Pagan Hel Reviews..: 2014-05-25

Saturday, 31 May 2014

Witheria - Devastating Return - 8 Track Album - Violent Journey Records - Released 30th May 2014

Witheria

Devastating Return

8 Track Album

Violent Journey Records

Released 30th May 2014

Just released!

Written for Ramzine

Witheria – Espoo, Finland

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/witheria

Listen and Pre-order here:

http://www.recordshopx.com/artist/witheria/devastating_return/

Listen to ‘Thrown down the Well’ here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnTZ-nB5xsk

Discography:

Infernal Maze - Full-length, 2006 (Twisted Face)

Painful Escape - Full-length, 2009 (Stay Heavy Records)

Vanishing Order - Full-length, 2011 (Violent Journey Records)

Devastating Return - Full-length, 2014

Genre: Thrash Metal with Menace

Witheria

Biography:

A cornerstone of the diverse and thrashing Finnish metal, Witheria are going to release their fourth full length album on Friday the 30th of May. Witheria are still heavily relying on their thrash-based approach they have been perfecting since the turn of the Millennium. This time around, even more of their trademark usage of progressive parts and various influences can be heard. Nevertheless, the album is so packed with intensity and fury that it will tear your life apart! As a whole, the new album in not only the most versatile and skilled effort the band has ever produced but also the most coherent one. The sound on this album, recorded at Sound Spiral Studios in Kouvola, Finland is organic, yet extremely powerful. In Witheria, the merits of the slightly changed line-up are undeniable and can be witnessed in other Finnish bands, such as Assatur, The Jasser Arafats, Nowen and Spirit Disease.

******

Witheria Live

Again Finland bounces back onto the map, in fact they never left it and with the addition of Witheria have made it a whole lot stronger! With three full length albums firmly under their metal belts, this impressive eight track album is the bands fourth to date.

Mind Compressor is a brawling temptation of thrash that is highly expressive and gives the imagination something to feast on whilst it is savagely being beaten to death! Passenger of Thought is another abrasive onslaught but not without its causticity and powerful vocal entourage. Burnt to Ashes is anything less than scathing and brutally raucous. It brews up a good strong storm with provocative melodies, emotive, and taunting with excellent guitar skills. Superb track! Raft of Desolation visits all the scales with potent rhythms and just as captivating as the previous tracks. Vocally savage – watch out for your aural if you have the sound up to 11 on this one – a superb caustic flurry of excitement. Some Wounds Will Not Heal is a predator of the most metal kind – the blistering and compelling riffs are caustic as they are creative and will leave you speechless!! Thrown Down the Well – The choppy and excitable riffs are impressive fusing together with a strong drum beat and hard bass edge it more than flirts with creativity - another winner! Toxic and Aggressive Growth begins with an obnoxious rampage on the skins and is a tirade of wanton hungry riffs – nothing gives in this most entertaining and imaginative track. Back on Earth is wholly inspiring and is startling as well as overwhelming with deep prowess. It holds compelling and infectious rhythms with an amazing screeching vocal that is one hundred percent well in keeping with the track.

To sum up:

This is one highly irresistible album. It has a lot pulsing through its metal veins and a few surprises along the way. The musicianship is of a really high standard and can be considered as mouth-watering, predacious, raucous, and literally bristling with interesting and exceptional tracks. Melodic thrashers will find this one very hard to ignore and would be a welcome CD for any metal fanatic to own.

10/10

Track List:

Mind Compressor

Passenger of Thought

Burnt To Ashes

Raft of Desolation

Some Wounds Will Not Heal

Thrown Down the Well

Toxic and Aggressive Growth

Back On Earth

Members:

Tuberculosis – Vocals

Markus Taipale – Guitar

Lappis – Guitar

Max Pekkonen – Bass

Rob Diver – Drums

Dead Inside - Millions Dead - 5 Track E.P - Self Released - 26th February 2014

Dead Inside

Millions Dead

5 Track E.P

Self-Released

Released 26th February 2014

Written for RamZine

Dead Inside - Nottingham

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/DEADINSIDE

Genre: Brutal Beat Down/Hardcore/Deathcore

Biography:

DEAD INSIDE are an upcoming hard core/death core band from Nottingham, UK. In a genre that's completely over-saturated, their use of 8 string guitars, stupidly low tuning's and gigs that are ever increasingly intense makes them fairly unique both in the local scene and in the genre as a whole.

Having formed early 2013 they have made a massive impact in their local scene and since then they've released two E.Ps - one split with their friends in Journey's End (Wakefield) and Outsider (Southampton) and they've also embarked on two four-date tours of the UK, both put together by Dead Inside guitarist Jack Boaden.

The band recently Self Released MILLIONS DEAD which is a five-track E.P that was met with incredibly positive reception which increased their fan base greatly. Mixing the gory imagery of brutal death metal, the two-steps and beat downs associated with hard core and the vocal style commonly found in death core, DEAD INSIDE is a concoction of many things.

For every infant in a body bag

This track as short as it is struts an evil riff but is indeed a bit of a filler, which could have had a lot more added to it to make it stand out.

Decide

Dead Inside have pulled this one out of the bag – in typical death metal style. The vocals are throaty and strenuous and the music is slow, uncompromising and exact.

Severing the filthy head from neck

Keeping up with the malevolent twists this track unleashes a melodic fusion of immense pleasurable brutality but with a surprising jangling guitar riff that is devilishly addictive.

Millions Dead

Brooding ferocity but without being fast and with more prolific moments in abundance. The screeching vocal is quite literally horrifically pleasing! The caustic tones are all empowering with some good strong beat laden moments to be had.

Catatonia

Annihilatory riffs and explosively pumping rhythms, sum this up nicely (or should that be horribly?) offering virulent exploits that are interesting and infectious.

To Sum up:

Although the E.P doesn’t break through any barriers, it certainly holds a lot of strong pointers that in time it could do. The band have not been together that long but already showing signs that they have great potential within their grasp.

In a lot of places the E.P is predictable but in others it is a total surprise. I wasn’t too keen on the filler track and think they could have done something to make it a bit more memorable, but the rest of the E.P definitely showed its darker side and the samples were interesting too.

The track titles were good and aptly named for what was born inside them and the vocals were simply divine, unleashing low pit born growls to high pitched shrieking. The music sculptured some interesting sounds that fully complimented the damming vocals so all in all a good strong E.P. proving the band are anything but Dead Inside but very much alive, ready to rip your ears off, and ensures the listener is well and truly satisfied!

8/10

Track List:

For every infant in a body bag

Decide

Severing the filthy head from neck

Millions Dead

Catatonia

Members:

Daniel - Vocals

Jack - Guitar

Sam - Bass & Vocals

Matt - Drums

Bad Company DVD - The Band, The Music, The Story - 40 Years of Bad Company - Released 2014

Bad Company DVD

The Band, The Music, The Story

40 Years of Bad Company

Released 2014

Written for RamZine

Bad Company are an English rock super group founded in 1973 by two former Free band members — vocalist Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke — as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who managed British rock band Led Zeppelin, agreed to manage the band (he managed Bad Company until 1982, when Swan Song Records folded). Bad Company enjoyed great success throughout the 1970s. Many of their singles, such as "Bad Company", "Can't Get Enough", "Good Lovin' Gone Bad", and "Feel like Makin' Love", remain popular with rockers of both the past and present, and their hits remain staples of classic rock radio.

I don’t think there is a Juke box out there that hasn’t got at least one track of Bad Company displayed on it. And lots of the bands you may hear today doing covers nearly always play a Bad Company track that nestles into their familiar set lists.

So it is with great pleasure that I have the chance of reviewing this DVD as Both Free and Bad Company have always been there in my background and brings back days of a love and peace era that can never really be repeated.

All the old names come flooding back along with a lot of sadness as like with most bands they went through their fair share of disillusion and drug taking that resulted in the loss of Paul Kossof who died tragically early at the tender age of 25 from a heart attack. He would have been 64 on 14^th September this year, should he have lived.

But more tragedy was to follow when in September of 1980 Bonzo died after a heavy night of drinking and it was indirectly the end for Bad Company. As Led Zeppelin called time on their expansive reign as Zeppelin was indeed Peter Grant’s ‘baby’ and he felt the loss just as much as Zeppelin and Bad Company did and so Grant lost interest in the business. Bad Company needed Grant as he was their mentor and Father figure and without him Bad Company felt lost, although the band tried to function on their own but could not fill the gap that Peter filled.

It was indeed a very sad time for all concerned and so Bad Company took 18 months away from the scene to spend time with their families who were slowly forgetting who they were with the mega tours and album successes.

However in 1982 saw the comeback of Bad Company with an album entitled ‘Rough Diamond’ but internal frustrations on the part of Paul Rogers spilled out between him, Boz and Mick and like a volcano ready to erupt it finally burst and in true rock n roll style Bad Company saw the finished album completed nursing swollen lips and black eyes, and surprisingly enough it was the only album that never sparked off a tour as Paul had finally had enough so two years passed and the band realised that Paul wasn’t coming back to the fold.

“However, forty years on has seen the band come through victorious, wading their way through all the drink, drugs, deaths and fights and can still pull a strong audience to this day”

It was at that time Paul decided to embark on a new project with former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page to form a new super group called ‘The Firm’ with Paul eager to step aside from Bad Company’s shadow and Jimmy wanting to move past the death of Bonzo but with just two tours and two albums later they decided to call it a day and move to pastures new.

So officially Bad Company actually disbanded in 1983 and became another notch of rock n roll history.

The band laid dormant for two years until their Greatest Hits album materialised.

“A reminder that bands can come through hardships and come out fighting, and not in the sense of black eyes, but a triumphant fist in the air salute to a band who more than deserve their fame!”

Brian Howe from The Ted Nugent Band joined for a few years but it was never the same and slowly and surely the band drifted apart, but with the tragic death of Peter Grant in 1995 it sparked a new era for Bad Company as in - all four original members went to pay their respects to a man who more than stamped his mark on the music scene and fourteen years had passed, Bad Company were off the radar but by way of a tragic death of friend and former manager Peter Grant they were drawn back together, and I cannot help but feel it is what Grant would have wanted.

The late Peter Grant

Jumping to 1998 Rogers and Burrell joined Ralphs and Kirke for an original line-up and each contributed four new tracks including the single ‘Hey, Hey,’ to the double CD set ‘The Original Bad Company Anthology’ and sadly in 1999 Rogers decided to embark on his solo career and a farewell tour followed for Bad Company.

1999 saw the band on tour again to eager fans delight as they turned out their classic hits one by one. But thwarted again, now it was Mick Ralphs turn to throw in the gauntlet as he needed surgery.

As with most bands there is always the glue that holds them together and for Bad Company Paul was and still is that man. So much so that he was asked to play with Queen and sung for Nelson Mandela’s 80^th Birthday.

Again smacked in the face of adversity, on September 21 2006 saw the death of Boz Burrell the band’s bassist - who died of a heart attack whilst at his Spanish home in Puerto Banus, and made more poignant by his wife Kath, who said that he was sitting around a table, he had his bass, and being the perfectionist he was started to play and then suddenly he just slipped under the table and that was that! A fitting way to go for any rock star, but once again it brought gloom to the bands door.

So there you have it, in very fine detail. The band member’s trials and tribulations laid bare and forty years-worth to be precise. For me the most interesting part was how the tracks actually came together and the way the band quite literally bounced off each other musically to produce some compelling and memorable albums, that are no doubt listened to still, and by many, myself included!

Those times in the 70’s will never ever quite be the same again. They were glorious years – all the big bands who rose to fame Free, Zeppelin, Mott the Hoople, and of course Bad Company to name but four and out of all of them Bad Co. have finally made it into the 21^st Century. Not without the bruising of life’s struggles but are without a doubt a strong band that have fought back and won, bringing with them their own personal memories along the way making them hardy perennials.

However, forty years on has seen the band come through victorious, wading their way through all the drink, drugs, deaths and fights and can still pull a strong audience to this day.

This CD is both compelling and inspirational, and no doubt will strike a chord in the hearts and minds of fans everywhere. A reminder that bands can come through hardships and come out fighting, and not in the sense of black eyes, but a triumphant fist in the air salute to a band who more than deserve their fame.

Thank you Bad Company for your important contribution to the music of many generations, and hopefully more to come.

10/10

The last words should go to Badass Bad Company...

Well, I take whatever I want

And baby, I want you

You give me something I need

Now tell me, I got something for you

Come on, come on, come on and do it

Come on and do what you do

I can't get enough of your love

Listen

Well, it's late and I want love

Love that's gonna break me in two

Don't hang me up in your doorway

Don't hang me up like you do, yeah

Come on, come on, come on and do it

Come on, come on, do what you do

I can't get enough of your love

Well, I say now

I can't get enough of your love

I got tell you baby, that I

I love you so much

I can't get enough of your love

I love you so much

I can't get enough of your love

You know what I'm saying, baby

I can't get enough of your love

I can't get enough, enough of your love

I can't get enough of your love, yeah,

Oh, come on, baby

Come on and give it now.

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

Krigere Wolf - Sacrifice to Valaskjàlf - 9 Track Album - Fallen Angels Production - Released 1st February 2014

Krigere Wolf

Sacrifice to Valaskjàlf

9 Track Album

Fallen Angels Production

Released 1st February 2014

Out now on Fallen Angel Productions

Written for Brutalism

Krigere Wolf – Catania, Italy

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/KrigereWolfOFFICIAL

Mixed and engineered by Alberto Destasio

Mastered at Endarker Studio by Magnus "Devo" Andersson of "Marduk" in Sweden.

Discography:

"The Ancient Culture to Kill" (2012 - Armed God Records)

"Victory of Satan's Warriors" (2013 - Self-Produced)

"Sacrifice to Valaskjàlf" (2014 - Fallen Angels Productions)

Genre: Black Thrash Metal

Biography:

Krigere Wolf was formed in Catania, Italy at the end of 2009. From the mind of Rick Costantino, who started the project and with the aid of the guitarist Joe Cantagallo at the beginning of 2010, but since then the line-up has now changed. (See below)

In January 2014: Krigere Wolf signed with the South Korean label "Fallen Angels Productions" that have now released their second album "Sacrifice to Valaskjàlf" on 1st February 2014. The song writing is influenced by epic Nordic mythology, poetic Viking stories and obscure battles.

Photo Courtesy of Debora Scarfia - L to R: F. Bauso, Barbathor, Azmeroth and R. Constantino

“Whispers of the End” is quite an unexpected start to the album with some symphonic keyboard making it very ambient and intense, opting for quite a primal and melancholic sound. However that doesn’t last long before the second track ‘Towards the black mass’ floods the speakers with a more familiar grazing of a symphonic black thrashing nature. Vivaciously malicious it offers a brutal and scintillating vocal edge that bites harshly. Moving on to “Disciples of Sacred Fire” this is a blinding slab of malicious thrash intensity and a predacious, snarling vocal backed up with a fiendish riff.

Video courtesy of Piero Salemi - Sacrifice to Valaskjàlf

The fourth track “Sacrifice to Valaskjàlf” and the title track of the album is also on familiar territory, its prime evil hate goes off on a rampage that molests the aural. “Blood to the Wolves” explores a darker embrace at the start but quickly goes on to produce a thunderous unforgiving revelry of thrashing mastery. The deep husky vocal undertones are just drenched in pure demonic devilry.

______________________________________________________

“Its presence engages and semi locks with quite a keen appetite to enthral and immerse the listener on more than just one or two occasions. With rib busting vocals it sets the feel to the album with uncompromising quality and clarity!”

_____________________________________________________________

“Impaled Slaves” has a catchy melodic melee attached to it, in between a thrash but definite black brawl. The mighty vocal entourage is spiked with a fueled hatred that is prevalent throughout. “The End has beginning” tells a story within its deep hues of bass and explores a slow, gloomier side to its nature, but the wind effects are superb and really offers imagination to the track.

The penultimate track entitled “Vision of Death” shifts back to a triumphant comfort zone of blackened thrash and quite an impressive assault. The vocals are less stringent and follow a more growling nature to add to an already fiendish bruising of malevolence. The final track “At Open Gates” sends out whispered voices and terrifying screams that seep through an almost delicate haze of harmonies.

To Sum up:

Black metal can sometimes be difficult to listen to on its own but with the thrash element I feel, helps it along nicely as it adds spice, which in turn creates a solid impact. Although there isn’t anything ‘out of the ordinary’ on the album, it does however possess a certain quality that is pleasing to the ears.

Its presence engages and semi locks with quite a keen appetite to enthrall and immerse the listener on more than just one or two occasions. With rib busting vocals it sets the feel to the album with uncompromising quality and clarity.

Finally, I think maybe that the band should have begun the album with ‘At Open Gates’ and finished with ‘Whispers of the end’ as I would find that more fitting but as the band are from Italy, I have to forgive them as their English is a lot better than my Italian! So on the whole not a bad album but it does have a slight tendency to sound similar in places, however there are mixed into it some virulent moments that do have to be savored and the vocals are extremely venomous, which helps considerably. The cover is somewhat awesome, and in keeping with the bands theme of epic Nordic mythology, poetic Viking stories and obscure battles.

3/5

Track List:

Whispers of the End

Towards the black mass

Disciples of Sacred Fire

Sacrifice to Valaskjàlf

Blood to the Wolves

Impaled Slaves

The End has beginning

Vision of Death

At Open Gates

Members:

Rick Constantino - Bass/Vocals

Francesco Bauso - Guitars

Azmeroth - Guitars

Barbathor - Drums

Monday, 26 May 2014

Seven Thorns - II - 11 Track Album - Sonic Revolution - Released 7th March 2014

Seven Thorns

11 Track Album

Sonic Revolution

Released 7th March 2014

Out now on Sonic Revolution Records

Seven Thorns – Copenhagen, Denmark

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/seventhornsofficial

http://www.seventhorns.com

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Peter Brander (Media Sound Studios), Seven Thorns and Tommy “Mr. Helloween” Hansen (Jailhouse Studio).

Discography:

Artificial Night (single) 2005,

Forest Majesty (single) 2009,

Return to the Past (album) 2011,

II (album) 2014.

Genre: Power Metal

Very confident Danish band Seven Thorns formed in 1998. But not without its stops and starts including the band name change from 7 Thorns to Seven Thorns, member disagreements plus musical direction, hence the delay with singles and albums. But since then the band have gone on to win the 4^th unofficial European Heavy Metal Song Contest with a track called ‘Artificial Night’ at the beginning of 2005.

Not giving in to the setbacks Seven Thorns fought back, can now boast they have shared stages with the likes of Anvil, Jørn Lande, Raven and Gun Barrel and have now released this powerhouse of sound simply entitled II.

The first song I ever heard from Seven Thorns was ‘Liberty’

produced in 2011 which I found a little pretentious, so it took me some time to engage in playing the album II and thankfully it is without the bands old pretentious days.

However, I have to eat my words whole as this is really good stuff! I feel the mighty power throne should be occupied by these seven gifted musicians as track after track is driven with impact and a really enjoyable experience. Credit where credit is due!

The riffs are magnificently tight and superbly played, with the vocals demonstrating good melodic range, the keyboards adding in their own particular blend to the mix, and the drumming is solid, not to mention fast.

_____________________________________________________________

“There are no curved-balls thrown into this genre it is pure “Power Metal” and stands consistent in delivery. Nobody can deny the raw intensity that is felt upon listening to it and anyone would be a fool to even try with the bands complex passages and melodic hooks – the bar has risen to an overwhelming level!”

_____________________________________________________________

The more slowing tempos clearly show a flexible nature with solid harmonies as on you’re not brave (If you’re not scared) the material really does do the talking.

The only thing that lets the band down in some respect is that it is far too polished to be out and out metal, (however, it never claims to be ‘just metal’) and would feel at home played on radio 2 in a mainstream world, but, there is no getting away from the talent that simply oozes from the bands minds and fingers as they have indeed produced a good strong album that balances melody and driving force to the maximum.

There are no curved-balls thrown into this genre it is pure “Power Metal” and stands consistent in delivery. Nobody can deny the raw intensity that is felt upon listening to it and anyone would be a fool to even try with the bands complex passages and melodic hooks – the bar has risen to an overwhelming level.

The final track ‘Mamma Mia’ (Abba) was a bit of a surprise although Denmark isn’t that far away from Sweden! - hats off to the band for covering it in the first instance and have well and truly put their own stamp of allegiance on it and growled out with precision as seen on the video here.

http://metalshockfinland.com/2014/05/10/seven-thorns-new-video-for-mamma-mia-available-online/ (Courtesy of www.metalshockfinland.com)

You know what? I am really warming to Seven Thorns. Nothing like a bit of nostalgia to get a crowd on their feet. I can now see why Seven Thorns are confident they have every reason to be!

9/10

Track List:

Intro

Eye of the Storm (keyboard solo performed by André Andersen, Royal Hunt)

Revelation

Queen of Swords

Justice

Night of Temptation

Redemption (featuring David Henriksson, ex-Insania (Stockholm), on vocals)

You’re not brave (if you’re not scared)

A Jokers Game

After the Storm