CD Review: October Thorns - Circle Game (Deluxe Edition, Progmetal 2022)

This is the ultimate version of a legendary demo. It's faithfully re-stored and reworked to today's standards. 

All of October Thorns work can be enjoyed on one CD now.

The listener get's to hear eight progmetal gems that are a blast. It's permanent powerfull playing power overwhelmed me. All the songs call out the full dedication and detail work anyone can imagine to be a trademark of this genre.

Sure it's progmetal all the way but there are elements woven into the sound that need to be discovered first. With every round you'll get to hear more of them. I think that's why it's nearly listenable infinite times because it takes much time to fully get into October Thorns sound. I myselves thought I had it all after just one walkthrough but having heard "Soul Forge" for a second time opened my eyes for all the detail work.

Of the studio songs the tracks Jihad and Soul Forge stand the strongest on my mind. Along with the title track I think they already show why a purchase of this disc is worth it. But the release as a whole wears this typical highlight feeling that comes to my mind of listening to progmetal. The power of the music along with all the memorable hooklines is hard to resist and pushes me everytime.

The bonus demo tracks show music that has been held back. Those songs are not fully produced of course but in good condition ayway. Thinner sound flows through the speakers but the power remains the same. I guess these tunes didn't fit to the others at the time of the demo release.

But they are great anyway. They just need more patience to be enjoyed compared to the first nine offerings on "Circle Game". They are not so straight-forward in terms of music but show a more experimental side of October Thorns.

The release comes with a detailed 20 page booklet. It holds the full lyrics to the album. There are plenty of photos showing the band at several phases of the existence at promotional shootings as well as a collage with many live shots of the shows the New Yorker played.

Finally a good batch of reviews reflects on the media echo the band got upon release of the demo and playing shows. They are presented with the original typo and media logos. Some reviews come as original pages taken of music magazines.  

A all new interview with vocalist Paul LaPlaca offers a in-detail look into October Thorns art of creating decicated music and how the band came together and broke up.

Make sure to pick up a copy on the website of Divebomb Records. Fans of the genre get music for weeks to discover and enjoy in their ears and hands.

October Thorns is still active on Facebook these days.  

CD Review: Reternity - Demo 2018 (Metal, 2018)

Big refrains that invite to scream along to at the first listen already. Direct riffs and extended solos - all this can be found on Reternity's first two track offer.

The coverartwork was created by T. Bernhardt

It's not so often that demos come to knock on my door. In fact this one was created by people that readers of this blog may have heard of already. The vocals were done by Stefan Zoerner who left SpiteFuel earlier this year. On his side his longtime companion bass guitar player Finn Janetzky who was also active in Strangelet and SpiteFuel. Plus the addition of Carsten Sauter on guitars and Carmine Jaucci on the drums round out the new band.

So what's on the disc? "Down.Not.Broken" comes out straight as a compact riffrocker with it's bold opening section and the bass going all on it. I can already see the hands going up in the concerts to this. The refrain is formed as a fighting outcall pushing through a longer set of text lines saying that rumors may see you all at the end while in fact you're just a bit tired and going through a time of rebuilding. That's at least how it feels for me without having read the lyrics.

The second tune "Suicide Butterflies" goes in a similar way with a short intro. Afterwards it explodes into a even more direct and uptempo song. It feels like a rush of feelings was in need of finding redemption. This time the refrain is bigger and sung of a huge chorus. It sticks in my mind. I'm sure readers of this blog will love this number, too. The guitars take a bigger and rougher place in here with it's extended solo sections. The overall structure is slightly complexer and outworked compared to Down.Not.Broken.

The two track disc will be up for purchase via MDD Records soon. Back in the day demos were also sold so I think it's allright to ask for a somthing in return. The sound is solid. Just listen to the snippets in the trailer.

Finally taking a look at Reternity's Facebook page and Instagram account work perfect to keep a eye on future updates and to be notified when the demo single is up for purchase.

Manach Seherath searching for guitarist

Manach Seherath is a Symphonic Heavy Metal band based at Naples, Italy. The name of the band means in a dead ancient language 'to draw from the source'. This cryptic phrase, with all that it hides, is well representative of the marriage of heavy rhytms with epic keyboards and mysterious lyrics, which togheter make the trademark of M.S. sound: a modern heavy metal band which doesn't forget the gloomy lessons of the past.

(c) by Manach Seherath, used with kind permission

The band has recently posted a seach for a guitarist on Facebook to complete their line-up again.  The old guitarist Minus Karma left the band because of health problems. Here is what the band wrote regarding the search for a new guitarist:

"We are looking for a guitarist
Do you want to know more?
Send us an email: manach.seherath@virgilio.it "

I'm pretty sure you want to know how the band sounds like before getting in touch with them. Make sure to check the first demo below and to get a copy of the songs since they are available for free download from the Soundcloud account of the band. It surely is fun to use them for a play along and remember to email the band once you've done...

Female fronted Death Metal band Halo Creation working on first album

So far not much Death Metal has been up here on my page. It's simply because this style of the Metal Universe didn't found my like too much. It's because of the often monotone style of the songs and the vocals that are often also very equal and growled that much that you cannot understand a single sentence in a song.

Well, this time it's different. What we have here is a Death Metal combo from Austria. The demo that I've heard from them is different in my ears. It's more more diverse for me. Of course there's this typical overwhelming brutality in the songs but there are changing parts in the songs. Plus they have a woman performing the vocals. That's something that not many bands of that genre would try out. Here it works fine. The band reminds me a bit of Bolt Thrower, who are sadly no more.

(c) by Halo Creation, used with kind permission

After having released a four track demo in 2014 Halo Creation are currently working on their first full length album which is scheduled for a release in 2015. Until then check out the mentioned demo in the player below. My first pick was "Fading sun" which turned out a positive surprise. You can download the demo for free from the Reverbnation page of the band.

Keep an eye of them by following them via Facebook, YouTube or Backstage Pro (a social network in german language especially for contacts in the music-scene / music business / liveclubs etc.).

Email newsletters for bands at ReverbNation.com

Manach Seherath offering fans a app to stay in touch with them

Manach Seherath is a Symphonic Heavy Metal band from Italy, whose name in a dead ancient language means 'to draw from the source'. This cryptic phrase, with all that it hides, is well representative of the marriage of heavy rhytms with epic keyboards and mysterious lyrics, which togheter make the trademark of M.S. sound: a modern heavy metal band which doesn't forget the gloomy lessons of the past.

I just re-discovered their first demo yesterday and had so much fun with it that I wanted to know what the band is up to these days.

(c) by Manach Seherath, used with kind permission

So I looked them up on Facebook and saw that the band has put out a app for Android through Reverbnation to give fans of the band a chance to stay in connection with them through their Smartphones.

At the moment the band offers the app for Android devices only. Here's how to take hold of it:

Scan with your Smartphone the QR Code below:

If that doesn't work, click on this direct download link.

After finishing the download find Manach_Seherath.apk in the download folder of your phone. 

Install it and have fun!

If you've not heard the band before just listen to the demo at the player below and don't forget to download your copy of the demo tape.

CD Review: Manach Seherath - Manach Seherath

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 please 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

Manach Seherath is a Symphonic Heavy Metal band from Italy, whose name in a dead ancient language means 'to draw from the source'. This cryptic phrase, with all that it hides, is well representative of the marriage of heavy rhytms with epic keyboards and mysterious lyrics, which togheter make the trademark of M.S. sound: a modern heavy metal band which doesn't forget the gloomy lessons of the past.

(c) by Manach Seherath, used with kind permission

The project took the first steps in summer 2012, when Mich Crown after a period of forced musical inactivity,decided that the time had come to back on stage wih a brand new band. After searching and recruiting all the other members the band began in december 2012 to write the first songs of this demo. 

The recordings were done in June 2013. At the moment Manach Seherath are busy with preparing the songs for their first full length album.

Summary / Player / Download Link

From the very first seconds the band reminds me in a very, very positive way of the first records that Tad Morose did back in the day. To be precisely I speak about a mixture between albums like "Leaving the past behind", "Sender of thoughts" along with the heavyness of a album like "A mended rhyme". All of these are amongst my favorite albums as they mix the sheer power of metal with great melodies and the dark touch of melodic keyboards which add so much to the atmosphere. I often wish Tad Morose, as much as I love their more powermetal-oriented current albums which are top notch would give these keyboards a chance to come back in.

This band happily has heard my call somehow. But they did more: they've managed to get some very majestic, powerfull vocals in there as well. Those remind me of the times when Mathew Barlow sang for Iced Earth. This means that the vocals come with a very unique style and tone. I like the lyrics, they tell of ancient tales and fit perfectly to the concept of the record. The cover you can see above gives some idea of that.

(c) by Manach Seherath, used with kind permission

The songs are very diverse, atmospheric and also long tracks (most of them are over six minutes in durance). Tracks one and three and very straight forward while number two comes in a bit more complex and needs some rounds to fully sink. Don't let this stop you from listening. It will add a lot to your enjoyment and it's great if a record won't get boring even after having it heard for several times.

The demo is a free download and I highly recommend to pick it up! Just jump over to Soundcloud and start downloading and hit the follow button while you are waiting for the download to finish. Especially if you agree to what I've written above you'll be very happy once you've done that. In addition you can listen to the three tracks here on my blog. The band kindly also added one more online bonustrack to their rooster on soundcloud, which is a short version of the track "All in all".

Be sure to keep an eye of this great band by following them via their account on Facebook.

Track-by-Track Review


Arti Manthano


A short intro starts the song. Someone knocks on your door twice, a door is opened up and here we go!
After some clearing up of the speakers like at a show the already mentioned keyboards welcome the listener with some notes before the crushing guitars step in and the drums slowly move the song forward. It's like you're introduced to another world and this part is there to take you over there.

After a short time the song starts to get faster and the vocals come in. A fast uptempo track this one surely is a competition in holding the line and not losing the breath. A short breakup with keyboards introduces yet another change in the tempo to build a bridge to the majestic refrain. Without losing any more time the song jumps back to the uptemo formula. Another bridge takes you to the refrain once again. Towards the middle of the song there's another change in the song structure that is introduced by one of these old school screams that you may know from the old school Heavy Metal records where this element was often to be found.  A fine element that most of today's albums are sadly missing.

A midtemp and very groovy part follows up. It's time for some guitar solos which once again turn out to be of the more oldschool direction. Finally we go back to the very first style of the track, so more uptemo in here.  Some more slower parts towards the end, very rough and hard but with the keyboard theme in them bring this song to the ends and fade into eternity...

Timeless

A very dark and slow introduction. The song takes heavy first steps but you can still hear keyboards in the background. This first part feels a bit as it is a spoke introduction to a longer tale. Vocals come in very high and majestic and it all remains in this style. As if a procession takes place, just one intermission with some hacked stuff.

The vocals then come in to the climax, reminding me a bit of one of King Diamond's infamous screams. A short repeating of the very beginning of the song towards the end with only keyboards and drums brings this to come full circle.

All in All

This could easily become a hymn! Majestic keyboards form a bright intro combined with the follow-up military drums. The track itself presents itself as a midtempo song  with much of this vocal-style that Matthew Barlow used on the "Burnt Offerings" album along with very high notes in the refrain.

It all comes in very compact and the guitar solo shows of some of the virtuosity of the guitar player. A reprise of the intro shortly after the solo leads over to some mystic part with more percussive elements and some spoken, narrative elements. This part closes the timeless trilogy and with a abrupt cut the demo also ends here. A perfectly fitting ending for a great epic!

I hope more than everything that we will hear some more from this band. They've in my eyes brought back a style in the Heavy Metal Universe which I thought to be lost for a long time. Happily this demo proves that I've been wrong.

CD Review: Lewis & The Strange Magics - Demo

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 please don't hesitate to contact me.

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

Lewis & The Strange Magics is a new Classic Rock / Heavy Psych / Doom band from Barcelona. At the beginning of the year the head of the band Lewis decided to make some songs telling horror and occult stories, because that are themes he loves to present in a classic sound.

So he recorded the demo in his home environment and some time after the actual band members joined to complete the band. Lewis & The Strange Magics have plans to do some concerts and will start to work on an album.

Short Summary / Player / Download Link

The demo is set deeply in the roots of the Classic Rock music such is the sound of the recording. The band makes heavy use of the Psych genre and mixes in a lot of hammond organ sounds which makes it sound like a old-school recording from back of the 70's .

All of the three tracks go in very straight, especially the last one which is the fastest one. The doom style comes in when you take a close look to the lyrics.  I suggest to check out the stream below first to get a idea of the band's sound.

Besides that the download of the demo tape is available for only 2 Dollar from Bandcamp so if you like such bands that follow their very own ways and make a own approach to it go ahead and buy it. Nothings better than to support your favorite band with buying the record. Ii's like a vote in a election.

Update 2014/10/31: You can now freely choice the amount you would like to pay for the demo on Bandcamp. The band has also set up a limited handmade edition of the record on CD (50 pieces only available).  One copy costs 3 Euro plus shipping and handling. You can order directly through the Bandcamp page of Lewis & The Strange Magics.



The band has opened up a Facebook page, so jump over to their site and give them a like if you want to stay up to date on all the things going on in the future.

Track-by-Track Review

How To Be You
Very powerful chords open up the track. Fast rhythm and the typical choice of vocals for such a style of music form together a well mood song. The track already sets the direction for the whole demo and makes it clear what to expect. A uptempo track with a cool solo and a fine hammond organ part in it. Towards the end suddenly a break - the song calms down a bit but then goes back to the powerful theme. A good start for the tape.

Cloudy Grey Cube
A bit slower track but warmly welcomed. Some progressive elements in there as well. Gives the demo some diversity. Vocals most in the front on this track and again a lot of hammond stuff in here with some more wild rhythm in there. High vocals and a very short end.

Golden Threads
Crash Cymbals and guitars open up the track. A short intro before the track changes over to a faster rhythm. Nice guitar theme on this one and much hammond effects follow up to it before it mixes up in a very hard and tight duell between both instruments. A short break towards the end with the intro part played again before a return to the main riff takes place. The track is kept very tight and straight forward but in comes in very handy. Feels like things come full circle - a good way to close the tape.

CD Review: RECLVSE - Reclvse

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 here in the comments section or please see my profile for my E-Mail adress. I appreciate new suggestions very much!

Short introduction

The band RECLVSE formed in Wales in 2013 and features members of the band Ghast, They play traditionell Doom Metal with a lot of heavyness in their music and fine leads which come out very powerfull. Their first selftitled 3-track-demo was recorded in 2014 by the band themselves and comes with cover artwork by Bvrzerk and band logo by Christophe Szpajdel. The demo was released online May 4th 2014.

RECLVSE are fands of Pentagram, Warning, Candlemass, Cathedral, Reverand Bizarre, Electric Wizard, Witchcraft, Gallow God, Moss, a fact that can be heard in their music I think.


Short Summary / Player / Purchase Link

If you're into Doom Metal you should definitely give the demo tape a round of listening. It comes with a raw sound but that's something that even more adds to the atmosphere of the tracks, it gives them something very smokily and breathes with a lot of atmosphere right through. The tape makes me curious on what to expect from the band. Would like to know how their sound evolves, a lot of promising sounds and ideason this one. Hope they will keep the good stuff up!

The full demo comes as a free download offer on Bandcamp to you, so there's no hidden catch at all. Inside of the zip file you'll also find the cover to make your own disc of it. Anyway, you may also choose to pay as much for the demo as you think it's worth on Bandcamp.

Sadly the options for embeding the player have changed on Bandcamp. They don't fit on my blog anymore so I decided to put the Soundcloud player here instead. If anybody knows a workaround please let me know!

Currently a distro service based in the UK also gives you the chance to get a phsyical copy of the record as a CD-R if you prefer to hold something in your hands. You can order a copy there for only 1 GBP plus shipping and handling. 

If you'd like to know how the band continues head over to Facebook and like them. There you'll also find announcements about a second leg of the Limited Edition of the record the band is thinking about at the moment.

Track by Track Review

1. Temptress!
Mighty and powerfull opening with bright guitars and drums, reminds a bit of Black Sabbath. Vocals come in and add a lot of spirit to the song. Some faster movement, before a change to some slower part builds a bridge to a very riffing and hard and faster part ending in a guitar solo. Very fast going again with some shred guitars before vocals come back again. The refrain stays in my mind. The song ends with a lot of distortion and powerful guitars like in the beginning. Great opening up for the demo!


2. Of Many Names
No long intro, the song kicks right in with vocals and the band playing a midtempo song. A short part builds up leads over to the refrain, very melodic vocals all over in this one. A much shorter track than the previous one but very direct and with fine melodies. Let's see what track three has to offer, getting curious even more...


3. Bewitch The Sky
The longest track of the demo opens up again with a lot of atmosphere and power. Majestic opening up with a lot of guitars and cymbals, moves onwards slow. A lot of drum patterns in this one, along with much guitar work give a wall of pulsating sound. Very unique, think I've not heard something like that before. The end climates into some silence and a softer part, very melodic and only with few drums put inside. In the end some more silence and fade-away. A very cool way to end the record.

MONSTER - first demo online and guitarist wanted

Some friends of mine here in germany have opened up a band that plays L. A. thrashmetal. Currently the band has the following line-up:

Alex Oberdick - Vocals
Jörg Röttger - Drums
Patrick Feist - Bass
Klaus Kessemeier - Guitars

Anyway, they are still missing out a second guitarist and have begun searching for somebody who's able to play the music properly that can be heard in the demo clip below this article. Additionally that person should be able to add some solo's and should have had already some experience on-stage. If you like to join the band and live in northern germany (eastfrisian region), send them a email at monster-band@gmx.de
You can also view the facebook page of the band and stay in touch with them. As for the first check out the fine demo track and enjoy summer!