Graveshadow open the doorway to heaven

It goes up and down many times in life. I think this is maybe one of the biggest ressources for musicians to create their sounds and texts of. This particular one song talks soundwise for me a lot about that.

It also has it's highs and lows changing all the while. It's cool to hear that it has a controlled and finetuned dose of power with it something not to be found everywhere. Most of all the vocals stand out with it's many faces (good and dark/bad parts all shine in many variations on this track). This must have taken lot's of effort to get it on tape but the result for sure sounds impressive and it invites to listen once more just to make sure to have not missed out a vocal layer through the tracks duration.


"Doorway to heaven" is part of Graveshadow's new album "Ambition's Price" that has been put out on M-Theory Audio in April 2018. This band features Heather Michelle performing the vocals.

The cover for Graveshadow's album "Ambitions Price", painted by Dusan Markovic. (c) by Graveshadow, used with kind permission

Tune in to the band's channel on Facebook for more info like tourdates and so on.

CD Review: Gungnir - Ragnarök (Viking Metal, 2018)

It's time to go into the brutal direction. But this band sneaks in lot's of fine tuned elements that you  normally wouldn't expect of such a release that has been heavily inspired by the classic Bathory albums.

The cover of Gungnir's debut EP "Ragnarök", (c) by Gungnir, used with kind permission

Introduction
Gungnir were formed by Yngve (Flames, Deviser, ex-W.E.B.), along with long-time friend and bandmate in other projects Jim havok (Chained And Desperate), on October 2016. Inspired by Bathory's legacy they created a band with the sole purpose of reviving ancient sagas and myths, found in the Norse mythology and the Eddas.

After taking all of 2017 slowly composing and recording, they recruited Ithonas from the Hellenic black metal band Dizziness to handle the vocals for the EP. Zel from the mighty Ancient also appeared as a guest vocalist for the cover in Bathory's "Enter the Eternal Fire" cover.

Summary
The soundshell is held in the absolute classic direction. This means it's pure and direct in-your-face metal all the way. The band doesn't fiddle around too much with setting up but lay's it down heavy and raw.

Anyway while listening to the EP and banging to the rough notes you'll spot little but important changes in the sound taking you away from the dominating songwriting freshing up the sound. It's those moments that you'll open your ears and wonder what's going onthere. It's the unusual use of rhythm and/or guitars that come in at points where you wouldn't expect them.

For instance there is the track "The Wanderer". The drums go a disctinctivly different direction. First I wondered a lot how that should fit to the direction chosen. But similar to the vocals they are more versatile not only brutal. A bit of battle glory feelings and a bit of the noise of the battlefield can be imagined this way.

"Fenrir" is wrapped in a more compact soundcase. I helps to keep the agression level up. The vocals are fat in here. Again a nice contrast to the other tunes.

Preview-Track-Stream and Purchase-Link
As a quick introduction I recommend to go with the track "Fenrir".



Please take this as a recommendation to pick up a physical copy - you'll be rewarded a cover of Bathory's "Enter the Eternal Fire" as bonus material. A picture of the tape on Facebook already looks tasting with it's white styled sleeve and the white-housed tape inside.

The CD will be released through Metal Throne Productions (limited to 500) and the tape will be spread by Mercyful Hell Prods (limited to 150). While typing this the physical edition of both CD and tape are sold out from the band directly but can still get them from the labels. Meanwhile the digital version of the EP is still available from Bandcamp.

Keep in touch with the band through Bandcamp or Facebook or even Google Plus.

CD Review: Manach Seherath - Timeless Tales (Symphonic Heavy Metal, 2018)

A ancient book long lost has been found again...Symphonic Heavy Metaller's Manach Seherath have put out one hell of a epic debut album. 2018 kicks off heavy!

Having heard their demo back in the day it gave me great feelings because it reminded me of a style in metal music long lost. The use of keyboards was outstanding.

The cover of Manach Seherath's debut album Timeless Tales drawn by Roberto Toderico, (c) by Manach Seherath, used with kind permission

Story Telling
This time around the band has taken all of their strengths and exanded them to the very maximum. The biggest one is the ability to give the listener a narrative experience - you know the way a good story is told. But they underlay the fine lyrics with even more power letting their instruments speak out properly and heavily skilled.

What can be found inside?
The album turned out to be a surprise to me. I didn't expect such a fast album when it comes to tempo. Just listen to the opener "The Cursed Collector" and you know what I'm writing about. The vocals have evolved a lot since the days of the demo. There's much more volume and variations in them and they sound more dry and professional this time. Plus they reach much higher parts. Think of the classic vocalists of the 80s and you know what I'm speaking about.

As for the music: there are many diverse sides to be heard on the record. Also the overall style is constant and can be heard as trademark on all of the tracks they vary and every tale has a own vibe and character with it.

There are always changes coming in and I didn't had the feeling that the album became too one-sided instead there were surprises around every corner. I think that's one of the hardest parts for band's like Manach Seherath - to keep the listener entertained. But the band kept a close eye upon this and "Timeless Tales" has many changes in it that will keep you at the stereo. So many details that have been put inside of tracks such as "Restless" or "Chasing The Beast" that will reward re-listeners with many fine moments. The guitar solos for instance are furious. Many times they give a new ignition to a different section of the song.

The timing is challenging on this silver disc. There are fast parts to be heard many times but you can also find slower parts that come creeping through your boxes. "Asleep" is the song that stands out as proof of this for me. I love band's that use this formula but they are rare. This song package holds this special something I'm after. It's hard to believe how the band managed to get all of this together. It's such a big bag of fun to listen. All the up and down's "Sword in the mist" has gives the feeling of experiencing a adventure of depth and intensity yourselves. Close your eyes and you'll feel.

The tracks of the demo have been included at the end of the record but have been outworked and fully professionallised for the album. They sound bolder, straighter and darker this time. Happily the songs have not been changed otherwise too much.

Booklet with a extra
The lyrics have been visualised on the outside of the release and the design of the booklet. I feel that this could be a unique mark this offering could point on the map of releases. There are illustrations to be found that point towards the meaning of each track on the page of the corresponding lyrics . It is one more reason beside all the great music to pick up this album. It's a full feature experience well worth all your money and time.

Purchase-Link and Preview-Track
Make sure to keep a eye on the Manach Seherath Facebook page. That's where you'll be notified where to buy the record but I'll also update this post as soon as the release details come in. Below I can give you a listen to one full track of the album.

You can already purchase this track as a digital single with more songs and bonus material in high quality format at the Bandcamp page of the symphonic Heavy Metal band.

CD Review: Terra IncΩgnita - Sign With Blood (Epic Heavy Metal, 2016)

Let's discover the Terra IncΩgnita and find the unseen in form of melodic yet very heavy and groove oriented music highlighted by vocals ranging from dark tones to high notes and also some develish laughs can be heard.

Good things come your way when you least expect them. So it happened to me with this 4 track disc of greece-based band Terra Incognita. They crossed my way at a moment I felt down but the band gave me the power to push on forward.

The cover of the EP "Sign With Blood", (c) by Terra IncΩgnita, used with kind permission

It felt to me just as if I was discovered them at one of those moments you know while being on a summer Open Air festival and you hang with people near the stage. Out of nowhere there are these songs in the background and you turn around because they've caught your attention. You want to know who the heck is singing so high and is able to keep these high notes standing for such a long time while the band grooves and powers throughout the whole duration...

Summary

So what has made me curious? Sure thing the band takes what they feel fits best together. This ranges from the classic rock metal anthem formula up to dark classic metal parts but also throws in modern guitar effects every here and there. Sometimes there is also softer part in it giving a moment to breathe just to be back with more heavness shortly afterwards.

The strength of this EP comes from it versatile formula. The music never becomes one-direction styled. Instead it moves and changes withing few moments. It's a high art nevertheless because it sounds like one piece and never loses it's direction so you don't feel as if it's just pressed to be this way. It maintains a natural style.

It's fine to see the agression is finetuned and placed at the proper positions so it always underlines the expression of the music. The vocals round out the great feeling these tunes gave me. They change and besides the great high pitched classic vocals they take forms like speaking, laughing, whispering at times. It's a pleasure to follow the band and while I'm typing these words the music of Terra Incognita is running once and again in the background.

Preview Stream and Purchase-Link

Make sure to tune in to the video of the track "Conqueror" offered below. More can be heard at the Spotify channel of the band or see their Youtube page for some live recordings.

You can pick up a copy as download over at Amazon Music or Google Play.

Contact Data

Please keep in mind that these EP is a teaser to the coming album “Fragments of a Ruined Mind”. So make sure to follow Terra IncΩgnita further on Facebook or check their homepage so you won't miss out on how the story continues...

XII Boar show different side of their musical talent

XII Boar came along as a typical Rock 'n' Roll band to me. Their album "Pitworthy" is a record dedicated to the die hard metal fans and is serving a hefty brew of Heavy Metal mixed up with elements of Blues music. The sound reminds me of a combination of acts like Motörhead and ZZ Top that has been fueled up with a lot of intensive heavyness. A fine mixture if you like that stuff.

These days the band has come around with a brand new track "Black and Blues" of the follow-up album "Beyond The Valley of The Triclops". As the title already reveals it includes a good potion of Blues music with it but as for me it is far more.

A shot of XII Boar's video "The black and blues", (c) by XII Boar, used with kind permission

It shows how diverse XII Boar are able to perform on their instruments. They present a good potion of technical abilities aside from the all too present distortion heavy music is mostly anticipated with through the use of harmonica and acoustic fingerpicking.

The song is taken of XII Boars current album "Beyond The Valley of The Triclops". Make sure to have a look at the band's homepage or use social networks such as Facebook or Twitter to pick up more detailed info on the record.

CD Review: Alluvion - Reverberations (Melodic Metal/2016)

A hefty EP incorparting as many styles of the heavy genre as one could imagine.

Short Introduction

Alluvion are a metal band located at Fredericksburg, Virginia. They mix elements of metal, rock, prog-rock, and shoegaze into there own brand of music. Alluvion has been a band for about 10 years recording several albums and performing regionally. The "Reverberations" EP has been released in October 2016.

Alluvions's "Reverberations" EP cover, (c) by Alluvion, used with kind permission

Summary

This release surely speaks out to the one's being open to travel between various sounds.You can take this as a sign that the music never get's boring or one-dimensional throughout the whole duration. But there's even more variation in them.

What I'd like to say is that the EP changes it's mood without warning. While the EP starts up rather epicly with the longer track "Exodus" it cracks you down quickly already with the second song "Heel of the Boot". It feels as if you're sitting in a rollercoaster. At one moment it was all fine and good but just around the corner the heavyness just kicks straight into the face. The next round goes to the title track that provides you with a moment to take a breath just before another ride start's with "Drop It" but this time more midtempo. It's the song with the most positive note on the whole record. "Critters" gives you a massive "kick-me-out" feeling with it's heavyness once again. Anyway I guess many of you'll want to follow the band once they'v had taste of it.

The cool thing in the band's style is that they added some shoegaze to their typical metal sound. If you like that style but prefer it to not dominate the band's sound with it's typical slowness and multi-layered song structures but instead have more typical metal elements with the music I think Alluvion's "Reverberations" are the definite place for you to check out. Just check the songs "Exodus" and the ending of "Critters" for more details on this.

Purchase-Link and Album stream

The whole package comes free of charge. I'd like to ask you to give some bucks if you like it because making music ain't free. Artists have a lot of costs to cover just to entertain us the way they do so giving back is never a wrong thing.

Besides that this is the first download I came across that comes with MP4 files in them. Those nice goodies are short live video clips the band shared as preview items on their Facebook page. They show the live power and atmosphere of the band so they are a nice addition to the release and give a idea if you consider going to one of Alluvion's live shows (please do show up to give them your support).

On my Smartphone the cover as well as the lyrics were integrated into the mp3 files so they were displayed automatically upon selecting them with my player app. That was a cool surprise to me to have everything at hand with just one single click. The lyrics are rough and direct and speak clearly. If you want to have a message straight - this band provides it. Here's the EP stream for you to quickly check it out.


Contact Data

The band is up for contact on Facebook as well as on Youtube and Instagram.

CD Review: Brutai - Born (Modern Metal/2016)

Seldomely has a band impressed me the way Brutai did with their first album. Usually the first previews of many records sound good but the finished album later on may not be as fullfilling as you hoped for.

Introduction
Happily that's not the same with "Born". Having heard the first track "Deep" I was thrilled for more to come. Seeing that the band was very busy with playing gigs wherever they had the opportunity and other stuff they had to work around like a writing blockade I thought that a EP would wait around the corner. But what we have here is a full album and that's even more impressive if you keep in mind that all of this happened in a time of under one year!

The cover of Brutai's first full length "Born", (c) by Brutai, used with kind permission

Summary
So what's inside of the package? First of all it's a modern metal record but one with a special note. While most of the songs have a rough edge to the riffs and the pushing, uncompromising rhythm it's the vocal's core that always centers the music back to some melodic and softer tonality. It's great to hear that along with some catchy melodies the record always remains one you love to listen to. Most of all the sound remains natural and intact not letting the all too modern production ruin the product in the end. You never have the impression that it's overpolished or impossible to play this but instead always can imagine that this is handcrafted music of real humans.

The first three tracks are a good intro in a row. The album slowly takes you into the world of Brutai. With every step you sink in further. While "Relapse" is a rhythm-oriented opener to the album, "Deep" adds the progressive elements just to finally push you to the riffing monster "Of Ashes".

The absolute peak of the record is reached with the songs starting with "Lucidity" up to "Dear Emily" - all the tracks grow further from one song to each other. They're all heavy and will give you a great feeling through the whole duration. I simply had to headbang to these tunes.

The middle sees us taking a breath with the modern half ballad "Valediction", some pretty complex piece of music yet is has a infectious melody spreading all along the track. Just when you thought it's over after the eight track "Over now" the band returns for two more songs.

"Visitors" has some great keyboard melody going through the whole track - it touches you and has been circulating in my mind for a long time. "The Border" is the heaviest track and a full surprise to the package. It's a long pushing heavy crusher that never seems to end but it gives you this special feeling to it that the band has put out something great with the debut "Born" and that you definitely need to see them live.

Purchase Link
Make sure to pick your copy early. All CD and T-shirt bundles are £20 for a limited time only... Prices will increase after 'Born' is released on November 25th. You can place your pre-order here.

Album stream
I've picked the track "Of Ashes" as a quick check- in song for you. Besides the great music it comes with a nice animated album cover. If you'd like to listen to the full album, just check out the Facebook page for the Heavy Metal Underdogs Blog - at this direct link you can hear the whole album that the band has uploaded to YouTube.


Contact data
Make sure to keep a eye on the band through Facebook and mark your calenders when the band hit's the road in January 2017 with The Devil You Know in the UK. For detailed tourdates check my post.

Ways. portrait their musical contrasts in beautiful video

Ways. are a post hardcore formation from France that incorporates many different elements in their music. Some are of the traditional harsh and brutal nature, some have their origins in softer and melodic regions but this band has the ability to melt all of them into a sound that feels as if it has been always like this for them.

The newest video that comes fresh of the video cutting table of the band uses intensive and outstanding romantic as well as rough video recordings of nature phenomenons to express the varity in their musical spectrum. This video will give you a relaxed as well as kicking start into the new month.

The band will play a couple of shows in September 2016 in Spain (!) and France. Just check the flyer below if you can make it to one of their performances.

The tourposter of the upcoming Ways. shows in September 2016, (c) by Ways. , used with kind permission

A look on the bands internet plattforms such as Bandcamp or Facebook is a good idea if you'd like to find out if the other songs of their debut EP "Warching from afar" match your musical taste.

CD Review: Ways. - Watching From Afar EP (2016)

In short a hardcore EP with a clear aim: to bring in fresh elements to a well known genre. Ways. carefully thought out their songs and created a listening experience both being familar and surprising alltogether.

Short Introduction

Ways. are a rock / metal / alternative band from Paris, France. In April the band released their debut EP Watching From Afar. The band first came to my attention when I saw their video for the song "Misty Hope" which made me more than looking forward to their first record. A great track and teaser to this EP.

The cover of "Watching From Afar", (c) by Ways. , used with kind permission

Summary

Listening to this very first release of Ways. quickly will let you identify it has a music of the hardcore genre. The typical elements like the harsh vocals and the strong and strict song structures are easily identifiable.

But it's also clear after a short time that the band ever had the idea in their mind to give new impulses to this. There are hacked riffs in there as well as timing variations ("My Blue Stain"), you'll be confronted with silence packed in the loud message of "Misty Hope" just to reach a hardcore half-ballad with "Something to say..." and come to the end with "Twenty First Sectuary" which closes the release with the classic hardcore style but mixed up with a slight fun-riff. I think you'll be surprised to hear how this sounds but it will leave you with a smile and the good feeling behind.

If you still prefer to stick to some old hardcore sounds don't worry: the second track "As A Duty" offers this so the old core of the genre is not forgotten from this band at all.

Player / Purchase-Link


The EP comes around as a pay what you want offer on Bandcamp. Sure you can pick it up for free but please keep in mind that young bands need a push at the start so they can progress further. If you help them out with a few bucks who knows how their next release may sound like? Or how the tracks sound live? You can help to make this happen by giving a amount of your choice.

Other places such as Spotify, iTunes and Google Play can also be used to stream and buy the "Watching From Afar" EP.

Contact Data

Ways. have some nice social outlets up and running out there, you can choice between Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Album preview: Vortex - The Asylum

Ok, let's sneak a bit into a upcoming record. We haven't done this in a whle here on the blog but this new album trailer of the canadian metal band Vortex somehow got me.

The band Vortex, (c) by Vortex, used with kind permission

Besides the growls there's something in the compact and pure sounding recordings that found my attention.

I think it's the coolness of how the band performs the different song segments. It's also the many changes in the song structures that made me like them. It doesn't get montone so quickly and most of all with the lighter overall feeling the sound remains enjoyable while still staying in a heavy tonality.


The brand new record "The Asylum" will be shipped out on Friday the 13 via their label PRC music. You can pre-order the silver disc on the website of the label. So it looks as if that day will hopefully not be a black friday. :-)

Check out Vortex's Facebook page to see a video for a first full song of the album.

CD Review: Amelia - Amelia EP (2015)

What happens when two women dedicated to music come together to express their musical abilities? I think the answer is a quite hard but also melodic direct sounding Rock / Hardcore experience like Amelia deliver with their first EP.

Short Introduction

With strikingly similar styles fueled by passionate musicianship, Jenn Elizabeth’s (vocals/guitar) and Tessa Breitbach’s (drums) collaboration forged the rock/hardcore band, Amelia. With their energetic sound just breaking the horizon, the band based out of Oregon, stands to become an inspirational staple to the current music scene.

In March 2015, the band ventured to Michigan to record their first EP “Ameila” with producer Josh Schroeder. 

Amelia’s focus is on creating more than just an aggressively unparalleled sound, but a distinct voice. Jenn articulates the theme illustrated throughout the album, “The EP is about individuality – never giving up on what you love – your true passion – despite any perceived obstacles. Simply, just being true to yourself.”

The cover of the first Amelia EP, (c) by Amelia, used with kind permission

Summary

The five tracks on the first EP feature a hard and edgy sound. It's kept hard, direct and live sounding. The tracks show a lot of variations in them. You'll need to make several rounds to get to all the details that are put inside the music. You'll feel the agression, the energy that these both women have layed down on tape. It's really crushing und pushing all the time.

Through all the heavyness you'll still be able to catch up a lot of fine melodies and lot's of precise rhythm patterns. At some points I've asked myself how they've put all of this together. It must have really taken a lot of time to get to this tight form. It's a modern sounding recording no question The vocals range from softer tonality up to a rougher range up to the darkest growling at some points. I love all of the rough energy you can feel when listening to Amelia. It's as if they've captured their rawest and purest of emotions upon the disc sharing it along with their points of view.

EP overview

The EP has a very diverse structure. The first two tracks are a more complex thing as they feature a lot of variation in them. They'll won't kick you on the first listen but will grow with every spin more you give to them. It goes over to a rather more easy style with "Let Them Fight For It". The climax is reached with "The Truth Is" which will throw you upside down with all it's rhythmic heavyness along with great sing along and hard guitar riffing. The last number "Before The End" throws it out the roughest and hardest just at the very end of the EP. 

Player / Purchase Link / Tourdates

The album is up for free listening on Soundcloud. If you would like to have a copy then you can get a download of the EP on itunes. You can also grab it from digital stores such as Amazon or Spotify.

There also the possibility to purchase a physical copy on CD for five Dollar plus shipping and handling at the band's online merch store. There are also beautiful shirts and EP bundles up so don't miss this chance.


Amelia will do some local shows in the upcoming time, here are the dates.

3/12 Hawthorne Theater Lounge, Portland, OR
3/18 Tony V's Garage Everett, WA 
3/18 Studio Seven Seattle, WA
3/22 Analog Cafe and Theater, Portland, OR
4/14 Black Forest Eugene, OR
5/13 The Night Light Oakland, CA 

Contact Data

Stay in tune with Amelia: facebook.com/ameliamusic | Ameliatheband/Twitter

Brutai show how different songwriting these days is

Today's upcoming bands have a lot more complexity and variation in their sound. Sometimes it's not easy at all to sort out the elements that come along when you start listening to their music.

I mean their are sometimes these straight songs that come with a clear structure. A straight riff, the fitting rhtyhm to it and some vocals with the typical song structure marking the way through the song.

As of today it takes various times to get through all of the stuff because some of them are so complex and diverse you wonder how it's all coming together. A good example for that is the London-based modern Metal band Brutai who have just released a new single with accompanying music video for their track 'Deep', taken from their forthcoming album which is due for a summer release.

While the beginning goes in straight with some vocals and a good amount of riff hacking kicks into the song it's quickly getting diverse when the vocals change for the first time from the clear style over to the harsh and deep tonality. This is where the song starts to grow in my ears in some sort of monster style, much heavier and harder.

It's followed up by a pumping and pushing part which leads back to the first formula. After the next break of deep vocals their's another ride taking the track to a rougher edge. Finally the end part is quite different from what can be heard of other bands - what a different yet cool way to end a song and letting it fade out with some soft keyboards...

Felix Lawrie (Frontman, Guitarist) says about the track:
"Lyrically, Deep is about a time when we were struggling as a band during the writing process of the album. It talks about challenges we faced when overcoming adversities such as writers block and other struggles in our personal lives. We needed to come back and finish what we started. This song is a reminder to never give up."

Photo credit: http://www.willirelandphotography.co.uk/
(Left to right-  Mathieu Bauer- Drums, Alex Lorimer- Backing Vox and keys, Felix Lawrie- Frontman/Guitarist, Henry Ryan- Guitars, Christian Sturgess- Bass)

The band has some live dates coming up so don't miss them out if you're around:

25th February- The Underworld Camden (supporting Textures)
10th March- Hammerfest (Wales)

If you'd like to have a copy of the song check out Bandcamp or itunes to purchase it.

Also make sure to mark their social accounts with a like or follow so you won't miss out on the further developments via Facebook or Twitter.

Album preview: Van Halst shows diversity of female voice

After a longer period you can find more bands out there that are centered around a female voice these days. While I like these bands a lot I missed one little element: the use of the whole spectrum that women are able to sing. Edmonton based Goth Rock Metallers Van Halst seem to be of a similar opinion.

It's cool to hear that Kami Van Halst dominates as the vocalist performing both growls and soaring vocals in their sound. It's also great to hear that the music shows a bit more of ups and downs which makes listening to their music much more exciting. The first single of the upcoming album "Save Me" is a good way to start discovering this great band.

The second single "World Of Make Believe" continues where "Save me" left off and gives even more room for the voice and puts the musical elements in bit a softer spotlight so the voice can breathe through clearer.

I'm looking forward to this release which will see the light of day on March 4th. The album can be pre-ordered via Van Halst's Bandcamp page.The album cover looks already promising. Who know's what lies beyond the portal the person is about to enter? Well, I think we'll find out on another day...

(c) Van Halst, used with kind permission

If you want to follow the band on the journey to the album release don't hesitate to check in at their social plattforms such as Facebook or Twitter.

CD Review: Running Death - Overdrive (2015)

Short Introduction

The thrash metal band Running Death is located in Kaufbeuren, Germany. In the year 2012 the band managed for the first time to be heard and saluted outside of the Thrash Metal underground, thanks to their EP titled "The Call Of Extinction". Their search for style, flow of ideas and songwriting started to become a trademark of Running Death.

The band constantly played shows ever since. The band took the experience they were able to gather and wrote the full length "Overdrive" which saw the light of day in early 2015.

(c) by Running Death, used with kind permission

Summary

This is Thrash 'n' Roll at it's very best! Just think of a combination of the classic Overkill Thrash metal style mixed up with a good potion of Rock 'n' Roll. The most outstanding elements are the bass guitar sound which will remind you a lot of D.D. Verni's sound and the vocals which are set a bit apart of the typical Thrash Metal sound with it's more own styled way of keeping it flat instead of screaming it out high pitched.

Besides being influenced a lot from the big names in Thrash the band breaks up with the standard songwriting formulas as often as possible. You can hear that the tracks are meant to sound direct and brutal but the band build's in changes on the tracks as often as possible. This gives the tracks a lot diversity and you can never be sure what may come around next.

Overall I like that the album has a hard sound but also leaves room for some coolness and most of all a lot of groove. It doesn't give you the feeling that it's all just bare heavyness but it's also catchy at some points (just think of the track "Mercenary" - the riff has stayed in my mind for quite some time). 

Album overview

While the first half of the album is more kept in the brutal and fast scheme of thrash metal it's mostly the second half which has picked up more of my attention and enjoyment.

The second half starts with the soft intermission of "Deludium" a much welcomed breaker with only silk guitar sounds. The next track "Mercenary" goes in heavy styled as the first five tracks of the package but has a breaking point in it where it goes over to a more rhythm oriented song structure that holds a lot of fun for the listener.

The same goes further on with "Pray for death" as well as on "Reduced" as well as on "Overdrive". The tracks simply have a heavier Rock 'n' Roll attitude with them compared to the first album half. If you like to listen to some thrash that comes along a bit different I suggest you to check the mentioned songs first. I think you'll be enjoy this fresh wind of thrash metal air.

Purchase-Link & Player

The album is up for purchase on the Bandcamp page of Running Death. A dowload of the twelve album tracks will cost you 10 Euro but the pressed CD comes for the same price plus shipping and handling. If you live in Germany you can get a CD copy without having to pay for shipping. The full album is up for listen on Bandcamp so I've included the stream below for you to check out.


Contact Data

Get in touch with the band using their Facebook page or follow them via Twitter to stay up to date for all the further updates.

Impellitteri release second video from the new album "Venom"

How much diversity and technical style can be shown in a duration of only 2:50 minutes? Not much you may say. But having seen the brand new video of the band Impellitteri it seem to be possible to put a lot of finesse and variations in such a limited space of time.

On the first listen the track may come around as one of the typical uptempo metal numbers but listen to it closely and I'm sure you'll find out what I mean. It's also great to hear Rob Rock on vocals, I like his vocals a lot, they fit so perfectly for such a style of music and give so much good vibes when listening to it.

The song "Empire of Lies" is already the second video and track the band put out in support of the brand new studio album "Venom". Make sure to keep track on the further band activities by checking in at Facebook.