Single Review: October Thorns - Circle Game (1999/2021, Progressive Rock)

Some bands remain a legend. Also their lifespan may have been short they are often going round in the heads and hearts of music fans for a long time. 

It must have been like this with the band October Thorns, a progressive rock band that formed in 1999.  They only released one six track demo but that particular one had great reviews in international megazines like Aardshock and Germany‘s Heavy Oder Was?

The cover of the first single already gives a thought that something unusual hides here.

The line-up had members with them that should put a mark in other bands at a later time frame. 

Vocalist Paul LaPlaca went on to play with Chris Caffery (Savatage/Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Ted Poley (Danger Danger), Carnivore AD and currently plays with Drift Into Black, while bassist David Z went on to make a name for himself with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Joan Jett, Jeff Scott Soto, and his own band, ZO2. On July 14,  2017, David Z was tragically killed in a vehicle crash while on tour with Adrenaline Mob.  

These days a re-worked (remixed and remastered) version of the demo along with bonus material is on it's way to be released in 2022. We at the Heavy Metal Underdogs blog were fortune enough to have a listen to the first single "Circle Game" and were impressed by the blow-away feeling it shares.

The first single "Circle Game" starts dreamlike with some guitar notes flying around with percussion adding to the atmosphere. Only seconds later the music explodes into a bright stream of pushing frequency. Gentle guitars touch the listeners ears with straight vocals writing the story. It's fine to hear the sound doesn't get overloaded also the solo section expands the volume of the highlighted music instruments. The vocals are partly multi-layered. I think this wasn't a standard in 1999 so it's a surprise to hear. The layering is set at proper moments so it adds to climatic moments of the sound and doesn't get on the nerves of the listener. The powerful end marks a sign in the mind to keep a eye on this release in the future.

You can listen to "Circle Game" for yourselves on digital streaming platforms listed up on this link.

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/octoberthorns/circle-game-2

In addition to “Circle Game,” the full album will include unreleased mixes of the songs “Leviathan” and “Sounds of Life,” as well as unheard demo tracks. It's set for release in 2022 through Divebomb Records.

Make sure to follow the band on Social Media so you won't miss this long lost gem.

https://octoberthorns1.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/October-Thorns-116719685391554/

Instagram - october_thorns

Chris Poland to release new solo album in 2020

The music that Chris Poland put out while he was playing the guitar for thrashers Megadeth has become iconic. A little lesser known is that he released a solo album in the time after the departure.This text tells the story of that time. It is a long read but all worth it - it's sort of mini-biography and holds many details unknown to me so far.

The very end of the text reveals that a brand new solo record will see the light of day in 2020. Let's have our fingers crossed that everything will turn out well until then.

Says Poland, “I was out of Megadeth, and went through rehab and had gotten clean. I had no gear, and I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to ever play guitar again. Friends started bringing me gear; guitars, amps, pedals, telling me, “you have to play again.” So, I started playing. Andy Sommers, Megadeth’s agent, heard I was clean and doing well, and the Circle Jerks needed a bassist, so I toured with them for over a year, playing bass. And while I was doing that, I was in the back of a 16-passenger van, writing the songs that would become Return to Metalopolis.”

“I didn’t have a drummer, so I asked my brother Mark to play on it. I said, “We’re gonna make a record, and I need you to play drums.” He agreed, and we started doing demos. Janie Hoffman shopped it and we got a really good deal with Capitol Records, but shortly after we did the deal, for whatever reason, we get a call from the A&R guy who says they can’t do the deal on Capitol, but they offered me a deal on Enigma. So that’s where it came out.”

Poland continues, “I just feel like it’s timeless. I don’t listen to it and think that it’s some dated 80’s bullshit. It’s not like that for me. Of course, I’m super close to it, and I love it, but I really feel like it has held up well.”

The cover of Chris Poland's "Return To Metalopolis".

The Return to Metalopolis reissue will be released on November 22nd on double CD, and digital, and in December on limited edition double LP, and Cassette, remastered with bonus material, including live tracks that originally appeared on the out of print 2007 release Return to Metalopolis Live, plus 3 brand new tracks recorded in 2019, featuring the rhythm section of Carlos Cruz and Chase Bryant of Warbringer.

Pre-order now at the following location: http://empmerch.com/?submit=&s=chris+poland&post_type=product

Note of the author of the blog: The link seems to be down at the moment. Not sure what's happening there but no other link is available right now. As soon as I have more info I'll add it here.
Update 10/30/19: The page is back online again.

After over a decade with Metal on the backburner, despite guest appearances with Lamb of God, Tourniquet, Redemption, and more, with Poland focusing his energy on playing and recording with his Jazz fusion trio OHM, which also featured late former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza, and the Chris Poland Resistance, another fusion project being released by the eclectic Modern Jazz-centric Ropeadope Records, Poland has also announced work on the long-awaited follow up to METALOPOLIS, to be released in 2020 on COMBAT.

“I never really got away from Metal, I’ve always been a Rock guy. And even the stuff we do with Ohm is really heavy and dynamic. But when I started playing with Nick (Menza) he really put a fire under my ass to write new, heavy music. I was over at his house every night after work, my wife told me I was having a “bro-mance”, but I couldn’t stop writing songs. Nick and I had hooked up with James Lomenzo (ex-Megadeth, White Lion), and we were actually going to start a band together, which didn’t work out, but I had literally hours and hours of ideas for songs that me and Nick were going to do together when he passed away. Now I’m working on putting them all together for a new solo release that will also come out on Combat.”