Have a break from everyday troubles with The Rift

How to chill out and find relaxing atmosphere in these troubled times? Music has the power to bring you down. This new video is the perfect way to combine something to relax, to sing along to it and have a creative and retro-like time out.

It is meant as a  tribute to bands such as Metallica, Tool, Deep Purple, and 80's video games.

The Rift states, “We want listeners to escape from their reality for a little while. We want them to connect on a deep level, so they have something inspiring to fall into.”


The band recently inked a deal with Zombie Shark Records and has been hard at work creating new music for an upcoming release.

Front man Aris Anagnos adds, “We wanted to make songs that hit hard, but you can sing along to at the same time. Sometimes, we go bluesy-rock and other times there are tinges of punk and metal. We explore different styles while keeping a solid, real sound.”

Check the band's homepage for all the further things going on.

Preview pages of James Hetfield biography surfaced

James Hetfield is for sure a outstanding personality in the world of metal. Before becoming known as one of the greatest metal guitarists in the world, Hetfield surpassed several barriers throughout his adolescence including his parents’ divorce, his mother’s untimely death and severe alcoholism.

It is for sure interesting to read how he went along with all the stuff that crossed his path. I always enjoy a look at the beginnings of people. It's exciting to read how they lived their lives, which decison lead to which consequence and how other stuff found their way into their lifes. Some info and story of that kind is about to come our way with the book "So Let It Be Written: The Biography of Metallica's James Hetfield". After months of speculation from fans and critics, preview pages of the introduction and chapter 1 are now available exclusively on CLRVYNT.

Update 2017-06-04: A excerpt of chapter six along with some pictures takes out of the release have been published online at the pages of Noisey. This part of the book talks about the creation of the second Metallica album "Ride The Lightning" and offers some nice insight into the making of.

The cover of "So Let It Be Written: The Biography of Metallica's James Hetfield", (c) by Lesser Gods, used with kind permission

In the first biography of a living Metallica member the author Mark Eglinton uses exclusive, firsthand interviews with a number of artists and celebrities who have crossed paths with Hetfield including members of Metallica, Chuck Billy (Testament), Charlie  Benante (Anthrax), Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains), Rex Brown (Pantera), and more to construct the definitive account of Hetfield.

So Let It Be Written: The Biography of Metallica’s James Hetfield will hit shelves and online stores on April 11, 2017 via Lesser Gods. The publication can be pre-ordered via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Indies.

Medevil mix thrash of the 80's with classic metal and razorsharp vocals

Today it is more than ever a exciting time that see's a lot of new bands emerging that are offering a wide variation of styles, influences and mixes. Today's metal scene has become more diverse and colourful than ever in my eyes offering a bandwith like never before. It's like the best is yet to come so we all should do our best so the metal scene can continue to evolve and survive and bring us all the music we love and need.

So how would it sound like if you mix up elements of old thrash classics of Metal Church, comine them with a songwriting attempt in a style of old Iron Maiden albums and round it all out with raw vocals reminiscent of Udo Dirkschneider? Well, Medevil is the answer in my ears. The new album of them is straight around the corner and set for release on 26th August 2016. In support of the release the band has set up three tracks as a prelisten and I'd like you to check out their newest video of the track "Nightwalk" which is the opening track of the record. You can pre-order the album "Conductor Of Storms" through the band's website. 
You can find the other songs on the Youtube channel of Medevil.


Medevil will play some shows these year. See the flyer below for the exact dates and the album cover.

The flyer for the Medevil tourdates 2016, (c) by Medevil, used with kind permission

Make sure to connect with them for updates via Facebook, Twitter or their homepage.

CD Review: Ravenous - We are become death

Short Introduction

Ravenous was formed in Southampton in early 2008 when (bassist) Leon Maidment Millar joined an old school friend (lead guitar/vocals) Dave Game and band mates (drummer) Rich Giles,(rhythm) Dave Foster in performing covers of the Thrash/Groove metal genre with only one original song named Ravenous!

After much indecision it was decided that Ravenous would be the most fitting name for the new direction of the band and the craving need to break the fashionable trends in metal and return to its rawer roots with more lyrical structure and 'lyrical' lyrics.

Ravenous perform live in and around the south of england with original sets and are always well received, supporting the likes of Kobra And The Lotus among others. Ravenous continues on the same path with more and more original material and an ever increasing appetite for anthemic and  meaningful composition. "We are become death" is the debut album of the band.

(c) by Ravenous, used with kind permission

Summary / Player / Purchase-Link

This album is a blast! When other bands have completed their songs and are about to unplug their instruments this is the time when Ravenous are about start over. Their songs scream out the attitude to really play heavy music. That's what you'll remember once you've listened to one of their songs. I would describe the band's sound as a mixture between Metallica in their early days and a good potion of Machine Head.

So if you'd like to hear music that gives you some extended time and heavyness after the "normal" formula of the song with intro, chorus, refrain and solo has come to the end Ravenous "We are become death" is for you. It's this plus that gives you more joy while listening to it. A extra potion of heavyness gives this band it's special sound and makes it a good time you'll like to repeat again and again.

I highly recommend buying this record. It has a classic appeal to me. You can hear the rawness of the beginning of a thrash band but are also quickly aware that they've spent quite some time composing and practicing the tracks since they come very tight and ass kicking. The sound is a pleasure since it is well arranged and produced and fits to the albums songwriting, very compact and crushing.

The band has put inside some meaningfull elements to the sound that will make you remember. It's just some few modern elements so no need to worry if you dislike the all too modern attempts on songwriting. All in all it's a good mixture of the traditionell way of playing this music along with a modern production and slightly updated songwriting. Just hit the play button and you'll quickly know what I mean. Enjoy this fine album.


The album can be pre-ordered digitally through plattforms such as itunes, Amazon or Bandcamp. For all who'd like to have a physical copy in their hands there is the possibility to order one through the webstore of the record company Coffee Jingle Records that the band is signed to. The official release date is 27th November 2015.

You can get in touch with the band via Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

Album-Overview (Track-by-track review)

"We are become death" has a good mixture of various tracks on it. It's a brutal thrash ride that knows various tempos and moods. If you wanna quickly get a idea of the band just check in directly with the first number called "Abhor". It's a perfect presentation of the band's heavyness in all of it's variations.

The track with the cool title "Reverse (sympathy)" represents the groove metal abilities of the band with it's rough back and forth ride on the riff through heavy drums and fitting vocals. The second part has some modern solo's inside while the ending leaves you with some slow grooving. Well done!

The first single and video "Easter Island (We are become death)" has quickly become my favorite with it's changing parts in melody and heavyness which seems to flow into one each other. Finally the brutal side wins showing the great riffs the band is able to write. The guitar playing is very impressive and the vocals tell a lot of the bandwith the vocalist Dave Game is able to sing. A ballad also found it's way on the record. Properly entitled "Alone" it shows some of the melancholic side of the band, but again they didn't forget to ripp it up their own way so it's not one of these ballads that you may want to skip on a thrash record.

The band's first original track "Ravenous" also found it's way on the record. Starting out with a slow introduction the song that gave the band it's name fastly changes into a riff-hacker going in hard and direct. In the verse sections you'll recognize a lot of double-bass attacks going on. This one surely would make a good closing song for a live set giving the audience one more and leaving them behind with a smile and a good feeling.

The band logo (c) Ravenous, used with kind permission

This one is followed by the midtempo banger "Deathstiny". This track stand out and will make you remember it's hookline and sharp-upripping riff for a long time."Suffocate" starts out slow with clear guitars and quickly leading over to some classic distorted riffs. Finally it throws you in a wild and powerfull storm of rhythm oriented thrashing. The track clears up with a mixture of slower and midtempo solo sections showing various forms of modern and traditionell string treatment before returning to the main theme.

"The Architect" sounds very classic again with a traditionell riff and it's midtempo formula. It's agressive but at the same time gives you a positive punch on energy. I can imagine this going down well on a live set, just think of all the people banging to it and having a good time. The solo section has a going-all-on-it feeling to it. We are going to get all out of the guitar there is. :-) Great tune!

"The Strawman" closes the first album with a mixture of a lot of riffing. The most complex track but it's worth it. Just give it some more spins to unravel each and every section there is. I think you'll love most of the parts. After all this album turns out to be a cure for me. I feel better after listening to it so I hope we'll hear more of this band giving the thrash and groove metal genre a fresh kick of air.

CD Review: Suffer No Fools - Songs For The Restless Youth

Note:  If you have a own band or project that you think might fit in well here for a review or as a presentation / introduction please drop me a line or two in a E-Mail. Please see my profile for my E-Mail adress. I appreciate new suggestions very much so don't hesitate to contact me. I'm also interested in band news / updates / tourdates so keep the stuff coming. Thanks!

If you're having troubles writing in English please send me a E-Mail in your prefered language or use the free Google Translator to transfer your message to English. I also use that tool, it's of course not perfect but I think it will mostly likely work out for our purposes.

Short Introduction 

Suffer No Fools was formed in Ealing in 2015 and is comprised of Ali Khan on vocals, Jack Kirby and Jamie Newdeck on guitar, Alex Bain on bass, and Mike Taylor on drums. The band set out to combine the best of their influences in order to create something contemporary that also harked back to the last few decades of metal. This led to a band that had the speed and melody of Metallica, the groove of Rammstein and the crushing edge of Killswitch Engage.
This EP entiled "Songs For The Restless Youth" is the very first release of the band which saw the light of day in May 2015 on Bandcamp. 

(c) by Mesozord, used with kind permission

Summary / Purchase Links / Player

This record has hit me like a storm! Wow, for sure a real pure thrash album but also not just one of the many. What's so different here? It's first of all the little details the band worked in on the songs. Just for example there are all these melodic, relaxing guitar parts in "The Bombing Campaign" plus the very melodic chorus which set's deep in your mind once listened to it. Then we have the track "Prey" which has a very unusual clean guitar going with it in the songs refrain. It's otherwise a raw and typical thrash metal track but this little element harks back and makes you give it a re-listen.

Then there are the vocals that are held in a bit softer tonality than usual thrash vocalists keep them - but I like it that way. It gives a bit more relaxed feeling when listening to them - something that's a big pro in my eyes since some thrash records tend to be a bit exhausting while listening to them. Just hit the play button and start enjoying this cool record.


The EP has a good variation of songs on them, it's midtempo as well as tracks going straight to the meat with more speed. You can easily headbang along to them but also pick them up later to have a closer listen. Most of all the music never get's monotone and has many parts in them that invite you to re-listen to them. So it's well worth spending the 4 GBP on them for a download in various formats on Bandcamp. There's also a very limited edition run as a physical CD up for purchase for all those people living in the UK.

Please support the artist by buying this recording and go to their shows. We need such talented musicians putting out so diverse and fresh records much more in my ears. If you prefer to buy your music on other sites than Bandcamp you can pick up the digital release on itunes, Spotify as well as on Amazon MP3.

Also make sure to visit the band on Facebook since they are going to play some shows in support of the record, just check in to see a detailed list of dates. There's also the possibility to keep in touch with the band on their ReverbNation page or have a look on Youtube to keep a eye on them. Soundcloud users can also stream and connect with Suffer No Fools through their account on that service.

Track-by-Track Review

1.Acheron
The intro to the EP. A dark und mysterious theme comes close to the listener. You can feel that something is coming near, yet you don't know what it is. It feels like some powers above you choose your destiny in those moments - like putting it together on a big map. Finally the guitars come in with distortion so you know the band is setting up and the storm is about to come down...

2.The Bombing Campaign 
Rough guitars start this one out leading you in step by step. Slowly the pressure builds up to explode in a double axe heavy hitting attack with accompaining drums. The vocals step in giving it back a relaxter feeling and a bit more melody back into the song. A slow intermission leads over letting you miss the refrain and bringing you to verse two. More crushing guitars ripp up the track before some clear guitars form a softer breaker into the track. The refrain shows up for the first time and the whole structure is repeated afterwards. A extensive solo-parts comes in before the clean part returns. The end brings back the beginning theme so the circle is perfectly closed on this one.

3. Prey
A straight and direct riff opens this song up. A short shredding intermission leads over to the refrain which has this clear, high notes in them I mentioned at the summary section. Very unusual and not heard often such idea will you surely turn your head and wanting to have a replay. Maybe you'll like it as much as I do - a big contrast to the traditional thrash song structures but a idea that's highly welcomed. There's more of that towards the end in a own clear section of Prey.
   
4. Forgiven Or Forgotten 
It's time to headbang a lot if you've not already on the previous tracks already. The most straight forward track of the record going directly to your ears and wanna surely make you have a party with your friends. Just forget all the troubles with the world and enjoy this one! The song has some cool specials in them like the distorted vocals at the beginning or the double-bass drum attack at the last third of the song leading to a very blistering solo bursting out of the music. Love this one!

(c) by Carly Marson, used with kind permission

5. Abyss
A bit more epic intro opens up to a midtemo piece of music with fast drum-fills in them. The refrain comes more stretched yet as a very welcome diversity for the writer of these lines. It's a very atmospheric element the refrain creates. Once more something that goes out of the usual song structures and gives a feeling of freshness. Guitars and drums go in a very close hand-in-hand connection on Abyss. Details have been outworked very sharp, must have surely taken some time to get this on that level on tape.
  
6. Dirge Of The Old Gods 
A classic riff open this one up very shortly. Short and sharp riffs are fired out very well together with much diversity on the drums pushing it through various changes in speed. Reminds me a bit of the compact riff-hacker Testament sometimes composes yet vocals are formed much more around the songs structures to fit in with groove and riffing structures. 
     
7.Into The Breach
Some open riffs start this shotly before a massive double-bass drum patters puts in more pressure to the final song of the EP. The refrain is stretched a bit more out before a riff change leads in some distorted vocals and opens up the way for a very compact riff intermezzo in a sort like the old In Flames had them back in the day. The drummer puts in some very hard timing-critical parts in here, reminding me a bit of Slayer with Dave Lombardo. More sharp riffs make me feel so good, sounding like the guitars were directly fusioned with drums, a totally tight sound mixture comes your way. Great ending for a great EP!

Italian thrashers Kontra reveal new band line-up

After communicating in March the news of their reunion, Kontra officially present their new line-up.

Next to the only original member Marco Barraco, singer and rhythm guitarist of the thrashers, now there are: Luigi Di Meglio on lead guitar, Luca Buonanno on bass guitar and Francesco Verrazzo on drums (former drummer of Manach Seherath). A first picture of the new formation has been uploaded by the band, too.

The new band line-up 2015. (c) by Kontra, used with kind permission

Kontra is currently rearranging all the old songs and has for the next months a surprise for the fans in store. Stay tuned with them via their official Facebook profile so you won't miss out on that.

Legendary thrash metal band Kontra from Italy reunites

I love Thrash! Yeah, legendary thrahsers Testament printed this saying once on one of their band T-Shirts. I'm very happy to be able to say there is a active underground scene alive these days that constantly provides us with fresh stuff from the heavier and straighter side of Heavy Metal.

Recently I've received a message that one of the legendary thrash underground acts from Naples, Italy did reunite.

They are called Kontra and did exist from 1999 to 2007. The band influenced both by Bay Area Thrash and by German Thrash Metal now has a new line-up of 3 members which the only original one is the singer/rhythm guitarist and founder of the band Marco Barraco.

(c) by Kontra, used with kind permission

Kontra played live on many stages in Naples and suburbs producing also 2 demos: “Strike Zero” in 2003 limited to only 100 copies,and ‘’Demo 2005’’ never published because the band splitted up. The band has been influeneced by acts like Metallica,Slayer,Kreator,Sodom,Destruction, Venom,Sepultura (the old ones), and Motörhead.

I'm looking forward to see what the band will do next and keep you guys out there updated on the further progress. In the meantime you can also hold an eye on Kontra's Facebook page by hitting the famous like button on their site.

CD Review: Cyrence - The Hospital

Note:  If you have a own band or project that you think might fit in well here for a review or as a presentation / introduction please drop me a line or two in a E-Mail. Please see my profile for my E-Mail adress. I appreciate new suggestions very much so don't hesitate to contact me. I'm also interested in band news / updates / tourdates so keep the stuff coming. Thanks!

If you're having troubles writing in English please send me a E-Mail in your preferred language or use the free Google Translator to transfer your message to English. I also use that tool, it's of course not perfect but I think it will mostly likely work out for our purposes.

Short Introduction

Cyrence are a young band from Munich,Germany. They play Melodic Thrash Metal in the vein of Testament (their latest releases) and Metallica. Yet their style is modern and unique, there are no boundaries. You will enjoy parts that are neckbreakers as well as clean, almost psychedelic moments, always maintaining the right amount of heaviness, groove and melody.  In their lyrics they mostly talk about apocalyptic topics. The band started out with a demo entitled "Endtime stories" in 2011. Now in 2015 they are back with their first EP which see's the day of light today on 27th March 2015.

(c) by Cyrence, used with kind permission

Summary / Purchase & Contact Links / Album Player

This EP is a absolute surprise, didn't exspect such a smasher when I first heard the title track. It blew me away! A pure quality release. This goes for the heavyness as much as it goes for the ideas the band developed for the songs itself. The tracks are outworked very detailed and with much inspiration. They are often brutal but never miss this piece of intelligence that makes them something special. 

The songs even let you relax and take you to a different place. You just need to bring some time to be able to completly enjoy this EP. The songs don't offer their full potential on the first run, they often need a second one. But that's even more a sign of quality in my ears. The sound comes with full blown quality. Go and get this diamond!

You can buy the record at the Bandcamp page of Cyrence for 7 Euro. Enjoy the full album stream below to get a idea of the sound of the band. Physical copies and T-Shirts are available at the shows (for example tonight 27th March 2015 in Munich at the Sunny Red - CD release show with 2 other bands).



The band also has a own webshop in the makings where you'll be able to buy physical copies of the album as well as T-Shirts through the internet. I'll update the review with the proper links and details so make sure to keep an eye on this review page if you're interested (just set a bookmark to this page and check back every here and there). Or make sure to follow the band through the linked websites for the announcement and links.

Update 2015/04/01: No april fool's joke - the webshop of the band has opened it's gates! You can purchase the album their for 7 Euro plus shipping and handling and order a band T-Shirt with the logo of Cyrence for 10 Euro (plus shipping and handling). There's also a bundle offer up there with the CD and the Shirt together for 15 Euro plus the fee's for postage and handling. You can choose between several sizes for the T-Shirt.

Also make sure to keep track on this band via their homepage, Facebook or connect with them through the Twitter network.

Track-by-Track Review

01 A New Beginning

Clear and very melodic intro. Things are starting to make me nervous goes through

my head while listening this. You can't wait on what's to come...

02 Dystopia

A long and stretched brutal intro rips up the EP. Very hard and pushing track,

kicking it in very heavy. Very remniscient to Metallica in their Ride the lightning times.

Partyl it also reminds a bit of the newer material of Testament with the hymn-like

sung refrain. Very raw and hard track. The end fades a bit unusual with clear guitar 

giving the last notes. This track needs a repeat to be fully understood.

03 This Life

More straight track. Also very fast, dark and hard. Vocals are laid down a bit deeper.

Short and fast solo section. The track is dominated mostly by the changing vocals.

Very cool - while the rhythm and guitars mainly keep it straight forward and

constantly pushing the vocals are with all the diversity that is laid inside of them

the element that really moves the song forward. This band has ideas no question!

(c) by Cyrence, used with kind permission

04 The Hospital

Clear and slow beginning. It fastly explodes into a straight double-bass smasher

It changes furthermore into a direct riff-hacker in the tradition of Metallica. I somehow

had to think back to the all-time classic "One" while listening to this. A positive

thought!

05 I won't fall

A stomping intro going over to a fast riff-ripping-track. The riff is kept simple

and the whole song straight forward. Vocals come in very rough but also clear.

The last third of the track is set in a more midtemo rhythm. 

06 You kill me

The band is going straight all on it. A direct and heavy kicking song with a 

different refrain that makes it remarkable. A bit shorter than the previous tracks

but that's welcome after the longer songs.

07 Purity Control

Very hard neckbreaker, going brutally to the point. The solo section surprises

with a slower introduction while the solo itself keeps it high-pitched and leads

back to first groove. A perfect round up and kick out for the release. 

Watch Rock im Park 2014 liveshows through internet webstream

The little twin of the well know Rock Am Ring Festival kicks off today, one day after the big brother started last night. This festival features mostly the same bands as the bigger one just with a little time gap in between.

The best of all: you can be there also if you don't have a ticket to the show. Just go to the internet livestream that is directly provided through the official homepage of the festival.

For a detailed list of bands and stage time please check in at the schedule on the proper subpage of the event. Have a good time everybody! :-)

First songs of upcoming Deep Purple tributealbum revealed

Sadly Jon Lord passed away earlier this year, as I've mentioned in a previous post. Big names in the Heavy Metal universe have decided to put together a tribute album entitled ‘Re-Machined: A Tribute to ‘Machine Head’ to honor the great band Deep Purple.

10 songs are set to be released on September 25th in America featuring coverversions from bands like Metallica, Chickenfoot, Iron Maiden, Glenn Hughes and many more. Ultimate Classic Rock has revealed six of the tracks of the album already and they think it might be a album worth buying. In addition they give us the chance to hear the six songs as stream. The following bands and songs can be heard:


Metallica ‘When a Blind Man Cries’
Chickenfoot ‘Highway Star’
Glenn Hughes, Steve Vai & Chad Smith ‘Highway Star’
Kings of Chaos ‘Never Before’
Black Label Society ‘Pictures of Home’
The Flaming Lips ‘Smoke on the Water’

Wanna  hear the songs? Go over here and enjoy it. :-)

Rock am Ring to be streamed online - watch Metallica and more online!

The biggest Open Air Festival in Germany is getting closer with every second. Rock am Ring has become a big brand in the world of Rock, Alternative and Heavy Metal with some of the biggest bands of the planet have already performed on the stage. The crowd is so massive that on TV recordings you can see people up to the end of the horizon and even further.

Sadly, the festival is sold out since a long time and not everybody will be able to be there for several reasons. Good luck, also this year their will be a online stream available. And you will even be able to watch the full Metallica show - I was blown away when I read about it. :-)

You can find the stream and the list of bands that are set to be streamed at this link (changes still possible, depends upon confirmation of the bands, management etc.). Remember that the times given are in german time.

Rock am Ring livestream and showtimes

The Metallica show will also be shown on the bands Festival website for their upcoming Orion Music festival. Go in here for details:

Metallica Rock am Ring stream

For all people living in germany: there's more stuff available. Their will be streams over radio and TV stations and some concert footage some time after the end of the festival. Check this site for more details:

Rock am Ring @ SWR

Update 2012-06-11: Sadly it's over, but the TV /Radio station that streamed the shows has put up some best of Videos of the shows for viewing online. Lot's of great stuff in there!

Best Of Videos-Rock-am-Ring-2012

Update 2012-06-16: Just found some more live vids and moreover interview and fun stuff at a special Rock am Ring Subpage of the german TV station SWR. Enjoy!

Rock In Rio 2011 live stream and archive

I'm cut short on time but wanna quickly let you know:

System of a Down and Guns 'N Roses watch free and legal stream from tonights shows at Rock in Rio at

http://www.youtube.com/rockinrio?gl=US&hl=de&client=mv-google&nomobile=1

Metallica and Stone Sour Shows can also be watched there as normal stream.(no live streaming,just as sort of archive). Enjoy the shows!