Hammerhead starts journey with EP release tomorrow

It's unbelievable that many musicians perform already for years before they find the proper people to create music with. In Nashville Tennessee it's the Heavy Rock formation Hammerhead that includes such people who have been active in the South East United States for years already. 

Mark Paradise is the lead singer and song writer for the band along with Micheal Graham Sally the riff meister. Mike comes up with the Monster Killer riffs and Mark structures the songs and writes all the lyrics.

Hammerhead are pushing heavy with the first EP "Chaos",

Drummer Joe Troutt hard hitting drive has carried him through many years of experience with many bands as as well as this one. Jeremy Arvin the bass guitar player has backgrounds of Metalcore and deathcore genre. Zayden Stankard is free a young gun slinger lead guitar player. Laying down scorching tasteful lead guitars from insprations of thrash an progressive technical music. 

Together they'll drop the six song EP called "Chaos" tomorrow. Heavy Metal Underdogs had the fortune of listening to three tracks in advance and a blast during that time. Having never heard any snippet before it was great to hear that the band already put together a organic and very heavy sound on it's very first release. 

The songs live of the contrast of the powerful riffs with the pushing groove on the one hand and the melodic and feeling deep-in-thought vocals that seem to fly like a bird over the place on the other hand. 

Hammerhead have put together a tight and pressure-filled sound that is filled up with massive riffing. They crush through the songs and they often find it's end in a release of emotional and often long stretched vocals. Happily it doesn't feel like many parts repeat themselves - the band always finds variations and the solo sections will surely ask guitarists out there how they were done.  

I hope the band is going to reveal the meaning of the lyrics in the coming time. They are presented with so many variations and intensive ways that the vocalist more lives and expresses them through his voice.

It's hard to let the music go of your head once you've heard it. The leave something in you behind and that's a good sign in my eyes. Make sure to pre-save this fine release for listening on services like Spotify or Apple music.

This live-video gives a idea what the band's sound is all about.

Tulip add more groove to symphonic metal / US Tour Aug. 2019

Some bands add few but important elements to a existing sound. This time symphonic metallers Tulip got me. They add a fresh dose of dry and well thought-out groove to the well known and popular symphonic metal world.

This working style gives a more calming element into the sound. That's something I think postive of. It makes the music more actionable. Try it out for yourselves with the music video of "Total".

It's great to see that the band that isn't around for too long has secured a opening slot on a package with Evergrey and Shattered Sun starting end of August 2019 in the United States.

8/23/2019 Los Angeles, CA The Satellite

8/24/2019 San Jose, CA The Ritz

8/25/2019 Sacramento, CA Holy Diver

8/27/2019 Portland, OR Bossanova Ballroom - TBA

8/28/2019 Seattle, WA Club Sur

8/30/2019 Salt Lake City, UT Metro Music Hall

8/31/2019 Denver, CO Marquis Theater

9/2/2019 Dallas, TX Gas Monkey Bar & Grill

9/3/2019 Austin, TX Come and Take It Live

9/8/2019 Toronto, ON Velvet Underground

Pick the flyer for a reminder to the shows and visit Tulip's Facebook page for updates and more info.

Tulip will open up for swedish melodic metal band Evergrey.

CD Review: Midnight Blackout - Hangover (Post Hardcore, 2018)

Heavy to the brim. But still slightly melodic so it remains tasty enough to listen to it.

The cover says it all what the topic of the EP talks about.

Post Hardcore seems to be a style many bands aim at these days. The only downside in my eyes is that the overall heavyness often tends to make the music less enjoyable. Happily Midnight Blackout have not chosen to go this way.

Instead they composed their music to be more melodic and most of all straight forwards. That's also a point I love. Whilst other Post Hardcore tunes are a bit complicated when it comes to song structures this french based formation keep all the power going directly from the mind to the music without fiddeling all around. This means that you can easily headbang to the stuff like you used to do in the older days of metal.

The only weaker aspect for me was the overall too loud mastering of this record. Sure listening the loud way helps to push the mood but here the guitars scream it out a bit for me. Less of the high notes would make listening a more silk and less rough experience. 

My personal favorite is the song "In Sheep's Clothing" that the band also picked as a single for the promotional music video.

Also this one comes around as a EP the duration feels like it's goin forever. You get a good bunch of music for your money served directly onto your favorite device through the band's Bandcamp page. But listen here for yourselves.

Make sure to create a account on Bandcamp before purchasing. The excellent plattform for up and coming bands let's you re-download music you once bought there. This means that as long as the service is up and running you can always download a copy if you lost your old one or changed your device (e.g. bought a new smartphone and forgot to transfer the tunes to the memory card before the old device broke down).

Finally check out Midnight Blackout's Facebook page and give 'em a supporting like on over there.

Hail Sagan take a stand against bullying and abuse

Bullying is a crime and not a normal way of treating others! It is a shame that this society doesn't seem to care about this important subject and most of all it is hard for victims to defend themselves or to protect against such attacks. That's the way I look at things and I'm glad there seem to be more people in the world of music who think that this topic needs to be expressed and talked about.

Female fronted Los Angeles hard Rock band Hail Sagan has taken a stand and brings this important matter up to the front in their video for the song "Dark Cloud". 

In a statement the band has clarified what can be seen in the video. Amery says "It's been a great experience being able to broach the subject of bullying and abuse with the lyrics of this song. We took it one step further and created a video with director Matthew Crum and DP Kenny Keeler that visually enhanced the sensitive subject matter.  

We chose to mask the members of the band in an effort to show the world that anyone can be a part of this, you never know who will be under there, maybe even a fan or someone who needs music to save them." 


At the moment you still have the chance to order the first EP that includes the song "Dark Cloud" directly from the band via Pledgemusic. If you order, you'll receive one of the limited edition copies on CD along with a signed print and a download of the songs. There's a second option which offers a signed copy of the record as well.

Make sure to follow the band via Facebook ,Twitter or Instagram so you won't miss out on all the further band activities.

CD Review: Lyra's Legacy - Lyra's Legacy EP (2014)

A great first EP combining sharp guitars with a lot of fine melodies, a excellent rhythm section and many vocal variations. It's the tension between the heavyness of the guitars and rhythm patterns on the one hand and the harmony of the voice on the other that makes this band so special.

Short Introduction

Lyra’s Legacy was founded in 2008 and consists of five musicians from North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. Every band member brought in their individual musical experience from previous bands like Heavenfall and Frozen Fire.

Since 2011 Lyra’s Legacy is playing gigs and festivals e.g. “Metal for Mercy On Stage”, “Realms of Metal” or “Brotherhood of Metal” and shares the stage with bands like The Name, Gloryful and Ivory Tower.

Lyra’s Legacy represents sophisticated and melodious metal and inspires the audience with their melodies, musicality and power. They've put out a three track EP under the title "Lyra's Legacy".

The cover of the Lyra's Legacy EP, (c) by Lyra's Legacy, used with kind permission

Summary

A compact and razorsharp three track EP is what we have here. All songs go straight into your ears and will make you headbang to them all the way. On the contrary there's lot's of room for emotions and slower sections with keyboards giving it a silker touch. The vocalist uses a wide range of variations for his performance which makes the tracks even more enjoyable. There are surely not only some high pitched notes in the vocals but also a lot of midtone as well as some sing-along choruses to be found.

Player and Purchase Link

The whole release is up for a free listening session on the Soundcloud service so there's no need to buy the stuff without testing. If you like what you hear you can purchase a copy on a silver disc for 5 Euro plus shipping and handling. A band shirt is available for 10 Euro plus shipping and handling.

You can order these goodies through the band's Facebook page, through the band's contact Email form or contact Andreas Denz at his Facebook account to order your copy.


EP Overview

Mirror Of My Life
Powerfull compact starter, very riff packed, few keyboard inserts. The fine outworked vocals show much variations in them and the refrain invites to sing along,

Breath Of A Winter Night
A epic beginning but it changes quickly to faster riffing, free power riffing follows. It's a very direct number going all on it.

Utopia
The final song starts slow and then goes over straight into a pure powerfull riff rollercoaster providing the listener with sharp, straight, hard, powerfull and intense moments.

The band Lyra's Legacy, (c) by Lyra's Legacy, used with kind permission

Links

Check in to the band's website for all the latest tourdates and also tune in to Facebook for even more regular updates.

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!

Acoustic Steel releases video for their version of "The boys of summer"

Can you imagine yourselfs a band doing acoustic coverversions of Metal songs just like "Thunderstruck" (AC/DC) or even "Wasted Years" (Iron Maiden)? This band called "Acoustic Steel" has taken the mentioned songs and re-arranged them to fit with acoustic guitars and Cajons as drums. I've seen them several times live now and it has been some fantastic and impressive performances they provided towards the audience.

A while back the band released their very first EP on Rock Range Records. In the meantime the guys have filmed a first video for one of the songs from that EP called "The boys of summer". The original track was done by Don Henley and this is what Acoustic Steel made of that song:



Don't forget to check out the band's Facebook page and give them a like. If you want to order a copy of the first EP of the band, go to the webshop of Rock Range Records.
The next show the band is going to play will be tomorrow here at Meppen, Germany at the Jam Center  together with two other bands called Against Randy and Kleinstadt-Trio.

Final Coil thanks fans with free download of first EP

Final Coil have recently decided to hand out their very first EP "Goodbye to all that" as a free download. The band describes themselves on Bandcamp as a "(...) a metallic grunge band incorporating the harmonies of Alice in chains, the twisted dynamics of Tool and the droning heaviness of Swans."

The band has been on hold for some time due to health problems of vocalist Phil Stiles. Happily those days are gone now and the band is back doing shows again and writing songs for a new release.
In the period while it wasn't sure if Phil would recover from his issues the band received many positive vibes, wishes and most of all advice from the fans on Facebook, via Email and so on.

So in the end the band felt the need to give back for what they've received and has put out that record as a gesture of gratefullness. Also it shows Final Coil in their early stages the EP is well worth checking out in my eyes since it has some fine melodies and great groove in them.
Plus it has this exta when it comes to agressive elements and hunger that ist mostly captured the best in the early times of a band. So pick up your copy or listen to in the stream below.

CD Review: iLLacrimo - iLLacrimo EP

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 please 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

(c)  by iLLacrimo, used with kind permission

After a long way full of different experiences, two young brains meet again in a moor between fog and melancholy near Milano. Davide-Kristof (son of Janos Acs, an important Hungarian Conductor) and Federica Sara raise a project of European sounds, shuffle with the traditional Italian melody. The result is the perfect combination of iLLacrimo. It's the begin of a collaboration with Matteo Cifelli for the recording of their first self-titled EP, mixed at the Fastermaster studio in London under his supervision. On 23rd October 2014 they have released their first single "Chains In The Cold", signed by Resisto label.

Recorded in Italy and mixed at the Fastermaster studio in London by Matteo Cifelli (Betty Poison, Il Divo, Helene Fischer, Mike & the Mechanics, etc...), “iLLacrimo” out via Resisto label, is available in all digital stores from January 26th 2015.

Summary / Player

This EP has grabbed my heart from the very start! It feels as if it represents the inner twists, changes and difficulties a lot of people go through were packed in one record of five songs. It is a great mixture of mostly slow or midtempo and very cool beats, hard riffs and a voice expressing so much of what can be on your mind all the time. It feels as if someone has opened up a ventile for the feelings inside and has put the all an everything in his voice. 

The EP comes with three hard and faster tracks, one half-ballad and one full ballad. It's a very outworked piece of music and I can only highly recommend listening to this one's to all the fans of Lacuna Coil or Evanscene, also this band for sure goes it's own way. I really hope a lot of people will check out and buy it. Would love to see and hear more from this band.

Band Contact
https://www.facebook.com/illacrimo
twitter.com/iLLacrimoBand

Track-byTrack Review

Burning Fields

A cool drum fill opens up for a heavy piece of music. Then silence - the first lines of vocals come in softly. The refrain ripps it up again and for the first time you can hear this "let it all out and go" feeling the vocals give you, feels great! The second verse keeps it going heavier. The track keeps being a up-tempo pushing you forward. The solo section introduces a more hacked version of the song theme. At the end comes back for one more. Loving it!

1000 Reasons to?

A slow beginning - the vocals come in hautingly spoken, giving me chills. The track is a mixture of the vocals and the keyboards while focussing on the fragile, warm voice. The refrain is sung by two people together giving it a even deeper touch. A short guitar solo section brings in some movement. A very emotional number.

Chains In The Cold

Some may know this song of the video already. This one is lead by the sharp, hacked guitar riffs. In the beginning some compressed guitars like you hear it often in Progmetal bands, the refrain brings back the cool rhythm dominated movement of the song and the vocals once more blow out a lot of emotion. A song between silence and full shredding guitars that is softly filled with fine keyboards while the drums move with the riff. A great song, it expresses so much. The end comes pushing hard and some keyboard notes fill the air in the end...

No Longer

Lots of drum variations and riffing in the beginning. The vocals once more give a look into deep emotions. A rough and dark riff crushes all along the song. A stomping mid-tempo groover but all in all the song comes in a bit compressed form, it's not held that in a so expressive form than the previous one's. The band shows a bit more of their rocking side. 

Non Credi

Non-Credi opens up with a touching combination of vocals and keyboards Some soft drums move giving it a bit of movement. The refrain comes with more higher notes in the vocals giving it a bit more emotional style. The track no doubt is a classic half ballad  The soft guitar solo fits good to the vibe, expressing a bit without words. A last emotional refrain rounds out the song - a fine and perfect way to close this EP.

iLLacrimo presents new single and video Chains In The Cold

Here is some more metal from Italy. This time it is set in a direction of European sounds mixed with the traditional Italian melody. While the music goes a very straight way with powerful guitars and constant drums the vocals here stand out a bit for me. They are a bit different of what can be heard from similar bands and surprised me quite a bit when I saw the video.

The song, released via Resistolabel, anticipates the self-titled debut EP by the band, set to be released on January 2015, after the preview of the song Non Credi (the video of which was presented exclusively on the group's social channels).

Chains in The Cold was recorded in Italy, mixed at the Fastermaster studio in London under the stage management of Matteo Cifelli.  The band's upcoming self-titled EP is comprised of 5 songs that represent a little preview of the project and the direction taken by the band between two languages, two heritages, ballads and more aggressive stuff. The video of Chains In The Cold was shot by Matteo Cataldo (MTV Italy).

(c) by iLLacrimo, used with kind permission

iLLacrimo play live with:

Alessandro Napolitano (Drums)

Raffaele Lamorte (Keyboards)

Daniele Coscarelli (Rhythm guitar)

Dario Vanoli (Bass)

You can follow the band's further progress by checking out their Facebook page or take a look at Twitter for updates.

Runaway Phoenix (son of Alice Cooper's project)

The son of Alice Cooper (Dash Cooper) has a own band called Runaway Phoenix up and running. Hear the first EP for free right here. It's Metal music with a little mix up with modern and alternative sounds, sometimes with big commercial appeal. Sometimes even haispray-metal comes to my mind when listening this. By the way: the father even sings on track one (Tug of War) so he seems to be proud of what his son does.

 

Adrenaline Mob / EP and Video up for streaming

Wow, very powerfull and hard music. That is what first comes to my mind when I listened to this one. And looking to the people that stand behind it, it's rarely surprising that in comes in such a fine quality but it is a surprise that there's only few progressive elements in there. Just look at the actual member list and you'll understand:

Mike Portnoy - Drums
Russell Allen - Vocals
Mike Orlando - guitars

Their first album "Omertá" is about to be released on 3/13/2012 but you can already have a first teaser of what's to be coming up by listening to the songs of the first EP on the widget below.



They did already put out a video, if you like more audiovisual stuff then this one is for you:



After all give their website a click and look around for more stuff or even join the community of the band:

Adrenaline Mob - Official website