Archive for Winter

Legendary UK drummer Shaun Taylor-Steels joins Severed Heaven

Posted in Featured, News with tags , , , , , , , , , , on 26th May 2013 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

Shaun Taylor-Steels, better known by his pseudonym and stage name Winter, has recently replaced Hayley Morgan as drummer for Yorkshire black metal act Severed Heaven. The announcement was made on the band’s official Facebook page. Shaun is best known for his work with Yorkshire doom metal bands Anathema and My Dying Bride, whom he is currently the studio drummer for. Shaun commented on his newly appointed position as Severed Heaven’s drummer:

I’m really happy to be involved with Severed Heaven and I’m looking forward to recording and playing their particular brand of darkness!

Severed Heaven are currently working on the follow-up album to their 2011 album, Incessant Darkness. The band will also be appearing at Khaos Festival in August in Rotherham and Valkyrian Festival in December in Bridlington.

Severed Heaven online:

http://www.severedheaven.com/
https://facebook.com/severedheaven/
http://myspace.com/severedheaven/

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The Sword – Apocryphon

Posted in Review with tags , , , , on 4th November 2012 by Paul

The Sword
Apocryphon
Released October 22nd 2012
Metal
Released via Razor and Tie Entertainment

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I’m a bit of a sucker for 70s and early 80s Heavy Metal. Simple riffs, guitar solos, silly lyrics about space and dragons and such; artwork that looks like a Molly Hatchet album cover, and so on. It seems that Texas band The Sword feel the same way, and their brand of retro metal has been among the most noteworthy examples of the past decades wave of retro bands. You probably have a good idea of how this band sounds by this point. Stoner Metal with an emphasis on simple and catchy riffs with no frills and a lot of fun. It is simple and it works; and manages to sound mellow and heavy at the same time which means it is quite a fun listen, especially if you spend your days listening to extreme metal.

The band have slowly adopted a more Classic Rock approach over time, though they no longer seem to have the energy they once had, and very few of these songs are anywhere near as memorable as their great debut Age of Winters. My favourite track is the title track, which somewhat unconventionally appears at the end of the record. It’s an album full of well-constructed hooks and riffs, and the songs do their job although but most of them are not as memorable as they should be. The song writing is tighter and more controlled but it lacks the vitality of previous releases. It doesn’t help that the production on this release is more polished than the more raw sound of their earlier work. Still this is an enjoyable effort that should please fans of the band. The Sword seems to really enjoy the kind of music that they make and it shows. They are now well-versed in this particular niche and continue to produce this no-nonsense music. An enjoyable way to spend 45 minutes.

3.4/5

Paul Gibbins

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