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Fortress Under Siege – Atlantis

Posted in Editorial/Opinionated, Review with tags Atlantis, Fortress Under Siege, Greece, Mick Birchall, Power Metal, Progressive Metal on 15th March 2021 by Mickelrath

Fortress Under Siege
Atlantis
Genre: Progressive-Power Metal
Released: 9th October 2020
via ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records

Well, it seems my love affair with the metal scene in Greece continues with the discovery of this band, Fortress Under Siege. From the first moments of this record, I was hooked. Their presentation is clean and their music packs a big punch. I had to take a deeper dive to get a better idea of the evolution of this band. The band have released two previous albums and their new album Atlantis is probably my favourite upon listening to them all. It’s big and bold with a lot to offer. The album was produced and mixed by Fotis Benardo (Septicflesh, Rotting Christ, Innerwish). Mastered by George Nerantzis (Pain Of Salvation, Abbath, Dark Funeral, Gus G). It was recorded at Devasoundz Studios in Athens Greece. The biggest hurdle to overcome was replacing lead vocalist, Mike Livas with Tasos Lazaris, however, I feel he stepped to the plate perfectly here.

The album is big and bold. Loud guitar and intricate keyboard works give this album power and depth with the bass and drums giving each song structure. Then the vocal performance just hits so hard and whenever it comes in. The bombastic production is just great and the sound of the band is that of excellent riffs and wonderful musical progressions. I like the way the album flows together, it almost has a serial or concept nature and every song flows into the next seamlessly. Every song has this big-sounding chorus that gets stuck in your head and feels uplifting when listening to it. It all feels rich with beautiful and carefully crafted melodies. Not a second of time is wasted on the record. Right from the opening track “Love Enforcer” I was presented with amazing use of lyrical imagery and a great sense of presence and tone.

Overall, I would say that this was a rather impressive listening experience. The songs are superb and the band just have the charisma of megastars. If you like your power metal bands then, Fortress Under Siege is well worth your time and Atlantis is an amazing epic of a record. The album touches on themes of ancient Hellenic mythology and Trojan royalty. They even give social commentary on helicopter parenting and bullying. The lyrics are multilayered but also you can get a lot just from the surface level too. If you want some good power metal in your life that you may have never considered before, this is the band for you.

8/10

Mick Birchall

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Karma Violens – Serpent God

Posted in Uncategorized with tags Black Metal, Greece on 29th April 2018 by izaforestspirit

Karma Violens
Serpent God
Released 13th April 2018
Black Metal/Extreme Metal
Released via Growl Records

Karma Violens - Serpent God

Serpent God’ is the third album from the Greek extreme metal band Karma Violens. These guys have been around since 2002 and they have toured with bands such as Judas Priest and Arch Enemy. They initially started out playing metalcore but this album marks a shift in style towards black metal direction with a “gloomy and dark atmosphere” and it is recommended for fans of Emperor, Behemoth, Mayhem and Batushka. That description looks promising, let’s see how it sounds…

This is one of those cases when it’s fairly easy to detect where these guys are from even if I hadn’t read the information about them. Greek black metal has a rather distinctive sound – it tends to be fairly atmospheric and usually has at least some melodic parts. Rotting Christ, Astarte and Naer Mataron are good examples of this style. So Karma Violens are in good company.

There’s more than just a hint of black metal. There’s the slower, gloomy, atmospheric tracks like Serpent God which reminded me of early Mayhem due to the raspy vocal style. Then they occasionally pick up the pace with more aggressive-sounding, faster songs such as The Constractors where the guitars and the pummeling drums really take the reins. A Letter to the Worthless Chamber caught my attention as one of the more memorable songs on here, it’s got this “still creepy but almost catchy” black metal feel to it that made me think of the later works of Immortal mixed with some elements of Naer Mataron.

Overall, I am relieved that this wasn’t metalcore. Karma Violens were clearly aiming to create an atmospheric black metal album, and in that they have succeeded. ‘Serpent God’ isn’t a ‘flawless album’ but it definitely has its moments.

4/5

Iza Raittila

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Caelestia – Thanatopsis

Posted in Uncategorized with tags Gothic Metal, Greece, Melodic death metal, Symphonic Metal on 4th January 2018 by izaforestspirit

Caelestia
Thanatopsis
Released 8th December 2017
Symphonic Gothic Metal /Melodic Death Metal
Released via EMP Group/SPV Europe

Caelestia - Τhanatopsis

Thanatopsis’ is the second album from the Greek symphonic metal band Caelestia. They have been around since 2012 and they have toured with bands such as The Vision Bleak, Arch Enemy and Draconian. This latest opus was mixed and mastered at Fredman Studio, Gothenburg Sweden by Fredrik Nordström.

My knowledge of the Greek metal scene is limited to just two bands: Astarte and Rotting Christ. I’m particularly fond of the latter…This however doesn’t really sound like either of these. What we have here is an interesting fusion of female-fronted Gothic metal with hints of melodic death metal and symphonic elements. Depending on the song, their music can sound very melodic and pleasant e.g. Dancing With The Demons or harsh and aggressive with elements like death metal growls, abrasive drumming and guitars mid-way through Devil’s Game and the opening of Travel to Eternity.

If it wasn’t for the melodic death metal elements, I would have probably dismissed this as yet another Nightwish clone. Admittedly their female singer Dimitra Talamamtes Vintsou has a similar voice to that of Tarja Turunen but that’s where the similarities end. Their unusual blend of styles is what makes Caelestia stand out. The mixture of symphonic Gothic metal with melodic death metal maybe a little too much for your average Gothic metal fan. Luckily my taste in metal is more diverse than that. I actually like the contrast between the harsh and the melodic sounds and the dual vocal configuration works surprisingly well. The closest thing I can compare this to would be mid-career Therion; melo-death with symphonic elements but without the choir.

In summary Caelestia’s album turned out to be a lot different from what I expected. Their music doesn’t really fit one specific genre but they do a good job of taking the best elements of various styles to create something memorable. So if you’re bored to listening to Nightwish wannabe Gothic metal or melo-death bands still trying to replicate the “Gothenburg”-sound, then I suggest you give ‘Thanatopsis’ a go.

4/5
Iza Raittila

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Firewind new live album Apotheosis – Live 2012 out now!

Posted in News with tags Arch Enemy, Beyond Twilight, Dream Evil, Firewind, Greece, Gus G, Live Premonition, Ozzy Osbourne on 27th June 2013 by Contra Mundi

The Greek power metal gods Firewind, who house pioneering guitar extraordinaire Gus G when he’s not off with the legendary Ozzy Osbourne and playing his songs, have released a new live album to celebrate their 10^th anniversary. The live album, entitled Apotheosis – Live 2012 features iconic tracks from throughout Firewind’s extensive musical career and was recorded during their Few Against Many tour at shows in Greece and other countries in Europe. Clocking in at 69 minutes and featuring anthems from throughout their career, it breathes new fire into the band and shows a different side to them than their previous live release from 2008: Live Premonition.

Apotheosis – Live 2012 also features the final performances of Firewind’s vocalist Apollo Papathanasi, who has since left the band. His replacement, Kelly Sundown Carpenter (Adagio, Beyond Twilight) will be taking to the stage as a session front man for all of the band’s upcoming 2013 shows.

Firewind have again rekindled their long standing relationship with artist Gustavo Sazes who’s art has graced releases from the likes of Arch Enemy and Dream Evil, for the cover artwork of Apotheosis – Live 2012. It incorporates live photography of the band by Hans-W. Rock and is awesome to behold.

The Track listing for Apotheosis – Live 2012 is as follows:

Firewind – Apotheosis – Live 2012 (69:07)

^{1. Head Up High (4:21)

2. Wall Of Sound (4:04)

3. Allegiance (4:35)

4. Few Against Many (5:00)

5. The Departure (0:41)

6. Heading For The Dawn (4:04)

7. Losing My Mind (6:15)

8. World On Fire (4:45)

9. Guitar Solo 2012 (2:17)

10. SKG (5:26)

11. Between Heaven And Hell (5:13)

12. Piano Solo (0:53)

13. Edge Of A Dream (4:24)

14. Mercenary Man (3:47)

15. Glorious (3:41)

16. Maniac (4:32

17. Falling To Pieces (5:02)}

The Digital Download version of the release additionally includes the following 2 live-bonustracks:

^{18. Cold As Ice (4:18)

19. Tyranny (4:05)}

Firewind online:

http://www.firewind.gr
http://www.facebook.com/firewindofficial
http://www.myspace.com/firewind
http://twitter.com/firewindmusic
http://www.youtube.com/firetv

Firewind stream first song from Apotheosis – Live 2012 (valkyrianmusic.com)

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Firewind stream first song from Apotheosis – Live 2012

Posted in News with tags Century Media Records, Falling to Pieces (Firewind song), Few Against Many, Firewind, Greece, Gus G, Mercenary Man, Ozzy Osbourne on 5th June 2013 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

Greece’s premier power metal act Firewind, whom are spearheaded by Ozzy Osbourne’s band member and guitar-wizard Gus G, are set to release a new live album, titled Apotheosis – Live 2012, through Century Media on 24th June in Europe and 24th July in Japan through Marquee Records. The live album celebrates the band’s 10^th anniversary.

Few Against Many is the first song to be released from the album and is being streamed via Germany’s Classic Rock Magazine at this location.

Apotheosis – Live 2012 tracklisting is as follows:

1. Head Up High
2. Wall Of Sound
3. Allegiance
4. Few Against Many
5. The Departure
6. Heading For The Dawn
7. Losing My Mind
8. World On Fire
9. Guitar Solo 2012
10. SKG
11. Between Heaven And Hell
12. Piano Solo
13. Edge Of A Dream
14. Mercenary Man
15. Glorious
16. Maniac
17. Falling To Pieces

Firewind online:

http://www.firewind.gr
http://www.facebook.com/firewindofficial
http://www.myspace.com/firewind
http://twitter.com/firewindmusic
http://www.youtube.com/firetv

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Firewind announce the release of live album

Posted in News with tags Apollo Papathanasio, Beyond Twilight, Eyal Levi, Few Against Many, Firewind, Greece, Gus G, Stolen Babies on 16th April 2013 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

Greek melo-power metallers Firewind, featuring the guitar-wizard Gus G., have recently returned from an extensive North American tour together with Turisas and Stolen Babies, on which Kelly Sundown Carpenter (Adagio, Beyond Twilight) debuted as session frontman.

Now, Firewind are happy to reveal that they will be releasing a new live album on June 24^th 2013 via Century Media Records in Europe to celebrate the 10^th band anniversary in style. Entitled Apotheosis – Live 2012, the album will contain 17 songs recorded at special anniversary shows in Greece as well as all over Europe during the band’s Few Against Many tour in 2012 with a playing time of 69 minutes featuring a great overview of the band’s career so far, which spans over 7 studio albums so far. This live-album also marks the final release with long term singer Apollo Papathanasio, who decided to step down from his duties as singer by the end of last year.

Firewind’s Gus G. has checked in to comment the release as follows:

Apotheosis = the glorification of a subject to a divine level.

That is the word that came to my mind, while thinking of how I could best describe the feeling & the vibe of those 4 anniversary shows we played in our homeland Greece and our last European headline tour in 2012! So that had to be our live album’s title. You can feel the energy on these recordings, you can hear the screams of the most hardcore fans & the FIREWIND chants…it’s all there.

No doubt about it, it’s the sheer love from our fans and supporters that has kept us alive and strong for 10 years and we wanted to celebrate all that with this album.

We recorded all those shows, chose the best performances and now we can’t wait to release this one! See you out there this spring & summer on European festival stages!

Firewind’s latest studio album, Few Against Many, was mixed by Jason Suecof and Eyal Levi at Audiohammer Studios (Trivium, All That Remains, Death Angel, etc.) and mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (Mastodon, Hatebreed, Symphony X, etc.). The iconic album’s artwork was once again created by Firewind’s longtime partner in all design matters, Gustavo Sazes (Arch Enemy, Angra, Dream Evil, etc.). While the album’s standard version is available in the CD format as well as LP and also as Digital Download, Few Against Many is also released as limited edition Digipak CD with two bonus tracks. Few Against Many occupied the national sales charts in Greece at the # 1 top spot for several weeks!

More Firewind online action:

^{Album “track by track” video with Gus G., Pt. 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBUayMOMkfE

Album “track by track” video with Gus G., Pt. 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qjajKR7tH8

Album EPK-clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l41HCQJdmE

“Wall Of Sound” official video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aihNvw4b8bE

“Edge Of A Dream (Feat. Apocalyptica)” official video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRlEiDQbbpY

“Glorious” live clip (O2’s fancams):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=5_Jsf3crOWs

“Few Against Many” guitar play-through video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KniFgWoXDCQ}

FIREWIND online:
http://www.firewind.gr
http://www.facebook.com/firewindofficial
http://www.myspace.com/firewind
http://twitter.com/firewindmusic

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Meden Agan – Erevos Aenaon (Album)

Posted in Review with tags Epica, Female fronted band, Greece, Operatic Metal, Symphonic Metal on 2nd May 2012 by tobiasgray

Band: Meden Agan
Album: Erevos Aenaon
Release date: September 2011
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Label: Unsigned

Greek symphonic metal band Meden Agan release their debut long player, ‘Erevos Aenaon’. An independently released album featuring 9 tracks (plus three ‘extended versions’ to make 12 tracks total,) of keyboard led, operatic metal. Meden Agan have shared the billing with bands such as ‘Lacuna Coil’, ‘Epica’, ‘Xandria’ and ‘Delain’ amongst others and as such should grant you a pretty good idea of what to expect from this release.

Since Nightwish blew the doors open for female fronted, bombastic metal with an operatic flavour back in 2004 (‘Once‘), many bands have aspired to their success. Festivals have even been created especially to cater to fans wanting to see all female-fronted metal. There are fans of all ages drawn to the accessibility of symphonic/power metal, but in the same breath others are repelled by the very same aspects of the genre. Meden Agan know the staples that make good operatic metal, they incorporate the riffs and keyboard flourishes you’d expect of the genre, and they have two very strong talents in singer Iliana Tsakiraki and keyboardist Tolis Mikroulis. The only issue is that Meden Agan are just…good.

There are fans who will soak this album in like a sponge and love every grandiose sing along chorus; but for the fair weather listener, it’s the self-same chugging riffs, keyboard introductions and grandiose chorus’ heard on albums by any of the bands listed above. The songs are well written with an ear for harmony and note perfect melodies by soprano Iliana Tsakiraki, ‘Dissolve Into Grey’ displays the excellent musicianship of both guitars and keyboards, and album highlight ‘Tribute To Life’ shows what potential there is for true greatness if the band were to take a few more risks.

‘Erevos Aenaon‘ is a strong starting point for a band in their ascendency. With a little more originality and a little less adherence to the genre’s clichés, Meden Agan should be appearing at metal festivals all around Europe in the future.

3.5/5

Tobias Gray

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Emerald Sun – Regeneration [2011]

Posted in Review with tags Bonnie Tyler, Dragonforce, Emerald Sun, Greece, Greek Power Metal, Hellenic, Holding Out For A Hero, Judas Priest, Manowar, Music, Pitch Black Records, Power Metal, Rock, Synthesizer on 19th March 2011 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

Band: Emerald Sun
Album: Regeneration
Release Year: 2011
Genre: Power Metal

Emerald Sun have been a part of the Greek power metal for thirteen years now, with a surprisingly small discography. “Regeneration” is the newest addition to said discography.

The album begins with the track “We Won’t Fall”, which begins with a rhythmic drum intro which is soon accompanied by a rock sounding riff. The guitar goes slightly more metal when the synths make themselves heard. The vocals have a very Judas Priest-meets-Iced Earth sound to them. The synth riff gets irritatingly repetitive throughout the track. There is a technical use of guitar work which improves the track a fair bit. However, the highlight of the track is the guitar solo. “Theater of Pain” follows after. It begins with the sound of clapping followed by a drum intro. The guitar riff that follows has a slight Dragonforce sound to it. There is a great use of double bass pedal throughout the track and the synth riffs work well with the guitars. The guitar solo sounds choppy to begin with but soon improves. There is a line of narration towards the end of the track, which gives the track a little bit of a Gothic novella sound.

Next is “Where Angels Fly” which begins with a heavier riff than the past two tracks. The vocals sound a tad lower as well and the synths work extremely well with the guitars. The drums on the other hand do sound quiet compared to the synths, guitars, bass and vocals. Some of the guitar sections on this track aren’t exactly impressive, as they lack technicality and musicianship. The solo, however, is good. The title track “Regeneration” comes after, being composed entirely of eerie and epic sounding synths. “Starchild” comes blasting in next with a fierce combination of guitars, drums and keyboards. The vocals, again, sound slightly lower. The keyboard riffs are more impressive on this track than they have been on the previous ones.

“Speak of the Devil” is next, beginning with a synth-and-drums intro. The guitars soon make themselves heard. The vocals sound like a harsher version of those found on a Manowar album to begin with and go back to sounding like a Judas Priest-Iced Earth combination. The synth sections sound great, especially when combined with the vocals and drums. Next is “Planet Metal” which begins with a heavy intro which is soon accompanied by synths and vocals. There is a slight use of squeaky vocals as well which kind of ruins the song. Aside from that, it is an okay track.

“Chasing The Wind” is next, which begins with a mixture of guitar, drums and synth. It isn’t exactly a heavy track, as it sounds more like a hard rock track rather than a metal track. The guitar solo, however, does add an element of metal to the track. Next is “Fantasmagoria” which begins with a slow synth intro, which is soon accompanied by a slow guitar riff and female vocals. The male vocals come in when the track turns heavier. There is also a use of harsher vocals, which sound eerily familiar to that of Marco from Nightwish. The guitar solo is similar to that of something that Megadeth would perform. After the guitar solo, there is another vocal section in which a new set of vocals come in, which sound a tad bit like those of the late, great Dio. The only problem with this album is that it’s far too long.

The last track of the album is the bonus track, which is a cover of Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero”. It begins with a few chords played on the keyboard and a few quick blast-beats. After that the main keyboard riff begins. The guitars soon come in, bringing the metal element to the track. The vocals soon follow, sounding very much like Bonnie Tyler, almost to the point where the the vocals sound like female vocals. The guitar solo, however, is absolutely immense. If anything, this cover is probably more of a comical cover than a serious tribute to Bonnie Tyler.

Most bands normally get their sound perfect by their third album. Emerald Sun however have failed to do so. “Regeneration” is a great album but it sounds as if it is lacking in parts. Hopefully, Emerald Sun will have their sound perfected by the next album release.

3.5/5

Nico Davidson