REVIEW OF THE ALBUM POINT OF IMPACT BY AIR RAID (release date 21/11/14)

Air Raid is a traditional heavy metal band from Sweden, formed in 2009, the style is authentic heavy speed metal influenced by bands like Judas Priest, Agent Steel mainly with drippings of NWOBHM combining melodic and aggressive elements backed by rich compositions, with only an EP Danger ahead, and their first album (2012) Night of the axe, the band already brought true metal anthems to the world like Metal Cult, When the sky turns red or Annihilation to name a few, becoming one of the most promising bands worldwide.

After Michael Rinakakis left the band, Mr Arthur M Andersson became the vocalist of the band, the Halford-Warrant sharp vocal style of Michael will be missed, but at the same time its remarkably extraordinary the quality of Andersson here, bringing a more powerful energy on the style of early Judas Priest combined with elements from Metal Inquisitor or Riot enriched with sharp aggressive and clean operistic high pitched qualities.

The new line up is Mr Andersson on vocals, Stormchild and Johnny Nightshredder on guitars, Rob Thunderbold on bass and Dave Destructor on drums, and a new album is forged out of the flames of metal, due to be release the next 21st November 2014 via High Roller Records. 

Bound to destroy opens the gates with memorable guitar riffs making you bang your head from the very first second, the melodic vocals bring a brilliant epic sense to the action continuing with one of the best tracks of the album, Madness, the entry of this track attacks like a powerful missile to your brains, creating another catchy chorus to be screamed at the gigs,the job on the axes together with Andersson performance is outstanding and forceful, definitely a masterpiece

As the acoustic elements of Victim of the night take you to a more melodic hard-rockish feeling, the heavy metal sign of the band drives you immediately to the head banging, breathtaking mid-fast pounding pulse, developing another extremely catchy chorus backed by the main riff with a perfect harmony, being another top hit in the album.

Wildfire develops a fast paced heavy-speed metal rhythm with plenty power metal elements, vocal parts evolve from mid to high pitched details, over a symphony of sophisticated guitars with palm muted and impulsive mixed with technical elements, continued by the instrumental Flying Fortress, demonstrating again the virtuous style of the guitars and the good harmony between axe masters with the excellent job of the bass and the remarkably technical drums.

Vengeance follows similar patterns of genuine heavy metal with added epic drippings to the mixture seen on previous tracks, the crescendo structure lead the action to a really well composed piece where instrumentals and vocals stand strong shinning bright linked with The fire within, heralding a mid paced melodic heavy metal shot with progressive elements, containing high influence of Dio on the vocal melodies, the long chorus is awesome and very solid; specially brilliant is the second half of the track with ascending intensity of symphonic elements mixed with Priest's Between the Hammer and the anvil details on the guitar solo and powerful emphasis on Andersson role.

The last track is We got the force, a clear demonstration of where the band stands, creating a pure speed metal track with elements seen on the rest of the album, being melodic and

aggressive, sharp and powerful in equality, and probably the piece that better encapsulates the band's sign, and making clear that past, present and future of the band aims for the true metal.

Point of impact will be an all time masterpiece of true metal, the band developed their unique sound becoming one of the finest bands on the scene, with an excellent production and enforced by that wild attitude performed on stage; all these ingredients will make this album an essential for every true metalhead.

9,5 / 10

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Released by High Roller Records



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REVIEW OF THE EP THE LOST ONES BY BLOODRED

Bloodred is a blackened death metal band with epic influences, formed in 2009 in Stuttgart by Ron Merz, being a solo band with him composing and playing all the instruments, recording the first EP released in June 2014 digitally with physical copies in August, Joris Nihenkuis recorded all the drums, leaving the band as a studio project at the moment.

Bloodred drink from the roots of the blackened death metal as they well demonstrate on the first track Spirits of the death, the drums heralds a sophisticated performance changing death and black metal style with the guitars, even showing parts of folk melodies; the essential epic structure is present and goes in crescendo to become the key point of this song.

The harsh and growling techniques on the vocals are correctly managed and boost the final sound to a forceful and headbanging feeling, special mention to the vocal performance on their second and final track of their EP, The lost ones, playing with death and thrash metal elements backed by a remarkably headbanging galloping pulse, evolving in intensity and finalising with folk based notes within an epic and powerful structure.

Bloodred managed a crystal clear production on their first creation, well feed by sophisticated compositions, a gem of the genre with just the first EP!

8,5 / 10

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INTERVIEW WITH CONVENT GUILT

Convent Guilt just released their first album Guns for hire, via Cruz del Sur records and Shadow Kingdom Records! You can check the detailed review here

This is the interview with the band

Hi guys! First of all thank you very much for taking the time!

No trouble at all. Thanks for taking the time to interview us!

As a little introduction, convent guilt is really new band with a demo in 2012 and the album just released this week, tell me how the band was formed and why did you choose Convent Guilt as your band's name?

Nothing wrong with a quick introduction: Convent Guilt formed in 2010. For years I played in a death/thrash band called Shackles, which also featured both Connie G guitarists. Shackles always had a lot of heavy metal influences and it made sense to have a crack at something along more ‘traditional’ lines. The name came to me at a time I don’t even remember. The idea was to go for a ‘good and evil’ two word name (think of Judas Priest, Angel Witch, Sacred Blade), particularly one that included words that aren’t used all the time. Thus was Convent Guilt born.

How was the process of recording Guns for Hire album?

It was bloody hard work, but you expect that. There’s no point doing a quick job just to save time and money – this thing will stay with you ‘til the end of your days, so you want to do it right. We spent a few weekends getting things to a level we were comfortable with. The album was recorded in the same studio as our demo (A Sharp Studio in Sydney) and I think that familiarity helped.

How long did it take to create it?

Given that none of our demo tracks were recycled for the album, we more or less wrote the songs over a 1 1/2 year period after the demo was recorded. ‘Don’t close your eyes’ is an older song, but it’s an exception.

Epic, hard rocker acdc, black Sabbath and early NWOBHM elements are present when the listener plays any of the tracks, what are the main influences of the band?

One thing I’m proud of with Convent Guilt is different elements come to mind for everyone who listens to the band. Our influences cover a wide range of hard rock and heavy metal, though many NWOBHM bands certainly hold a strong attraction. AC/DC, Aerosmith, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Motorhead, Savatage, Riot, Witchcross, Holocaust, Trespass, Thin Lizzy… the list goes on. Beyond music, we’re strongly influenced by Australian history and the dusty land in which we dwell.

It's something awesome to listen, how the vocals go from the Virtue-like epic style in Angels in black leather, shading to hard rocker drippings in convict at arms and transforming to evil feelings in perverse altar, which style do you feel more comfortable and why?

Thanks, I’m glad you appreciate the rough throat! To be honest, I’m not sure which style is most comfortable. I’m guided by emotion with my vocals, rather than perfect technique. No doubt plenty of people will say that’s a bad thing, but I think feeling and passion is often lost these days. The main thing on the album is variety, as I think the best albums of yore had that. Sure, we have our sound and our style, but we like to mix things up within that context.

How do you feel after this album was finished?

Firstly we felt buggered. That happens when you finish something that takes a lot of time and effort. Then we felt impatient, waiting for the sucker to be released. The overall feeling however is satisfaction, as we’ve come up with an album that we’re proud of and that is an honest reflection of what we do.

How is the international media reacting to the album so far?

The album is released on LP by Cruz del Sur (based in Italy), CD by Shadow Kingdom (based in the USA) and on tape by Dying Victims Productions (based in Germany). I think the fact that our labels are based ‘closer to the action’ has really helped, as there has been a lot of promotion done already. Reviews have been mixed, but you will never please everyone. You have to take them with a grain of salt though, because they often reflect more the taste (or lack of it) of the reviewer than the quality of the music.

How is the traditional heavy metal scene in Australia? Tell me also about the band's tour life, how is it going since the release of your demo in 2012?

The scene here is small, but there is hope. Apart from Convent Guilt, there’s Johnny Touch, Raven Black night, Doomed Beast, Demons Gate, Outcast, The Wizar’d and Dracula at various stages of their careers. We don’t play a lot – maybe half a dozen times a year at most – and shows are sort of ‘one here, one there’, rather than tours. We have four shows around Australia between now and early next year and that’ll just about do us I think.

The album is out now and the band need a tour plan, what are the plans? Is there any national tour coming?

Due to the distance and relatively few decent-sized cities to play in Australia, touring is not really viable. We’re playing in Bendigo, Bathurst, Hobart and Melbourne – and if you check them out on a map you’ll realize there’s a fair bit of country/water in between. Add to that the fact that we all have day jobs and it’s hard to justify a two week jaunt across the land.

It's still early but do you have plans of playing internationally?

Definitely so. The plan is to let the album weave its way into people’s heads and then see if there’s interest in playing overseas. Maybe next year if things go well.

Have you had any offer of playing in another country?
 

No offers yet. I think we’ll try to go to New Zealand next, as it’s close and easy to arrange. It’s practically another state of Australia anyway.

Tell me about your best experiences on stage.

With Convent Guilt my favourite show was probably the Evil Invaders festival we played in Sydney. As for other bands I’ve played with, Headbangers Open Air with Trench Hell (and in fact the whole Trench Hell tour of Europe) was a blast. The best Shackles show was our first visit to Hobart: leather, whiskey, women and wildfire.

What bands have you shared stage with?

Convent Guilt played with Tankard and Abigail a few months ago. Apart from that, we’ve played with local bands such as Denouncement Pyre, Innsmouth, Hellbringer, Erebus Enthroned and The Corps. We often play with black and death metal bands, as they tend to be our mates and people with similar ideas about music, even if differently portrayed.

Which country would you like to visit and which bands would you like to share stage in the future?

Any country is fine by me. I’ve played throughout Western/Northern Europe and would love to take Connie G over there. The US would be great as well. Hmm, how about England? Would be nice to go back to the old roots. As for who to play with, this sounds like a cop out but we’ll gladly play with any band we respect. A couple of names of present-day heavy metal bands I rate: High Spirits and Black Trip.

Bandemonic, Night or Toledo steel are bands that have similarities with your style, do you know them?

Unfortunately I don’t. Thanks for the tip off though, as I will check them out.

Where do you see the band in 3 years time?

A bit more bald, a bit more grey and a bit more jaded. Beyond that, hopefully with another album and an overseas tour under our belt

Finally, could you leave a message to your fans?

Thanks for the support so far. We appreciate it. Convent Guilt fans are the ones who realize music is more about passion and feeling than crystal clean perfection; about catchy songs rather than technical drudgery; about starting fires rather than putting them out. You are what hard rock is about.

Thanks so much for your time and I hope to see you soon on stage! Cheers

Thanks mate, all the best to you and your ‘zine. Give us a stage and we’ll give you a show!

Convent guilt are

Dario (guitars)
Matt (acoustic and rhythm guitars)
Brent (drums)
Ian (vocals, bass)

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Released by Cruz del Sur Music and Shadow Kingdom Records


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REVIEW OF THE ALBUM THE END IS WRITTEN, BY DOOMOCRACY

Doomocracy is a doom metal band from Greece, formed in 2011, looking for the roots of the doom metal scene like Candlemass, Solitude or Black Sabbath; signing with Steel Gallery Records in July 2014 and releasing their first album late September 2014. The band is comprised by Angelos Tzanis and Harry Dokos on the guitars, Michael Stavrakakis on the vocals, Minas Vasilakis on drums and Manolis Schizakis on the bass.

Doomocracy style is based in the old school doom metal as their main influence, you can find also lots of palm muted riffs melted with power metal feelings and some slow paced thrash metal elements here and there, instrumentals bend into progressive territory mostly on the solos creating an unique sound, remarkably notorious due to the high pitched clean vocals, more proper of power metal or speed metal bands, but fitting perfectly with the rest of the band; really appreciable the clean parts combined with brilliant aggressive sharp techniques remembering the style of bands like Oliver Magnum.

The album starts with Sadness and Hesitation, as the double pedal combined with an awesome pure doom riff take you to the genuine style of the band, remarkable the powerful energy of the bridge and chorus, dripping epic melodies in a slow mid tempo pulse and well linked with Faceless, offering another mid tempo shot of power doom metal, this time the vocal performance is outstanding as well as the harmony between guitars and drums.

Doormacht (Der Apokalyptische Untergang) develops a slow paced thrashy riff enriched with a constant mid and high pitched vocal play, as The Celephais Curse main riff gives you the alert of an apocalypse feeling, following the same patterns but adding more double pedal to the mixture, good headbanging bridge being one of the strongest parts of the album.

The end is written heralds one of the best riffs of the band, followed really well by the doom metal slow pulse, the vocal interpretation is awesome from start to finish. Guitar solos and double pedal drums make this song a good highlight of the album as Emissary of Vengeance goes in crescendo to a light mid tempo beginning evolving to one of their best choruses and excellent high ranged screams, taking out the aggression of the true metal, really headbanging and perfect for singing along with the band if you catch them on tour.

Hanging Puppet begins also with an ascending progression using sharp styled vocals in the verses and a long chorus, always backed by a sophisticated technical guitars and drums, the solo in this track heralds some oriental feeling on the melodies, resulting in a great act with a good harmony with all the band members.

The last track, Sins, contains two sections well marked by the role of the vocals, the melancholic ballad is so well played that gives it an extraordinary intensity with the high and low melodies, one of the best performances that explodes into their fastest tempo shot releasing the full power of force and hate, headbanging masterpiece always with the melodic chorus sign of the band, also great job on the solo being as usual perfectly technical leading to an intense ending becoming their best song.

The end is written will be a perfect gem for every doom metal maniac, on top of this, the band's influences let them forge a powerful epic feelings to their compositions, mastering a technical power-doom metal that will be well recognized by the international metal scene.

8 / 10


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Released by Steel Gallery Records




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INTERVIEW WITH MAUSOLEUM GATE

Mausoleum Gate first album is coming the next 10th October, you can check the review of the album here.

This is the interview with the band

Hi guys! I admit its a pleasure to have the chance to interview you so thank you very much to you and also to Mr Wolf Mühlmann for making it possible.

Could you tell me why did you chose the name Mausoleum Gate as the band's name? 

Well the name describes our music very well and it has the same vibe as Mercyful fate or Black Sabbath for example.

This is the first full length in 6 years, after a demo and a single, how do you value the evolution of the band during this time?

Obviously the line-up change has changed the band also even though many of the songs are from the old line-up period. I think we have moved a bit to the 70's heavy metal and maybe some progressive elements have more creeped in.

The band evolved from classic heavy metal and doom roots then to include Uriah heep-

Rainbow Elements, how do you feel with the result? 

Sounds fine. I mean Rainbow -the Dio-era- is very significant influence as well as Heep. But I think that NWOBHM-thing hasn't disappeared and it's still very strong.I think we have took different ideas form the past and made something of our own from it.

What bands mainly influenced the bands sound?

Well the NWOBHM-scene: Maiden,Saxon,Angel Witch and so on. Also Mercyful Fate is  a very big influence. And then there are 70's names like Zeppelin,Sabbath,Purple and Heep.Also there are influences from 70's progressive rock like Yes,King Crimson,Genesis and Jethro Tull. A lot of influences really: I'm also a fan of southern rock and there are AOR and jazz likers in the band too.

The album is about to be released and I know is still early, but for now, how did the media react to this release? 

Well the reaction has been mostly very positive. I have read only a couple of more negative reviews which is quite amazing in a way. Our music,our way of playing and our sound are in many ways so uncompromising. Nice to see there are so many who have also saw our vision.

How was the experience of the recording of the album?

It was quite loose and free. We had no pressures at that point because we did it ourselves.Of course when it came to mixing and engineering etc. Wicked Ischanius had the biggest workload on him but for me this was a good way to record.

The band signed with Cruz del Sur music, how do you value the relation with this company?

Well we have been very satisfied so far. The co-operation has been really great.

How many albums have you signed for?

To my understanding only this one. We are a new band and this is our debut  after all.

How do you feel the heavy metal scene in Finland? 

Finnish metal underground is very much alive. There are bands like Evil-Lyn,Speedtrap,Lord Fist,Hellspirit,Lantern and Brainthrash among other very promising bands and  a lot of good metal around. When it comes to more mainstream metal in Finland I think it has got a bit generic unfotunately-Mostly soundwise. I wish there would be more experimenting and variation. Maybe it will change I dunno.

Tell me about your gigs life, how active have been the band since the release of your 2013 single?

I must say we are not a very active live band when it comes to the amount of gigs. It's mainly because the scheduling is quite challenging and that is due to day jobs, different places we live and so on. There could be more gigs but I must say we have enjoyed every gig so far.

NWOBHM legends Cloven Hoof shared stage with you, which other bands have you shared stage with?

Well we have played with Lord Fist,Misty Knight,Sarcofagus,Leather Rebels to mention a few.

Tell me your most memorable moment during your last tour.

Well we haven't done a tour but most memorable thing was the first gig with Mausoleum Gate in Metal Warning III when nobody knew us and we just had to do everything to get audience's attention. Finally we managed to do that and that was -and always is- very rewarding.

Which bands would you like to share stage with in the future? And Which countries would you like to visit?

Sabbath,Mercyful Fate,Maiden...well we got on stage with Exciter and Uli Jon Roth in Keep It True Festival if everything goes as planned. Germany is good country to play and U.K of course, Japan would be really exciting too! 

What are the plans now that the album is out? Could you anticipate some details about an imminent tour?

We just take a little look here how the album is doin' and start to rehearse for the upcoming gigs. There are some plans before KIT but nothing confirmed yet.

Lost beyond the sun is one of your best compositions, could you tell me how do you feel with that song?

That's a nice one. A real nice one. It wasn't so planned it evolved almost by itself.The parts just came up.Really natural process.

Which is your favourite mausoleum gate song?

Lost Beyond The Sun,Mausoleum Gate and Demon Droid ( I love guitarharmonics in that!)

Last but not least,could you leave a message to your fans?

Stay Heavy and Keep On Metal Forever! Never Ever Surrender!

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REVIEW OF THE ALBUM DEAD WINTER SUN BY BORN OF FIRE

Born of Fire was formed back in 1998, in Arizona (US) releasing their first demo a year later and a first full length in 2000 called Transformation, comprising a sophisticated power metal style well accepted by the international media. After a 3 tracks EP the band took a lull of 10 years just to come back with renovated energies in 2012 releasing the compilation album Anthology via No Remorse Records.

Born of fire then signed with Pure Steel and are ready to release their second full length the next 14th November, Dead winter Sun, heralds notorious progressive drippings under an American power metal structure, lots of changes of rhythms in the compositions and the inclusion of orchestrated elements combined with the melodic electric guitars, and no doubt, the vocals are in the clean, melodic and mid high pitched style on the line of bands like Queensryche, Fate Warning or Crimson Glory.

Cast the last stone starts the record becoming part of the highlights of the album, awesome from the mid tempo pulse with melodic vocals to a catchy chorus linked with Dead winter sun, the tittle track of the album, being another top track of genuine progressive American power metal, slow to mid paced track on the line of Queensryche.

Echoes of the lost goes in crescendo to a mid pulse intense anthem with one of the best vocal performance well backed by orchestra and electric guitars as the Hollow Soul riff take you to an awesome mid paced trip of epic verses and melodic progression with outstanding interpretation on the vocals, then the double pedal drums introduces the listener to the aggressive headbanging song In a cold world containing some modern elements but very much on the line of the band's style, excellent the changes of pulse and the vocal perception.

Last goodbye and Tears are the ballads of the album, with a good amount of intensity and also enriched with a refined composition that in general has been taken care in every detail, the acoustic guitars and violins play definitely a very well performed role.

As the symphony of Speed of dark opens in very well produced dark atmospheric feeling its the turn of Spiritual warfare, continuing the usual rhythm patterns of the rest of the album, with remarkable job of the vocalist creating a good high pitched pace, and also the harmony between the guitars and orchestra elements are brilliant.

When hope dies explodes in a fast tempo pure power metal act, the progressive drippings are leaded at perfection by a combination of power and aggressive elements, superb performance in this track, remarkably their best hit to finish the album.

The album in general is awesomely produced, and the details have been taken care denoting a hard job well done, every song is sophisticated in the compositions and the vocal parts are remarkably brilliant, but looking the album as a whole, you'll find the pulse in general follows the same diagrams, feeling some times the need of faster rhythms or more straight choruses.

Excellent album though, Dead winter Sun remarks the reborn of this band, burning brighter than ever with renovated power!

7,5 / 10



Born of Fire are comprised by:

Gordon Tittsworth - vocals

Booby Chavez - guitars

Victor Morell - guitars & keyboards

Michael Wolff - bass guitar

Steve Dorssom - drums


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Release by Pure Steel Records



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REVIEW OF THE ALBUM GUNS FOR HIRE BY CONVENT GUILT

Convent guilt is a classic heavy metal band from Australia formed in 2010 and releasing their first demo in 2012, they are releasing their first album Guns for hire the next 10th of October 2014, via Cruz del Sur Music (LP) and Shadow kingdom Records (CD).

Their influences comes from the early hard rock like ACDC at some points but adding a good dose of classic NWOBHM all over their compositions, you will find heavy metal elements from Holocaust, Savage or Fist with also epic details seen on bands like Virtue or Overlorde, all of this built over well established 70s heavy metal structure.

Angels in black leather brings you up just like Stand to fight from Virtue does, like a shot of heavy speed metal with certain elements of epic and power verses, exploding with their best chorus becoming their best hit and slowed down with Don't close your eyes, returning to those early ACDC style into scene back again, obviously the blues hard rocker style they spread is enriched with a clear epic heavy metal heart in this intense mid tempo track.

Perverse altar kicks in as a real headbanging fast paced pulse, bringing another top shot of the band, so powerful and well harmonized forging a memorable low pitched chorus, giving a real evil touch to the song, great crescendo at the second half and brilliant ending.

They took her away could be among their most original songs, well played on the vocals dancing with the acoustic guitar perfectly, changing intensity with a really epic mid tempo shot continuing with Desert Brat, a mid tempo hard and heavy track with awesome strong pounding drums, one of their best demonstrations of classic NWOBHM influences also seen in Convicts at arms, this time better composed and more melodic song with a really effective chorus.

Guns for hire is the tittle track, offering the perfect combo of hard rock and early heavy metal revealing the genuine sound of the band, outstanding evolution within this track and excellent job on the instrumentals, accelerating the pulse to a breathtaking fast paced anthem with powerful elements we have Stockade, a hit that will take you to a restless head banging bringing memories of Let it loose by Savage, just awesome!

Guns for hire style is part of a new wave of traditional heavy metal bands that are more influenced by the early roots of classic heavy metal, the oldschool sound is managed at perfection and the vocals offer not only the epic sense of the mid 80s heavy metal bands but also develop a really addictive evil feeling.

Convent guilt got the power and the glory of the new wave of british heavy metal with their first album!

8,5 / 10



Convent guilt are

Dario (guitars)
Matt (acoustic and rhythm guitars)
Brent (drums)
Ian (vocals, bass)

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Released by Cruz del Sur Music


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