In The Silence/A Fair Dream Gone Mad/Sensory Records/2013 CD Review

  In  The  Silence  are  a  band  from  Sacramento,  California  that  plays  a  very  progressive  form  of  metal  with  some  gothic/doom  metal  influences  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "A  Fair  Dream  Gone  Mad"  which  was  released  by  Sensory  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  drumming  with  no  fast  playing  or  blast  beats  being  present on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from s low  to  mid  paced  progressive  metal  riffs  that  take  some  influences  from  the  more  extreme  genres  as  metal  as  well  as  having  a  good  amount of  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  progressive  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  more  progressive  elements  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  are  all  clean  singing,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  with  some  of  the  songs  being long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  In  The  Silence  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark/progressive  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should c heck  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ever  Closer"  "Beneath  These  Falling  Leaves"  "Endless  Sea"  and  "Your  Reward".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Cough/Windhand/Reflection Of The Negative/Relapse Records 2013 Split CD Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Virginia's  Cough  and  Windhand  called  "Reflection  Of  The  Negative"  which  was  released  by  Relapse  Records  in  2013  and  we  will  start  of  the  review  with  Cough  a  band  that  plays  a  heavy  mixture  of  drone,  doom  and  sludge.

  Drums  are  all  slow  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  blast  beats  being  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording,  while  the  synths  bring  a  psychedelic  feeling  to  the  recording,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  are  all  slow  and  heavy  riffs  that  combine  doom,  drone  and  sludge  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  a  great  amount  of  heavy  distortion  behind  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  dark  sounding  sludge/doom  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  sludge  screams  with  some  spoken  word  samples  being  used  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  metaphysical  themes,  as  for  the  production  it h as  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  dark  sound  with  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.  

  In  my  opinion  Cough  are  a  very  great  and  heavy  sounding  hybrid  of  drone,  doom  and  sludge  .

and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Athame".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

  Next  up  is  Windhand  a  band  that  plays  a  very  psychedelic  form  of  sludge,  doom  and  drone.

  Drums  are  all  slow  playing  with  no  fast  playing  or  blast  beats  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  their  side  of  the recording.

  Rhythm  guitars are  all  slow  and  heavy  riffs  that  combine  doom,  psych,  sludge  and  drone  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while t he  lead  guitars a re  very  psychedelic  sounding  doom  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals a re  all  clean  singing  doom  metal  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  as  for t he  production  it h as  a  very  strong,  powerful,   heavy,  dark  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording

  In  my  opinion  Windhand a re  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  doom,  drone  and  sludge and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  music  genre,  you  should  check  out t heir  side  of    of  the  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Shepard's  Cook".  RECOMMENDED.

  In  Conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  album  and  I  would  recommend  it  to   all  fans  of  doom,  drone  and  sludge.  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Sacred Gate/World Without End/Metal On Metal Records/2012 CD Review

  Sacred  Gate  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  traditional  and  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "World  Without  End"  which  was  released  by  Metal  On  Metal  Records.

 Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  no  blast  beats  being  present  on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  traditional  and  power  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  being  thrown  into t he  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  heavy  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when t hey  are  utilized  they  use  full  chords  and  finger  picking  to  add  more  classic  metal  influences  to  the  recording.

  Vocals a re  all  clean  singing  heavy/power  metal  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes  with  some  of  the  songs covering  satanic  and  religious  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Sacred  Gate  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  heavy  and  power  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Creators  Of  The  DownFall"  "The  Realm  Of Hell"  "In  The  Heart  Of  The  Iron  Maiden"  and  "Heaven  Under  Siege".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Attacker/Giants Of Canaan/Metal On Metal Records/2013 CD Review

  Attacker  are  a  band  from  New  Jersey  that  has  a  history  that  goes  back  to  the  80's  with  a  musical  style  I  would  describe  as  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Giants  Of  Canaan"  which  was  released  by  Metal  On  Metal  Records.

  Drums range from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  no  blast  beats  being  present  on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  powerful  sound  to  them,  as  for t he  synths which  are  only  used  on  the  intro  they  bring  an  ambient  feeling  to  the  music.

  Rhythm  guitars  range from  slow,  mid  paced,  to  fast  power  metal  riffs  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  power  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for t he  classical  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  more  variety  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  are  mostly  clean  singing  power  metal  vocals  with  a  brief  use  of  back  up  shouts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  fantasy  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Attacker  are  a  very  great  sounding  power  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Giants  Of  Canaan"  "Washed  In  Blood"  "Born  Into  Battle"  and  "The  Glen  Of  The  Ghost".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

  

Majesty Of Revival/Through Reality/Metal Scrap Records/2012 CD Review

  Majesty  Of  Revival  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  plays  a  mixture  of  neo  classical  and  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Through  Reality"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Scrap  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  keyboards  bring  a  very  symphonic  and  classical  sound  to  the  recording,  as  for  the bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they h ave  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  power  metal  riffs  that  are  more  in  the  modern  direction  with  some  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  at  times,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  power  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads mixing  in  some  neo  classical  elements,  as  for  the  classical  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  more  progressive  touches  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  are  mostly  clean  singing  power  metal  vocals  with  some  a  brief  use  of  growls,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it  where  you  can h ear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Majesty  Of  Revival  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  neo  classical  and  power  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should c heck  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Self  Control"  "The  Code"  "Magnalia  Dei"  and  "Reality".  RECOMMENDED  BUY/

Ion Vein Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Sure! We just played the legendary Metro in Chicago on Feb 9th, which was awesome,
and we're preparing for a few more live dates as well as getting back in the studio to finish vocals for the remaining six tracks for the album.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the newer release and how it differs from previous recordings?

Well, it's certainly heavier but I guess the best way to put it is that it's a bit more to the point and in-your-face! We just started focusing more on the songs and really taking the
time to dissect them for what worked, what didn't, how it flowed, and how the energy felt playing them and what the fans would feed off of. We still wanted to keep the progressive elements and dynamics of the first two albums but they're a bit more subtle at times on the newer material.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?

The lyric themes on IV v2.0 along with the rest of the tracks for the album pretty much all deal with personal struggles and life in general, how it affects us, and how we can overcome and triumph in the game of life. We truly hope listeners can take some positive energy from the songs and also use it to uplift and motivate them if they ever need a little kick start.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

Well, speaking of "positive energy," that's essential where ION VEIN came from....it was inspired by the hopes that our music will send a charge of energy through your body when you hear it and inspire or just make you feel good.

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

Since this line-up has only been together for three shows dating back to the beginning of 2012, I'll just talk about them but they were all killer in their own right! Our first show was Feb 2012 and we opened for Testament at a club that holds about 800 people and it was pretty amazing. The next show was in Sept 2012 opening for Symphony X which was very cool as well and the most recent show was the one I mentioned earlier at the Metro in Chicago which we headlined so we had a full stage for a change. Our show is high energy, we love to feed off the crowd and just have a great time up there, we really love playing live and look forward to doing much more of it when the full album is released!

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?

We don't have anything concrete right now but most certainly would like to get out for some type of touring when the album is released both here and abroad. Our dream is still to get over to Europe and South America to play so we're hopeful that happens this time.

7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of power and progressive metal?

It seems to be quite strong, we've gotten a lot of very positive reviews from around the globe indeed but I'm sure many are waiting for the full release so let's hope it continues to build and blow up when that happens. :)

8. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

Let's see....Chuck has done several different studio projects ranging from jazz to metal, the most recent being for a progressive band called Fire Garden. Scott recently did vocals for a band called Within the Fire on their 4 song release and has done few shows with them, he's also working on finishing the final Enertia album. Rob and Rich (Knight our touring guitarist) are working on some new Twelfth Gate material and recorded with a project called Scar, Inc. I was reunited with my old bandmates in Latent Fury and we're slooooowly trying to re-record our 3 song demo from 1991 along with several other tracks that we never had a chance to record.

9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

The music for the next six songs (twelve total) has already been recorded and continues on the path of what we've released on IV v1.0 and IV v2.0 with a few more dynamic and progressive twist but will certainly round out the album quite well. Moving forward, I see us continuing with the heavy side of our sound and being song focused but also taking more chances and reaching for some things that we haven't achieved yet whether it be an "opus" or just some whacked out jazz-metal-djent fusion track or something...haha...the sky is the limit and with the model of releasing tracks or groups of tracks as they happen, we can certainly experiment a bit more if we'd like.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I think the early influence of bands like Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Priest, Fates Warning, and Dream Theater are still buried deep within us but newer stuff like Meshuggah, Lamb of God, and Opeth certainly provide a different take to the classic influences we've got and also maybe push us to try new things.

Let's see....well the last Evergrey and Symphony X were just on the player but I've also been listening to Alter Bridge and the Tremonti solo album, along with stuff like the latest Testament, Mastodon, Periphery, and Heaven & Hell....damn, I think I need to go CD shopping! haha

11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?


I absolutely love to travel, experience new things and soak up historical places, it's definitely one of my favorite things to do outside of playing or seeing live music. I also love NFL football, NHL hockey, and also enjoy movies and reading but I don't really get to partake in the latter too often.

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

I just want to say thank you so much for the support, we certainly appreciate it, and
thanks to everyone that checks out this interview, our music, we are greatful for all
of you and hope to see you on the road soon....cheers!

The Black Widow's Project/Heavy Heart/2013 CD Review

  The  Black  Widow's  Project  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner  rock,  metal  and  grunge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  album "Heavy  Heart".

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  no  blast  beats  being  present  on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

 Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  stoner  rock,  metal  and  grunge  together  to  create  a  sound  of t heir  own  with  some  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  stoner  rock  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  used  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  bring  a  classic  rock  feeling  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  are  mostly  clean  singing  stoner  rock vocals  with  some  screams  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  The  Black  Widow's  Project  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  stoner  rock,  grunge  and  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  of  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Devil'[s  Waiting  For  Us  To  Fail"  "The  5th"  "Got  The  Devil"  and  "Night's  Damp".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.