The Veil

Musically Ghosts of Memory is absolutely superb, unfortunately however it doesn’t quite reach the heights it could. From the very beginning, one thing that will stand out is the extremely deep clean vocals. While they’re certainly impressive, they tend to drown out some of the more subtle parts of the music, and occasionally sound too far separated from the rest of the band. They become a bit monotonous by the end as well, although the higher cleans and harsh growls that pop up at times break it up just enough. And the general dark-versus-light theme of the album would benefit greatly from a more dynamic sound, but the heavier riffs don’t have the power behind them to really contrast with what is either side. They simply sound a bit lacklustre, and even muddy in parts.

In the grand scheme of things, those negatives are nothing. Once you get past the low point that is opener “When We Were Alive”, Ghosts Of Memory is a moving listen. The violin is very tastefully used, and you’ll be craving some picturesque scenery in no time. There is some serious passion in here. 8/10

Band: The Veil
Album: Ghosts of Misery
Year: 2011
Genre: read the review…
Label: Independent
Origin: Sydney, Australia
http://www.theveilband.com/

Track list:
1. When We Were Alive
2. Crushed
3. Endtime
4. The Tide
5. The Light That Burns
6. Distance
7. On Other Days
8. What Will Come
9. Trust Me

It begins with a rush of percussion, the pounding of hearts right before the rush of adrenaline..

What is it that makes a truly great album? Is it pounding riffs and driving drum lines? Is it soft melodies and strong dynamics? Is it powerful vocals and intelligent lyrics? Is it strength in diversity and composition?

The answer is no. While each of these vicissitudinous elements is fleetingly important (and of course seasoned to taste) they are not at the heart of this issue. What makes a truly great album, an album that you will never forget, an album that you will keep coming back to regardless of mood or temperament is feeling. It is the feeling that music is able to inject into its listener that has been the source of hairbrushes turning into microphones, thin air turning into guitars and metal crowds turning into headbanging, swirling pools of madness for as long as such things have been possible. It is this same feeling that makes Ne Obliviscaris something else.

Portal of I is absolutely intense from start to finish. Every moment of the album is engineered to grab the listener and just not let go. This is not music that will simply hold your attention- it is music that will completely enthral you, hold you in stunned rapture, for its entire 72 minutes, not letting go for even a second. The album is astoundingly diverse, yet no matter what the dynamic level is at any given moment, it is completely captivating. Whether it is the flamenco-style grooves swinging at the start of “And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope”, the classical guitar and violin dancing together, constantly building over the course of 6+ minutes to form a majestic, melodic introduction to “Forget Not”, the unbelievably tight Gojira-style drumming pounding incessantly behind the strings or the gigantic Opeth-style walls of chords that will simply take your breath away, everything is constructed to be nothing short of heart-stopping. The constant interplay between these styles only serves to emphasise the energy pouring out of the songs.

If you thought the vocal performance on the band’s 2007 demo The Aurora Veil was impressive then Xenoyr and Tim Charles will completely blow you away on Portal of I. Xenoyr’s black metal hissing shrieks have improved dramatically from the demo (and this is coming from a reviewer that is not even a huge fan of black metal) and his overall range has expanded to also include a massive death metal roar that is used just as often and perfectly matches the intensity of the rest of the music. Tim Charles’ clean voice has reached unnerving levels of beauty- whether he is singing on his own or dancing a dynamic duet with Xenoyr, Charles’ haunting voice will send shivers down your spine. The album’s conclusion in particular is particularly profound, featuring only Charles’ voice dancing beautifully, hauntingly, over a very soft guitar line before gradually building the number of voices and incorporating a violin line to end the piece on a note as grandiose as the album deserves.

I have never given a perfect score before, and indeed I rarely give anything even close. To describe an album as perfect is to say ‘this album is faultless, I can find no flaw, no place to improve upon the quality of the sound, the composition or the style’, a truly rare thing to say of even the very best albums. But perfection is more than the absence of flaws, it is also about possessing that intangible something else, that extra little bit that pushes it from something you love listening to something that you cannot imagine now being absent from your life. The perfect album is something that will pick you up and take you somewhere else, the album against which all others much be compared only to inevitably fall short. With all that said, this decision was never in question.

It ends with a whisper, a murmur into infinity… 10/10

Band: Ne Obliviscaris
Album: Portal of I
Year: 2012
Genre: Progressive Metal
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
Label: Welkin Records (Australia), Code666 (International)

Tracklisting:
1. Tapestry of the Starless Abstract
2. Xenoflux
3. Of the Leper Butterflies
4. Forget Not
5. And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope
6. As Icicles Fall
7. Of Petrichor Weaves Black Noise

All three of those demo tracks do appear here again, but the much improved recording has breathed new life into them, making them just as thrilling to listen to as the first time those original recordings hit the internet. In particular the eerie, mellow guitars on “The Black Rain” sound leagues better and the newly added keyboards, written and performed by Mark Kelson, add a whole new layer of depth to “Like Jewels In The Sky”. Despite being the shortest and probably fastest track, “I Hope” is also somehow the darkest, with Jayme Sexton’s vocals being at their most monstrous, and some clean guitars very reminiscent of early Opeth. And in contrast, the ten minute title track is surprisingly beautiful; one of those tracks that is better with your eyes closed.

Okera have taken the best parts of both ends of the whole melodic death/doom spectrum, forging an album that hits all of the right spots. It is overflowing with infectious yet melancholic melodies, and is continuously flowing from crushing riffs through to subtle clean sections and back again. And despite the whole album sounding somewhat bleak, it has a constant sense of hope throughout; it sounds exactly as the title would suggest.

Expect to see A Beautiful Dystopia on quite a few end-of-year lists. 8.5/10

Band: Okera
Album: A Beautiful Dystopia
Year: 2012
Genre: Melodic death/doom
Label: Independent
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
http://okera.bandcamp.com/

Track list:
1. The Black Rain
2. I Hope
3. Futility
4. In Solitude
5. All That’s Lost
6. Like Jewels In The Sky
7. A Beautiful Dystopia

Dumbsaint

The album opens with some chanting, before bursting into some tight and precise drumming and delay rich guitar lines. There’s a sort of musical undercurrent to the song as it drifts and bounces around in its own space, the bass and guitar parts weaving in together and out together, tied to the central point of rhythm: the drummer. Sure enough some fuzz filled powerchords kick in, but only for a moment. It’s then back to the simmering, soft spoken styling of the first three minutes of the song. The song seems to build, the pace picks up, but a left turn at the last minute loops it back to more of the reserved, glassy, and introverted guitar sounds. The song is an awkward moment drawn out: just as you think the climax of the song arrives, it peaks off. Tension rises and tension falls. Finally the distortion is kicked on, the drumming picks up pace, and everything drives towards the final moment, powering along towards the song’s grand finale. The song not only rocks, it is also an immaculately constructed soundscape.

The sonic qualities described above pretty much cover it. Dumbsaint have honed in on a distinctive sound and style: fuzz based distortion, glassy delayed melodic riffs and  the continual mounting of tension. The band has an extremely cinematic feel to their music, as you’re drawn into the musical plot, as it escalates and de-escalates, you are pulled along with the twists and turns and false build ups. More so than music, Something That You Feel Will Find Its Own Form is about sound.  The album is full of moments that are sonically intense, or sonically dark, or both as on ”INT.A CHEERLESS ROOM. A MAN IS SCARED”. Whose cinematic title hints at the song’s film like sense of atmosphere, some of which is conveyed through sparse sound bites mixed into the music. The song catches the sense of panic and paranoia  that are present in the sound bites, dragging the listener into one of the darkest and most powerful songs on the album.

Something That You Feel Will Find Its Own Form  is album with incredible musicianship, a focus on sonic detail, and a powerful atmosphere. Over eight songs, the album runs for almost an hour  and towards the final track things start to get stale. The repetitive nature of the music starts to really weigh in towards the end, something post-metal icons Neurosis and ISIS both managed to avoid on their records.

All in all Something The You Feel Will Find Its Own Form  isn’t the easiest album to just sit down and listen to. It requires concentration, time and something resembling the right frame of mind. But when all the pieces fall in place, it’s one hell of an album, and even when they don’t, it’s an excellent and incredibly impressive record. 9.3/10

Band: Dumbsaint
Album: Something That You Feel Will Find Its Own Form
Year: 2012
Genre: Post Metal
http://birdsrobe.bandcamp.com/album/something-that-you-feel-will-find-its-own-form

Tracklist:
1.Rivers Will Be Crossed
2.Cinematic
3.Lying In Sign
4.Don’t Forget To Bring Down The Sky
5.INT. A CHEERLESS ROOM. A MAN IS SCARED
6.Inwaking
7.She Was His
8.I Am An Image

“Resistance” kicks off proceedings on the new disc and is a very slow and brooding intro that builds to a huge crescendo. This is in between a song and an intro and brings back memories of some of Ministry’s finest work. “World Scum” explodes right off the bat and is as powerful a metal track as you are likely to hear in 2012. The thing that jumps out most from the offset is the inclusion of Dan Kincade on drums and Tony Campos on bass really has filled out the Soulfly sound. The new rhythm section completely owns this track (and many others). The anthemic powered rhythms are a much-welcomed return to the sound of the ‘Primitive’ album. It wouldn’t be a Soulfly album without guest vocalist, and a quick read of the booklet reveals that Ryan Travis of Cattle Decapitation lends his voice to “World Scum”. Speaking of vocalists, a common theme throughout the album that is very clear is that Max Cavalera has deepened his snarl substantially to the point where there are grindcore-influences in some of the vocals. This actually works quite well in the context of the album as a whole as it adds a completely different texture to it. Where the last few albums were “playing it safe”, Enslaved sees the band really experimenting on many fronts and pulling it off for the most part.  A definite highlight is “Redemption of Man by God” which sees Dez Fafara of Devildriver lending his snarls, however rather than the typical ‘one sings a chorus the other a verse’, this track sees Dez and Max trading vocals a few lines at a time. It’s like a vocal battle where the real winner is the listener. Again, this is something Soulfly has really tried before, but it is one of the things that is going to separate this album from many of the other Soulfly records to date.

“Gladiator” is another track that stands out on the album. It’s probably the most complex and diverse track on the album and surprisingly probably the track that stands out the most in terms of musical and lyrical themes. Middle-eastern passages and sitar make an appearance on this track along with some of the most ferocious riffing we have heard on a Soulfly album. Special mention should also be made of “Plata O Plomo” which sees Soulfly slow it down for a second and revert to the groove-metal that they are so good at. It features Spanish guitar and is sung in Spanish. Again, adding a different spin to the album as a whole.  On the flip side, there are some tracks that undo a lot of the good work of the above-mentioned songs. For example, “Revengeance” is a bit of a personal vehicle for Max and his family in that it features Max and all three of his sons and is a tribute to his other son who died in a car accident back in 1996. Their hearts may be in the right place, but It doesn’t feel much like a part of this album as it never really fits in. With several very different vocal stylings, it’s hard to know how to react to this track. Making it the last track on the album only makes it stand out even more and not necessarily in a good way.

In terms of an overall sound, “Enslaved” sees Soulfly speed up things quite a bit from their previous move groove-metal outings. This has much to do with the inclusion of Kincade and Campos who turn everything they touch to gold on this album. Fans of battering thrash will be all over this, but the trade off is that the quick tempo doesn’t really allow much space for the “groove” aspect of Soulfly to come through (except of tracks like the awesome “Plata O Plomo”). Again, this sets it apart from the last few discs, but at the same time it is now trending awfully similar to Cavalera’s other projects (Sepultura and Cavalera Conspiracy) in many parts of the new record. The drawback here is that Enslaved is a great “Soulfly” record, but its not a great Cavalera Conspiracy or Sepultura album and at times it floats in between these three projects.

‘Enslaved’ could have been so much worse than it actually was. It’s actually a solid album when all things are considered. While the album certainly has its flaws, it has many strengths and twists too.  “Enslaved” will definitely surprise a lot of people like myself who were ready to tear Soulfly a new one after the last few albums. Maybe not a great album per se, but a good album that holds enough respect to get a few spins. Soulfly fans and fans of diverse metal on the one album will enjoy this one. 7/10

Band: Soulfly
Album: Enslaved
Year:  2012
Genre: Groove / Thrash Metal
Location: USA
Label: Roadrunner Records Australia

Tracklisting:

Resistance
World Scum
Intervention
Gladiator
Legions
American Steel
Redemption of Man by God
Treachery
Plata O Plomo
Chains
Revengeance

Van Halen’s first new album with David Lee Roth on the mic in nearly 30 years has finally dropped and the results are surprisingly good.  I say “surprisingly” as no one really though that DLR would return to VH, and if he ever did return the chances of them working together long enough to release an album before imploding were slim. Well, not only do we have a new VH album with DLR, but it’s not the total train wreck many people / critics / fans were expecting.
“A Different Kind of Truth” is almost entirely culled from unpolished, unfinished and unreleased work the band had written in their heyday. This was met with some criticism (not least from a jaded ex-singer who shall remain nameless but has the initials Sammy Hagar) and called a “copout”. To these ears though the results speak for themselves. Van Halen wrote the book on hard rock in the 80’s and revisiting some unused pages in that book ensures that the legacy of the band is not tarnished. Thankfully, these songs do not sound like old men ripping off their history and hanging on to what’s left of their fan base. In fact these songs sound “fresh” and updated (having heard the original demos over the years). So how does the album stack up as a whole?

The choice of “Tattoo” as the lead single and album opener was not a good choice. It may have more to do with the fact that “Tattoo” is the most commercial-friendly and accessible song on offer here. Still despite being the opener it’s the low point for an otherwise good album. For me, the album really starts with “She’s The Woman”. Which taps into the 80’s spirit with some very slick interplay in the intro between Eddie Van Halen and his son Wolfgang on bass duties. This song comes complete with a vintage VH solo which sees Eddie showing the young upstarts he is still the king. “She’s the Woman” sees DLR in fine form and brings back some of the classic VH lyrics which are as big a part of the VH history as Eddie’s solos and Michael Anthony’s backing vocals. It’s all there – the grunts, the little wailing asides, the random background “Whooo!” and “Yeayaa!” accents peppered around Eddie’s volleying squeals. From here on in we know that if VH can keep this groove going, they are back!

“You And Your Blues” is the albums most noticeable nod to the Van Hagar era and could easily have appeared on the “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” album. Most of the VH trademarks are here especially with the background vocals being a constant presence and Eddie pulling every trick out of the bag but this the calm before the storm as the album highlights is up next.

Van Halen’s legendary tapping kicks off furiously in “China Town” with a very noticeable nod to Beethoven much like VH “I” and “II” albums. The band is on fire throughout this relatively short (and sweet) track. This one will have bedroom guitarists holed-up in their room for month on end trying to work it out. China Town is not alone in this regard as “Bullethead” is another 2 and a half minute Eddie showcase. The first real obvious example of “recycling” some earlier material shows up on “As Is”. This really is “Hot For Teacher Pt 2” in that it has the same feel and could easily have replace HFT on the 1984 album. Is being compared to seminal hard-rock classic a bad thing? Hell No!
There are a lot of songs on offer here that “hit” the mark, but there are also a few glaring “misses”. Along with “Tattoo” we are given “Honeybabysweetiedoll” which sits out of place on the disc. Not that it is necessarily a “bad” song but it is made to look rather average as it is bookended by two of the albums stronger tracks in “As Is” and “The Trouble With Never” on either side. The later, “The Trouble With Never” is a little different from the rest of the material on this album. It is very funky and from the opening riffs, had you not known this was a VH album, you would swear it’s Nuno Bettencourt shredding on a new Extreme album (Disclaimer…Extreme is a fantastic band and if you only know them as the “More Than Words” band, then please listen to Pornograffiti and the debut in their entirety and see how great they really are…skipping MTW of course). Anyway, “The Trouble With Never” is probably DLR’s highpoint on this disc. Sure he hasn’t got the higher register in his voice that he used to have, but he still has that swagger in his voice and lyrics which leave many of his contemporaries in his dust.

“Stay Frosty” is “Ice Cream Man” Part Two and is surprisingly successful. Much like its predecessor on the “I” album this track starts off with a swamp-blues swagger with just Eddie and DLR jamming on the intro, but it doesn’t take long before this is kicked into full gear with some excellent work from Alex Van Halen and a solo that will put many a blister  on many a guitarists hands!
Rather than go through every track’s it’s best to note what does (or doesn’t) work on “A Different Kind Of Truth overall:

1: “A Different Kind of Truth” is a fine album but it is not as good as Van Halen’s seminal albums, like “I” or “1984.” But expecting this new album to be an all-time great is expecting too much. Taking it for what it is and the time that has passed since the VH’s and DLR were last together this is an album that could have quite easily been a train-wreck but against all odds it’s a solid album from (almost) start to finish with very little filler.
2: Eddie is still great and sound refreshed and alive on every track here. He’s even bought back the classic VH “brown sound” (the guitarists reading this will know what that is). Basically this sounds like early-era Eddie updated for the 2000’s. Main point here is that he is sounding like he is having fun playing again.

3: David Lee Roth sounds fine. However after 30 years his voice is not the same in that he doesn’t really go for the higher notes anymore. It is what it is but is a slight shame that a lot of Eddie’s fine work is offset by some of DLR’s spots here. Many of the background vocals and riffs could have done with the trademark DLR falsetto which has long since deserted him and especially the background vocals f Michael Anthony….speaking of which…
4: They need Michael Anthony back. Wolfgang does a fine job in pulling off the bass duties (actually better than I thought h would…I wonder if it’s not Eddie playing the bass on the record??). They need Michael Anthony back if only for the backing vocals. Anytime the band goes into the high register gang vocals is torturous. MA’s backing vocals were such a huge part of the overall classic VH sound and they are an obvious omission here. Songs like “She’s The Woman” would be an instant HIT cult classic if it had the MA backing vocals.

5: Van Halen can still compose great rock n’ roll but it’s their short and sweet songs that work best. Songs like “China Town,” “Outta Space” and “Bullethead” are all around the 3-minute mark and are fantastic cuts as the band doesn’t have a chance to stray off into experimental territory. Once the songs pass the magic four-minute mark, we start to get more of Alex’s drumming (meh), Wolfgang’s bass (meh), and Dave’s two-decades-on range (ouch).
6: While this isn’t a Van Halen classic (see point #2), “A Different Kind of Truth” is still a surprisingly good album. This album has many of the trademarks that we have come to know and love from VH– from Dave’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics through to Eddie’s definitive solo’s and trademark signature licks and sound – to please any Van Halen fan over and over again.

“A Different Kind Of Truth” is an album that tips its hat to the VH legacy without completing destroying it. The band sounds refreshed and rejuvenated with Eddie in particular putting in one of his best all-round performances sing the “F.U.C.K” album but as good as it is it also raises some questions. For example, It’s a good album but what would it have sounded like if Michael Anthony had still been in the band? With most of the songs being rehashed of unreleased demos, what would an album of all “new” VH material sound like? Overall “ADKOT” is a worthy addition to the VH collection. It’s a solid album and when it’s good, it’s VERY good but at the same time it’s always going to be compared to other DLR era album which is where it falls short.  7.5/10

Band: Van Halen
Album: A Different Kind Of Truth
Year: 2012
Genre: Hard Rock
Location: United States
Label: Interscope

Tracklisting:

1.  Tattoo
2.  She’s the Woman
3.  You and Your Blues
4.  China Town
5.  Blood and Fire
6.  Bullethead
7.  As Is
8.  Honeybabysweetiedoll
9.  The Trouble with Never
10.  Outta Space
11.  Stay Frosty
12.  Big River
13.  Beats Workin’

Fear not as My Dynamite has recently released their debut self-title album and if ever there was an Australian band that could pick up the rock mantle vacated by Jet, then this is it. Except for one blinding exception in that My Dynamite is a much more rounded and offers more than Jet ever did. In a perfect world My Dynamite would be all over the radio stations and scaling the lofty summits of rock. Onto the album itself, this is top-shelf classic rock and roll and could easily sit aside some of the best records dished up by The Black Crowes, early-era Aerosmith & The Rolling Stones. That may sound like a big call, but it really does sound like a record any combination of those bands could have released and been proud of.

If you like your rock raw, dirty, and with more hooks than Rex Hunt’s tackle box, then stop reading right now and get your hands on this album ASAP as there is no way you’ll be disappointed. Before a note is even played, you can take one look at the cover and know what you are going to get. A black and white photo, with a paisley shirted front man, and intricate artwork surrounding the band name……. Yep, this is going to be a ballsy, blues-driven, rock record right from the outset.

Clocking in at 10 tracks and just over 40 minutes the band treads familiar territory and wears their influences on their collective sleeve. Tracks like the opening trio of “Take it or Leave it”, “Inside Out” and “If We’re Livin” immediately make two things very clear which set the direction for the rest of the disc.  Firstly the vocals of Pat Carmody bring to mind some of Chris Robinson’ best work. Carmody’s voice sounds like it’s been dipped into a vat of bourbon and dragged through a pile of gravel. If I had to sum it up in one word, then it would definitely be “soulful”. Carmody’s voice is perfectly complimented by the excellent interplay of guitarists Jorge Balas and Benny Wolf. In the finest classic rock tradition, My Dynamite have taken to recording the guitar tracks on separate channels in the mix so what you hear coming from the left is not the same riff as on the right but it works so dammed well.

For a reference point think Guns N’ Roses on “Appetite for Destruction”, Black Crowes “Shake Your Money Maker”, and Aerosmith “Rocks”. The riffs sound great when you hear them in isolation but they sound perfect when listened to together.As mentioned, some familiar ground is covered here but that doesn’t matter in the slightest as it is done so well. One of the standout tracks that grabs you from first listen (well they ALL do but this one a little more so) is “Raise Your Glasses”. With its very infectious groove and sing-a-long chorus this is destined to be a favorite at any My Dynamite gig and should be on everyone play list if this is your kind of style. This is followed by another standout track and possibly the highlight (for me) in “Singing Stormy Weather”. Here we have a track that slows things down considerably from the frantic opening tracks. Instead it replaces the toe-tapping groove of earlier songs with a bluesy, soul-soaked track featuring some of the finest guitar interplay between Balas and Wolf where each is given his chance to shine.

In all honesty there isn’t really a “bad” track on this album. If I had to be real picky the only flaw I could possibly find about this album is that after listening to it quite a few times is that this sounds like something I have heard numerous times before from the likes of the bands mentioned earlier. But the main points to note there are that firstly being compared to bands like The Black Crowes, Stones, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin is in no way a bad thing….and to be honest My Dynamite do make a good fist of only taking the best from those bands and putting their own spin on it. The other thing to note is that even though it sounds familiar, that does not mean it gets stale. It’s an album you can easily listen to quite a few times (I already have) and every time you’ll pick up on a riff, a lead, a vocal line, a groove that you didn’t hear beforehand.

To sum it all up. Seeing as this is a metal site, Is it a “metal” album? No…Is it pushing new boundaries? Not really…Is it one of the finest rock n roll records you are likely to hear this year” Yes….Will it get you in the mood to party, drink, tap your feet, and shake your ass? Damn Straight it will! 8.5/10

Artist: My Dynamite
Album: My Dynamite
Year: 2012
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Genre: Classic Bluesy Rock n Roll
Label: Listenable Records (France)

Tracklisting:

1. Take It or Leave It
2. Inside Out
3. If We’re Living
4. Dirty Game
5. Watch Yourself Grow
6. Raise Your Glasses
7. Singing Stormy Weather
8. Big Attraction
9. All That She Brings
10. Fork in Your Tongue

The themes on this album aren’t the typical themes you’d hear on a thrash album. A few of the song titles/themes consist of puns or are based on 80’s movies. The puns of the album include the already explained title track “Legends of Gnarlia”, and the album closing thrash anthem “Indiana Cones & The Temple of Goon”, which is obviously a pun of Indiana Jones. The song Indiana Cones is about a guy who goes to parties to hook in with peoples girlfriends and steal alcohol and weed off of everyone. Prime Directive was written about the movie Robo Cop, with verse riffs perfect for circle pitting at a concert to. Erased from Existence is partly about Back to the Future and partly about taking killing people to the next level, and features an insane Megadeth-like guitar solo.

The slightly annoying (but still great) thing about the album is that some of the vocals are phrased so it’s incredibly easy to get stuck in your head, yet after at least 30 listens, I still can’t understand most of the lyrics, and lyrics weren’t provided in the album booklet. These moments are most noticeable in the songs “F.R.C.B.A.” and “S.O.E.”, which are my favourite songs on the album (aswell as Indiana Cones).

Everything that was great about Killer Demo is even better on Legends of Gnarlia, from the narrative passages in half of the songs, to the faster, heavier riffs, and notably the guitar solos that weren’t heard on the demo. Tuned to D# instead of standard this time, Party Vibez have wrote 11 catchy, ripping tunes that is all up 23 minutes long, and I have listened to them more than once a day since I received in the mail. Not only that, but the high quality, extremely rad artwork that comes with it is just another reason to buy the album. Legends of Gnarlia will definitely be on my albums of the year list. 9.5/10

Band: Party Vibez
Album: Legends of Gnarlia
Year: 2012
Genre: Crossover Thrash
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Label: Independent

Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. Legends of Gnarlia
3. Battlefield
4. Mind Riff
5. Prime Directive
6. F.R.C.B.A.
7. S.O.E.
8. Erased From Existence
9. Cratervibez
10. Falling Down
11. Indiana Cones & The Temple of Goon

Coming about five years after their debut album, Acid Mist Tomorrow sees the band really hone their writing and perfect the balance that their experimental, and rather unique, style of music needs. Every track here is an epic, flowing from monstrous Gojira-esque riffs through to eerie clean passages and back again in an abnormally natural way. The vocals range from harsh screams to beautiful cleans to almost-whispers, with spoken samples adding a whole extra layer of depth to it. There are piano parts, occasional strings, and some sort of flute thing. It has everything. Yet despite how vast their sound is, it all comes together as one, which is where they truly succeed.

A good chunk of the album is fairly mellow, so if you’re one of those metalheads who needs heaviness all the time, then this isn’t for you. Hypno5e thrive on contrasting styles, changing pace and attitude so many times that you lose track of what part of the album you’re up to. You get lost in the madness.

Despite saying that; Acid Mist Tomorrow is heavy. Insanely heavy. Not just in the purely brutal way that say Meshuggah or Cannibal Corpse are, but in the sense that there is just so much to take in that it is overwhelming. There is this dense layer of atmosphere throughout. It’s almost tiring to sit down and attempt to take in the whole fifty five minutes. It’s like trying to read the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy in one sitting. But it’s so worth it.

Hypno5e are one of the most exhilarating bands in the progressive metal world right now, and Acid Mist Tomorrow will see their popularity soar. Not for those with a short attention span. 9/10

Track listing:
1. Acid Mist Tomorrow
2. Six Fingers In One Hand She Holds The Dawn (Part I)
3. Six Fingers In One Hand She Holds The Dawn (Part II)
4. Story of the Eye
5. Gehenne (Part I)
6. Gehenne (Part II)
7. Gehenne (Part III)
8. Brume Unique Obscurité (Part I)
9. Brume Unique Obscurit é (Part II)

Many were left confused, scratching their heads in disbelief when newcomer Mark Tornillo, took the reign of vocalist and performed on the band’s major come back release, ‘Blood Of The Nations’, in 2009. Many of Accept’s fans, myself included had a “Dirkschneider or bust” mentality and was hesitant to approach ‘Blood Of The Nations’ upon its release. However, after listening to a mere 5 minutes of ‘Blood Of The Nations’, I unexpectedly received a fingerless, leather gloved uppercut to my chin and was instantly preaching to the converted. ‘Blood Of The Nations’ received universal praise after its release, and cemented the new lineup which is actually pretty close to the circa 1980′s line up, with the exclusion of drummer Stefan Kaufmann, and the aforementioned, Udo Dirkschneider.

‘Stalingrad’ is the thirteenth album from German speed metal heavyweights Accept and is considered by many as a concept album. Not only does it relate to the suffering of the former Soviet Union from 1942 to 1943 during World War II. It also relates to the hardships of many within our social hierarchy. I’m probably reading into it a bit to much, but with tracks like ‘Revolution’ and ‘Against The World’, infusing classic headbanging riffs and fist pumping chorus’. Its hard not to notice an underlying message that is so common within the band’s lyrics. Relating to certain people who are overshadowed, pushed around and undermined in society.

The album does well to please everyone. The tracks ‘Hung Drawn and Quartered’, ‘Stalingrad’, ‘The Quick And The Dead’ and ‘Flash To Bang Time’ are the heaviest of the bunch. Resembling that of classic Accept rapid fire anthems ‘Fast as a Shark’, and ‘Losers and Winners’. Which Wolf Hoffman and Herman Frank are so well known to conceive. While mid tempo entries ‘The Galley’ and ‘Shadow Soldiers’, with its riff similar to that of ‘Head Over Heels’ from the 1983 classic , ‘Balls To The Wall’. Adds a touch of hard rock class and breaks off from the constant aggressive attack of the band’s formidable speeder numbers.

Two tracks which took me by complete surprise were ‘Hellfire’ and ‘Twist of Fate’. Both infuse a somewhat bluesy feel and really showcase the variation of Mark Tornillo’s vocal range. Lets be honest, Tornillo can’t reach high notes matching that of Micheal Kiske (Helloween) circa 1987 – 1988 or Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear). However, Tornillo does have a great variation in raspy vocals, along with his unique screech. Mild tones of hard rock vocals, similar to Gene Simmons (KISS), Blackie Lawless (WASP) and Brain Johnson (AC/DC) are all present with a good depth of harmony. A thick wall of backing vocals throughout the entire album adds a nice bow tie and completes the package.

‘Stalingrad’ is pretty much what you’d expect from the masters of teutonic speed metal. Headbanging riffs, catchy chorus’ and themes relating to political and social issues. Accept aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel on ‘Stalingrad’. It feels more like of a continuation of the band’s previous album. If you were to put the previous album, ‘Blood Of The Nations’ alongside ‘Stalingrad’, and compare the two. It would be quite impossible, as they both sound identical with some minor variations. This isn’t a bad thing, as producer and musical genius Andy Sneap, returns to the helm of production duties. The album is cut, crafted and glued together with a precision touch.

Accept still continue to dominate a heavy metal tradition and brings speed metal into the 21st century for a new generation of metalheads. While many would argue that Accept aren’t offering anything new to the masses on ‘Stanlingrad’. You can’t help but notice a similarity to that of the legendary AC/DC. Simply put, “If its not broken, don’t fix it”. The album is easily a contender for album of the year and is an instant classic in my book. 9/10

Band: Accept
Album: Stalingrad
Year: 2012
Genre: Speed Metal
Location: Germany
Label: Nuclear Blast Records (Europe & North America), Riot! Entertainment (Australia

Tracklisting:
1. Hung, Drawn and Quartered
2.  Stalingrad
3. Hellfire
4. Flash to Bang Time
5. Shadow Soldiers
6. Revolution
7. Against the World
8. Twist of Fate
9. The Quick and the Dead
10. The Galley