Corsair/Ghosts Of Proxima Centauri/Shadow Kingdom Records/2013 CD Review

  Corsair  are  a  band  from  Virginia  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom,  heavy  metal  and  progressive  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Ghosts  Of  Proxima  Centauri"  which  was  released  by  Shadow  Kingdom 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,  as  for  the  sound  effects  and  keyboards  which  are  only  used  briefly  they  bring  in  more  prog  elements  to  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  riffing  that  combine  doom,  traditional  metal  and  classic  rock  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  some  melodies  and  clean  playing  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  at  times,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding  heavy  metal/hard  rock  guitar  solos  and  leads  with  some  progressive  elements  being  used  at  times,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  they  are  only used  briefly  on  the  last  song  and  they  use  finger  picking  to  add  more  prog  and  classic  rock  elements  to  the  music.

  Vocals  are  all  clean  singing  heavy  metal  vocals  with  a  brief  use  of  female  singing,  while  the  lyrics  cover  mythology  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  old  school  classic rock/metal  sound  to  it  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  with  a  couple  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Corsair  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  doom,  heavy  metal  and  progressive  rock  and  if  you  are  a f an  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Warrior  Woman"  and  "Eyes  Of  The  Gods".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Revelation/Inner Harbor/Shadow Kingdom Records/2013 CD Review

  Revelation  are  a  band  from  Maryland  that h as  been  around  for  a  long  time  and  plays  a  very  old school  form  of  doom/heavy  metal  with  some  progressive  rock  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Inner  Harbor"  which  was  released  by  Shadow  Kingdom  Records.

  Drums  are  all  slow  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  blast  beats  being  present  on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  and  dark  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording,  as  for  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  elements  of  prog  and  psychedelic  to  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  are  all  slow  doom/heavy  metal  riffs  that  have  a  very  70's  feeling  to  them  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  and  progressive  rock  elements  being  thrown  into t he  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  dark  and  70's  sounding  doom  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  all  clean  singing  doom/heavy  metal  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  heavy,  and  old  school  sound  with  the  music  sounding  like  it  could  off  easily  been  recorded  in t he  70's  while  you  can  still h ear  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  Revelation are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  progressive/doom  metal  band  and  if  you are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Inner  Harbor"  and  "Jones  Fall".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Bovine/The Sun Never Sets On The British Empire/FDA Rekotz/2013 CD Review

  Bovine  are  a  band  from  the  U.K  that  plays  sludge  with  some  space  and  prog  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "The  Sun  Never  Sets  On  The  British  Empire"  which  was  released  by  FDA  Rekotz.

  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  slow  to  mid  paced  sludge  riffs  that  also  utilize  elements  of  space  music  and  prog  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  some  dark  sounding  melodies  being  thrown  into  the riffing  at  times  and  there a re  little  to  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  some  more  prog  elements  to  the  album.

  Vocals  range  from  sludge  style  screams,  clean  singing  and  some  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  everyday  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  Bovine  are  a  very  great  sounding  sludge  band  with  space  music  and  prog  elements  and  if  you  are  a   fan  of  this   musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ghosts  Chair"  "Heroes  Are  What"  "The  Battle  Of  The  Sinkhole"  and  "Military  Wife".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Freedoms Reign/Self Titled/Cruz Del Sur Music/2013 CD Review

  Freedoms  Reign  are  a  band  from  Connecticut  that  plays  a  very  traditional  form  of  heavy  metal  with  some  doom  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled 2013  album  which  was  released  by  Cruz  Del  Sur  Music.

  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  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow, mid  paced  to  fast  heavy  metal  riffs  that  utilize  some  melody  and  doom  metal  elements,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  old  school  sounding  heavy  metal/hard  rock  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  they  are  only  used  on  the  last  song  and  they  use  finger picking  to  bring  some  dark  elements  to  the  music.

  Vocals  are  all  clean  singing  heavy  metal  vocals  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  deep  growls  being  used  on  one  song,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  everyday  themes, as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it  making  an old  school  sound  have  a  more  modern  feeling  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  with  the  last  song  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Freedoms  Reign  are  a  great  sounding  heavy  metal/hard  rock  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ritual"  "Believe"  "No  Excuses"  and  "Looking  Around".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.   

Molllust/Bach con fuocco/2013 EP Review

  Molllust  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical  style that  mixes  opera  with  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  ep  "Bach  con  fuocco".

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  blast  beats  being  present on  this recording,  while  the  violins  and  keyboards  bring  a  very  symphonic,  orchestra  and  classical  music  sound  to  the  recording,  as  for  the  bass  playing  it  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  is  coming  out  of  the  guitars.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  metal  riffs  that  utilize  some  dark  sounding  melodies that  fit  perfectly  with  the  violins  and  keyboards  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  are  mostly  clean  singing  female  opera  vocals  with  some  male  vocals  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  some  more  aggressive  parts  being  used  on  the  last  track,  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  dark  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  dark,  heavy,  powerful  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  recording  from  Mollust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  opera  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  e.p.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Blut  nur  du  liebes  Herz" and  "Ave".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Hypno5e/Acid Mist Tomorrow/2013 CD Review

  Hypno5e  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  extreme metal, djent,  progressive,  ambient  and  experimental  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  album  "Acid  Mist  Tomorrow".

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  playing  with  some  fast  drumming  and  blast  beats  being  used  briefly,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording,  as  for  the  synths  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  dark  and  atmospheric  sound  to  the  recording..

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  extreme  metal,  djent,  progressive,  ambient  and  experimental  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  and  clean  playing  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  in  addition  one  of  the  songs  starts  out  very  fast  than  goes  back  to  being  slow  and  heavy  and  there  are  little  to  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording,  as  for  the  classical  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  more  progressive  touches  to  the  album.  

  Vocals  range  from  extreme  metal  shouts  and  screams  that  utilize  some  hardcore  elements,  clean  singing  and  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical  themes  with  a  couple  of  songs  being  written  in  French  as  well  as  some  the  song  writing  following  concepts,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  album  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Hypno5e  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  extreme  metal,  djent,  progressive,  experimental  and  ambient  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Acid  Mist  Tomorrow"  "Story  Of  The  Eye"  and  "Gehenne  Part  3".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Diamond Head Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days? 
2. Mainly we are concentrating on getting the band out playing live as much as possible. There are still many territories that Diamond Head have never been to so while we all get on so well and love what we are doing then we shall continue to break new ground wherever possible and enjoy the ride.

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

The last album ‘What’s In Your Head?’ was recorded on my home PC with Pro Tools LE. It is the cheapest album we have ever made yet sounds great. It proves that albums can be made with digital equipment on a budget now and that the artist can make some money out of it without having to sell a million copies to break even. We have gone with the times a little sound wise but guitar riffs are always at the heart of Diamond Head songs. It always starts with the riff.

2. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
3. I don’t write lyrics but it sounds like Nick is singing about the usual rock themes. Relationships, sex, war, revenge, obsession, paranoia and suicide.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band’s name? 

The Name Diamond Head comes from the title of a 1975 album released by Phil Manzanera from Roxy Music. I had a poster of it on my wall and when I was forming the band in the summer of 1976 I cut the name Diamond Head out thinking it would be a good name for the band. Much latter I discovered Diamond Head was the name of a volcano in Hawaii and also a movie starring Charlton Heston.

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

 One of my favourite shows was the Reading festival back in 1982. It all felt like it was coming together and the band was continually moving upwards. Also the 2005 European tour with Megadeth was a wonderful experience. Dave Mustaine was very helpful to us on this tour and as it was sold out we felt like every night was a great opportunity to convert more and more people to the Diamond Head cause.

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

 Diamond Head have a 17 date East Coast US tour beginning April 10^th and we will be touring Europe in September then  returning to the US for a West coast tour in October. Some of the dates have been announced already and are on www.diamond-head.net it looks like being a busy year and we are all looking forward to it.

7. The band has been an influence on alot of metal bands, what are your thoughts of the groups that took inspiration from your albums? 

It’s very flattering, they say “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” and it means that other musicians really got what the band was about and wanted to do something similar. Of course it would mean a lot less if Metallica had not covered Diamond Head songs. If all they had done was steal a few riffs and arrangement ideas then I would not be so happy. The fact that I get songwriters royalties every 6 months is a life saver for me.

8. The band has broken up a couple of times, what was the cause behind the splits and what was it that motivated you to get the band going again?

 It very hard to keep a band together, I really admire bands like U2 and Aerosmith that has had a stable line up for many years. It’s very easy to get fed up with someone’s attitude or to decide that you would like all the shit to stop. I used to wonder why big bands who obviously don’t need the money continue to tour and I reckon its like a drug playing in front of 10,000 people every night, they need that buzz and when the tour ends and they go home they miss it. Our first split in 1983 was when the band was under huge pressure to get an album recorded in a very expensive London studio. We were not ready for that level of perfection and the strain broke us up, the band reformed in 1990 when Metallica had covered 3 Diamond Head songs and were constantly name checking us all over the world as a major influence. It seemed daft not to.

Now the motivation is that we all love it and want to keep it going as long as possible.

9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of metal?

Very good, it’s a more modern sound and a lot of the songs work great live, so a lot of our newer fans enjoy the last few albums. We cannot compete with the very heavy bands and don’t particularly want to, we do what we do and hope there is a market for it.

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

 I guess we have a sound and a style so it will be business as usual; it’s a bit late in the day to anything radical.

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

 My writing is mostly influenced by the things I grew up listening to but now and again I hear something I really like and it inspires me to write a new song. At the moment I am listening to Muse, Kings of Leon, Porcupine Tree, Biffy Clyro, Rival Sons and Bob Dylan.

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

I like reading and watching movies. I am the keeper of the Diamond Head archive and there is usually something going on that I have to take care of or oversee whether its T shirt design, posters, the web site, DVDs, CDs, interviews, photographs, artwork, etc so that takes up a lot of my time but I am not complaining, it’s my baby.