Huntress | Spell Eater

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer –

You know those female-fronted metal bands where a rousing symphonic arrangement sets the stage for a doe-eyed waif in a Stevie Nicks dress to emerge, much like a delicate flower, to serenade us with a light and airy operatic verse – possibly about leaves and/or faeries – before giving way to a gruff, growling male vocalist to handle the metal side of things? Well, Huntress is not one of those bands, so if that’s your cup of watered-down tea you’re in the wrong place. Yes, the California-based band has a female vocalist (one Jill Janus), and yes, she is smoking hot (which is probably irrelevant but undeniably true), but Huntress isn’t a female-fronted metal band coming off the Nightwish assembly line. They’re a full-on, balls-out heavy metal band, and a damned good one at that.

Spell Eater is the band’s first full-length release (after a series of singles/EPs), and it’s a real kick in the teeth. At heart, it’s a traditional heavy metal album that draws influence from bands like Judas Priest, Accept, and Leather-era Chastain, though the most apt comparison is probably another California-based band with a powerful female vocalist – Benedictum. Huntress takes the basic old school metal formula and injects a major dose of intensity, namely a ton of neck-snapping thrash-style riffs, blistering solos, and a very versatile vocal performance from Janus. She can go from a clear midrange to a piercing scream to an almost death metal growl at will, and her performance definitely gives Spell Eater an added dose of power.

Spell Eater is a very strong heavy metal album from start to finish, but there are a few songs that really stand out, such as “Eight of Swords,” “Children” and the title track, all of which are guaranteed to get your head banging.

Obviously an album like Spell Eater is going to appeal to fans of bands like Benedictum, Chastain/Leather and Hysterica, but Huntress ought to more than satisfy just about any fan of old school traditional heavy metal, whether that’s classic bands like Priest and Accept or the new wave of traditional metal bands like Widow, White Wizzard and Enforcer. Either way, it’s good to see another female-fronted metal band that actually puts the metal first.

Genre: Heavy Metal, Traditional Metal

Band:
Eric Harris (b)
Carl Wierzbicky (d)
Blake Meahl (g)
Ian Alden (g)
Jill Janus (v)

Track Listing:
1. Spell Eater
2. Senicide
3. Sleep and Death
4. Snow Witch
5. Eight of Swords
6. Aradia
7. Night Rape
8. Children
9. Terror
10. The Tower

Label: Napalm

Website: http://www.huntresskills.com

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.25/10

Iron Fire | Voyage of the Damned

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer –

Voyage of the Damned is the seventh studio from Danish power metal band Iron Fire. Good old Iron Fire. You know, with the cheesy name and the cheesy album covers and the cheesy songs about battles and metal warriors. Shove ‘em off to the side with Metalium and Sacred Steel and the rest of the Hammerfall knockoffs, right? Not this time. The band has always been good at what they do, but what they did was pretty formulaic and predictable. With Voyage of the Damned Iron Fire made a concerted effort to change things and take their sound to a new level, and it paid off…big time.

As soon as you clear the obligatory instrumental opener (seriously, who really enjoys these things?), you start to hear a very different Iron Fire emerge. Some things remain the same, particularly Martin Steene’s strong, steady vocals and Kirk Backarach’s melodic guitar work and intricate solos, but there’s a noticeably darker vibe on Voyage of the Damned. The easy, sing-song melodies that have come to define the power metal genre are nowhere to be found. It’s still a power metal album, and it’s still melodic, but the melodies are more subtle and are accompanied by heavier rhythms and darker atmospheric elements worthy of Evergrey or Symphony X. There’s also a complexity that puts the album in progressive metal territory on more than a few occasions. To hammer the darker focus home, Steene even adds some surprisingly well-done aggressive screams/growls. And yes, that could come across as gimmicky, but here it works quite well and perfectly suits the nature of the songs and the album as a whole. His clean vocals seem a bit deeper too. The band treads new ground lyrically as well, opting for a focus on sci-fi themes instead of tales of battles and warriors, and while that is still in the fantasy realm it reinforces that this is not the same old Iron Fire album.

Voyage of the Damned is a remarkably strong album on all levels; the musicianship, vocals, songwriting and production are all first rate. As such it’s hard to single out the best songs the album has to offer. The 10-minute title track is an obvious choice, but if you’re looking to sample the album “With Different Eyes,” “Slaughter of Souls” and “The Final Odyssey” ought to be more than enough to make you a believer.

If you think you know all there is to know about what Iron Fire has to offer, Voyage of the Damned will be a real eye-opener. It’s a major step forward from the band, and is an early contender for power metal album of the year. Beyond the core power metal audience, Voyage of the Damned has the potential to make Iron Fire converts out of fans of progressive metal bands like Evergrey and Symphony X as well as those into more aggressive bands like Mercenary, Into Eternity and Raintime. Give Iron Fire a second chance and get ready to be blown away!

Edition Notes: The limited edition version of Voyage of the Damned comes in a digipack and includes the (very good) bonus track “Warmaster of Chaos.”

Genre: Power Metal

Band:
Martin Steene (v)
Fritz Wagner (d)
Kirk Backarach (g)
Martin Lund (b)

Track Listing:
1. The Dark Beyond
2. Enter Oblivion OJ-666
3. Taken
4. Slaughter of Souls
5. Leviathan
6. The Final Odyssey
7. Ten Years in Space
8. Voyage of the Damned
9. With Different Eyes
10. Dreams of the Dead Moon
11. Verge to Collide
12. Realm of Madness
13. Warmaster of Chaos (bonus track)

Label: Napalm

Website: www.ironfire.dk

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.25/10

Tyr | The Lay of Thrym

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer

The Lay of Thrym is the sixth album from the modern day Vikings in Tyr. The Faroe Islanders have been quite visible of late, with a steady stream of albums, various pagan-themed tours and even an appearance at the ProgPower USA festival. Instead of taking it easy, Tyr jumped right back in with another offering of progressively-inclined folk metal.

You can tell right from the start, with the catchy “Flames of the Free,” that the band is going for a somewhat more accessible sound (in other words: catchier, but less progressive) with this album. Tyr sounds a lot less like Borknagar/Vintersorg and a lot more like Falconer this time around, with an almost power metal approach. That’s in keeping with the whole folk metal sound, and Tyr does it really well. The melodic anthems “Take Your Tyrant” and “Hall of Freedom” are made for singing and stomping along. The songs sung in their native language also stand out, as they just seem more authentic somehow. Another highlight, especially in light of recent events, is the thought-provoking “Shadow of the Swastika,” which reaffirms the band’s anti-racism stance. The epic title track closes the album in style, with a rousing tale of Viking glory that’s sure to have you raising your glass (or tankard of ale).

The Lay of Thrym is a totally enjoyable album, and one that will no doubt please the majority of Tyr’s ever-growing fanbase. There is no real sense that the band is moving forward or really challenging themselves this time around, and progressive metal fans probably won’t be as pleased with it, but that’s easy to forgive when the results are so much fun to listen to.

Edition Notes – The limited edition version of The Lay of Thrym comes in a digipack and features two bonus cover songs, Black Sabbath’s “I” and Rainbow’s “Stargazer,” which makes for a fitting tribute to the late Ronnie James Dio.

Genre: Folk Metal

Band:
Gunnar Thomsen (b)
Terji Skibenaes (g)
Kari Streymoy (d)
Heri Joensen (g) (v)

Track Listing:
1. Flames of the Free
2. Shadow of the Swastika
3. Take Your Tyrant
4. Evening Star
5. Hall of Freedom
6. Fields of the Fallen
7. Konning Hans
8. Ellindur Bondi a Jadri
9. Nine Worlds of Lore
10. The Lay of Thrym

Label: Napalm

Website: www.tyr.fo/

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.75/10

Alestorm : Back Through Time

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer

Back Through Time is the third full-length from “True Scottish Pirate Metal” band Alestorm. To absolutely nobody’s surprise, the pirate-obsessed band has decided to follow up their 2009 album Black Sails at Midnight with another serving of songs about booze, boats and brawling (and, um, time travel).

Alestorm isn’t exactly breaking any new ground with Back Through Time. The band’s sound is essentially high-speed power metal with a hefty dose of folk metal elements and a bloody ton of pirate trappings. Now that Running Wild is no longer active (and even they seemed to outgrow the pirate fixation after a while), Alestorm has taken up the Jolly Roger for the next generation. Back Through Time does have a certain Running Wild vibe, but like Running Wild getting drunk with Flogging Molly. There are also traces of Elvenking and Mago de Oz. You have your power metal riffing and double bass drumming, but there’s also the accordion and violins and Christopher Bowes’ gruff, folksy vocals. It’s fun stuff, and even if you could care less about pirates drinking anthems like “Barrett’s Privateers” and “Rum” are pretty irresistible. The more straightforward metal songs like the title track and the nearly 8-minute “Death Throes of the Terrorsquid” are also impressive from a power metal point of view. The harsh, almost black metal vocals and symphonic elements on that last one make it sound almost worthy of Dimmu Borgir (or Stormlord, sticking with the seafaring theme).

Is Back Through Time an essential or remotely original album? Of course it isn’t. Is it a hell of a lot of fun to listen to? Of course it is. Like Korpiklaani and Finntroll, Alestorm is one of those “go to” bands when you want an album to crank up, cut loose and raise a glass (or ten), and in that area Back Through Time does its job very well. See you at the bar, mateys!

Edition Notes: The limited edition version of Back Through Time features two bonus tracks – covers of “I’m a Cider Drinker” (The Wurzels) and “You Are a Pirate” (Lazytown).

Genre: Power Metal, Folk Metal

Band:
Christopher Bowes (v) (k)
Dani Evans (g)
Gareth Murdock (b)
Peter Alcorn (d)

Track Listing:

1. Back Through Time
2. Shipwrecked
3. The Sunk’n Norwegian
4. Midget Saw
5. Buckfast Powersmash
6. Scraping the Barrel
7. Rum
8. Swashbuckled
9. Rumpelkombo
10. Barrett’s Privateers
11. Death Throes of the Terrorsquid

Label: Napalm

Website: www.alestorm.net

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5/10