Scanner/The Judgement/Massacre Records/2015 CD Review

  Scanner  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  been  around  since  the  80's  and  plays  a  mixture  of  power  and  speed  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "The  Judgement"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  symphonic  elements  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  more  of  an  old  school  80's  power/speed  metal  direction  while  also  keeping  the  leads  and  adding  in  clean  singing  vocals  which  also  bring  in  back  up  gang  shouts  at  times  and  on  one  of  the  tracks  bring  in  nature  sound  and  spoken  word  parts.

  You  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  some  of  the  drumming  and  guitars  brings  in  a  touch  of  thrash  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slwo,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Scanner  plays  a  style  of  power/speed  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  80's  but  also  showing  a  more  aggressive  take  on  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction,  poetic  and  mythology  themes  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Scanner  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  power  and  speed  metal  and  if you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nevermore"  'Battle  of  Poseidan"  "Known  Better"  and  "The  Legionary".  8  out  of  10.        

Stormwitch/Seasons Of The Witch/Massacre Records/2015 CD Review

  Stormwitch  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  mixture  of  power and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Seasons  Of  The  Witch"  which was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  Ritualistic  sounds  and  spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  and  melodic musical  direction  along  with  some  power  metal  style  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  to  the  bands  musical  style.

  On  some  of  the  tracks  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  few  of  the  tracks  being  power  ballads  and  the songs  bring  in  a  very  old  school  style  of  power  metal  but  done  with  more  of  a  modern  production  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  symphonic  elements  along  with  a  small  amount  of  choirs  while  the  main  focus  remains  on  a  hard  and  heavy  style  of  power  metal  and  the  last  bonus  track  also  bring s in  acoustic  guitars.

  Stormwitch  plays  a  style  of  heavy  and  power  metal  that  is  very  old  school,  melodic  and  traditional  sounding  as  well  as  remaining  true  to  a  German  style  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occult,  Mythology  and  Historical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Stormwitch  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture of  power  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Evil  Spirit"  "Taliesin"  "Season  Of  The  Witch"  and  "The  Singer's  Curse".  8  out of  10.      

Can Of Soul/Hearrity/2015 CD Review

  Can  Of  Soul  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  hard  rock  and  heavy  metal  and  this is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "Hearrity".

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  goes  into  more  of  a  heavy  and  melodic  direction  along  with  some  clean  singing  that  also  has  an  aggressive  edge  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  in  a  very  melodic  musical  direction and  the  music  at  times  also  brings  in  elements  of  alternative  rock  and  industrial  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

   You  can  hear  quite  a  bit  of  90's  mainstream  rock  influencing  the  bands  musical  style  but  done  in  more  of  a  melodic  direction  along  with  a  small  amount  of  saxophones  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  at  times  the  vocals  have  a  power  metal  feeling  to  them  while  some  of  the  later  tracks  also  bring  in  symphonic  elements  and  a  couple  of  power  ballads.

  Can  Of  Soul  takes  metal  and  mixes  it  with  mainstream  rock  and  alternative  to  create  a  sound  of  their own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  and  philosophical  themes.

  In   my  opinion  Can  Of  Soul  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  heavy  metal,  hard  rock  and  alternative  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "We  Hate  The  Son"  "Solid  Conviction"  "Peaceful  Snake"  and  "Beyond  my  Wayward  Zen  Garden".  8  out  of  10.  
  

Agatha/Gravis Atque Gravitor/Chaos Rutal Records/2014 CD Review

  Agatha  are  a  duo  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  metal  and  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Gravis  Atque  Gravitor"  which was  released  by  Chaos  Rural  Records.

    A  very  dark  and  heavy  sludge  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  aggressive  female  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  that  also  use  a  small  amount  of  clean  singing  at  times  and  at  times  the  music  brings  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  aggression  of  punk  rock  and  the  songs  also  stick  to  a  very  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  You  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  doom  metal  elements  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  post  metal  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  they  manage  to  keep  all  of  the songs  in  a  very  hard  and  heavy  style  of  sludge  metal  and  one  of  the  later  tracks  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  leads.

  Agatha  plays  a  style  of  sludge/doom  metal  that  is  very  melodic  and  also  bring s in  the  raw  aggression  of  punk  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sound s very  raw  yet  powerful  and  heavy  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Agatha  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  metal  and  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "1981"  "Planets  Conspiracy"  and  "Keep  breathing  Please".  8  out  of  10.      

Snow Burial/Oxblood Ties/2014 EP Review

  Snow  Burial  are  a  band  from  Chicago,  Illinois  that  plays  a  musical  style  that  they  refer  to  as  'hipster  doom  metal'  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "Oxblood  Ties".

  A  very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  very  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  which  leads  up  to  a  more  heavy  sludge/doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  melodic  post  metal  style    guitar  leads  and  shouting  style  vocals  that  are  very  aggressive  at  times  while  also  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  clean  singing.

  At  times  the  music  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  at  time s you  can  also  hear  some  elements  of  hardcore  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  at  time s the  riffing  brings  in  a  touch  of  stoner  metal  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  slow  yet  heavy  musical  direction  while  also  incorporating  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  riffing.

  Snow  Burial  plays  a  style  of  sludge/doom  metal  that  is  very  heavy  yet  melodic  at  the  same  time  and  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  post  metal  elements  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  yet  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  negative  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Snow  Burial  are  a  very  great  sounding  hipster  doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Liars"  and  "Burned".  8  out  of  10. 

CDC/End/Get This Right Records/2015 EP Review

  CDC  are  a  band  from  Pennsylvania  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  ep  "End"  which  will  be  released  in  February  by  get  this  Right  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  aggressive  hardcore  sound  starts  off  the  ep  bringing  in  a  very  old  school  east  coast  style  along  with  the  vocals  bringing  in  shouts  and  screams  and  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  heavy  slow,  to  mid  paced  direction  along  with  a  great  amount  of  breakdowns  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  While  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  old  school  style  you  can  hear  the  heaviness  of  thrash  and  extreme  metal  in  their  musical  style  and  there  is  never  a  soft  or  weak  moment  present  on  the  recording  and  the  band  avoids  using  any  solos  or  leads  while  the  vocals  do  have  a  touch  of  melody  in  them  at  times.

  CDC  plays  a  style  of  hardcore  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  east  coast  tradition  and  also  avoids  any  of  the  modern  trends  that  have  polluted  this  genre  in  the  last  20  years,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes.

  In  my  opinion  CDC  are  a  very  great  sounding  hardcore  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "End"  and  "Dying  Legend".  8  out  of  10.
    

Karma To Burn Interview

Hummelstown PA
JoJo's Pizza
1-9-15
Jenn
Maddie
Candace
Alex
Sara
The lower Dauphin Girls basketball Team

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
ktb-Lots of touring. We released the album on August 15th of 2014, the first day of our UK tour. We went on to play 51 shows across the UK, Scandinavia, and Europe. It was a great tour. We were back in West Virginia for about 45 days to recharge our batteries and get ready for the next tour. We are now 3 days into our US winter tour, on our way to Pittsburgh as we speak.
- Alex - Maddie had a baby. The dad is in jail though.
- Sara - I got a new car, its nice that we can afford it.
- Jenn - We won the state basketball match.

2.In August you had released a new album, 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.
- jenn - It rocks, it sounds great. Its something we've never before. ITs something youve never heard before.
-Sara- Really excited, we think we made something that can reach people better.

3.In the 90's you had released one album that had vocals but every album since then has been instrumental, are the band members open to ever using vocals again the future?
- Alex - No cause we suck at singing!

4.The band was broken up for a few years, what was the cause of the split and also the decision to reform?
-ktb- There were many causes, lots of tension between band members. The decision to reform came from interest from fans, US and European.
- Alex - We were fighting over a boy, but we got back cause he was totally stupid. He went to jail, so he was out of the picture, he stole from all of us. He even stole my car....

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Karma to Burn'?
- Alex - it was the guy, he needed his karma burned

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?
- ktb - A lot come to mind. Hellfest (2009, 2011, 2013), Duna Jam, Graspop, Opening for Accept in Germany,

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the tour you have planned for 2015?
- Jenn - Going all across the country,
-Maddie- Im excited to go to LA, I like to party.

8.The new album was released on Faba Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
- ktb - Swiss based label, relatively new.

9.On a worldwide level how have your fans reacted to the new album?
- Jenn - they love it. They want more.
- Alex- they cant stop dancing.
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10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
- Jenn - We are going to have a number worldwide number 1 single.