LION'S SHARE - Dark Hours

Dark Hours is the sixth full length album of the Swedish band. Lion's share, for those unfamiliar with the band, are playing a mixture of Power and Classic Heavy Metal, melodic and catchy, but also as heavy and groovy as it can get. Catchy melodies, and well written songs are the trademarks here, along with excellent vocals, melodic and well performed. Right from the first note, the songs are easy to get into, with parts to sing along, and a crunching rhythm. The band also seems to be in a very creative period, and this is obvious not only on the nice ideas and the musicianship, but also in the way that they create songs that are keeping the listener interested until the end. Fast and aggressive, in the classic Power Metal formula, or slower and towards more Classic Metal forms, the band manages to create and album worth listening. The few less good moments that exist, are not ruining the whole impression in any way. It seems that the two years of waiting have worked for the band, and this is something that the listener notices right from the start. An album you should check out.

9/10

MASTERCASTLE - The Phoenix

Mastercastle is the brainchild of Pier Gonella, of Labyrinth amongst other bands, with Giorgia Gueglio on vocals. The band is playing Power Metal with Classic and Neo Classical influences.So, right from the first song, the guitar melodies are plenty enough to please everyone. Combined with the nice, well worked and sometimes unique, female vocals, and the strong rhythm section, this album sounds like a very promising and interesting debut. The songs are well written, with nice ideas and with tons of guitar melodies. This sometimes sounds cool, but there are also times when this endless guitar work, which is perfectly performed by the way, sounds a bit tiring. This in any way, doesn't spoil the fun, or diminishes the value of the album. All in all, it's a release with positive and negative moments, but leaves a good impression in general. So, since the talent is there, and also room for further improvement, I am sure that we will hear from them in the future. Check them out.

8/10

BLACK MESSIAH - First War Of The World

Black Messiah is a band that comes from Germany, and exists since 1992. What started as a pure Black Metal band, slowly transformed into a more interesting music style, playing Viking/Pagan Metal, but also incorporating enough extreme elements into their music as well. The album is a concept, that talks about the first battle of the worlds in the Norther mythology. What makes the album interesting though, is that the band has managed perfectly to create the atmosphere they wanted, with the help of pompous narrations, and the use of very catchy melodies and vocal lines. The narrations, and the baritone vocal lines, blend perfectly with the more aggressive vocals of the band. It's a very ambitious effort indeed, but the band's obvious talent, and experience, manage to accomplish this task. Songs that contain enough nice ideas, that are enriched with various instruments, and are full of an Epic atmosphere, are the characteristics of this album. There are no weak points here, nor songs that are less good than others. A very rich and excellent production comes to complete the album in the best possible way. If you are a fan, either the band or the style, then this album is for you.

10/10

PRETTY WILD - All The Way

Ok, now this one is for those that still think of the 80's with a big smile, and a bunch of nice memories. Although the band comes from Sweden, sounds and feels like they were born and raised in the heart of Los Angeles. So, it's a debut album, but even if things are like that, the band shows that they have what it takes to create an album full of the 80's spirit. Fast and catchy melodies, nice vocal lines, plenty of cliches, musical and visual as well, and a party mood spread around. Music to listen while driving, when drinking beers with buddies, live in a crowded club. Songs easy to get into, with grooves easy to follow and refrains catchy enough to sing along. Fresh and shiny, but also enough old fashioned, this album is exactly what it's supposed to be, fun, fun, fun. If you are into such stuff, check them out.

9/10

TARDY BROTHERS - Bloodline

Ok, we all know who Donald and John Tardy are. One of the most influential Death Metal bands of all time, Obituary, was the evolve of their previous band. So, here we are again, the two Tardy Brothers, along with Ralph Sandola and Jerry Tidwell from their first band, with their debut release. The band is playing Death Metal, but with tons of Thrash elements, something that made this album an instant favorite. Top vocal performance, which means brutal enough, but also close to Thrash sometimes as well, high pitched guitar riffs, excellent melodies, headbanging parts, what else can we expect from an album? Songs perfectly arranged, equally perfectly produced and with no fillers and indifferent moments. If you are into Thrash, Death, or you are just a fan of the work of the two brothers, then this is an album you should check out.

10/10

SENECA - Reflections

The band comes from North Carolina, and this is their second full length album, after the release of their debut back in 2006. What amazes here is the energy and the groove that the music has, something that lasts until the last minute, and definitely leaves the listener breathless. Brutal and aggressive vocals, distorted guitar riffs, bass lines and drumming that create the perfect background, and a very catchy tempo, make this album a very enjoyable company. On the other hand, the variety of the music, the many and well implemented melodies and the constant tempo changes that don't sound tiring, all show that the band is talented enough. Smart arrangements, with enough ideas, aggression and energy and music that really makes you wanna bang your head with the rhythm. With so much energy, it really makes you wonder, how they will perform live.

9/10

SHAKRA - Everest

New album for the Swiss Hard Rock band and I am sure that this is an album that the fans will love. The band is playing melodic Hard Rock, ofter mixing enough Power Metal though, something that makes their music interesting and fun to listen to. Melodies are very important here, dominating the songs, but not weakening the whole result in any way. What's best, is that the singer has not the typical high pitched vocals, but a rather harsh voice. Good arrangements, with all the right ingredients in the correct amount, blended together in the proper way, create an album that is honest and enjoyable from the first to the last minute. What's most important though, is that the band is playing music that is catchy, melodic, well written and equally well performed. Music that sticks in your mind, makes you wanna sing along and move your head along with the rhythm. A band worth checking out.

10/10

SUNSTORM - House Of Dreams

Although I admire the work of Joe Lynn Turner, I was rather skeptic while reading the info sheet, since this album consists on songs from the archives of the singer. But fear not, since those archives contain songs that others can only dream about, songs co-written with Desmond CHild, Jim Peterik and Paul Sabu amongst others. So, to cut a long story short, what we have here, is a collection of songs beloved amongst fans, shiny and catchy as they were back in the 80's, full of good spirit, melodies and excellent performance. The singer sounds as good as always, and the strong rhythm section manages to keep a good balance between AOR and Hard Rock. There are no weak moments here, nor fillers that the listener might want to skip. Melodic ballads, powerful and catchy songs to sing along, everything is here. And performed in the best possible way that is. A prove that good music has no age.

10/10

Legendary ATHEIST Signs With SEASON OF MIST

Reactivated seminal technical metal pioneers ATHEIST and Atlanta, Georgia's GNOSTIC — the band featuring three members of ATHEIST — have both signed with France's Season Of Mist.

Commented ATHEIST/GNOSTIC drummer Steve Flynn: "We're absolutely thrilled that both GNOSTIC and ATHEIST are officially signed to Season of Mist! GNOSTIC's debut CD, 'Engineering the Rule', will be released before the summer and ATHEIST's yet-untitled CD will be released later in the year.

"Season really stepped up to the plate to get this done, for this is also a highly unique situation for technical death metal. Three members of GNOSTIC are also in ATHEIST. With me on drums for both bands, Chris Baker on lead guitar for both and Jonathan Thompson on bass for GNOSTIC and guitar for ATHEIST, these signings represent very significant personal milestones for everybody involved.

"For me, the GNOSTIC debut CD is the first, and ONLY, new project I've been involved with since ATHEIST's 'Unquestionable Presence' in 1992. For Kelly Shaefer and me it is the first time that we will collaborate on new ATHEIST material, also since 1992's 'Unquestionable Presence'. We'll be bringing in our old friend and ATHEIST bassist Tony Choy for writing and touring as well. Signing both bands is also a unique coup for Season of Mist and indicative of their cutting-edge attitude. Both bands will be touring together in 2009 in the U.S. and Europe, which means that we will be pulling double duty every night!!"

ATHEIST recently finished mixing a recording of the band's appearance at the 2006 installment of the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany at LedBelly Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. According to Shaefer, "It's a very stripped-down, no-overdubs live recording from our appearance at Wacken Open Air in 2006 as part of the reunion dates we did. This was only the fourth show on what would become many. So why record the fourth show? Well, we did not actually ever intend on it, but we found out that Wacken had raw tracks that could be remixed, whereas most recordings we get are from soundboards, and you cannot turn up guitars, vocals etc on those type of recordings. So... we obtained the raw tracks and have now mixed eight tunes with Matt (MASTODON, GNOSTIC) at LedBelly studios here in the Atlanta. The results? A very, very live (mistakes and all) and raw set of tracks from the 'Piece of Time' and 'Unquestionable Presence' era of ATHEIST. It sounds suprisingly warm, and for those who were there in Germany that afternoon to see ATHEIST on what was probably one of the more 'magical' performances we have ever had as a band, it was really the first time we had played for people who had been around back in the early days of the band, and were now writers, or owned record companies, plus all of the new fans of this strange technical metal genre of music... this will encapsulate that experience for us, you and as well as those who were not there that day... It was a great day!"

In January 2006, Kelly Shaefer reassembled much of what was widely considered ATHEIST's classic recording lineup (Shaefer, bassist Tony Choy, and drummer Steven Flynn) to perform a select number of one-off shows to celebrate the re-issue of their wildly-influential catalog (1988's "Piece of Time", 1993's "Elements", and the 1991's legendary "Unquestionable Presence"). Among those shows were performances at such legendary festivals such as Germany's Wacken Open Air, Norway's Hole In The Sky, Italy's Evolution, England's Bloodstock Open Air, and the Los Angeles' Murderfest.