Stamina/Perserverance/My Kingdom Music/2014 CD Review

  Stamina  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  progressive  form  of  metal  with  hard  rock  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album "Perserverance"  which  will  be  released  by  My  Kingdom  Music.

  The  album  starts  out  with  dark and  distorted  sounding  synths  along  with  heavy  guitars  and  prog  rock  elements  which  leads  up  to  melodic  vocals  as  well  as  solos  that  come  in  and  out  and  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  traces  of  hard  rock  in  the  music  and  after  awhile  clean  playing  is  added  into  the  music .

  As  the  album  progresses  the  bass  guitars  get  more  powerful  and  bring  in  funk  influences  and  on  the  second  song  classical  and  symphonic  elements  are  brought  into  the  music  before  returning  to  a  heavy  and  melodic  prog  metal  direction  and  the  solos  are  firmly  rooted  in  80's  traditional  metal  and  at  times  they  also  bring  in  power  ballads  and  acoustic  guitars  while  also  coming  around  a  great  amount  of  metal/hard  rock  tracks  and  on  the  last  song  a  small  amount  of  female  vocals  are  brought  into  the  music.

  With  this  album  Stamina  go  back  to  an  early  80's  melodic  European  heavy  metal/hard  rock  sound  and  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  progressive  rock  influence  to  create  a  very  well  put  together  album  that  has  a  lot  of  melody  and  emotion.

  Song  lyrics  cover  philosophical  and  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  this  recording  as  well  as  a  good  amount  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Stamina  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  melodic  metal  and  progressive/hard  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Higher"  "Just  Before  the  Dawn"  "Naked  Eye"  and  "Wake  Up  The  Gods".  8  out  of  10.    

TomCat Interview

 1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

1. First of all, let me say hi to you and all your readers out there. We are Tomcat, a classic hard n' heavy rock group based in Ljubljana, Slovenia (the same country that hosts the mighty Metaldaysfestival!) My name is Grega and I'm the bass player and founder of the group. I formed the band in 2009 after the dissolution of my first band, Cyclöne. Tomcat went through more line up changes than I can recall, but in the end we formed a solid line-up that is Tomcat today- a group of individuals, passionate about this type of music, although we individually like all sorts of music from funk to death metal.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on this album?

2. Our debut sounds exactly as it is titled, its bits and pieces of music that we have accumulated over the years in Tomcat or in our previous bands; a song like Follow you is about 6 or 7 years old and has been revisited for this album while a song like Dirty old mind was written virtually a couple of days prior to the start of our recording sessions. All in all I would say that the album has a strong retro note to it, but that's just the way we are; we've all listened to Led Zeppelin , Iron Maiden and AC/DC while growing up.

3.I noticed when i listened to the album you had a sound that was metal but pre-dates speed, power and thrash, what was the decision behind going for more of a rock/metal sound instead of the other musical style, younger bands are doing these days?

3.When I started this band, we first played covers from Motorhead, thin Lizzy and Ramones, so I guess that stuck with this band for good, although I'm the only member that has been in the band since its inception. It's nothing intentional, we never limit ourselves to a certain sound or genre-we just write it and in sounds like it does, and if we like it, we keep it.

4.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

4. From a lyrical point of view, the record is really not that special. It mostly covers the usual topics, such as partying and the effects that it can have on you (Edge of the blade, Hangover), girls,and regular life (Goodbye, Stevie, Annie and me, Girl in leather, Purgatory), and obligatory love ballad ( Wipe my tears), but there are two that stand out a bit; those two are Follow you, which is a very introspective song which i wrote when I was in quite a bad place in my life and Dirty old mind, that deals with mind sickness consuming a person.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'TomCat'?

5. There isn't a big story behind here. When my ex band Cyclone disbanned I started thinking what I would call my next band, since I never intended to join an existing formation as I usually feel the need to lead things my way. Top Gun was one of my favourite childhood movies and aF14 Tomcat is the main fighterplane in that movie so I thought Tomcat would sound great for a hard rock band. Then we developed the cat with the bottle and the Ramones t-shirt for our mascot&logo and the name stuck for all times.

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

6. We've played some great gigs. we always love to remember the gig supporting L.A. Guns in Ljubljana in 2012 and Lizzy Borden in 2011; another great experience was also on Metalcamp in 2012. We alVan Halen right up to a rock redention of Lady Gaga's Edge of glory-it just depends on the crowd and their reaction to certain songs.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

7. Yeah we're planning a couple of shows in Slovenia and our neighbour countries with fellow hard rock bands Deck Janiels and Retrokult, and there might be a festival appearance or two in the summer. we will also be promoting our brand new single and our first official video Adrenalin that will be unveiled for the first time on February 8th as part of the 5th Lipstikk N'Leathür festival in Medvode, Slovenia-a festival we will also co-headline with AOR rockers Broken Arrow.

8.The last album came out on On parole productions, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

8. On parole is an independent metal label from Slovenia, led by a great metal enthusiast MatijaPrnaver-Chop. It was the first metal label in Slovenia and started more than a decade ago, in a time when in Slovenia metal gigs were few and far between and you could count bands with album potential on the fingers of one hand . But he stuck with it all the way and today On parole in a very god label that gives bands decent terms on their releases and also promotes the records they put out,so it's usually a win-win situation for both parties involved.

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

9. Well, to be honest, reactions from all over the world surprised us all. We've been getting awesome reviews in Brasil, where they've featured us on multiple best of 2013 charts along Black sabbath and Carcass which for us is a HUGE honour. we've also gotten some great reviews from USA, Canada and Germany, so all things considered, the response has been satisfying.

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

10. The material for the sophmore album is coming along quite nicely and this time it is much more of a group effort; we are taking time to write music together and each member has an input on every song we've written so far and that shows in the material,as most of the songs are more complex, some even have some old school prog rock elements in them, while sme are just stellar hard rock anthems. It's gonna be different, but so far it sounds really awesome and I can't wait to show the world what we're creating in our rehersal space as we speak!

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

11. I've always been a fan of 80's rock and metal and that is definitely showing in my music. I was a glam rocker in highscool so Motley Crue, GN'R and the then up-and-coming Crashdiet had a big influence on me. But as I'm growing older, I'm also listening to "older" music and have really started listening to all 70s rock bands from crowd favourites KISS, Sabbath, Purple and Zeppelin to the more obscure bands like Omega, Pavlov's dog or early Heart. Pink Floyd, Journey, Marilion and many other classic bands are always on my record player. As for the metal, I dig  some of the new heavy metal wave such as Enforcer, Bullet, Vanderbuys and Skullfist, and there are some ambiental black metal records that I like; other than that I don't really enjoy the newer metal scene as i feel none of todays acts will compare with the mighty Savatage, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Saxon, WASP or Testament, ANNIHILATOR or Obituary on the long run. Those bands had all put out such masterpieces that cannot be surpassed by current acts that are mostly in the "copy/paste the current trend" phase. 

12.Do you have any non musical interests?

12. Well I do have my day job, but besides music and that I'm a huge sports fan, especially football (soccer), where I'm a devoted Manchester United fan (eventhough we suck this season). I also own a vingate motorcycle, a 1986 Honda Rebel 450 CMX so I like to ride that and when I have time I also like to scubadive-the tranguility of sea depths cannot be ahieved anywhere else.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

13. I'd like to thank all of you who support hard rock and heavy metal music as it is you that keep the band going. Remember that and eep doing it, keep coming to the shows, support your local scene as that is the foundation of everything. Also, heck out our debut album and if you like it, like TOMCAT on Facebook and follow our Youtube chanel to listen to our new stuff. Keep on rocking !

The Wounded Kings/Conselamentum/Candlelight Records/2014 CD Review

  The  Wounded  Kings  are  a  band  from  England that  plays  an  occult  form  of  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Conselamentum"  which  was  released  by  Candlelight  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  and  slow  sound  and  it  minute  later  it  gets  heavier  and  goes  into  a  more  doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  melodies  a  couple  of  minutes  later  which  leads  up  to  some  clean  singing  female  vocals  along  with  dark  synths  in  the  background  which  also  leads  up  to  distorted  sounding  solos  coming  in.

  As  the  album  continues  to  sticks  a  very  dark  sounding  traditional  doom  metal  band  and  they  have  a  sound  that  reminds  me  of  Jinx  Dawson  of  Coven  singing  for  Pentagram  but  also  having  the  heaviness of  My  Dying  Bride  and  after  awhile  the  solos  and  leads  start  bringing  a  70s  feeling  to  the  recording.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  dark,  depressive  and  haunting  in  sound  while  having  an  evil  and  gothic/horror  atmosphere  in  the  background  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  and  spoken  word  parts  before  returning  to  a  heavier  and  darker  direction  but  the  acoustics  return  on  the  following  track  which  is  an  instrumental  and  then  the  next  track  is  a long  epic  doom  metal  song  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  tripped  out  psychedelic  sounds.

  With  this  album  The  Wounded  Kings  play  a  very  dark  and  traditional  form  of  doom  metal  while  also  bringing  in  a  very  dark  and  evil  sound  as  well  as  taking  an  old  school  form  of  metal  and  updating  it  with  a  more  heavy  and  modern  sound.

  Song  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Gothic  Horror  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark  and  professional  sound  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix  as  well  as  most  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  The  Wounded  Kings  are  a  very  great  sounding  occult  epic  doom  metal b and  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Gnosis"  "Conselamentum"  and  "Sacrifice".  9  out  of  10.

Legend/Spirit/Ravenheart Music/2013 CD Review

    Legend  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  very  progressive  form  of  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Spirit"  which  was  released  by  Ravenheart  Music.

  The  album  starts  out with  a  very  dark, melodic  and  progressive  sound  along  with  the  heaviness  of  metal  which  also  leads  up  to  female  vocals  which  have  an  operatic  feeling  to  them  along  with  psychedelic  sounding  synths  as  well  as  acoustic  and  heavy  guitars  being  mixed  together  and  at  times  male  vocals  are  brought  into  the  music  as  well  as  elements  of  electronica.

  As  the  album  continues  the  music  shows  a  lot  of  variety  while  it  has  a  modern  metal  sound  you  can  clearly  hear  the  influences  from  70s  metal  and  progressive  and  classic  rock  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  bring  a  retro  hard  rock  sound  to  the  record.

  By  the  time  the  album  goes  into  the  third  song  it  starts to  go  into  a  more  power  ballad  style  of  direction  while  being  too  experimental  to  be  played  on  the  radio  as  well  as  bringing  in  an  esoteric  sounding  new  age  feeling  and  they  also  bring  a  different  sound  to  all  5  of  the  songs  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  With  this  album  Legend  show  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  diversity  with  their  ability  to  be  very  heavy  and  progressive  at  the  same  time  and  you  can  hear  elements  of  progressive  rock,  psych,  electronica,  new  age  and  classical  being  all  mixed  in  and  it  gives  the  band  a  very  original  sound  that  cant  be  compared  to  any  other  group.

  Song  lyrics  cover  British folklore and mythology,  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  as  well  as  all  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Legend  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Leap  Of  Faith"  "A  Tangled  Skein"  and  "State  of  Grace".  8  out  of  10.  
    

Rustfield/Kingdom Of Rust/Massacre Records/2013 CD Review

  Rustfield  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  progressive  form  of  metal  and  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Kingdom  of  Rust"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  nature  sounds  before  adding  in  synths  and  clean  playing  which  also leads  up  to  a  heavier  direction  along   with  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  prog  elements  and  a  few  seconds  later  clean  singing  vocals  start  to  kick  in  and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  more  aggressive  and  brings  in  solos  as  well  as  mixing  acoustic  and  heavy  parts  together.

  As  the  album  continues  the  band  continue  their  mixture  of  heavy  metal  and  progressive  rock  while  also  bringing  in  a  more  modern  touch  as  well  as  updating  the  genre  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  at  time s they  speed  up  and  bring  in  a  true  metal  feeling  to  the  recording.

  When  we  get  more  into  the  recording  a  very  sad  sounding  ballad  is  brought  onto  the  record  which  also  utilizes  a  violin  and  the  following  song  returns  back  to  the  prog  metal  direction  as  well  as  bringing  in  darker  sounding  elements  while  also  bringing  in  other  power  ballads at  times  as  well  as  bringing  in  an   instrumental  which  shows  how  talented  these  musicians  are  and  on  one  of  the  songs  they  bring  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts.

  With  this  album  Rustfield  combines  the  melodic  metal  sound  of  the  80s  with  70s  progressive  rock  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  modern  day  heaviness  to  create a  very  smart  and  intelligent sound  of  their  own.

  Song  lyrics  cover  romantic,  depressive,  everyday  and  philosophical  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  as  well  as  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Rustfield  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  heavy  metal  and  progressive  rock and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Among  The  Fields  Of  Rust"  "Love  Moan"  "The  Secret  Garden"  and  "High  Waters".  8  out  of  10.  

The Mentors Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
. Well, the Mentors have been doing some touring up and down the West Coast and getting ready to head to the East Coast this summer. There's a full-length Rockumentory about the Mentors coming out called the Kings a sleaze and that should be hitting some film festivals, Netflix, you should be able to buy it at Best Buy and all over the world. We do spend a lot of time in the recording studios always writing new music. That way we have a full library to pick and choose the best songs to put on another release.

2.For those that have yet to hear the newer material that has been coming out since the reunion, how would you say it differs from the older material?
2, The only thing that really differs is that it's harder, heavier and tighter. But all the content is the same just updated for The New century. It gets harder and harder to shock people anymore. The Mentors sing about what we know. With the addition of the newest member Mad Dog drummer/vocalist, he's the real deal. Hey true slut fucker and monster musician. He really stepped up our game.

3.I remember when i was younger I would see the band on talk shows and all the religious right wing whining about how shocking the lyrics where, do you feel you where ahead of your time with the way you wrote the lyrics?
3. Of course we were ahead of our time. No one can deny. Without Mentors you wouldn't have bands like GWAR, Pungent Stench, Anal Cunt, Green jelly, pottymouth, just to name a few. Not to mention the two dozen Mentors tribute bands are out there. We wrote the lyrics that everybody else was too scared the right at the time. There was no tongue-in-cheek with us. The tongue went straight up the asshole.

4.In 2014 people seem to be more open minded than they where in the 80s, do you still feel that you can shock some sensitive people these days?
4. Really taken what we do over-the-top. The world is to PC. It's easier to shock people like that. The punk rock metal scene is full of a bunch of pussies that wear knickers and flip-flops. Even the metal world is been infested by hipsters. Sensitive sweater wearing pussies I will always crying bitch about what we have to say. We just don't degrade women and talk shit about the faggots. We talk shit about everybody. No one is safe… Not even our own fans.

5.I know that the band split up for awhile, but what was the decision to reform the band?
5. The band never split up. Our first show was in four days after El Duce's death. We carried on. We don't expect people to be sensitive when they listen to the Mentors but, we're also not to be very sensitive to a death in our own band. El Duce is God! Turn to page move forward.

6. Out of all of the shows and tours that the band has played over the years which one did you enjoy the most?
6. They get better and better. The only thing that gets worse are the stupid bands that we end up getting stuck playing with. They stick us with the worst bands. It has been some really good ones. Was pleasure playing with the murder junkies this last winter tour, also bands like Pottymouth and Eat Turnbuckle always fun to do gigs with. We liked debauchery when we play show. We like naked chicks and sluts urinating on stage. Its just a normal thing for us.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
7. Working on the East Coast right now starting in August 2014.

8.I know that the band originally came from Seattle but is now re-located to Los Angeles for the past 30 years, what was the decision behind making that move back in the days?
8. Better drugs, more booze, more sluts, better porno, and you got to be where the action is. That was long before grunge hit Seattle. Seattle was not hip at that the time.

9.Since 1990 all of the albums have been released on your own label, do you feel that you have had more freedom to do what you want with your music these days, than you where able to do with a label?
9. The Mentors of always been able to do want on our records.

10. What are your thoughts on the modern metal and punk scenes and do you feel that you have been a huge influence on a lot of the bands that have came out over the years?
10. Not a fan of the modern metal movement and as far as the punk rock movement goes. It's all the same shit. I've said more about this and previous answers.

11.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your reunion by your older fans?
11. I would say 90% positive and only 10% negative. The 10% really hasn't heard or seen us live since the old days. The Mentors now or a powerhouse trio. No longer will people have to endure El Duce being too drunk to play and we is or to getting somebody out in the audience and it makes a sound like shit all night long. The proof is in the pudding. No one ever leaves our shows disappointed.

12.Are any of the band members involved with any other musical projects these days?
12. I always have my own solo albums that always come out and work and record with other bands. Mad dog has a band called Hossbruten it's been gigging in Southern California for over 25 years. But were always contributing to the fame of others.

13.When can we expect a new album and what can we expect music wise, once it is released?
13. I hope soon but we wanted to be perfect. Like I said, we're always recording material.

 14.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
14. Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, KISS, Jimi Hendricks, Van Halen, and Judas Priest. As far as new stuff goes. it's few and far between. Rarely do we find something nowadays it catches alright. People nowadays are used to listening to garbage.

15.Do you have any non musical interests?
15. I collect VHS porno movies, i have over hundred thousand hard-core porno magazines, I find myself traveling around the world and getting massaged by young Asian girls. If it's not music has to be sex-related. Sickie likes to drink booze. And Mad Dog is a hard-core sex addict and Tattoo Artist.

16.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

16. The Mentors will always be true to ourselves. We don't hide it, we are the real deal. We put it to your face you don't have to worry about us have to worry about Joe Schmoe working in the office building with child porn on his computer, or bands like the Lostprophets blowing meth smoke and two little babies mouths. So we come to your town bring some booze, drink with us, let's get high and let's fuck sluts.

Thanks. The Pope.

Opossum Holler/It Comes In Three's/2013 EP Review

  Opussum  Holler  are  a  band  from  Kentucky  that  plays  a  mixture  of  rock,  punkabilly  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  ep  "It  Comes  In  Three's".

  The  ep  starts  out  with  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  before  going  into  a  more  heavy  70's  metal  direction  which  leads  up  to  melodic  sounding  blues  rock  vocals  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  while  also  keeping  around  the  heavier  parts.  

  As  the  ep  continues  the  band  bring  in  more  classic  rock  and  punkabilly  elements  while  also  retaining  the  heaviness  and  darkness  of  doom  metal  which  evens  out  to  a  very  retro  yet  modern  sound  and  they  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  clean  and  heavy  parts  along  with  solos  and  on  the  last  song  they  speed  up  a  bit.

  With  this  ep  Oppusum  Healer  show  that  they  are  another  band  that  was  influenced  by  the  music  of  the  70's  while  also  having  been  raised  on  the  90's  and  2000's  era  of  metal  and  they  create  a  very  interesting  mixture  with  all  of  these  musical  styles  combines.

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

  In  my  opinion  Opussum  Holler  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  rock,  punkabilly  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "The  White  Witch  Of  Yellow  Creek".  8  out  of  10.