EP Review: Sirius - Wings of Fire (Heavy Metal / Power Metal)

A fine EP that is a good pick to party in it's first half and much more thought out in the second. 

This band serves the power metal straight the way I like it. The opener "Wings of Fire" has a fine stomping bold midtempo rhythm and the riffs and vocals present the track as a solid start into a EP full of metal hymms. The "Shadow in my heart" builds upon a longer riff that winds through the whole track. Along with the drums this serves as a uplifting heavy rocker. The vox come down in strings that add a special note to this tune. 

Next is "The Last Angel" - it's more complex than the previous two. It's riff is changing in tonality throughout the duration. The playing around with guitar effects dominates this one. Surely one for a re-listen. The last track already follows with "The Fury Within". It's once again deeper thought-out. The vocals wear a Judas Priest touch. A cool mixture of the easier first tunes of the EP but worked out wider into it's depth. This needs time to sink in and deserves more attention but I think it's great, too.

 

Make sure to pick a copy from Bandcamp for few bucks and follow the steps toward the first full album on Facebook.

Album Review: Wax Mekanix - Mobocracy (Rock, 2020)

Intensive from start to finish with many, many parts put inside. A well crafted sound collection not to be found that often out there.

Which record would you expect looking at the cover?

Wax Mekanix is an American musician, songwriter, performer, producer, and founding member of NWOBHM cult rockers Nitro. (Not to be confused with the Hollywood band).

In recent times he put out a brand new record. He can be heard on "Mobocracy" performing Lead and Backing vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Drums and Percussion.

The result surprised me least to say. It's a fully rocking release showing that music needs to be anything but one-sided. A breathe of fresh air went through my ears as I listened to this. It has more in mind with modern Rock sound. So many ideas have been put inside - all you need to be is a bit of opened minded to enjoy this.

Track by Track

Blood in my eyes starts the release with a rough rocker and has a wide calling refrain. It's a little bit rock radio compatible.

Victorious - goes in the easiest of the songs,rocks away, straight and surely a fest for fans of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Many repeats of the chorus towards the end - this may be a bit boring at times.

All Freaks rocks it out a more hacked way. The ripped riffs crawl out of the speakers, many guitar effects and experimentation but straight all in all.

Mad World comes with compressed guitars, different song structures than before, and a dizzy atmosphere. It needs closer listening, brightest sound so far.

Ghostland is a darker themed tune,much detail work on vox and guitars,sounds like one voice broken and burst into many different ones

Black unfolds as a acoustic ballad,deeply touching,tells a great tale of all the lifes grey zones,voice transport so much of it's content,guitar drums-great!

All in all it's anything but a casual record. It's not too long in duration but the content provided is so intensive that running it a second time and even more reveals more and more of the many details worked in. 

This surely has taken it's time and effort to put together so it's well worth a purchase in one of the many packages with fine merchandise attached to the music (also the tracks are available as download alone) on Bandcamp.

The artwork stands out. The unsharp optic and the use of red color at the front may seem strange at first sight but it packages the unusual music performance of the record well.  

The lyrics have been detailfully taken care of. I think I've not read so dedicated and own worded texts in a long time. 

You can connect to Wax Mekanix on Facebook and Twitter Network to see how things move on.

CD Review: The L.A. Maybe - Dirty Damn Tricks (Rock 'n' Roll, 2021)

This band features Alvi Robinson on lead vocals who was one of only four singers to audition to replace Brian Johnson in AC/DC in 2016. 

So what does this debut record have on offer ? "Mr. Danger" exactly does what the name suggests. He starts a brutal assault of rough guitar noise onto your ears. Be prepared this is a raw start into the record but spreads a cool vibe and groove with it. The "Sucker Punch" won't be less hard but has a bigger hook in it that will shake your legs on the first listen already. The singers abilities to scream out long remind me of early Rob Halford but even with a slightly higher note. 

Track three "Oh Sugar" has a simpler riff but pushes with constant vocal attack. "She's reckless" is a full power midtempo rocker with basic groove. But beware this one grows in it's duration, from simple guitar background in the first parts to full volume tonality as the track moves further. "Peace of Mind" balances the album towards the middle giving a relaxed mood with free flying notes and lighter drumming. I love such moments in music. 

Finally the album rocks it out properly and holds some nice surprises but most of all it is much fun for the listener. I've only picked out some highlights above to give you a proper idea. The other five tracks are nothing of a filler but I think this review shouldn't spoiler too much of the enjoyment of discovering a album.

The only downside is the overall massive production. It pushes the sound to the maximum but this can also be a bit of too much at times. Anyway, make sure to check out the band with the video above where they perform in a pinball bar. 

Fans of AC/DC and Guns 'n' Roses can't go wrong with a purchase. Pick a copy at the band's shop as CD / signed CD / Vinyl album. They are also on Spotify if you like to add them to your library.

Chastain re-works old tracks to sound better

The music scene is a creative place. While things are troubled these days with the ongoing pandemic musicians resist to give up. Instead they constantly work on new ways to push on forwards. 

Chastain re-worked some classic tracks for 1321.

In these case Chastain decided to breathe new life into some older cuts. The new effort 1321 takes tracks from each of the 5 albums the band released since 2013 with Leather Leone and presents them with different arrangements. 

Guitarist and Producer David T. Chastain explains "1321 is the album we would have released if we only could have released one album during the Leather Second Generation Era. The tracks now are little more listener friendly and more accessible for the first time "Chastain" metal fan who may have never experienced the music before. For long time Chastain fans I believe they will like the new arrangements." 

David adds, "We chose the tracks that we thought I could make the biggest arrangement changes from the originals. When listening to the 5 albums on their own certain tracks I could just hear a new arrangement that I thought would work. Tracks I could make stronger... or at least a new take on the song. 

Also included on 1321 is the never before released track "The First Attack." That track was originally recorded during the "Surrender To No One" sessions but to due to time constraints was not inicluded on the original release. 

 

This track "Evil awaits us" sounds far more straight forwards then I've heard the band before. The good thing is that the music quickly steps into the listeners ears but without losing the soul. All the dedicated detail work on the voice and the expression that comes with it keeps intact.

Please check out the homepage of Leviathan Records for a complete list of purchase links. http://www.leviathanrecords.com/1321.htm