Juan S. Garces reflects upon his Personal Warfare

Musicians are taking many challenges and risks in order to make the dream come true. One of them is the guitarist and producer Juan S. Garces based in Quinto, Equador. He started his journey in a home where music was a essential part of the day to day. Over the years he developed his skills with academic as well as autodidactic studies. 

After some time of performing with renowned bands of the rock / metal scene as well as with other genres he is now ready to publish his cover letter to the world by releasing his first solo album that talks about personal experiences, intimate thoughts, feelings and reflections that have set a deep mark on him.

The cover of Juan S. Garces debut album invites to think about the meaning of the elements that can be seen.

The music quickly jumped into my ears with it's mixture of compact guitar riffing, direct drums and highly melodic vocals. While the overall tone focuses on heavy progressive notes it's fine to hear that some easier and lighter melodies always remain wandering through the music. The duration of the seven tracks of the album varies but with it's many changes time starts to fly once you hit the play button. 

Amongst my favorites are the softer tracks "In my mind" and "Human". Both show how deeply emotional music can be and that Garces as a composer knows how to take the listener on a journey with his music.

Just try the first song "My bid" here in the player. The full album can be heard on the website of Juan S. Garces. There's a possibility to purchase the music for download or on a Compact Disc. 

EP Review: Final Coil - 1994 (2026, Grunge)

One of the reasons why I love listening to releases by this band is that you never know what comes next.

In recent years Final Coil became well know for the progressive sounds mixed with thoughtful and in-depth lyrics. But between the full albums the band always found time to put together smaller albums that were different of the usual sound.

It has been like this with Somnambulant as well as with the Somnambulant II mini-albums and now we have the 1994 EP in front of us. It's a love-letter to the grunge era of the 1990s. What I love so much about the four songs is the direct sound. It feels like they were done direct at the rehearsal space by the input of all of the band members. No time has been wasted but the band recorded the feeling and spontanity that has been hanging in the air on the recording sessions.

This feels great to me in a time of over-thinking and the "need" to be perfect. I love that it's so raw and not running around trying to archive something. Instead it gives me the feeling of hanging with the band and listening and watching them perform the songs of the EP.  If you've ever been at such a place you surely know what I'm speaking about. It's Grunge like Grunge has been meant to be. Direct and in your face. Nothing else.

Since it's such a great journey back to 90s I recommend to pick up the cassette or CD digipack edition or better the Cassette /CD bundle that are available of the band's Bandcamp page. The tape comes in a coloured case with a NFC chip inside. The Compact Disc has been put into a 4-panel-digipack with liner notes by Phil Stiles. 

Back in those days there was a need to visit a record store in the occassion of such a release but those stores have become rare. It would be great to see a copy of this in a record store anyway.   

CD Review: The Light - The Light (Metal, 2025)

I cannot believe that this release didn't found my attention much sooner. What's so special about this band?

The Light's first album is a intensive listening experience.

It's the way the music is build up. I know many bands say that the output they just released is standing out of the many other one's available. But this particular band really proves it. 

Ten songs can be found upon this self-titled album. It's obvious that they belong to the Metal sector - but each and every song offers something that gives it it's own note. Sometimes it's the slow rhythm pattern (Swinging) that hangs on my mind. Other times it's the riff that runs so hammering through the song that I recall the song "War" for a long time. 

The intensity of "Toxic dependence" seems to be structured the way it is to give the listener a idea of how hard and stressful something like this can be. Happily there are also lighter songs like "Fall" that aren't packed so much. Here the focus is set on the extremely heavy use of drums. Vocals are held in a more flat way. The other songs on the album are of a similar quality like the one's mentioned before.

If you're after a album filled with intensive heavy music this one by The Light is for you. It's not a easy album at all so it takes some time to get inside. If you take the time to discover it song by song I think you'll be rewarded with Metal music as you love it. The album is available as a CD as well as a limited 12 inch vinyl album at the Bandcamp shop of the record company Fastball Music.  

Let's speak with Ian Highhill (Classic Metal)

In recent months I read a issue of the Rock Hard megazine. It had a special inside that took the readers back to the year 1992. One part talked about Black Sabbath that released the "Dehumanizer" album in those days with Ronnie James Dio on vocals. 

Later on a E-Mail flew into my inbox that said that the music of Ian Highhill comes with a similar flavor like the Sabbath album so I couldn't resist to listen and was warmly welcomed by the sound that took me back to the days of the Birmingham legend with Dio on vocals. Who stands behind such great songs and what does Ian Highhill want to express with them? His full independent release of a new album made me even more want to know details behind the album "A Hymn Among Gravestones".

Heavy Metal Underdogs: How did you start your career as a musician?

Ian Highhill: I started my career in the early 80s. A friend of mine wanted to start a band, and around the same time, I got my uncle's old electric guitar as a birthday present. And obviously, the NWOBHM was happening at the time, so you couldn't have asked for more inspiration to start a band, could you? This was followed by many line-ups, perhaps most notably the power metal bands Olympos Mons and Astralion, and now my solo project Ian Highhill.

Ian Highhill talks to us about his life as a independent artist.

Do you think that today's musicians have the chance to take more control on the material they release?

Absolutely! Thanks to Pro Tools, social media and streaming services, artists now have complete control over their work. However, they also bear the entire burden of advertising, sales and, of course, creating the product itself. In my case, that includes recording, mixing, producing and mastering. It's all the things that record companies used to take care of. However, lately, it seems like the bands have been taking care of most of this themselves, while the labels have been making the money. So, I'm not sure what's best anymore.

You've just released a brand new album called "A Hymn Among Gravestones". Which topics did you cover in the lyrics?

The new album covers many themes. The first one I came up with was the title track, 'A Hymn Among Gravestones', which is directly linked to the war in Ukraine and other ongoing unrest. The same goes for 'King of Ashes'. This, in turn, leads us to one of the greatest sins of mankind: greed. Hence the song 'In the Name of Greed'. I also wrote a song about young people who join criminal gangs in search of respect: 'Deal with the Devil'.

Do you write songs when a idea sparks up or do you work on new songs in sessions?

I like to do everything myself, so I can work whenever I want and whenever I have ideas. The great thing about this is that I don't have to book studio time or wait around for other musicians to finish. I can make the songs from start to finish without any hassle. I haven't written at band sessions since Pro Tools came along. It's great that I can work from home in peace and quiet, and at my own pace.

The cover artwork has been done by you, too. The front and back cover seem to accompany each other. Are there some hints on the meaning you would like to share with us?

Ian Highhill completed all steps for the new album by himselves.

Yeah, I've been doing digital art as a hobby for a while, so it was only natural that I should make the cover myself. I also did some oil painting back in the '90s, which has been helpful too. The cover shows a soldier coming back from war, only to find that the only reward he gets is a hymn among gravestones when he dies. I've been around long enough to have met some World War II veterans. I'll always remember the sad look in their eyes whenever the war was mentioned. With everything going on between Russia and Ukraine right now, I thought it'd be a good idea to make the album title track about war and forgotten war heroes.

You can listen to songs of the album by picking a streaming service of your choice of this list.

Physical copies are available of Ian Highhills own webshop.

You can also watch a video here directly.

Album Review: PORTAL - Old World Order (Doom Metal)

There are many doom metal releases out there. This particular one brought back my interest in this genre by going back to the beginnings without just hanging in the past.

Historic events and wars are topics of the lyrics on Portals Old World Order.

Obviously the sound of PORTAL is based on old-school sound. You quickly feel taken back to the beginnings in the 1970's while sitting back and taking a listen. There's the full distortion coming out of the speakers that's so typical for it's generation. In every creation however you'll find a special melodic light that shines bright.

The song "Condemned to life" dances around in a slow, dark based tonality when it comes to it's basic riffs. But as the vocals start to come into the sound a fine melody adds a special finesse that set's the track apart of other doom metal pearls.

More groove and one of my absolute favorites is the title track "Old World Order". The rough and bright basic riff moves bold through the music. Later on the typical seventies feel jumps onto the music by a mixture of short vocal lines along with the second riff mixing a softer note through the wall of sound. 

Other tracks like "Shape Shifters" go again the slower formula but let the initial riff run into different endings that often end in melodic parts. This is surely going more into the experimental region but gives the music individual notes.

"River of Regret" comes as a more dreamlike number with a balladesque feeling inside of it. 

If you'd like to listen to some of these songs for yourselves go to the website of PORTAL. They are streaming directly on the start page. 

My favorites of the other six tracks were "Expiration Date", "Panic Room" and "Time Drifter" because of it's variation in vocals and the directly accessible song structures. They are amongst the most straight forward tracks and have a good mixture of groove and experimentation with a decent amount of melodies in them. 

Please consider a purchase of the music with a download in wave format available at the shop tab of the bands website. All albums are only five dollar plus taxes so you won't spent too much money on it.

The music has a high re-listen factor and there's lot's of fine details to discover and enjoy even after several rounds of listening. 

All tracks feature Michele Sanna (Jorn, Gamma Ray, Rhapsody, Sunstorm) and Bodo Schopf (Eloy, MSG, Sweet) on drums.

Voices Of Extreme kick off the year properly

How to start the new year? I think one of the best ways is to listen to the brand new single by Voices Of Extreme. 

The song "Stoned Babies" feels like a call to action for all you've thought about to achieve in these times. With it's massive vocals and strong guitars it feels like one of the kickass songs that give you this "now it's time to start something new" feeling.

Voices Of Extreme introduce themselves with the kicking "Stoned Babies" single.

I like the way the song builds up with the drums by Rod Morgenstein kicking it in. The vocals jump on the train instantly and before you start to realise you're already in starting to rock straight away. The vocals in the refrain are rough but it feels organic. A solo section shows some variations of the sound and the abilities the band members are able to perform on the instruments. This is something not to be found in songs like this usually. Finally the drums close the song - a great way to finish it.

"Stoned Babies" is the first single taken of the upcoming album "Faith in Action" which is going to be released on BraveWords Records in 2026. The band will play some shows this year so make sure to check the band's website from time to time for details.