The Land Of The Snow/Belonging TO Nowhere/2013 EP Review

  The  Land  Of  The  Snow  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  plays  a  very  avant  garde  form  of  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  ep  "Belonging  To  Nowhere".

  The  ep  begins  with  dark  sounds  which  leads  up  to  heavy  and  melodic  guitars  and  bass  along  with  drums  as  well  as  some  melodic  post  metal  leads  and  the  music  also  uses  a  mixture  of  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  on  the  3  songs  present  they  show  a  good  amount  of  diversity  and  are  not  afraid  to  be  experimental  as  well  as  adding  in  ambient  and  drone  elements.

  On  this  ep  The  Land  Of  The  Snow  takes  an  improv  style  of  ambient  and  experimental  rock  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  and  the  music  remains  slow  for  start  to  finish.

  Song  themes  cover  darkness  and  metaphysics,  while  the  production  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  ep.

  In  my  opinion  The  Land  Of  the  Snow  are  a  very  great  sounding  avant  garde  metal  band  with  a  touch  of  doom  and  if  you  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Awakening  The  Aurora".  8  out  of  10. 

Princess/Selling Sulfur/Made In China Records/2013 EP Review

  Princess  are  a  band  from  Seattle,  Washington  that  plays  a  very  heavy  and  aggressive  form  of  hardcore  punk  mixed  with  post  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  ep  "Selling  Sulfur"  which  was  released  by  made In  China  Records.

  The  ep  starts  out with  distorted  garage  rock  noises  along  with  bass  and  drums  which  leads  to  melodic  solos  and  then  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  aggressive  hardcore  punk  style  shouting  while  also  using  clean  singing.

   As  the  ep  continues  the  band  mix  garage,  post  and  hardcore  together  and  bring  back  the  mid  80's  early  90's  Seattle  sound  and  after  awhile  they  start  to  speed  up  a  bit  after  having  a  few  really  slow  songs.

  On  this  ep  Princess  goes  back  20 to  25  years  and  bring  back  a  heavy  post/hardcore  sound  from  back  when  post  did  not  mean  poppy  and  they  also  bring  in  garage  and  grunge  elements  to  create  a  very  retro  orientated  sound.

  Song lyrics  cover  everyday  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on t his  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Princess  are  a  very  decent  sounding  of  garage,  grunge,  post  and  hardcore  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Desert  Deep"  and  "Shaka".  7/5  out  of  10.  

Terrifier/Metal Or Death/2013 EP Review

  Terrifier  are  a  band  from  Vancouver  B.C,  Canada  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  ep  "Metal  or  Death".

  The  ep  begins  with  a  heavy  and  aggressive  old  school  thrash  sound  where  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  as  well  as  adding  in  vocals  that  range  between  being  melodic  and  aggressive  along  with  gang  shouts  as  well  as  a  slight  death  metal  feeling  and  after  awhile  melodic  leads  are  added  into  the  music  and they  continue  with  this  approach  on  all  3  of  the  songs  as  well  as  adding  in  blast  beats  at  times  and  on  the  last  songs  a  brief  use  of  growls  are  added  into  the  music.

  Terrifier  are  another  example  of  a  young  band  taking  the  old  school  thrash  sound  and  bringing  back  a  lot  of  aggression  and  heaviness  back  to  the  genre  and  while  this  is  very  pure  sounding  thrash  they  are  not  afraid  to  bring  in  blast  beats  at  times.

  Song  lyrics  cover  heavy  metal  and  darkness  themes,  while  the  production  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  ep.

  In  my  opinion  Terrifier  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy and  aggressive  old  school  thrash  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Metal  Or  Death".  8/5  out  of  10.

   

  

Sanity's Rage/You Are What You Swallow/2012 CD Review

  Sanity's  Rage  are  a  band  from  Belgium  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  album  "You  Are  What  You  Swallow".

  The  album  starts  out  with  dark  acoustic  guitars  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  starts  getting  heavy  and  melodic  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  heavy  old  school  thrash  direction  along  with  aggressive  yet  melodic  vocals.

  As  the  album  continues  the  music  sticks  to  a  very  heavy  and  fast  old  school  thrash  metal  assault  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  at  times  you  can  hear  death  metal  influences  in  the  heavier  sections  of  the  album  along  with  some  melodies  and  at  times  you  can  also  hear  spoken  word  parts  being  utilized.  and  on  a  couple  of  the  songs  acoustic  guitars  make  their  return  briefly.

  On  this  album  Sanity's  Rage  play  a  very  old  school  form  of  thrash  metal  while  also  adding  a  little bit  more  heaviness  to  this  genre  and  this  album  shows  how  aggressive  thrash  can  get  at  times  while  also  still  utilizing  melody.

  Song  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes,  while  the  production  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  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Sanity's  Rage  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy  and  aggressive  old  school  thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Madness  Continues"  "Product  Of  Calamity"  "Trinity  Of  Sorrow"  and  "Thumbs  End  For  The  End  Of  the  World".  8/5  out  of  10.  

Cyrus Gold Interview

1.Can you give us an introduction to the band for those that will be hearing of you for the first time?

4 Pittsburgh natives trying to make interesting rock n roll.

We recorded and mixed the demo in about 14 hours over 2 days and an evening. My War Matt Schorr, the engineer, did an incredible job at capturing our sound and turning it around for us.


2.How would you describe your musical sound and also how does it differ from the past bands the band members where involved with?


The sound is a noisy rock/punk hybrid.

It's a more concise version of what Gregg and I have done over the past 9 years and Erik has elevated his creative aspect of guitar playing. Keith has ripped from the day he was born.

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

The lyrics deal with the day to to day triumphs/tragedies most folks deal with, albeit a bit abstract at times.  

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Cyrus Gold?

It's a nod to our collective geek sensibilities, which includes reading comic books.

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


We only have a handful of shows under our belts to date.  Our first show was pretty great, within the first 20 seconds, we realized we were too loud for the venue, but proceeded to finish the set without turning down.  Felt like a Lightning Bolt moment.

Live: loud, fast, sweaty.


6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the year of 2014?

We are trying to jump on some festivals and book as many long weekends as possible right now. We have some local shows lined up and it's always interesting to see which shows we are asked to play, which have ranged from noise, electronic, metal, indie, oi, punk and metal.

7.Currently you are unsigned,  are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

So far we plan on keeping it self released, until the right avenue opens up.  We had an offer, although it was incredibly generous and flattering, didn't seem like the right fit.

I think right now if we did a string of split 7"s, that'd suit us just fine


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of rock music?

Nationally and internationally, we received quite a few positive reviews, which generated a lot of visits to our bandcamp page.  Europe has been very kind to us, France in particular.

9.When can we expect a full length and also what musical direction will it be taking?

Hopefully next fall we will have a full length. I'm sure it'll represent the spectrum that we are exploring right now, but with some contrast to bookend the heavier/weirder parts we tend to revel in.

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I'd say Obituary is a pretty influential part of our sound. They had some fairly unconventional song writing, that we tend to adopt at times.  

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

Gregg and Keith are part of Varicocele support group.  I'm proud of the hands on work they do.

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

Thanks for helping us with the initial review and follow up interview. You and folks like you, help bands like us reach an audience that we would have to work incredibly hard to find otherwise.

Best,
J
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Rusted Brain/High Voltage Thrash/Slaney Records/2013 CD Review

  Rusted  Brain  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  very  old  school form  of  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "High  Voltage  Thrash".

  The  album  starts  out  with  an  intro  that  is  comedic  along  with  a  movie  soundtrack  sample  and  then  it  goes into  a  very  fast  and  heavy  thrash  sound  with  all  of  the  instruments  kicking  ass  along  with  some  aggressive  vocals  which  have  a  very  melodic  edge  to  them  along  with  old  school  solos.

  The  band  continue  their  heavy  and  old  school  thrash  assault  throughout  the  recording  and  they  also  bring  in  spoken  word  parts  at  times  along  with melody  being  thrown  into  the  guitar  riffing  during  certain  sections  of  the  album  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  on  one  of  the  songs  you  can  hear  an  Iron  Maiden  influence  in  the  guitar  leads.

  On  this  album  Rusted  brain  play  a  very  heavy  form  of  thrash  metal  that  is  directed  towards  mosh  pits  while  also  having  a  good  sense  of  melody  and  this  is  probably  one  of  the  heaviest  pure  thrash  albums  I  have  heard  in  a  long  time.

  Song  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful  and  drinking  themes,  while  the  production  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  Rusted  brain  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy  and  aggressive  old  school  thrash  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Caught  in  The  Fire"  "Waiting  For  Death"  and  "High  Voltage  Drunk".  8/5  out  of  10.

Iron Kingdom/Gates Of Eternity/2013 CD Review

  Iron  Kingdom  are  a  band  from  Vancouver  B.C,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  power  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  album  "Gates of  Eternity".

  The  album  starts  out  a  heavy  and  melodic  sound  along  with  sounds  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  displaying  a  great  amount  of  power  which  leads  up  to  some  melodic  vocals  and  they  also  bring  in  clean  parts  at  time s to  enhance  the  epic  elements  of  the  recording.

  As  the  album  continues  it  sticks  to  an  early  80's  true  metal  sound  while  also  having  early  traces  of  speed  and  power  metal  along  with  a  great  amount  of  NWOBHM  elements  and  add  on  the  instrumental they  add  keyboards  in  the  music  and  they  bring  in  a  very  dark  and  tragic  feeling  along  with  elements  of  classical  music  and  violins  before  returning  to  a  heavier  sound  on  the  next  track  but  they  do  bring  in  acoustic  guitars  on  a  couple  of  songs  and  they  bring  in  a  more  epic  feeling  to  the  album.

  On  this  album  Iron  Kingdom  take  the  traditional  metal  sound  and  mix  it  in  with  some  early  80's  speed/power  metal  elements  to  create  an  album  that  really  belongs  to  the  true  metal  category  and  they  also  have  an  epic  feeling  being  use  in  a  lot  of  their  songs.

  Song  lyrics  cover  Mythology,  occult  and  Fantasy  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  old  school  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Iron  Kingdom  are  a  very  great  epic  sounding  heavy/power  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "At  The  Gates"  "Demon  Of  Deception"  and  "Egypt  (The  End  Id  Near)".  8/5  out  of  10.