although they haven't always had the best sense of timing, they arrived on the world stage just at the time when the world and his wife were going grunge crazy and attempted a come back at the height of the Nu Metal revolution. The result was their distinctive brand of prog influenced melodic hard rock just was never right for the time and they seamed destined to remain firmly in the also ran camp. However Louie Merlino and his crew are a persistent bunch, and at times persistence can pay off. So when they issued a low profile ep to great acclaim last year it looked like this time the world may take a bit more notice of the band, so as a result we have 'We Are The Brokenhearted' their fourth full length studio offering, and the first full album in 12 years.

Now I've been living with this one for a few weeks now and I've been meaning to review it for a while; but you know how things go, you sit down to start typing, the phone rings or something else crops up that demands immediate attention and you put it off for another few days... but when this has happened I've tended to leave the album playing in the background, and I've grown really fond of it as a result.

The over all sound is a very ear friendly blend of old school melodic hardrock that sounds not unlike Warrant meets Magnum; poppy prog in the It Bites, Asia style and even a slice or two of early U2 / Simple Minds / Energy Orchard type of celtic influenced stadium rock. all in all a nice and diverse blend of influences and styles that sit together nicely and make for a damn good listen.

There are some damn fine personal musical performances on show here, Mr Merlino has a great voice, it's natural sounding, mid ranged and very distinctive. There's none of that cliched power wailing or screamed high notes that singers in this genre are often suckered into - here's a guy who knows his own voice and uses it to maximum effect. The guitars of Ron Mancuso are a real joy to listen to, there no over the top hysteronics, just some very nice playing that ranges from some soulful and beautifully under played acoustic lines to some tasteful melodic lead lines that Floyds Dave Gilmore would be proud of. Add in the rhythm section of former Left for Dead Stickman Bobby Borg and bassist Phil Soussan returning from his various outings with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol and Dio and you have a well tasty line up capable of peddling some first rate, intelligent rock music.

Picking individual highlights from this one is tough, the whole album is damn good, but I have a big soft spot for Midnight Blue, a great hardrock number which resolves into a very tasteful piano lament at the end. Then there's the title track that sounds a bit like Simple Minds jamming with Bruce Springstein, turns into an air punching anthem to die for and ends up going sort of left field jazz at the end; and then there's Oil & Water a prog rock influenced little number that wouldn't sound out of place on a classic Pendragon album - complete with a Nick Barret style solo. Or how about Seven Seconds with its sleaze rock riffage and Paul Toner (Energy Orchard) style guitar bridge section....

...I could go on, but don't wanna give you a full track by track breakdown (it annoys me when reviewers do that - I like to give a few pointers and let the listener explore the record for themselves), but I will say I don't think there's a single weak moment on show here, this is a great record and if there's any justice in the world it will be the record that after all these years will show the world what a great band Beggars and Thieves are.


Well worth checking out.

For fans of... Simple Minds, Warrant, Boston, Pendragon, Queen...etc

Austrian Death Machine - Jingle All The Way' (metalblade) 4/5

This is the latest seasonal offering from Californian Arnold Schwarzenegger worshiping outfit Austrian Death Machine (actually a side project featuring As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis) and this time its Arnies Chrimbo comedy flick 'Jingle All The Way' thats set up for equal doses of praise and parody.

There are three songs on offer here, all very over the top and very silly looks at various Arnie one liners from the movie. We get I Am Not A Pervert, It's Turbo Time and Who Told You You Could Eat My Cookies? All of which are packed with some gloriously over the top power metal, self parodying shred solo breaks and off course some fairly passable Arnie impressions delivering some very much tongue in cheek comments through out. "What the hells the mater with you, you totally forgot the guitar solo, you idiots, play it, play it now..." It's not big and it's not cleaver... but it is highly entertaining, and like the movie that inspired it, mercifully short, so the joke is not worn thin at the end.

In fact I'll be honest I like Austrian Death Machine, which is more than I can say about As I Lay Dying (never a band that has done anything for me) and I also find it refreshing that this is a seasonal record that doesn't feature cheesy sleigh bells and Santa references, which is another big plus.

In short this is the best Chrimbo release of the year, Highly recommended.

For fans of.... ARNIE. (Girly boys should give this one a miss)

Hellish Outcast - 'Your God Will Bleed' (Transend Music) 4.5/5

Norwegian metallers Hellish Outcast are a bit of a supergroup, comprising of former members of such acts as Byfrost, Breed, 66 Crusher and Keep Of Kalessin, they first raided our shores earlier this summer when they laid waste to the bloodstock festival and left us with the impressive 'Raping Killing Murder' ep. Now anyone who knows their dark ages history will tell you that once the Vikings have raided, they will be back in greater force, and now we have again dark sails on the horizon as the band once more are set to return with their full length debut in the form of 'Your God Will Bleed'.

Now first impressions of this album are very favourable. What we have here are ten slices of deadly and effective Norse steel that make longships out of your ears, sail straight into your brain, lay waste to all they can find and make such an impact that you know your gonna remember the event for years to come.

The first assault comes in the form of The View, So Disgusting (a comment on a popular US day time talk show?) - a track that is dripping brutal riffs, and features a vocal approach that comes over like some weirdly compelling death metal hip-hop. From there on in its death and sonic slaughter all the way, we gets cuts like the violently short You Will Scream, that is a sub two minute berserk assault of unbelievable fury; the prolonged battery of tracks like Muffled Screams (lots of screaming going on here), which do show a fair degree of subtly in the bludgeon, with some slower paced riffs to counterpoint some blindingly fast blast beat sections; and my fave cuts on show the frenzied Face Forced Down and the masterfully epic closer Hubris.

Maximum praise must be given to the guys performing this act of metallic conquest. The music here isn't groundbreaking, it follows naturally in the footsteps of previous viking raiders such as Bathory, Darkthrone, Amon Armath etc, but it is particularly well penned and performed, instantly likeable and is a worthy edition to Norways metal heritage.

In short this is a damn fine record, and one that will win Hellish Outcast a lot of friends indeed.

For fans of... Tyr, Forefather, Amon Armath, Noctem, Glorior Belli....

We Die Tonight - "Stem The Tide" - (Self released) 3.5/5

'Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the inbox....' The tide of metalcore wannabes had been drying up over the past few months, and I was starting think the whole movement was dead or at least on its last legs; but then with out warning my inbox and ears are suddenly brutally assaulted by this four tracker by London hopefuls We Die Tonight, to show us that the corpse of metalcore hasn't quite finished kicking just yet.

To be honest, this one aint that bad, and does have something interesting to bring to the table. While in some places it does sound a bit like almost every other metalcore outfit I've been sent recently, in other places it show some creativity. There's the superb climax to opener Dancing With Daggers with its impressive selection of riffs, insanely heavy approach and some cool and controlled dirty vocals; and the wonderful Salt In The Sharkbite which kicks off with a very impressive speedcore opening, takes in a mathcore sequence that make Periphery sound like a 4/4 rock and roll band and some glorious post thrash brutal guitar attack.

But there is a fundamental flaw here, and that's the vocals. Like every other metal core outfit since the dawn of time we have the old clean and dirty vocalist interplay here. Now because every metalcore band on the planet, and their dogs are doing that the whole thing since the year dot, it's starting to become a bit of a cliche, and unless its done very very well, just doesn't work. And sadly this is the case here.

Now please, please, please don't get me wrong , both the clean and dirty vocals here are good, both guys (that's if it IS two guys and not Peter Park doing vocal gymnastics - the press notes that came with this aint clear about this point), are powerful, clear understandable and suit the music well. But its just they blend together like oil and water. They just don't sit well together, The dirty vocals are powerful direct and brutal, the cleans softer in attack and are hesitant is a sort of Elvis Costello way, the result is they clash horribly in the mix, jangle the nerves and just don't sound right.

This is a shame cos if the clean vocals were taken out and the lines added to the dirty's you would have a bit of metalcore gem here. And by the same measure if the cleans sang everything We Die Tonight would be a power / thrash metal band to take note of... but together...nah. The problem is compounded by the fact that as instrumentalists WDT are one of the best bands I've heard in a while, and with either vocals they could be great.

In Short, Not bad, but....

For Fans Of... Screaming Eyes, Periphery, Devil Wear Prada, Terakai, etc...

Avenge Thee + Naime - "Open Carpet" (self released) 4.5/5

Experimental sludge 'n' grind outfit Avenge Thee + Naime are a funny lot, they never play on a stage - even at major festivals - preferring to set up in the middle of the crowd instead, they have two drummers and claim to '...eschew the usual heavy metal traits of machismo and raw anger, instead preaching a message of unity and optimism'. But then you notice they hail from Canterbury, home of the likes of Soft Machine, Camel, Caravan, Gong and Todd Dillingham, and the Canterbury music scene has never marched instep with the rest of the musical world.

In fact as you listen through this eight tracker you begin to notice that despite all the doomy sludge grind sensibilities the true anarchic spirit of the classic Canterbury sound still shines through. The music on offer here is gloriously left field, very trippy and strangely uplifting.

Tracks such as Maximum Purity (Buy My Water) with it's soft acoustic intro, slow doomy and discordent build up politically aware lyrics; and the almost death jazz Wound Licker with its complex riff structure and sub-Amebix drive, go to show that this is the new 'hippy' rock for post 9-11 generation. This is the sound of future free festivals, the anthems for those who say NO to the system and want to do something about it.

To say I find this album engaging, accessable and highly enjoyable is a great understatement. My personal highlight has to be The Chode with its relentless post tribal beats, angry rant vocals, primal scream backing vocals and relentless driving beat that does indeed sound something that Gong would have recorded if they had invented sludge grind back in the early 1970s'.

In short this is a great record, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to hear something a little outside the box.

For fans of... Amebix, Gong, Rolo Tomassi, Leather Nun, Somnus.....

The Famous Class - "Have You Ever" (pledge music) 2/5

London self styled 'pop-punksters' The Famous Class have been building a bit of a reputation around them over the past year or so. Headline tours of China, bill topping Belgium festival apperanaces, 02 Academy tours.... They must be doing something right. But What?

I gotta admit I'm at loss to describe it. After all there's nothing remarkable on this four tracker at all. OK its it competent and well played, but its so bloody generic it could be by any one of the hundreds of 'You-and-Green-182-at-Six' clones that are chancing their arms all over the world. You can play through this ep and tick all the right boxes for 'pop-rock cliche 101' on every track; wall of fuzz guitar sound, teen angst/coming of age lyrics, mob yell stabs and backing vocal, chorus key changes, middle eight breakdown... hell this stuff is so formulaic it could have been penned by machine.... That's a thought, are TFC the result of some evil Frankenstein experiment to make the most perfectly cliche commercial pop-rock band in the world? There is a hint in the press blurb that came with this ep. Apparently the band applied to be the band in the adverts for a certain diabetes inducing commercial energy drink... and failed. Could it be that even the band themselves see themselves not as musicians but product?

(Note - the question can be answered by a short visit to the bands website, where your bombarded by a series of adverts for pot noodle type snacks before you can explore it... This is not a band, they are an ad agency)

As you can guess this leaves me cold. In a time when the UK music scene is alive with great music by outfits such as The Skuzzies, Elimination, I Divide, Dakesis, Awake and many many more this ep can only be a retrograde step, as it is nothing more than a clone of what the mainstream music industry has been pumping down our throats for the past few years via the likes of Kerrang!! fm etc, and does nothing to help raise the profile of what is really going on on the UK rock scene.

Still horses for course I suspose. You teenies who have yet to experience real music and fans of disposable teen agnst pseudo punk might like it, and good luck to them, but real rock and punk fans will want to give this one a very wide berth indeed.

Not recommended at all.

for fans of.. Greenday, Blink 182, You and Me at Six, Razorlight....

Dakesis - "Trail By Fire" (CapsAArx) 4/5

Birmingham in the UK has in recent years styled itself as 'The Home Of Metal', and whilst there is a certain amount of tourist trappage in the whole claim and the new museum they have set up there, it cannot be denied that the West Midlands has had a very important role to play in the development of hard rock in the UK and beyond, and the area is still turning out some pretty impressive stuff, in recent months we've had cracking albums from Zombie Xtras and Bide Your Time, and now we have the debut release from power metal outfit Dakesis to add to the mix.

Now this lot have been around for a few years now and have previously issued an eponymous ep, before hitting us with this their first full lenght album. Now I showed this one to a friend the other day, who proclaimed that the album cover was 'a bit iffy' and therefore they had little interest in the music on the disc. Well after I had slapped him around a bit I pointed out that; a) there are far worse album covers out there than this one, and b) the quality of an albums cover is no reflection on the quality of the music there in. (Just look at the cover to the old Battleaxe album 'Burn This Town' for example, then play the record!)

Leaving the album art aside, the music on offer here is pretty damn cool. Dakesis are a five piece with both male and female lead vocals, and they know how to smith a good song. Just take Liar for example; here is a song that reminds me a little of NWOBHM supergroup Tytan with a touch or two of Diamond Head thrown into the mix and a classic Judas Priest style guitar duel section to cap it all off. Great stuff indeed. There are other influences on show here as well; After The Storm has a touch of the big epic operatic style euro-metal about it, think Nightwish, Within Temptation, Nemesea etc and you'll get the idea. Then in other places, such as on the track Valhalla Dakesis are heading off into the power-metal territory of the likes of In Solitude, Royal Hunt, Dignity etc. The up shot of all this is that 'Trial By Fire' is a good and varied album that keeps the interest up from beginning to end.

The musicianship is first rate, both male and female vocals sound clear and natural, the guitars are the stuff of axe heroics, the rhythm section is a driven powerhouse and the keys give the whole thing a nice smooth polish that finishes off the whole sound to perfection. OK I will say the production here is a little flat and lacking in sparkle, but this is a low budget album from a new up and coming band, and that can be forgiven. I'm sure this will be an album that opens a fair few doors for this lot and I'm sure we will be hearing a lot more from Dakesis in years to come.

Recommended

For fans of... Nemesea, In Solitude, Tytan, Diamond Head, Royal Hunt, Kivimetsan Druidi....

Vantage Point - "Tomb of The Eagles" (Power Point) 4.5/5

Edinburgh outfit Vantage Point are not a band that's a household name, if fact outside their native Scotland they are almost unknown, and that's a shame, cos they really are a gem of an outfit with a lot to offer, and with this their second album, they really laying out a stall full of goodies that could well move them on from being local heroes into an act the whole of the UK and beyond should take notice of.

From the off, lets be perfectly clear, Vantage Point play metal, heavy metal. We are talking no bullshit, devil horns in the air, bang your head til your carpets full of dandruff, air guitar a-go-go, whiplash inducing MMEETAALLL of the old school. the sort of metal that dates from about 1983, late NWOBHM, pre-thrash sort of stuff. If your familier with the early work of say Saxon, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Weapon, Nightwing, Toyko Blade, Persian Risk etc you'll know exactly what I'm on about. Nothing too heavy by todays standards, but nice driven crunchy controlled riffage, howling guitar solos, air punching anthemic choruses, pounding drum beats and the rest. In short the sort of stuff I fell in love with back in 1980, and has been my musical true love ever since. (OK I've had affairs with prog rock, punk, goth, thrash, doom, hardcore and even jazz and ska over the years, but its still old school metal that really floats my boat.)

There are 14 tracks on offer here, and every one is a bit of a belter. I'm not gonna give a track by track guide, I believe in letting you check things out for yourselves, but I will give you a few personal highlights. We have the epic title track Tomb of The Eagles, which sounds a bit like Toyko Blade jamming with Heavy Pettin' and features some wonderful off metre vocals and a solo to die for; then there's High Plains Drifter, with a riff that hat tips Angelwitch and lyrics that praise a certain Mr Eastwood, (the greatest cowboy of all). Obedience School (the current single) is a classic slice of down and dirty sleaze metal that wouldn't sound out of place on Girl's 'Sheer Greed' album; and then there's my favourate cut on offer Global Delay with is post Kashmir verse riff, Nightime Flyer style chorus and mindblowing shred and widdle solo. All very good stuff indeed!!

Now I don't for a minute think this album will make Vantage Point interational metal super stars. It sounds far to retro for that, but with a renewed interest in the roots of metal and the NWOBHM in particular I can see it making them cult legends of the underground and winning them friends and admirers far beyond their native Scotland.

Well worth a look or three

For fans of... Marsellie, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Witchfynde, Witchfinder General, Heavy Pettin'.... etc

Awake - "Forever More" (Lion music) 4.5/5

It's been four years since Cambridge prog/melodic metal outfit Awake last hit us with an album, and there has been a lot happening since. Line up changes, tours with the likes of Magnum and Everygrey, live BBC sessions and a number of praise winning festival appearances, but now at last we have the new studio album in the form of "Forever More".

And what a corker it is. Right from the off it's easy to see that this release is a more complete and rounded offering than it's predecessor, 2007's "Illumination",  The over all sound is more polished, the new guitar paring of brothers Andrew and Steve Coles bring a new heavier and more purposeful diamention to the sound, Keys player Craig Burkitt, who I felt was a bit of a spare wheel on "Illumination", seams to have found a place in the band at last and adds more to the over all sound than just a vague synth wash. Even vocalist Simon Shedwell sounds more at home here than on previous releases, his voice seams less edgy and somewhat smoother over all, and it fits into the Awake sound all the better for it.

There are 12 tracks on offer here, all pretty damn impressive. If you've not encountered the band before, imagine if you can a sort of subtle blend of Royal Hunt, Iron Maiden, Marillion (Fish era), Magnum and perhaps classic Queensryche, all rolled around a core of Judas Priest and seasoned with hints of Rush and Fates Warning. We get cuts like the beautifully realised, almost balladic Closing The Door, the vast and epic power rock of the closing title track, the driving prog metal of Bleed From You and the anthemic Drift Away; all of which go to show what a superbl;y talented and wonderfully diverse outfit Awake really are.

Highlights? well, Mr Shadwells vocals on the intro to One Wish are spine tingling, the guitar work and riffage on Out Of Control is to die for and then there is my favourate cut on the album King, with is sweet piano intro, Wishbone Ash style twin guitar lines and sadly plaintif vocals, a real shiver maker if ever there was.

Over all this is a great record, it shows that Awake are a band who are on the up and rightly deserve a place at the top table of British metal. Highly recommended.

For fans of... Iron Maiden, Royal Hunt, Evergrey, Dignity, Charred Walls of the Damned....

Bi-Polar Sluts - "Out-4-Dinner" (New Model Label) 5/5

There has been a lot of good stuff coming out of Italy of late and now we have the latest offering in the form of Parma based hard rockers Bi-Polar Sluts, with this rather impressive debut offering.

Drawing its starting point from the likes of AC/DC, Guns And Roses, Moltey Crue this album of 14 tracks (well 12 plus a short intro and outro) has to be perhaps the best platter of hard and heavy balls out rock and roll Italy has produced since their label mates Speedjackers gave us the impressive 'Favourite Sons' opus a year or so back.  There are no pretentions here, just great rock and roll, cuts like Aperiti've, Keep Screaming and Never Trust A Woman just steam roller from the speakers and set your motor neurones slam dancing around your cranium.

Vocalist Mike Molinari has a remarkable voice, sounding like Bon Scott, Axle Rose and Brett Michaels rolled into one, he can carry a tune perfectly and yell and growl with the best of em. Then we have the twin guitar attack of Guix Morini and Federico Arcuri; here are two guys who are masters of their craft, swapping riffs like the good 'uns they are and covering all bases from the Sweet Child Of Mine style chiming riffs on Something To Kill The Pain and the pseudo classical acoustic approach to Sammy's Backyard, to the balls to the wall drive and crunch of Treat You Bad, all taken in their pretty musical stride. Add in the ducks buttocks tight rythym section of Joe Forlini and Paulo Casali (the latter formerly with Italian hardcore legends Raw Power) and you have a band who can be described as truly great performing an album to match.

Highlights? well this album is really one long highlight, but if I had to pick a fave moment or two it would be the impressive single Keep Screaming, the low down and sleazy Vodka and Lime and the high octaine rock out of Listen To Me.

In short this is one damn fine album and one that will go a long way to putting both Bi-Polar Sluts and Italian rock in general firmly on the world music map.

For fans of... Speedjackers, Guns and Roses, Poison, AC/DC, Black Veil Brides.....

Nickelback - 'Here and Now' (roadrunner) 2.5/5

Alberta mainstream pop rock outfit Nickelback are undoubtedly one of the most commercially successful bands Canada has produced since the mighty Rush, along with their fellow countrymen and label mates Theory of A Wifebeater, they are to many people the sound of their nation and their music is praised and derided in equal measures. So now we have studio album number seven to divide opinion amongst critics and music fans alike.

Now I gotta admit I'm no Nickelback fan to say the least, but when I first gave this one a spin I had a very pleasant surprise. The opening track This Means War is actually quite good. Not a beer bottle, hooker or cliched stadium rock riff in sight. Instead we get a set of riffs that tip the old titfer towards the likes of Megadeth and some quite intelligent biting anti-war lyrics all wrapped into a song that is possibly the best thing I've heard this band produce. (and yes I have heard most of their output in a professional capacity). But it doesn't stop there a little further on you get Kiss It Goodbye, another fairly good track that sounds a little Wednesday 13 and tackles the price of fame. Bloody Hell two Nickelback tracks that DON'T make me wanna vomit, and they are on the same album. Has hell frozen over?

OK reality check time, there are 11 tracks on this one, and apart from the two mentioned above the rest is typical Nickelback fare of pseudo-macho birds and beer fueled light-weight rockers and cheese laden MTV-u-like power ballads. Admitted well played pseudo-macho birds and beer fueled light-weight rockers and cheese laden MTV-u-like power ballads, but pretty boring and uninspiring fodder none the less. Still its all safe and unoffensive stuff, thankfully devoid of the misogynistic nastiness of Theory Of A Wifebeater and a better class of mainstream wallpaper muzak as well. Nickelback fans will lap it up and I know the likes of Planet Rock and Kerrang fm will be blasting this stuff out all day for the next two years or so.

In conclusion, this album has done nothing to convert me into a fan, but it has shown me that if Nickelback got off their backsides, and broke away from their safe mainstream rock formula, and followed the path laid down on the likes of This Means War they could silence a lot of critics and develop into a band worth listening to.

Try Before You Buy

For Fans of... 30 Seconds To Mars, Theory Of A Wifebeater, My Extraordinary.....

Royal Hunt - 'Show Me How To Live' (frontiers records) 4.5/5

Denmark's Royal Hunt have become a bit of an institution on the Euro metal scene for a good few years now, and now they are serving up their 11th studio album and the first in thirteen years to feature US vocalist D.C. Cooper, who returns to the fold to replace the departing Mark Boals.

I will confess from the off that I have a massive soft spot for this kind of epic pseudo-progressive power metal, and this one is hitting the right spots and ringing all the right bells in my old musical nogging. I mean take a track like Hard Rain's Coming which kicks off with a simple little harpsichord and vocals sequence builds up and up through driving riffs and walls of keyboards and backing vocals, takes in a soul wrenching Andy Latimer style solo from Jonas Larsen and then just when your expecting the huge finish it dies away to the same simple starting motif.. what's not to like?

There are seven tracks on offer, all pretty damn good un's they are too, even Half Past Loneliness, with its euro-vision style chorus is saved from the pits of cheese by a storming bass lick and a classic Larsen trademark solo. However to my ears the albums stand out cut is the epic title track. Ten and a half minutes of a great band doing what they do best, complete with some inspired key changes and some guitar vs Keyboard interplay to die for.

Over all I'm very impressed with this one, it may not be quite as good over all as Dignitiy's classic 'Project Destiny' album from a few years back, but its getting there. After all Royal Hunt are a band who have been doing this stuff in style for over twenty years now and over that time have honed their act well, and this album isn't going to do them or their reputation any harm at all. Well worth a spot purchase.

For fans of... Dignity, Awake, Falconer, Dragon Force, The Magnificent.....

Yes - 'In The Present - Live In Lyon' (frontiers records) 5/5

Classic Prog Rockers Yes have been staging a bit of a revival recently, with a new vocalist on board in the shape of Mystery front man Benoit David, the return of Drama era keys-man Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn back at the production hem, they have already hit us this year with the remarkable and fresh sounding Fly From Here studio opus, and now we have this live set to fan flames of revival.

Ok before you mail in saying as such I will say that the line up here differs a tad from the Fly From Here album in as much as the keys here are played by Oliver Wakeman, (son of Rick) and I will point out that performances on this album date from late 2009, before work on the Fly From Here album started.

Gotta say that from the off I'm liking this lots. First up I'm loving the set on offer; we get stuff from Time And A Word (Astral Traveler), The Yes Album (I've Seen All Good People & Starship Trooper), Fragile (Roundabout & Southside Of the Sky), Close To The Edge (And You And I & Siberian Khatru)... etc, even 90125 is represented by Owner Of A Lonely Heart (natch), but there are some suprises on offer as well in form of Onward from the much maligned Tormato and a brace of cuts (Machine Messiah & Tempus Fugit) from my fave Yes album - Drama.

Benoit Davids vocals are superb, he takes all that Anderson era Aled Jones stuff in his stride, and breathes new life into these old classics. As for the rest of the band - well when your talking about the likes of Steve Howe, one of the three Steve H's (along with Hackett and Hillage), on the guitar, Chris Squire on bass and Alan White on the kit you know your in for a as near as flawless performance as can be expected. Add in Oliver Wakeman who besides being a chip off the old block has previously cut his teeth working along side the likes of Clive Nolan from Arena and played along side the likes of Magnums Bob Catley, and you have a great line up, capable of playing classic tracks with a vibe and energy that makes them sound like brand new material.

This is indeed a band reborn, and coming on the heals of the excellent Fly From Here we can be left in mo doubt Yes are back, they mean business and they are here to stay.

(And finally my take on the whole Anderson vs David debate. Personally I have found the last few albums from the Jon Anderson fronted Yes had been lacking in both life and direction, almost like Yes had become the Jon Anderson band. To be honest I had never really been that much of a Jon Anderson fan anyway, all those 'own backside inspecting' lyrics and that castrati style everything in the top register vocals often did as much to turn me off Yes as Mr's Howe, Wakeman and Squire etc did to attract me. But Mr Davids vocals are to me a real treat, ok he's got the Jon Anderson register, but his voice is more human, it has the hint of Geddy Lee about it and none of the shriek Mr Anderson used to produce when he leant on it, and to all the detractors who are claiming all this 'no Yes without Jon Anderson' crap, all I can say is wash yer ears out, get over yourselves and move on. Jon was good Benoit is better, End of.)

Superb, buy it and love it forever!!

For fans of... King Crimson, Mystery, Opeth, Pallas....

Lehmon - 'Sampler EP' (self released) 4.5/5

Oooo this is a good 'un. Lehmon are a two piece project from Paris over there in France that consists of Walter Monnen and Michele Leonor and they claim to be inspired by everything from modern pop and rock through to various European and Middle Eastern folk traditions. Their debut album 'Golden Mountains and Dark Valley's' is due out early next year but they have just put out this four track sampler ep to give the world an idea of what to expect.

Now I do like acts that know how to mix their sounds and influences up a bit, and thus I am finding this four tracker a very compelling listen. We have alsorts on offer here; A Hundred Centuries is a bit of psychedelic weirdness that comes over like maybe a tuneful Tom Waites or possibly Alien Sex Fiend stripped of the gothic trappings, Crepuscular Dream is a glorious slice of light weight post gothic darkness that sounds like a bit of sound trackage from a Tim Burton animation, I Need to Love You is a Krankshaft like helping of acid pop ballad weirdness and That's All is a plaintiff duet that could be part of the sound track to an ultra left field stage musical - all pit orchestra and soft shoe shuffle slow dance beats. Add in some very engaging tongue firmly in cheek lyrics, some superb vocal and instrumental performances and some attentive production and you have here a cracking ep that leaves the listener hungry from the full album. All very very good stuff indeed.

Until this arrived Lehmon were completely new to me, but I'm now a bit of a fan and I'll be following their progress very closely from now on.

Recommended

For Fans of - Krankshaft, Tom Waites, Rocky Horror Show, The Enid, Bauhaus......

The Herman Post - 'Put It There Buster' (self released) 4/5

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I first came across Lancashire singer songwriter, Laura Catlow-Morris at a small music festival halfway up a Welsh mountain just over a year ago, I was rather taken by her almost punk attitude to what was in essence a folky acoustic set and can remember pondering with some of my AST buddies what she would be like in a full band. Well a year on I've got an answer, as she has just issued this three track ep with her new outfit The Herman Post.

The Herman Post are a two piece or Laura on guitar and vocals and Joshua Gorman on drums and they play some very infectiously catchy pop-punk in the style of The Subways or Kiria. This one opens with a superb little bop along track entitled My E.T. Cup, all catchy hooks driven jangly guitars, some ultra tight diving drumming and gloriously trashy lead break. If you can remember Aussie post punk trio The Spazzy's you'll get an idea of the over all sound.

Next up we get a cracking cover of the old Ronnettes standard Be My Baby which works very well, Laura has a sixties songstress feel to her voice anyway, and the band have resisted the temptation to over punk it up, instead taking the song in a sixties garage pop style - the result is one of the best versions of song I've encountered for a long time. The sixites garage feel is carried on with the closer Brighter Lights as well, a trashy ballad that mixes 60's pop sensibilities with modern post punk attitude in fine style.

The fact that Laura is a fair talent comes as no real suprise, that was pretty obvious when I first heard her solo up that Welsh mountain, but now its good to see her begin to form an outfit around her that can take her beyond the over populated talented female singer songwriter scene and into areas where her talent can grow in new ways and reach new audiences. Well worth a look.

For fans of... The Subways, Rita Lynch, The Skuzzies, Kiria....

Download this ep for free from -http://thehermanpost.bandcamp.com/album/put-it-there-buster