Drakkar/Run With The Wolf/My Kingdom Music/2015 Double CD Review

  Drakkar  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  an  epic  form  of  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Run  With  The  Wolf"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  My  Kingdom  Music.

  A  very  epic  and  atmospheric  synth  sound  starts  off  the  album  giving  the  music  a  feeling  of  a  fantasy  movie  soundtrack  and  after  the  intro  the music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  melodic  power  metal  direction  while  also  keeping  the  symphonic  elements  and  adding  in  clean  singing  vocals  which  also  uses  back  up  vocals  at  times.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  both  70's  and  80's  metal  influences  along  with  a  touch  of  progressive  rock  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  while  a  later  track  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  Celtic  folk  music  which  they  also  mix  in  with  the  metal  sound.

  As  the  album  progresses  later  tracks  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  they  close  the  first  side  of  the  album  with  a  very  long  and  epic  in  track  while  the  second  cd  are  bonus  tracks  from  their  first  3  albums  re-recorded  which  also  shows more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction.

  Drakkar  plays  a  style  of  power  metal  that  is  very  epic  and  rooted  in  the  80's  German  sound  but  done  with  more  of  an  up  to  date  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Fantasy,  Vikings,  and  Battles.

  In  my  opinion  Drakkar  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic/power  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Banners  Of  War"  "Ride  The  Storm"  "Gods  of  Thunder"  and  "Call  Of  The  Dragonblood".  8  out  of  10.         

Desert/Never Regret/Raven Music/2015 CD Review

  Desert  are  a  band  from  Israel  that  plays  a  progressive  form  of  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Never  Regret"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Raven  Music.

    Nature  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  ethnic  music  elements  and  symphonic  synths  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  for  more  of  a  power  metal  direction  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  that  dominate  throughout  the  recording  and  they  also  ad d in  elements  of  prog  metal  and  clean  singing  vocals  that  can  also  be  very  aggressive  at  times.

  The  music  goes  for  more  of  a  modern  style  of  progressive/power  metal  while  you  can  still  hear  some  influences  from  the  more  80's  side  of  the  genre  at  times  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  add  in  spoken  word  parts  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  as  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  choirs.

  Back  up  gang  shouts  can  be  heard  at  times  and  on  some  of  the  tracks  the  synths  also  bring  in  more  of  a  haunting  and  epic  feeling  along  with  the  solos  bringing  in  a  classic  metal/rock  style  to  the  leads  and  some  of  the  later  tracks  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  power  ballads  and  a  song  that  brings  in  female  vocals  while  the  main  focus  remains  on  a  heavy  and  melodic  power  metal  style  while  a  different  track  also  mixes  a  bit  of  folk  metal  into  their  sound.


  Desert  plays  a  progressive  style  of  power  metal  that  is  very  heavy  and  modern  while  also  incorporating  the  melodic  elements  of  the  80's  bands  to  create  their  own  epic  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Fantasy,  Philosophy  Of  Life  and  Hymns  TO  Courage.

  In  my  opinion  Desert  are  a  very  great  sounding  modern  mixture  of  progressive  and  power  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out t his  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Assassin's  Fate"  "Never  Regret"  "Flying  Dutchman"  and  "Invincible".  8  out  of  10.
  

Teufelskries/Spuren Der Vergangenheit/NRT Records/2015 CD Re-Issue Review

  Teufelskries  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  heavy,  hard  rock,  goth,  NDH  and  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2009  album  "Spuren Der Vergangenheit"  which  will  be  re-issued  in  March  of  2015  by  NRT  Records.

  A  very  hard,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some industrial  style  vocals    that  can  also  be  melodic at  times  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  being  utilized  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  EBM  and  electronic  music  elements  in  the  bands  musical  style

  You  can  hear  a  lot  of  metal  influences  in  the  heavier  side  of  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  a  touch  of  thrash  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  also  very  melodic  and  distorted  sounding  and  at  time s clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  quite  a  bit  of  the  more  commercialized  style  of  industrial  metal  that  was  very  big  in  the  mid  90's  and  they  also  do  a  power  ballad  before  returning  back  to  a  harder  direction  on t he  remaining  tracks.

  Teufelelskries  plays  a  very  mainstream  and  dance  orientated  style  of  industrial  metal  that  would  of  fit  in  perfectly  with  the  mainstream  rock  stations  around  98  to  2000  and  have  a  perfect  mixture  of  melody  and  heaviness,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Teufelelskries  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  heavy,  hard  rock,  goth,  NDH  and  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Zerrissen"  "Eifersucht"  "Verlorenes  Spiel"  and  "Vorbel".  8  out  of  10.    

Cyrax Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
1. Paolo: We have been working on videoclip and website; also, we are wondering how our music can be arranged into a live show.

2.You have a new album coming out during the end of March, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
2. Cesare: We guess this new record sounds more heavy, sound engineering has globally improved since "Reflections"; moreover, we managed to include a lot of guest musicians who really gave a boost to the whole album.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
3. Marco: For Reflections, inspiration came from Othello and Richard III from Shakespeare; for the next album lyrical topics goes to Kafka, Bergman, Ancient Greek theatre and many many more

4.I know that the bands name came from Mortal Kombat, how does it fit in with the musical style that you play?
4. Marco: When you have a band name such as Cyrax, it fits in every musical genre you want to explore: Cyrax could be progressive, electronic, power, thrash, nu-metal. Everything you want.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
5. Paolo: Underground newcomers are not welcome in Italy, so we invested money in studio recording instead of live performances. However, we are planning to begin promotion of the CDs in such a way since next summer.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
6. Paolo: We have proposed Iron Maiden to open their 2015 shows; we are waiting for reply.

7.The new album is coming out on Bakerteam Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
7. Cesare: Bakerteam needs no introduction. We like the guys and the way they operate. the day we signed the contract, we had a glimpse on cover artworks they were working on, and we suddenly fell in love with this artwork, that later that same month we bought from 3mmi Design. So, working with BT is a great help to find your path, we guess.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of progressive metal?
8. Cesare: As far as we can see, the feedback has been quite good, we've had some enthusiasts and some constructive criticism, but most of the times we think people appreciated our efforts.

9.Are any of the band members also involved with any other musical projects or bands these days?
9. Each member has his own side-project. Cesare is playing with Ghost Opera (a tribute to Kamelot), Antonio Pecere's Pi Red Project (metal prog); and he still finds some time to get drunk to the bone! Paolo is working on electronic music productions, Filippo with Alzamantes, Lorenzo with Templar's Sword and Marco with Shivers Addiction.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
10. Cesare: Not easy to say, we struggle to stay exploratory, so our direction pretty much depends on the direction music will globally take. Thinking the absurd, if our style became mainstream and we had emulators all around the world, we would sure have a complete restyle on what we're doing.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
11. We like modern metal and soundtracks. We do really appreciate some of the new records coming out these years – Epica, Empyrios, Ancient Bards, Holy Shire; and then the holy elders, Symphony X, Kamelot, Rhapsody, Sonata Arctica and Nightwish. And Obviously Morricone, Zimmer, Silvestri and Basil Poledouris. While Paolo prefers 70's UK prog and classical music.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
12. Over and above all, beer. And technology, as it is the underlying layer of any musical production nowadays. Then of course art in general, especially photography and cinema.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
 13. Education will save the world; and it will made possible to grow good musicians. We talk too much! Stay tuned for some good music See ya

Warfaith/Wise Man Is Dead/2015 Full Length Review

  Warfaith  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  very  aggressive  and  old  school  form  of  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "Wise  Man  Is  Dead"  which  will  be  released  in  March.

  A  very  hard  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  riffing  and  after  the  demonic  voice  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  and  brutal  thrash  metal  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  aggressive  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  death  metal  and  hardcore  in  their  musical  style.  

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  very  dark  yet  melodic  sounding  at  the  same  time  and  the  songs  also  go  for  more  of  an  early 90's  style  of  thrash  than  the  80's  sound  which  most  other  groups  seem  to  go  for  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  the  vocals  also  mixing  in  elements  of  hardcore  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Warfaith  plays  a  very  aggressive  and  brutal  style  of  thrash  metal  that  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  hardcore  and  death  metal  and  there  is  never  a  soft  or  weak  moment  to  be  heard  anywhere  on  this  recording,  the  production  sound s very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful  and  anti  christian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Warfaith  are  a  very  aggressive  and  brutal  sounding  thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Jesus  Sucks"  "Purgatory"  "Crack's  Whore"  and  "Redemption".  8/5  out  of  10.

Saboter/Self Titled/Witches Brew/2015 EP Review

  Saboter  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  a  mixture  of  heavy  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2015  ep  which  was  released  by  Witches  Brew.

  A  very  hard,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  very  melodic  power  metal  style  vocals  that  are  still  aggressive  enough  for  the  thrash  style  riffing  that  is  a  very  huge  part  of  the  bands  musical  style.

  While t h e music  has  a  very  vintage  80's  sound  to  it  the  production  makes  the  music  sound  a  lot  more  modern  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  even  more  of  a  melodic  and  old  school  metal  sound  to  all  of  the  tracks  along  with  an  instrumental  halfway  through  the  recording  and  the  songs  stick  to  mostly  a  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  also  mixes  in  a  lot  of  traditional  metal  elements  into  their  thrash  sound.

  Saboter  plays  a  very  old  school  style  of  thrash  metal  that  also  mixes  in  the  melody  of  heavy  and  power  metal  to  create  a  sound  of t heir  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  heavy  metal  and  darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Saboter  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  heavy  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Land  Of  Anger"  and  "Redemption".  8  out  of  10.

Velvet Six/Demons Los Divas/Inverse Records/2015 Full Length Review

  Velvet  Six  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  gothic  rock  and  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Demons  Los  Divas"  be  released  in  April  by  Inverse  Records.

  A  very  hard,  heavy,  melodic  and  symphonic  gothic  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  singing  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  at  time s th e vocals  bring  in  aggressive  screams  at  times  and  you  can  also  hear  80's  goth  rock  element s in t h e bands  musical  style  at  times.  

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  in  a  very  melodic  sounding  gothic  rock/metal  direction  and  at  times  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  mainstream  rock  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  songs  also b ring  in  a  great  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  along  with  some  power  ballads  being  added  onto  the  recording  at  times  and  towards  the  end  one  of  the  songs  also b rings  in  a  brief  use  of  female  vocals.

  Velvet  Sky  takes  the  melodic  gothic  metal  sound  of  the  90's  and  mixes  it  with  dark  wave  and  an  influence  from  HIM  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  depressive,  poetic  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Velvet  Sky  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  both  the  gothic  rock  and  gothic  metal  genres  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Twist"  "Something  Evil"  "Underneath"  and  "I  Saw".  8/5  out  of  10.