Steel Druhm

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Brainstorm – On the Spur of the Moment Review

Brainstorm – On the Spur of the Moment Review

Reliability. That’s an endearing quality in a band. Its great knowing you can buy an album by a beloved band without trepidation because they deliver something of quality time and again. Germany’s traditional metal icons Brainstorm have been generating just that type of trust with fans ever since 2000’s Ambiguity. Since then its been album after album full of classy, powerful meat and potatoes metal, falling somewhere between Judas Priest, Metal Church and Pantera. No small part of their success is the vocal talent and songwriting acumen of front man Andy B. Franke. Whether recording with these guys or his more experimental unit Symphorce, the man has established himself as one of the premier metal vocalists out there today and he’s long exhibited an uncanny knack for writing winning choruses. As with classic albums like Metus Mortis and Soul Temptation, On the Spur of the Moment stays close to their tried-and-true formula of crunching guitars, tough but soaring vocals and hooks galore. while there are few surprises, it’s yet another solid outing by these scene vets and it’s a can’t miss for lovers of traditional heavy metal with grit and attitude.

Steel Druhm Reflects On What’s Wrong With Black Metal

Steel Druhm Reflects On What’s Wrong With Black Metal

Okay, I’m just going to come right out and say it. Black metal as a genre has stagnated and become very boring. While that inevitably happens to every musical genre (power metal has had it bad for about six years), with this particular style it seems far more pronounced and chronic. Although I’ve appreciated the scene and sound from its earliest origins (as a Bathory fan in the 80’s) and essentially grown up alongside the genre, the past year has seen things run into the creative wall and slowly slide into a morass of tedium and lethargy. Be it the symphonic or the raw and primitive, very few bands are doing anything new, interesting or compelling (even the new Agalloch felt samey and safe). While some solid albums surfaced in 2011,they feel increasingly rare and even those offered little in the way of innovation or originality. Obviously, of all the subgenres of metal, black metal is the most rigid, inflexible and laden with rules and expectations of scene orthodoxy. Throw a saxophone solo on a power metal album, it may be daring and ballsy. Try that on a black metal album and you’ll be burned in effigy across Norway (and parts of New York).

Thulcandra – Under a Frozen Sun Review

Thulcandra – Under a Frozen Sun Review

The Germanic horde Thulcandra is back for another fast and furious bout of Dissection worship. For those who missed my review of their 2010 opus Fallen Angel’s Dominion, these chaps, lead by Stefan Kummerer (Obscura) are huge fans of the late, great Dissection and their debut was a loving tribute to their classic sound. Since I’m also a fan, their authentic and spot-on Dissection-isms (and occasional Immortal-isms) won me over enough to overlook the complete lack of originality. That release stands up well and I still spin it fairly often. Now comes their second album, Under a Frozen Sun and its a whole lot more of the same. Once again, they deliver expertly performed, melodic black metal with all the hallmarks of The Somberlain and Storm of the Light’s Bane albums. This time however, it feels slighty less fresh and engaging. Perhaps their homage schtick is growing old or maybe its the black metal weariness I’m feeling of late. Either way, while less successful than the debut, Thulcandra (or Dissection, I’m not sure which) retains just enough charm and appeal to make for some worthwhile moments of old school Scandinavian blackness, suitable for scowling and frowning in the snow. It also has several barnburners that rise above the continued pattern of staunch unoriginality.

Voyager – The Meaning of I Review

Voyager – The Meaning of I Review

Now here’s something quite a bit different! Australia’s Voyager has been tinkering with their odd blend of progressive space metal for a while now. However, here on album number four The Meaning of I, they’ve really hit on the perfect blend of influences and styles. Taking elements of traditional, power, progressive and even death metal, Voyager fuses it all together and the result is an odd, hyper-melodic and unique album that’s as intelligent as it is catchy (and its VERY catchy). As a big fan of their 2009 release I Am the Revolution, I expected great things and even I was surprised by how good this ended up. With traces of Nevermore, Star One, Tyr, Pagan’s Mind, Scar Symmetry, Vanden Plas and Anubis Gate swirling about in a creative maelstrom, you should certainly expect the unexpected. Despite the plethora of influences, The Meaning of I ends up a cohesive and compelling release with one killer song after another and brains til Tuesday. In case that doesn’t have you interested yet, they may be the only metal band currently using a melodica both in the studio and live. Call them spacey-prog or astral-metal but whatever tag you throw on them, they rock muchly. Can you tell Steel Druhm is impressed? He is.

Netherbird – Shadows and Snow EP Review

Netherbird – Shadows and Snow EP Review

Sweden’s Netherbird is aiming to be the angry black metal bird that revamps the music industry. Although they aren’t particularly well-known yet, their 2010 release Monument Black Colossal met with my approval and I found their Cradle of Filth-meets-Dissection style of symphonic heaviness quite enjoyable. Since that release, they appear to have adopted an unusual marketing approach for their music. They’ve announced their intention to release three EPs over the next year, which together would comprise their next full-length album. As we speak, Shadows and Snow, the first of these planned EPs, is available for free downloading on their home page. It’s unclear if the future releases will be free or not. Whether this new approach will catch on or not remains to be seen but hey, free downloading from the band itself is always damn cool. So, is this worth the price of…free? Yes, it would be worth it even at twice that price (whatever that means). While very short (three songs and a musical interlude), Shadows and Snow features well crafted, engaging black death with enough personality to stand out from the frostbitten, frowning hordes and in these days of black metal malaise, that’s high praise indeed. Oh, and it’s free too.

Anubis Gate – Anubis Gate Review

Anubis Gate – Anubis Gate Review

Denmark’s Anubis Gate seems fairly unstoppable. After two above average releases in the early part of the millenium, their 2007 opus Andromeda Unchained was a huge breakthrough and one of the best albums that year. 2009’s follow-up The Detached was nearly as good and also one of the year’s best. Now in 2011, they do it yet again with this self titled platter, all the more impressive since they lost the talents of stellar vocalist Jacob Hansen shortly before recording. Anubis Gate specialize in hyper-melodic metal with a fair amount of progressive leanings. To my ears, they always had a strong similarity to Vanden Plas and they excel at crafting memorable and super catchy metallic hymns. Now that bassist Henrik Fevre has stepped in on vocals, the Vanden Plas similarities increase ten-fold since his voice is very much like that of Plas’s Andy Kuntz. This is not a bad thing at all and Fevre does a smash up job as we’re given a whole new set of proggy, melodic metal with the typically strong songwriting these chaps are known for. These guys just know how to write memorable music and I’m happy they maintained their high level of output.

Anthrax – Worship Music Review

Anthrax – Worship Music Review

Wow, the Thrax is finally back! After endless bullshit, drama and ridiculous delays, the revolving door of vocalists that saw John Bush and Joey Belladonna coming, going and coming again is over (for now). In the peculiar saga that saw John Bush depart so Anthrax could record an entire album with unsung voice Dan Nelson, only to scrap it for planned re-dubs with Bush and then later with original singer Joey Belladonna, we finally get the refinished product. Confused? Yeah, me too. So after an eight year wait, is Worship Music worth the metallic soap opera and histrionics fans had to endure? Well, the hype circus is already in full swing, with the band themselves saying its their best material and some early reviews comparing the quality favorably to genre classics like “Heaven and Hell” and “Stargazer.” Well, allow me to take a step back and simply say, NOT! It’s good and definitely interesting, but Steel Druhm shall not be among the throngs of metal press that hail this as some crowning triumph or the best work of their long career. While it isn’t in the same league as their classics, it’s enjoyable and finds them trying new things without completely ditching the classic Thrax sound. Despite a few excellent songs, Worship Music isn’t the release of the year that many (myself included), hoped it would be.

Morbus Chron – Sleepers in the Rift Review

Morbus Chron – Sleepers in the Rift Review

As I listen to this unheralded piece of nasty, morbid, old school death, one word comes to mind: Spewage. That’s the best way to describe what you’ll be getting here. Morbus Chron is a Swedish band playing filthy death metal like Autopsy, Death and Massacre. This breaks the current trend of following in the footsteps of legendary countrymen Entombed, Dismember. It’s still plenty retro but not the typical Swedish retro. Basically, their raucous debut Sleepers in the Rift sounds like something spewing from the underground in the late 80’s and it’s wonderfully repellant, low-fi, non-techy and makes you feel like you need to be disinfected and vaccinated. It’s underproduced, muddy, discordant and vile all the way but somehow manages to be catchy. What more could one ask for? Nothing.

Devil – Time to Repent Review

Devil – Time to Repent Review

Ghost may have unintentionally triggered a little retro within retro trend with their well received Opus Eponymous debut. The similar acts are already starting to pop up like evil mushrooms and Norway’s Devil is one of the first. Their debut Time to Repent harkens back to all things 70’s and its melodic doom rock all day long. They wield a sound that falls somewhere between Black Sabbath’s Vol. 4 and the NWOBHM vibe of Witchfinder General with a few traces of old Pentagram mixed in. I’m sure that sounds like a heady brew to many loyal readers (not AMG though, he hates blues-based doom like I hate light beer). Time to Repent offers up eight tales of sorcery, evil women, open graves and all such good family fun. It’s stripped down, simplistic, melodic and not the kind of doom that crushes you or brings on bouts of crippling despair. Instead, its very rock-based and groovy. While some of the material is worthwhile and shows real potential, more of it is pure amateur hour, cringe-worthy garage rock and unlikely to make anyone forget about Ghost anytime soon.

Arch/Matheos – Sympathetic Resonance Review

Arch/Matheos – Sympathetic Resonance Review

Steel Druhm needs to ramble on for a bit so kindly bear with me, or else! As a life long metal fan, I can look back and pinpoint those few truly special albums that blew me away upon release and continue to feel magical after decades of listening. Right at the top of that very short list are two classics by Fates Warning. Hailing from Connecticut, they released three albums in the early to mid-80s that really embodied the American take on the traditional NWOBHM ethos and at times sounded quite like vintage Iron Maiden. Of those three albums, 85’s The Specter Within and 86’s Awaken the Guardian were their masterworks and any fan of classic metal really needs to hear them immediately if not sooner. After so many years, both easily stand the test of time and I find myself going back to them frequently. The main draw, aside from the expert songwriting, are the vocals by John Arch. The man had a one-of-a-kind voice, killer range and the ability to write hyper-intelligent lyrics. When he left the band following Awaken the Guardian, Fates Warning sank into mediocrity and I lost all interest. Arch himself left the music business entirely and I always hoped he would resurface and grace us with his voice again. He finally did in 2003 with the short but excellent Twist of Fate EP, which I hoped was the start of a serious comeback. Well, it took another eight long years but he finally has resurfaced again for a collaboration with his old Fates Warning guitarists Jim Matheos (OSI, Gordian Knot), Frank Aresti and other Fates alumni, bassist Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Anthrax, Seven Witches) and drum lord Bobby Jarzombek (Halford, Riot, Iced Earth, Rob Rock). So does this mega reunion bring back any of the potent magic from days long gone? Well, it seems that isn’t a fair question since Sympathetic Resonance is quite a different animal than Fates Warning. It’s way more modern, proggy, convoluted and heavier than anything their old unit attempted (I was actually surprised how heavy some of this material gets). Overall, its very polished and aggressive progressive metal from old dogs that obviously have plenty of life left in them.