CD Review: Dawn Ahead - A Trip Of Violence (Thrash, 2018)

A blasting pack of classic thrash mixed up with slightly modern touches.

The cover of the "A trip of violence" EP, (c) by Dawn Ahead

This mini album is a display of potential. You can feel at every corner that the band is giving full gas. Just do yourselves a favor and skip track one. It's the only weak track on here because it's simply to trivial and usual. As of track two and onwards the real journey begins.

It's a feast of classic pounding thrash numbers most of the time. Two songs also go the more midtempo direction something warmly welcomed to add some change. It's those numbers that the band shows that they can do more than thrash all on it.

From all the noise the vocals stand out. They go through the full range that a vocalist can do. It's this what I would describe as slightly modern in here. So you'll get it all from clear to grunty from loud to silent notes.

The other musicians do well, too. They add the classic thrash formula to the tunes. Think of old Testament in the style of the track "Apocalptic City" from the first effort of the Bay Area veterans ("The Legacy") and you'll quickly know what I'm writing about.

If you're in a agressive mood this one perfectly fits in. Pick up your copy for only 5 Euro plus shipping and handling from the band's homepage directly. I've been told that more is in the makings so keep some eye on Facebook. Dawn Ahead are surely a pack to see live. I hope I can check them on stage some other day.  As a teaser listen to the title track below.

Track your music on online radio stations with MI on Air

Has my band and the songs we released been aired on online radio stations? Since there are many streams out there playing music it is not impossible at all that this happens - maybe more often than you might think. It's a exciting question for all the band's out there.

It began with the tape. These days most people prefer to stream their music.

But how to find out about it? No one can listen to all the stations all the time. Happily there's a service out there that opened up some time ago. It's focussed on metal bands, free and let's you find out how many times your track(s) have been in rotation, which station aired it and how many people listened. It's called mionair (am I on air?) and can be accessed through https://mionair.com/

All you need to do is to register (goes very fast and it's free). Once that is done you can add your band to the band list. That's also done quickly. Just enter your band's name at the "Add Band" form and you're done!

You can add further details like website URL and social media links but that's not necessary. Once everything's set up the tracking starts - login after some days to see if you've been aired.

Having tried this myselves I was impressed how fast and easy this works. You can also see statistics for other bands and radio stations on the website. I hope this tool will find many users - it deserves support for sure. Just try it out.

Bloody Times brings back former members of Manowar & Iced Earth

In many metal megazines you can find from time to time articles about past members of well known bands. Where are they now ? - that's what the main question is all about.

These days I got a info that one former member of Iced Earth picked up the microphone to help a new project to grow further. "Bloody Times" was basically a one man project of Simon Pfundstein on bass guitar supported by Raphael Saini (ex Iced Earth) on drums. John Greely joined the combo already in 2015. He is known for his vocals on the "Night of the stormrider" record of Iced Earth.

The cover for Bloody Time's upcoming single "Alliance"

Guitars on the track "Alliance" will be provided by no one else but the well known Ross The Boss, ex member of Manowar  who can be heard on the first six albums of the true metal icons. Here's a first sneak peak on the upcoming single "Alliance" taken of the upcoming full length "On a mission".

How does the rest of the track sound like? 
While the song “Alliance” starts very softly and calm, after about a minute the hard and heavy sound kicks in. Again, Raphael Saini is supporting the act with his pounding drums. A short while into the song, John Greely starts his performance with an impressive heavy metal scream. He is proving once again the wide range of his vocal spectrum like he did many years ago with Iced Earth during the memorable "Night of the Stormrider" era. High tunes or low tunes, hard or soft, John Greely can do them all. Today, better than ever, he sings for his own band Seventh Servant and is the main singer of Bloody Times since 2017.

The single is exclusively available for pre-order / registration on CD (limited edition, including two bonus tracks). A digital release has not been announced yet - this possibly makes it even more "old school".

Follow the project further on Facebook.

Brutai will turn your world upside down

Bands go through evolutional steps. It's like we all are going through changes, changes and even more changes. The progressive rockers Brutai recently went through one of these steps and are back with a brand new track.

Stranger Things inspired Artwork by Mark Leary @ Asylum Seventy7

That's what came to my mind when I listened to the brand new Brutai single. It came as a surprise to me. "Upside down" has a different soundstyle. It's less rough and the ongoing rhythm is set a bit slower yet it constantly moves along with the melodies and the many layers inside of the track. The mix of the new single is more detailed than ever. The progressive rockers seem to have given more room for a expanded sound experience with deeper emotions and breathing atmosphere.

Lyrically this one also comes with a special message. Felix Lawrie, vocals and guitars, says this about 'Upside Down'

“Upside Down is semi-inspired by the series Stranger Things. It relates to people being in situations that they can’t see a way out of, and it’s about asking people for help. It’s about being in an ‘upside down’ universe and seeing the world through someone else’s eyes. Empathy is the core emotion we hope people take away from this. The soundscapes are somewhat eerie and we felt Halloween was the perfect time to launch this track as an interlude to our new material from album 2."

You can download the track in any format from http://www.brutai.bandcamp.com alongside merch bundles and the final physical copies of the band's debut album 'Born'.

'Upside Down' is also available on iTunes and Spotify.

Brutai will return to the stage in December for the Incendia Music Christmas Party as the headline act. The band will also perform at HRH Metal in February.

Tickets for Brutai's headline show in December can be bought here.

Now having reverted to unsigned status again, the band recommencew their journey. Make sure to follow Brutai on this way.

www.facebook.com/brutai
@Brutaiband
Brutai.bandcamp.com