Archive for October, 2017

Cats In Space – Scarecrow

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on 28th October 2017 by Mickelrath

Cats In Space

Scarecrow

Power-pop, Glam Rock

Released: 25 August 2017

via Cats In Space / Cargo Records

In my continued search for something different in the rock/metal world. I happened upon a band called Cats In Space. I thought this had to be something new different and interesting. To my disappointment they weren’t some existential prog-rock act with themes of feline creatures in the vastness of space. Instead it’s another rock act trying to evoke that feeling of the late 70’s/early 80’s glam rock. To which they do a really good job. Their music is bright , happy and definitely has that sense of musical presence that gets that style of old school rock down almost perfectly. Once I got past my confusion of what they were, I really found myself getting into their music. Having grown up on this genre, it definitely struck a chord with me. It has the same feel as Whitesnake, well not really but it’s something I can get behind 100%.

The album has a weird tone on the production, like a really heavy digital processing, this works on some songs but can kind of sounds like shit at other times. Especially when it’s just the synths on their own. Every song has a really strong hook, with pretty simplistic lyrics so it’s easy to sing along to. They implore this masterfully, I have to say I was bopping along quite merrily to almost every track. Even though the production is a little weird, I love the songwriting, the way the songs flow should bring a smile to any hard rock fan, with swelling versus that just build to big choruses. Yeah, it’s formulaic but you can’t argue that it works. They just get the best out of their sound by making everything sound huge. The guitar tone is wonderful and the bass and drums lock in together really well. The vocals performance is damn near flawless, soaring on top of the production and hitting every note beautifully.

I have to say I was a little taken back by this album. It reminded me of listening to old school records with my Dad and it has those big overblown choruses to match. The production can be a little clumsy with the way it sounds at times, but that’s a very minor point. The songs are fantastic. It’s cheesy and a little bit silly but I think that’s the point. To be an over-the-top power pop/glam rock band with massive catchy choruses that are easy to sing along to. I actually liked this album in the end. Not enough to give it a perfect rating but you know with the amount of depressing shite that out there. I needed something like this.

4/5

Mick Birchall

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Chronus – Chronus

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on 28th October 2017 by izaforestspirit

Chronus
Chronus
Heavy Metal/ Progressive Metal
Released 27th October 2017

via EMP Label Group/SPV

Chronus - Chronus

‘Chronus’ is the debut album from the Swedish heavy metal band of the same name. They were formed in 2012 and their music has been compared to the likes of Mastodon, Goijra and Ozzy Osbourne.

There is something about the cover art that reminds me of the Swedish metal band Ghost. And it’s not just the artwork. Just like their fellow countrymen Ghost, Chronus seem to have taken inspiration from classic heavy metal and to some extent 70s prog-rock. Some of their songs feature distinctive prog-rock style guitar riffs. Take City of Light for instance, the melodic guitar tunes definitely have that Ghost/Opeth-esque, progressive rock feel while the vocals made me think of Ozzy Osbourne.

Then you get the more energetic, slightly aggressive yet still proggy-sounding songs such as Baron along with the guitar-centered, melodic tracks such as Avarice. “Progressive” is the key word here, so if you’re not into technically complex guitar melodies then you ought to stay clear of this album.

Overall, Chronus’ debut is likely to appeal to fans of Ghost and progressive metal bands such as Mastodon and Opeth. Personally, it’s just a little too proggy for my liking.

3.5/5
Iza Raittila

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Moonspell on tour

Posted in News with tags , , on 19th October 2017 by Pieni

Portuguese dark metal veterans Moonspell are about to release their first conceptual album, “1755” (read review here). They will play three shows in their homecountry, in an exclusive introduction before the release: 30th and 31st October in Lisbon and 1st November in Porto:

moonspellpt

They will then promote the album in Spain, with Bizarra Locomotiva and Norunda, before returning home for a few more shows in Arcos de Valdevez, Aveiro, Castelo Branco and Loulé:
unnamed

But in case you live outside the Iberian Peninsula and don’t have the chance to travel there and catch one of these promising gigs, Moonspell will join Cradle Of Filth through Europe on the following dates:
mscof

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Moonspell – 1755

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on 18th October 2017 by Pieni

Moonspell
“1755”
Dark Metal
Release: 3rd November 2017
Via Napalm Records

1755

Whether one likes it or not, Moonspell have changed the way Portugal’s metal scene is looked at. It’s been 25 successful years, so they’re not releasing now a conceptual album, in their native tongue, because they need to prove themselves; they’re doing it because they just can.

As you probably know by now, 1755 was the year when the Great Lisbon earthquake took place, on All Saints’ Day, resulting in the near-destruction of the city and a death toll of tens of thousands. That alone gives you an idea of the emotional weight of this record, which goes much beyond the lyrical content depicting such tragedy. There’s the obscure orchestral arrangements (courtesy of Jon Phipps) in the new version of “Em Nome Do Medo”, the operatic female voices throughout the album enhancing its epic imprint, the brazenness of “Desastre”, the weeping guitar solo in “Ruínas” – a song otherwise quite brisk. A similar contrast occurs in “In Tremor Dei”, between that bold melody and the riveting voice of fado singer Paulo Bragança. In case you don’t know, fado is a Portuguese classic music genre, of a sad and longing nature – after all, it literally means “fate” -, sung in heartbreaking intonations. If the idea of Moonspell featuring Bragança is somewhat shocking, the outcome is simply mind-blowing.

Marquis of Pombal, the Prime-Minister at the time of the earthquake, said something like “now we bury the dead and take care of the living”. Maybe a bit cold, but a positive vision nevertheless. And that’s also how Moonspell finish “1755”: originally performed by Brazilian rockers Paralamas do Sucesso, “Lanterna dos Afogados” is a song of hope and being there for one another, now with a much darker vibe – very Moonspell-ish. Come to think of it, there isn’t really any new trait here; it’s how the band now combines and tweaks those traits, accordingly with its bleakest theme, that makes “1755” a memorable masterpiece.

5/5

Renata “Pieni” Lino

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Behemoth launches their own coffee brand

Posted in Misc., News with tags , on 18th October 2017 by izaforestspirit

For those who like their coffee as black as their metal… Check out Behemoth‘s own coffee brands – ‘Messe Noire Coffee’

and ‘Heretika Coffee’.

Both blends are described as being “100% Satanica” and they have been selected by the band’s frontman Nergal.  The coffee is a mixture of Arabica beans from various countries freshly roasted in a special way to reduce the acidity levels.

Both coffees are now available from the band’s online store.

For more information visit:

http://behemoth.pl/

https://www.facebook.com/behemoth/

 

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S-Tool and Battle Beast live in Tampere

Posted in Gig, Live with tags , , , , on 9th October 2017 by izaforestspirit

Profane Omen, S-Tool, Battle Beast

Olympia, Tampere, Finland

7th October 2017

At last a metal gig… It’s been a while. I haven’t seen any metal bands live since Destruction at the beginning of the year.

The show was part of Lost in Music Tampere, a city festival with a series of music events happening in several venues across the city centre. It was also organized by Nummirock Festival. This time the venue was a place called Olympia. It was my first time at this particular venue.

We missed the first band, Ikinä but we managed to catch most of Profane Omen. I’ve heard of them before but I’m not too familiar with their music. They were entertaining to watch at times but it wasn’t really my style. I’ve never been a massive fan of groove metal. 3/5

I’m a fan of Sentenced and Poisonblack, so needless to say that I was keen to check out Ville Laihiala’s new band S-Tool. Sadly their performance didn’t really live up to my expectations. They had a slow start and it took them a while to get going properly. Things improved a bit later on, and I enjoyed one of their songs – ‘Back to Zero’. They were also playing a few cover songs towards the end of the set including Metallica’s ‘Hit The Lights’. 2.5/5

 

The venue was packed by the time the night’s headliners took to the stage. It was already well past midnight by then, but luckily Battle Beast were worth the wait. Great show! The singer reminded me of Doro. Their lyrics are cheesy, almost Manowar-esque but the performance was very energetic and entertaining. Best tracks were ‘Black Ninja’ and ‘Touch in The Night’. 5/5

Overall it was a good night out even if it did finish rather late. S-Tool turned out to be a disappointment but Battle Beast were great live. I’m not too familiar with their music but after that performance I’m definitely going to check it out.

Iza Raittila

http://lostinmusic.fi/home

http://www.nummirock.fi/

 

 

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Interview with Ben Blutzukker

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on 5th October 2017 by izaforestspirit

Iza had a little chat with Ben Blutzukker to discuss Lego, heavy metal and his new EP ‘Ripide’.

Iza: What is behind the name ‘Blutzukker’?

Ben: It’s a song from the Swedish Vampire-Metal-Band Notre Dame. It should have that name, but it was never released. But I liked the spelling and so I named my first band after it. A short time later my own name transformed then to “Ben Blutzukker”.

Iza: Earlier this year you decided to put an end to your dark electro project Blutzukker to focus on your heavy metal project. What led to this decision?

Ben: I just felt like that. Since the last Blutzukker album in 2012 I no longer had  ideas to do new electronic tracks. And as the solo projekt “Ben Blutzukker” was my only focus for the last years I decided to tell everyone that “blutzukker” is over now.

Iza: Aside from the obvious differences in genre (dark electro vs. heavy metal), what other differences do you see between Blutzukker and Ben Blutzukker?

Ben: Hmm. That is a difficult question. I think there are many things that are the same in both projects. The vocals are absolutely the same. I also did not change my lyrical writing. So yes, mainly only the musical genres are the mail difference.

Iza: Let’s talk a about your new EP ‘Riptide’. Based on the cover art and the title track I’m guessing that it has something to do with the sea. Can you tell us a little bit about the themes for this release?

Image result for ben blutzukker riptide
Ben: When I was searching for a great artwork for this EP I saw this one and felt in love with it. Until then the EP should have a total different name. But I saw that artwork and it directly reminds me to when I wrote the lyrics for the song “Riptide”. So I decided to make “Riptide” the main song of this EP.

Iza: I’ve noticed that your sound has changed slightly since the first EP ‘Analog Blood’; the new songs seem darker, with a hint black metal in addition to the thrash metal guitars. Are you a fan of black metal, if so which bands do you like?

Ben: That is trve. I like a lot of black metal bands, especially Abbath and Winterfylleth. The recording of the EP was done by myself as I did it on “Analog Blood”. But this time I gave the job of mastering to the same studio where also the Abbath album was mastered. Nevertheless I like to mix the styles of black, death and thrash. And maybe next time there will also be a bit of Goth Metal in it.

 

Iza: On the EP, there is a cover of Illwill’s song. What made you decide to choose that particular band and song?

Ben: To push that great song, because no one knows it! Just a joke… My favorite musician is Snowy Shaw from Sweden. He was involved in Illwill (and he was also the main-figure of Notre Dame). And with “blutzukker” we played this song on stage several times. So I wanted to close the circle by recording my own version now.

Iza: Also, there is a collaboration with Pale Violett on backing vocals on the same cover track. What made you decide to work with her?

Ben: Pale Violett was part of “blutzukker”, so we made a lots of stuff together over the years. But to be honest: her recordings for this song are now 10 years old.

Iza: You have recently released a new video for the title track ‘Riptide’ which features a Lego pirate ship. This is the second of your videos to feature Lego figurines. You even have Lego USB-sticks available. I have to ask, what is it with the Lego?

Ben: I love it! I always loved it! Don’t you still love Lego?

Image result for ben blutzukker

Iza: Your previous band featured lots of humour in the lyrics, mostly connected to vampires and horror stuff in general. Is this humour element something you plan to continue with as Ben Blutzukker or is this more serious?

Ben: I think I will automatically continue like that, because that is just a part of my person. For me it is normal to not take everything too serious. Not even the blackest metal.
Iza: Is Ben Blutzukker a studio only -project or do you plan to play some live shows in the future?

Ben: I see, this question is the one I hear the most. But no, currently I like it to just be a studio project.

Iza: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.
Ben: Thank you! 
For more information visit:

http://facebook.com/BenBlutzukker

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Iron Maiden comic book series ‘Legacy of the Beast’ coming soon

Posted in Misc., News with tags , on 2nd October 2017 by izaforestspirit

Iron Maiden are about to launch their won comic book series entitled ‘Iron Maiden Legacy of The Beast’. The series is based on their popular mobile role-playing game ‘ Iron Maiden: Legacy Of The Beast’ and it will focus on the band’s mascot Eddie as the main protagonist. The story has been written by Llexi Leon and Ian Edginton and illustrated by Kevin J. West, Jason Gorder, and Santi Casas.

Here is a more detailed outline of the plot:

The comic book series expands on the video game narrative. As dark forces conspire to corrupt the fabric of reality, Eddie’s immortal soul is shattered and strewn across the cosmos – leaving a weakened, primal Eddie to battle across space and time facing off against the twisted legions of The Beast, seeking out the lost shards of his soul, and bringing order to the realms. With each victory, and with the aid of old friends, Eddie will restore his fearsome powers as he draws ever closer to facing the Unholy foe behind his fall… and thwarting a plot to unravel all of Creation!

There will be five issues of the comic in total, the first of which is due to hit comic shops worldwide via Heavy Metal Publishing on 11th October 2017.

You can check out the cover here:

For more information visit:

http://ironmaiden.com/

http://www.heavymetal.com/

 

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