Being a skeptic about pretty much everything in life, I wasn’t really pleasantly surprised when I heard Priest is making their concept album about this guy’s life, prophecies and ultimately his death, but I wasn’t going to judge it before giving it a good listen, so after finally hearing this thing few times over, here’s the review.

Priest guys are pushing into their 60’s, but it really doesn’t seem to matter in this case. That unprecedented spark of creativity and expertise is still there. Clocking in over 102 min, Nostradamus project will give even Kevin Costner run for his money. With Nostradamus, Judas Priest embarked on a long journey of once banned sport in metal; Symphonic orchestration and acoustic arrangements. Priest being known for making a different record each time, is not pulling any punches here neither. Everything from Euro-melodic symphonic metal to a couple of minutes Pink Floyd type passages is featured here. Piano, violins, Gregorian-gothic choirs, daring acoustic passages and every kind of guitar effects are used to their full potential. All of that mess was tied nicely by Halford’s majestic vocals and band’s clever arrangements. Long epics, mini melodic ballads to short instrumentals bombard listener no matter where he is on the record; so ready to be transported to a breathtaking tapestry of musical imagery and sonic gymnastics.

“Dawn of Creation” opens up this two hours plus mega opus with dramatic strings, piano, flute and some contemporary flavor added just for the taste. It builds up for full two minutes until it slams into the heavy “Prophesy” riffs and doesn’t let up until minute and a half long gothic filler “The Four Horseman” which turns into sinister “War”.
“Sands of Time/Pestilence and Plague” is really good display of Halford’s vocal power. Faster tempos and galloping Maidenesque rhythms with string section providing a backbone. True live crowd pleaser. Half of the song he babbles something in Italian.
Majestic “Alone” is first out of two sonic brilliance. Second one being David Bowie like “New Beginning”. Band is embarking on creative ballad journey not seen since their 70’s stuff or maybe never seen before. And of course the best rocker on the album goes to driving hammer “Persecution”. It really slams viciously into your metal psyche and doesn’t let up. This is what Priest is all about, and record is worth purchase just for these three. Title track is also not to be dismissed. It features one of the most vicious Halford’s “I am getting eaten alive” screams.

Scott Travis is way in the back on this record. I really have to be reminded that there’s a drummer present here. There’s so much melody on this album that really there’s no room for drums. Even though there are some groovers, this record is all about melody. No question about that. “Conquest” features brilliant solos and soaring vocals from the man.
This is not a metal record, but then again, it is. I really could not classify it.
There’s no comparing this record to any other Priest (or any other metal band for that matter). I guess if I had to compare this record to any, it would be Guns and Rose’s Using Your Illusion I and II. Not really musically, but just by the sheer volume of music and importance on the bands career. Just not as good as Illusions. Undertaking of project like this must be daunting process. Truly, record of epic proportions. It might take listener few months to swallow the whole thing trough.

There are more than enough rockers on the album, but they feel drowned in the sea of melody and mini epic balladry. For my taste, you could pick out ten excellent cuts from this album and make a truly unforgettable Priest album. Highlight of the album to me however are not rockers, but those mini intro ballads like: “Awakening”, “Peace” “Sands Of Time”, that reeks of early mystery goth ballads Preist is famous for.

I am going to also have to shave off whole point for production values and concept. Boy, those synth guitars Glenn and K.K grew found of since Turbo days are really ruining Priest sound. It weakens the power of the record big time. Judas priest as far as I’m concerned never had powerfully produced record and this one is no exception. Everything is produced well, except instruments that actually needed good production; like guitars and drums! Bass is also meatless. Come on guys. After four decades of making music, you can certainly afford good producer or at least add some meat to your guitar sound. Even though Priest is one of the heaviest bands to see live, their record are just getting destroyed by poor guitar production. And the concept album about Nostradamus. Yawn… That’s another half a point.

This is a record that’s full emotional outbursts, soundtrack worthy pieces and music imagery. It is so hard to judge record like this. My biggest complaints are production and the theme of the album. Taking into account that this is one of my favorite bands of all time, some clever arrangements, couple of really good Goth ballads, and sheer dedication of the band to the project , I will give it a strong 4 stars. This could be truly a masterpiece if production was better and if they tackled more serious theme. Having said all that, I will bet my right arm that this record will sound phenomenal performed live  which Priest is planing for next year.

The faves include: “Pestilence and Plague”, “Persecution” “Alone”, “New Beginnings” and title track.

Rating:

Track List

Act 1

1. “Dawn of Creation” * – 2:31
2. “Prophecy” – 5:26
3. “Awakening” * – 0:52
4. “Revelations” – 7:05
5. “The Four Horsemen” * – 1:35
6. “War” – 5:04
7. “Sands of Time” * – 2:36
8. “Pestilence and Plague” – 5:08
9. “Death” – 7:33
10. “Peace” * – 2:21
11. “Conquest” – 4:42
12. “Lost Love” – 4:28
13. “Persecution” – 6:34

Act 2

1. “Solitude” * – 1:22
2. “Exiled” – 6:32
3. “Alone” – 7:50
4. “Shadows in the Flame” * – 1:10
5. “Visions” – 5:28
6. “Hope” * – 2:09
7. “New Beginnings” – 4:56
8. “Calm Before the Storm” * – 2:05
9. “Nostradamus” – 6:46
10. “Future of Mankind” – 8:29

Album Lineup

* Rob Halford – vocals
* K.K. Downing – guitar
* Glenn Tipton – guitar
* Ian Hill – bass
* Scott Travis – drums

Mat 30th 2008 – Headliners – Louisville, KY

So far my only hopes of seeing Nightwish live included plane ticket to Europe, or maybe trip to some big US power metal festival, but My wife, I and six others actually went to see Nightwish May 30th 2008 at, out of all places, Headliners Louisville KY. They came. They played. They conquered. This is the full review of that bombastic show. I”ll try to take you with me trough the entire experience so lots of photos are included. Excuse the quality of the photos but professional cameras with objectives weren’t allowed.

6:30pm – We are waiting in a long line along with other 600 power-metal hungry Kentuckians. Sun is high and everyone is slowly cooking, but nobody cares. Excitement of seeing a symphonic power-metal band from far away lands is too much for anyone to be worried about getting a sunburn or even a skin cancer. I see everyone from age 7 to 57 in the crowd. That tells you about appeal and transcendence of this band. Standard “cool T-shirt dude” or “I’ve seen them rock the house last year” chat is started and you are immediately drawn into that familiar metal conversation that is common at every metal show. Especially while waiting in long lines. Here’s the photo (click on the photo to enlarge). Thats just a small section of the line which curves around and comes to the point where I took the photo from.

7:30pm – Doors opens and line starts moving fast but orderly. After few minutes, we’re inside and and are greeted with familiar scent of beer, ozone and view of pretty decent size stage for a small venue like Headliners (seats only about 600 people). Sonic Syndicate is opening act and their gear is already set up. Glimpse of a Nightwish’s massive drum kit could be seen under the covers at the back of the stage.

We knew that every last one of the tickets is sold out, and that the place will become a fricking oven later on, so we immediately got few beers each and gathered around mixer and sound board while my wife and our friend Lillie went to upper floor to get a better view, since she would be the one taking pictures. Not having camera, leaves me free to bang my head and do some standard neck damage. Here’s one of the first photos from inside.

8:15pm – Beer starts to work its charm, and most of us are already nicely buzzed from marathon drinking. Lights go down and Sonic Syndicate from Sweden takes the stage. Six piece band with two vocalists. They are labeled as melodic-death metal, but I thought they were more metalcore kind of band more than anything. In the same vain as Bullet For My Valentine maybe. However, they showed unbelievable energy and stage presence. Not a huge fan, but I though they delivered the goods and pumped us up real good for the main event. They’ve played 45-50 minutes set. Here’s a photo of them performing on the stage.

9:30pm – Anticipation of whats too come is very high now. You can actually taste the electricity and that familiar excitement in the air, right before the main act takes the stage. Place is truly packed now, and going to the bathroom or for another beer is becoming more of an adventure. At this point I am so hyped and ready to “let loose”, that I cannot think of things like..bladder. Even if by some miracle you got through to the bar and got beer, you would have to literary down it (which we actually did), since air is so hot and humid and leaving an alcoholic beverage open for more then two minutes would be considered sacreligious. Crowds chatter is broken up by kick drum. Just a sound check from Nightwish’s sound crew, but the audience is already going wild and laud. Fist are already in the air chanting: “Nightwish..Nighwish…Nighwsh!!! And that was just a crew member checking the sound! Rest of the sound check for bass, vocals and guitar is performed, and is followed by the crowds cheer every time the sound crew guy hits the string. Another photo.

9:45pm – Lights go down and screaming starts. Here we go… My favorite part of any metal show. Brilliantly melodic and powerful soundtrack from the movie Passion Of The Christ “Resurrection” fills the hall. Sound of the crowd becomes truly deafening. Imagine 700 fans in a small closed place screaming uncontrollably at the top of their lungs effectivley draining everyones ear canals. Awesome!!!

Jukka “Julius” Nevalainen takes a seat behind the drum kit and is followed by rest of the band members. Marco Hietala (bass and vocals) takes the stage getting the loudest greeting. At this point everyone in the crowd (including us) is risking of damaging something. Ears or vocal chords.

Few minutes after, at the height of all that ear genocide, riffs for “Bye Bye Beautiful” rips through the air and Nightwish explodes onto the stage. Crowd looks like a sea of big waves jumping up and down. For live video experience to see what this is like please follow this link. Video is from Paris but it’s very similar to this night.

10: 00pm Right after the opener, band goes into Gothic menace of “Dark Chest Of Wonders”. Everyone’s fists (and feet) are in the air at this point. I was truly surprised by the audience’s reaction to the band. Louisville welcomed Nightwish as no other band I’ve seen in this city. I’ve come to realize that music truly transcend geographical locations. You could not tell tonight’s audience from their European counterparts which are famous for headbaning in unison and singing along with the band (see also soccer games). Everyone had their fists in the air, jumping up and down and headbanging intensely while roaring along with the band trough such a emotion benders like: acoustic “Islander” sang by Marco, “Creek Mary’s Blood” and truly nostalgic “While Your Lips Are Still Red” (click link to the video). Marco Hietala’s voice on that one was spellbinding.

Gotta say that I was little disappointed with Annette’s vocals on handling older stuff. She ripped through newer stuff with ease, but I have to say that she struggled with older material originally sang by full blown opera singer Tarja Turunen. Sometimes singing full octave lower to accommodate for her range, Annette was backed up vocally by Marco’s steel pipes. Anyway, what Annette lacked in vocals she definitely delivered in stage presence and interaction with the crowd. She is all smiles and is way more animated than Tarja, engaging the crowd at every step. Highlights of the show so far were: opener “Bye Bye Beautiful” ( I am still not sure if this song is dedicated to their ex vocal legend Tarja), ballad “While Your Lips Are Still Red”, single “Amaranth”, “Sahara”, and brilliant 14 minute theatrical opus, that rivals seasoned classical composers “Poet and Pendulum”. Another photo.

11:15pm - Hour and a half into the show audience shows no signs of letting this band even thinking about leaving the stage. While Annette announced last song of the evening, we all knew that there was going to be more to come. And indeed there was. After only few minute break, band returned to do an encore. “Everdream” and skull crushing “Wish I Had An Angel” closed the show. I gotta tell you, “Wish I Had An Angel” sounded absolutely phenomenal live. So heavy but melodic. It has that militant beat ala Rammstein that really gets crowd going. I really thought my head is going to fly off of my shoulders on that one. For live version of the song (with legendary Tarja) click this link (listening at least 130db is highly recommended) Here’s a photo right before the encore.

Even though Nightwish is relatively young band (11 years), I have to say that I haven’t seen better rehearsed band in a long time. These guys play with seriousness and ease that rivals four decade old metal giants. And those song compositions… Oh boy. Hearing these almost film soundtrack metal pieces live was a truly inspiring and unforgettable experience. Every time you think music cannot take any higher, they switch the key and tempo and you’re transported to another place.

At the end of the show I could not help but think that even if they did not pick perfect replacement for Tarja, music itself was so powerful and theatrically emotional that overshadowed vocals completely. I was also pleasantly surprised by Marko “Marco”Hietala’s vocal abilities. I know he has amazing pipes, but hearing him live belting out some serious notes was something to hear. Every time he took the mic, crowd would go insane.

11:45pm – All members of the band take the stage to do greeting and say goodnight. Crowd cheers them on as they gracefully leave the stage. After almost two hours of theatrical metal , these boys and a girl from Finland leave the stage, but not after promising that they will come back to Louisville again. This time with Sonata Artica as opening act.

After midnight – All sweaty, dirty, physically drained and still having some adrenalin left in our bodies, we all gathered behind buses waiting to meet the band. Indeed they came out, signed autographs and we took pictures with Marco Hietala (bass and vocals) Tuomas Holopainen (keyboards, main composer), Jukka “Julius” Nevalainen (Drums) and with John Two-Hawks, the real Indian who was the chanter and flute player in “Creek Mary’s Blood”. My wife and I even got to talk with Marco Hietala for few minutes, about music and just general life stuff.

Having seen close to probably 300 shows in my lifetime, this was truly beyond my expectations and definitely ranks in my top 10 small venue shows.

Here’s some photos of us with some of the band members.

Myself with Marco Heitala

Myself, Tuomas Holopainen and my wife

Myself and Jukka

Ado and Tuomas

Mili and Jukka

Daniel and Marco

Ado and Marco screaming

Vesna and John Two-Hawk

Myself, Jukka, Vesna and Huso

Dave and Co. are back after 11 years of wait (if you were actually waiting). And I thought Manowar takes a long time between records. Lets start with vocals first. Dave’s vocals are sounding just like on their self titled ‘87 or even Coverdale/Page. I really could not tell much difference. I mean this in a good way. His nicely aged smoke-covered vocal chords are in great shape and it shows on the record. Everything from sensual-baritones to metal-scream face peelers is featured here, so I’ll give him good grade for the pipe work.

Ahh the lyrics.. Cheese as usual. Dave’s constant obsession with love themes and some kind of “lost love” is getting little loony, but again, it complements music perfectly. I just think those kind of themes restrict artists in making any kind of serious metal/hard rock statment. “Lay Down Your Love”, “Fool In Love”, “All For Love”. Love , love love. We get it.

Onto the songs. On “All I need, All I want” looks like Dave insisted using same effects and tone as on “Is This Love”. Similarity is uncanny. “All for Love” is very Thin Lizziesh tune in every sense of the word. Even Dave’s vocal sounded like Phil’s on some of the passages. Rest of the album borrows every trick from Coverdale/Page album. My favorites are: title track, “Best Years” and “Lay Down Your Love”.

Probably the best part of the album is listening Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach totally ripping their guitars apart. Man, some of the solos and riffs are just beyond juicy. I could actually imagine juices running from their axe’s necks on some of the licks. (That might’ve sounded kinda gay but I don’t care. It’s that good!) One way o tell them apart while listening their solos is to remember that Doug has that strong juicy vibrato, while Reb is more clean and little faster.

It’s one of those records where you don’t need more than one or two listen to get the picture. In other words, it cannot really grow on you if you don’t like it the first time. Production is top notch. Not too polished sound lives enough room for live feel. All in all, this is very enjoyable yet predictable record. Very mid-tempo album with just couple ballads. Last track being an almost a ballad. I say JUST a couple (one is more than enough) because Dave is known for his sentimental side more than anything else. I’ll bet it sounds phenomenal live, but lacks intelligence and seriousness as all Whitesnake albums do; however, definitively an album worth listening more than twice.

Rating:

Tracklist:

1. “Best Years”
2. “Can You Hear the Wind Blow”
3. “Call on Me”
4. “All I Want All I Need”
5. “Good to Be Bad”
6. “All for Love”
7. “Summer Rain”
8. “Lay Down Your Love”
9. “A Fool in Love”
10. “Got What You Need”
11. “‘Til the End of Time”
Album Lineup:

* David Coverdale – Vocals
* Doug Aldrich – Guitar
* Reb Beach – Guitar
* Timothy Drury – Keyboards
* Uriah Duffy – Bass
* Chris Frazier – Drums

Beast which lay dormant underneath desolate and dreary Birmingham’s streets since mid 70’s awoken again to give us probably best metal creation ever to be put down on any type of recording medium. 1980 being the best year for metal (according to many metalheads and critics) has been given a crown. Crown being Black Sabbath’s “Heaven and Hell” album. With one masterstroke Sabbath with Heaven and Hell sealed envelope containing best metal music in the year of 1980 and sat it on the highest metal throne.
New singer and new less doomy and more mystical sound is probably the first thing that attacks listener’s ear. Ozzy is out and ex-Rainbow elf-man was brought in to revitalize this metal monster. Ronnie James Dio on the vox fronting the biggest metal band on earth does more for this record then just sings his heart out. Aside from being an archetype metal vocalist, Dio is a master lyrics craftsman. Fresh of the Rainbow wagon Dio uses words as a weapon to further accentuate already celestially crafted songs. Dio just mesmerizes listener with everything from mystical passages and witchery to tackling deepest fears about heaven and hell and just life itself. Writing is done in a very mature and deeply smart, acute but constructive way. It leaves enough room for imagination while at the same time not letting your evil mind roam too far. Here’s a little sample from the title track :

” They say that life’s a carousel
Spinning fast, you’ve got to ride it well
The world is full of kings and queens
Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams
It’s heaven and hell, oh well”

Album opens up with onward-driving and intense Neon Nights, and as soon as Dio opens up his pipes (line goes: oh no…!) one has exhilarating feeling of an operatic, warm and majestic presence. Tony and Co. cut through such a tracks like slower, environment friendly feast “Children of the Sea”, bass-riff driven Lady Evil, lordly brilliance of a title track, smart speeder “Die Young” and bluesy “Lonely is the Word”.
Everyone shines on the album. Especially Tony Iommi and Dio. And those Tony’s bone crushing riffs… Oh boy. Not much to say but that every time he picks up guitar, man is just poised to assault your deepest sense of being with majesty of royal riffery known only to him and no one else. On this album father of the metal guitar Tony Iommy becomes true ambassador of power chords.
Geezer’s punchy, melodic and tasty bass lines are in perfect sync with Bill Ward’s commanding drumming style. Note: Bill says he was so whacked out of his mind on alcohol that he doesn’t remember recording this album at all.
Dark but not too gloomy; mystical but not cheesy; magical but not fantasy, Heaven and Hell is pure metal-masterpiece accomplishment in every sense of the word.
Even when you hear this album in a post-modern production era of NOW, you will realize why it stood the test of time. You can put this album up against anything today’s super bands (especially power-metal) release and it will sound as innovative and more fresh. Martin Birch’s stellar production faithfully captures the sound of a true rock monument that rolls in only once every decade or so. Why is Paranoid more played on radio than” Heaven and Hell” is beyond science, but if you ever had a chance to hear this masterpiece and you don’t own it, I highly suggest you have your head examined.
Easily my favorite Sabbath’s album and probably in the top five metal albums of all time.
Favorite tracks include: Neon Nights, Children of the Sea, Heaven and Hell, and Die Young.

Rating:

Tracklist:
1. “Neon Knights” – 3:49
2. “Children of the Sea” – 5:30
3. “Lady Evil” – 4:22
4. “Heaven and Hell” – 6:56
5. “Wishing Well” – 4:02
6. “Die Young” – 4:41
7. “Walk Away” – 4:21
8. “Lonely Is the Word” – 5:49

Album lineup:
* Ronnie James Dio – vocals
* Tony Iommi – guitar
* Geezer Butler – bass guitar
* Bill Ward – drums
* Geoff Nicholls – keyboards

I always wanted to do review of Judas Priest’s 1990 Painkiller since I consider it to be a third metal catalyst (first being Black Sabbath’s debut and second being Metallica’s debut) that raised the bar for all future metal bands.
Heavy metal hits its plateau every decade or so and early ’90 is no exception. This album really pushed boundaries of ferocious and acrobatic playing to unprecedented level of sophistication. Angry, disappointed and just pissed off, coming straight out of the courtroom Judas Priest releases bombastic fury of a record. Painkiller is what would become foundation of all future kinetic, techno-metal and manic sonic assaults which every band will build their chops from that point on. I don’t just mean guitars, but drums and vocals as well. Just listen to Primal Fear, Gamma Ray, UDO, Silent Force, Marshall Law and countless others, and you’ll se direct influence of Painkiller. Read the rest of this entry »

Menacing darkness descends upon us from the gloomy corners of Scandinavia, is exactly what Swedish death metal act Arch Enemy created here.
“Rise of the Tyrant” does not take any prisoners. One head smasher after another make this record one of the heaviest in ’07. “Rise of the Tyrant” being total assault on your ears (I mean that in a good way) where track after track is coupled with crystal clear production with enough rawness in the mix to satisfy hungriest of hard core fans.
Dark but hopeful; heavy but melodic “Rise of the Tyrant” is my favorite Arch Enemy’s release so far. Passionate and almost nostalgic guitar melody lines are excellently countered by Angela’s brutal vocal delivery (believe it or not vocals are bit cleaner here then on their previous releases), creating truly original Nordic atmosphere. Read the rest of this entry »

Germany’s Brainstorm brings nothing new to the table on this one but still manages to sculpt the sound that’s only their own. Besides how can you not love those crushing riffs, monstrous hooks and majestic vocals. If nothing, it’s ten times better then some unimaginative and already too crowded power metal out there. Don’t get me wrong I love Power-Metal, but I haven’t heard anything new and refreshing from power metallers in a while now.
I place these guys in same realm of “somewhere between classic and power metal” category along with Swedish band Wolf. Brainstorm being more of a Priest-Accept school while Wolf is more of a Maiden recipe. Read the rest of this entry »

Long, long overdue Symphony X’s new album finally reaches music store shelves in June, 2007.
Don’t let the already exhausted theme on John Milton’s book “Paradise Lost” (and no it’s not a concept album) turns you off from this album. This is a truly fresh kick in the guts to already stale power-prog metal scene out there.
Textured with beautiful tapestry of multidimensional sonic madness Paradise Lost easily becomes one of my favorite metal releases of 2007. If I had to describe overall feel and sound of the album I would say that it’s a mixture between early Dream Theater meets Pantera’s “Far Beyond Driven”. Cross that with good Yngwie Malmsteen era and you’ll have some idea of what Paradise Lost sounds like.
A bit darker, more aggressive and less neo-classical then any of their previous releases, Paradise Lost immediately bombards listener with such a complex but tight face metlers like melodic “Set the World on Fire” and odd rhythmic speeder “Domination”. Read the rest of this entry »

Tobias Sammet’s new project “Scarecrow” has even bigger names then “Metal Opera I” and II.
Some of the guests include: Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween), Eric Singer (Kiss), Alice Cooper, Rudolf Schenker (Scorpions), Kai Hansen & Henjo Richter (Gamma Ray), Bob Catley (Magnum), Jorn Lande and many more.
This one deserves track by track analysis on account of multiple guests and just great arrangements.

Track 01: Twisted Mind
Tobias Sammet, Roy Khan (vocals), Sascha Paeth (lead guitars)
One of the best tracks on the album. Intro just slams with concrete strength and German engineered precision. This one is real mid-tempo Accept groover. Read the rest of this entry »

Tireless German growler Udo Dirkschneider releases another solid metal fireball. Not lot of expectations on this one, and no surprises from Udo neither. After seeing a really wicked cover and title one would think the album is about something really horrifying, but according to Udo, Mastercutor is a short for “Master Executor” which is the host of a stupid talk/game show.

What lacks in originality is quickly replaced with musicianship and just cool fricking grooves. I mean UDO and Accept (and maybe Hammerfall) has to be best metal groove-makers on the planet, and along with Motorhead they are the most consistent metal band around. And that voice… One could swear that Udo was fed steel wool as a kid. Read the rest of this entry »

It is so hard to believe that this avalanche of crushing metal is debut of Colorado based Jag Panzer. Named after World War II German tank with good reason, because as soon as you hear this thing you will have feeling that tank just rolled over you.

Album opens up with “Licensed to Kill” and you’re immediately assaulted (I mean it in a good way) with such a vocal power and conviction, not seen in metal so far. Harry (the Tyrant) Conklin sounds just like he is ready to explode and burst out of skin on every damn song. He is type of metal vocalist that you just cannot ignore while listening. It’s right in your face, convincing yet melodic, commanding you to pay attention.

Album continues with onward marching “Symphony of Terror”, NWOBHM-like “Harder Then Steel” and thrasher “Reign of the Tyrants” (intro riff sound too close to Rammstein’s “Adios”) Read the rest of this entry »

Kai and Co. are back with another euro-feast drenched in uplifting metal juice.

Meaning, after last two dark releases (which I really liked), Gamma ray is back writing an ol’ happy metal record.

There is no denying quality of musicianship here. Gamma Ray are truly one of the premier metal musicians around. I just wish guys would write more serious lyrics and dig deep into the dungeons of their early works. You know, Ralph Scheeper (Primal Fear) days.

Let’s do track by track analysis on this one. Read the rest of this entry »

Man is still kicking and screaming despite abuse his body endured during 70′ and 80’s. Prince of darkness is back with what is unfortunately just deja vu from previous “want to be dark and goth-ish” records. It’s just so hard to give Ozzy any grief or bad rating considering his body of work and importance this man had on metal community as a whole.

“Not Going Away” is your typical Ozzy/Wylde track with that doomy, evil techno feel.

Second track (probably best track on the album) quickly turns into mid tempo thunder of a groove. Zakk experimenting with Nu-Metal sound effects (possibly better then any of the todays hoodlums), but his killer vibrato is still there emerging from the depths of hell to terrorize your ear. He just cannot do a one song without it (not really a bad thing). Read the rest of this entry »

New front man (or front woman in this case) Anette Olzon is in critical spotlight here. Ten tons of steel pressure upon this band. Lot of expectations for Anette. Can they deliver (without Tarja) or will they be lost like post-Bruce era of Maiden and go total basket case?

Upon listening this album for the first time one would have a feeling that Anette lacks vocal power Tarja had, but after giving this album few whirls I am not so sure anymore. Her voice is little thinner and popier then Tarja’s for sure, but boy can she sing. Even though Anette is not your gallant opera singer, I have a feeling that she can belt it out Sarah Brightman style if needed (see first track at 4:50).

Since there was awful lot expectation here, lets do track by track inspection. Read the rest of this entry »

Wolf comes with their most manic and most masterfully crafted release so far. Boy, I really dig this one. This is just pure sonic madness. Maelstrom of riffs, dual leads, steroid induced drumming and wrathful but high and clean vocals. This record is pure speed power done with such a precision and technicality that would make any German engineer question meaning of life, and yet it does not feel too tight. Band leaves lot of relaxed room for complexity. It is one of those records where at 2am you wish it was noon already so you can wake up and hear it again. Production is top notch. Not only there is no wasted track on here, but it looks as if every note is superbly thought out and crafted to perfection. Read the rest of this entry »