Chris Black has this little act called Dawnbringer….they kinda rule.
Thin Lizzy
Bible Of The Devil – For the Love Of Thugs and Fools Review
Of the 8 billion retro rock bands out in the world now, Chicago’s Bible Of The Devil sets themselves apart from the pack for two reasons: One, they are actually good, and two, they are the genuine article.
Running Wild – Shadowmaker Review
Raise the sails and fly the black mark, the original metal pirates are back to plunder your booty (in a strictly platonic way, of course).
3 Inches of Blood – Long Live Heavy Metal Review
Ah, 3 Inches of Blood. I’ve had a very dysfunctional relationship with them, filled with dizzying highs and crushing lows. I’ve alternated between enjoying them, questioning the reasons for their existence and dismissing them as a gimmick.
Hammers of Misfortune – 17th Street Review
Few obscure, under-ground bands find the level of respect and reverence that San Francisco’s Hammers of Misfortune has. These avaunt-garde weirdos have been doing things their way since 2001 and slowly building appreciation and acclaim along the way. Deftly defying genre tags and easy (lazy) categorization by reviewers like myself, they’ve churned out a uniquely progressive amalgam of NWOBHM, folk, doom and ’70s rock. So unusual is their sound, the only truly comparable band is sister/brother act Slough Feg, with which they’ve swapped influences and members over the years. It’s a pretty safe bet if you like the Feg, you’ll dig what the Hammers are cooking too. Of the two, the Hammers were and are the weirder, more experimental outfit and under the leadership of guitarist/vocalist John Cobbett (ex-Slough Feg, ex-Ludicra), they’ve traveled some strange roads but always packed truckloads of melody and quirky charm. After an overly long wait since 2008’s Fields/Church of Broken Glass, we’re finally treated to their fifth album 17th Street and its a reassuring blast of sonic strangeness, musical eccentricity and refreshing innovation. Although not crushingly heavy or shockingly aggressive, its plenty metal, hugely melodic, catchy and most importantly, original! If that doesn’t sound good to you, go read my diatribe about black metal.
Twisted Tower Dire – Make It Dark Review
C’mon, more old school 80s metal? When is enough enough? For folks like Angry Metal Guy, enough came six minutes after the first 80s retro album appeared [It was at least 12 or 14 minutes – AMG]. But Steel Druhm says as long as it’s good, keep it coming and add the cheese! That brings us to the Virginia crew Twisted Tower Dire. These stalwart gents have been plying their vintage early 80’s style since 1995 and Make It Dark is their fifth old school crusade. Taking their main cues from Iron Maiden and merging it with old Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy and Diamond Head, Twisted Tower’s sound has evolved over the years into something akin to Slough Feg or Pharaoh. Working in their favor over their career was a determination to continually hone and refine their sound and songwriting chops. Make It Dark keeps that evolution headed in the right direction and this is their strongest effort to date. Loaded with vibrant, energetic, guitar driven metal with the true spirit of the 80s present in every note, this is a helluva lot of fun to play and play loud!
Slough Feg – The Animal Spirits Review
Slough Feg (formerly The Lord Weird Slough Feg) have always existed in their own little musical bubble (technically called a “sloubble”). Inside their little sloubble, they remain happily oblivious to musical styles, trends and changing tastes in metal. To them it’s always sometime between 1978 and 1983, where their odd amalgam of NWOBHM, Thin Lizzy and Celtic folk/pub rock would seem timely and current. Here on album eight The Animal Spirits, the sloubble remains intact as Slough Feg churns out more of their unique, oddball proto-metal for a small but loyal cult following. If you’ve followed this San Francisco based unit, you know what to expect. If not, well, it’s strange but fun and truly a love or hate type proposition.
H.E.A.T. – Freedom Rock Review
It is more and more apparent to me every day that heavy metal is going into a hibernation stage. As an Angry Metal Guy I try to keep my ear to the ground for movement in a forward direction, particularly from younger people. Instead, there’s nothing but a rash of neo-heavy metal and thrash bands that flood the market as apparently 18 year olds all feel like the really missed out on thrash and are out of ideas. But what’s worse than kids writing thrash metal records that could’ve been written in 1982? Kids writing butt rock albums that should’ve been written in the dying throws of 1980s cock rock in about 1991. That’s right, H.E.A.T., from the same town as venerable rockers Europe have decided to run with 1980s action movie theme as the basis for their sound.
